Voicemail

[codeforhope]

Hello... you've reached Chihiro Fujisaki. I apologize for missing you, but, um... please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

[Beep!]

Comments

action because that's how we do things

[pipers_son]

[What looks like a very plainface Joker is knocking on your door, Chihiro.]

[codeforhope]

[Chihiro looks up from where he had been typing on his Gear at the sound of the knocking, inputting a hasty stand by message for Zip, whom he had been conversing with. Putting the Gear down, he quickly hurries downstairs, but by the time he's made it there the horde of Eevees has beaten him to the punch, eager to see who's come visiting.

He's rather careful about opening the door this time, doing his best to keep the bulk of them behind him as he pulls it open a crack.]

Hello?

[pipers_son]

[It looks like a Joker, but when he starts to speak, there's some of that casual tone and drawl on words missing from his voice.]

Hello, Teacher Fujisaki. Are you busy?

[codeforhope]

[Perhaps Chihiro should have found it odd when the Eevees as one sniffed the air, exchanged few glances, and then slowly began to trickle back into the foyer before actually jumping up to greet their guest.

Being called "teacher", however, does get his attention as he pulls the door open a bit further.]

Oh no....I'm not. ..Would you like to come in...Joker-kun...?

[pipers_son]

Yes- but also no. I'm... I'm not...

[The Joker look-alike covers his face with his hand, looking flustered and embarrassed.]

In.... Invidia... I'm Invidia...

[codeforhope]

[...Ah. Well, the lack of make-up and the fact that the accent isn't really all there makes a lot more sense now, and in contrast to the embarrassment Chihiro just smiles up at him, pushing the door open all the way so he can come inside.]

Hello, Invidia. It's nice to see you again. Come inside.

[Then, after a short pause-]

Does Joker-kun know you're here?

[pipers_son]

[The illusioned Zoroark quickly scurries in, looking relieved.]

Yes! I always tell Papa- or I tell Lightning or Ruby so they'll tell Myra and she'll tell him if he asks.

Papa says... he might see if he can get a 'Gear for all of us who stay in the Circus while he's out traveling...

[codeforhope]

[After moving to close the door after Invidia steps inside, Chihiro gestures for him to follow. By now most of the Eevees have scurried off, leaving one Flareon and a Growlithe in their wake. Both Pokemon watch as their trainer passes, the Flareon standing to keep the Growlithe from excitedly bounding after them and potentially jumping up onto their guest.]

That would be good, I think. Especially if he travels often...

[Which would stand to reason, because Circus.

After a bit of walking, Chihiro stops before reaching the stairs, turning his attention back to Invidia.]

What is it that you have come here for, Invidia?

[He can pretty well guess, but it's only polite to ask.]

[pipers_son]

[Invidia follows after, rocking on his heels when they come to a pause.]

Ah... lessons. For the computer and things. If that's alright.

[codeforhope]

[At this Chihiro nods.]

Of course!

[Then he reaches out for Invidia's hand to take.]

Let's go upstairs. Nobody else is home at the moment, so we don't have to worry about being too noisy.

[The rest of the Pokemon in this house probably have that covered.]

[pipers_son]

[It's a testament to the strength of Zoroark illusions that Invidia's hand really does feel like a normal human hand and not a fluffy paw. He looks relieved.]

Thank you.

...Do I look alright?

[codeforhope]

[Again he nods as he leads the Zoroark upstairs.]

You look just like Joker-kun. It would have been difficult for me to tell otherwise, if you didn't tell me.

[pipers_son]

[Invidia practically lights up, which is quite a feat for a dark type.]

I'm glad! It's been really hard to mimic Papa because he's missing an arm, but I'm glad I got it right. I haven't picked a form of my own yet.

[codeforhope]

I'm sure whatever you pick will be just lovely~

[Chihiro giggles once they reach the top of the stairs, and then he leads Invidia to his room. Once inside, he'll see a Linoone stretched out on Chihiro's bed on his back, sleeping like a rock. Curled up next to his head is an Abra, who is sleeping equally as hard.

