i_speak_softly | Fifty-Seventh Theory [Written/Voice/Action]

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Fifty-Seventh Theory [Written/Voice/Action]

[It's sunny and warm and spring, and Don can't wait to get outside. Or he wouldn't be able to wait, if he didn't have such impressive self-control.]

[He diligently starts the morning with his usual exercises, then sits down to leave a few messages in his journal before leaving the house.]

[Tutoring Beast in reading has made Don reconsider his own literacy skills, and after much thinking he's decided to do something to improve them. To that end, he easily constructs a filter, then labors through writing a brief message:]

Filtered from Housemates | Unhackable

[In translation-shielded kanji:] I WANT PLEASE: SOMEONE IS ABLE TO TEACH TO READ JAPANESE A SLOW STUDENT.

[There. Anyone who can't read that is automatically disqualifed as a teacher; anyone who can should immediately see the need for some teaching.]

[Reminding himself that lack of knowledge is not a cause for shame, but an opportunity to learn, Don closes that filter and opens another.]

Filtered to Leonardo | Unhackable

Hey, Padawan. If you ever take a break from mastering the Force, call your otouto and let him know you're okay.

[And finally:]

Filtered to SHELL members | Unhackable

The world visit experiment should be happening soon, if we can believe anything that blue man says. After that I'd like to have another meeting.

I'm taking nominations for other topics of discussion or club activities.

[Don will check for replies later - for now, he closes the journal, takes his gear, and quietly leaves the house. He'll be spending the next few hours meandering among the cherry trees, looking for early blooms.]

[Anyone who meets him may notice he now wears a silver chain around his wrist, half-visible where it laces through the leather wrappings.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

Hi Ami. [He offers a small bow to her roommate.] Hino-san. Thanks for letting me come on such short notice.

[There's something jarring about the forms of address Don chooses for her, and for Rei, especially next to each other, though it's true he hasn't gotten to know Rei well yet. Ami lets him in, and invites him to sit down.]

It's alright. The timing worked out well.

[Rei notices this too. Clearly, he's much much closer to Ami than she'd originally thought. Ami-chan almost never forgot her politeness, and it just seemed odd]

Yes, please, sit down. Its no trouble at all, especially with Usagi-chan out of the house. And...I don't mind if you call me Rei-san. Or...would it be proper to address us both as Sensei? [She offers Ami a bit of a funny smile, knowing that Ami was so proper when it came to titles]

So, where should we begin? Can you write Hiragana and Katakana yet?

[Don realizes belatedly that addressing Ami with no honorific could lead Rei to a very wrong conclusion. Being bicultural is complicated sometimes.]

Um... Sensei is fine. [He really should be calling Ami that anyway, since she's a doctor and all.] I know the characters but I don't write well...

It just takes practice. [Ami smiles, meant to be encouraging.]

It will come easier then.

Right! Practice makes perfect.

[She'll offer Donatello a notebook and pencil]

Why don't you try writing out all the characters you are really familiar with? We can move from there!

[Don takes the proffered writing utensils, sits at the table, and thinks a moment before carefully writing his name in Hiragana. (Unorthodox, he knows, but Splinter was insistent that his sons learn to spell their foreign names in native characters.) With only slightly more hesitation, he writes his brothers' names. This seems to serve him as a warm-up, and he proceeds to draw a gojūon table, which he manages to fill in most of before giving up. He draws a second gojūon for Katakana, but this he doesn't get very far with - he never saw the point of writing English words in Japanese when he could already write them perfectly well (if often misspelled) in English.]

That's all I know...

It's not a bad start. Let's fill in the rest, and you'll have a study sheet to learn the ones you don't know by heart yet.

Yes, Ami-chan is right. Why don't we go on and perhaps work at some very basic kanji? Do you know any already?

A few...

[He writes 'turtle' and 'ninja', then adds a few basic kanji like 'home' and 'morning'. His calligraphy is not good and it's obvious he's nowhere near literate.]

[Ami is of the school of thought that encouragement is far better than criticism, so she'll put a good face on the lack of experience.]

It's a good start. Try to hold the pen steadier. Concentrate, and go slowly. It's important to get used to the correct strokes and order. Then they'll become natural, and you can go more quickly.

[Rei is as well, particularly when she's not so familiar with the student]

It is a good start. Here, why don't you watch me, and follow the strokes? I've found that the best way to get started with new kanji is to see the brush, and follow.

[She takes out a brush, wets it with ink, and slowly demonstrates Turtles, and Ninja, nodding for Don to follow along]

[Don might be frustrated and offended if these instructions didn't sound so much like beginner ninja lessons. They're familiar, then, and he knows that following them will eventually lead to success.]

[He draws the kanji again, trying to imitate Rei-sensei's elegant writing.]

[Ami picks up the next two, this time penned with brusque and businesslike, but no less clear and tidy, strokes as opposed to Rei's flowing lines: 'Home' and 'Morning'.]

Try these when you feel comfortable with the first.

[Rei watches, smiling. Don's really getting the hang of things]

Yes, thats right. Very good.

[Don dutifully copies the kanji until his first sheet of paper is full, then looks up. His writing might be getting a little better...?]

It's already improving.

I know! For the rest, how about telling us which kanji you're most interested in using and practicing. That way, we can focus on what you'll need to know first.

Yes, thats probably the best. Kanji isn't something you can learn overnight. Why, Ami-chan and I studied them all our lives, and I know there are still some characters even we don't recognize.

[Don isn't sure what to say. He mostly wants to know useful kanji for writing private notes, but asking for those seems awkward or somehow incriminating.]

Maybe... places in the village?

Let's see... Where do you usually spend a lot of time?

[One is obvious, and she absently sketches a kanji that seems appropriate for the battledome.]

[Rei takes note of this, and sketches a few more, such as the plaza, bakery, and tea shop, with notes for what they are in English]

Here are a few more, Donatello.

[Don adds a few more for the girls to fill in:]

LIBRERRY
WOODS
SMITHEE

[Should she correct him in that spelling or not...? In the end, she decides it would only embarrass him, and she can move on with the kanji he asked for. She draws them neatly, with crisp strokes.]

This is the same order. You should keep them together for when you study.

[Rei keeps her own mouth shut as well, instead offering a kind smile and quietly sipping away at her tea]

It'll come with time. Practice is the most important thing.

[Don puts the papers next to each other, and looks from one to the other.]

Should we meet regularly to learn more? Luceti-permitting?

Fifty-Seventh Theory [Written/Voice/Action]

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