oathic | toi.

I mean, if it aggravates you...

A lot of things are aggravating me right now.

... I guess that's fair.

Still... I'm sorry.

[ he just shakes his head. ]

No, it's... the longer we're here, the closer everyone is going to get to each other. So people getting more and more hurt isn't going to be shocking.

... Even so, the bonds we have with one another are important, no matter how much grief they might bring.

... are they?

What's even the point in connecting if it always ends up like this?

Without anyone you care about, or anyone who cares about you, are you really living at all?

[ he glances away, looking down at his hands. ]

No. You might as well not exist.

... Everyone's life has value. That's what I believe.

And I think we find ourselves through others—both the good and the bad.

[...]

No matter how alone someone feels, there's someone out there who can understand or accept them. After all, the world's a place of millions of people. It would be stranger for there not to be.

Just because there's someone out there who might understand you doesn't mean it'll work out. Things happen that just... make it so it won't work out.

Like us being here.

Then, you keep trying. One failure isn't always the end of the world.

[ it looks like he wants to say something. instead, ]

Right.

... Don't take this the wrong way, Toi, but you're still pretty young. You've only lived, what, a fifth of the average human lifespan?

For you, the future is still unknown.

It's not that unknown. I already know what's waiting for me.

[ ... ]

Whether I get out of here alive or not-- that won't change.

Then, what is it?

[ his expression turns into something that's almost... amused? but not quite.

he lifts up his hand, arranging his fingers so that they're mimicking a gun. he presses it to his head, and then makes a gesture signifying that a bullet is being fired. ]

Like I said, it won't matter.

[...]

Well, you never know. I mean, just as you're certain of that, you were probably pretty certain that you weren't going to be abducted to a place like this, right?

The thing about the unexpected is that you can't expect it.

You're right. We don't know for sure what will happen.

... but that also means something bad is just as likely as something good. I don't want to keep hoping for something that might not even come true. It's exhausting.