the_true_historian

Personal Information
Name: Mags
Age: 30
Personal Journal: magharabi
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: magharabi(at)gmail(dot)com; AIM: OharasChild, magharabi; magharabi
Current Character(s): N/A

Character Information
Character Name: Nico Robin
Fandom: One Piece
Source: Wikipedia

Character History: (Note: I have only written her history up to the canon point I am pulling her from. There are a few more story arcs and a two year timeskip afterwards.)

The island of Ohara used to be known throughout the world as the hub of intellectual and academic activity. It hosted the world's greatest and oldest library, and produced the finest minds, known to be consistently at the forefront of science and history. Robin was born on this island, the child of archaeologists. Her father is only mentioned as having possibly died by the time she was two, when her mother, Olvia, left her in the care of her uncle in order to take to the sea and continue her father's studies. Like Cosette with the Thenardiers, Robin's presence in the household rankles with the rest of the family, who treat her like a slave and a burden. As Robin grows, she longs for her own family- specifically, her mother. She learns to read, and studies hard, passing her Doctoral exams at the age of eight. She hopes that, if she can prove useful when her mother returns from the sea, the woman will take her along on the next expedition. During the course of her studying, she finds out that the other scholars have been hiding and translating an ancient monolith, called a Poneglyph. The World Government has banned study of these particular artifacts, as well as any inquiry into what is now called the Void Century- a span of 100 years during which there are no known or openly acknowledged record. It is believed that the Poneglyphs hold the key to unlocking the Void Century, but also contain a dark secret, the locations of three ancient superweapons which have the ability to destroy the world. After Robin passes her exams, she admits to the other scholars that she knows about the Poneglyphs, and has taught herself to read the language found thereon. Professor Clover, the leader of the scholars, forbids her from further study of the Poneglyphs, and refuses to let her join them. Upset, Robin runs to a secluded area of the beach, where she meets a shipwrecked ex-Marine, Jaguar D. Saul. Over the next few days they become friends. Saul tells Robin about the world outside of Ohara, and talks to her about nakama, or the people with whom you share a bond similar to that of a family. A few days later, Olvia returns on a stolen Marine ship to warn the other scholars that the World Government is on its way to destroy them for their crimes. Not long afterwards, her warning comes to fruition. Robin finds a way to speak with her mother just once before the Marines open fire on the island, in a devastating maneuver called the Buster Call. The ancient library and all the knowledge it held goes up in flames, the ship designated for refugees, those who lived on the island but were innocent of the scholars' crimes is also destroyed, and there are no survivors but one. Saul pleads with one of the Marine officers, Kuzan, to let Robin escape, and Kuzan agrees because of the respect he has for Saul.

After Robin's escape, not much is known about her life. The World Government learns of her survival, and issues her a bounty high enough to tempt any citizens who might take her in. Eventually, Robin realizes she cannot trust civilians, and that she will never be able to lead a quiet life on some remote island. So she turns to pirates- people already living outside of the law, and oftentimes with bounties of their own, in order to survive. During the next twenty years, Robin joins and betrays an undefined number of pirate crews in order to stay one step ahead of the World Government.

Eventually, she is approached by Crocodile, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which is a group of pirates sanctioned by the government and tasked with keeping upstart pirates from getting too powerful. He promises to shield her from the World Government, in return for her leading him to one of the ancient weapons spoken of on the Poneglyphs. Robin agrees, and they travel together to an island nation called Arabasta. They set up an organization which fronts as a company of bounty hunters, Baroque Works, though its true purpose is to undermine the king's power so that Crocodile can take his place and gain access to information on where the Poneglyph is kept. Behind Crocodile's back, Robin allows Arabasta's princess, Vivi, to learn of their plans to topple the kingdom. When Vivi joins with the Strawhat Pirates, Robin offers them directions to an island near Arabasta which is unknown to the members of Baroque Works. Luffy, the captain of the Strawhats, refuses, and Robin returns to her duties as Vice President of the organization. Once the Strawhat Pirates arrive in Arabasta, Robin acts as their enemy, though from time to time she does still help them out when neither they nor Crocodile would know about it. In the end, Crocodile and Robin successfully start a civil war, kidnap the king, and force him to show them the tomb where the Poneglyph has been hidden. Robin lies about the contents of the Poneglyph, claiming that in the end, it says nothing about a weapon. Crocodile calls her bluff, and she tries to kill him but fails. Crocodile stabs her in return, and she falls unconscious. Soon after, Luffy arrives to fight Crocodile, who poisons him. By that time, Robin has regained consciousness, and she gives the antidote for the poison to the king to give to Luffy. Once recovered, Luffy carries both the king and Robin out of the tomb.

