text; @The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King;

[unrequite]

[ Four lines of text. ]

This is written in Victorian.
Kore wa Laterano-ji Higashi-go de kakareteimasu.
This is written in Higashinese.
This written by in Yanese. (Might be bad. Sorry.)

Please do let me know how many of these sentences you understand.

[ The first is in what would be considered Earth English, the second is what would be known as Japanese written in Romaji, but he's called it "Laterano-ji Higashinese". The third was written in Japanese, the fourth was written in some rather poor Chinese. He's called the languages themselves clearly incorrect names. What's more important, though, is that only the second one should parse as phonetic, and should only be understandable to fellow Japanese speakers. The rest are in whatever language is most understandable to whoever reads it. Funny, huh? This city sure is strange! ]

Comments

[justscribing]

The grammar also looks off to me, though it still translates into Sumeran.

So is this only for our benefit, or someone else listening in as well?

[fussiest]

Clearly not, if I've the blood-pressure for it. I'm just getting started, Midnight. By the time I've finished, I intend on you not even being able to look at a bottle of water without it jumping out and trying to drown you.
To respond to your earlier allegations: actually, I may have just met you a paltry few times, but in those times, I've seen more than I really ought to have.
What are you doing right now? What brought about this topic, and is it linked to language crimes?

[fussiest]

[ there it is, a cool scowl shot right back like a returning arrow. ]

Excuse you, I am being helpful. And if that means applying you to the problem, then that needs be what happens even if you're terribly rude about it.
You wouldn't know what proper courtesy is if someone wrapped it in a bow and threw it in your face.

[justscribing]

You also didn't need to do that because I would have found this posting eventually.

Do you ever get tired of acting responsible for things that have nothing to do with you?

[fussiest]

No, I don't, actually.
And I will do it again. Sorry to be you.

[justscribing]

[This is normally where he would be petty and refuse to pay for Kaveh's drinks but... this is a moraless land and he is no longer paying for Kaveh's drinks.

He can glare from across the room though.]

There's no point arguing this with you. Instead of acting like you need to mind me, mind yourself.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh, at the pinnacle of maturity, flings back a terribly rude gesture. ]

Rich! Coming from the individual who stuck his nose into a conversation that wasn't for him! Who's going around reading my apologies to other people entirely unprompted? Was I speaking to you??
Pot, kettle, Alhaitham. Who is minding whom? Telling you to mind yourself more ought to be my line.

[unrequite]

Girls, please, you're both pretty. Or, more to point, this is an intervention.

[ If a boatload of strangers are willing to rescue Midnight from his own inebriated ass on the network, the very least he can do is at least point out that this conversation is in a public venue. ]

[unrequite]

[ Midnight gives Junpei another one of his long looks, then continues easily on his way to their destination, which really is less than a block off. One of those smaller bars with set of narrow stairs leading down to it, revealing a place that sort of feels like a generic pub. (Some of the signs just say "Sign". That's fine, probably.) ]

Quite a few things have happened to me — I think many would argue that I happen quite frequently to other people — but I don't believe I've ever been taken against my will before.

[ He walks over to the bar and hops onto it easily, clearly intending to get at the vodka behind it in the most direct way possible. ]

Any tips?

[unrequite]

I can't say that I understand how that feels. Lived a rather normal existence until about a year ago. Work, home, taxes, all that nonsense. Welcome to the other side to life, I suppose. Besides the occasional murder, but I rather think that was always a bit a punctuation marker to life.

[unrequite]

That is a thought, isn't it? All of this as closed-captioning for someone who needs our conversations in their language. Perhaps our ability to communicate is just an afterthought, at best. Or a necessary evil.

If it was deliberate, then one could see this tool as a means to create unity between ourselves. If the goal was to leave us fragmented and isolated, there would really be no need to lift the language barrier at all. Which I suppose would explain what we found in the bank, and what we were meant to do.

[justscribing]

"Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it."

Though it seems more people got mementos than tools to use. And a city with limitless and free resources removes a lot of sources of conflict between people. Still it's possible it could be both for our own unity and so a third party is capable of following our conversations with ease.

[justscribing]

[If only the problem was that Alhaitham didn't think about this being public, rather than that he just didn't care that it was public.]

Our conversation is already done. I have nothing more to say to him.

[On the network, anyway.]

[fussiest]

[ from the other end of the room, equally shameless: ]

Midnight!
Do you see what I have to put up with?
In what way ought I have conducted myself that wouldn't have elicited such a reaction from him! And this is when the topic at hand is something of interest to him! Can you imagine when the topic isn't really, but he's still the best person to speak of it? He's impossible!

[unrequite]

Well, a memento is a tool in its own way... But I understand your point.

I do wish our admirers would come out and ask for what they wanted. They've made so many inroads to communication without demanding anything specific or overarching that it's tempting to imagine them as a bit awkward or shy.

