Hayada, the White-Gloved General
Universe: Disabled Cyborgs
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Toshi Hayada was a mediocre pianist but a brilliant soldier. And then he got blown up.
Notes: This story was prompted by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
md84 who requested the premise therein. It was sponsored by the Patreon crowd. You don't need to read any of Disabled Cyborgs to understand this story; Hayada's first appearance was merely a one-line reference in Portia, the Mechanical Girl.
The Hayada family was known for two things: musical skill, and deafness.
Hearing aids, auditory grafts, and cochlear implants were, of course, out of the question. If their bodies were ever modified, they would be cyborgs, and cyborg musicians were held to drastically different musical standards. Borgs had mechanical dexterity, could hit more notes than human anatomy allowed, but everyone agreed that they were nothing better than fancy player pianos, incapable of the human drama and emotion and brilliant imperfection that made music great. So, for the sake of their careers, the Hayadas not only embraced their deafness, but played it up—after all, what showed the drama and tragedy of human life and art but its inherent obsolescence?
Mrs. Hayada was a world-renowned cellist, Mr. Hayada a much beloved organist. Their two daughters, Mei and Kimiko, had respectable careers on the oboe and the bassoon, respectively. In between them was their brother Toshi, who nobody ever called Toshi—his temperament earned him the nickname 'Old Man' at nine.
Old Man Hayada's hearing was the best in family. His musical skills, sadly, were not.
( Read more... )
Universe: Disabled Cyborgs
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Toshi Hayada was a mediocre pianist but a brilliant soldier. And then he got blown up.
Notes: This story was prompted by
md84 who requested the premise therein. It was sponsored by the Patreon crowd. You don't need to read any of Disabled Cyborgs to understand this story; Hayada's first appearance was merely a one-line reference in Portia, the Mechanical Girl.The Hayada family was known for two things: musical skill, and deafness.
Hearing aids, auditory grafts, and cochlear implants were, of course, out of the question. If their bodies were ever modified, they would be cyborgs, and cyborg musicians were held to drastically different musical standards. Borgs had mechanical dexterity, could hit more notes than human anatomy allowed, but everyone agreed that they were nothing better than fancy player pianos, incapable of the human drama and emotion and brilliant imperfection that made music great. So, for the sake of their careers, the Hayadas not only embraced their deafness, but played it up—after all, what showed the drama and tragedy of human life and art but its inherent obsolescence?
Mrs. Hayada was a world-renowned cellist, Mr. Hayada a much beloved organist. Their two daughters, Mei and Kimiko, had respectable careers on the oboe and the bassoon, respectively. In between them was their brother Toshi, who nobody ever called Toshi—his temperament earned him the nickname 'Old Man' at nine.
Old Man Hayada's hearing was the best in family. His musical skills, sadly, were not.
( Read more... )
