driftfleet | 01 - video/action

Entry tags:

01 - video/action

Who: Winn & you!
Broadcast: video
Action: on the Marsiva
When: now!

action;

[ it's the smell that makes the first tug towards wakefulness, or rather the lack of it - over the years, winn's gotten used to waking up to a familiar aroma of an apartment that's just a little too dusty, has just a little too many clothes that really should have been washed yesterday lying around, maybe some residual takeout smell that still lingers from the night before because he's forgotten to properly ventilate - none of it is hitting his nose now, and his mind is not taking it well. groaning, and rubbing his eyes with one hand, his other reaches for his bedside table to pick up his phone - only to hit air.

well that's weird.

eyes finally blinking open, he finds himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. shifting in bed - he finds himself falling to an unfamiliar floor.

what the hell?

he's dreaming, right? he has to be dreaming. or maybe it's a freaky fantasy like the one kara was stuck in - though why would anyone waste disgusting alien hallucinatory-leach things on him? and besides, this - this looks absolutely nothing like his ideal fantasy world! well, just in case it'll work (he'd fill really silly if he passes up the simplest solution for being too simple and it'll end up being all that it takes!), he shuts his eyes tightly, pinches his arm, and mumbles to himself ]

I hella reject this fantasy. You are rejected, fired, gone!

[ opening his eyes again, he finds that unsurprisingly - the only change that transpired is that his arm now aches. well, what else was he expecting? pulling himself up to his feet, he decides he might as well try to figure out where he is - and how to get out of here.

and then he spots the window. blurting out a girly scream, he turns his back to it, his knees nearly buckling under him, and his face losing color. slowly, he turns back towards it and chances another peek, chuckling nervously at his own behavior, trying to ridicule his fear away ]

That's a pretty good green screen -

video;

[ the face that appears on your screen is pale and clearly very shaken. actually, he kinda looks like he's going to be sick, doesn't he? good thing that space tech isn't 7-D! ...unless it is in which case, now would be a pretty bad time to find that out... ]

I got a couple questions for -- whoever's watching this - or - [ he looks around, waving his free hand to gesture around the room - wherever the less voluntary cameras may be ] this - If this is a reality show, when's elimination? Cuz I - I volunteer to go home! I mean let's face it, there is no point to keep me in the running - unless elimination's actually eh, elimination [ he runs his finger against his throat to illustrate his point ] in which case -- my vote is still on home, thanks -

This...isn't really space, is it? [ he chuckles nervously ] I know 'beam me up' was my birthday wish for like 3 years running, but you're over a decade late and this is so not what I had in mind - [ he clears his throat. not the point! and not something he needed to share with - potentially an entire galaxy. actually, this whole broadcast was probably pretty dumb, way to make himself easy prey. ok, no worries! he can still salvage this! ] Anyway! Little help, a lotta help, Xanax, I'll take what you got, thanks. [ clearing his throat again ] Over? [ nailed it. ]

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[He'd feel bad about creeping anyone out, but it's far... from the first time... that this has happened to him. Being a stranger and an alien is hard. Whatever, he's a patient person. All this longsuffering.]

Thanks. So, I don't know much about reality television. How do expulsions usually work?

[ and winn is very skittish ]

Um, I don't watch a whole lot of it -- but - it's usually a vote. On some shows the contestants vote, on others the audience, some have judges - but I'm pretty sure there's always a vote. If the winner here's determined by ratings - I'm guessing it's audience vote.

So ultimately, it's popularity...

[Which is a little concerning. His own ratings aren't exactly bad, but it's still concerning to think that he could be sent back at any moment, and it's especially concerning to think that the same could happen to his best friend... Oh, and there's Shikinami, he guesses. That would be unfortunate too. In its own way.

Kaworu still looks sweet-natured, but now, he's pensive, too.]

What sort of person would you vote for? If you were in the audience.

Uh - I don't know.

[ probably someone who's the exact opposite of himself. or he wouldn't, because he'd resent someone like that. but most people probably wouldn't, most people would vote for the cool contestant. ]

I don't know who's watching this, but what seems to work back home are sob stories and attractiveness. [ importance of truth, right? well, sob story he's got, but he's not going to put that out there for the entertainment of nameless sadists without a guarantee that it'll work. ]

[Kaworu doesn't exactly intend to shed light on his cosmic sob story, either. But most of his ratings do probably come from smitten teen alien girls; he's your classic pretty boy, all fey and gentle. The rest of the ratings are likely brought in by his thrilling love triangle drama. Pathetic.

