chefbayardee: (happy)
Hunk ([personal profile] chefbayardee) wrote in [community profile] melodiesofkupo2018-04-20 11:50 pm

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

[ 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! )
spaceforged: (yep this is a new low)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-13 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[He waits, silently disagreeing with a few of the points but not willing to interrupt him. They need to know what they're here for. Not knowing feels like claws at the back of his neck. But Hunk isn't wrong. Stressing too hard about anything leads to being useless when things count. His hands stay at his sides even if he considers crossing his arms.

It would look like closing off. He won't do that. Shiro spreads his hands apart, as he breathes in and releases it slowly.]


You've had enough to deal with in the present. Focusing on the future and the long term has always been part of my job. [His imposed calm softens a fraction as he meets his eyes.]

This is how I've done it the entire time we've been Paladins. [It's true. One only has to look back to see Keith isn't the only one who plays their cards close to their chest.] ...Do you want me to be more open with you? I understand if you'd rather not.

But we will be ready when we figure out what these warnings and signs that girl showed us mean. Or as ready as we can get. That won't change no matter what you decide.
spaceforged: (And I'm living out of time)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-13 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[He steps forward to put his hands on Hunk's shoulders and agree that being trapped here had changed things when words he hadn't been prepared for register like a gun shot. He takes a step back and stares at him.

What had he just said? The words echo and repeat as he internally reviews the last thing he had been doing. He'd passed through the mental space and stolen Zarkon's- his Bayard back. He dimly registers Hunk is still talking while he searches his memories. Zarkon had been back in his head trying to claw his way inside and take the Lion.

The console had beeped and a side panel risen up as the pain spread through him. Had something happened after that? He finally finds his voice.]


...Hunk? [He winces at how quietly that had came out and presses forward, saying more as dread curls in his mind and all the scenarios of past that moment play out in the back of his head.

While you were gone.]


My last memories are of holding off Zarkon's mental attack when we fought his robotic suit in space. The Lion told me to use the Bayard. I was moving to do so then I woke up in the Dream Width.

[He vanishes. That. There's no way he can't be upset about that. He looks away and off to the side as his hands clench at his sides.] What...what happened,

[Shiro turns his gaze back on him, concern running to the front of the pack of emotions racing through his head.] Past that point?
spaceforged: (He makes this face a lot I swear)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-13 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Shiro pushes the long white forelock of hair out of his eyes and shakes his head.]

None of it. [There was a lot. Yes, he assumed as much with that while you were gone. He's never been one for teasing or sarcasm when a matter is important but he almost says something. Some things are too much.

He puts his emotions into a box and shoves them aside to focus on Hunk. He can sit in his room or go for a long walk later to let it all sink in.]


If I was gone... [He places a proverbial bridge over everything. Start simple. Work with facts and build from there.]

Keith should be your leader.
spaceforged: (Have to reign in the space cats.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-14 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
[He leans against the wall and crosses his arms. The suggestion of a chair doesn’t settle well with him. He knows he isn’t going to like what he hears. That isn’t what makes him shove his emotions further down. Hunk pauses and pauses again. Is he afraid of how he’ll react? That had been the barest bones explanation he has ever heard.

His brows come down as he internally goes down the list.]
Why did Keith give up being the team leader to me? That’s not how this works. If he sat down in the chair it makes no sense to give it up for an old leader. I should have been on support and stayed there.

[What made Keith shift his focus from the team to the Blades. The question brings up another. He keeps his voice calm and level.]

When did he even start training as a Blade?
spaceforged: (Concerned for everyone else? You bet.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-14 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[He isn’t laughing. Keith never does anything without a reason for it. He wouldn’t turn to the Blades while leading the team unless he had a reason for it. He can’t ask that of Hunk. Only Keith knows why he moved that direction.

When we needed him. Keith wouldn’t ditch the team when they needed him. His face is unreadable.]


Exactly what happened when I came back and where did you find me? [He can start there and work his way forwards. It occurs to him that he hasn’t been gentle on Hunk. He sighs.]