Robin has nowhere to go, having made herself an enemy of the kingdom, having no crew, and having no home, so she stows away on the Strawhats' ship until they are well away from the island. Once safely out at sea, she reveals herself to the crew, and demands that Luffy allow her to join them as penance for not allowing her to die in Arabasta. Luffy agrees, much to the chagrin of his crew. Over time, however, Robin earns their trust and their friendship. They travel together to an island in the sky called Skypiea, where she finds yet another Poneglyph, and realizes that her dream is not lost to her. During the course of their adventures on Skypeia, Robin comes to care for the other members of the Strawhat Pirates deeply, at last having found the nakama Saul had promised her existed. After leaving Skypeia, the crew returns to the Blue Sea, where they are challenged by a rival pirate crew to a Davy Back Fight, and she proves to be a valuable asset. Afterwards, they have a run-in with Kuzan, nicknamed Aokiji, who has risen to the rank of Vice-Admiral in the Marines. Kuzan tells the crew that Robin will be a liability to them, and that every pirate organization she has ever joined has been destroyed by her hand. He uses his Devil's Fruit Ability to freeze both Robin and Luffy, then leaves. The Strawhat Pirates thaw them out, then make their way to Water 7, a shipbuilding island modeled after Venice, Italy.

On Water 7, Robin is passed by a man in a mask, who whispers the word, "CP9". Robin disappears down an alleyway, and the Strawhats have no idea where she went. Early the next morning, the news is passed around that a member of the Strawhat Pirates attempted to assassinate the mayor of Water 7. Robin had betrayed them, and framed them for the murder while working with a secret government agency. However, the Strawhats can't accept it, and decide there must have been an ulterior motive. The mayor tells them what he knows, that the Marines had granted the leader of CP9 the ability to use a Buster Call against the Strawhat Pirates, and Robin had traded her life for theirs. CP9 used her to try and kill the mayor, who they suspected had the blueprints for one of the ancient weapons spoken of on the Poneglyphs, and they were taking Robin to Enies Lobby for judgment, and then execution. The crew follows her through a tsunami to Enies Lobby and beg her to return to them. At first, Robin refuses, telling them that they have no idea how heavy a burden she will become to them, and she could not stand to have them turn their backs on her. Luffy orders the World Government flag burned- a declaration of war- then tells Robin to say that she wants to live. With the whole world now recognized as the Strawhats' enemy, Robin does so, pleading with them to take her out to sea with them once again. The Strawhats storm the fortress at Enies Lobby, laying waste to the organization of CP9 and eventually freeing Robin. The Buster Call is initiated against them, and the Marines ultimately destroy their own island in an effort to finish the Strawhats off, but they are unsuccessful. The Strawhats return to Water 7 with the help of the shipbuilding crew Galley-La, as their own ship cannot make it, and they give it a funerary pyre rather than allowing it to sink in disrepair. Once returned, the Strawhat Pirates host a huge celebration while a new ship is being built for them. Kuzan arrives, and speaks with Robin quietly, telling her that he trusts her to not awaken any of the ancient weapons, and that he's glad she found her nakama.

Character Personality: Please be as detailed as possible. Minimum three paragraphs.

Nico Robin is a straightforward woman of mysteries. If that seems a contradiction, then good, because she's full of them. This is a woman who will fell entire armies with the simple crossing of her wrists- without changing expression or breaking a sweat- then go on to lecture some villain about how terrible the loss of a single life is. Her background as the sole survivor of the destruction of Ohara is widely known throughout the world, yet the events between then and her betrayal of the Shichibukai Crocodile are, for the most part, lost in shadows. We know she was driven to piracy by the relentless hunt of World Government officials, we know that ultimately, she wound up bringing utter destruction to those who offered her asylum during that period, but we do not know why or how- and truth be told, the why is possibly the most important thing to keep in mind with Robin. Very few people truly understand her. Even her own crew, the only family she's ever known, are often baffled by her movements. The key is, they trust her. They have learned that the reasons why she does things are more important than the things she does.

