endgames | 029 -- [Action || Video]

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029 -- [Action || Video]

[The afternoon finds Shikamaru bundled up against the cold and out and about in parts of the village he won't normally be in. Wandering, it might look like; he drifts in and out of high-traffic areas like the bar and the item shop to places less visited. The coffee shop he'll be at for sure, and his final stop will be the building that was once Azzip's Pizza.

This will do.]

[Video]

[Later in the afternoon, with dark still far off, the journal feed will click on to see Shikamaru surrounded by various colorful boxes among other things. He folds his hands over a table.]

It's come to my attention over the last few months that some of you have never heard of boardgames, or have otherwise never played. As a reasonable guy, I can let a lot of things go, but that... just seems sad.

[He shakes his head here. With woe, even. And then he gestures to the board games from various worlds strewn in the background. Close inspection will find a shogi set, a chess board, Go, Pai Sho, Plateau, Candy Land, Mouse Trap, ~~Jumanji~~ and so on. You can pretty much make up any family-friendly board game you want here and he will have it somehow. Go for it, actually. He hasn't played all of them.]

I'm here to tell you why they're awesome. [...] And possibly to petition for a partner. It's troublesome, but you'd be surprised how hard that is to accomplish here...

Katara. [Hint, hint.] Kotomi-chan. [Who he can't tease as well, so he'd best clarify:] If you're still up for that.

[He shakes himself with a grin, saluting at the journal with his left hand. He picks up the nearest game.] Anyways, let's get started. It goes like this...

[And from here he'll be giving the abridged rules of the games he knows to start. Feel free to interrupt him, or call him out on any games he skips.]

[/end Voice]

[Action || Locked to Konan]

[Much later in the night, after he's seen to everything he needs to, Shikamaru takes a box out of a drawer and goes outside. From it, he withdraws an origami hummingbird, and contemplates it slowly for a few quiet minutes.

When he's done, he holds it up at eye level and speaks seriously.]

It's about time we spoke again. Don't you think?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Alright. Which color stones do you prefer?

[Smiling gently, she slides him bowls of go pieces]

I'll play black.

[He'll go ahead and pick said stones out of the bowl.]

Alright.

[She takes a sip of tea and sets a stone down to start the game]

I hope there wasn't any lasting harm to you arm.

That much was unavoidable. Humans needs time to recover from something like that, after all. [He places his down.] But it's healing nicely.

Everyone does. My own ability to heal injuries in this human shell is limited here. I suspect that might have taken me a few hours, rather than moments.

That before or after getting back?

[Sure not missing that 100% powercap on his end.]

Well, without the power cap at all a shoulder injury like that would heal in seconds. Here? It could take minutes, or it could take hours depending on the severity. Fully capped? I'd heal the same as any human.

[She idly places another stone, barely bothering to glance at the bored. Conversation is more important anyway]

Aa.

[He nods, absorbing that. His response is equally quick.]

Have you fought in many battles like that before?

You'll have to be more specific.

Ones with...I think...the word is biological warfare?

Aa... [He places down another stone.] No, not I.

Me either. It was...jarring.

No such thing in your world?

Maybe among humans. Gods don't fight that way.

Maa... Why gods fight at all is beyond me.

Because sometimes it's necessary, sometimes it's fun, and sometimes our survival depends on our ability to fight back. It's the same reasons that humans fight.

That's my point. Gods are supposed to be perfect beings in the literal sense, correct?

[Feel free to disabuse him of that notion if it's not true of those in her world.]

[Saori snorts out a little laugh and waves a hand]

No, no, not like that. There are different kinds of gods, you know? Thunder gods, wind gods, snow gods, sun gods, all of those sorts of things. And gods have a role that they play in the world. None of us are truly perfect, we have flaws the same as any other beings .W e just have the power and responsibility to perform our roles.

Some gods would have you believe we're omnipotent, perfect, beyond mortal comprehension, and all powerful. But they'd be lying. Given time, mortals can understand our ways and some even rival us for strength, but not longevity. The real difference between humans and gods is the sense of scale on which we work. Time holds less meaning for us, and gives us a chance to perfect ourselves beyond the limited span of human life, but we are fallible.

And we do have to fight because of that, sometimes to preserve our existence, or to sate our ego, or fun.

[His argument would have been if they were perfect, they wouldn't fight at all. If he believed in that stuff, he'd be discouraged, in fact, to think they've spent limitless lives no closer than humans to peace.]

Don't you get tired of it?

Get tired of fighting? Yes, I do.

[She places a stone and gives Shikamaru a level look.]

We all do, sometimes. Though the beings we fight never tire of fighting us. It's...difficult to reason with demons. We have little choice in the matter. Such as they are, most of them have limited capacity to understand much more than killing and bloodshed. So some gods, like my uncle, revel in battle. Others fight to prove themselves, though they're regarded as brash fools.

If I had my way, I'd live quietly and perform my role. Even still, I only fight to defend myself and those who are under my guardianship.

Edited 2012-11-23 02:29 (UTC)

Put like that it sounds more reasonable.

It is what it is. Gods don't war with one another.

It kinda sounded like that when you started.

[And he winces before dropping a piece down over on this part of the board. Good move Saori.]

Oh, my apologies if I was unclear. No, Tengoku is a peaceful place. The only fighting there is playing or training.

[She smiles and places another piece]

I take it you are from a more violent society?

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