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Who: Zeno & you
What: Story time!
When: May 13, 2016
Where: out and about
Warnings: N/A as of now.

You know what all gods have in common? At least in Zeno's experience.

[Zeno is carrying an armful of brightly-colored fruit, and looking for people to bother. Not bother. He's looking for information, and he thinks he'll get more out of them if he happens to talking directly, face-to-face, than those instant letters the objects do.

So he's caught up with you, and pressed some of this delicious fruit into your hands.]

All gods have stories told about them, over and over again, so that all the details are fuzzy and incomplete but amazingly, all the important things stay the same. Zeno's favorite is about this one god, who decided he wanted to be human. Zeno will tell it, then you tell a story about a god!

[He deliberately muddies the details on some of these characters-- no dragons, no dragon blood, no powers. He doesn't want Shin-ah and Jae-Ha to recognize themselves if they hear this.]

It all went splendidly for a little while, but then he was getting chased by all these people, you know? For some reason, they didn't like him. So he ran and he ran, with an angry mob right behind, sometimes he lost them and sometimes they were gaining on him, but all of a sudden, a warrior appeared.

The warrior lashed back, and with his help, the god felt like he could fight back, too. So he grasped his sword, and together, they got themselves enough time and enough space to get away for a little while.

[Here, have more fruit. He's starting to get into the rhythm of this story.]

The warrior hated to see the god outnumbered, you see. It was unfair. But the god was amazed, he said "You put your own body between them and me. If there's a way I can repay you, please, please tell it to me."

The warrior thought for a long time, before saying, "Justice for you and for all, that's all I could wish for." And he bade the god farewell, and the god continued on.

But the god was so tired! So he only got a little way further before he collapsed. When he awoke, a lord was tucking the bedsheets more closely around him. The lord was about to offer him refreshment, when one of his own servants came in to admonish him-- he hadn't slept at all! And spent his entire night tending to the god's bedside.

The lord hated to see the god broken down on the road, you see. It was unfair. But the god was amazed, he said "You gave up your bed for me. If there's a way I can repay you, please, please tell it to me."

The lord thought for a long time, before saying, "Comfort for you and for all, that's all I could wish for." And he bade the god farewell, and the god continued on.

But it wasn't long before the god was tired again. His home was far away now that he'd been chased so far, and he didn't have time to sleep again. He needed to get back soon, but the pain he was in was so plain for all to see, that a wanderer stopped alongside him, and insisted the god get up onto his horse.

The wanderer hated to see the god struggling, you see. It was unfair. But the god was amazed, he said "You gave up your seat on this horse for me. If there's a way I can repay you, please, please tell it to me."

[This story is taking a lot out of him. He pauses to take a bite of his own fruit, and savors the taste a moment before continuing. The story has fallen into its pattern now, it's not like his listener is in suspense.]

The wanderer thought for a long time, before saying "Freedom for you and for all, that's all I could wish for." And he bade the god farewell, and the god continued on.

The god had covered some distance now, but still he was weak and weary, nearing collapse yet again.

[This is the part of the story Zeno knows best, and a few more details spill out, but he restrains himself to the legend's rhythm even so.]

His stomach was growling terribly! So terribly that an oracle heard it, and approached him. The oracle was taking a big cart of freshly-harvested fruits and vegetables to market, but he wouldn't let the god have them. Instead, he gave the god his own rations of dried fish and dumplings, because others were counting on him to sell the fruits and vegetables for their livelihood.

Still, the oracle hated to see the god starving. It was unfair. But the god was amazed, he said "You gave up your own food for me. If there's a way I can repay you, please, please tell it to me."

The oracle thought for a long time, before saying "Happiness for you and for all, that's all I could wish for." And he bade the god farewell, and the god continued on, thinking much about these humans he chose to live among.

Later, when the mob caught up with him, the other gods saw and were angry, and they demanded the right to destroy the humans. But the god begged them not to, he'd grown to love them so. He thought about the kindnesses shown to him by the four men he met while running, and for that reason, he believed all humans were worth protecting, and he was ever and always proud to be one.

[Zeno takes another bite of fruit, before finishing up.]

