010 - Video

[sociallychallenged]

Video - August 4th

[Hank is looking frazzled as he turns on the camera, pokegear positioned in front of him on his desk. He has no idea how to approach a plan, honestly? Connor's birthday is this month, he never talks about his friends so he's not sure who they are, he doesn't know who to invite. Maybe he'll just tell Connor to tell them to come over?]

[Fuck he doesn't know. But here it goes. He's scratching his head and messing his hair up in the process.]

Okay, I have no fuckin' idea how to cook. I'm shit at it. I need someone to show me how to at least bake something in the next couple of weeks, alright? I'll pay.

[A cake made by him would be optimal. It won't be pretty, but it'd be the effort that counts. He supposes if he wrecks the thing he could go get a nice one from a store at the last moment.]

Also uh... last month while I was with Shadowmaru we ran into some Rockets. [Honestly it ended up being the highlight of his week. He's pretty sure that people aren't supposed to fight Rockets the way they did but it felt fucking great. Plus, you know, skinny funky-haired ninja being fucking impressive. That's a good show.] And the Jennies took 'em into custody. They got back to me and they think one of the pokemon they had was from that Prom that was attacked. Ambrose.

So Armin you can probably give 'em a ring and claim him.

[He hasn't even heard about the awesome dog he missed yet. Though his awesome dog leans in with its giant muzzle and snuffles his messed up hair.]

Comments

[sociallychallenged]

Usually when people yell my name in public it's to call their dog and not to call another human being so I guess that's how it usually goes.

[He loosely puts his arms around Connor, getting flour on him because he's considerate like that, and he smiles into the little kiss.]

There's going to be a round of fuckin' muffins tonight, I figure if they're not fit for human consumption the pokemon'll enjoy the extras.

[plasticasshole]

I look forward to them.

[Even if they're not very nice, he'll try them. Of course, he'll be brutally honest about how good they are, but only because Hank won't learn to bake properly if he thinks sub par muffins are acceptable.]

Will you continue to bake after my birthday?

[sociallychallenged]

[Hopefully, Hank doesn't give up in a fit of persistent failure. But at least his heart's in the right place. At the moment, anyway. He's got a lot of quit in him.]

Maybe this time I should just see if they're decent first. You know... Passable.

[He doesn't want to humiliate himself on the first try.]

I'll be honest. Probably not often. I'll save it for a special occasion thing.

[plasticasshole]

Well, you'll need to practice a little.

[He pats Hank's arm and heads into the bedroom to get out of his work clothes, coming back in while buttoning up his shirt.]

I was wondering what people do on their birthdays. They throw parties, right?

[But Connor isn't sure he knows enough people who would come. He chews on his lip thoughtfully.]

Maybe I should just invite a few people over.

[sociallychallenged]

[By the time Connor comes back, Hank's cleaning up the counter so the batter doesn't dry into a nightmare he'll have to chisel off. Not even dogs can clean that up. He knows from Sumo.]

Yeah, do what you want. You can have it here, at a restaurant. I'll make sure there's whatever you need.

[But then, mid clean, he admits.]

I don't know who to invite. I don't know all your friends. Some people get surprise parties but I think you should set the standard of how this plays out. Decide if you like it.

[plasticasshole]

[He thinks as Hank cleans the counter.]

...There is the bar Wu Ming works at. I was going to invite him anyway. I'll ask him about it.

[He shrugs a little.]

Well, there's you, Yayoi, Wu Ming, Jack... I don't have too many. I spend so much time training and then looking after the Pokemon at home that I don't really talk to anyone anymore.

[He has acquaintances, but not many people he would call friends.]

I'm happy with what I have, though.

[sociallychallenged]

Right. He mentioned something about a free drink. That's not a bad plan.

[Hank should be commended that he forgot about a free drink. But of course he's gone out and bought plenty of his own drinks.]

Yeah I sort of uh...

[He trails off, mid clean. Then whatever thought he has he abandons it and goes on to scrub a bit of dried batter that might as well be cement. He breathes a quiet, 'Shit'.]

[plasticasshole]

You sort of...?

[He comes over to look at what Hank is struggling with.]

Is there any way to soak that so that it softens up a little? Perhaps with a damp towel?