voidtreckernet | [Video] Rabbit Day 3... with Rabbits

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[Video] Rabbit Day 3... with Rabbits

[WangJi was in greenhouse carriage as usual. It was usually his place for making any sort of posts on the train as he enjoyed it there. This time, there actually was a reason... because he had two rabbits and it was the month of rabbit.

You know... appropriate.

So Little Carrot was sitting inside his robes with his tiny head sticking out, nose wiggling as WangJi spoke]

Good day. I wanted to inform those on the train with a musical inclination that I have ordered a guqin so that others may try and play it.

[He adjusted the video to show the very long zither instrument sitting on the ground near him. It definitely wasn't his own. The colors were different and it didn't have any of the markings showing it belonged to a Gusu Lan disciple.

There was also Little Radish the white rabbit next to it, sniffing it and trying to figure out what it was]

If anyone would like to learn more about it, feel free to ask. This one, I will leave in the music carriage.

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I don't know if there's really anything special from my world to share..

[ Of course, part of that might just be Madoka being humble. She never likes being the center of attention - and it's probably why she's saying all of this in the first place.

She's always far more content hearing things from other people than talking about any of her own. ]

For now.. I'd just like to hear more about your instrument, mister Wangji..! If that's okay.

[WangJi knew her well enough to guess that she was probably just being humble, but that was just her way. If she didn't want to share or want to be the center of attention, that was fine with WangJi. He had kind of ended up the model of their sect, but he had never actually sought out being the center of attention]

Of course. Please join me.

[He gestured to a place near him, indicating she could sit near him. Don't worry; Little Carrot will follow. But he reached over to remove Little Radish from his seat upon the guqin. He can't play with a bunny on it]

[ Don't worry, Madoka has the perfect solution here.

Which is sitting down next to Wangji at the spot he indicates as the first step. When Little Carrot follows her, she gently puts the rabbit on her lap.. but then she grabs Little Radish as well. Madoka's lap may not be huge, but she can shape it so that it can at least fit two rabbits.

She even has two hands for petting, which means neither of the adorable little creatures will have to feel either jealous or neglected.

Though the petting is very much idle, since her gaze and attention are instead aimed at the man sitting next to her. ]

It looks so big when it's on your lap like that. [ She remarks. ]

[The rabbits are both very happy with this solution and they are perfectly willing to share. Neither are complaining about only getting one half of the lap, one hand for the pets. They both sit there patiently and let her pet them]

It is quite long. It is three chi, six cun, and five fen in length.

Doesn't that make it harder to play..? Because it's so big?

[ Not like she knows - but that's why they're here, right? It's basically a show and tell session, and Madoka feels comfortable enough with Wangji, especially this particular one who's been here for so long, that she can just ask it. Without getting all shy.

Mostly because she knows he wouldn't be bothered by her questions, especially since they seem to be born out of nothing but pure curiosity. It shows in her innocent gaze as she looks at the other. ]

Not particularly for an adult. It is more difficult for those who are young.

[He picked up the guqin, setting it across his lap. He placed one hand near the wider end of the instrument near were the string rest was while the other was closer to the more narrow end.

Then he began to play song, keeping that one hand in the same spot while the other moved along instrument depending on what he was trying to play.

The hardest part definitely seemed to be more knowing where to move ones hands on the instrument at any time]

[ Madoka thinks he's right. It'd probably be pretty hard for her to try and play it.. She is much smaller than Wangji, after all, and she doesn't think her arms could always reach far enough to be able to properly play on it.

But rather than remarking that, she just watches as the other plays. Silently. Madoka may at some points even be consciously holding her breath, like she doesn't even want the faint sound of breathing to interrupt the music the other is making..

It's tempting to close her eyes to listen even better, but she doesn't want to miss out on the way his hands move across the instrument. So as Madoka is sitting there, silently listening, she seems to be paying close attention to the way he's tending to the instrument. To where he keeps moving his hands. ]

[When he finished, he settled his hands back on the instrument to stop the strings from vibrating anymore]

The different hui on the instrument- [He indicated the dots that were visible on it] show the player where to put their hands to play certain notes and tones. Some will be the same string, but perhaps at hui 4 or at hui 10.

For those who are young, it is difficult to reach the furthest ones easily.

Yeah, I'm not sure if I could..

