nexus_crossings | Language LOL: Translator Malfunction

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lol

Language LOL: Translator Malfunction

You know what's cool? Chatting with your pals. Reading the Internet. Navigating the roads because you can understand the Gods-damned street signs. You know what's not cool? Not being able to do any of that. By that metric, one might describe today in the Nexus decidedly uncool.

It's utterly without warning that the multiversal hub goes from automatic to manual translation. Shop signs, radio and television broadcasts, conversations on the streets between vendors and friends and businesspeople are suddenly a jarring cacophony of dissonant languages. Then there's the silence. Then there's the shouting. Turns out people get pissed off when nobody understands them!

Momentary chaos dies down as the average people of the Nexus come to grips with their new situation. Shopkeepers wait outside their stores and stands with expectant expressions, impatiently waiting for the translator to pull itself together and start working again.

Except...

It sort of doesn't.

No, it super doesn't.

Citizens of the Nexus, it would appear you're going to have to adjust...

((The temporary LANGUAGE LOL is now underway! It's freeform fun until you're done and participation is completely optional. Don't feel like this event should stop you from making threads which are unaffected by the LOL in the mean time. If you want your Language LOL'd character to interact with a non-LOL thread, please ask the OP if they want to play that dynamic first. For the OOC and organization post, GO HERE. ))

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Hunter nods at the gestures. "Sure. Go right ahead."

Picking up one of the sketchpads and a pencil, he writes something out in a neat little script before showing it to Hunter.

Read these colors out loud: red blue green. If you can understand this.

His handwriting, at least, appears to be in English.

"Red. Blue. Green." Hunter reads. Then looks up confused. "Well, you can at least write down words, that I can read. But whatever you are speaking... I don't understand."

"Do you understand me?"

Caspar sighs, but his relief is short-lived. Hunter can understand his hand-writing, but so what? That doesn't explain why the translator failed. Stupid Nexus.

He nods hurriedly when the other man asks if he can understand him, then begins to write furiously on the sketchpad.

I'm speaking and writing in Caprican, the language of the Twelve Colonies. What language are you speaking? And any idea why the translator failed? Has that happened before?

Edited (wrong html code) 2018-01-19 03:35 (UTC)

"Caprican?" Hunter nods slightly. "It reads as English to me."

"I am from 21st Century Earth. I speak English."

"I don't know why the translator failed. Not to my knowledge has it failed before." He deals with each question with honesty and a calmness.

"Hmm." He's familiar with English. He jots down another question.

What's it sound like when I'm talking?

He works his jaw in frustration -- not with Hunter, but the Nexus at large. Never failed before, huh? He bets that's what people said the first time the AV field failed, too.

At least it's not as bad as the AV field failing. Adia should be safe, wherever she is. He sets down the pad and pencil so he can pull out his PINpoint and send her a text. Make sure she's okay. On a hunch, he shows Hunter the picture of his girl that pops up whenever he messages her and raises a brow questioningly. You know her?

"I am not sure. Greek maybe?" Hunter answers, after reading the question.

He watches Caspar put down the pad and pencil and pull out his PINpoint. Then smiles when he sees the picture of a familiar face.

"That is Adia." He grins. He thinks for a moment. And remembers Adia mentioning her boyfriend to him. "Would that make you Caspar?"

Greek. Figures. "Αυτό είναι χάλια," he says with a sigh, because this does, indeed suck. I'd try to pick up some English but I can't learn anything if I understand it already. I don't know why I'm speaking in a way you can't understand back.

Adia texts him back right away, and that seems to ease some of the tension in his jaw. When Hunter identifies him correctly, he nods and even manages something of a smile. Damn right this guy had better heard of him, if he knows Adia.

He leans over the table to write something else on the notepad. Are you Hunter? Should I tell her to come meet us here?

"Yes. I am Hunter." He feels a little better knowing who this guy is. And he nods again to the other question.

"Sure. If she is available."

He doesn't know why Caspar can understand English, but can't speak it. And he is assuming that Adia will be in a similar situation.

Likewise, Hunter. He would have felt like an idiot if he had guessed wrong.

She'll be available. He had left her to do some research at the Grand Library -- he can only imagine what a shitshow that place is right now. He types out a text and tucks his PINpoint away before picking up the sketchpad and pencil again. It is going to be an awfully quiet conversation, isn't it? That's just fine with him.

Looks like you're all better. How's your alarm system holding up? Any problems?

"My alarm system..." Hunter pauses for a moment. Then smiles. That is right, Caspar was one of the people who helped get his apartment back in order.

"No problems with it so far. Thanks for hooking it up."

He shrugs and makes a "no problem" sort of gesture. Good. If any of the sensors get finicky, let me know.

There's an awkward moment when Caspar simply taps the pencil against the sketchpad, not knowing what else to write down. Conversations with strangers are difficult enough without an extra step. Thankfully, Adia chooses that moment to arrive, her messenger bag swinging a little in her desire to hurry over.

"Caspar!" She gives the man a quick kiss. "Η βιβλιοθήκη ήταν τρομερή! Δεν λειτουργούσε ούτε ένας υπολογιστής." She turns towards Hunter and says, "γεια, κυνηγός. πώς είσαι?"

