driftfleet | And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

_{[ ooc: continued from here ]}

"Finrod?" he repeated, not sure if he should be proud of himself or not for jumping to the right conclusion. "I've met him before. He was playing the harp in a park at the space station we stopped at last. He's talented - and nice." He hadn't really talked to him much so he could not say more than that, but he had liked him from the short conversation they'd had. He would not mind spending more time with the elf, and his cousin was proving equally pleasant.

"It's good that you have family here," he nodded. "Do you play an instrument like he does? Or is that just something unique to Finrod?"

"He is an excellent musician." Maglor says proudly. "I tutored him myself for a time. And he has an open and ready heart - a more loyal friend you will never find, if you become close."

He nods with a wry smile. "No - I was named for my harpskill, and it was not given wrongly - not that mother was often wrong about such things! Although I have tried my hand at many different instruments, I always came back to the harp."

"Named for your harp skill?" Kirk questioned, wondering if children in Maglor's culture did something like earning names after they were born rather than the human tradition of giving as they were born. More, he wondered what the other's name meant in his language that it related back to a harp or music.

"You must quite good indeed then. Perhaps I will have the pleasure of getting to hear you play?" he asked, a note of hope in his voice. He had come to enjoy the harp over the past year, and Finrod's music had been lovely out in the park.

"Aye - it is held amongst my people that the mother, having carried the child for so long, often has some foresight into what her child will become. Amongst my kin, we are usually given two names - a father name, and a mother name - one for public use, and one for family and friends, you might say. And certainly in my family, mother named us truly."

He smiles and ducks a little shyly, but he speaks with the pride of an artist who has been openly acknowledged and has no shame in admitting that. "They said of me once that I was one of the greatest bards to walk the lands. I would not object to a performance."

It was a far more progressive thought process than Kirk's people had in the past. Generally one expected the mother and father to have a hand in agreeing on the name of the child now, but it wasn't always like that. He found the idea of a private name and a public name intriguing though.

"That's an interesting cultural aspect," he said aloud, the tone of his voice meaning he meant it. "So Maglor is your public name then, the one your mother gave you? Or the one your father gave?"

The shy duck makes him smile a little, hearing the pride and liking it. It gives him a certain glow that is quite attractive. "When you find yourself able, I would very much like to hear it. Was your mother the one that taught you to play?"

"Oh, neither, in fact." A very wry grin. "My people, the Noldor - the word can be translated as 'deep elves' - are inventors, loremasters, builders and scholars. We are a people who love words, and the Noldor have a tendency to ah... take it to extremes. We like naming things - including ourselves - you see. So - most of us start with the father-name, and then are given the mother-name. Family and friends may then give you an epessë - a nickname or two, and you may, in time, chose a cilmessë, a chosen name, for yourself. This can be one of your existing names, or one entirely new.

In my case, we had a slight language issue, where we had moved to an area where the dominant language was that of our Silvan and Sindarin cousins, and so we adopted Sindarin names. 'Maglor' is a very, very rough approximation of my mother name, in fact, but I have used it for long enough that it is my cilmessë now."

He nods. "She was my first tutor, yes - and the harp was father's gift to me, his way of acknowledging that my road would be different to his. As for performing, I am happy to play whenever"

Edited 2016-05-02 04:14 (UTC)

He's drinking everything Maglor says up. One of Kirk's favorite parts of his job was learning about new cultures, and everything Maglor was offering up was practically cold to him. Later tonight he would add it to the log he had been keeping, but for now those blue eyes were wide and entranced.

"Once you've chosen those names, can you change them?" he asked curiously. "Do they change as you change?"

The way he described the relationship with his parents had him wondering if parents in his culture tried to directly guide their children to certain professions, or if they were looser, letting children take their own paths. From the sounds of it there was no disappointment that he had not followed his father, or at least no expectation that he was meant to or would.

"Are you expected to follow the path of your parents? Is that common in your culture?"

"As often as you like! Or as suits your change in circumstance." His grin remains wry. "So you can imagine, some of us end up with... quite a few. Finrod, for example has... hm. At least six, at last count. Which is considered a reasonably respectable number. I myself have four that I would consider in common use."

He waggles in hand in the multiversal gesture for 'sort of'.

"Yes and no - father was first and last an inventor, and his greatest wish was for one of us to follow him into the forge - as such, all of my brothers and I have at least the beginnings of such knowledge. But when it became clear that our talents lay in other areas, we were released to pursue our own desires with his blessing. Mind you, he got a lot better about doing that as time went on - he was not best pleased that my eldest brother was probably best suited in our grandfather's court!"

Edited 2016-05-02 05:31 (UTC)

"How do you keep track of them all?" he laughed. "I answer to two, and that seems more than enough to have to remember. Three if you count my full name, but that's only for when I'm in trouble." He looked to Maglor and winked at the other man, his smile bright in the dimness of the museum.

