toujoursfluer | Log 009 [Video/Action]

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Log 009 [Video/Action]

[On Day One, Robin will open the journal and look faintly bemused... ~~Though she's been waiting for the distraction.~~]

Well then, this is interesting. There seems to be Alabasta outside my window. [~~how familiar~~]

I hear pyramids are often rigged with death traps, curses and murder. [An open invitation to go exploring with her]

Days 1-2

[Either by going into a pyramid or falling through an unseen pit of sand, you will find Robin in the tombs, investigating hieroglyphs, treasures or mutilated mummies.]

Day 3

[Robin will be on a ~~not really~~ tame Mammoth, exploring the chilly countryside and might offer rides to weary passersby or, then again, might ignore them completely]

Days 4-5

[Robin will be relaxing in the Shogunate, you may find her reading under a cherry tree, dressed in the local wear though she does have an eye (or several) open in case of ninja]

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To judge all gods merely by the action of one is somewhat disgraceful, ne?

[Appropriate that she's the goddess of such things. Robin may not believe her entirely but doesn't disbelieve her entirely either. She blinks at the cloud]

May I touch it?

That doesn't stop mortals from doing so, most of the time. And yes, by all means. It's merely a cloud.

Mortals will just as easily turn against their own as anyone else.

[Hands blossom from the trees and touch the cloud experimentally. It is just a cloud and she can feel the wet on her hands. Interesting.]

Though does what mortals say truly matter to a god?

[She eyes the hands curiously, but again doesn't seem terribly bothered by them. Hana Kami could do such things, after all.]

No, not particularly. Sometimes it's irksome, if the god in question is blatantly abusing their power. Then it does matter, as it colors opinions against us and makes mortals resent us.

And that I do not like. I'm fond of mortals, and I'd rather live with them peacefully than not.

Gods are not much different than governments, then. All that strength contained in one small space. Life and death. Rain or no rain. [She stirs the cloud in her hands, trying to disperse it]

Isn't that almost too much power?

I would argue that rather vociferously, miss. Governments are things created by man to rule man. Gods created man, but it's not our place to rule over them. Man makes his own choices, we take no part in that.

[The cloud does not budge, Saori's will keeping it firmly in place]

And from a human standpoint, perhaps it is too much power. Though, we don't think like humans. I mean you no offense when I say this, but it would be difficult to explain the scale with which gods must consider things. If a human gained the powers of a god, without temperance? It would be but a small thing for them to abuse that power for petty reasons. And that...would be disastrous.

[She closes her book and looks up at the sky, a heavy sigh following]

I won't pretend all gods aren't petty, but at least among my fellow Myojin there is an understanding of such things. You might meet deities here who do abuse their power, but just like there are different types of mortal beings, like humans or kappa or goblins, there are different types of gods. And it sounds like you're trying to lump us all into one category, when that isn't the case.

If I've misjudged your words, my apologies.

And who is a god to decide life or death? What makes them so much wiser than us? What allows them to decide the meaning of temperance? [She continues to try and disperse the cloud, adding more hands to see if it worked]

There are different gods, yes, but a monstrous human can only destroy so much whereas a monstrous god could destroy everything.But then again...

[And the hands disappear in a small burst of petals]

I suppose even gods have the right to exist, ne? No matter their faults or powers.

I understand your point, miss. It's a question I've sought to answer myself.

[She sucks in a breath, and maintains her hold on the cloud]

You ask very valid questions from your perspective, and I do not wish to sound dismissive but I do not believe I can answer them to your satisfaction. My kind are the beings that birthed our reality. Each of us is fundamentally tied to some facet of it, and it's by our will that such things occur. If there was no god of death, then there would be no death. If there was no god of love, then there would be no love.
Simply put, we are life, death, rain, wind, temperance, and truth. All things are that are exist as a piece of us.

And you are correct, a monstrous god could destroy everything. Which is why the other gods stop them. Do you think we don't wish to survive? If they destroyed everything, then they'd be destroying pieces of us, as well as the mortal beings we care about.

So you are less gods and more incarnations of specific fundamentals. [Interesting thought] In other words, you have moderately less free will because your aspect defines your temperament? Or am I wrong?

You could choose to see it that way, but it's more than that, too. God...is a clumsy, emotionally charged word. The proper term is Kami, or in my case Myojin.

