[Elliot is completely distracted so he won't notice any limb. It was like he was in his own little world, just getting to know the instrument and getting it to share its song. And he's making quick work of getting the hang of it too, running through the scales and chords on the strings.
He will actually answer when Lutha speaks up, even looking up a little. Managed to get lucky enough for Elliot to hear him this time]
Haha, you could say that. [he glances back at the zither] It's a little hard to explain, but music's just always spoken to me. And when I get my hands on a new instrument, I just feel an urge to find out what it has to say.
[He broke through the trance, 10 points for Lutha.]
Nah, I think I could get it. Music is music. People might feel how it flows differently between one thing or another, but it's still the same language at the end of it all.
[He's not gonna try to interrupt Elliot much further, getting busy himself with shoving off the boot of his right leg and rolling up the worn seams of his trouser leg. The scars are much darker, caving under the wrap of a makeshift brace that's barely hanging onto the straps against his shin and knee, the leather torn away from too much wear. It's slow work, with one hand, but he keeps talking the whole while.]
I'm just surprised how quick you're managing it, since you mainly use the bow. Do you have one of these in that stockpile of yours?
[You do get it Lutha! He has the vague sense that Lutha is doing SOMETHING nearby. Or at least, he can hear something going on. But he'll keep his eyes on the zither. Partly because he's focused on it, and partly out of respect for Lutha's privacy. ]
Not exactly this instrument, but I'm familiar with instruments in the same family. [The harp, the lyre, etc] Violin's my favorite, definitely, but it's not the only instrument I know. In fact, I've played the piano longer than I've played violin.
Haha, well it's something of a distant cousin, I suppose. This is closer to a lyre than a piano though.
[How to explain]
Pianos are very large instruments, that you sit down in front. They have a bunch of keys that you press to make notes. If you've heard of a harpsichord, clavichord or a pipe organ - those are similar to a piano.
Harpsichord, yeah. My, uh -- [shit] Someone I knew as a kid used to own one, but it was too tinny sounding for me. Hard to draw out emotion from it.
If you like that piano of yours, I imagine its a little easier to play around with and not sound like silverware trying to escape a cabinet in the process. [It's a quip that's brimming with some dry sort of nostalgia. He hasn't touched a harpsichord in over a decade, after all, but the sound was hard to forget, especially of one being played wrong.]
Haha, you're not wrong about that! The Harpischord isn't the, uh, easiest instrument to love. [Elliot loves all instruments but....yeah. He gets it.]
In my world, the piano more or less replaced the harpischord a couple centuries ago because of that. [Actually--] Actually, I think I have a recording of my sister playing one, if you're interested.
Either way, he's not getting up from what he's doing just yet, letting out a breath of relief as he wrangles the brace off his leg and sets it onto the floor.]
[He'll dig into one of his belt satchels and pull out his ARCUS -- which basically looks like a massive flip phone with magic gems inside. He hits a few buttons, makes sure the volume is nice and loud, and then starts playing this song.
He'll let the song speak for itself, letting it play out so Lutha can hear it. ]
He stares on with a look of heavy suspicion at first as Elliot pulls a huge glowing slab of metal out of nowhere. But once the sound starts up and fills the room, the redhead's confusion softens, the teapot he's picked up staying still and unused against his leg as he settles his weight back down and listens.
The sound is a lot more mellow than he remembers, the hammer of the strings much softer... but with a control of volume, an ebb and flow, like both hands might chase one another across the keys like rabbits in a field, a bright and energetic sort of piece with a small sort of triumph to its emphasis. There's feeling, and well played at that.]
...It ...sounds better. [NO SHIT it sounds better. But it's the only words he can manage from a dry throat at first, too busy listening to the piece as it starts to dwindle to an end.]
..How.... the hell do you keep the sound with you like that?
[He watches Lutha go through the roller coaster of reactions that is hearing a sound recording for the first time as well as the piano. He's smiling for sure.]
Hehe, much better right? Pianos have an incredible amount of range. They're one of the most popular instruments for a reason!
[But oh right, the tech]
It's a sound recording. My friend Alisa could explain the technology better, but basically you can capture a recording of a sound, so you can replay it as many times as you want.
Capturing a sound... [Sounds like bull! But it still just happened, so he just kind of lets out a confused sort of exhaled.] Aaaa, I can't say I get it, so it's probably something the Fer would like to take apart and remake into something else.
[His chin plops into his hand as he looks back over the device, his eyes softening.]
It's... warmer, than I thought it would be. The sound of it.
Haha, that seems to be a common response with engineer-minded types. [Take apart, see how it works] It's pretty useful, really. You get to hear all types of music with recordings.
