[ Between care logistics and his friend's allergies, Hunk knew he had to admire chocobos from afar, at least until hypoallergenic chocobos happened. Unfortunately, the Chocobo Races were, uh, not what he was expecting. See, while there was racing going on, there were also ferocious monsters! And they were eating the racers! Hunk had grown to mostly accept Gourmand as a vessel of great and terrible power (gastrointestinal and otherwise) but...

He saw a Malboro, something he'd only read about, eat both bird and rider in one motion. All those teeth were terrifying, and all the while its maw just leaked vile, debilitating fluids. A pair of hamsters leapt at another racer, pulling her off her mount by the neck while the other, concealed by the border fences of the track, committed a grisly and unspeakable horror to the poor chocobo. Hamsters.vid was supposed to be a joke, and yet here Hunk is, wide-eyed and mouth agape, staring in abject horror and fascination as these diverse, deadly beasts did what they did best. ]

No. No- What?! ...No. [ But the pragmatist deep down in his gut is a bit excited. Is this the sort of power he can expect once Gourmand's picked up steam? ]

[ Hunk had almost bee-lined to the museums of the Third District. Relics, magitek prototypes, and fragments of ancient tech. It was like popping the hood of a car for the first time all over again! He couldn't touch things in the museum, of course, which brought him to merchant stalls. While he was able to buy a fancy new Imperial Gunblade without too much trouble, that was only one reason why he was here. The new gunblade was very shiny though... ]

Man, come on! You can't tell me you don't want to be a worldwide business! [ Hunk groans, because this shouldn't be so difficult. ] The gates are finally opening, and you're telling me you don't want to share your exotic goods with people beyond the Empire? [ The merchant behind the stall shifted their stance and Hunk just started to smile. ]

Tell you what, I've got some snacks with me that I used to make before I ended up here. If we can get something worked out, I might be willing to part with the recipe... [ The way to almost everyone's heart is through their stomach, after all. ]

[ Hunk's not willing to tell most people, but this has been a very stressful month for him. Three of his closest friends showed up all at once, all from his future. Then Shiro disappeared, and then Hunk himself disappeared. Being broken out of an exhausting, deadly memory and catching his point in time to his friends from home didn't help. And then, the very next day, everyone made the trek to the Sen Devadatta Empire.

That's why Hunk's playing the Chest Game to try and amass a dragon's hoard of oversized plushies. He just so happens to strike gold, winning not just a plushie, but a cutesy, rotund rendition of Titan, Eidolon of Earth. Like clockwork, his moogle flutters over, picks up the new addition, and carries it back to the temporary housing. Hunk is obviously unconcerned about the idea of luggage space, and he can't stop cheering. ...Or maybe you'll find him elsewhere amidst the spectacle, all but throwing some of his hard-earned gil into piles of Kupo Boxes. ]

Give. [ A punch connects firmly with a box, revealing nothing. ] Me. [ A stronger punch, this time yielding a Potion. ] Something. [ A third punch, producing 2 gil. ] Useful! [ A final punch, revealing... ]

A baby chocobo dish towel? That's really cute! [ The smile on his face shows he's not lying in the slightest, and then Hunk gives another handful of gil to the vendor. ] Ten more boxes, please!

[ Available upon request, though I'm consciously hitting some event prompts as part of tagouts. ]