[Netbook] Baby's (grown man) first Netbook

[ninelines]

Hi there! I'm Lodi – I'm a relatively new face around here and I've only met a handful of you, but I know tensions are... high, at the moment, for obvious reasons. So I thought even a smidgen of a distraction might be good for some folks! I'd like to get to know everyone regardless, so if you'd humor me:

• What's one phrase that's common where you're from, but might confuse someone who isn't? Bonus points if you explain the meaning.
  
• I'd like to know about your star systems! Do you have a favorite star or constellation? Does it mean something special to you?
  
• Can you dance? Would you like to learn? Would you be open to someone in the Grove (not naming names!) teaching you?
  
• What language or languages do you speak?

Or, frankly, you can just talk at me about whatever. I'm open to conversation. Thanks!

[The handwriting is, like, exceptionally, painstakingly neat. Whomever was writing this wanted to make it easy for anyone to read.]

Comments

[namuthing]

1. my favorite phrase is ligma.
2. who cares
3. ew
4. japanese

[ninelines]

1. Sorry, I’m unfamiliar with that one. What exactly does “Ligma” mean…?
2. Okay, not a fan stars I take it. Do you prefer talking about something else?
3. Haha, fair enough! It’s a pretty fun hobby if you ever got the occasion to try. I know some people have two left feet, though.
4. Got it. Neat! I’ve known a few Japanese speakers but never had the chance to learn myself. I’d love to someday, though.

Thank you for answering! Do you mind if I ask your name? You didn’t introduce yourself. Not a problem if you’d rather not tell me, though.

[namuthing]

LIGMA BALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Very sorry, he's not responding to anything else, yet. Let him bask in his glory.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain's handwriting is cute and curly. All i's are dotted with hearts.]

Hii! I'm Ain, I'm the tailor~ and also a healer when the magic works~ and I run the advice column here~

[no he doesn't]

1. Well, the notebook is going to translate this automatically for you, which is annoying, so I can teach you how to pronounce it in person. But one of them is "Give one more rice cake to the annoying person" which means being nice to someone you don't like to avoid trouble :O
2. We don't know a lot about the stars in Elrios, but my friends and I made up a lot of constellations in the Demon Realm once. My favourite is the one I made~ it's of Elsword~ you'll meet him soon ^^
3. I can dance! You can teach me to dance too~ I'm sure there's some knowledge I might not have.
4. We call them differently where I'm from, but from talking to people here I've discovered that what I'm writing in now is English (Rubenian), then I'm fluent in Korean (Elrian), and German (Celestial). Elrian/Korean is our main language globally. :O

[ninelines]

[Aw, that’s fun. And distinctive. It was interesting, how much handwriting could speak to a person.]

Awesome, nice to meet you! You’ve got yourself wearing a few different hats, huh? Offering advice to people that need it is a nice calling. I’m sure it’s appreciated.

1. That’s an interesting one – the meaning does make sense, though. Better to treat others the way you’d hope to be treated, right? I’d love to learn the pronunciation in person!
2. Oh, got it, okay. Was this based off the stars you could see, or was this more of a conceptualization of constellations? Also, wow, already learning something new. Is that realm an unpleasant place…?
3. I’d be happy to! What kind of dance do you already know, if you don’t mind me asking?
4. Trilingual! That’s impressive. And how fascinating, that those languages seem to be identical despite being named differently. I wonder how that happened. Do you have a language you prefer speaking, or are you pretty comfortable with all three?

[eidxiety]

It's extremely unappreciated~ People don't like my very sound advice despite the fact it's very sound :O!