[unrequite]

He seems to disagree, but more power to you, love.

[ Honestly, this is Midnight's work done. He's actually having a great time snooping. ]

[xiaoxiuya]

[So much lore! It takes Shen Yuan a moment to process it all, before he can write back]

My friend, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were teasing me, by throwing so many cultural names at me without any additional context! I don't recognize any of those peoples at all -- and besides, I thought you were Higashese? Or is that only the word for the country, and Sarkaz is the name of the people? Or have I misunderstood completely?

You're right about society, however. Our cities consisted of buildings like the way ones here, with permanent foundations and accomodations for many families to share the same plot of land. This is the norm for most human cultures in my world; although a few maintain a nomadic lifestyle out of tradition and cultural identity, they are a very small minority and, I'm sad to say, discriminated against by some governments.

We didn't have magic in my native world, although just for the record I am normally capable of doing magic, as I had the mixed fortune of living in a different world for a number of years before landing in this one, and learned a few tricks while I was there. I just mention this to save confusion later, if Liu Feiyu and I ever figure out how to undo the seal our captors put on my cultivation.

Now, this Originium. What is it? What connection does it have to the Cataclysms? And what are their origin, anyway? The more you speak, the more curious I am!

[unrequite]

There, there. I'm sure he understands that you have only the purest of intentions, extended bouts of slander aside.

[ As usual, he finds Kaveh so funny. So up in arms about someone he clearly cares about, even if it's out of some sort of obligation. It's heartwarming, honestly. ]

[kampfgeist]

taxes, wow
is being the seventh crown of the seventh demon king a lucrative gig?

[ a whole ass adult,,, heine doesn't pay taxes because he has no legitimate and/or legal streams of income :) ]

one thing i've learned since being here:
most people don't have a little murder as a punctuation marker in their lives

[justscribing]

Perhaps they don't want to interfere with what they've set up here, or they don't trust us not to harm them after revealing themselves.

[justscribing]

That's nothing new. He never stops talking but I don't have to hear it.

[fussiest]

[ yes, because the dumpster fire here certain can warm hearts- ]

Oh, don't you there-there me, I have other words for you.
But here's the core of the matter: it's hardly the definition of slander when everything I say is true. If it's damaging to his reputation, then perhaps he ought to be the one rethinking his behaviour.
If he can hardly babysit his own rudeness, then what am I doing babysitting his reputation!
Hang on, you're laughing at all this.

[unrequite]

You're on the right track, love. I'm Higashinese, but my parents are from Kazdel... Well, the last iteration of Kazdel, anyhow. First generation immigrant. Humanity is separated into several species in Terra, and "Sarkaz" is the name of mine. There are some finer distinctions to make here, but to sum it up, I'm a Sarkaz, born to Sarkaz parents, who immigrated to Higashi from the Kazdelian diaspora a couple of centuries ago. I do hope that's clear.

[ He's aware that he might be making more questions, but that's about as clear as he can make it. (Yes, he did just casually mention that his parents are at least a century old.)

Midnight's going to keep that mention of "cultivation" in mind later, along with the absolutely puzzling idea of trying to discriminate against a people just for being on the move. (Now, discrimination for being nation-less... That's another issue entirely.) For now, there are direct questions to answer! ]

Originium is the source of the "magic" of Terra: the Originium Arts, or Arts for short. It's a black mineral, very unstable and prone to reactive behavior when exposed to oxygen, but once it's processed, the stable form is used for power and various sorts of technology in Arts research. To answer your previous question about the conquests, Sarkaz tend to have a higher affinity with Originium and the related arts, so the Nightzmora had an edge on their neighbors via their witchcraft. As for their connection to the Catastrophes... I think that's more of a question that reaches back into antiquity. It's a fact of life for anyone who isn't a Catastrophe Messenger or a professor of meteorology or the Arts. Catastrophes carry Originium like the spectrum of light has several colors, like the two moons in the sky, like the unpredictable movement of the stars.

[ Terra is different, man. On the other hand, though, Midnight's very curious about this Earth. In the absence of Originium, is all power on Earth nuclear? Wind based or solar, maybe? ]

[unrequite]

Well... Yes, actually. Learning how to take care of all of that money took a bit of doing. Doesn't matter much now, though.

[ Because they're here, of course, away from money. Definitely not because Midnight experienced several crises in under a year, sold everything, and ran away to join the paramilitary. If it was, what does that have anything to do with having a silly name on a website? ]

Well, all the more welcome, then. It's nice to not have to look over your own shoulder at shadows, I'm sure. Have you found a hobby yet?

[unrequite]

The former seems more likely to me. The latter... Well, I can't speak for you, but I can't imagine what it would take for someone with the power, patience, and omnipotence to maintain all of this to fear someone like me.