I can’t know what is going on in Keith’s head or what happened to make him step away if I don’t examine all the details you can give me. He never does anything without a reason behind it. Something triggered that shift and I can’t figure out what it is yet.
Edited 2018-05-14 01:23 (UTC)
spaceforged: (it sharpens me like a knife)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-14 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Hunk doesn’t know what caused the shift or has any idea why. He won’t get those answers from Hunk. He looks up at the ceiling and lets that go.

He needs to talk to Keith. Shiro shifts tacks as smoothly as he can, latching onto the subject of the Galra.]
Who is Lotor and what is the status of the Galra Empire right now?

What happened to Zarkon? [He’ll ask about the fact they found him Through clues in a Galra Fighter in a moment. That better not be what he thinks it means.]
spaceforged: (I'm pedal to the metal)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-14 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
[He drops his gaze to the floor to let himself deal briefly with the entire Kerberos team being alive. They all made it. Battered, likely different, but alive. Later he will process that as long as it deserves to be.

The war is always too important to permit himself to slow down. Hunk is hiding things. He doesn't fault him for that. There are clearly details that need to get directly from Allura, Keith, and Matt himself.

Shiro raises his head, watching Hunk's reactions. He isn't happy with Lotor. Shiro himself has very mixed feelings about an heir to the throne of their enemy among them.]


Let's start off small. Do we know anything about why Lotor was branded a traitor? Why did he even bother to help us? There has to be an objective or reason behind that.

You don't turn against your own for nothing or feed the other side intelligence without a goal in mind.

[He needs to know everything he can to put him on decent footing to handle their possible ally. And so he can anticipate if that's a real alliance or if he has to shield Hunk from a knife headed for their back.]
spaceforged: (Have to reign in the space cats.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-14 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
So, [He starts and he silently adds Lotor to the list of people he'll need to have a long discussion with should they ever show up here.] Should he show up here, we'll either be dealing with an enemy or an ally.

[He believes Hunk. Who he's not sure of is Lotor. But...he killed his own father. That is a level of dedication to a cause is undeniable. He feels uneasy about it. He'll have to see the man for himself and judge based on his actions.] Whether I trust him or not will depend on what I see. I do believe you, but this world isn't ours. He could change his mind here. We'll see.

[Zarkon is a power hungry tyrant with an obsession over the Black Lion. He pushes away from the wall. He won't need it at his back and this is more like a debriefing by now.] Thank you for telling me all this. I have a clearer picture of the state of the Empire and our team. Can you tell me about the state of the rest of the universe?

With Zarkon down and Lotor in power, that has to have caused wide sweeping changes. And a power vacuum that needs filled.
spaceforged: (You are not what I expected.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-15 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
What? [He stares at Hunk in alarm, eyes slightly wide and leans back away from Hunk's anger. He's seen him annoyed. Been considering a mute button on his com a few times when he fixated on how he was right about Rolo. But this? This is his fault or will be. Guilt wars with self loathing and confusion. He stands there unsure what to do until the tears start to fall.]

...it's alright, Hunk. Stand here for a moment. [It's hard to walk away. He slips into the bathroom and gets a wash cloth, he returns and offers it to him. The short walk gives him time to think about what to say.] First, I'm sorry.

No matter who caused that, we are a team and a team discusses the course of their actions together. I should have listened to all of you and I should never have raised my voice at you. You have a right to be angry.

[Why...would he fly off the handle like that? He has never lost it at the team. Once at Slav but Slav is confusing, self focused, ignored all but his own needs while his team and friends, what he has in this universe were in danger. No matter what he did some ridiculous remark came up and he'd snapped. But the team is different.]

I have something important to ask you. ...If you don't have an answer that's okay. But it may give us a clue to what's going on. I'll give you a minute before I ask. [He waits that moment and takes the bayard from his belt. He holds it up.]
Has the Black Lion ever responded to Lotor?
spaceforged: (Put it back together)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-18 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Zarkon was able to get inside my head and through me the Black Lion. Who says the reverse isn't possible? His tie up until the end of the fight was still there. But mine was stronger.

