un: anglicized

[descendency]

I noticed several of you at my concert the other day.

[ Long, thoughtful pause. ]

I hope you enjoyed it. Do tell me if you have any feedback.

[ He meant to warn everyone of possible side effects and to get in touch with him if they need help, but once he started talking he changed his mind. Why invite trouble? If someone's suffering enough surely they'll put two and two together and seek him out, right?

So good talk, kids. You're on your own. ]

Well, good talk. Don't die out there. Or cost us money. Or else.

Comments

un: absterge

[downswing]

You imbued music with sorcery.



( You people don't respond well to 'qi.' )

[descendency]

[ Hey, he watches xianxia AND anime. ]

What makes you say that, little cluckling?

[downswing]

I speak the lie?

[descendency]

I'm just asking where the notion came from.

Is this callout supposed to serve a purpose? Are you going to cancel me on social media?

[downswing]

( What is social me —

...has his communicator stopped translating — )


Shared interest. The Lan sect perpetuates musical sorcery.

[descendency]

[ Ah, he'll stop being (as) catty now. You have his interest. ]

Unexpectedly delicious news. Tell me more. What instrument? Instruments? [ Does your family have a band, Wangji? ] What is your primary area of study? Is all your 'sorcery' conducted through music? I recall you practice swordsmanship as well.

UN: Lianfang-Zun

[malicing]

Forgive me, I am new: what instrument is your specialty?

[descendency]

[ Oh, he needs you in his dossier. ]

Name, rank, and sect affiliation please.

[ Just... guessing from your username. Either one of the old timey cultivators or a huge nerd, and he's not holding his breath for huge nerd. That would be too much fun. ]

[malicing]

[He is a dangerous addition!]

I am Jin Guangyao, Leader of the Lanling Jin sect.

[If only, right? Yet he could be an old timey cultivator nerd. Just consider him a strange hybrid?]

[descendency]

[ That's a new one. He writes it down. ]

A pleasure. Bai Mingyu. I play the erhu, as well as violin and piano.

[malicing]

You are gifted. I am fond of the guqin and xiao myself.

[Music can be so...powerful. He likes that aspect of it and has made use of it on unsuspecting Nies.]

The pleasure is mine. I hope I can attend one of your concerts soon.

un: dappled pearl of the parted seas [voice]

[beitangmoran]

That was quite the performance, Master Bai.

[downswing]

Instruments vary. Not all sorcery is so swayed.

Why choose this song?

[descendency]

Where I'm from, the measurable effect of enchantment through music can be cumulative. Classical compositions, properly utilized, can outperform their modern counterparts through generational use. The music itself will always carry the intent of the composer but is malleable to a certain extent by the performer.

However, the older a piece of music gets the harder it is to control and adapt so there are benefits to composing something yourself. Popular music can often split the difference by being bolstered through broad usage while maintaining a certain flexibility.

This piece is one I already knew that was closely aligned with my intended purpose.

[descendency]

I'm flattered by the compliments. Though I have no experience with the guqin, I dabbled a little in the guzheng as a child. Never did get very far with it. The xiao has a beautiful sound.

Are you a hobbyist, or is your music a medium for sorcery as well?

I'm afraid I don't play very often, but I'm sure something could be arranged.

[descendency]

Did you enjoy yourself, cousin?

[ He sounds MUCH too pleased with himself. ]

un: ut malum pluvia

[somebadnews]

[ Lucky for Five (and probably everyone else), he missed the concert. And yet he still finds it in himself to give feedback. ]

I liked your speech.

[descendency]

[ Look Mingyu probably would've counterspelled the effects on Five specifically if he'd seen him in the audience. Like a solid 60% chance. ]

I thought you might. How are you holding up since our arrival?

[somebadnews]

[ Don't ask. It feels like he's window shopping for who to sell his soul to at this point. ]

It's nice to be out of the rain. [ And he'll just talk around any concern he might have had after the possession thing. ] I didn't think we'd be getting a performance so soon.

[malicing]

If I desired to use it for sorcery, I could. [And he has done so. Music seems to come to him without difficulty, but Guangyao puts his all into achieving his every ambition.]

Zewu-Jun, my er ge, taught me how to use music to calm another.

[downswing]

( The summary, to test his understanding: )


You inherit the weight and intent of past performances.

[descendency]

Concise as ever. Yes, that's it exactly.

[beitangmoran]

It certainly was poignant.

[Are you hoping for some deets here Mingyu because he will say nothing unless prodded directly.]

[downswing]

If the a performer's song is that of his ancestors, how does his music change?

[descendency]

In most cases a piece handed down through a family is more responsive to the performer, as part of the intent of music composed to be handed down is hope for the success of their successors. There's even music that can't be utilized by performers outside of that family or bloodline. It's also been observed that the music remains similarly responsive regardless of the actual relationship between the performer and their ancestors.

An extreme example would be, say, if a son murdered his entire family. The music's strength and responsiveness to him wouldn't change because it only carries the desires of his ancestors for him as a concept, as the idea of their descendant without consideration for what that descendant may be like.

It's interesting stuff. My family only has a few compositions of their own. I've considered writing some.