CAMPUS WIDE EVENT: THE LANGUAGE BARRIER REINSTATED

[intercom_voice]

[Today, something somewhere went wrong. On the evening on the 15th, any bilingual (or otherwise) knowledge granted by the Campus has simply...disappeared. At least for anybody walking by the North Wing.]

Tja ... det här kommer att lägga sordin på våra studier, är nu inte det?

[Translation: Well...this is going to put a damper on our studies, now isn't it?]

((ooc: So! For the next 5 days (the 15th~20th), your character officially only knows their native tongue. Aka, whatever language they primarily grew up with. They can no longer read, speak, or understand any other language but.

For fun you can even use Google Translate to show what your character is speaking at a glance! Don't worry, we all know it's probably gibberish :P

If you go the Google route, please be sure to put a translation at the bottom. If not, then please take care to specify what language your character is speaking in at the start of every thread.

If you have any questions, just head to the mod plurk or send this account a PM, but most importantly--have fun!))

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

...what?

[Yeah, he isn't getting a word of that. Spreading his hands, he shrugs. Is he trying to say that he wants to learn to understand the language? Because that's the only thing he can guess.]

[obeytherod]

Ugh...

[Pinching his brow, he can't quite figure out how to explain it differently, so instead he copies the word Bakura just said.]

What... What? [He lifts his hands up in a shrug as well, then twirls them a bit to ask for emphasis.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Bakura blinks at him in surprise. Huh, he really is trying to learn it, isn't he? That thought warms his heart.]

I understand... I think. Hm...

[Lifting a hand, he points it at himself.]

I-

[Tapping his head.]

Think.

[Thumbs up.]

That's great!

[God, it's like being a mime.]

[obeytherod]

[Malik blinks, staring a moment, but all of a sudden he understands. Bakura understands!

Nodding, he copies the gestures and the words to go with them. His pronunciation is pretty good considering the two languages were related, but it still needs work.]

I... Think. That's great!

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Grinning, he gestures widely, hands spread out.]

You're doing good!

[He can at least understand him. Carefully, he repeats it again, so that Malik can get a better grip of it.

...Though it might do better if he writes things down so he doesn't forget them... Oh well. Pointing at Malik.]

You-

[Miming writing.]

Should probably write this down.

[obeytherod]

That's great. [He says again with more determination this time, and then copies the other words as best he can.]

You're do good.

[At the writing gesture, he grabs one of the books and flips to the back, ripping out a mostly blank page so he can start to write. He was just lucky enough to have a pen in his pocket.]

You... Should pro...uh. Write the down.

[fluffydeathdealer]

... [Yeah, he's going to need to do this slowly. Start with the basics, perhaps? Pointing at Malik-]

You-

[-tracing a plus sign in the air-]

and

[-pointing at himself.]

me.

[obeytherod]

You and me... [He copies the gestures, but then looks confused.]

Me...I? [Malik furrows his brow and frowns.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Ah... [He should probably stick to one or the other, shouldn't he?]

You- [Pointing at Malik.]

And. [Plus sign.]

I. [He points at himself again, then pauses and does it again, repeating 'me', to show that they mean the same thing. Sighing, he wishes there was a way to explain his speech patterns easier. Teasingly, he lifts a hand to point at himself again.]

I.

[Drawing a heart-]

Love.

[He points at Malik.]

You.

[Smirk.]

[obeytherod]

[Those two words were the same? Malik thinks he understands, but it's still confusing; he doesn't know what kind of context is generally used for which, so he'll just stick to one for now.

Bakura's next "lesson" makes him smile.]

...I, love...you. [And then his smile widens into a playful grin.]

I think...that great! [Whoops, looks like he lost part of the word there.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[He grins back, amused, gently correcting the phrasing.]

'I think that's great'.

[He's careful to enunciate clearly, and isn't that a rarity for him? Considering his usual slangy dialogue, it's pretty awkward for him to try to talk properly. Hm... next basic. He'll be patient for Malik's sake.]

Yes. [He nods.] No. [Shaking his head...]

[obeytherod]

That's. [He repeats the word, nodding.]

That's great. I love you.

[The next words are the easiest by far.]

Yes. [He nods.] No. [He shakes his head.]

Uh? [He makes a so-so sign.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Hearing those words from Malik just makes him smile brighter. He thinks he's getting what Malik's asking.]

'I don't know.'

[He punctuates the comment with a shrug.]

'Maybe'?

[That one's harder to illustrate, so he repeats Malik's gesture.]

[obeytherod]

I don't know. [He emphasizes for no particular reason, it's just part of how he learns.]

Maybe. [He so-so gestures again.]

...Hm. [Malik seems a little confused on these two. Even with the context of his question, it's hard to pick out the difference.

The first one seemed to be an "I don't care" or "whatever", as far as he can tell. The second seemed to be along the lines of what he was originally asking--"sort of" or "maybe".]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Noticing the confusion, he repeats the first one, but this time on the word 'know', he taps his head and shakes it. For the other one, he decides to make it easier, repeating the gestures as he says the words.]

'Yes'. 'No'. 'Maybe'.

[obeytherod]

Oh. Yes. [Malik gets the three key words now, but he's still confused on the first.]

Know and think...?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hm... [Gesturing for Malik to pay attention, he feigns a look of confusion, shrugging.] 'I don't know.'

[obeytherod]

...I don't know-- [He grabs an English books and opens it, pointing to the words.]

Yes? I don't know?

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Hm. This one was hard. He nods his head, deciding to clarify a little more.]

I. [Pointing to self.] Don't. [Shaking his head.] Know. [Shrug.]

[obeytherod]

Yes... [He nods in understanding and writes something down on his paper. He's writing purely in Arabic, so whatever Egyptian he's learning is being written phonetically.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Tugging out a chair, he sits down, crossing one leg over the other in a relaxed manner. Resting his cheek on his closed hand, he observes Malik's writing. The obvious thing to teach him is one he can't figure out how to translate.]

...? Oh yeah...

[That was right, he found some cream puffs in his pocket earlier when talking to Tenar. Tugging one of the foil-wrapped desserts out, he offers it to Malik.]

Want one?

[obeytherod]

Yeah? [Malik parrots the word as a question, not understanding. For the creampuff he seems less confused, simply taking it in his hand and nodding with understanding.]

...Want one. [Although he's not sure why Bakura is teaching him something as useless as the word for "creampuff".]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Don't tell him Malik was assuming... he was, wasn't he? Dammit he wasn't trying to teach him there, he was just offering.]

...no. [He shakes his head, sighing.] I didn't mean that. You don't understand.

[He can't really explain, so he just takes one of his own and bites into it, looking frustrated.]

[obeytherod]

[Malik senses Bakura's frustration, and it frustrates him too, but he waits to finish eating his creampuff before he addresses it.]

...No? I don't understand? [The "I don't" part he thinks he gets, but the third word not so much.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[What did he say exactly? 'Want one', right? Then the easiest way to point out what Malik misunderstood was to use the second part of that phrase. He lifts a finger.]

One.