[He clips the bayard back on his belt. It has become a habit to run his fingers over it. He's never been one for comforting himself like that. He forces his hand away from it. He won't lose it at his team. Not here. That he can promise him.]

But it can't happen here. My arm, our armor, and the bayard are all inert. If I was being controlled by magic. It will fail. I will never yell at you here. I'll get annoyed, maybe angry, we're people and sometimes we'll come to disagree. People argue.

But I will never raise my voice unless I need to catch your attention quickly. It will never be a yell. [He holds out his hand, the human one. His promise lies in the air. Seeing Hunk upset and afraid of his reactions had hurt. He refuses to allow that to happen here. Not without a fight.]

I don't know why it happened in my future. If I ever find out you'll be the first to know. [Shiro takes a breath adding softly.]

I won't ask for you to trust me. I know I have to earn it. But you don't have to be worried about how I'll react. I promise.
spaceforged: (I believe in you)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-21 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
[He clasps Hunk's hand trying to convey with how careful his grip is that he won't bring him harm. He lets out a surprised sound as he's drawn into a hug. He stills for a second then he wraps his free arm around him and commits to the embrace. It's exactly what he needed. If he had to guess it does them both some good.]

This whole situation is weird. But, at least I get the opportunity to apologize for it. [It will be alright. He'd make sure of it. When Hunk lets go he slowly does the same. He'll really think about what he's been told and what it means later. Hunk looks to be doing better. Shiro smiles just a little.]

It will alright. We'll do everything to make it that way. Here and at home. Thank you for telling me all you could. Should...certain people arrive. I'll have to have some discussion with them as well. [He holds up both his hands before any protest can be uttered.]

I will be careful around Lotor.
spaceforged: (Or be just your friend)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-22 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm good. If I think of anything I'll bring it up later. For now I'm going to think over everything you've told me. It's a lot to process.

[He smiles reassuringly and tilts his head to indicate his bedroom.]

And some exercise will put it all in order for me. As always, you're free to come to me at any time to tell me the rest of what you have to say. ...and thank you, for telling me how Commander Holt and Matt are.

I worried they- [He cuts himself off and shuts his eyes. No. He won't voice that.]

Nevermind. I'm happy they're alright. If I'm not here when you get back I went to the library. [There's so much he has to learn to keep them safe. Answers are eluding him and that never feels right. But he has to be patient. They're out there and scrambling for them will do him no good. So he'll study and gather knowledge. Waiting is never easy but he's done so much of it.]

There's a lot of research to do. Like being a cadet again in a way.
spaceforged: (I just need a breath)

woo final taaag

[personal profile] spaceforged 2018-05-23 10:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I'm pretty glad there's no tests. That was enough the first go around. [That they can see. He knows how quickly a test can happen from life itself. Shiro holds up his hand in farewell until the door closes and Hunk's footsteps fade away. He turns and walks into his room, closing and locking the door behind him. Once he's in his space away from prying eyes he leans back against the wall and scrubs at his face. The storm of questions and emotions churn inside him like a hurricane. The world doesn't feel quite so stable under his feet.

One wrong step and he'll plunge straight down into the future that yawns frighteningly wide before him.

Keith found a distress signal you left in a Galra fighter.

He knows the Blades are good people. They would have told Voltron if they found him. That leaves only the empire. He drops his hand from his face to stare at his hands. It takes him a second to realize they're shaking. It's such a faint tremor that anyone else would miss it. Keith will leave for the Blades.

And he will behave completely unlike himself. He should be grateful that Hunk missed one possibility that should have been right there at the front of the lot. Instead he's worried. So very worried. Shiro drops his hands and stares at the ceiling without really seeing it.]


Witch... [He whispers and pushes away from the wall, grabbing a black journal from where it lays, flipping it open. There's nothing he can do from here. Nothing he can fix. Even the theory itself can't be confirmed. But he can start a report and lay out plans for how to take him down. If he's wrong he'll burn it. If he's right...

He'll have done all he can.]