[ she can't see the way one brow lifts, but the reluctant acceptance of the name comes in the bubble of temporary silence. which, if he's going to be entirely honest, is also given for the way he lets his tricorder settle at his hip again. ]
Indeed, [ he takes another beat. ] Miss Toph.
[ she doesn't need to. spock is a creature onto himself and continues to prove he's worthy of the title with grace. he gives as good as he gets. and, continuing on as if butter wouldn't melt in his terrible, vulcan mouth: ]
That tapping — or Morse Code as it is called —, was historically utilized to communicate messages across great distances. Developed by Samuel Morse, the encoded correspondences permitted locomotive operators to transmit critical updates and rail changes with notable rapidity via the corresponding electrical lines.
[ and, shifting gears as if this is totally normal amounts of information to carry around at all times: ] Given you did not ask what I was "testing," it appears this method is free from immediate translation as well.
Alright, Mr. Snarky, thanks for the history lesson. [ Toph does find it mildly interesting but given the tenor of their conversation, she can't help ribbing him about it. She has only a vague understanding of electricity which limits her interest in it and related subjects. ]
So you were testing to see whether whatever makes us all understand each other works on codes as well? That's pretty neat, I guess. It sounds really deliberate so I could hear it from pretty far away.
[ It was a distinctly unnatural sequence, she means. ]
Certainly. [ he knows he's caught her interest. he doesn't undersell his ability to find something of value enough to turn over in metaphorical palm once or twice, but spock is a diplomat's son.
considering his venture to find this "phantom cat" forfeit for now, he picks out a route to the mouth of the alley. his strides are even and sure, few if for the length of his legs. he still affords her appropriate space, of course, but it will be easier to disseminate information this way. ]
I believe that it is what I said, [ he says, settling. his voice carries the same kind of purely academic sincerity - or at least the very convincing play at it -, but there is odd edge of ease in the eaves of his syllables. like wind-drawn lines into the cusping of dunes, this is where much of his rapport with others lives. ] Though it has largely fallen out of usage, the simplicity of its unique alphabet and its various means of transmission make it a logical foundation.
[ so, spock starts off without further explanation. the tip of his boot strikes the ground once and sharply before going on for a longer drag: . -. a.
[ For her part, Toph doesn't particularly care about personal space that much, but she doesn't push limits just to be annoying, either, so she lets him keep his space. The way he answers her question by saying he'd basically said as much already makes her feel like he's continuing to earn his nickname. Toph snorts at that response.
She's much more interested when he does a quick demonstration. Anything that touches on earthbending comes incredibly easy to her, even if it's something like memorizing a code sequence. Toph is well-educated by the standards of her society, she just doesn't lean into that side of her much.
Toph flicks a few fingers and sends a loose stone up and down to smack the ground in the same rhythm. ]
What's that mean?
not me having marked this as answered... liv just smack me upside the head next time
[ one might call it a minor point of cultural differentiation and personal preference; vulcans tended to be quite remote to humans and humans quite intrusive to vulcans. however, as spock has chosen to adhere to the half that is distinctly isolative and yet still serves aboard a human starship? well, it makes it all the more illegible if one was to examine it from an outside perspective. too close for the former, too far for the latter. the sun rises, as he once said, and the sun sets on the inevitability of these parts of himself in constant contest.
that she rolls with his "punches" makes her far more liable to have spock continue to engage her alongside her willingness to mirror. perhaps that plays a role in the acceptance of the sudden levitation of stone at their feet and its subsequent, controlled fall.
in fact, he barely pauses. ]
Fascinating, [ he says, more to himself than to toph. and then continues, more pitched for the human ear: ] An extension of the abilities you revealed to me at the gala, I presume?
[ abilities is a catch-all, of course, for a series of possible biological and evolutionary traits. for spock's part, he's seen it before. some vulcans have the capacity for foresight, for example. other species? telekinesis. he assumes it to be a branch he has not yet encountered. ] "A."
