video 🎸 un: metalhead69

[bardbarous]

[ Starring: Tuck, Vyng, Billie ]

Hey. Hey! LOOK OVER HERE, EVERYBODY!

[ Great! Now that he has your attention, he gets to the point of this commercial interruption. ]

I have, uh, something to say to all of you. [ The large man unfolds a piece of paper and begins reading from it. ]

Amara, not Laura,
You are my destiny,
A mysterious mistress fated to me—Ah fuck, wrong piece!

[ He is already floundering twenty seconds in, but Vyng, the wild haired half-elf standing beside him hands over another cue card.

"Here you go, buddy," he offers. ]

Thanks. Um, "This is our son Fat Billie." [ You better believe these lines are spoken as woodenly as possible. ] "Say hi Billie."

[ After an awkward beat, Tuck squats down and picks up his round little halfling son, covered in his usual raccoon skin to hide his ginger hair. In Tuck's giant hand he looks the size of a basketball.

"Hi Billie!" the little boy greets, hands covered in something like gravy or chocolate.

Behind him, Vyng laughs. "Nice." ]

"He needs someone like you [ And then Tuck pantomimes to the video screen, pointing stiffly to his audience. ] to be his friend! Come—" uh, "Come eat lunch! Take afternoon naps! Eat more food!" Uhm, "Pet cats!

"If this sounds good to you, please apply!" Oh, but no nerds, though! Or adults! Like 18 year olds tops!

[ "Yeah, don't make this creepy," Vyng adds with a judging eye. ]

Yeah, don't be fucking gross, old people! He's a child!

[ "So, no nerds, don't be creep-os, must love gravy! If this sounds like you, like and subscribe!" Vyng points down to the bottom of the screen, which Tuck does not get. ]

Are you pointing at your dick? Point to Billie!!

[ He takes one of his friend's hands and points it at their fat little son.

"Now like and subscribe!" ]

Comments

[nothinglikea]

Oh, I see. That makes more sense.

[and she grins at the "haters gonna hate" comment. she'd never heard it before, but its message was clear]

I'm glad to hear that. I know I have a great deal of catching up to do to be on the same level as everyone else.

Easy? [with an arch smile] And I'm Rose Dawson. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[spiritwalks]

I think you greatly overestimate the abilities of myself and my colleagues. Trench is a new terrain for most Sleepers. The playing field is probably more level than you expect.

["Easy" was the first (unfortunate) word that came out of his mouth. He's a weirdo elf-man with crazy, long gray hair and a bag full of jars. When Vyng wants to help somebody, he half-expects to need to do some actual convincing.]

Rose. [He gives a warm, genuine smile.] Beautiful name. Likewise, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Vyng.

[nothinglikea]

That would be good. I wish the technological gap would close somewhat, though. I can use the omni, but I'm never very confident in how I do with it.

[Rose appreciates all genuine offers of assistance since the world she'd grown up in was full of insincerity and casual cruelty]

Thank you! I like your name as well.

[spiritwalks]

[He gives a warm "thank you" at the compliment, before circling back to her earlier remark:]

I know what you mean. We didn't have anything like this back where I'm from, either.

[Well, they did in the past. But not when Vyng left it.]

[nothinglikea]

Thank goodness. I was afraid I was nearly the only one who'd never used such a device. How long did it take you to get used to it?

[1912 technology level, after all]

[spiritwalks]

A space man showed me the ropes. He's used to teaching children, so...

[A self-depreciating chuckle.]

Not too long. We've got some advanced features, like subtitles or voice-to-text that can take some getting used to. Especially if you're not using them that much to begin with, you know?

[Vyng prefers being more hands-on with his learning whenever he can.]

[nothinglikea]

I suppose I'll need to ask for the help of someone similar, though it's distressing to need help like a child.

[she laughs sheepishly]

Yes, we had electricity back home and a phone, but we had to wait for an operator to connect us to whomever we wanted to speak to. Subtitles and texting in general were unheard of, like something out of a HG Wells novel.

[spiritwalks]

He's still around, actually. Want me to introduce you?

[Shiro enjoys teaching people. And there's no way he wouldn't drop everything to help a fellow Sleeper in need.]

A HG Wells novel? [Vyng blinks, the reference going right over his head. But he's interested in book recs, so—] Are you a fan of those? I've never heard of them.

[nothinglikea]

Yes, please. If it's not too much trouble?

[and if it is, she'll find her own way. she's never wanted to depended on others for her way forward]

Yes, he wrote "The Time Machine?" Though, if you've never heard of it, I suppose it's of nature.

sorry for the delay here!

[spiritwalks]

Sure. His name's Shiro. Great guy. He'll drop everything to help a stranger down on their luck. [And will, miraculously, still be friends with a trio of chucklefucks who've kicked down his door at 2AM.]

[Vyng gives a quiet "hm!" at the book title. Maybe he'll check it out sometime...if he doesn't forget the name first.]

Cool. [And beside the point, but constantly gets off track from the main thread of a conversation.] You sound like you read a lot.

nah, it's cool! RL comes first, always!

[nothinglikea]

Shiro. [she says, as though testing out both the name and her pronunciation of it] I'll have to look him up.

[she misses having books of her own to, well. own. in time, her desperation for such may lead to trying to form a bookstore and informal salon to exchange knowledge and ideas]

I do. [Rose can feel herself flushing, but what color can that flush be, given her blood was like milk?] Mother always chided me when I did, said that I should be getting out more in Society.

[spiritwalks]

So you were, like...this teenaged rebel who read a bunch of books behind her parents' back. Neat.

[Vyng can absolutely respect that.]

Did she want you to get a job or something?

(CW: gambling, death)

[nothinglikea]

Yes, that's it exactly. But Society was so...dull. The same people having the same conversations, none of them sincere or actually interested in what the other had to say. It was awful.

[book rebels, yeah!]

No. That would have been easier. She wanted me to get married to this absolute boor of a man so he could replenish the family fortune. Ours, my father gambled away before his death.

[spiritwalks]

You're right. That does sound awful...

[Vyng does his best to avoid thinking about his time at court. But it's hard not to draw parallels. Either way, he's genuinely sympathetic to Rose's situation.]

Oh wow. She just decided that for you? Without talking to you about it?

[nothinglikea]

It was so dreadfully dull all the time. I knew I couldn't stand life living that way.

[enter: Jack Dawson]

Sort of? My mother drilled it into me that by saying yes, I would solve all of the family's problems forever. Apparently, my soul is worth several million dollars?