[open video, 4/20 squeaky voice] | Skill Sharing!

[chefbayardee]

[ The screen blips on to Hunk, reclined across a couch. Balmogra the moogle's pom-pom occasionally drifts into the top of the frame, and Hunk's eyes keep glancing towards it. As he starts talking, he's entirely oblivious to the fact that his voice is high-pitched and squeaky. ]

Hey, so with other people asking about things like our stories, our worlds, and our jobs, I realized that we don't actually know a lot about what we can all do! Like... I learned that some people have never been grocery shopping before! Or some can't cook! Or some people don't know how technology here works. Since we're all stuck here, we might as well try to help each other out, right? So what are some things you know or want to know?

Me, I know about cooking and engineering and mechanics. But I don't know anything about magic. Or how to defend yourself from a monster that's up close and trying to eat you. Or how to use a giant fork in a fight? Or why they use forks here to begin with.

[ He pauses for a moment, looking almost uncomfortable, and then- ]

And if you're embarrassed to say something you can't do, you can always send it to me and I'll mention it for you!

( This is super open and threadjacking is possible and totally okay! )

Comments

[righthandstand]

Nah man, your voice!

[Oh Hunk, you jokester.]

I'll ask Kyo how to find those symbols. Are they super popular where you're from?

[chefbayardee]

Some people like them. We couldn't use them for [ Hunk rolls his eyes, and his tone gets especially haughty. ] official communications back at the Galaxy Garrison. But I think they're adorable, so I'm making up for lost time.

[ And then he gives a weird look. ]

Wait, are we both broadcasting with this weird high-pitched voice?

[righthandstand]

No? I'm not doin' anything different. Kyo?

[A linefaced Moogle in a blue cap flies up to the camera, presses some buttons, then shrugs and flies off.]

...Yeah, okay. I think there's something wrong with your thing.

[chefbayardee]

Ugh, that's weird.

[ Hunk puts a pair of fingers to the bridge of his nose, clearly displeased. ]

Hold on, let me just-

[ And he starts poking at buttons, the video feed still going strong. After a few moments of that, though, he looks even more displeased. ]

This is weird- I can't figure out why it's doing this.

[righthandstand]

Dude, you got space travel. Can't you figure it out?

[A grumble, which sounds like an adorable cat trying to talk.]

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk shoots him a glare, and just sighs. ]

Hold on.

[ And the video feed cuts out entirely for a few minutes. Hunk even goes offline a few times! But then it flickers back on, and a decidedly flustered-looking Hunk reappears. Upside-down. ]

Man, this is weird. I checked... well, everything, and I couldn't see anything different from the last time I messed with the settings.

[ And then he looks back and forth shiftily. ] Balmogra said sometimes weird things just happen with the Mognet. Maybe it's this?

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu narrows his eyes and stares as he waits for the video to come back on. Even the old TV he had in his house didn't do weird shit like this. Had bad reception at worst.

When Hunk reappears, Okuyasu groans and flops onto his back.]

Really? Does this happen all the time with computers?

[chefbayardee]

What?! No. [ He remembers the time the food goo attacked. One heck of an anomaly, far worse than squeaky voices. ] This is so much more annoying.

I might've been able to fix it, but I don't have what I need to break into the Mognet and mess around. [ Or who, in this case. ] My buddy Pidge is more of a hacker, but if I could get in I could probably mess with the signal processing a bit.

[ And then he sighs. ] Sorry.

[righthandstand]

Aw, man. [A loud sigh. Life is hard.] Now it's gettin' annoying. Want me to head over or somethin'?

[To learn how to text. And see if there's free food today.]

[chefbayardee]

You could just text me, but sure! [ He's not really one to say no to friendly guests, and he finds himself laughing, still sounding like a chipmunk. ]

Look at this, Mognet's bringing people closer together! I'll keep the door unlocked for you.

[righthandstand]

[Texting is too hard. In the 90's, when you wanted to hang out with a friend, you either phoned or ran over to his house. And with the glitch, returning to House B-01 is the only solution. Today he's taking a leisurely walk, proudly displaying the Monk's Gi he received adorned with the dollar sign ornament.

