journal, 2/6

[zephyrean]

Sender: Law
To: Everyone
Subject: help

It's been a couple months now, so i've gotta ask...

Does anybody here actually understand how this dreamotion stuff works?! I tried watching people, I tried asking the locals about it, I tried doing it myself, and it's not making any frickin sense! it's like magic right? so maybe i'm just no good for it, my people aren't exactly known for their skill with astral artes.

[unless you're Rinwell. But she's special.]

Unless somebody can actually teach me maybe I should just give up. It's not like I actually need this stuff, right?

Comments

[angelbirth]

[ Yep! Really angry. Advice from the Avatar of Wrath himself. ]

I think one of the core mechanics of how dreamotion energy works is that you have to let yourself feel the emotion. If being angry puts you at risk of being in too dark of a place, you won't want to feel it. So, you should probably try another emotion. Obviously, the safest emotion would be happiness, but I imagine it's hard to be happy after weeks of not getting anywhere.

Either way, I imagine not everyone is cut out for utilizing dreamotion energy. I'm not saying to give up, far from that, but it's okay if you end up not being very good at it. I'm sure you have other good qualities or skills you have that would make up for not being able to use dreamotion energy.

I think you should keep trying. Once you build up a foundation, it gets easier to learn. That's true of anything, though.

[zephyrean]

A foundation, huh. Just like strength training. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Everything is built off of the basics, after all. Have your fundamentals and build off from there.]

I just... gotta figure what that foundation actually should be, I guess.

[angelbirth]

Exactly, and that's something you won't find out if you give up on it.

Maybe you can think of something you're passionate about? Do you have hobbies or people you care about? Transforming thoughts or feelings into energy is one of the pillars of most magics in general.

[zephyrean]

What I'm passionate about is making myself as strong as I can possibly get!

[Satan's words are getting him thinking here. He wants to get stronger, but why does he wants to get strong? If what Satan says is true, maybe he should focus on those feelings... Thanks Satan.]

Because... I want to be strong enough to protect the people I care about, instead of losing anybody else because I was too weak.

[angelbirth]

[ His curiosity burns at the "anybody else," but he has enough manners not to ask who it was that Law lost. ]

That's an excellent start. So, when you practice utilizing dreamotion energy, just imagine you're using that energy to protect your loved ones. I'd also recommend trying to use your dreamotion energy for something reflective of your thoughts like forming shields, barriers, things like that.

What have you tried to use dreamotion for so far?

[zephyrean]

shields, huh... I dunno, that's not really my style. The best defense is a good offense, you know?

so i tried to use it to augment my fists, to make them hit even harder! but i didn't notice any difference.

[angelbirth]

[ Law can't see it, but Satan is definitely pinching the bridge of his nose after he reads the first line. ONE OF THOSE.... ]

If you're not very good at using dreamotion energy, wouldn't that make sense? Think of it this way. Let's say you always punch at 100% strength. If you augment your fists, it might bring it up to 101%. Are you really going to notice the change with such a small increase?

Even if it's not your style, at least you'll have a better indicator if your dreamotion energy is working. I'm sure you'd find it boring to create shields and barriers, but if you can get good at that, then maybe you can augment your fists to reach 200% someday.

[zephyrean]

What if I could punch 'em with shields? Like, put a shield on my fists and then BAM hit 'em with that? That'd be a good way to get closer to 200% right?

[...Yeah sorry Satan he is indeed ONE OF THOSE.]

[angelbirth]

Okay. I don't want to agree with you, but I do concede that if you did that then you'd have a better visualization of how your dreamotion energy is progressing.

Seriously, though? It's doubtful that FIST IS FOR FITE is going to get you very far with magic. I implore you to explore other options.

[zephyrean]

What about my legs, then? I could put magic shields on my legs to make FRICKIN' AWESOME greaves to elevate my leg strength even higher than it is!

[Do you regret suggesting shields now, Satan?]

[angelbirth]

[ He's regretting a lot of things right now!! ]

I think you're jumping the gun here. It's probably going to take you a long time to get noticeable results.

But sure, give yourself magic greaves. Just hope they're solid enough so that when you swing your leg into something your bones don't shatter on impact.

[zephyrean]

You're giving me mixed signals here. Giving me all this encouragement and knowledge and then telling me it'll still take a long time to get anywhere, seems kinda at odds at one another don't you think?

[angelbirth]

I don't think they're at odds. I'm setting up realistic expectations for you. If you were to prove me wrong and excel quickly, wouldn't that be for the best?

Take it as a challenge and prove me wrong.

[zephyrean]

[Satan is playing mind games with Law here, and unfortunately he's completely winning at it.]

Fine, you can take your expectations and shove it, because I'm gonna smash right through them!