![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Action/"Voice"]
[Nami for her own part is content to either stay with her mother or go out exploring with Sanji for the first day or two she's home. It's bitterly cold out there and she doesn't like it much at all-- it's nothing like Cocoyashi-- and her feet are a little red from early barefoot adventures in the snow, but luckily she doesn't catch cold. She's more grounded and less restless than Sanji is, because Bellemere is here. And that means she can let Bellemere take care of things. Because after all, didn't mama say that they wouldn't be here for very long? She misses Nojiko, but if it's only for a little while, then maybe she'll just treat this as a holiday.
Then the second night passes, and Nami turns 10. And everything changes.]
[She's had nightmares before. And the last night was unsettling with the dreams she had, but they weren't bad dreams-- just ones that feel like she's lived a lifetime in one night. Or...one year, as the case may be.
The second night, she wakes up with a wail (muffled brutally by shoving the blanket up to her mouth, because nobody likes a crying human) and tears and her arm hurts but mostly all she can remember right now is Bellemere and the screams when they stepped on her arm and the blood and the way Arlong just shot her down--
die for your pathetic love--
--and everything that followed. And she knows why her arm hurts, but that doesn't make any sense, and Bellemere is right upstairs and Nami just spends the next ten minutes crying into the blanket and not daring to look at her arm. And when she can separate dream from reality just enough, she slides out of bed and doesn't even bother to dress properly, running for the stairs to the next floor in an oversized tshirt that hangs off her arms and going straight for her mama's bedroom.
She eventually falls asleep again and further returning memories distance her from the shock of that death, but none of them are good memories. And now she's confused to boot, because sometimes when she closes her eyes she expects to open them somewhere else entirely. And Nami grows to like the cold, because as long as there's snow outside, it means she's not at Arlong Park, and that means that maybe she can put it all aside as an especially bad nightmare and it didn't really happen. Because it didn't. Because Bellemere is here.
Anyway, distracting herself from darker thoughts is a damn good idea, really. Best to try and not think about it and just...stick with Bellemere a lot today.]
["Voice"]
[So in the afternoon, Luceti, there is a little girl staring back at you from the journals. And doing the most awesomely intelligent thing:
[Yeah. Because making faces at you all is really mature. She just wants to see how many people notice her, because damn this magical journal is fun.]
[Action]
[If people want to run into Nami at varying ages, she can be found:
-- At the library on Monday when she is 12, trying to reach that top shelf of navigation books;
-- At Good Spirits on Wednesday when she is 14, trying her luck at being served underage drinks (look, she can hold her liquor okay B|); and
-- Pretty much anywhere on the following Friday when she is 16, because she's smitten with a severe case of wanderlust; a rooftop, a shop, the forest, the battledome...anywhere. Chances are if you run into Nami today, she might attempt to pickpocket you just because she's got the suspicion she's damn good at it. And those ships out at sea hold her attention for a fair while, because...well, wouldn't it be nice to sail one away? These dreams, man.
For ages 17 and up, well... there'll be another post much later. Just to avoid confusion.]
Then the second night passes, and Nami turns 10. And everything changes.]
[She's had nightmares before. And the last night was unsettling with the dreams she had, but they weren't bad dreams-- just ones that feel like she's lived a lifetime in one night. Or...one year, as the case may be.
The second night, she wakes up with a wail (muffled brutally by shoving the blanket up to her mouth, because nobody likes a crying human) and tears and her arm hurts but mostly all she can remember right now is Bellemere and the screams when they stepped on her arm and the blood and the way Arlong just shot her down--
die for your pathetic love--
--and everything that followed. And she knows why her arm hurts, but that doesn't make any sense, and Bellemere is right upstairs and Nami just spends the next ten minutes crying into the blanket and not daring to look at her arm. And when she can separate dream from reality just enough, she slides out of bed and doesn't even bother to dress properly, running for the stairs to the next floor in an oversized tshirt that hangs off her arms and going straight for her mama's bedroom.
She eventually falls asleep again and further returning memories distance her from the shock of that death, but none of them are good memories. And now she's confused to boot, because sometimes when she closes her eyes she expects to open them somewhere else entirely. And Nami grows to like the cold, because as long as there's snow outside, it means she's not at Arlong Park, and that means that maybe she can put it all aside as an especially bad nightmare and it didn't really happen. Because it didn't. Because Bellemere is here.