Still, he's considering this very seriously. More to the point, he wants to make sure Shinji isn't abruptly torn away... He thinks Shinji's exceptionally attractive, and Shinji is also very sad, so maybe things will be all right after all. Still, it's difficult not to be apprehensive.]

And where you come from is Earth, right? Sorry, I'm assuming.

Yeah - yes - yes it is.

[ and while earth seems to be crawling with aliens, it's still weird for him to have to be asked about it. it's about as weird as having to ask. ]

...how about you?

[He's pleasant and mild when he says,] I was on Earth just before I came here, too. But it could be that your Earth and the Earth I know are different places.

[ so calm about world-shuttering concepts. he really is freaked out by this kid. why is this kid calmer than he is? shouldn't it be the other way around? ok, yes, crippling fear of heights makes space worse for winn than it does for the every man, but still this is a kid discussing multiverse theory like the weather. ]

Right, cuz we're in outer space, why wouldn't there be parallel dimensions? Nothing feeds the reality drama like an evil twin from another world - [ tilting his head. oh god. maybe the reason that kara hasn't been missing the past month isn't a phantom zone, and it isn't a doppelganger. maybe she's not his kara. not that. his kara is his kara - oh whatever brain! you know what he means! it can't be though, right? he'd know. she'd know. there would have to be something widely different! ] We could start comparing worlds but - if there really is an infinite amount of universes out there they could statistically even be exactly the same - [ so that will probably go nowhere fast and why is he discussing it with a kid ] I mean - don't worry. I'm sure you'll be fine, and sooner or later - we're bound to find a way out of here.

[ that's right! he's the adult here! it's his job to be encouraging! even if he doesn't feel the least bit encouraged. ]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. [And Kaworu says this so sincerely and with such a soft sunshine to him.] I'm sure you'll be fine, too. But, honestly, it might be better if I stay here.

Still, for your sake and others like you, I'd like to find a way to send people safely home. If we're all making an effort together, it will work out, right?

[ ok, venturing out of the realm of creepy and into the realm of worrying - winn knows terrible home situations. and one that would be bad enough to make someone want to stay on a space reality show forever has to be pretty damn bad. ]

Thank you. Yeah, I'm sure it will. [ a little supergirl, a little super-sidekick, they've handled worse! ok, maybe not, but after they'll handle this, they'll be able to say they've handled worse at other things! ]

And, you know, if you need help back home - there are people who can do that. I know it can be - [ a nightmare that no single word could do justice to. the look on his face, the tone of his voice - everything comes together to spell out personal experience ] tough, but if will can get us off these spaceships, it can do just about anything.

[In the single moment directly following that — if you need help back home — Kaworu's so close to showing vulnerability that it feels physically uncomfortable. His face is dappled with doubt, like he's lying underneath a tree, and the only sun to touch him is coming through gaps in the boughs. But it passes — all things pass — and he smiles, deep with sympathy, with a sort of... love, somehow, that's what it is.]

You're very kind, [he says, and the amount of gratitude in his voice suggests that this is a novelty. At once, he brightens.] I'd like to help you in whatever way I can. [Winn has earned the trust of a very steadfast person.] At the end of it all, I'll be very happy to see you off, when you're going to where you want to be. But until that time, we'll find ways to make this experience easier for you.

[ he knows that gratitude - it's how he feels about kara. and it breaks his heart and sends him right back to his darkest moments, to think something as simple as a show of concern could bring that reaction out of this kid. ]

Thanks and - right back at you. I'm Winn, by the way and - I know we've just met, but if you want to talk about -- anything. I'll listen. [ he knows all too well how that shoe feels to ever push, but it just feels completely wrong not to throw the offer out there. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Winn. I'm Kaworu. I'd like to listen to you, too. [He's also much too repressed to feel comfortable with talking about his tragic backstory (which he naively claims isn't tragic in the first place), but he does ask,] So, we're friends now? [He's not going to admit that he's starved for shows of kindness. Winn's well-being is more important, anyway.]

