[ the next time sharon puts on her mask, or perhaps gets the feeling to pick it up like a ringing phone, she'll get— a feeling, like someone has knocked on her door, thought twice about being a little louder, then left. ]
Sharon?
[ and that's it. jayce did not feel welcomed enough to intrude or even insist. ]
[ it's such a strange feeling, like he's trying not to intrude. she finds herself appreciating it. that sense of consideration. ]
Everything okay, Jayce? [ his connection is recognizable, instantly familiar in how he tries to make himself smaller—to be less imposing than he could be. ]
Hey, [ despite sharing a blooming sense of relief, jayce is significantly watered down, a tired sort of response that braids within the words he sends, even if he's not necessarily saying anything outloud. ] are you busy?
[ he comes across so worn. worse than he'd looked upon their first meeting. she frowns to herself, but concern trickles through the Murmur ]
No, I'm not busy. [ unbidden, he'll get a flash of a sketchbook page filled with faces he's likely seen in the city. somewhere in those faces is his. ] And you definitely didn't answer my question.
[ so she's taking it as a no, everything is not okay. ]
[ oh, that's . . . beautiful. jayce knows how to appreciate art, he draws, himself— the bloom of wonder and recognition is there rather than spoken. thought. not enough time for that because he has to answer something more insistent. ]
I'm starting to get the impression that you're stubborn.
[ it's thought with budding affection, if anything. jayce doesn't quite like the humiliation that came with tripping and falling into things enough to cause great bodily harm. ask him how he got the brace. embarrassing, actually. i got spooked and tripped down a hill. shattered my leg because of gracelessness. ]
Head's just killing me, but boredom might kill me first.
[ that moment of appreciation is accepted with a shy spark of warmth. she didn't intend to show anything off, but she knows things leak through, and the following mention of his impression of her earns a flutter of amusement. it might just be true. stubborn to her very heart & soul.
but there's a hint there she picks up on. embarrassment? huh. did he fall? ]
And you thought to reach out to me? I'm flattered. [ the teasing slips out so effortlessly. ] But I don't think you can die of boredom, it's just slow torture until madness. That headache, though? You might be a goner.
What can I do to help? [ her desire to help seems genuine. ]
[ it's almost . . . frightening, how easily intimate one can feel when using the murmur's space. jayce would've thought himself rigid, and perhaps he had become such, for plenty— but for others who hit the right spots, the walls come down. it's easier to play again— something he hasn't allowed himself time or space to do since . . . well, long since the accident. perhaps when the council blew up (rather, someone cyan blew it up).
after a short pause that might tantamount to clearing one's throat, jayce continues with the image of what's in front of him: in some run down bed with a notebook in his hands and a candle by the bedside nightstand. the page spread has the entire english alphabet written out from A to Z. ]
Does the language you speak use this?
Edited (typos.... I beg of you) 2025-07-30 02:30 (UTC)
[ there's an immediate sense of a smile, one that verges on playfully cocky, but the moment comes and goes before she focuses on the image of what's in front of him. ]
Yeah, that's the English alphabet. [ for the first time since her arrival, she realizes that others here might not be able to read it. ] That's probably the language you'll encounter most here.
I've been told they represent the spoken language (sound) rather than carrying a symbolic meaning— [ a pause ] I guess what I'm asking is where I start with the sounds.
I'm thinking in Piltovian. You're probably understanding it in English, somehow.
[ jayce barely manages to filter the second theorizing thought about how that works— math. variable still doesn't match up; L ² = ......... please don't go down that rabbit hole. it's easy enough to ignore. ]
It works inversely, but I still can't make sense of what sound matches what letter. Else I can't begin to read anything.
[ The math is momentarily distracting. There, and gone. Jayce must be one smart fucking cookie. ]
I am understanding it in English, which... I can't even... Nope, not even going to try. [ She isn't one to dive too deep into the reasons when it's beneficial. She just accepts that they can understand one another, and moves on. ]
All right, you're right that our letters (A, B, C, etc) represent sounds, but the sounds vary according to the surrounding letters. It's... a whole thing. Hold on, lemme... [ The first thing he receives is her singing the alphabet, complete with the appropriate letters popping up through the Murmur in her sharp, slanted handwriting.
The next, a simple rundown of how certain letter combinations change the sounds, along with an explanation of ghost letters (k in the word knife, etc). ]
[ a nursery song— turns out not so many things are different about them after all. jayce catches one, quick. he learns quickly, visually and with just about anything that's stimulating. and despite his head complaining about the little extra push, his boredom thanks this and focuses enough to treat it as a light exercise rather than a marathon.
after some back and forth, jayce writes something simple down. his name. MY NAME IS JAYS. YOR NAME IS CSHARON. ]
Holy shit, you're a fast learner. [ It seems she was right: Jayce is one smart fucking cookie. ]
J-A-Y-S could technically be correct, but I've been going with J-A-Y-C-E. It's just what it sounds like to me. And, minus the first letter, you got my name right. I'm surprised you didn't use a C!
I was going to, I just remembered what you said about the difference.
Ch and Sh are subtle but perceptible sounds— Sh sounds more like you're hushing someone.
[ and he supposes that's universal, hilariously. jayce knows he's fucking smart but there's a reason why language doesn't come with too much difficulty, especially if there's direction. ]
I'm a scientist, used to study runes on top of engineering. Traveled around Runeterra when I was younger for stones. It's helpful to learn how to communicate quickly. Or just read the signs.
