「 ★ 」closed;

[whitefeather]

Who: Jin Uzuki, Joshua.
What: English lessons.
When: The first Friday after the fist of courage event.
Where: Terminal Tokyo: Library.



[After the attack on the city, Sorcerymon, of course, was still Sorcerymon. She'd actually liked her new form far more than she expected, and had refused to come out of it - claiming that she was only able to stay in Champion form for so long because of Joshua's power - something that certainly piqued his interest - but unfortunately nothing he had the resources to look into at the moment. Joshua had merely allowed her to go along with it (after all, an alliteration monster was somewhat far more adorable than any form she'd ever had); and he'd allowed her to resume the task of creating various tinctures out of god knew what which had been lying around the apartment. She'd gone with it quite contentedly, so Joshua'd headed off to the library - arriving at a small, almost dingy top room with one table and surrounded by books.

And he unpacked, glancing over some of his own research material as he waited. Jin, of course. He'd been quite pleased with the progress the former soldier had made so far. Nothing above human capability, of course not. But, the higher end of human capability certainly was enough for him. In two months, the soldier'd taken on quite a bit. His mistakes were rare, his attention to detail impressive, capability to take on information rather good, and his questions about subjects raised in the material covered good.

Joshua brushes a clump of hair from his face. Unfortunately, being human is full of nothing but drawbacks. One of which is his appearance. He's woefully aware of the fact he's almost two inches taller than what he was when he arrived, and his hair seems to have grown markedly. So much, in fact, it's mainly pushed upward and tied over, worn up, only his bangs and the curl which resembled a lightning bolt loose.

When he heard the door open, he didn't look up from the digital glyphs he'd been memorizing, alike so many kanji in earlier times. ]

You're early. I imagine you're normally like this?

[Of course he was. Joshua didn't need any ESP at all to know that Jin seemed to adore this place more than any other.]

Comments

[betrayalcutsdeep]

*He continues, occasionally pausing briefly after some of the more uncommon words as he works out their meaning from context. When he reaches the end of the second chapter, his smile is a bit more amused.*

Well, I hope he learned a lesson about holding onto the ability to think in unusual ways.

[whitefeather]

Everyone forgets that sort of thing. It's what growing up is.

[His tone sounds a little sad. But then it's back to indifferent almost immediately. ]

In Earth's culture, becoming an adult involves developing drab, boring outlooks on the world to fit in with everyone else and become part of a society. It's not like someone can balance both, unfortunately. Perception's like language. Speak a second language too long, and you'll start to think in that form.

[betrayalcutsdeep]

Only if you let it. To use your metaphor, I've spoken both Japanese and the...hrm, I don't think I've learned this word yet. But the main power where I come from has its own language that most planets use along with their own, and I've spoken that and Japanese for most of my life. Even so, I still made a point of staying true to my Miltian roots by using my first language whenever possible.

Outlooks are the same in that way too, are they not? It's all a matter of whether you let yourself be taken in entirely by the common viewpoint or make sure to let your own beliefs shine, or even combine with those of others to create something unique.

*And here he holds up the dangling ends of his sword belt, showing Josh the Taoist symbol hanging from one and the inverted cross hanging from the other.*

[whitefeather]

Good for you.

[There's a small breath of a laugh, and Joshua leans back in his seat. Everyone says that. It's not like this one would be any different - applying terms meant in a general sense to oneself specifically was only human. ...And something they tended to do a lot. Though he does move his eyes to the charms hanging from the swordbelt - mainly because of the little comment about combining beliefs. That keeps his attention long enough to look. He switches back to Japanese.]

Anyway, the author was a remarkable man. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, if you're wondering. He maintained a strong belief about humanity. He said- “There is one problem and only one in the world: to revive in people some sense of spiritual meaning.” He goes for it with this piece by celebrating a worldview without any restrictions. It's more noticeable in later chapters of course - that's storytelling, after all. What you've covered so far, and some three chapters after it, are all about pointing out varying behaviours in characters with occupations that are supposed to be considered important. To adults, anyway.

[betrayalcutsdeep]

*He keeps that vague smile that could be knowing, pleased or melancholy as he toys idly with the symbols in his hand and switches to Japanese himself, maintaining a neutral tone. It's almost as if he's trying to keep the depths of his emotions regarding a topic he feels strongly about hidden.*

I believe I'm starting to like this man already. A lack of the spiritual and the resulting focus on the material and personal gain is a major problem in my own time, as well. I suppose that sort of selfishness is simply in human nature, but it truly is a shame to see the beauty of the universe and the value of our history go unappreciated.

It's to the point that paper books like this are rare antiques. The feeling and smell of a real book are considered unimportant in the face of the compact size and easy portability of a virtual display.