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[dow]

Recently, I bought a personal item from one of the auctions in Markutte. In light of recent network posts of a festive Terran nature and having been exposed to Christmas before with far more ceremony, purely out of deference for a family member, I am aware that giving is very much in the spirit of the season. As purchasing gifts for a wide range of individuals would be a waste of resources and time which I must covet for my scientific studies, I am instead inclined to use the instrument in my possession.

It is a Vulcan harp.

[ Instruments, literal instrument ... Get it? Whatever, his attempts at humor are golden. Straight-faced, Spock leans back in his chair and settles it against his right shoulder, beginning to play. His left hand is bandaged, but he pays it no mind; after the post, green blood will have bitten through and the wraps will need changing.

Firstly, Brahms Intermezzo is played to invest people in the music he studied intently during his recreational time as a child. Shortly after that lulls to a close, you might think this stuffy Vulcan has nothing more interesting to offer but, son, you would be wrong. Music is mathematics, after all, and Spock adjusts the knobs on the instrument to alter the octaves and sounds to more of a guitar-quality. That's when he delves into an improvised piece still kicking around his memory, composed long before he set foot on the Enterprise. His final performance is a gentle carol he is very familiar with, for his own personal reasons, and he doesn't rush it into the previous natural rhythm in the slightest, almost playing for someone ... who has expressed their preferences on the matter before. (Perhaps the family member he mentioned at the start, for attentive listeners.)

The song is Silent Night. ]



( OOC: Vulcan harps/lyres are ridiculous, but these are the sound ranges, for reference. )

Comments

[strategisch]

[Armin listens to the entire performance without a peep. He's never seen an instrument like that before... And the sound is exquisite.]

...That was lovely. [He speaks up after he's sure Spock has finished.] You're very skilled, and I've never heard those songs before.

[dow]

You are welcome. The first and last own Terran composers, though the second piece was of my own composition.

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[alphatar]

[At first glance of the harp, Korra couldn't even imagine what kind of music Spock played. Probably sounded like audible binary code. If anyone ever told her what binary was.

So that holds her attention for all of two seconds and her gaze falls to his hand, and all she can wonder is if everyone on the Enterprise just ignores their injuries. Man, she really feels for Dr. McCoy right now.

Then everything changed when thefirenationattacked Spock starts playing.

She's intrigued to be proven wrong about her assumption, and it's not long before her arms on her desk and she's leaning in to hear her speakers for all that he plays.]

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[dow]

[ Ahw, Korra. He draws out the last few notes of Silent Night for her, finishing with a nod. Vulcans don't really require applause, but acknowledging an attentive audience is only polite. ]

Was it satisfactory?

[whitelotustile]

[and have Iroh applauding]

Well played! It makes me miss Music Nights aboard the ship I travelled on. Thank you very much.

[dow]

Thank you, you are welcome. If I may inquire, to which instrument are you referring that you played during 'Music Nights'?

[gathersnomoss]

You might want to tend to your hand.

[gee, thanks, Zel.]

Do you play professionally, or as a hobby?

[dow]

I intend to do so presently. [ Luckily, he can suppress the pain of the cut because Crazy Mental Skillz. ] My interest in music is purely recreational. I also play the piano, if you are familiar with it.

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[parallels]

[Clara rarely checks the network but this catches her eye. And ears. First of all, it's Spock and she always likes listening to what he's got to say and second, it deals with music and she's quite fond of music. So she sits in her chair in front of her console and pulls her knees to her chest as he plays Silent Night. The sound is a little alien but the tune is so familiar it almost makes her a little homesick.

After he finishes, she claps lightly.]

That was lovely.

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[dow]

[ For a moment, he's struck still by the sight and sound of her applause. It passes swiftly, within a handful of seconds, and he nods. ]

You are most welcome, Clara. Was the carol's rendition accurate?

[video]

[unconchonable]

[That was very beautiful Spock, but Eridan is far more focused on your bleeding hand. ]

That was great an' all, but how about you wait a bit to play that again? Your hand's kinda fuckin' bleedin' as I'm sure others hawe pointed out by now. I mean, this coulda waited a bit, yeah?

[He may be slightly concerned. Just a little.]

[video]

[dow]

It did not begin to bleed until I was mid-way through the second piece, neither does it hurt. There is no cause for concern, I will change the bandages in short order.

I assure you, I am not about to lose a hand.

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[pikes]

[ Pike is probably the only person who'll get the joke. ]

Thank you, Spock. That was beautiful.

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[dow]

[ Pike. ♥ ]

You are welcome, Admiral. Was Silent Night adequately portrayed? I have not played it in five-point-four years.