Robin has a strong desire to live her life to the fullest. She was not always physically strong enough to protect herself. Robin had to have learned that sometimes, saying the things people want to hear will allay their suspicion just long enough to make a move. By hiding in shadows, perpetually unnoticed, she found it was easier to move about freely. She rarely takes the spotlight. When she wormed her way into the Strawhat Pirates, their easy-going demeanor, lust for adventure, and genuine love of living every day to its fullest re-ignited a spark within her. She also wished to outwardly manifest those same feelings, which she had buried years before- and with the Strawhats, it was not only an option, but expected. Robin was finally free to do and act as she pleased. They have earned her trust, as well, and she has proven willing to betray herself and the memory of her people for their sakes- even if the world itself would be consumed by the ravages of an ancient super weapon that only she can bring to life as a result.

Robin's fighting style is focused more on creativity and using her intellect rather than brute strength. Many of her attacks involve knowing just where to twist a human body to produce a desired effect, and she isn't above playing mind games, either. In Arabasta, for instance, after she and Crocodile had taken the king hostage in his castle, she sprouted a bunch of hands from the castle doors, which she waved around ominously. The image of disembodied hands coming out of the door creeped out the castle guard and made them hesitate long enough for Crocodile and Robin to move to the next phase of their plan. She could have taken a more brutal approach, but chose psychology over strength in order to get the job done.

Habitually, Robin reads. All. The. Time. She serves as a storyteller and guide for the crew, often having some bit of information about the island or the people they come in contact with. She's generally succinct in speech, though this tends to fade as she becomes more comfortable with those she's conversing with, or if she has relevant information that requires a bit of explanation. She's a curious person by nature, often asking more questions than giving answers. Most of the time she comes off as being a distant person, and this is true to some extent. It takes Robin awhile to truly warm up to others, partially due to having been called a monster since her childhood, partially in order to keep herself from getting hurt. However, she is a warm and fun-loving person once her trust is earned. During the Davy Back fight, for example, she is shown getting cotton candy with Chopper, then holding his hand as they walk to the stand to watch the rest of their crew fight. Later, after her talk with Kuzan on Water 7, she rejoins the party by offering to join Luffy in sticking chopsticks up her nose.

She's lead a hard life, marked by death, abuse, and deception. It is not odd, therefore, that she would develop a sarcastic, morbid sense of humor. After all, if one cannot learn to laugh at the tragedy around them, one will ultimately never cease crying. Concepts or even physical things that will generally give others the creeps, Robin takes in stride. But she does have her limits. Apparently the slimy, soapy substance excreted by the mangrove trees in the Sabaody Archipelago has a texture she does not appreciate, though later in the series she's shown purposefully and without issue exploring the same substance after it has been coated over the entirety of the Strawhats' ship.

Robin shows very little concern for the personal space of others, possibly due to the nature of her Devil's Fruit ability. She herself has physical limits that others may not breach, but they are determined by circumstance and propriety, rather than proximity. While she is capable of grabbing a self-proclaimed pervert by the balls without even the barest hint of a blush, she will not allow herself to be cajoled into overly sexual positions.

Robin's likes can be described as adverse. She is often shown seeking solitude and quiet, but also fully enjoying the noise associated with living among the Strawhats. She likes big parties, but participates from the sidelines- content to observe the goings on rather than create them for herself, though she can and sometimes does join in the festivities when the mood takes her. She likes coffee, and things that go with it. She likes "cute" things- which can mean anything ranging from genuinely and understandably cute to disturbingly alarming things such as zombie dogs. She likes books and history, obviously, and has an extensive background in the varied languages of the One Piece world, as evidenced by her ability to translate just about anything to some degree of accuracy, even if the characters shown are vastly different from anything previously seen in the series. Robin does, actually, like people in general as well. It's part of her curious nature. It isn't uncommon to find her intrigued by those who not only agree with her and her way of thinking, but also those who differ from her. She's also a self proclaimed thrill seeker, which can have both good and bad consequences.

Powers and Abilities:

Most notable of Robin's powers would be those granted to her by a Devil's Fruit, the Hana Hana no Mi, or Flower Fruit, which she ate at an indeterminate time between her birth and the age of eight. It is the mun's headcanon that she partook of the fruit prior to her mother leaving her at the age of two, since some members of the village imply that her mother abandoned her because she was a "Devil's Child". How she came to eat such a rare and powerful fruit at such a young age is not explained. The Flower Fruit allows Robin to "sprout" various parts of her body from any surface that will support the weight, and within a certain (also unspecified) distance. She also must be able to see where she's sprouting from, or be familiar with the area. She primarily sprouts hands and arms, but often uses eyes, legs, and ears. The mun has a general permissions post which will be advertised in the ooc comm if the app is approved, wherein other players can learn more about Robin's ability and the ways she is likely to use them, as well as give certain, specified permissions if they so choose. At the canon point Robin is being taken from, she has a limit of cien fleur, though in some instances that seems to be more of a designation of difficulty rather than an actual count.

