[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

bwehehehehe

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk stifles a laugh at Elly's voice. ]

Maybe, but there'd be a problem with sending and receiving messages, because you sound weird.

[ But he lets himself laugh for another moment, remembering everything he'd heard from Fei. Elly could shoot fireballs and stuff. ]

We didn't have anything like magic or ether where I came from. [ He looks forlorn for a moment, but bounces right back into a smile. ] Fei told me a little about ether, by the way.

The closest thing we had were some ancient alien spaceships that had minds of their own, were almost indestructible, and could combine.

[ He really hoped Fei told her something about his world, otherwise she might get really confused. ]

[worldmother]

I sound fine? At least, I think I do.

[ Hunk, are you okay? She looks a little confused, blinking a few times at him. This isn't some sort of practical joke, is it?

That befuddled look quickly slips away, giving way to a somewhat bright and curious smile. She understands the concept fundamentally, probably better than most here. Although sentient spacecrafts...

Eh, she'll ask about that later. ]

That sounds similar to something that we have back home. Gears—spaceships that could combine. The pilots were chosen by the academy based upon their ability and potential to use ether. There are four of them, one for each element.

[ She pauses for a moment, turning her words over in her head. ]

I was almost chosen, myself.

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk gives Elly a look, and then just shrugs off the issue altogether. If they're both running into weird voice effects, it must be something they can't turn off. ]

But Fei told me you were a really powerful Ether user.

[ He goes a little pale, because being better at throwing fireballs than someone who was described as being able to throw fireballs was pretty horrifying. ]

Were those four pilots stronger?

[worldmother]

[ So about that... Elly hesitates for a moment, her smile a bit stitched on as she waves a hand to reassure him. Is he really that worried about it? ]

No, that's not the reason.

[ But how to explain this without going into a lot of things she doesn't necessarily want to discuss over the network? Looking off to the side, her expression grows foggy and somewhat distant. ]

There were a few... complications, when I was going through one of my examinations. Because of that, I was no longer considered as a candidate for the Elements.

[chefbayardee]

Well, that's not a big deal. [ Honestly, he's just glad there weren't stronger mecha-pilot-wizards. That'd be weird. ] One of my friends ditched pilot school, and... [ He laughs, and starts scratching at his neck. ] Most of my team actually ditched our military school.

[ But he chuckles, hoping to break the discomfort. ] We're probably gonna get expelled if we ever go back.

[worldmother]

[ Well that manages to surprise her, as Elly blinks a few times into the camera. ]

I didn't realize you went to a military academy as well.

[ Sorry, Hunk, you just don't seem the type. She knows how badly bleeding hearts do in the military. But mentioning expulsion like that, especially in regards to ditching school... ]

...Were you all deserters, then?

[chefbayardee]

It... well... [ He fidgets a bit, clearly unsure how to respond. And so Hunk whines for a moment, closing his eyes and trying to figure out just how to explain everything quickly. He sighs, rests his chin on one of his palms, and then sighs again. ]

Shiro was on a groundbreaking mission, but he and the crew went MIA, and were said to have died, even though they didn't actually know what happened. Then he crash-landed back on Earth in an alien ship. [ A small breath. ] One of our friends, Pidge, faked her records and masqueraded as a boy to figure out the truth behind Shiro's squad's mission. [ Another sigh. ] Keith got expelled already due to disciplinary issues or something. [ And then he takes his other hand, and pinches the bridge of his nose. ] My friend Lance and I were just out after hours with Pidge, the girl in disguise, and then... [ A deep breath, but he cuts it short. ]

We went to check out Shiro after he crashed, ran into Keith, jumped on a hovercraft, ran from the Garrison staff, and then we got thrown to the other side of the universe. [ And he looks to the ground, defeated. ] They might not even know who we were. [ What did they tell his family, when he was missing for so long? ]

Team Voltron is great, but we're gonna have to go back some day. [ Gulp. ] I'm worried what'll be waiting for us.

[worldmother]

[ Wow, there is a lot here for her to unpack. Alien ships, assumed identities, teenage anger issues disciplinary action. Elly nods through Hunk's lengthy explanation, crossing her arms over her chest more out of habit than anything else. Details of how it happened aside (this is probably the best explanation that she'll get from Hunk, she knows), it's one very big detail that sticks out the most. Never mind the mutual connection, she can ask about Shiro later.

