036 -- [Voice]

[endgames]

((Backdated to February 4th))

[It's been a long time since Shikamaru's failed a mission. All right. Failure might be too strong a word for this one. He can actually laugh at that. This isn't like when he was twelve. It's a personal embarrassment, not something that's going to keep him up at night, sick to his stomach.

A failure is a failure though, and that makes it a pain in the ass. He'd apologized to the MSF personnel profusely, and requested to be put on a different mission to make up for the screw-up. They'd looked nonplussed about the whole thing and stuck him back in Luceti, but eh. Shikamaru decides to keep his journal close to him anyways, in case they take him up on that. It's for this reason he doesn't go out to do any of the things he probably should. He passes the time by flipping through the journal instead, and thinking over the last mission.]

[Voice]

When I first came to this village, I remember going out. Left or right, it seemed anywhere I looked someone was using that so-called "filial magic". ...Haaa. [He scratches his head, and there's a smirk in his voice.] That's an exaggeration, but you get it. That was years ago, though. It seemed like it was becoming less common until that incident last year, when everyone got possessed.

Anyone learning anything from those guys now? Seems like the kind of thing that would spark interest, especially with one extra spirit hanging around.

Comments

[Voice]

[savedtheworld]

I've been learning from some of them! It just seems like the Avatar thing to do. [Aside from his dealings with Moro, it's the closest he can get around to hear to living up to the role of being a spiritual bridge.]

But I still have a lot more to try to make pacts with.

[Voice]

[niceguypose]

It is something that I would rather not indulge in. With how far I have come, I wish to continue using only my own natural strength!

[Voice]

[wise_maiden]

People still inquire about it from time to time. [And there's the assistance provided by the school of course. Though she finds this odd of Shikamaru. Almost as if he's seeking out something in particular from this brand of question.] Although I wonder why it's on your mind all of a sudden.

[mischiefbreeder]

Actually, I just started learnin' those guys' tricks myself.

[voice]

[dangerouswind]

I can do some things, but I don't really get involved with it. Why ask?

[Voice] addin' to ur dogpile jinxin' ur post

[misterbrief]

What I'd like to know is what's the point to.

[It's sort of a snide comment, with some genuine curiosity filtered into his voice. Yeah, he doesn't like magic. And he hates the idea of keeping that option open.]

[feistytrader]

Which ones have you learned from? [It's okay to turn the question back around, right? Plenty of people have already answered him, after all.]

[respect_points47]

I started learning about a week after I got here...I'd be frozen by now without the fire one.

[markofthebrave]

Are you thinking of starting a school?

[She knows you, Shikamaru. What's with the roundabout question?]

voice;

[ura_no_ura]

Hmm, come to think of it, it could probably be a good idea to seek them out. Though, I'm not entirely sure where to find them...

[generalflirt]

Jim Dear, will you go dust the counters in the bathroom?

[ He says this an a high pitched approximation of the woman from Lady and the Tramp. He's also wearing this shirt and he's currently eating a piece of chocolate. The classics, you know. ]

voice;

[breezing]

I like Kipinn best!! He's the one I can hear.

[ ...There are some pretty obvious reasons for her affinity with the wind spirit, and Shikamaru gets zero points for guessing them. ]

Grandpa's been trying to talk to lots of them, and I'd like to try talking to them, too! At least, if I can talk to Nala then I can heal things a little bit like Katara, right? And maybe I could learn a little of the water stuff, too!!

[voice]

[folklorist]

I'm still, um, in contact with the main few. [ He hasn't really gotten in touch with Twila since the whole possession thing. ] I don't blame them specifically for-for what happened though. They were just trying to protect their land from a danger that we knew nothing about.

[ Helios doesn't like to put the blame on beings who can't exactly communicate. ]

[believeit]

You're talking about those spirit things, right?

[Also sup bro.]

[stilldontgotit]

Maybe it's because there's been a shift in the population. Filial magic's useful, sure, but for those of us who already have powers, it might seem unnecessary.

That's just a guess, though. Maybe there's a lack of knowledge involved, too; the population cycles new people in every month now. They might not even be up to date.

[After all, while the guide's useful, it's also long. Not everyone has a great attention span.]

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

I don't see the point of putting in much effort to learn it when there's a good chance our powers will be dampened when it would be the most useful.

[That's one of the reasons he's glad he isn't reliant on any sort of powers to fight-- no powers means they can't be taken away from him.]

Latest of Late...sorry T.T [Voice]

[faithfulflame]

I am. I've been practicing with most of them for some time now, all save Sona and Kippinn, anyway.

Is it really that strange, now? It feels like most people learn a bit from them.