[ huaisang, too, has certain preconceptions of itachi: a ninja, often in the training room, succinct and to the point, but a lot of people talk to him despite his apparently reticent behaviour.
(so not unlike lan wangji, then, his mind supplies — which also explains why wei wuxian has determinedly befriended him.) ]
You could give a group of students the seasoning of a specific meal to discuss, and they'd have strong opinions on it.
[ his tone is light, joking, but he also means every word; during his days in the cloud recesses, he knows his peers certainly had strong opinions of most things, but only wei wuxian was brave enough to face lan qiren's wrath to express them. ]
What do you think of it? [ bernoff's moralistic relativity, that is. ]
๏ผ he tips his hand, indicating that huaisang should join him on a pleasant, leisurely walk. nothing to see here, moving right along. ๏ผ
I believe that ascribing inherent morality to any action within the context of cultural mores is dangerous. But, ah, to go a step further — ๏ผ he is very much in Student Mode, now, seeming pleasant and at ease with huaisang's company — ๏ผ Relativists hold to the concept of 'right' and 'wrong' within the confines of their culture. However — they then claim that it is 'wrong' to interfere with the beliefs of another culture, thereby invalidating their own claim at the outset. If what is morally correct or incorrect is so for your own beliefs, you cannot logically judge another culture for theirs.
Hmm... maybe. Isn't all morality relative to who is looking at the situation, though? If there's a war, killing those who are the enemy is seen as the morally right thing to do, but they're morally wrong to kill those on your side. But from their side, it's the reverse. Or, someone using forbidden arts to kill those who are the common enemy is right, but turning those arts on those who are seen to be good is wrong. Isn't it all a matter of perspective?
[ he shrugs, holographic fan cutting through the air in lazy waves. ]
Then again, I suppose there's some things that are universally condemned... like killing members of your family.
[ ironically, all huaisang thinks of is jin guangyao; of course jin guangyao, who has been on his mind more so than usual as of late, ever since the discussion with wei wuxian about the misdeeds of the jin, about jin zixuan's death and wei wuxian's belief it was him who caused it, instead of jin zixuan's own half-brother. ]
time aboard the ximilia has put distance between himself and a world where his name is synonymous with clan-killer. the only ones that carry an awareness of it now are blue and viveca — neither the sort to draw undue attention to it, or to tell others. it is not to say he feels the secret safe, only that it is — for the time being — not broadly known.
(wei wuxian, he thinks, would have told him if huaisang's cultivation allowed him to read minds.)
months of distance aside, itachi is still a spy — still the consummate actor. there is only a very faint twitch of his right hand, easily passed off as nerve damage from the vivid burns that band his fingers and wrist, disappearing into his right sleeve. ๏ผ
If you were to stand up and say that in class, you would have someone pointing out the fact we cannot insist on the universality of such a point given how little of the universe we have actually explored.
๏ผ he waves a hand, flippant. ๏ผ
Not that it matters. I expect we will never be confronted with such situations ourselves.
[ it is only the smallest twitch — and though huaisang, having trained himself to catch everything, sees it, it is impossible to say if it's just a coincidence or something related to the topic at hand. he dismisses it instantly. ]
Yes, and I'd point out as we haven't explored the universe enough, there's not enough evidence to prove that the universality doesn't exist, either.
[ he shrugs, fan waving lazily still. ]
Exploring universes, or dead families? You're right on one of those.
๏ผ he laughs — after all, they are still in the university grounds, and he is still a student, free to find such things absurd. ๏ผ
I suppose we are closer to the possibility of one more than the other. Clearly, I should have majored in aerospace engineering to bridge that gap. Less guesswork than philosophy.
Possibility? Yes, of course. [ the way he says that hints at something else — that on his part, it's certainly more than possibility. his entire family is dead. it seems to be a recurring theme for those here from his world. ]
Ugh, don't talk about engineering. Who'd want to study something like that? Outside of maybe Wei-xiong. I'm sure he'd find it fascinating. [ he makes a face. we can't all be stupid geniuses like wei wuxian. ]
Oh! [ of course, it wouldn't really translate — he supposes so, in any case, given how he never hears anyone else use any forms of address. ]
Ah, it really depends — strictly speaking, it means brother, but it's a way to address your friends. I mean, male friends. [ and without much of a breath in between: ] Is it the same for your culture, that to address someone by just their name is very informal? My brother used to call Xichen-ge just Xichen, but I call him either Xichen-ge or Er-ge because he is my brother's sworn brother and that makes him my brother as well... and I could call Wei-xiong Wei-gongzi, because he's a young master of the Jiang sect, except he's not of the Jiang sect anymore so I guess that's not really correct — but the Yiling Patriarch is such a [ heavy burden of a title ] pretentious name, don't you think? And when we were kids, I called him Wei-xiong, so I've just stuck to it. Technically, I should be called Nie-zongzhu, Sect Leader Nie, but that's also so much and there's no Nie sect here anyway, so who cares, right?