[ He knows his Brahms is fly, okok. ]

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[baniichan]

[He's entranced by the music in spite of himself. Barnaby respects Johannes Brahms a great deal, and immediately recognizes the piece. As he intently watches his movements, the skill and precision with which Spock plays isn't lost on him, either, which is all the more impressive because he's injured.

This is true music, he can't help but think, because it's the sort of composition that can be enjoyed for centuries, regardless of fads or changing societal norms. Getting to watch a live performance, especially one that people in Stern Bild would pay money to see, is a pleasant surprise.

The man clearly has excellent taste in music, and his execution is pretty much perfect, so Barnaby decides to continue listening, even when he moves onto a song that he isn't familiar with. But then Spock begins his final song, and eventually the familiar chords of Silent Night drift into his room.

Spiritual, nostalgic, soothing -- those were words most people would have used to describe Spock's rendition, but for Barnaby it's just enough to drain some of the color from his face. Even though he tries his best to sit through the rest of the performance, his chest constricts, and suddenly he can't get a deep breath.

So, he does himself a favor and abruptly cuts the feed before Spock finishes.]

[manofiron]

That's almost enough to make me want to play the piano again. Almost.

[ You know, if the one that's sitting in his living room was here instead of holding up the floor back home. ]

[dow]

I would be willing to play a duet on the piano, if one ever makes itself known here. How long ago did you learn how to play?

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[wintershepherd]

[ In his suite, Jack hears to the introduction of the post, pulls spirit and family and waste of time in various perceptions before music takes over the feed. He leans his head against the smoothed wood that forms the walls of his treehouse, closes his eyes and just listens.

When the music is done he opens his mouth to accolade, One of the best Silent Nights I've heard in a while and it's true, but he ends up saying nothing. ]

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[dow]

[ He knows the signature of the device contacting his own, even without Jack saying a word. By Spock's standards, the way he speaks is downright gentle by comparison to the usual tone he employs. ]

Do you have a request?

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[crabmunicator]

Hey so--

[Look at that, it's that grey dude from a couple weeks ago.]

--I know this is going to sound completely stupid now, and you probably aren't going to want to believe me - which, yeah, I brought down on myself, fault accepted - but uh.

Sorry.

[Cough.]

I'm not here to insult you or be a dick or anything. I mean that, okay? And I don't often come out an admit it when I've screwed the woofbeast like this. To make it short, some stuff with Eridan had me messed up, and I took it out on you when you weren't a part of it, which was about the most socially retarded route I could take with it. If you want me to fuck off still, I will, but--

I figured I should say this anyway.

[Even if it took the post to make him stop and think that yeah, maybe he should apologize to this guy.]

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[dow]

[ On the one hand, this is Eridan's kinsman. On the other, Vulcan ain't give no shits after being so thoroughly insulted. Coolly, he responds, because there's no point allowing himself to care very much either way over someone so socially inept; there's a high likelihood Spock will find himself offended again, regardless. ]

Did you find the information you sought?

[ Maybe Karkat's apology is accepted and maybe it isn't. Spock overrides the topic for now. ]

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[starcharter]

[Chekov knows what family member Spock's referring to, and he feels a sharp stab of guilt. His memories of the Enterprise are still fresh and raw. The good ones and the bad ones. And failing Amanda Grayson was one of the sharpest in his mind.

As odd as it seems, he mourns a person he never knew.

It adds a bit of a melancholy to his listening of "Silent Night." But he must admit, they're all beautifully played, which shouldn't be a surprise. Music is math, and Spock is a genius at math.

Before he turns on the video, Chekov makes sure any trace of guilt or sadness doesn't show (he's marginally successful-- he can push his feelings aside during missions, but otherwise it's a challenge).

He turns on the video to applaud Spock's performance.]

They were all very beautiful, Commander.

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[dow]

[ He's well aware that Chekov might have cause to host guilt on the subject of Amanda's death, but the fact remains it wasn't the Navigator's fault. The earth gave way, no one could have known her coordinates would have shifted so very, very drastically in such a short amount of time.

He doesn't blame him. That sort of emotion is reserved exclusively for Nero and, later, Khan. ]

Thank you, Mr. Chekov. Which do you prefer?

[dustonmyfeet]

[There's a girl on the other side of the screen, listening with her eyes closed and her head cocked. When the song is finished, she nods thoughtfully, considering.]

Not bad. Kind of quiet for me, though. You got anything more upbeat?

[dow]

I do. Is this a request for me to play again?

[alwaysmother]

[Don't expose her to this music too often, she'll have to listen to his playing all the time. It also won't stop her from clapping politely.]

That was exquisite indeed, music of such caliber would be welcome in the finest courts of Asgard!

[Though, that being said, she cannot help but notice that he is...bleeding?]

Is injury often a side effect of playing?

[dow]

Thank you, Ma'am. It is not, as I was already injured and simply reopened the wound, but I will attend to it presently.