Perhaps.
( it is difficult to say. what they know of each other's worlds is still very limited, though blue has painted a picture that — to him — is considerably worse than his own. war, pain, death, hatred, all those things are normal to him. but the control that blue has spoken of, the revocation of free will... it is an eerie echo of the hand danzō kept on his throat. he knows better than to say humans would not be susceptible to such a thing. when he was younger, he told himself that every choice he made was his own, but now...
now he can look back on what was asked of him, and feel sorrow for the boy he was once, who truly felt he had no other choice. )
I do not think any cycle of power is meant to last forever. One day humans may overcome them in your world.
( it is difficult to say. what they know of each other's worlds is still very limited, though blue has painted a picture that — to him — is considerably worse than his own. war, pain, death, hatred, all those things are normal to him. but the control that blue has spoken of, the revocation of free will... it is an eerie echo of the hand danzō kept on his throat. he knows better than to say humans would not be susceptible to such a thing. when he was younger, he told himself that every choice he made was his own, but now...
now he can look back on what was asked of him, and feel sorrow for the boy he was once, who truly felt he had no other choice. )
I do not think any cycle of power is meant to last forever. One day humans may overcome them in your world.
We should be hearing about our next mission soon, yes?
( he hasn't been here long enough to establish patterns for himself, but this month has felt like an aberration in many ways, and he has read through the backlogs on the network. )
Will you be all right?
( he hasn't been here long enough to establish patterns for himself, but this month has felt like an aberration in many ways, and he has read through the backlogs on the network. )
Will you be all right?
( he is silent for a long moment. then: )
You speak often of your use to others.
( it's distinctly, painfully familiar. to view one's self as only a tool, the sum of whatever awesome abilities they may have at hand.
there is little he hates more than being vulnerable. sickness made him so, though he hid it an every turn — well aware that sharks can smell blood. if kisame guessed he was dying, he never spoke of it. yet, like a bone that must be broken to be re-set, some things must be... tolerated.
this could, potentially, be a dangerous conversation. he has a keen awareness of such things, a finely-honed sense of awareness to anything that may set some play in motion over which he has little control. blue had been the one to push him to examine what it would truly mean to change, and he is falling back on the realization that he must open himself to accept new experiences if he is to survive the winnowing of his regrets. )
Is that the only way you see yourself?
You speak often of your use to others.
( it's distinctly, painfully familiar. to view one's self as only a tool, the sum of whatever awesome abilities they may have at hand.
there is little he hates more than being vulnerable. sickness made him so, though he hid it an every turn — well aware that sharks can smell blood. if kisame guessed he was dying, he never spoke of it. yet, like a bone that must be broken to be re-set, some things must be... tolerated.
this could, potentially, be a dangerous conversation. he has a keen awareness of such things, a finely-honed sense of awareness to anything that may set some play in motion over which he has little control. blue had been the one to push him to examine what it would truly mean to change, and he is falling back on the realization that he must open himself to accept new experiences if he is to survive the winnowing of his regrets. )
Is that the only way you see yourself?
What I think is irrelevant.
( his own thoughts run too parallel to blue's to be of any benefit. but he can recognize how little it matters now, to be useful. shisui would have gone to the ends of the earth for him — and did, at the last. naruto would do the same for sasuke. use is a part of the picture, but not the entirety of it. )
You are the first person in a decade I have spoken honestly with. ( not about everything. but it's more than anyone else has seen of him here. ) That has nothing to do with being useful — yet it does have value to me.
( his own thoughts run too parallel to blue's to be of any benefit. but he can recognize how little it matters now, to be useful. shisui would have gone to the ends of the earth for him — and did, at the last. naruto would do the same for sasuke. use is a part of the picture, but not the entirety of it. )
You are the first person in a decade I have spoken honestly with. ( not about everything. but it's more than anyone else has seen of him here. ) That has nothing to do with being useful — yet it does have value to me.
( we ain't do that in this house fam )
Then consider that perhaps I have no desire to share my reasons.
( look he can be honest about that too. if... blunt. )
My point is that if you focus only on where and how you are useful to others, you overlook the moments that matter for other reasons.
Then consider that perhaps I have no desire to share my reasons.
( look he can be honest about that too. if... blunt. )
My point is that if you focus only on where and how you are useful to others, you overlook the moments that matter for other reasons.
( he snorts, a faint exhale of breath through his nose. )
Yet, the moments you were of greatest use to me personally were also the ones of least impact on how I view you.
( waking him out of a dream in the castle? broke. talking in their oddly customary spot with a view of the stars? woke. )
Yet, the moments you were of greatest use to me personally were also the ones of least impact on how I view you.
( waking him out of a dream in the castle? broke. talking in their oddly customary spot with a view of the stars? woke. )
It's nothing.
( by which he means RIPPING OPEN THIS VULNERABILITY HE DESPISES IN HIMSELF AND SPLAYING IT OUT LIKE BIRD ENTRAILS FOR A DIVINER is nothing and not, you know, that it means nothing to say so. )
There is one more thing I would like to try, if you think yourself capable.
( by which he means RIPPING OPEN THIS VULNERABILITY HE DESPISES IN HIMSELF AND SPLAYING IT OUT LIKE BIRD ENTRAILS FOR A DIVINER is nothing and not, you know, that it means nothing to say so. )
There is one more thing I would like to try, if you think yourself capable.
Yes.
( he takes a paper tag and a pen out of his pouch. the paper itself is nothing special, it's simply been infused with a base amount of chakra, and is blank otherwise. generally, they are for explosive tags — but being a fire and genjutsu specialist he does not often require them. )
In my world, it is very possible for individuals to create new applications of chakra, depending on their aptitudes, abilities and knowledge. I happen to be adequate at fuinjutsu. Sealing techniques.