[ he taps out the next two letters in sequence not a moment later, the translated "dits" and "dahs" crisp and without hesitation. ]
Edited (why does dw keep putting weird spaces in my comments stop!!!!) 2024-04-27 19:39 (UTC)
np I'll try to sense in the aether when you have forgotten me
Right. Though it's really more like the opposite -- this is the basic ability, and how I can sense things is the super advanced version of it.
[ Not everyone gets this level of articulate explanation from Toph, but she can tell that Spock would quite obviously appreciate it. She has a deep level of understanding of earthbending and by consequence some natural aspects and laws; she'd truly earned her mastery and her status as best earthbender in the world. It's just not the kind of thing most people are interested in the finer points of around here, where there's no other benders.
She mimics the next sequence immediately, then complains. ]
We going somewhere with this? How many of these are there? [ Someone is not actually speaking English. ]
[ the tone he uses suggests he is playing at the sweetest sincerities of men, but he knows toph to read him better through the gives of his body. he is not attempting to disguise it, though he very well could. where others could rely upon his minor inflections cast across in what some would call non-expressions, toph instead is left to rely on biology.
he taps out the next two characters, as if he were seriously considering, before he veers into something foreign and loose and widened. it comes out not precisely, for the limitations are still at play, but the fluidity is conveyed. for toph, he approximates, it will sound as though a rhythmic count of one running through the rows and columns of calligraphy. and indeed, he repeats as much as upon its termination. while scraping out the precise "location," he elaborates in the same monotone he typically utilizes. ]
On my planet, we would use this term for your abilities. [ and a touch softer, contemplative. ] In the common tongue, perhaps you would know it better as terrakinesis.
[ he scrapes out another character, flowing from the previous as though one's fingers through the sand. it curves sweetly, though the translation is again immediate and apparent as numbers to the untrained tongue. it is an experiment now to see if this translates more readily, if the characters are something with which she is more comfortably familiar.
it would serve as an adequate base for proceedings. ]
Edited 2024-04-30 00:17 (UTC)
comes to your house with a boombox and blasts sufjan stevens
[ Toph holds back a droll retort, as she's listening with interest as he taps out other examples.
Suddenly, at the last one, she starts. Toph may not be able to read directly, but she is an extremely well-educated young lady, and there's plenty about her language spoken aloud that benefits from knowing the source characters. It was some of the more miserable lessons her parents made her sit through, but she sure did sit through them. ]
Hey, I recognize that! You didn't use the right characters, though. It's not earth-flowing, it's move-earth-art. Earthbending.
So there's a sequence for each character? Maybe just for the basic ones? [ One for every single character would be ludicrous, she knows that much. ]
it better be mystery of love or i'm closing the window
[ Spock often finds that he has to hold more than a few back. If she'd thought him dry at the moment, he should see when Bones and he go at it. Not that he'll elaborate, but that tongue of his is quite pointed when the opportunity is handed to him.
However, while Spock might not be as sensitive to fine movement through vibration, his ears are unusually sharp. He can hear the pull of fabric and the minute hitch of breath. He knows she knows what it is. ]
Fascinating, [ and this time, his voice lets the word carry. It rounds with a tempered sincerity, comes as one rubbing their fingers across smoothed stone. He draws through the corrected characters, slower this time. The curve of each logograph is almost meditative, a spiraling motion that bleeds smooths into the next. As before, the letters come as a numerical sequence. ]
I'd suspected you may, [ he says, eyes flicking back up to her. It was a logical conclusion and he had no reason to think she was anything, but Human. ] And though you are not incorrect, it is not possible to say that each logographic language is inclined toward brevity.
[ Vulcan be, but sometimes isn't. It depends on the form. He pauses, before tracing through a loose handful of characters. Sand, red, forge. ] On average, there are approximately seven thousand characters available for translation.