1. I can show you if you're ever bored ^^ I'm easy to spot, I have silver hair and a big cowlick and am tall with freckles. Good luck!
2. It was based on the stars we could see at the time :O The Demon Realm is a place where demons are from! So it's bad~ but we had reason to be there, and some of my friends from back home are demons. ...oh wait, Mr. Nerd, do you know about the bad word for Sarkaz?? This is important. The demon word is only for demons. [ain this explains literally nothing]
3. I know how to shimmy and shake and wiggle my hips! I want to learn to tango. I think this would be beneficial for men. ^^
4. I'm comfortable with all three, but Celestial is the native tongue of my race (angels) so I don't usually speak it :O Because humans weren't supposed to know about us :O but they do here! So it doesn't matter. But I don't think anyone here speaks it, and if they do, it's gonna weird me out because apparently it's *just* a language where other people live, a language that humans speak, even!

[bladeascent]

Hey! This is Vildred.

[His handwriting is literal calligraphy, sorry if this is undecipherable.]

1. Well, depending on how religious you are, we have a lot of religious expletives, I guess? A friend of mine once described being pissed off in a shocked way by saying "Diche's left tit".
2. I wish I was more of an astrologer. There's a whole city called Constella that worships the stars, but I've never visited.
3. I know only formal waltzes, if you have anything else!
4. A couple. Orbis has a lot of languages. The ones I grew up with are what people here would probably call English and Korean. My mentor taught me a little bit of what I'm *pretty sure* is called Chinese, but I'm only conversational in it. I could probably visit the country he's from without much issue but beyond that?? I don't know, I'd probably embarrass myself.

[ninelines]

[Oh hey, he knows this guy! Wow, not the handwriting he would’ve anticipated. Thankfully, being a linguist helps with the deciphering some.]

Hey there! Thanks for taking the time to answer.

1. Wow, so do a majority of your expletives stem from a religious basis? That’s interesting. And to have it be something like that… I’ve heard similar where I come from, but it typically was more difficult to translate to English. Meaning got lost and the like.
2. A whole city, wow. It sounds like that’s also a religious institution. Are stars not thought of as much outside of that religious association? It likely wouldn’t be a one-to-one in terms of the actual stars, but if you ever wanted to learn about some from my world, I’d be happy to! Not that I'm an expert, mind you. We just had to utilize them to navigate.
3. Waltzes! You know what, that’s fitting, I think. Were you taught them professionally, or was it more of a hobby angle? I can’t waltz, myself, but I’d be happy to teach some Latin dances. It’s a bit different with a taller follower, but nothing I haven’t done before.
4. Hey, conservational knowledge is nothing to sneeze at and can get you far. That’s neat, though! This is the second time now I’ve heard of languages with the same lexicon but a different name. I’d be interested to hear the language you’re uncertain about. I wonder if I’d be able to place it.

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer's handwriting fucking SUCKS so—]

hey this is flamebringer
i run the tat/piercing place and live in the bakery with my husband and his partner and his partner's partners hth
also maintain the greenhouses (2) and kill shit real good

1. we have a few but mostly "oy vey" is something people stole from us Sarkaz and just use for whatever. it's meant to express dismay. also mazel tov is congratulations.
2. so terra's skies are fucking cursed idk how to explain it. mizuki knows more than i do. the sky was fake for a long time. we have these fuckass alien things called observers up there that eat stars and planets and shit. space is a no-go some dumbass perro launched herself to the moon and as far as the rest of the world is aware she's probably fucking dead up there cause how are you gonna get away from the things that eat stars dude.
3. i can kind of dance but not really so sure
4. columbian and kazdelian and old kazdelian. think you guys call columbian english and kazdelian yiddish and old kazdelian hebrew. little bit of lateran due to ezell (lateran might be latin i think).

[mooninthewater]

One of the moon’s fake, too! :)

[ninelines]

[Theres a few dabs of ink on the page where Lodi clearly tapped his pen while trying to puzzle everything out, but he managed.]

Hi, nice to meet you! Wow, I’m learning there’s a lot more establishments set up than I initially realized. I definitely will have to stop by once, uh, this month is up. And greenhouses too! I’m impressed by anyone with a green thumb.

