The Japanese believe their spirit can draw good luck to you, but there's also myths about if a fish is lucky enough to swim completely up a waterfall, it can turn into a dragon.
[ .... I JUST REALIZED THIS IS WHY MAGIKARP EVOLVES INTO GYRADOS WTF
sorry that was a sudden epiphany ANYWAY!!! ]
I think there's something about feng shui, too, but I know nothing about that.
Let me see what I remember... It went something like this, I think: There was once a school of koi that tried to swim up a river against a current. They swam and swam until they reached the end, but oh no! There was a waterfall. Many of them decided to give up at that point and let the river carry them back with the current. But! [ Nonon's hands fly up, as if conducting a band to play louder. Crescendo. ] The few that were left were brave and resolute enough to go up the waterfall, and so they swam and jumped! And swam and jumped! And demons who noticed them mocked them. Some versions even say the demons magically made the waterfall taller. Still, the fish didn't give up.
And then, after years and years, one finally made it all the way to the top, and the gods recognized its perseverance and turned it into a dragon.
[Fortune listens with rapt attention (although the expression on the mask is kind of... blank...), leaning forward as if it will make it easier for her to hear the story. At the end, she giggles.]
A dragon... that's amazing. That just goes to show what you can accomplish as long as you don't give up, even when things are hard...
[She looks down at the little koi ornament.]
...thank you, Nonon. I think I needed to hear that.
I would use it to make a world that isn't just governed by the whims of the gods, or by how lucky or unlucky someone is.
[Which... uh. She realizes, for someone who's the Goddess of Fortune, that's probably an odd thing to be saying. Still, she's utterly serious as she answers - she's given it some thought.]
In my old life... I was lucky. Unnaturally lucky. There were so many times when I probably should have died, but I never did. But... there were also so many people in that world whose entire lives could be ruined by a string of bad luck. It never seemed fair.
...I want to give the people who live in my world the power to make their own luck.
[ jsyk i looked at this tag all trial and wanted to yell!!
Nonon is somber as she listens. She notes the contradiction, but sometimes, you need to be what you want to rebel against to get to a new order. ]
You're shaped by your experiences, and you don't want people to suffer like you did. That's not a bad way to go about things. I hope you can be just like the koi I gave you. I'll make a dragon if you come out of this week stronger than ever.
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[Huh. Fortune ... actually hasn't heard of lucky fish before, so:]
...what makes a fish lucky?
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[ .... I JUST REALIZED THIS IS WHY MAGIKARP EVOLVES INTO GYRADOS WTF
sorry that was a sudden epiphany ANYWAY!!! ]
I think there's something about feng shui, too, but I know nothing about that.
[ She shrugs. At least she's honest. ]
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Those myths sound interesting.
[hmmm]
Do you know any of the stories well?
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Let me see what I remember... It went something like this, I think: There was once a school of koi that tried to swim up a river against a current. They swam and swam until they reached the end, but oh no! There was a waterfall. Many of them decided to give up at that point and let the river carry them back with the current. But! [ Nonon's hands fly up, as if conducting a band to play louder. Crescendo. ] The few that were left were brave and resolute enough to go up the waterfall, and so they swam and jumped! And swam and jumped! And demons who noticed them mocked them. Some versions even say the demons magically made the waterfall taller. Still, the fish didn't give up.
And then, after years and years, one finally made it all the way to the top, and the gods recognized its perseverance and turned it into a dragon.
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A dragon... that's amazing. That just goes to show what you can accomplish as long as you don't give up, even when things are hard...
[She looks down at the little koi ornament.]
...thank you, Nonon. I think I needed to hear that.
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[ She clasps her hands behind her back and looks at Fortune curiously. ]
If you were to become that dragon, what would you do with that power?
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[Which... uh. She realizes, for someone who's the Goddess of Fortune, that's probably an odd thing to be saying. Still, she's utterly serious as she answers - she's given it some thought.]
In my old life... I was lucky. Unnaturally lucky. There were so many times when I probably should have died, but I never did. But... there were also so many people in that world whose entire lives could be ruined by a string of bad luck. It never seemed fair.
...I want to give the people who live in my world the power to make their own luck.
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Nonon is somber as she listens. She notes the contradiction, but sometimes, you need to be what you want to rebel against to get to a new order. ]
You're shaped by your experiences, and you don't want people to suffer like you did. That's not a bad way to go about things. I hope you can be just like the koi I gave you. I'll make a dragon if you come out of this week stronger than ever.
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I'm going to make it through this. [ha ha. no she's not.] So I'm looking forward to seeing the dragon already! I'm sure it will be beautiful.
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That's the kind of attitude I like to hear. I'll make you the most beautiful one I can.
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[ Nonon didn't even know if her offering would be answered, so. ]
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