Edited 2024-05-04 21:34 (UTC)
now it's going to be dead inside shuffle by louis cole
[ Said with the unthinking casualness of someone who grew up with languages that have tens of thousands of characters and multiple writing forms. She cocks her head to the side as she processes the next characters he goes through. ]
That's pretty cool -- weird, but cool. And I can hear it from pretty far off. [ That sparks an idea, Toph's pitching upward in excitement. ] Hey, think you could show me a few important ones? I could teach them to my friends so they can signal me if they're in trouble.
Affirmative, [ Spock says, a confirmation and answer both. But, the word carries with it a sense of commiseration. For all his voice remains steady and constant, there are tells. Toph is likely to hear it more in the way of his body, the way his heart beat settles into its something almost relaxed. Her excitement is all the confirmation he's needed. Data collected, he determines any further applications ciphers and code would indeed be a boon.
And the fact there are those who would take willingly to it? Well, it expands the prospects. The corner of his mouth ticks up, just slightly, as he works through the next few: help, danger, injured, fire. And, after some consideration: captured. ]
I am open to further suggestion, [ he appends, after the last stroke of the final concept. But, it does not stop him from starting again. This word is for the sake of his own experimentation, pushing the edge of what can be translated.
Kal rekk. A concept, distinctly Vulcan. Perhaps Humans would equate it to atonement, but it carries a particular depth and substance. ]
[ Her expression furrows. ] Okay, I didn't catch that last one.
Can you go through them all again? Actually, if you don't mind using a rock against that wall, then I'll really get it.
[ Tapping his shoe is fine and all, but Toph gets rock-on-rock vibrations with astounding clarity. Anticipating his agreement, she kicks her toe into the ground and a nice hard chunk of rock comes flying up into the air for her to catch and subsequently offer out to him.
Meanwhile, this is only her second time meeting him, so Toph doesn't think anything of his easy, steady heartrate and body language. For all she knows, he's like that all the time. ]
Curious, [ he says, more to himself than to Toph. The word is lighter off the tongue, lighter from the chest. As though one examining a smoothed stone with their fingertips in the same way that Spock does now, accepting the proffered chunk of earth with a murmur of "thank you" thereafter. He is exceedingly careful not to touch any point of exposed skin, though Toph might notice his hand seems far warmer than any Human's from sheer proximity alone. ]
Certainly, Miss Toph. [ He has no problem running through most anything again should the individual paying mind be actually invested. Toph, he's long determined, certainly falls under that category when the subject is practical.
Taking a few easy steps toward the far wall, he lifts the rock he's acquired and traces through each character again with an efficiency brought on by rote memorization. His presumed writings are confident, sure, and without hesitation. The hand he uses is likely to be reflective of that - a kind of flawless focus.
And then, he repeats the last again, watching her reaction in his periphery. Kal rekk. ]
[ The way he takes it from her is a little odd, but he's obviously some kind of not-human, so what does she know?
True to her word, having rock-on-rock Morse code makes it come through impeccably clear to her. Toph mimics the whole sequence exactly once he's done, fluidly and on the first try, flicking her fingers to send another rock thumping against the ground. It doesn't have the flawless focus and practice behind Spock's rendition, but there's instead an edge of natural talent and flair to the smoothness behind it.
Then she pauses. ]
Nope, still don't get the last one. Are you throwing something else in as a test? [ she asks suspiciously. Spock has already established himself as wanting to test anything and everything, so Toph can put two and two together, here. ]
[ He's just a little odd in general, according to most Humans. He supposes that sort of uniqueness is part and parcel of serving on a starship, however. People rarely join such endeavors because they are sure of their position in the universe. No, it's more likely that they join because they attempting to discover it.