In addition to her supernatural Devil's Fruit Ability, Robin is a skilled linguist, archaeologist, spy, and assassin. She has a love of learning and can find a way to make almost any bit of knowledge useful.

Samples
Network:

Waking can be a disconcerting experience. It takes quite a bit to fully process and understand the all the information given at that time. And to believe it...

It all seems a bit far-fetched, no?

Though I suppose it takes time to get accustomed to any new phase of life. It's important to not allow yourself to be carried away by emotion in those first few days after Waking, as you can never take them back, and you will never have the chance to establish so clearly who you are to others. As the ancient wordsmith Don Juan Manuel once wrote, "If at first you do not demonstrate who you are, you won't be able to when you want."

....

The saying loses a bit of its punch in translation, it seems.

Still, there's an interesting story behind the phrase. A poor young man marries a nobleman's shrew of a daughter and, knowing her reputation as having a strong and fierce character, immediately sets out to establish which of them is boss. Their first night together in their home, he sits at the table and, before she can say a word, demands that the dog bring him water to wash his hands. When the dog does not comply, he chases it around the room with his sword, and finally decapitates the creature, swearing that he'll do the same to all who anger him. He then makes the same request of the cat and his only horse, which inevitably meet a gruesome end.

The nobleman's daughter, having watched all of this in silence, comes to the determination that her new husband is insane, and not to be crossed. From that moment onward, she gives up her contrary ways and becomes an obedient, demure wife- which at the time was considered the ideal- and they live a happy life together ever after.

After a time, the nobleman asks his son-in-law what was done to change his daughter, and in a similar manner kills a rooster in front of his wife. The nobleman's wife calls him a fool. She tells him he can't intimidate her even if he kills a hundred horses, as she already knows his character.

[Robin giggles.]

So. Short of massacring animals, how do you establish who you are with others? Consider me curious.

Third Person:

A hot wind blows, and Robin scrunches her hat down more firmly over her ears, grateful she'd brought the white one rather than the deep purple. White reflects light, and therefore heat, away from the body, dark colors absorb it, keep it close. Her face is sweating enough as it is, without her hat trying to hoard heat. She hasn't been in streets this dusty since Arabasta. It seems a world removed from the bustling, springy metropolis where Sanji's Dream of the All Blue is located. Robin finds it odd to think that weather from a Summer Island could exist in the same city as weather from a Spring and Winter Island. Yet it seems all four seasons are represented in each of the different quadrants of the city- she's been checking, not because she disbelieves what others have said, but because she's curious to experience it for herself.

There's the key to it all, she thinks. Robin smiles, keeping her head down so the hat will block some of the sand from flying into her nose and eyes. She's experienced so much of this city before, this so-called truth, that she can't dismiss off-hand the reality of the dream. Each quadrant reminds her of some aspect of the dream-world. Each person familiar in their own way. Though she's never met them, the personality types were consistent. People she passes on the street still make way or sidle past or bump, just as they did in the Grand Line. She'd bled, in her dreams. She'd bled here, when she cut her finger with a knife. Were they really any different, in the end? Whether on Nautilus or Vearth (as the Skypeians called it), daily experiences seemed the same. Sometimes life threw challenges, sometimes people went a little crazy. In the end you live or you die by the choices you make.

Player Name: Mags
Player DW: magharabi
Contact: AIM- OharasChild; Plurk- magharabi; email- magharabi (at) gmail (dot) com
Character Number: 1

