singlelogbridge | Inbox: Ximilia

[Well so much for the flush fading away. It returns in full force.

The edge of the mountain is getting more enticing by the second.]

We don't have to be talking about anything. We're going to run out of time if we linger, right?

Then climb.

（ if it were anyone else, he would have simply ended the simulation. as it stands, wei wuxian is lucky it's his only proclamation, and itachi continues onward without a word. ）

[He exhales quietly and climbs, trying to ignore the awkward tension that's settled on his shoulders. It's not like he's trying to be nosy, it's a normal reaction to have, he reasons to himself as they climb. At this point in the journey upwards they're half scaling the mountainside though it's not entirely vertical, and the work of it takes enough of his concentration for a while at least.

Eventually though the silence gets the best of him and he begins talking again about less fraught topics this time.]

Hey, I've been meaning to ask. There are so many people here who speak your language. Would you be willing to help me learn some of it?

（ annoyance sloughs off as he climbs, lost in the physicality of the act. his side burns where the wounds are healing, and the muscles along his side are producing a steady, low-level discomfort. not enough to make him cease, just... he is occupying an awareness of his own body in a way he has not needed to in some time.

the clone lurks beneath them. it cannot see or feel what he does, but he can sense the familiar thrum of its chakra. it's almost a comfort, given the months spent without it. ）

If you wish. I imagine you would pick it up quickly.

[Relieved that Itachi takes the change of subject with grace, he leans more fully into the topic having wanted to ask him for a while now.]

The written form has some shorthand for the characters, you've mentioned before. I tried to give my name to someone but he couldn't read most of it. Would the shorthand be able to account for that?

（ sounds like a personal problem for them. imagine not knowing something, ayy lmao???

he considers that a moment. then: ）

There is no direct transliteration of your family name in hiragana or katakana. The kanji is pronounced 'Gi' or 'Gwe' by itself and would not be helpful. The closest I can think of would be antiquated forms, but those are not perfect — and they may not be known by those that （ aren't fuckin' nerDS LIKE ME ） are themselves not familiar with older scripts. That being （ and he sends: 片仮名/かたかな: `ヱ` 平仮名/ひらがな: `ゑ` ）.

（ there is a considering pause, and a huff of breath as he hoists himself from one part of the path to the barely-traversable next. then: ）

A modern way might be （ヱー） with your courtesy name being written as （ウーシエン ū•shi•e•n. ）. You would not achieve perfect pronunciation with it, but it would be near enough any correction would not be arduous.

Edited 2023-02-20 05:37 (UTC)

[He's quiet as he listens to the explanation, concentrating on the climb with the rest of his focus, and frowning at the less than satisfactory sounds of his name. He'd have thought that a language so reminiscent of his own in so many ways would have the capacity to form his name, but he supposes it isn't that surprising with how languages evolved across time and distance.]

Hmm. Maybe I should just teach those who don't know the characters of my name how to say them instead. [He smirks over at Itachi, one eyebrow raised. It isn't his fault they didn't have as many characters as his language.]

Still, I'd like to learn yours. Maybe I should start with understanding these "kana."

If they were to attempt it based on the kanji you use, it would say 'Gi Musen'.

（ shared for #horrorterror reasons. hey, buddy, how's the kanji for 'weasel' pronounced? ）

I can teach you kana easily enough. How would you prefer to learn?

[He misses a handhold on the mountain and has to catch himself on a lower one, but he doesn't care, he's too busy staring at Itachi in horror.]

Gi Musen? [Sorry, did you say something else? He wrinkles his nose and repeats the horrible name under his breath before shaking his head and finally processing the rest.]

Ah, hmm. It'll be difficult with the translator. How many kana are there? Maybe I can study them and then you can test me? [He needs something to engage with even if it's written, otherwise he'll get too bored.]

（ that scandal is Noted, perhaps for later use. ）

Hiragana and katakana are the main ones you should concern yourself about initially. Hiragana is representative of all the sounds you might find in my language that are native to it — katakana is most often used for expressing words in other languages. It also conveys names, and is sometimes considered... （ his expression sours faintly. ） 'cuter'. Hiragana should be learned first. It has forty-six standard characters, and several that are non-standard or obsolete, as well as some variations that affect sound. If you include those variations, it becomes 71.

（ so, what does he do? just. sends him the fuckin' list. why is he the world's worst overachiever. ）

[But does it have the stroke order???]

Seventy one shouldn't take too long. [Especially given how simplified they appeared. It makes sense for something that represented a sound rather than a word though how effective that would be in a written language is still somewhat foreign to him. He's sure that must be where the combination of more complicated characters familiar to him came into play. But also]

You know, I can understand the beauty of a character especially when written by a skilled calligrapher, but I fail to see how...cuteness should influence a language.

（ do you think he wouldn't include that??? smh, what is wroNG with you. ）

It's the province of schoolgirls. I have no opinion on such things.

[He snickers and looks away, mindful of the more precarious climb.]

No, I didn't think you would. [It does give him pause though as his mind fixates on the concept of aesthetic writing and his own thoughts on it.]

I don't suppose you put much stock in calligraphy either. Do you? I've always been terrible at it but, I appreciate its beauty.