He bangs on the door with the side of his first before opening it.]

Heeey, Hunk!

[chefbayardee]

[ Even though he left the door unlocked and knew Okuyasu was on his way, Hunk still jumped. He let out a little yelp, even!

But Hunk's just making some sandwiches this time. Nothing too fancy- everyone needs a break sometimes. And as the door opens, he gives the visitor a wave and a smile. ]

Hey! You could've just texted me, but it's fine. [ He laughs, and presents a small plate with a sandwich on it. ] Hungry?

[righthandstand]

Nah, it's too hard.

[He's waste forever writing a decent message, why not run over with the time he has? Okuyasu's eyes widen at the presented meal.]

Yoooo, that looks like those sandwiches I buy from St. Germain! [All fancy and clean cut and nice to look at. He kicks off his shoes and walks right to the kitchen, the blessed room of Hunk's house.] Is that pork?

[chefbayardee]

It's not pork but it's close. Something called a garula, I think. [ He shrugs, clearly not too interested in what it used to be. Probably a horrible monster. ] And-

[ And then Hunk pulls out his iMog slate, opens up messaging with Okuyasu, and uses the voice-to-text function. ] What do you mean it's too hard to send a text? [ Send. Moments later, bing! ]

What's St. Germain?

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu pulls his iMog slate out of his pocket when it vibrates, fumbles and almost drops it, then unlocks the screen.]

How did you do that?!

[THIS IS THE COOLEST THING HE'S EVER SEEN HOW IS SCIENCE FICTION SHIT REAL.]

St. Germain's this bakery back home, but holy shit, this makes typin' so much easier!

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk wants to ask about St. Germain, but he knows Okuyasu gets a bit touchy about home. So he doesn't. Shelved for later, even though baking is the best thing about cooking. Plus, poor guy's bamboozled by technology, gotta pounce on that. ]

You didn't know about that? I mean, sure you can type, but [ He holds the slate in one hand, typing I'm typing this right now! :D and sending it to Okuyasu. ] sometimes you just gotta be lazy. Or you're busy.

[ And then he turns on voice-to-text again, making sure to enunciate the punctuation for the emoticon. ] Seriously, typing's a pain sometimes. :( [ Then he hits send. ]

[righthandstand]

DUUUDE!

[He holds his up to his face.] Sparks Nevada is a little bitch!

[That phrase pops up on the screen, much to Okuyasu's delight. He's a teenage boy, this is the pinnacle of comedy.]

This is something right out of Star Wars! No, like...like Star Trek! This stuff is real? Not magic?

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk's eyes go a little wide at the language towards the good Marshall. He's not sure why he expected better from Okuyasu, but he did. But he shrugs it off, if only to make sure his pal's enthusiasm isn't stomped on. ]

Well, Vaikuntha just loves magic, so there might be some, [ And then he rolls his eyes judgmentally. ] but this sorta thing was pretty common back home. Even ignoring the whole "space" thing.

[ And then he just starts to grin. ] But one time, in space, we got a bunch of these little cubes that repeated sounds back to you. [ Hunk barely manages to stifle a laugh. ] So I made them make a fart noise, and it just...

Pppffffffftttttttt. Forever. [ And now he's giggling like a small child. ]

[righthandstand]

[It felt good to yell his frustrations about his grouchy housemate at the computer and see it immortalized as text. He should do this more often - well, it's not as cathartic as writing it down, but it's hilarious. He has to test this function with naughty words when he returns home.]

All of them? At once? [That sounds like a Stand, which means it's dangerous but hilarious in this context.]

[chefbayardee]

[ Of course Okuyasu had questions about the farting cubes. This is fine. ] Yep! All of them. Just farting. [ And he starts giggling. ] Well, at least until someone else said something.

They'd just repeat back the last thing they heard... which was still pretty funny. [ Now he's grinning. It's almost like they're great for nonsense. ]