Anyway, it's Zeno's favorite god story, and it's more interesting than the ones about Zeno and the time Zeno couldn't make the object send the right message to someone. [He holds up his phone as an illustration of "object."] What's your favorite? Is it about a god you know here? Or a god you've only heard of? Or maybe you and another god did something really cool!

[Mostly, he's hoping someone will come up with a story about Amaterasu, sooner or later! But even if they don't, he's interested to listen to people talk about themselves, gods they knew, or gods they worshiped back home. There's no waste of time here.]

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[Schuldig is not among Zeno's listeners. He's around the corner, because he noticed just how long the story had been going on. Schuldig is glad to find that he's able to tap into the young man's mind - as he so often does - simply to satisfy his own curiosity. Which is always insatiable.

Schuldig is actually surprised to find how much of the story is not just an echo of truth in the man's memories, but also how deeply personal it is. He's also amazed to discover - with the barest of deeper glances - that the man is not actually so young. A very different type among the New Gods, similar only to Tsuzuki as far as he can tell.

So he waits until Zeno is parting from his current companion and decides to bump into him - gently, but literally.]

Hey~ I overheard some of that story and thought I'd offer to buy you a drink.

[Dio wasn't interested in the fruit given to him, but it had been some time since anyone had paid him much mind. This stranger had also been kind enough to offer him something for no discernible reason, and so he would not turn the hospitality down, deciding to simply take a seat and listen to this story. The idea of a god wanting to be human was preposterous to him, but he listened nonetheless.]

Mhh, I suppose that is likely more interesting than the ones where you couldn't work your phone.

I do have a story as well, I think, to compliment yours, but it might be a rather long one. I've never actually sat down and told it before.

[He wondered how much he should share, how much he could, but he only showed some mild hesitance.]

It is about a man who wanted to become a god. You interested?

[A little bump isn't so bad-- it upsets Zeno's fruit, an apple gets bruised but sometimes the bruise is the tastiest part. He picks it back up and polishes it with his coat.]

Just one~? Aah, Zeno couldn't impose! Maybe we can work out a barter!

[He offers an apple that isn't bruised.]

Brother, you're kind to offer.

[Zeno takes the invitation (it was an invitation, right) to seat himself across from this person.]

Zeno's of the opinion that there are lots of stories about those, but the nice thing about stories is that there's always a chance of things being that much more interesting than the last time you heard one.

[He peels back part of an orange section, and pops it into his mouth.]

Feel free to practice on Zeno. Zeno is definitely interested.

[Dio could see that, after all, what man would not want that kind of praise and reverence. The immortality was a perk as well, he supposed.]

It's not a happy story, mind you. [His gaze drifted to the fruit in his hands, turning it over as he thought about how to start.]

The man had been born and stewed in hatred for as long as he could live. He couldn't trust anyone and didn't try to. After losing his family, he even turned on those who had taken him in.

"The plans of humans all have their limits", he'd said, a knife in hand, "and so I reject my humanity!"

This family that had taken him in had done everything for him. Fed him, clothed him, and sent him to a good school, but somehow he could only see them as stepping stones, and they met their end at the tip of his blade.

He used the blood then in an unholy ritual, in order to become more than human, but he wasn't a god. He was a monster, who preyed upon humans to fuel his immortality, and before long he came to blows with a boy he'd grown up with, now a man as well.

He was formidable, destroying the monster's and leaving him as a disembodied head. The monster was not content, as he would be a god, and he ended up killing the man and stealing his body for his own, at the cost of spending a century at the bottom of the sea.

Eventually, he emerged, and the world ended around him. It wasn't until no one was left that he realized his mistakes, yearning for the ones he'd so easily torn asunder previously.

Hated, cursed, and alone, he finally had what he wanted. The whole world was his own, and in time he even gained his godhood, but by that time, he didn't want it anymore.

[He laughed a little then, somewhat bitter-sounding, perhaps.]

It's a work in progress. Maybe needs a few more details to really stand out, what do you think?

[ Just be glad she sat through the entire story. Though, it's mainly consisted of her sitting on bench, hands still holding the fruit as if it's just been given to her, and staring incredulously at you. ]

What???