And you are both correct and incorrect. We're not lacking in free will in the slightest, we make and are accountable for our own choices. We are predisposed towards certain temperaments, and our powers cannot change. That is to say I could not suddenly become a god of fire if I wanted, but there's nothing to stop me from choosing to act in a certain way if I wish it.

We're no different from mortals in many ways, really. Which, if you consider that mortals all contain a piece of us, it makes sense. And the mortals around us influence us as much as we influence them.

I've read a theory where everything is made from the dust of exploding stars. I don't quite understand it but perhaps mortals and gods are more alike than they know.

[Though she does take her point. Though Myojin and gods are quite an interesting distinction.]

May I sit next to you?

[More out of politeness than anything]

The difference is in how we perceive things, particularly scale.

[Saori nods once up at the eye]

I don't mind. It would make conversing easier. And I suppose introductions are in order. I am Saori Kimura, the Daughter of Wind and Rain. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?

Nico Robin, but my name means nothing here.

[She comes around the tree and smiles at Saori, sitting and putting her book in her lap. Then she gazes up at the cloud]

You know, I have a friend who can do similar.

Your name has meaning anywhere, it's part of who you are.

[She smiles somewhat mysteriously, but doesn't elaborate unless asked. However, the other comment...makes her curious.]

Do you now? Whom?

Some meanings are more pleasant than others.

[Robin considers the answer for a moment. Then decides there is no reason to hide]

Her name is Nami. She has a mikan grove on the edge of town.

This is true.

[Her eyebrows raise]

I've met Nami. She's an interesting young woman, with more than a few entertaining stories. Are you from her world?

Mm. We are nakama.

[Though here...well...the meaning is the same, but different. Changed. Twisted by the Malnosso as they twist everything]

I hope one day we'll all be home.

[She realizes not everyone shares that sentiment. Though she's never understood completely. Yes, for some there is death--but this place has never and can never be life]

I understand that.

[Saori nods. She was a Japanese woman long before becoming a god, and there's little difference in the meaning of the word between their cultures. She's realized this by befriending Marco, of course, and having him explain it.]

And I hope the same. This place is...nice at times, and I'm going to do whatever I can to ensure that when we do break free we'll do it of our own power.

Our own power? [She cocks her head] What difference does that make so long as we are free?

Keeping the memories of what we've done here? Pride at defeating those who would do us harm? Freedom is worthy, but so too is ensuring that this hasn't been for nothing. And perhaps even giving us a way to stop it from happening again.

[Strange. She is usually one for preserving memory. Truth is found in memory and even though it is hard, it is still worth learning from. But...]

To remember... I don't know if I would want to. There are some here who are dead in their own worlds who would cease to be. Friends and family will be torn apart with no way of reaching one another.

[She smiles faintly]

Freedom comes with a great price, doesn't it?

[Saori covers her mouth and actually laughs, a musical, lyrical giggle that floats in the wind]

I believe you misunderstand me. You think it beyond the power of the gods to open bridges to other realities? I know with some certainty that my kindred would willingly reunite friends and families.

[Her tone changes now, taking on one of absolute certainty, the tone of someone who is used to wielding absolute authority in her own way. Not that she expects Robin to obey, merely to make her point]

And as for the dead? Well...what good is a god of death if he cannot control his dominion? Assuredly, there would be complications. But arrangements could be made, of this I am certain. For everyone.

[She is a little irritated with the laugh and the tone of this woman's voice. God or not, it's not anything that Robin has come to know]

Even if one believed in them, they haven't yet broken the barrier, have they? The Malnosso seem to be considerably stronger.

And why should the god of death choose those here, who have escaped him once, continue to do so? Because they were fortunate enough to get kidnapped? Because they were unfortunate enough to wind up here?

There are many others that suffer needlessly. That do not have the strength that we do. If the gods were to help, they should help those who most need it, not those strong enough to fight their own way.

From within, perhaps. And one at a time. [Though she ignores the jab at her power, stating matter of factly] I am also not a god who deals with such things.

As for the whys? Because the masters of Death can be bargained with. And because this place is unnatural. It breaks the very fabric of reality. That alone is reason enough.

[And, she adds mentally, because they are my kindred]

I've heard death can be bargained with. [It's been in many a tale and usually all of them ended badly]

Though who knows if the price is beyond paying. As for this being unnatural...

[she runs her hands through the grass]

I don't believe such a thing can exist.

Day 4, Shogunate.

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