006 - And now we present Sokka in an act of desperation

[alwayscomeback]

Who: Sokka and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Blue Fish
When: 11th

[The feed turns on to Sokka looking exceptionally miserable, the Blue Fish's kitchen as his backdrop. He turns to wave a hand at the empty kitchen, because this is an important part to his point.]

Do you see that, Flooters? Do you know what that is? That is a kitchen devoid of a cook, which is just about the saddest thing in the universe. Even sadder than a turtleduck with one leg. It's that sad.

SO! Does any cook here want to help out the Blue Fish? We have every single upgrade at your disposal if you want to come cook for us! We even have frozen meat and fish, hunted fresh by your handsome captain here.

[He's turning on the puppy eyes. Don't stare too much into them, they'll steal your soul.]

Please. We might die. Pleeeeeaaaaaase feed us.

Comments

[unfulfilledpotential]

Yeeeep. It's pretty popular too.

I don't watch a lot of it myself, though, beyond game shows or stuff with challenges. Nothing like the Fleet exists yet, and I kinda hope it never will.

[alwayscomeback]

Seriously. I mean... someone has to be watching us, but it's still a creepy thought.

What's a game show?

[unfulfilledpotential]

It's a kind of TV show where you take a bunch of people and ask them to play a game. Like uh, Wheel of Fortune where you try to guess a sentence based off letters already on a board.

The catch: you get really good prizes if you win a round. Usually, it's like a new car or a washing machine or a trip to the Bahamas.

[He sighs] Kinda wish we were on a game show sometimes. At least when you lose, you go home.

[alwayscomeback]

[Shawn what the hell is that. That sounds so weird. Seriously, what the hell. ]

...And people watch that? So it's like a competition?

[He has no idea what a Bahamas is, and only vaguely understands 'car' but he's almost afraid to ask. ]

[unfulfilledpotential]

[He doesn't create Earth TV, bro, he just watches a lot of it. And okay, sometimes he's on those game shows too.]

Pretty much. If you have a good enough host and fun people playing each round, people tune in.

If you can compete in it, I promise, there's probably a show about it.

[alwayscomeback]

[Earth, man. Just Earth. ]

Huh. When we do those things it's actually going to an event and watching people compete in person.

[unfulfilledpotential]

Oh, there's still in-person stuff, like sport events. TV makes it a lot easier for people to watch if they can't make it in person.

[He shrugs.]

It's kinda nice, if you're using it right.

[alwayscomeback]

Well, I do like the movies we got on the Blue Fish. So I guess it's not too much different from that, right?

[unfulfilledpotential]

Wait. You're saying you can watch movies on your ship this whole time, and you didn't tell me?

[He's not gonna screech, because that's just dumb, but that is what the face of utter heartbreak looks like.]

Sokka! You could've helped a guy out a little here.

[alwayscomeback]

[OH NO, NEW FRIEND, DON'T BE SAD!!! ]

Oh wow man. You can always come to the Blue Fish to watch movies. We got one of those video game things too. With the little plumber guy?

[unfulfilledpotential]

[The face of utter heartbreak's softening, at least...]

You've got Mario? Dude, yes - yes a million times over. I haven't seen a proper movie or video game since I got here!

How'd you manage to pull that off?

[alwayscomeback]

Oh yeah, that's his name!

My first mate got them...somehow? I think he won them in Space Vegas or something.

[unfulfilledpotential]

Huh. [He takes a couple of seconds to let that sink in...] Here I thought when you left Earth, you left Vegas behind too.

Who knew you could win more than just cash when you gamble?

[alwayscomeback]

This wasn't like the Earth one...or so my friends from Earth tell me. It was in a waystation.

I got my boomerang back then too. You won these little ticket things and you could get things from home.

[unfulfilledpotential]

Oh. Yeah, that doesn't sound much like Earth's.

I'm glad you got it back too. [Nevermind that Shawn's not sure why he'd be so attached to a boomerang.] That's the kind of thing a guy should never be parted from.

[alwayscomeback]

Heck no, it's super important. My dad gave it to me, and it's never, ever let me down. I took out a guy who exploded things with his mind with my boomerang, once.

[A pause, a snap of his fingers.]

True story.

[unfulfilledpotential]

No, you taking him out isn't the weird part. The fact that you fought a guy who makes things explode with his mind?

That's gonna take a while for me to wrap my head around.

[No matter how much TV a guy consumes, there's always gonna be something new (and almost unfathomable) for him to imagine. And to think, people said those movies and video games were fiction!]

[alwayscomeback]

Oh...right. Yeah, Combustion Man was weird. He was a super unique firebender. I never saw anyone like him before.

[And he only will again in his 40s, which may or may not kill him woop. ]

[unfulfilledpotential]

Oh! If he's some kind of firebender....

[He looks so, so proud of himself right now for making this connection:] You and Zuko're from the same world, aren't you?

[alwayscomeback]

[That gets a smile and a nod. ]

Sure am! We're buddies, saved the world together and everything.

[unfulfilledpotential]

Huh. Guess the multiverse's way smaller than I thought.

[Or Atroma decides to pull people from the same universes over and over again, whichever works.]

[alwayscomeback]

I know, right? Ain't it wacky?