[ Who walks up to random strangers and starts talking? She only got half of that story, by the way... ]

I don't think I really remember any stories about gods. I don't really remember stories about anything, but I never really thought about that, you know? I mean, I could tell you stories about Nagisa, but he hasn't really done anything amazing like that. He's only been a god for a few months, though, so I guess there's time for him to have some pretty awesome stories told about him, but...

[Sakon takes a bite out of the fruit Zeno gave him and chews on it while he thinks. Should they be doing awesome stuff like that? The sort of stuff people tell stories about? They should be able to, right?]

He does know how to use the phone! He can do that!

[That's not impressive, Sakon.]

[What's a perk now? Zeno sucks on another orange slice thoughtfully.]

The moral at the end sounds about right!! [Zeno laughs a little. It's not a happy story at all, but the details...]

Zeno is confused on one matter, though. Perhaps better attention should have been paid-- but the man [Zeno will not call him a god, just as he never called the star of his story a man] and the hatred he stewed in-- did it stem from losing his family, or was that just the way he always was? Since it was mentioned before that, Zeno isn't sure.

[He gulps down the orange slice, though, barely chewing it. Imagining the man facing the abyss of eternity all alone... the world having ended around him... he's had nightmares like that.]

[He bows contritely.]

Ah, should Zeno backup and start over...? From where...?

[He takes a bite of a pear, chews thoughtfully, and seats himself on a bench across from Ouka.]

Maybe Zeno got carried away. But there are so many gods around, gods Zeno has never heard of, and Zeno wants to ask about them all! But it seemed rude to ask for something without first offering something in return!

Mm, Zeno wouldn't expect everyone to have a story. Stories are things you collect as you go on. The further you go, the more you get!

[Still, he hadn't wanted to exclude anyone from consideration. Or tasty fruit.]

Anyway, how do you know it's not amazing? The wanderer, all he did was get off his horse. The lord just sat down all night!

Forgive Zeno, but perhaps the listener knows more about the story than the teller, sometimes. After all, it's the listener who decides if the story gets told in the first place!

[The logic is circular, but true.]

Zeno would probably tell all kinds of stories about being able to use the phone. If only because Zeno needs the reminder...

Edited 2016-11-09 11:15 (UTC)

[Dio paused at the question. What was the source of hate? Where did it come from? He'd thought for a small moment that perhaps there was a source, but was that even true?

Had he even been happy before?]

Just... born bad, I guess. [It was as much a lie as a truth, but maybe anything deeper would connect him too much to the story. Or make it too real. It was supposed to be a story, after all.]

At least, that's what I've been told.

[There's a common platitude that goes here... about people not being born bad. Zeno doesn't indulge in it just yet.]

Zeno wonders how other people have told it. [Breaking off another section of his orange and eating it.]

Anyone would weep at that final fate, Zeno thinks. Stories are funny, because you can tell someone about something they'll never experience, like the entire world ending around them, but you tell them and they can feel exactly what it'd be like.

Sometimes, the man is praised as a savior to others 'born bad' as he was, and other times he's a scourge on fate itself, a walking curse, but no one really touches the origin.

[Unless they had speculated among each other, but Dio never heard of that happening.]

I suppose stories are a way of sharing experiences, though in the end we can only imagine those feelings.

Some feelings... don't you think imagining them's enough? Enough for anyone.

[Was that the last of the orange? Yes.]

They must not have thought it was important. [And Zeno doesn't see it as such. If you take the story as a whole, the important part is the end, where what he wants isn't what he imagined and everyone else is gone.]

Or they forgot. That might even be more likely,

Edited 2016-11-09 12:28 (UTC)

Sometimes. [But then, sometimes it wasn't enough to simply imagine it. It was weird for Dio, to be here where no one knew what had transpired. Where no one seems to remember reality ending and what had happened, the struggle of living in a world that didn't want them.

It was weird, and isolating. He was trying not to think about it.

He still hasn't touched his fruit, simply turning it over in his hands and wondering if Masaki would like it.]

I suppose where hatred comes from isn't important. What is important is to know how it poisons you.