All the same, her pause and her vocalized suspicions only confirm what he has previously suspected: that not everything under the sun has an acceptable equivalent. He'd tested as much on his network post earlier with another term, but the individual hadn't been keen to attempt deciphering it. Pity, that. ]
Perhaps, [ he says, the steady way of his voice giving way to some note of confirmation by means of... Mischief? Surely not. ] The word I am attempting to convey contains no succinct definition. More accurately, it is a concept.
[ He idly traces it out again, contemplative. ] Given its content, I had wondered if our captors might have already given it increased consideration.
[ So yes, it was a test. Toph doesn't mind being tested, but beating around the bush with his response tries her patience. ]
You gonna elaborate or that, or just stand around talking to yourself some more?
[ It's an annoyed question, but a long-suffering one. Toph can tell this is just how he is and would rather he just hurry it up some. She is always an advocate of getting to the point. ]
[ Patience, "young padawan." It was something or other that Human crewmates used to toss about, but Spock refrains from the usage himself. It makes for quite concise internal commentary nonetheless. ]
An adequate explanation often requires adequate context. [ He pauses, the space a stand-in for an indicative gesture, which would have been his choice regardless. One dark brow inches further up. ] For myself, the word is an observance and concept both. For you, it may be closest to the following.
[ He doesn't write it out again, but instead chooses words that might be more immediately translated: meditation, atonement, solitude, silence. He'll expand upon it, after a beat. ]
As you know, defining limitations serves no less purpose than defining capabilities. Practical usage aside, these experiments serve also to underline Aldrip's current ethos.
[ Look, he always attempts to make it worth the wait. Unless he's being an asshole about it on purpose for his own amusement. Hard to say which he prefers. ]
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expiationlogs2024-04-14 10:44 pm
no subject
Indeed, [ he takes another beat. ] Miss Toph.
[ she doesn't need to. spock is a creature onto himself and continues to prove he's worthy of the title with grace. he gives as good as he gets. and, continuing on as if butter wouldn't melt in his terrible, vulcan mouth: ]
That tapping — or Morse Code as it is called —, was historically utilized to communicate messages across great distances. Developed by Samuel Morse, the encoded correspondences permitted locomotive operators to transmit critical updates and rail changes with notable rapidity via the corresponding electrical lines.
[ and, shifting gears as if this is totally normal amounts of information to carry around at all times: ] Given you did not ask what I was "testing," it appears this method is free from immediate translation as well.
no subject
So you were testing to see whether whatever makes us all understand each other works on codes as well? That's pretty neat, I guess. It sounds really deliberate so I could hear it from pretty far away.
[ It was a distinctly unnatural sequence, she means. ]
no subject
considering his venture to find this "phantom cat" forfeit for now, he picks out a route to the mouth of the alley. his strides are even and sure, few if for the length of his legs. he still affords her appropriate space, of course, but it will be easier to disseminate information this way. ]
I believe that it is what I said, [ he says, settling. his voice carries the same kind of purely academic sincerity - or at least the very convincing play at it -, but there is odd edge of ease in the eaves of his syllables. like wind-drawn lines into the cusping of dunes, this is where much of his rapport with others lives. ] Though it has largely fallen out of usage, the simplicity of its unique alphabet and its various means of transmission make it a logical foundation.
[ so, spock starts off without further explanation. the tip of his boot strikes the ground once and sharply before going on for a longer drag: . -. a.
let's see how fast a learner she is, shall we? ]
no subject
She's much more interested when he does a quick demonstration. Anything that touches on earthbending comes incredibly easy to her, even if it's something like memorizing a code sequence. Toph is well-educated by the standards of her society, she just doesn't lean into that side of her much.
Toph flicks a few fingers and sends a loose stone up and down to smack the ground in the same rhythm. ]
What's that mean?
not me having marked this as answered... liv just smack me upside the head next time
that she rolls with his "punches" makes her far more liable to have spock continue to engage her alongside her willingness to mirror. perhaps that plays a role in the acceptance of the sudden levitation of stone at their feet and its subsequent, controlled fall.
in fact, he barely pauses. ]
Fascinating, [ he says, more to himself than to toph. and then continues, more pitched for the human ear: ] An extension of the abilities you revealed to me at the gala, I presume?