[Being in a world where he couldn't listen to the radio each night has been rough man. Just rough]
Mm, it's a pretty warm sound! Much fuller yet gentler than a harpsichord. [It's easy to see why pianos replaced them] My sister's really talented at piano too, so she's very good at drawing out it's full potential.
Yeah. Gets kind of easy to tell, if you know what to listen for. The good ones stand out.
[Which reminds him: Elliot made a call out on that same thing WITHOUT that information, as far as Lutha knows, and it still feels weird to think about...]
Kind of gutsy of you to claim it in front of everyone when said person's missing a hand, you know.
[He is damn lucky no one got nosey.
He just lets out a breath through his nose, rolling over onto his knees to start the bare minimum of a fire and scoop water into the teapot nearby, one that oddly matches how his Adeptus pot looks. Just gonna get that going before he gets distracted...]
You must think how I acted out in Mondstadt was pretty childish, then.
There are instruments that only need one hand to play, you know. Not to mention singing...
[Which requires no hands!! Though he doesn't see Lutha singing anytime soon with how self-conscious he is.
The mention of Mondstadt brings him back. Ah right...]
...Haha, a little. But I was pretty used to it. Musician...it's not exactly considered the most respectable profession for an Erebonian man. Especially when you're the son of a general.
I don't sing anymore. [It's muttered, though he nearly drops the teapot trying to hook it over the fire realizing he said "anymore", quickly backpedaling with a broad gesture to the zither on the table.]
Why do you think I bothered to pick that thing up? I wasn't about to waste my time on something I didn't think I could use anymore. It's not like I like to torture myself by looking at the thing.
[So what if he hasn't really found a way to make his left arm useful enough............... maybe he'll keep trying when people stop perceiving him! ///
The topic dips into Elliot's father, though, and Lutha goes quiet. He remembers that memory, of being out as a refugee, of not being with a parent but with other kids, of being frightened and low on food. Was that an act of this general, or something that led to the position? The displeasure sits heavy in his gut.]
Mn. Family with power like that get shitty expectations on your shoulders when you're part of the bloodline. Or... something like that.
Respectable shit shouldn't matter. At least you're happy. Right?
So you did used to sing? [INTRIGUING.] Haha, fair enough. I am thinking of how you can play this with one hand....it's an interesting challenge.
[Even while they're conversing, he's running it through his mind. Such is his way]
Yeah, something like that. We're not nobility so it's not like I had as much pressure as Rean or our friend Jusis to uphold the family duty, but... [Well. It was there]
Mm. I am happy. Naysayers don't really get to me anymore.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fiddlestick) wrote2021-01-14 10:24 pm
This got lost in my inbox whoop
He will actually answer when Lutha speaks up, even looking up a little. Managed to get lucky enough for Elliot to hear him this time]
Haha, you could say that. [he glances back at the zither] It's a little hard to explain, but music's just always spoken to me. And when I get my hands on a new instrument, I just feel an urge to find out what it has to say.
dw notif ghost strikes again (you're good)
Nah, I think I could get it. Music is music. People might feel how it flows differently between one thing or another, but it's still the same language at the end of it all.
[He's not gonna try to interrupt Elliot much further, getting busy himself with shoving off the boot of his right leg and rolling up the worn seams of his trouser leg. The scars are much darker, caving under the wrap of a makeshift brace that's barely hanging onto the straps against his shin and knee, the leather torn away from too much wear. It's slow work, with one hand, but he keeps talking the whole while.]
I'm just surprised how quick you're managing it, since you mainly use the bow. Do you have one of these in that stockpile of yours?
no subject
[You do get it Lutha! He has the vague sense that Lutha is doing SOMETHING nearby. Or at least, he can hear something going on. But he'll keep his eyes on the zither. Partly because he's focused on it, and partly out of respect for Lutha's privacy. ]
Not exactly this instrument, but I'm familiar with instruments in the same family. [The harp, the lyre, etc] Violin's my favorite, definitely, but it's not the only instrument I know. In fact, I've played the piano longer than I've played violin.
no subject
"Piano"? [The syllables are sounded out, the word foreign.] Is that one of the ones in the same family, then?
no subject
[How to explain]
Pianos are very large instruments, that you sit down in front. They have a bunch of keys that you press to make notes. If you've heard of a harpsichord, clavichord or a pipe organ - those are similar to a piano.
no subject
If you like that piano of yours, I imagine its a little easier to play around with and not sound like silverware trying to escape a cabinet in the process. [It's a quip that's brimming with some dry sort of nostalgia. He hasn't touched a harpsichord in over a decade, after all, but the sound was hard to forget, especially of one being played wrong.]
no subject
Haha, you're not wrong about that! The Harpischord isn't the, uh, easiest instrument to love. [Elliot loves all instruments but....yeah. He gets it.]