Caspar offers her the sketchpad and pen with a soft smile. Quickly, she realizes what she needs to do.

Hi, Hunter. I just came from the library, it's a total mess. How is it here?

"Hi Adia." Hunter smiles softly. He smiles even wider seeing the romantic gesture before Adia and Caspar.

And is glad that Caspar cued her in to the fact that he can't understand her.

"It is chaos. I am not sure what we can do."

Caspar wraps an arm around his girl while she writes out a reply. He can feel how nervous she is, and the irritation he was expressing earlier melts away. He needs to be calm for her.

I don't know, either. I think the Nexus translator is broken. I've never heard of that happening before. She takes a few seconds to breathe and lean into the comfort of Caspar's touch. Whether or not the problem can be fixed, it's not as terrible as the anti-violence field failing. There's no invasion, no Nightmare. She needs to relax.

She looks between Caspar and Hunter, then smiles faintly and writes some more. I see you've finally met Caspar. And they seem to be getting along -- without the translator working, even. That's a good sign.

Hunter smiles when the couple lean into each other for comfort.

"Yes. I mistook him for a client at first." Hunter laughs softly.

Caspar smirks faintly at that. An honest mistake at the time, he's not going to hold it against Hunter.

I can see why. You have a lot of nice pieces for sale. Adia's gaze lingers over the jewelry, although she can't entirely shake her concern over the larger situation.

Watching her look over the artwork, Caspar gently plucks the pencil and notebook out of her hands. Since we can't do much else at the moment, why don't you tell us about this stuff? You have a favorite piece here?

"I custom make everything here. And no, I don't have a favorite piece. What I enjoy the most about making art is making something for someone."

"I do enjoy my rose-jewelry." The ones created from rose petals. "But that is because of my special bond with the flower."

Adia smiles softly at the explanation. She knows why roses are meaningful to him.

Roses have something to do with your magic? Caspar has not heard Hunter's story yet. He says something to Adia in Caprican and she blushes a little, but smiles and moves her scarf out of the way so that Hunter can see the piece of jewelry hanging around her neck, a little tulip charm on a gold chain.

Adia loves tulips. They've become important to me, too.

"Has Adia told you about how I was cursed by a witch?" Hunter asks, before answering Caspar's question. He needs to know how much backstory he needs to give.

Hunter smiles. He picks up a few pieces of wire and metal. Then uses his magic to make the pieces weave together. Until finally, a metal tulip, is created. He hands that out to Adia.

Caspar raises an eyebrow. That would be a no, Hunter. It wasn't Hermione, was it? he writes with a small smirk. Adia peeks at what he's written and gives him a nudge with her elbow. Be serious, Caspar. Sounds like a hell of a story. I'm listening.

Although he can't help but be distracted by the delighted laugh that Adia gives when Hunter hands her the metal tulip. It's a war between pleasure over hearing his girl's sweet laugh, and annoyance that he wasn't the cause of it. At least he can keep jealousy out of the picture. The magic only belatedly registers. Hmm. Neat trick.

"It was five years ago. Before I even knew about the Nexus." Hunter explains.

"There is some magic on my world. But back then... I was unaware of that fact."

"Back then, I looked completely different. I had a rich father. A spoiled upbringing. And believed that the good looks that were defined by popularity was the most important thing in the world."

"There was a woman at my university who didn't have that conventional good looks. I insulted her. Worse than that... I embarrassed her in public."

"Her name was Kendra. She used her magic to change my appearance. The tattoos and the piercings all appeared in one night. And she gave me a large rose bush tattoo on my left arm." Hunter holds up his arm. "And told me that I had until the last rose bush fell... to find someone to love me, no matter how I appeared."

"I didn't understand until later, that her goal was to let me grow, and learn to love myself."

It's a story that Adia has heard before, but she listens again attentively, absently twirling the metal tulip between her fingers. In contrast to her soft compassion, Caspar's expression is a little harder to read. He's listening without much emotion; the only time he reacts is when Hunter mentions embarrassing the witch in public. There's a look of guilt on his face as he glances at Adia, remembering how he treated her on New Caprica, denying that he even knew her and pushing her away.

If some witch had decided to curse him then and there, he would have deserved it.

So Jim doesn't count, then? Too late, or you've learned to love yourself, tattoos and all?

"The curse was intended to only last a year. And since I didn't love myself after one year... her magic stayed in place."

"And even if I was given the option. I would not change my appearance now."

"Jim loves me as I am. I love myself as I am. Tattoos and all."

Yep, Caspar would have been really screwed by that curse. He looks at Adia again and runs a hand over her hair. The touch makes her look up and smile at him. She tucks the stem of the metal tulip into the lapel of his jacket, then says something to him in their native tongue. He smiles softly and kisses her forehead. He's lucky that she loves him enough for them both.

Congratulations. The tattoos and piercings suit you. How long did it take you to get used to them?

"A few years. But that is the whole point of finding yourself..." Hunter smiles. "I am still learning new things about myself."

"It helps to have someone like Jim in my life, who doesn't care what I look like, and calls me handsome many times. And of course to have supportive friends."

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