Uncrossing her arms, her brow furrows gently. Huh. That's interesting, and not something she was expecting to hear. ]

What do you mean, "the other side of the universe?" You mean, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened to you?

[ There's something you're not telling her here, Hunk. ]

[chefbayardee]

[ He watches the arms cross and uncross, the movements of Elly's brow. Was she judging him? He hoped not. It was a difficult, complicated time for all of them, and that's not the sort of people they were! Or he was, at least. But then she asked that question. ]

This is... [ Hunk looks up towards the sky, arching an eyebrow in thought for just a second. ] My third time dealing with this, I think. [ He doesn't look down, but he raises a hand and starts counting on his fingers. ]

Leaving Earth was the first time. The second time, we went into another reality for a little while. [ And then his eyes go a little wide, he missed a detail. ] Shiro wasn't there for that, but we found an alternative universe Shiro named Sven. [ Then he giggles. Sven. Funny name. ] Which means Vaikuntha is the third time.

[ And then he just kinda laughs awkwardly. ] This was the first time I was by myself. [ The eyes dart back and forth, trying to figure out how to say he was terrified without his friends. ] Until I found Shiro, I mean.

[worldmother]

[ She isn't judging him as much as she's trying to wrap her head around this concept. It's not something that doesn't seem possible by any stretch—Deus moved through the expanse of space, and it was said that there was life far beyond the stars that they knew—but she's never met someone who has traveled so far and lived to tell the tale.

Three times, apparently. That. That might be a hard pill to swallow, as evidenced by the way her eyes widen at that. How..?

It's a struggle for her to understand, and as he begins to diverge into other realities, she smiles at him meekly. Hunk, you're not great at explaining things. ]

I'm not sure I get it, but...

[ A beat, and a minor shift in her countenance as she leans forward. ]

Actually, can I ask you something. Your friend, Shiro. He has black-and-white hair, right? Did this Sven person look the same as him?

[ She's going somewhere with this, even if it might not immediately seem like it. ]

[chefbayardee]

[ As her eyes widened, so did Hunk's. Was this... new to her? He figured that between the Gears that her and Fei used, it wouldn't be out of the question. But Fei made it sound like Deus had a pretty strong hold on their world, so... maybe not.

But as she smiled and shifted, Hunk became acutely aware that she wasn't quite getting it. Her saying as much helped that along a bit. ]

Aside from the hair, yeah. We thought Sven was Shiro until we realized we were in another reality. But then we heard him talk. [ And he just starts giggling. ] And then it just got weird.

[ And then he raises an eyebrow, coming back around to the thing he actually wanted to talk about. Sven was boring. Interdimensional travel wasn't. ] I can explain it, if you want.

[worldmother]

[ Alternative universes aren't necessarily something that exist, as far as she knows. Reincarnation sure (she's a resident expert on that)... and multiple versions of another person, but that was a very special circumstance—one that Elly would never wish upon anyone.

Did it work the same way? She can't help but be a little curious about that. Maybe their worlds were more similar than she thought. ]

I can't promise that I'll be able to follow everything, but if you want, go ahead.

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk gives her a bit of a look at the admission that she might not follow things. She's a mech-piloting ether wizard, and it's not like multiple realities are complicated! That said, he takes a few moments to figure out just how to explain it- he wanted to make sure it made sense! ]

So y'know how snowflakes are all unique on a microscopic level? [ This question is rhetorical, he says it like it's painfully obvious. ] Imagine the multiverse as just a giant snowbank, with all these snowflakes just squished against each other. [ He nods, a bit of a smile on his face. ]

Your dimension is in that snow somewhere, but all around it are other dimensions. They might be really similar, with the biggest difference being a choice someone made at an important time. [ A choice that had some really messed-up consequences, naturally. ]

Or, there's no reason why Shiro and me's snowflake and you and Fei's snowflake can't exist in the same snowbank. They'd just look really different. [ But then he pauses, pupils dancing around his eyes as he tries to figure out how to break the news, but then he just gives up. ] But theoretically, the snowbank is infinitely large. It just goes and goes and goes.

[ And then he leans forward, still smiling, like a chef watching someone try a new recipe. ] Does... does that make sense, Elly?