（ there's a bit of a barehanded climb ahead, and so itachi shifts his pack more cleanly over one shoulder, looping it crossbody — it would be cheating to use chakra, so he doesn't. simply chooses the handholds with care, making it evident which ones are safe to grab by the trajectory of his path. as he scales the cliff face: ）

I enjoy it, as art forms go. I find it meditative.

[He brightens at that though his eyes remain focused on the cliff face. He hadn't expected it, but it's fitting. It's too easy to picture Itachi with a calligraphy set before him working in solitude.]

Can I see some of your work sometime?

（ he crests the top, lays flat along the edge and then reaches down for wei wuxian's hand to pull him up alongside. ）

If you wish. It isn't private.

（ well, it isn't private to the extent he keeps it hidden away intentionally — more that he is simply private by nature, and the calligraphy he does is thus kept secret by a sort of default state of being. ）

[He takes the proffered hand with a smile, pulling himself up the rest of the way to the top and then exhaling with gusto as he turns to greet the view. It isn't real of course, but it feels real enough to be appreciated. Eventually he turns back to Itachi.]

Mmm, I'd like to. Of all four arts, it was the one I could never quite get down. Too impatient, probably. [He grins.] I took to painting more, and then of course to music. [A hand settles fondly over the flute ever present at his side.]

Music suits you more. Calligraphy is more — settled.

（ frenzied work on talismans aside, he cannot imagine wei wuxian sitting still long enough to refine his scripts. his perfectionism comes in other ways. but what is exciting about drawing the same lines over and over again, until one is indistinguishable from the next? no — he would find that to be a form of stagnancy, not faultlessness. perfect to him comes from making a friend smile, or getting a crying child to dry their eyes. it is the feeling of trying something new, and having it work impeccably at first blush.

itachi gives him a sidelong glance, and then lifts a hand to his neck, working his fingers against a knotted up muscle in his shoulder. ）

I never cared for music, in my world.

[He might have joked about that being the nicest way anyone ever called him hyperactive in his life, but Itachi's next admission sweeps the thought away.]

No music at all? There was nothing that caught your interest? [His face fills with surprise although Itachi has never shown any particular joy in any kind of music since he's known him. It's still a shock to think that there was no single song or instrument that spoke to his soul the way so many do for Wei Wuxian.]

I found the koto to be... inoffensive, but I cannot say that I prefer it to silence.

（ he shakes his head somewhat, lifting one leg up partly so he can drape his arm across it as they sit. ）

Music is often a weapon in my world. Used to create illusions. It was not a threat to me — but as a result, the shinobi world was strict about such performances.

The koto...that's similar to the guqin I believe. [He never had any training in it unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for Itachi since he would have immediately tried composing something for him.

His eyes fall to Baiyun again, this time with contemplation.]

Weaponizing music isn't as common in my world. The Lan clan was the only clan to have managed it and even then their musical based skills are used for interrogation of the dead more than actual attacks.

[He's quiet for a moment.] When I was alone in the Burial Mounds without a golden core or any means to protect myself from the resentful energy that meant to consume me, it was the Lan techniques I drew inspiration from in learning to control it.

But the music I play for that isn't beautiful. It's barely music. Still...[A faint smile touches his lips.] Music has always had way of taking hold of my heart.

Edited 2023-02-21 03:43 (UTC)

I think the dead trouble us less in my world than in yours.

（ a wry smile. ）

Perhaps that is a good thing. The resentful energy must be immense in most areas. （ almost a thousand years of war. small pockets of peace. the uchiha and the senju alone had wars that decimated entire swaths of land, left thousands dead before the village was born from the bones of both families. he thinks of izuna, sacrificed to madara's mad quest for power, and how perfectly he had pretended the same to sasuke.

he does not, generally, regard his actions with any amount of shame. they are done. but the way that fight filters back to him now has him curling his fingers in against his palm, jaw set. to distract himself — ）

Music is subjective. You do not have to consider it such. I would.

[He cringes and nods in agreement with Itachi's assessment. In a world like his, areas like the Burial Mounds would be everywhere. War torn lands always suffered the worst of demonic and spiritual attacks. There would be no keeping up with it, that's why the Burial Mounds was warded off and left to rot. The cultivation world decided the job was too big and left it to grow behind a wall instead.]

Would you really? [It's asked in earnest, curiosity obvious. Anyone else he would make fun of their taste. With Itachi, he counts it as a win.]

I play other music too. Lately, I've even been attempting to compose. I don't know yet if I have the talent for it.

Talent is irrelevant. Do it until you are satisfied with your progress.

（ what is talent, but hard work distilled into a metric by which others judge you? wei wuxian is not one afraid to do the work. ）

[He snorts and shakes his head, not in disagreement exactly.]

Alright, alright. Then if I can come up with something I'm satisfied with, you'll have to hear it. [He grins and stretches his arms above his head before moving back to the edge of the mountainside to look down.]

We should start back to finish on time. You might be able to get down there in a flash if needed, but I'm afraid I have to do it the old fashioned way.

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blackfire - 2023-02-21 05:26 (UTC) - Expand