1. Huh! It’s interesting, I’ve heard those before. I’m realizing that a number of the phrases and terminology everyone has shared with me thus far has been normalized across a pretty wide range of… worlds, I suppose? It’s a shame to hear that phrase has been co-opted to the point of the meaning being muddied, though.
2. Oh, wow, uh. That’s terrifying? The sky was fake? But it’s real now? Planet and star-eaters? So it really sounds like any interstellar travel runs the risk of resulting in some unfortunate circumstances. Wow. Are you able to fly so long as you don’t break the atmosphere, or did the situation with the sky make that a no-go too?
3. Kind of is a good start! If you don’t mind me asking more specifically, do you mean you’ve got a rough sense of rhythm? Or is it more like… you can do some approximate movements?
4. Oh! Wow. See, where I come from, Latin—or Lateran—is largely considered a dead language. I find the idea of Old Kazdelian and Kazdelian a fascinating one, and I have to wonder if the introduction of the latter follows a similar linguistic trajectory as Hebrew and Yiddish. Do you speak one or the other more regularly, or is it pretty interchangeable?

[justacityboy]

[Normal handwriting. It's a bit chicken scratchy and boyish but it's legible!]

Hi bestiiiie! It's Urbain! ✨✨✨ I don't do anything productive *here* but I have a job at Mr. Ezell's bakery and I love taking photographs and studying cinematography and also cooking and Pokemon battling and going outside and parkour and climbing things.

Right now I really miss outside :(

1. "Little by little, the Pidgey builds its nest". It means that by progressing step by step, you can complete your tasks or goals.
2. There are lots of stars over Lumiose but none of them shine brightly because of the city lights :/ I don't know a lot about the stars but if I leave the city and go somewhere dark I love looking up at them!
3. Oh girl I CANNOT dance. Corbeau kind of taught me a couple months ago but I'm pretty sure I've lost the skill please help me :(
4. Galarian and Kalosian! Which I think? Is mutually intelligible with English and French??? I'd love to learn more languages tbhhhh

[ninelines]

Hey there! I don’t know about you, but those all sound like pretty useful skillsets to me. I wouldn’t sell yourself short on the productivity front, especially if you’re doing any of those things here.

Me too. I’m hoping this’ll all blow over soon. I’m getting a little stir crazy!

1. That’s a cute, and effective, phrase! I like the picture it paints too, even if I don’t necessarily know what a Pidgey is. Just from the name and context clues… a type of bird, maybe?
2. Aw, yeah, the unfortunate side effect of living in a city is that light pollution. Just being able to appreciate them is enough, I think! I enjoy looking at the stars too. It always gave me a sense of comfort to know that they were up there regardless of where I might be in the world. I think it’s great that you set aside the time to look at them.
3. You know what? I’m willing to bet you haven’t lost the muscle memory and might just need to be reminded. Regardless, I’d be happy to! Do you happen to remember if those steps were from a specific type of dance? I, unfortunately, don’t know every style under the sun, but I might be able to guess.
4. Oh, neat, okay! I know French myself, so I’d be curious if we'd be using all the same words if we both spoke. And, hey, if you really would like to learn, I might be able to help with that. Are there any in particular, or are you open to learning any language?

[lyricistdontmiss]

Hey hey!! Nice to meet you! I'm Zoey! This is a great ice breaker. (* ^ ω ^)b

1. Ohhhhh yeah these books are gonna translate this aren't they. Oh well. My favorite is "The littlest pepper is the spiciest!" It means, don't underestimate someone!
2. Oh, I'm from Earth if you're familiar! If not, I can maybe explain it to you! I know the planets at least. My favorite constellation is Bootes though, it makes me giggle. Hehe, Bootes.
3. Duh! I'm a K-pop idol, of course I can dance! But I'm always up for dancing!
4. English and Korean! I grew up in America.

[ninelines]

It's a pleasure! And thank you very much. I racked my brain over it for longer than I should have.

