Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-26512661-20200125162058/@comment-43757330-20200126201719

Chikkane wrote: The afterlife clearly doesn't make death impermanent, since there are no easy ways of returning from the afterlife, barring the Brother Gods powers. Let me pose you a scenario. Let's say, that instead of dying, Summer Rose was simply banished to another dimension, from which there was no return, and no way to communicate with her. She's still alive, but she exists in a place from which there can be no contact. What, exactly, would be the difference between that, and her being dead and in the afterlife? Nothing. There is no difference. The afterlife is a creation that makes death no different than a change in locale. Knowing that a person is gone forever, or at least entertaining the possibility that a person is gone forever, is the true horror and defining principle of death. Without that essential aspect, death becomes a cosmic hiatus; a vacation, if you will. That you can't return (which isn't true, because in RWBY it has been demonstrated that resurrection is possible) is irrelevant. It's irrelevant because you don't need to return to be reunited with your loved ones. Mainly because they will be joining you. The only thing separating Ruby from Summer, or Jaune from Pyrrha, is a rope and a sturdy girder. Chikkane wrote: There are plenty of fictional works that showcase the afterlife but also have death not be cheapened. I disagree. I think the instant any story verifies an afterlife is the instant that death loses all meaning. Just my opinion. Chikkane wrote:

We also don't exactly know what's going on in the afterlife of RWBY so we don't know what it's like. That's not really relevant. For example, do we know what Neptune and Sun are doing right now? No. Do we know what Ilia is up to? No. Yet, they're not dead, are they? So what, exactly, is the problem? Chikkane wrote:

Permanent separation from certain things is scary. They didn't just change location, you can't even locate them anymore. You can't communicate with them ever again, and people don't like having their options taken away. I'm starting to get the idea, and please don't take offense to this, that you don't really understand what the word 'permanent' means. If I'm wrong in this assumption, and you're just repeatedly misspeaking, then I apologize. If an afterlife exists, then death is not a permanent separation, unless of course the living party is immortal. The reason being is that when you die, you get to be reunited with the dead party. That you can't locate them is also not an essential aspect of death. That's true of a father who's walked out on his children. He doesn't have to be dead to be out of their lives and unable to be located. And, finally, saying that you have no options is completely false. There is a great option that one can use to see their dead loved ones again. In a world where the afterlife exists, and yes I'm going to repeat this line because it's an important one, The only thing separating Ruby from Summer, or Jaune from Pyrrha, is a rope and a sturdy girder.