Character: Nico Robin
Fandom: One Piece

Personality: Robin's personality has actually evolved quite a bit over the course of the series. When we first meet her, she's sinister and sneaky, cocky, and simply aggravating. This can be credited to the double life she was leading at the time, her outward actions and motivations being seen through the lens of her title as Vice-President of Baroque Works; the villain's head henchwoman. But, even while she's still a part of that organization, we begin to learn that "Miss All-Sunday" is not who she appears to be. Her first interaction with the Strawhat crew occurs just after they leave Whiskey Peak with Princess Vivi in tow. Robin suddenly appears aboard the Going Merry, and proceeds to both offer assistance and gloat about the Strawhats' impending defeat, much to the crew's confusion. When Luffy tells her that he hates her for having hurt a friend of theirs, Robin recoils as if hurt, but laughs, telling him she likes his energy and that she hopes they'll meet again. Over the course of her adventure with the Strawhat Pirates, we learn that Robin, while often standoffish or severe, is actually an involved, deeply caring individual. Her methods of expressing fondness can easily be classified as strange, but the crew has come to accept and appreciate her quirks, and now will actually call her out on them from time to time. For instance, in the anime during the descent to Fishman Island, the crew comes across the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship. The crew has just convinced themselves that it can't possibly be a ghost ship, and there's probably a logical explanation, when Robin reminds them that the Kraken is supposedly a mythological creature, and they met one. Franky tells her: "Now is not the time to scare the crew for your own amusement!" Robin simply giggles in response.

Robin is, at present, a much softer woman than she once was. She is more openly opinionated, sharing more of her thoughts and feelings with the world than before. While still comparatively quiet, she no longer simply stares blank faced at what happens around her, opting instead to briefly comment on circumstances. An example of this is when Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Franky get their bodies switched around by Trafalgar Law. Instead of keeping quiet, she says, "This is so surreal." The comment is unprovoked, her opinion was not asked for, yet she gave it. Her facial expressions have become more lively since being reunited with her crew as well. She is more relaxed and enthusiastic than she used to be, exuding an unspoken confidence in herself, her abilities, and those of her nakama. I believe a key turning point for Robin was the moment she realized that her desire to become stronger for Luffy was the first time she'd ever wanted to change herself for someone else's benefit, and it affected her whole character. Still, there is much about Robin that remains unchanged. She still won't hesitate to point out morbid possibilities, though now she often does so with a playful smile. She is still grim and succinct in battle, still passionate about pursuing the things she feels are important.

Robin has a strong sense of "nakama"- the family you choose rather than the family that's given to you by birth. The Strawhat Pirates are the only family she's known, the Thousand Sunny (their ship) the only home she needs. She will stop at nothing to keep them safe. She also feels a strong responsibility to humanity- particularly those who have passed on, and can no longer tell their story to the world. Everyone has something to offer, some lesson they learned or that can be learned from studying their life, and Robin knows that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. The loss of her people under the relentless barrage of a Buster Call drove this concept home to her, and it is a lesson she has not forgotten. She keeps in constant remembrance that points on a map represent more than just the curve of an island's shore or the names of city streets.

History: One Piece Wiki

Timeline: Chapter 671

Abilities: Robin is, in her mind, an archaeologist and historian first and foremost. As such, she's also a skilled linguist. She's a prodigy in these areas, actually, having received her world's equivalent of a Doctorate in the field by the age of eight. She's constantly reading, and when not stated otherwise, is generally assumed to have her nose stuck in a book. That isn't to say that she's distracted or spacey. In fact, because of her Devil's Fruit Ability, she tends to be on top of things going on around her as well as being able to almost consume written information. She is the only known person in her canon who can read the language written on stone monoliths called Poneglyphs, as all others who possessed this knowledge have been eliminated by the World Government.

Her Devil's Fruit Ability is called the Hana Hana no Mi, or the Flower Flower Fruit. It allows her to "sprout" different parts of her body from whatever surface is stable enough to hold them. For instance, she can summon arms from branches of a tree trunk, but not from a pinecone on the same tree. But, if the pinecone is big enough, she could sprout an eye from it, allowing her to see from a different vantage point. Often times, she will sprout multiples of a single appendage, and weave them together into something else. In this way, she creates wings for herself- allowing for temporary flight, giant sized hands or feet, nets, and living ropes or vines. Recently, she's been shown making a clone of herself that can walk and talk if needed.

The ability does come with some of its own limitations. She cannot sprout any part of herself from water, as water is the weakness of all Devil's Fruit users. It saps their power, and their strength. In recent chapters, she's been shown with the constitution to sprout arms from the side of her ship that dip into the water for a few seconds at a time, but this takes its toll on her and wears her out. Also, if any of her sprouted parts are injured, a portion of that is transferred to the original. For instance, at one point she has a bunch of arms sprouted from a door to discourage an army from breaking through. Eventually, one of the soldiers stops freaking out and attacks the arms with an axe. She is then shown elsewhere, letting out a small yelp of pain and holding a bleeding hand, though no one in the room has attacked her. So, the limits of this ability are largely based on her own fortitude, the confines of her imagination, and how much standing water is around.