1. That’s the unfortunate thing, isn’t it! I like that phrase a lot, though. Definitely some words to remember in your everyday. If you’d ever want to share what it sounds like in person, sans translation, I’d love to hear it.
2. Oh! Yes, I’m familiar – I’m from Earth too! It’s a relief to meet more people from Earth. Don’t get me wrong, everyone I’ve met has been great, but that little spot of familiarity has been nice. Boötes is a great pick! It boasts some of the more colorful and easily visible stars. Not to mention it does have quite the charming name, I agree.
3. I didn’t know I was talking to a professional! My apologies, Miss Zoey. If anything, you could probably teach me – though, I’m not sure I’m quite pop star material.
4. You don’t know how relieved I am to hear a continent I recognize, Miss Zoey. If you don’t mind my asking, did you learn Korean from family, or was it something you actively decided to learn?

[kingincognito]

Hello again, Lodi. This is Joshua.

1. Many of our phrases are based upon the Eikons, though some have come into being from the Greagorian religion of Sanbreque that use the goddess Greagor's name, as well. I recall my uncle often using "Phoenix's fiery fundament".
2. I know precious little about the sea of stars, but there is a red star named Metia that accompanies our moon, and is said to convey our wishes to the moon. A childhood friend of mine believed in it, though I'm not certain it is anything more than nursery stories.
3. I can, though it is largely limited to dancing meant for formal parties.
4. The Valisthean common tongue, I suppose? I am not certain how it appears for you when written, but it looks different from English when written, despite sounding more or less the same when spoken.

[ninelines]

Hi again Mr. Rosfield! Thanks for taking the time to answer my little questionnaire.

1. Based on what you’ve told me, this tracks. Although, that factoid about the Greagorian religion is new! I might have to hound you about that later –. Phoenix's fiery fundament… talk about a delightful bit of alliteration!
2. I like that a lot, actually. I think having even a slight belief in that sort of thing can often provide a lot of comfort to the people that need it the most. The idea of something out there listening to us, heeding our thoughts and our wishes… it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?
3. This doesn’t surprise me! Can you offer any specifics? I’m, uh, woefully without comprehensive knowledge about aristocratic customs. My brain wants to think about waltzes and foxtrots, but that may be wildly off base.
4. Oh, that’s pretty interesting. Is it the letter forms that are different, or the construction of the words? Or maybe the alphabet? I’m intrigued by it sounding similar to English but appearing different when written.

Cute round writing

[love_swan]

[ oh! Well, he's met lodi already, but-- ]

1. One my father said a lot was 'even a monkey sometimes falls from a tree.' Which more or less means even if you're good at or naturally talented at something, its expected and okay to mess up sometimes.

2. I don't think my favorite star had a name. Its a long story. Constellation wise I like the summer triangle!

3. Yes I can dance! My job involved dancing. I'm always open to different types though.

4. Japanese is my primary language, but I had uh. Passable english and Urbain-san is teaching me some french!

[ninelines]

1. That’s a good one! Words to remember for sure. We're our own worst critics at the best of times, so giving yourself some grace is never a bad idea.
2. A long story, huh? If you’d ever be willing to share I’d be willing to listen. But, oh wow, I’m a fan of that constellation myself actually! We actually used it to help us navigate in flight, so I relied on it fairly regularly.
3. That’s right, I remember you mentioning that before – did you do a lot of partner dancing?
4. Passable is good! Once you feel as though you’ve made some headway with French, if you’d like to test out your know-how in conversations, please feel free to ask. I’ve heard it can help with really ironing out your understanding of the language.

[ghostharasser]

Sup! Name's Dipper. We ran into each other briefly in the woods. Nice to see you're still hanging in there, man.

1. That's an interesting question. In my experience, being in a place like this around people who are from such different points in time, most of the "modern slang" I've used get's a few questions. Stuff like "What's up." "How's it hanging", which is just different ways of asking how someone is.

Extra note: Flamebringer covered Mazel Tov, but I think it's interesting to note that he and I are from different worlds entirely but his culture and mine are still pretty similar down to phrases like that. I'm Jewish, for example.

2. Kind of a gimme but I'm pretty partial to the Big Dipper, because I have a birthmark shaped like it on my body. That's where the name comes from!