[ abilities is a catch-all, of course, for a series of possible biological and evolutionary traits. for spock's part, he's seen it before. some vulcans have the capacity for foresight, for example. other species? telekinesis. he assumes it to be a branch he has not yet encountered. ] "A."
[ he taps out the next two letters in sequence not a moment later, the translated "dits" and "dahs" crisp and without hesitation. ]
np I'll try to sense in the aether when you have forgotten me
[ Not everyone gets this level of articulate explanation from Toph, but she can tell that Spock would quite obviously appreciate it. She has a deep level of understanding of earthbending and by consequence some natural aspects and laws; she'd truly earned her mastery and her status as best earthbender in the world. It's just not the kind of thing most people are interested in the finer points of around here, where there's no other benders.
She mimics the next sequence immediately, then complains. ]
We going somewhere with this? How many of these are there? [ Someone is not actually speaking English. ]
ty you're the og liv you know where i live
[ the tone he uses suggests he is playing at the sweetest sincerities of men, but he knows toph to read him better through the gives of his body. he is not attempting to disguise it, though he very well could. where others could rely upon his minor inflections cast across in what some would call non-expressions, toph instead is left to rely on biology.
he taps out the next two characters, as if he were seriously considering, before he veers into something foreign and loose and widened. it comes out not precisely, for the limitations are still at play, but the fluidity is conveyed. for toph, he approximates, it will sound as though a rhythmic count of one running through the rows and columns of calligraphy. and indeed, he repeats as much as upon its termination. while scraping out the precise "location," he elaborates in the same monotone he typically utilizes. ]
On my planet, we would use this term for your abilities. [ and a touch softer, contemplative. ] In the common tongue, perhaps you would know it better as terrakinesis.
[ he scrapes out another character, flowing from the previous as though one's fingers through the sand. it curves sweetly, though the translation is again immediate and apparent as numbers to the untrained tongue. it is an experiment now to see if this translates more readily, if the characters are something with which she is more comfortably familiar.
it would serve as an adequate base for proceedings. ]
comes to your house with a boombox and blasts sufjan stevens
Suddenly, at the last one, she starts. Toph may not be able to read directly, but she is an extremely well-educated young lady, and there's plenty about her language spoken aloud that benefits from knowing the source characters. It was some of the more miserable lessons her parents made her sit through, but she sure did sit through them. ]
Hey, I recognize that! You didn't use the right characters, though. It's not earth-flowing, it's move-earth-art. Earthbending.
So there's a sequence for each character? Maybe just for the basic ones? [ One for every single character would be ludicrous, she knows that much. ]
it better be mystery of love or i'm closing the window
However, while Spock might not be as sensitive to fine movement through vibration, his ears are unusually sharp. He can hear the pull of fabric and the minute hitch of breath. He knows she knows what it is. ]
Fascinating, [ and this time, his voice lets the word carry. It rounds with a tempered sincerity, comes as one rubbing their fingers across smoothed stone. He draws through the corrected characters, slower this time. The curve of each logograph is almost meditative, a spiraling motion that bleeds smooths into the next. As before, the letters come as a numerical sequence. ]
I'd suspected you may, [ he says, eyes flicking back up to her. It was a logical conclusion and he had no reason to think she was anything, but Human. ] And though you are not incorrect, it is not possible to say that each logographic language is inclined toward brevity.