In my world, the piano more or less replaced the harpischord a couple centuries ago because of that. [Actually--] Actually, I think I have a recording of my sister playing one, if you're interested.
no subject
[what, like they wrote it down or something?
Either way, he's not getting up from what he's doing just yet, letting out a breath of relief as he wrangles the brace off his leg and sets it onto the floor.]
You mean the sheet music, or something else?
no subject
[He'll dig into one of his belt satchels and pull out his ARCUS -- which basically looks like a massive flip phone with magic gems inside. He hits a few buttons, makes sure the volume is nice and loud, and then starts playing this song.
He'll let the song speak for itself, letting it play out so Lutha can hear it. ]
no subject
He stares on with a look of heavy suspicion at first as Elliot pulls a huge glowing slab of metal out of nowhere. But once the sound starts up and fills the room, the redhead's confusion softens, the teapot he's picked up staying still and unused against his leg as he settles his weight back down and listens.
The sound is a lot more mellow than he remembers, the hammer of the strings much softer... but with a control of volume, an ebb and flow, like both hands might chase one another across the keys like rabbits in a field, a bright and energetic sort of piece with a small sort of triumph to its emphasis. There's feeling, and well played at that.]
...It ...sounds better. [NO SHIT it sounds better. But it's the only words he can manage from a dry throat at first, too busy listening to the piece as it starts to dwindle to an end.]
..How.... the hell do you keep the sound with you like that?
no subject
Hehe, much better right? Pianos have an incredible amount of range. They're one of the most popular instruments for a reason!
[But oh right, the tech]
It's a sound recording. My friend Alisa could explain the technology better, but basically you can capture a recording of a sound, so you can replay it as many times as you want.
no subject
[His chin plops into his hand as he looks back over the device, his eyes softening.]
It's... warmer, than I thought it would be. The sound of it.
It's nice.
no subject
[Being in a world where he couldn't listen to the radio each night has been rough man. Just rough]
Mm, it's a pretty warm sound! Much fuller yet gentler than a harpsichord. [It's easy to see why pianos replaced them] My sister's really talented at piano too, so she's very good at drawing out it's full potential.
no subject
[Which reminds him: Elliot made a call out on that same thing WITHOUT that information, as far as Lutha knows, and it still feels weird to think about...]
Speaking of.
How the hell did you know I played music?
no subject
Haha...it's hard to explain, but it's just a knack I've always had. I can usually tell if someone's had music experience.
[So he always had that sense, but seeing that memory of Lutha's confirmed it. Though uh, probably better not to bring that up]
no subject
[He is damn lucky no one got nosey.
He just lets out a breath through his nose, rolling over onto his knees to start the bare minimum of a fire and scoop water into the teapot nearby, one that oddly matches how his Adeptus pot looks. Just gonna get that going before he gets distracted...]
You must think how I acted out in Mondstadt was pretty childish, then.
no subject
[Which requires no hands!! Though he doesn't see Lutha singing anytime soon with how self-conscious he is.
The mention of Mondstadt brings him back. Ah right...]
...Haha, a little. But I was pretty used to it. Musician...it's not exactly considered the most respectable profession for an Erebonian man. Especially when you're the son of a general.
no subject
Why do you think I bothered to pick that thing up? I wasn't about to waste my time on something I didn't think I could use anymore. It's not like I like to torture myself by looking at the thing.
[So what if he hasn't really found a way to make his left arm useful enough............... maybe he'll keep trying when people stop perceiving him! ///
The topic dips into Elliot's father, though, and Lutha goes quiet. He remembers that memory, of being out as a refugee, of not being with a parent but with other kids, of being frightened and low on food. Was that an act of this general, or something that led to the position? The displeasure sits heavy in his gut.]
Mn. Family with power like that get shitty expectations on your shoulders when you're part of the bloodline. Or... something like that.
Respectable shit shouldn't matter. At least you're happy. Right?
no subject
So you did used to sing? [INTRIGUING.] Haha, fair enough. I am thinking of how you can play this with one hand....it's an interesting challenge.
[Even while they're conversing, he's running it through his mind. Such is his way]
Yeah, something like that. We're not nobility so it's not like I had as much pressure as Rean or our friend Jusis to uphold the family duty, but... [Well. It was there]
Mm. I am happy. Naysayers don't really get to me anymore.