3. I'm pretty sure I have two left feet, but I did learn ballroom dancing from someone once. I'm sure I'm rusty now.

4. Just English and a little bit of latin from all the magic incantations I know. I think I've picked up more Yiddish from Flamebringer than I ever did back home, which is kind of funny.

[ninelines]

Oh, hey again! Thanks so much. It’s good to hear from you!

1. That’s been something I’ve been wondering at, actually! I’m originally from a time that I’d consider, uh, relatively far back in the overall timeline, but I’ve met some that seem to be from centuries in the past. At least, relatively. I’ve noticed those similarities you mention, though! I think it’s incredibly interesting to see linguistic constants despite being from, seemingly, entirely different… worlds? Universes?
2. The Big Dipper's a good one! Hey, it’s popular for a reason. It’s pretty neat to have a birthmark like that, though. Gotta admit, I’m kind of envious. Have you always felt that positively about it?
3. Hey, if you were able to learn even a little bit, I'd wager you don’t have quite the two left feet you might think you do. I'm noticing a funny little pattern with everyone knowing some level of ballroom dancing, though.
4. Magic incantations, huh? I’m actually curious, based on that: did you learn the incantations first and then extrapolate the meaning of the words based on the result, or did you look up the meanings of the words prior to testing the incantation?

[infinitemist]

1. I can't really think of any off the top of my head. Um. I'm not sure if the ones I can think of count, either.
2. I think the stars are pretty, but I've never really learned anything about them despite mostly working at night. It never really occurred to me at the time to keep track. I did use some of them to know where I was going though. I think that's... the north star? Something like that.
3. I learned the box step at the ball the gods threw in december, but nothing more complex. I think one of my coworkers tried to teach me once, but I can't remember.
4. Japanese.

[ninelines]

1. Not a problem! You could always write one down regardless of whether you think it counts or not. I promise, I’m not trying to be strict about the questions or the answers here. I won’t be checking your work in any capacity beyond reading it and commenting on it.

2. The stars are pretty. The North Star sounds right! I'm a fan of that one myself too. What do you do that has you working mostly at night?

3. That is an answer I’ve heard a few times now! Did you enjoy the box step? If you were able to pick that up fairly easily, I think it’s a fine stepping stone for other partner dances.

4. Nice, gotcha. I’ll admit, this once, I am glad for the universal translation. I haven’t had the chance to learn Japanese myself. It is a beautiful language, though.

[lilyberation]

I am White Lily Cookie. Yes the last bit is literal. We're usually dough and icing, but this realm has made us human. Mostly.

1. In my village, our elders would tell us 'if you are worth something later, you are worth something now, for wheat is still wheat, even when it looks like grass'. It is something I still struggle with, but I understand it more than I had as a child.
2. We do have star systems, but my studies had me focus more on the moon, so I'm afraid I'm not the best for the cosmos at large. I do like stargazing though! I don't have a favorite constellation, but I do have a special love for the brighter stars at night, since they would help me navigate on my journeys.
3. I can dance a little, but I don't often. I was made with a very fragile body and I get tired or pained easily.
4. Using the common terminology, I speak French, English and Korean. French would be my native language!

[ninelines]

Pleasure to meet you, Miss White Lily Cookie! Um. If your name was to be shorthanded for formality's sake, would you prefer something like Miss White Lily or Miss Cookie…?

1. I like that. Not only does it flow beautifully, but it's a beautiful sentiment too. I'd like to write that one down to remember! It definitely sounds like the type of mindset you’d have to grow into.

2. The moon is still pretty neat! Would you mind sharing what kinds of things you were studying when it came to the moon? I’ll admit, I find the idea of focusing primarily on the moon to be an interesting one. It's nice to meet someone who knows how to navigate via the stars, though – it's a fairly underutilized skill, I feel.

3. Ah, I get it. I'm sorry to hear that. When you did have the occasion to, was there a particular dance you liked? Or maybe a style of music that evoked that kind of feeling in you?

4. I'm meeting so many who know how to speak French and Korean both! That’s exciting. Were your non-native languages ones you learned in an educational setting?