video.

[shigeharu]

[The feed cuts in on Hanbei, sitting in the library. There are a few books stacked on the table near him and one open in front of him - if you look closely, it's all along the lines of The Way Things Work. Just catching up on a few centuries' worth of scientific and technological development and all that.

But he's just had a thought that's a bit distracting, which clearly means it's time to bother everyone else about it. (That, and making an appearance is an easy way to try and feel out whether anyone else from home has wound up here along with him...)]

You know, I don't know if I'd even say the fact that we're all here in the first place is the most interesting part about all this. Or that people have apparently lost powers.

Have you been paying attention to the language we're using? Talking, writing with, even thinking in. It's a little eerie, isn't it? I shouldn't have to stop and consciously think about it - [he pauses for half a second and switches to Japanese to finish his sentence] - to do this.

[And he switches back to the common language, since he knows not everyone here will have understood the Japanese.]

It's convenient, I'll give them that, but...well.

Comments

[Voice]

[wingsandwill.livejournal.com]

Interesting.



The language we are speaking here is none of the languages spoken in my world.

[shigeharu]

I'm no expert on linguistics, so I couldn't say that much, but whatever it is...well, I'm only fluent in Japanese, so it's nothing I should know either way!

[wingsandwill.livejournal.com]

I speak every language ever created in my world, so I am certain in regards to my own. As this is not one of them, and you naturally speak none other than Japanese, the ability to use this language must have been granted upon arrival.

voice;

[manskirt.livejournal.com]

[ he's still being a bit...careful about his appearance, about showing his face on purpose. especially on this clever little face-stealer. whatever it is, he knows he can't trust it. especially because he doesn't understand it.

that doesn't negate the very human instinct to make some sort of spoken connection. ...especially when the topic at hand--or one of its related topics, anyway--is so...pertinent. ]

"Lost their powers?" Do you...happen to know any more about this?

[shigeharu]

Mm, not much, I'm afraid! But it's been mentioned by a couple others already - that some people have supernatural abilities, and that they don't seem to be able to use them since arriving here.

voice;

[manskirt.livejournal.com]

...Supernatural abilities. [ all right. that's one way of putting it. ] That wouldn't happen to be something you've experienced for yourself first-hand, would it?

video

[waypastcool.livejournal.com]

Huh, that is pretty weird. This whole time, I thought I was speakin' plain old English.

[He scratches his head and makes a soft 'hm' sound.]

[shigeharu]

It is a bit insidious, isn't it?

[waypastcool.livejournal.com]

Insidiwhat?

[Guh. Nevermind.]

Dunno what I think about it, but I guess it's better than havin' to hire a translator or somethin'.

video;

[satisfies]

Hyahaha, this blows all those cheap "learn a new language in a week" programs out of the water! Learned this one without having to do anything at all... man, it's so convenient it almost makes me want to cry a little.

video;

[shigeharu]

A little too convenient, I'd think.

video;

[satisfies]

Is there really such a thing as too much convenience?

voice.

[dreamhunts.livejournal.com]

"Well?" Convenience aside, it serves as a display of their power.

[shigeharu]

Exactly why it's so...mm, I'll leave it at "uncomfortable."

[dreamhunts.livejournal.com]

What's so uncomfortable about it? It sounds ideal, if you ask me. Would you turn down the chance to live forever?

video.

[jelliesprince.livejournal.com]

"Convenient" doesn't even cover it. This would be great to have at home!

[shigeharu]

The potential implications don't give you pause at all?

voice;

[rebreaks.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. Reading was not something I was able to do where I am from, but here it comes naturally.

[shigeharu]

Reading at all, not just this language...?

Interesting!

video.

[therangerking.livejournal.com]

[ Aragorn seems seated on a bed, and his sword is propped up on the nightstand beside him, barely visible in the video. There's a small frown of concentration between his brows. ]

I wonder how this enchantment has learned to differentiate when we wish to speak to communicate with all, and when we choose our language we are familiar with.

[ His words are entirely in Westron, which, as a language, bears very little resemblance to English, or any modern language. Then, he switches back to the common tongue of the land: ]

It is a necessity, for I doubt that frustration is the only emotion the gods wish from us.

[shigeharu]

[Well, he didn't catch a word of that first bit, but it's pleasant to listen to, whatever it is...!]

A necessity, more than likely, but I'm not going to write off any deeper motives this early in the game, either.

voice

[volcanoes]

What--

[There's a pause, and then he switches to Icelandic.]

You're right, I do have to think about--

[Back to default Asgardian language.]

That's creepy.

[shigeharu]

Isn't it? It feels so natural.

[action]

[greatest-robot.livejournal.com]

[hanbei's not the only person in the library today; Atom's here too, looking things up the old-fashioned way now after discovering his usual info feed wasn't working - he's not really interested in introducing himself immediately, he's got ... other things on his mind, with the way he keeps pausing and eyeing his hand like he's seeing it for the first time every few minutes.

still, he likes to keep up, so he has the feed from their comms running, letting his attention focus on other things while his secondary processes filter out keywords from the conversations passing across the network; it's a constant low murmur, just loud enough to be audible, but - he hopes - not enough to be disruptive. it's a matter of seconds to replay the footage back - faster in his head than trying to fiddle with the stream provided by the comm - and, noticing the location in the video, only a short step from there to deciding he'd rather talk face to face, when they're so close.

of course, that's where he fumbles a bit; he's not really sure what to say, to start with, and opening up with immediate business-talk strikes him as too potentially off-putting. he settles for a smile and a half-shrugged wave.]

Uh ... hi! You like libraries, too?

[shigeharu]

[As convenient as the network is, and as much as he's wanted to get a little use in just to be sure he knows what he's doing with it, Hanbei does like this a lot better. There's just something lacking about talking to someone across a distance - especially for someone who enjoys people-watching as much as he does; you just don't get everything from a picture that you can get from speaking to someone in person.

So he's all too happy to get bothered face to face, and the cheerfulness in his tone probably conveys that quite well.]

Mmhmm! This one's a lot more extensive than what I'm used to. I think I could get lost in here forever, if I let myself.