[ maybe, if they weren't being filmed, and he hadn't just arrived into outer space, he could do the mature thing and be the first to open up, to try and put the other at ease, and show him that he understands.

but thinking about his dad right now just makes winn feel like panicking all over again - if these kidnappers could pluck up supergirl, what's to stop them from plucking up winnslow schott sr from behind bars? absolutely nothing is the horrifying and most probable answer. and the worst part of it all, is that it would make great drama, so why wouldn't they?

so instead, he swallows down the lump in his throat and nods. ]

Yeah - yeah, we're friends. [ maybe it's a naive declaration, but he can't really say anything else, can he? he tries for a smile. ] So, you like it here? How long have you been here?

[The drama is scary, isn't it? Kaworu doesn't approve of his own life being dictated by ratings, and he doesn't approve of it for anyone else, either. He can understand the fear, even if he stays placid. Winn has certainly garnered Kaworu's empathy.

But he's really genuine again: ] Thank you. That makes me happy.

[He's not sure that he likes it here, exactly — being kidnapped violates his free will, and while space travel is a novelty to him, space itself isn't really. (He kicked back on the moon for a time.) But— ] I think it's interesting. I'm learning a lot. And the food is exciting. [Even if it's mostly pastes and stuff...] I came here a little over a month ago.

[ the drama is terrifying. if his life is going to be controlled by what people want to watch (especially when those people aren't opposed to watching victims of kidnapping), he feels pretty secure in his guess that his life is going to suck. and it would be so easy, too, there are so many sore spots for them to push on. being out in space -- it really doesn't help. ]

Me too. You can never have too many friends.

[ and he certainly doesn't. making friends has never been that easy for winn; this one may go deep, and it may never pass polite conversation, but nevertheless, he appreciates it.

he frowns at that information - a month. everyone he's asked has been here about a month. that has to mean something, right? the only question is what. ]

Seems to be a running theme, at least with who I've been talking to. Oh hey - do you also have a - weirdly randomly appearing knowledge of something?

If it's notable at all, two people I knew from before came here at the same time that I did. So there could indeed be a theme to it.

[Winn's question should probably make Kaworu feel guilty because of what his answer's going to be, but this is a guy whose loyalties lie only with one person, so he has zero regrets about saying...] I do have a newfound inclination towards certain endeavors on my assigned ship, but I haven't really put it into practice. [He talks about this breezily.] I don't spend much time there.

[ that's pretty notable. he wonders what happened about a month ago -- but that's probably something he's better off asking kara, because he does not want to go full-on conspiracy theorist on this kid.

(although, considering their circumstances, is it really being a conspiracy theorist?

he nods as he speaks. ]

So you can ditch assignments? [ that's some good news - that should mean he could go to kara regardless of what anyone says, right? unless of course, this is a luck-out-on-not-getting-caught sort of thing, in which case he'll be dragged back 5 minutes in. ]

Cool.

[ he's clearly not judging you, kaworu. hey, they're here against their will, why should they do as they're told?

well, with how vaguely he's answering, winn's getting the feeling that further questioning on this topic is probably not going to be welcomed. change of tactics. ]

So what do you do for fun?

I guess you can. [It's a verbal shrug. Even if there are consequences, Kaworu's unbothered.] I'm on my assigned ship perhaps once or twice a week, depending. They seem to be doing well enough without me. [AND EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T... Kaworu's got other responsibilities. He's tired of playing into someone else's expectations.

Fun, though... Just the idea of talking about fun makes Kaworu light up.] Fun? I like music. Obviously, I couldn't bring my piano here with me. So in this place... Mostly, I spend time with my friend, who came here from the same place I did. That's what's fun to me. I also like doing laundry and making things with the protein we're provided.

You like laundry and cooking? Where have you been all my life?

[ those sure are two of winn's least favorite things to do with his time, which is why he tends to live on takeout and cereals.

well, hanging out with his friend from home is what he's planning to do, but she told him that has to wait a week. spending that week cooking and cleaning doesn't really appeal to him though. guess he'll have to figure out how to hack in space. ]

Well, I'm not sure when you were born. It depends on the circumstances, I think.

[He says this more or less confidently, because he does most things confidently, but actually he's never heard that expression, so he's wondering what the heck Winn is talking about.]

In all, though, this place has its merits.

...Right.

[ ohhhh boy. cue the awkwardest of smiles while he contemplates the possibility that this kid was actually raised in a cave. he'd make a note to mind his sayings, but if he's perfectly honest with himself - it's more likely that he'll win an intergalactic reality show than manage that. ]

Well, I'm definitely a fan of the 'there's plenty of oxygen' part - but when it comes to merits - the more the meriter! [ he may be way too proud of that pun. ] What else is there?

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01 - video/action

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