( he writes several characters on the paper, which absorbs the ink and briefly glows with the rich, customary red of his chakra before the symbols fade. the ink seems to crawl across the page, coalescing into something perhaps a bit like this.
(minus the frog) )
I've sealed a small amount of my chakra into this paper. I'm curious as to whether or not you may be able to release it. Put your hand here — ( he indicates the middle of the circle ) and say 'kai'.
( release. as with the honourifics he stubbornly clings to, he doesn't allow that word to translate either. )
( he takes a paper tag and a pen out of his pouch. the paper itself is nothing special, it's simply been infused with a base amount of chakra, and is blank otherwise. generally, they are for explosive tags — but being a fire and genjutsu specialist he does not often require them. )
In my world, it is very possible for individuals to create new applications of chakra, depending on their aptitudes, abilities and knowledge. I happen to be adequate at fuinjutsu. Sealing techniques.
( he writes several characters on the paper, which absorbs the ink and briefly glows with the rich, customary red of his chakra before the symbols fade. the ink seems to crawl across the page, coalescing into something perhaps a bit like this.
(minus the frog) )
I've sealed a small amount of my chakra into this paper. I'm curious as to whether or not you may be able to release it. Put your hand here — ( he indicates the middle of the circle ) and say 'kai'.
( release. as with the honourifics he stubbornly clings to, he doesn't allow that word to translate either. )
It signifies plenty, of course. [ Especially coming from him! Even gift-giving is something he tries to be a perfectionist at. After that little boast, he shifts into focusing on explaining, with that steady, underlying feeling of excitement he gets when he does this sort of thing, even if his expression doesn't shift. Here comes mister nerdass again. ]
These sorts of amulets all have different meanings. So one gives or collects them with a certain wish, a certain intent - there are ones for luck, for riches, for joy, for love and for protection, nearly anything you can think of. I don't know if you or your people believe in that kind of thing - even the extent of my own belief in it only goes so far - but I still think there's some merit to it! [ Does he think throwing a love charm at someone would bag them a romance instantly? Of course not. But, Yzak thinks to himself, maybe presenting one's intentions this way still does something, that a thought from someone has even the tiniest ripple of some kind of universal cosmic energy that can end up making the tiniest bit of difference something needs. ] This one I asked for you, it's for protection - specifically, for a safe journey home. And it extends from being a gift just for you, to that of one for your ship, your people and the mission you're all on.
[ He leans in and points a finger at the shape next. ] This shape can have different meanings, too. Evolution, connection, [ Both of which are reminiscent of Mu. ] but it also happens to be the shape of the galaxy in which your destination, where Earth - Terra - resides.
These sorts of amulets all have different meanings. So one gives or collects them with a certain wish, a certain intent - there are ones for luck, for riches, for joy, for love and for protection, nearly anything you can think of. I don't know if you or your people believe in that kind of thing - even the extent of my own belief in it only goes so far - but I still think there's some merit to it! [ Does he think throwing a love charm at someone would bag them a romance instantly? Of course not. But, Yzak thinks to himself, maybe presenting one's intentions this way still does something, that a thought from someone has even the tiniest ripple of some kind of universal cosmic energy that can end up making the tiniest bit of difference something needs. ] This one I asked for you, it's for protection - specifically, for a safe journey home. And it extends from being a gift just for you, to that of one for your ship, your people and the mission you're all on.
[ He leans in and points a finger at the shape next. ] This shape can have different meanings, too. Evolution, connection, [ Both of which are reminiscent of Mu. ] but it also happens to be the shape of the galaxy in which your destination, where Earth - Terra - resides.
( sometimes the prodigy jumps out, nbd.
not this time, however. he reaches out and pushes blue's hand down against the symbols, but even then the paper remains inert. itachi frowns at it thoughtfully as if unravelling pieces of a curious puzzle. he does not seem frustrated, more... intrigued.
he lifts a hand up, deftly bites at the side of his thumb and, shifting blue's hand aside adds a drop of blood to the centre of the circular sigil. rather than stain the paper, it too seems to be absorbed and disappear. then: )
Try again. Reach out with your psionic abilities.
not this time, however. he reaches out and pushes blue's hand down against the symbols, but even then the paper remains inert. itachi frowns at it thoughtfully as if unravelling pieces of a curious puzzle. he does not seem frustrated, more... intrigued.
he lifts a hand up, deftly bites at the side of his thumb and, shifting blue's hand aside adds a drop of blood to the centre of the circular sigil. rather than stain the paper, it too seems to be absorbed and disappear. then: )
Try again. Reach out with your psionic abilities.
( in a world where people routinely harm themselves in ways far more dramatic and long-lasting as this and uchiha trade eyeballs like pokemon cards, it doesn't even occur to him that blue might find the sight of blood distasteful. he doesn't react to that soft utterance of his name's first syllable, simply shakes his head and carries on past it. )
If you were to search for me on the ship with your abilities, what would that feel like to you? Try that, but focus on the paper.
( it could be that they are simply too incompatible on that level. he can share chakra, but it may well be a one-way conduit, a natural consequence of the sage of six paths doing so once upon a time. or it could be that he needs to continue fine-tuning the seals for it. perhaps if he adds the seal for bird... )
If you were to search for me on the ship with your abilities, what would that feel like to you? Try that, but focus on the paper.
( it could be that they are simply too incompatible on that level. he can share chakra, but it may well be a one-way conduit, a natural consequence of the sage of six paths doing so once upon a time. or it could be that he needs to continue fine-tuning the seals for it. perhaps if he adds the seal for bird... )
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