The Flareon and Growlithe dart into the room after them before Chihiro moves to the desk to pick up his Gear, typing a quick message to let Zip know what's going on.]

What do you remember from the last lesson, Invidia? I know it was a while ago, so we can brush up on a bit of everything.

[pipers_son]

[By the time Chihiro turns around, Invidia will have illusioned his other arm to actually look like it's there- just for sake of ease and all that. He settles down cross legged in the middle of the room. If not for the illusion, his ears would be clearly perking up.]

I still remember all the basic html- and I've been pretending to type, so that I don't forget how to do it easily. I asked Myra to write down what I could remember when I got back... She's a Gardevoir and can do things like that easily.

[Psychic type means never having to give a fuck about thumbs.]

But I'm not certain if I wrote down everything...

[codeforhope]

[He brings the Gear over and has a seat on the floor across from him, sitting on his knees as he tabs through the different applications he had pulled up before, until he reaches the one he had reserved as a notepad for the things he'd been showing Invidia how to do so far. It was amazing, how much progress he'd been able to make in such a short amount of time.

Then, he turns the Gear around and holds it out for Invidia to take, having left some blank space beneath the different html coding that he showed him before.]

That's okay. I have everything recorded. I want you to try to remember the html I taught you before, and show me how it would be used on a sentence. A single sentence, like...

[He taps his chin, thinking.]

"Hello. My name is Invidia." As if you were talking to someone over the Network, or messaging a friend. Italicize a word for emphasis, bold something...make the text smaller, things like that.

All of the answers are on another page, but try to do as much as you can without looking, okay? And it's okay if you make a few mistakes. I'll show you what needs to be corrected, and then teach you something new.

[pipers_son]

[Invidia gives a determined nod as he takes the 'Gear. It'd been rather simple- and Joker's taught him much more complex tricks for the Circus. There's some silence as he focuses completely on the 'Gear, fingers clicking on the keys. There's one checkover, then another, and third time's the charm before he finally hesitantly holds it out to Chihiro.]

Hello. My name is Invidia.

[codeforhope]

[Chihiro takes the 'Gear and examines the text there, standing and moving so he can sit down on the floor next to Invidia, instead of across from him.]

You did very well. You know the html for underlining something, yes? Did you intend to do that?

[pipers_son]

[Invidia gives a very quick nod of his head before remembering he can talk.]

It.... It seemed like the place for it... Angel says that you need to think about what you say to people a lot... and it would have looked strange elsewhere.

[codeforhope]

Angel is right. Though it is easier to speak to someone through text. Easier to say what you need to, but harder still to get the actual emotion across.

[He looks back down at the 'Gear before moving down for some more blank space.]

I think you have a good enough understanding of basic html to learn a few things about coding. Just some very simple things...would you like to do that next?

[Down below on the blank space, a message suddenly appears.]

YOU SHOULD LEARN
/BINARY!/

[pipers_son]

[Invidia is in the middle of nodding when he spots the 'Gear's new text and pauses.]

Binary?

[codeforhope]

[He shakes his head a little before nodding, the message quickly disappearing to be replaced with a smiley face.]

It's, um....it's a language, of a sort. A language of numbers, made up of ones and zeros. Zip enjoys speaking in binary code.

[pipers_son]

I... I wouldn't mind. Do computers and things use binary code a lot?

[codeforhope]

They do. Binary isn't used for general conversation, of course...but anyone who works with coding extensively will be familiar with binary. It is difficult for even me to fully understand, since it isn't....really a language like humans speak.

Zip knows binary because he's basically a computer program himself, in a way...

[And then a string of numbers appears, followed by a translation:]

010000100100100101001110010000010101001001011001001000000100001101001111010001000100010100100000010010010101001100001101000010100100010101000001010100110101100100100001

BINARY CODE IS
EASY!

[Chihiro smiles a little, shaking his head.]

It may be best if we stick to some simpler things, for the time being...

[pipers_son]

Oh. Okay.

[Invidia really is more of a follower than a leader, so just accepting Chihiro's judgment is a thing that happens rather easily. He does type something else, however.]

I'm sorry. I will learn later.