[ Though Madoka is making sure to not touch the instrument - it's probably important to Wangji, after all, and she wouldn't want to accidentally put her hands on it when he might not want her to! - she still stretches her arms right in front of her into the air, just to show why she thinks so.

Her arms aren't particularly long, just like the rest of her. Madoka's a tiny girl. ]

I'd definitely need an instrument that's a little smaller than this one.

[WangJi watched with a faint smile as she tried to see if she could reach the length of the guqin]

There are smaller options. Guqin is one of the largest qin. Songs for younger players usually don't use the furthest hui.

[ Oh! Hold on, that seems especially interesting to Madoka. Her eyes are wide with curiosity. ]

They have different songs for different ages?

[ It makes sense. After all, if young people are too small to reach all the notes, they'd need to have songs that don't use those notes.. ]

Wow.. That was so smart to think of! The people who made this instrument really must have been very wise..

[WangJi nodded]

Usually for those younger and new to playing the instrument, the music is not as difficult. As you progress, it begins to get harder, but it is not something that I would ask someone new to play a song with all the hui immediately.

How long have you been playing this instrument for, mister Wangji?

[ All this talk about children playing it has just made her a little curious..

Especially since he's so good! Madoka figures that he must have practiced for a really, really long time to have gotten that good at it. Maybe there one day was a tiny kid Wangji playing the instrument.. It's kind of a cute thought. ]

I have been playing the guqin since I was a child. I was practically fluent in qin language by the time I was a junior in my sect. [aka a teenager]

My son knows how to play it as well. I started teaching him as soon as he was able.

[ There it is! A little Wangji, already doing his best to play the instrument.. It's such a cute mental image, and Madoka smiles a little as she thinks so. Even more so when she hears that Wangji's son also played it. That must have been just as cute..

She can't help but wonder if Wangji was already as serious as a child as he is now. It's hard to imagine an actual child-like version of him. ]

That's so cute! You're passing it down.. like a family tradition!

[She probably had the right mental image in her head. He had always been a very serious person, even when he was a little kid. His mother, when she had still been alive, had playfully teased him for never smiling.

He nodded]

Not many play the guqin because it is considered more difficult than other instruments. There are a lot of guqin players in Gusu Lan, however.

[Well, when your sect was based on training, mediation, and bettering ones' self, there was plenty of time to practice a difficult instrument]

Is it because you all pass it on like that?

[ Because it does stand out, doesn't it. Such an uncommon hobby, and yet it's something so many people do in the direct group around him.. There's got to be a reason for that! It wouldn't just happen randomly! ]

In that case it'd make sense that everyone there would learn how to play something like this.

Yes. We have many seniors who play it and they pass it on to the juniors so it continues.

[It did make sense. If there were players, more people would be more likely to learn them]

Everyone in Gusu Lan learns at least one instrument. My older brother plays the xiao.

[ No wonder Wangji is so good at it. Or that so many people where he comes from are. Sure, it's not like playing an instrument is not supported at all where Madoka comes from, but it's definitely a little bit more rare than how things sound in his world..

So she nods, trying to follow along. ]

What kind of instrument is the xiao? Is it a little bit like this one..?

[ Since this is the first and only reference she has for what instruments are like where Wangji comes from. ]

[When there weren't as many technical things to do and music was considered one of the core aspects of a gentleman, Gusu Lan definitely took it and ran with it, given that music was what they were known for]

It is a flute played vertically.

[Like a recorder]

Like a recorder!

[ Yes, apparently Madoka echoes that exact same sentiment.. because it sure is the first thing she thinks of.

It's the classical first instrument every modern kid touches, after all. ]

Or.. um, do you know what a recorder is, mister Wangji? Do they even have those where you're from..? [ Considering all these other instruments have such fancy names. And recorders are.. well, fairly simple. It's what makes her second guess here. ]

Yes, it seems to be like a recorder. We do not have something called a recorder back home, but I have seen one of them here. In the music carriage.

Oh, then I know about those! Kind of.. After all, we have recorders where I come from too, so I can imagine what they're like in your world too now.

[ Not looking exactly like a recorder, but sounding like something that's similar enough that it makes sense to the girl, nodding. ]

We tried learning how to play those a little bit at school, but I can't say I was really good..

I see. Sounds like they are quite popular if they are played in schools.

It is alright if you are not. Not everyone is good at every skill.

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[Video] Rabbit Day 3... with Rabbits

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