5th floor common room, Tuesday Night

[withoutverona]

Romeo was channel-surfing, which was not entirely unusual.

What was unusual, though, was how carefully he was listening to the actual words people were using, instead of dismissing them as baby talk and watching the picture to put the story together.

he was hoping for a fake-Big Brother, and possibly some other friends, to try his enhanced (or possibly reduced) vocabulary on.

Comments

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Romeo," John said, breezing into the common room and flopping into a chair and noting the channel-surfing behavior. "How's the flipping going?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo's smile was a little crooked. "Yo, bro. 'Sall good, y'know what I'm saying?"

He did not manage to drop that last g, but other than that, you could tell he had ended up watching MTV for a few minutes.

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

"...Okay then!" John was a little surprised. "So, you enjoy watching Yo MTV Raps?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo laughed, and went back to his usual diction, more or less. "I never paid much attention to the lyrics, but the videos and the imagery I did grasp have always reminded me of home." He paused. "Though I should rather not call women golddiggers, even if it was accurate."

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

"The ladies might smack you for that," John said. "The lyrics tend toward the harsh side, but I can get with the beat."

[withoutverona]

"Smack me, or, worse, not speak to me again," Romeo noted. "The lyrics ... from what I follow, my town is a bit like they describe, with the violence if not the drugs. So it seems more real than harsh to me, though it is harsh."

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

"Your California must be pretty close to my California. Just with fancier language," John noted.

[athosborn.livejournal.com]

Teyla had wandered down to the common room in search of tea, and was pleased to see Romeo. "Good evening," she said. "What are you watching?"

[withoutverona]

"Nothing in particular," Romeo said, changing the channel again and landing on a cartoon about a yellow-skinned family. "I was trying to learn some idioms such that my speech might sound more like the rest of the school's, yet I see little benefit in 'd'oh'."

[athosborn.livejournal.com]

"I think your speech sounds fine," Teyla said. "Though perhaps that is because it seems more familiar to me than the way others around here speak."

[withoutverona]

"You sound more familiar to me, as well," Romeo noted. "Perhaps our homes are in the same world, in some way."

[athosborn.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps," Teyla agreed. "Or it could be that we are both lucky to come from the homes that we have."

[withoutverona]

"How so?" Romeo asked, curious. "I believe I was privileged, in some ways, yet I would not say lucky."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

Ferris walked in and dropped heavily into a chair. "What are we watching?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo gestured at the screen, which was still on The Sampsons. "I am contemplating if I should fit in better here, should I say 'Eat my shorts,' and finding the reward rather not worth the price."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

The Sampsons hadn't started yet back home, but it was hard to watch any TV these days without catching at least three episodes a week. "I think if you're going to spout catchphrases, you should stick to the ones that don't antagonize other people into wanting their fist to meet your face. Like 'D'oh' if you do anything wrong or 'Don't have a cow, man'." He was a fast learner.

[withoutverona]

"D'oh," Romeo repeated, and made a face. "It should make me sound daft. Though the other has some potential."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"The point is that we're all daft sometimes. There's no shame in acknowledging that and if you have to do it, you might as well use as few words as possible. If that doesn't work for you, try some others. When someone walks into a room, it's okay to shout their name in greeting. So instead of 'hello!' I'd shout 'Norm!' or 'Romeo!' or whatever the case might be. Or try this one. It's great for those times when you don't have any normal words that will express how you're feeling: 'buzzard on a buzzsaw!'"

[withoutverona]

"Ferris!" Romeo tried. "Though, i'faith, I have done that. It seems easier than 'God ye good e'en,' which I should say at home." He snickered as he repeated "buzzard on a buzzsaw," savoring the words.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Noise. Noise meant people, people meant entertainment. Dōjima was always in need of entertainment. "Ohaiyo! What's on?"

[withoutverona]

"Ohaiyo!" Romeo returned, as he had learned precisely enough Japanese from Dojima to be aware this was a greeting. "It was The Sampsons, but it ended. Would you like the remote?" He scooted over a little on the couch to make room for his egg babymama.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Dōjima grinned happily and flopped down next to him. "Hey, pretty good! Your accent isn't too hideous! Better than most foreigners. I don't know the Sam's-sons or whatever. You keep the remote, I'll give thumbs up or down!"

[withoutverona]

"I learned from a native," Romeo grinned right back at her. He flicked the channel again. "I wished to learn new expressions tonight, but I don't think a Spanish soap opera should be of much help."

He turned to the girl. "How have you been?"

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"We could learn to swear in Spanish, but why bother? It's more satisfying when the target of your anger knows how much crap they're in." Dōjima tucked her feet under her and smiled back. "We watched television in class today. If school was this entertaining at home, I might have paid attention and they wouldn't have had to kick me out."

[withoutverona]

"I could swear in Spanish once in a while back home, but 'tis more important they learn English," Romeo said while the mun headdesked. "Your day went better than mine, then. We had to move furniture for the best feng shui."