As a result of her studious ways and the amount of concentration necessary to employ her Devil's Fruit Ability the way she does, Robin also possesses a lot of will power. She recovers quickly, often allowing her to remove other fallen comrades from harm's way until they can be seen by their doctor. A life on the run has taught her to be resilient and intuitive, to keep her ear to the ground and her eyes open.

The One Piece Wiki has a great write-up of her abilities here and more information on the Hana Hana no Mi here, though I can certainly continue in my own words if you'd prefer.

Inventory: She'll be wearing the coat and gloves shown here, as well as the clothes she has on underneath (A cami, pullover dress, and underwear), and her shoes. She's been shown to wear a concealed hunting knife, and at least one notebook with a pen, though at times it is unclear where she's managed to spirit these things away. I'd like to have her come with the knife and two notebooks, a larger one where she keeps drawings and notes on the adventures she's currently having, and a smaller one, little more than a hand-written syllabary with notes on grammar, dedicated to the language found on the Poneglyphs.

Link to an image of the character: This is a link to the image

Prose Sample: Warning! Here there be spoilers for chapter 671.

"Is that Haki?" Franky exclaimed from just behind Robin. "Luffy's amazing! He grabbed hold of a Logia user!"

"The Color of Armament Haki is the ability to seize a substance," Robin replied, the memory of Silvers Rayleigh blocking an attack made of pure light flashing briefly in her mind's eye. "It's like the energy inside the sea or a seastone. However, it doesn't steal your enemy's powers. We still don't know the true ability of the Gas Gas Fruit." To say Robin felt uneasy would be an understatement. She did not possess haki of any Color, and as far as she knew, neither did Franky. If Luffy couldn't overcome Caesar's ability, there wouldn't be much either of them could do to help him.

Except for be there, this time, as he fell.

Robin promised herself, again, that Luffy would never lose alone; just as she had countless other times over the course of two years, just as she had at Fishman Island. If nothing else, they would fall together, pick themselves up together, find a way to move forward together. It was a promise between them, Robin and the rest of the crew, that didn't need speaking. They all saw it in each others' eyes. Whatever hopes and dreams they had of the the future, they would happen through Luffy; and so, his dream became theirs. As much as Robin wanted to run, to get inside and away from the explosive slime, she couldn't leave.

The fight on the ruined warship's prow intensified, and it seemed Luffy was reaching his limit, slowing down in spite of his resistance to poison. He asked for something to contain Caesar, then a moment later, he choked.

"Luffy!" Robin cried. She darted out, toward the warship, through the drizzling balls of slime, hoping to reach him somehow. Luffy's body shook, his hand to his throat. In what seemed like slow motion, Robin watched him fall on his face. She reached out her hand, as if somehow she could catch him from so far away, even though he was out of her ability's range.

"LUFFY!!!" She screamed, and then the world went white.

When she could see again, Robin found herself in the middle of a ring of rowan trees, their pale bark glistening in the damp fog of twilight. She stopped running just short of the edge of the ring, her body taking longer to react to the change than her mind. Leaves rustled in the forest beyond, though she felt no wind. Robin shivered a little, then turned to take in her new surroundings.

"No," she whispered, and in spite of herself, she felt the first vestiges of warm tears prick at the corners of her eyes. Not this again, not when Luffy needed her. She'd promised, and for once, it was a promise she intended to keep.

A faint laughter surrounded her, mixed in with the rustling of the trees, unreal but piercing. Robin leaned back against one of the rowans, and buried her face in her hands.

Journal Sample:

[The video opens on a long hallway, adorned on both sides by portraits and statues. Robin zooms in on a nearby statue, circling around it as she speaks.]

It's quite remarkable, this hall. I can't find one overarching culture to attribute to its construction, so I can only assume it is a work of the fae.

[The camera turns, focusing on a portrait, then yet another statue.]

The artistry of these works is astounding. Almost as if they were real people, just barely turned to stone, or captured in canvas. There don't seem to be any names written. If anyone recognizes these figures, please speak up. I'll keep a list of those memorialized here, as well as their location- provided they don't move on us.

[As she moves to the next plinth, the camera stops suddenly. There's an eternal pose sitting there, its needle spinning wildly.]

For those of you who do not recognize the technology, this is an Eternal Pose. In my world, it will always point to the same island, no matter where you go. They are rare, and valuable, as travel in the Grand Line is often a gamble, at best. This one is broken, or cannot find its intended destination.

[She sounds a little sad and, after a long silence, the feed abruptly cuts off.]