Anyway, distracting herself from darker thoughts is a damn good idea, really. Best to try and not think about it and just...stick with Bellemere a lot today.]
["Voice"]
[So in the afternoon, Luceti, there is a little girl staring back at you from the journals. And doing the most awesomely intelligent thing:
[Yeah. Because making faces at you all is really mature. She just wants to see how many people notice her, because damn this magical journal is fun.]
[Action]
[If people want to run into Nami at varying ages, she can be found:
-- At the library on Monday when she is 12, trying to reach that top shelf of navigation books;
-- At Good Spirits on Wednesday when she is 14, trying her luck at being served underage drinks (look, she can hold her liquor okay B|); and
-- Pretty much anywhere on the following Friday when she is 16, because she's smitten with a severe case of wanderlust; a rooftop, a shop, the forest, the battledome...anywhere. Chances are if you run into Nami today, she might attempt to pickpocket you just because she's got the suspicion she's damn good at it. And those ships out at sea hold her attention for a fair while, because...well, wouldn't it be nice to sail one away? These dreams, man.
For ages 17 and up, well... there'll be another post much later. Just to avoid confusion.]
[Video]
[Yeah, thanks to you, she'll end up making faces all night. 8|]
I'm Nami!
[Video]
And I'm Miyabi, but you can call me Miya for short. It's nice to meet you, little Nami!
[Video]
[Video]
Elegance. [adjfchs--] ...It doesn't suit me at all.
[Video]
[Video]
Well...i-it just doesn't! I'm really not very elegant at all. I make messes with all my paintings and parchment, I don't do up my hair nice, or wear make up unless I'm going out to something fancy, or dress in those beautiful silk kimonos... And I practice the sword. Not many elegant ladies do things like that.
[Video]
What kind of paintings do you do?
[Video]
Also good lord, child, these questions. Thankfully, Miyabi's used to it from Elicia and the children from her village long ago. Always curious, always asking questions, and seeking answers. It's a nice reminder of youth and life.]
I paint the gods of my homeland. If I paint them, and tell people about them, then they don't fade away into memory...and the wonderful things they provide for us remain. I can show you a few, uhm...i-if you like.
[Video]
You have gods in your homeland? [That are in danger of being forgotten..? That sounds very tragic and kind of awesome and sad at the same time.] I'd love to see them.
[Video]
I can show you a few of them, if you're interested.
[Video]
[Video]
This is Amaterasu, with all her powers restored. When people pray real hard, and believe in her, she looks like this. She's the goddess of the sun where I'm from, though people also call her the Mother Goddess. She's the patron of light, warmth, and goodness. Origin of all that is good, and mother to us all.
This one is Yomigami, the dragon god. Right now, we're in the year of the dragon - his year. I drew this around the new year, to praise him. He's the one with the power to fix broken things, or replace that which is lost.
These three... are the Hanagami. The three monkey brothers that dictate the growth of nature itself. From making dead trees live again, swinging through branches with the power of strong vines, or floating along on a giant lillypad...they're the ones to thank for it.
And this is another one, which I think you'll like. It's Nuregami the snake. She's the one that controls the waters of the earth. She can move water, make it billow up like a fountain, and can create strong rains to soak the thirsty land.
[Video]
These are all so pretty! [Dare we say elegant. 8|] You're really good. And they're all gods?
[Video]
Mhm, they are. There are thirteen in total, and each one has its own unique power - a Skill - but it's Amaterasu and Amaterasu alone that can use the Skills of the other twelve gods. Because the other twelve were born from her. That's why we call her "mother".
[As well as Ammy watching over them all from above, lighting up their days and providing warm, comforting rays and protecting every living creature.]
[Video]
[Video]
She's the only one I've ever met, but I'm sure the other twelve are just as kind, and I'd love to meet them, too, if I ever could.
[Video]
[Video]
[Video]
Maybe she'll come back one day. And then I can meet her.
[Video]
After that long pause, Miyabi sighs, and hoods her eyes as her smile becomes wistful and distant.]
Mm...maybe. For now, why don't I give you that painting of her? If you promise to keep it safe, I'll have a bird take it right to you?
[Video] 1/2
[Video]
But I don't know how long I'll be here for.
[Video]
What do you mean?
[Video]
I'm sort of growing older.