[ Vulcan be, but sometimes isn't. It depends on the form. He pauses, before tracing through a loose handful of characters. Sand, red, forge. ] On average, there are approximately seven thousand characters available for translation.
now it's going to be dead inside shuffle by louis cole
[ Said with the unthinking casualness of someone who grew up with languages that have tens of thousands of characters and multiple writing forms. She cocks her head to the side as she processes the next characters he goes through. ]
That's pretty cool -- weird, but cool. And I can hear it from pretty far off. [ That sparks an idea, Toph's pitching upward in excitement. ] Hey, think you could show me a few important ones? I could teach them to my friends so they can signal me if they're in trouble.
what if i wanted park your car on my face
And the fact there are those who would take willingly to it? Well, it expands the prospects. The corner of his mouth ticks up, just slightly, as he works through the next few: help, danger, injured, fire. And, after some consideration: captured. ]
I am open to further suggestion, [ he appends, after the last stroke of the final concept. But, it does not stop him from starting again. This word is for the sake of his own experimentation, pushing the edge of what can be translated.
Kal rekk. A concept, distinctly Vulcan. Perhaps Humans would equate it to atonement, but it carries a particular depth and substance. ]
that is powerful and compelling music
Can you go through them all again? Actually, if you don't mind using a rock against that wall, then I'll really get it.
[ Tapping his shoe is fine and all, but Toph gets rock-on-rock vibrations with astounding clarity. Anticipating his agreement, she kicks her toe into the ground and a nice hard chunk of rock comes flying up into the air for her to catch and subsequently offer out to him.
Meanwhile, this is only her second time meeting him, so Toph doesn't think anything of his easy, steady heartrate and body language. For all she knows, he's like that all the time. ]
no subject
Certainly, Miss Toph. [ He has no problem running through most anything again should the individual paying mind be actually invested. Toph, he's long determined, certainly falls under that category when the subject is practical.
Taking a few easy steps toward the far wall, he lifts the rock he's acquired and traces through each character again with an efficiency brought on by rote memorization. His presumed writings are confident, sure, and without hesitation. The hand he uses is likely to be reflective of that - a kind of flawless focus.
And then, he repeats the last again, watching her reaction in his periphery. Kal rekk. ]
no subject
True to her word, having rock-on-rock Morse code makes it come through impeccably clear to her. Toph mimics the whole sequence exactly once he's done, fluidly and on the first try, flicking her fingers to send another rock thumping against the ground. It doesn't have the flawless focus and practice behind Spock's rendition, but there's instead an edge of natural talent and flair to the smoothness behind it.
Then she pauses. ]
Nope, still don't get the last one. Are you throwing something else in as a test? [ she asks suspiciously. Spock has already established himself as wanting to test anything and everything, so Toph can put two and two together, here. ]
no subject
All the same, her pause and her vocalized suspicions only confirm what he has previously suspected: that not everything under the sun has an acceptable equivalent. He'd tested as much on his network post earlier with another term, but the individual hadn't been keen to attempt deciphering it. Pity, that. ]
Perhaps, [ he says, the steady way of his voice giving way to some note of confirmation by means of... Mischief? Surely not. ] The word I am attempting to convey contains no succinct definition. More accurately, it is a concept.
[ He idly traces it out again, contemplative. ] Given its content, I had wondered if our captors might have already given it increased consideration.
no subject
You gonna elaborate or that, or just stand around talking to yourself some more?
[ It's an annoyed question, but a long-suffering one. Toph can tell this is just how he is and would rather he just hurry it up some. She is always an advocate of getting to the point. ]
no subject
An adequate explanation often requires adequate context. [ He pauses, the space a stand-in for an indicative gesture, which would have been his choice regardless. One dark brow inches further up. ] For myself, the word is an observance and concept both. For you, it may be closest to the following.
[ He doesn't write it out again, but instead chooses words that might be more immediately translated: meditation, atonement, solitude, silence. He'll expand upon it, after a beat. ]
As you know, defining limitations serves no less purpose than defining capabilities. Practical usage aside, these experiments serve also to underline Aldrip's current ethos.
[ Look, he always attempts to make it worth the wait. Unless he's being an asshole about it on purpose for his own amusement. Hard to say which he prefers. ]