[ there's a touch of humor there. like, uhhh. going into the wrong. places. yeah. that's. yeah. ]
[ Like you're hushing someone. That makes her smile.
—wait, what the shit? A scientist. An engineer. It's no wonder he's capable of picking this up so quickly. She is thoroughly impressed, but then she picks up on the humor. ]
Miss a big, important sign I'm guessing? [ Everything about her connection screams deets, please! ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
some time during week 4
Sharon?
[ and that's it. jayce did not feel welcomed enough to intrude or even insist. ]
;;; jayceeee
Everything okay, Jayce? [ his connection is recognizable, instantly familiar in how he tries to make himself smaller—to be less imposing than he could be. ]
:')
Hey, [ despite sharing a blooming sense of relief, jayce is significantly watered down, a tired sort of response that braids within the words he sends, even if he's not necessarily saying anything outloud. ] are you busy?
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No, I'm not busy. [ unbidden, he'll get a flash of a sketchbook page filled with faces he's likely seen in the city. somewhere in those faces is his. ] And you definitely didn't answer my question.
[ so she's taking it as a no, everything is not okay. ]
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I'm starting to get the impression that you're stubborn.
[ it's thought with budding affection, if anything. jayce doesn't quite like the humiliation that came with tripping and falling into things enough to cause great bodily harm. ask him how he got the brace. embarrassing, actually. i got spooked and tripped down a hill. shattered my leg because of gracelessness. ]
Head's just killing me, but boredom might kill me first.
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but there's a hint there she picks up on. embarrassment? huh. did he fall? ]
And you thought to reach out to me? I'm flattered. [ the teasing slips out so effortlessly. ] But I don't think you can die of boredom, it's just slow torture until madness. That headache, though? You might be a goner.
What can I do to help? [ her desire to help seems genuine. ]
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[ it's almost . . . frightening, how easily intimate one can feel when using the murmur's space. jayce would've thought himself rigid, and perhaps he had become such, for plenty— but for others who hit the right spots, the walls come down. it's easier to play again— something he hasn't allowed himself time or space to do since . . . well, long since the accident. perhaps when the council blew up (rather, someone cyan blew it up).
after a short pause that might tantamount to clearing one's throat, jayce continues with the image of what's in front of him: in some run down bed with a notebook in his hands and a candle by the bedside nightstand. the page spread has the entire english alphabet written out from A to Z. ]
Does the language you speak use this?
no subject
Yeah, that's the English alphabet. [ for the first time since her arrival, she realizes that others here might not be able to read it. ] That's probably the language you'll encounter most here.
no subject
I've been told they represent the spoken language (sound) rather than carrying a symbolic meaning— [ a pause ] I guess what I'm asking is where I start with the sounds.
I'm thinking in Piltovian. You're probably understanding it in English, somehow.
[ jayce barely manages to filter the second theorizing thought about how that works— math. variable still doesn't match up; L ² = ......... please don't go down that rabbit hole. it's easy enough to ignore. ]
It works inversely, but I still can't make sense of what sound matches what letter. Else I can't begin to read anything.
no subject
I am understanding it in English, which... I can't even... Nope, not even going to try. [ She isn't one to dive too deep into the reasons when it's beneficial. She just accepts that they can understand one another, and moves on. ]
All right, you're right that our letters (A, B, C, etc) represent sounds, but the sounds vary according to the surrounding letters. It's... a whole thing. Hold on, lemme... [ The first thing he receives is her singing the alphabet, complete with the appropriate letters popping up through the Murmur in her sharp, slanted handwriting.
The next, a simple rundown of how certain letter combinations change the sounds, along with an explanation of ghost letters (k in the word knife, etc). ]
no subject
after some back and forth, jayce writes something simple down. his name. MY NAME IS JAYS. YOR NAME IS
CSHARON. ]Like this?
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J-A-Y-S could technically be correct, but I've been going with J-A-Y-C-E. It's just what it sounds like to me. And, minus the first letter, you got my name right. I'm surprised you didn't use a C!
[ She is so damn impressed. ]
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I was going to, I just remembered what you said about the difference.
Ch and Sh are subtle but perceptible sounds— Sh sounds more like you're hushing someone.
[ and he supposes that's universal, hilariously. jayce knows he's fucking smart but there's a reason why language doesn't come with too much difficulty, especially if there's direction. ]
I'm a scientist, used to study runes on top of engineering. Traveled around Runeterra when I was younger for stones. It's helpful to learn how to communicate quickly. Or just read the signs.
[ there's a touch of humor there. like, uhhh. going into the wrong. places. yeah. that's. yeah. ]
Especially read the signs.
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—wait, what the shit? A scientist. An engineer. It's no wonder he's capable of picking this up so quickly. She is thoroughly impressed, but then she picks up on the humor. ]
Miss a big, important sign I'm guessing? [ Everything about her connection screams deets, please! ]
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[ dad jokes: unlocked. ]
It was a communal bathing tent. I hope you're happy.
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Oh.
Oh, shit. She's laughing, her amusement twinkling like Christmas lights. ] Very! Don't tell me you got all flustered over a little nudity!
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"A little", she says.
I'm not as awful as you say. And I'll have you know there's more where that came from.
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[ he doesn't know how old she is, so he's just guesstimating here. ]
A lot happens in ten years.
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How old are you?
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[ the unfiltered waves of his mind says: 32. ]
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[ not like it mattered . . . he still feels a feedback loop of tickled from this. ]
At least someone is having fun at my expense.
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