And perhaps they didn't forget, but it was simply never a story to tell. A shame, but that's how things go. The most interesting parts are handed down, and whatever isn't interesting is simply washed away by time.

[He sighed at that, shrugging his shoulders.]

Thank you for listening, in any case.

Edited 2016-11-09 12:41 (UTC)

((OOC: Would you be alright if this thread took place in town? That way, we could lead into them doing some modern-day shenanigans!))

[There's a lot on his mind lately, causing him to almost miss the cheery voice and the person trying to catch up with him. It's only when the fruit is thrust in his face that he realises that someone's been trying to catch his attention. A couple of blinks later and he takes the fruit, still bewildered but not wanting to be rude to this stranger, since he is, after all, giving him free fruit.

However, recent events ring uncomfortably close to the tale, souring the overall story. By the end of the tale, Lu Meng's sporting a faint frown, the fruit in his hand forgotten. But it would be rude of him to run down on the stranger's story so the frown disappears and he replies:]

An interesting tale. I certainly haven't heard that one before. I'm not sure I can match it, but recently I read a story about some of the natives gods that has given me some food for thought on the nature of the gods and their link with humans.

[ She's so unsure right now. He seems so nice and sweet.

And crazy. Soooo crazy. ]

Who just walks up to people and starts telling stories?!

Someone who doesn't want to go up to people and ask for stories to be told instead?

[This reaction strikes him as disproportionate, but... okay.]

[(ooc: Sounds wonderful!)

Native gods... that's the most Zeno's heard about his actual goal with this endeavor.]

Zeno would be obliged to you for anything you shared. [The frown, however transient, concerns him, though. He puts on his best smile, but manages to dial back the enthusiasm.

He points toward what looks like a busy clustering buildings, all tall as palaces to him. If nothing else, it'll afford a lot of distractions if the subject needs to be changed.]

Let's go this way, okay?

[ She's mostly just caught off guard. ]

Isn't it better to just introduce yourself first rather than just barging in on them?!

Zeno would be the biggest fool, to ask for a story and not listen to it.

[Hatred is such a weird concept to him now. It takes a lot of energy, and spread out over as much time as he has... well, it would be a waste of the said energy. It would be a good story, worth retelling, if only it conveyed that to the people who didn't live very long at all.]

Don't think of it as the most interesting parts. [Even as he remembers the parts of his story that didn't get passed down... not even by the three men's own tribes and villages. The story he told today certainly isn't the most popular version of the legend of King Hiryuu and the Four Dragon Warriors; Zeno hasn't heard it told this way in a very long time.] Usually, what comes down are the things the listeners need most.

This way seemed faster.

[Don't laugh, don't laugh...]

[ Huff puff ]

Seems kinda rude, actually.

[ Sorry if she's the rude one. ]

[ He's not sure why he stops, when this stranger pushes a fruit into his hand and just starts telling some sort of tale. It's not like Konzen is some child at storytime, in need of entertainment. And yet, it's a distraction ... and he's needed those of late. Mostly they've taken the form of working and prayer-answering. He's done more in the last few days than in the weeks he's been here combined.

And there's something else, too. This story (an allegory, maybe) has some familiar themes that resonate somehow. A god on the run from a mob. Encountering unexpected selflessness and sacrifice. Learning what is worth protecting. He might have only given him an annoyed frown at first, but by the end of the story, he finds himself listening with interest.

Then the story ends and the guy puts Konzen on the spot. ]

My favorite?

[ Konzen doesn't have a favorite story about a god. Though he does have the one, about his own life and that of his friends. They were gods once, after all. (Maybe he still is, even if he is just a stand-in). He hesitates. ]

I'm not sure ...

[ The fruit surprises her a little. The story, not so much. But Zeno happens to be a rather spirited storyteller so Bishamon finds herself listening rather intently. There's a small smile to her as he tells her the story, one that seems almost nostalgic. ]

We gods tend to forget what humanity's like. We've never been human but this is why have our exemplars. Thank you for your story.

[ She decides to lead him to a nearby bench. It's a long story after all and it seems to have winded him somewhat. ]

I suppose it's only right I tell you one in return... is there any god particular you want to hear about?

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