He had to laugh at that admission. "I suppose any father would be disappointed not to pass on his legacy to one of his own, but it's good your father didn't try to force you into a particular pursuit. We have a saying on my world - 'When you love your work, you never work a day in your life'."

"Practice" Maglor chuckles softly, the sound a little rusty. "Also most folk will have a favourite, which helps. The names I call my brothers are not the ones that strangers call them, or the one our parents will."

His smile is fond and sadly wistful. "Father... was a very difficult personality. But he always tried to make sure we were happy. And I think, because he knew how fortunate he was to be follow his dreams and do whatsoe'er he wished, he tried to allow us opportunity to do the same."

It is a firmer smile that he slides at Kirk. "A very true saying."

"I think I would get confused," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Just be turning my head at every name, thinking it's mine." He answered to two, sometimes three if he was in trouble, but he couldn't imagine having up to six and remembering a score of them for every occasion.

He listened quietly, wondering if his own father would have been like that, though it was a moot point from the beginning. And he had no care what his step father or his uncle thought of his choices. He had not spoken to them in years and had no wish to change that.

"I've found it to be so in recent years too," he grinned. "So, when do you plan to give your first performance?"

Maglor chuckles wryly in answer.

"You do get used to it. I suppose I know no differently."

He blinks and tips his head consideringly. "I... well, I could do so any time, really. But... a formal performance? Is that... something that folk do here?"

"It's a full on profession in my world. In fact, if you're very good, you can become quite rich." There's other factors involved, but no need to get into that.

"And I'm sure it would be appreciated. This situation is not an ideal one, but if nothing else I think it gives us all a chance to learn and appreciate more cultures across universes and worlds. Why not share parts of it? And if everyone else says no, well, I would be glad for a private one."

"Some things do not change, I suppose" Maglor huffs softly, amused. "Although I doubt any wandering bard has ever become rich!"

He nods thoughtfully. "It was suggested that the Iskaliut might have facilities for a proper music studio..."

"Well, we don't call them bards in my world. We call the musicians, rock bands, pop stars, artists - a lot of things, really." It was confusing, he knew, but you couldn't classify them all in one group anymore.

He nodded. "It might. It seems that ship has room for a lot of things our much smaller ones don't. But I think some nice music will always be appreciated, wherever it can be found."

Maglor chuckles lowly. "So many names! It seems my kinfolk are not the only ones who love words."

He hums thoughtfully and nods. "Well - I think I will have to see what is available - it would be nice, to have a proper music room again."

"Haha, well, they have to do with the genre of music. There's more than one type of musical style in your world, right? So there is in mine - but we give them all names based on their sounds. I, personally, like rock and techno music."

He considers. "There is a garden on the Iskaulit. It's not a true performance space, but having music in it from time to time would be nice, I think."

"Ah, when put that way it makes more sense. What sort of music is rock and techno?"

He nods thoughtfully. "I will have to go an look, I think. Fortunately, the augments have apparently conveyed the ability to use the shuttles well enough."

"Rock has very heavy beats with drums and guitars. It's meant to get your heart bumping and your head banging - good time music! And techno is... well, it's electronic, and it's mostly for dancing and mostly about fast beats."

That's how he sees it anyways, he's not a music expert.

"Yes, they do at least give you the basics of moving around on the ships. As much as I hate them, at least it's kept people from crashing into each other's ships."

"Electronic?" Maglor blinks curiously. "Rock sounds very interesting."

He huffs in agreement. "Aye. Tis incredibly strange, but I cannot deny the usefulness. Particularly as it is becoming obvious that many of us do not quite speak the same tongues. I am, for example, right now speaking Westron. I am guessing that is not what you are hearing."

"Electronic means to use a computer to make the sounds," he explained to him. "I heard it described once as a 'robot singing'." He had always thought that a very poetic way of putting things, and it had stuck with him - especially considering that cyborgs were a thing in his world now.

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm hearing Earth English. The Augments are acting as universal translators, both for written and oral languages. I don't think it covers things like hand gestures - unless that person specifically uses only them to communicate." The Fleet's could do so, given enough time and context, as with any language. "From time to time, though, I hear words in the native language, but I suspect that is because the translator doesn't have a frame of reference for it within the listener's native language and so cannot translate the word."

"Ah! An interesting concept." maglor hums thoughtfully, and wonders what Daneel's voice is like.

"Clever - and useful, also, although I would have enjoyed the chance to learn a new language or two - it has been a long time since I had the luxury."

And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

Maglor - Green Museum

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funfact: my modern AU Mags loves rock & roll & jazz

Re: funfact: my modern AU Mags loves rock & roll & jazz

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