[ did he pause to take even one breath in all that? maybe. just one, though. ]
๏ผ he is beginning, at length, to realize why wei wuxian gets along with this man.
likely for all the same reasons itachi finds him exhaustive. all of that information is diligently filed away should he ever have use of it (a spy's prerogative, to hoard knowledge) and then: ๏ผ
Oh, ๏ผ it's said lightly, ๏ผ formality differs from person to person. Addressing someone by their name isn't inherently casual.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
(so not unlike lan wangji, then, his mind supplies — which also explains why wei wuxian has determinedly befriended him.) ]
You could give a group of students the seasoning of a specific meal to discuss, and they'd have strong opinions on it.
[ his tone is light, joking, but he also means every word; during his days in the cloud recesses, he knows his peers certainly had strong opinions of most things, but only wei wuxian was brave enough to face lan qiren's wrath to express them. ]
What do you think of it? [ bernoff's moralistic relativity, that is. ]
no subject
I believe that ascribing inherent morality to any action within the context of cultural mores is dangerous. But, ah, to go a step further — ๏ผ he is very much in Student Mode, now, seeming pleasant and at ease with huaisang's company — ๏ผ Relativists hold to the concept of 'right' and 'wrong' within the confines of their culture. However — they then claim that it is 'wrong' to interfere with the beliefs of another culture, thereby invalidating their own claim at the outset. If what is morally correct or incorrect is so for your own beliefs, you cannot logically judge another culture for theirs.
๏ผ he has Opinions on this, okay. ๏ผ
no subject
[ he shrugs, holographic fan cutting through the air in lazy waves. ]
Then again, I suppose there's some things that are universally condemned... like killing members of your family.
[ ironically, all huaisang thinks of is jin guangyao; of course jin guangyao, who has been on his mind more so than usual as of late, ever since the discussion with wei wuxian about the misdeeds of the jin, about jin zixuan's death and wei wuxian's belief it was him who caused it, instead of jin zixuan's own half-brother. ]
no subject
time aboard the ximilia has put distance between himself and a world where his name is synonymous with clan-killer. the only ones that carry an awareness of it now are blue and viveca — neither the sort to draw undue attention to it, or to tell others. it is not to say he feels the secret safe, only that it is — for the time being — not broadly known.
(wei wuxian, he thinks, would have told him if huaisang's cultivation allowed him to read minds.)
months of distance aside, itachi is still a spy — still the consummate actor. there is only a very faint twitch of his right hand, easily passed off as nerve damage from the vivid burns that band his fingers and wrist, disappearing into his right sleeve. ๏ผ
If you were to stand up and say that in class, you would have someone pointing out the fact we cannot insist on the universality of such a point given how little of the universe we have actually explored.
๏ผ he waves a hand, flippant. ๏ผ
Not that it matters. I expect we will never be confronted with such situations ourselves.
no subject
Yes, and I'd point out as we haven't explored the universe enough, there's not enough evidence to prove that the universality doesn't exist, either.
[ he shrugs, fan waving lazily still. ]
Exploring universes, or dead families? You're right on one of those.
no subject
I suppose we are closer to the possibility of one more than the other. Clearly, I should have majored in aerospace engineering to bridge that gap. Less guesswork than philosophy.
no subject
Ugh, don't talk about engineering. Who'd want to study something like that? Outside of maybe Wei-xiong. I'm sure he'd find it fascinating. [ he makes a face. we can't all be stupid geniuses like wei wuxian. ]
no subject
What is '-xiong'?
๏ผ he's still learning these things, okay. ๏ผ
no subject
Ah, it really depends — strictly speaking, it means brother, but it's a way to address your friends. I mean, male friends. [ and without much of a breath in between: ] Is it the same for your culture, that to address someone by just their name is very informal? My brother used to call Xichen-ge just Xichen, but I call him either Xichen-ge or Er-ge because he is my brother's sworn brother and that makes him my brother as well... and I could call Wei-xiong Wei-gongzi, because he's a young master of the Jiang sect, except he's not of the Jiang sect anymore so I guess that's not really correct — but the Yiling Patriarch is such a [ heavy burden of a title ] pretentious name, don't you think? And when we were kids, I called him Wei-xiong, so I've just stuck to it. Technically, I should be called Nie-zongzhu, Sect Leader Nie, but that's also so much and there's no Nie sect here anyway, so who cares, right?
[ did he pause to take even one breath in all that? maybe. just one, though. ]
no subject
likely for all the same reasons itachi finds him exhaustive. all of that information is diligently filed away should he ever have use of it (a spy's prerogative, to hoard knowledge) and then: ๏ผ
Oh, ๏ผ it's said lightly, ๏ผ formality differs from person to person. Addressing someone by their name isn't inherently casual.
๏ผ it can also be rude! ๏ผ
Does he call you the same?
wraps this up w a nice bow
[ and they kept walking and discussing interesting things like philosophy and cultural differences! ]