driftfleet | 03

Entry tags:

03 - video

Who: Winn Schott, Cisco Ramon, and you!
Broadcast: yes!
Action: Iskaulit
When: now!

[ Today, Winn's broadcast comes live -- from in front of a door. it's a plain door, one of the Iskaulit's, as it happens - and on it is a plaque reading 'Discovery 1'. He clears his throat and offers the camera a little wave ]

Greetings, fellow Fleeters! Did -- we decide on Fleeters? [ He mimes at someone off screen, frowning at whatever reply he gets ]

Drifters, we said - Drifters. Drifting in Spacer. Oh! Wait for it - wait for it - Realitynauts. You know because we’re reality show starts and astro - never mind.

[ Cisco Ramon’s face, no longer a girl, is shoved inside the frame. He is clearly talking while eating some version of space sandwich ]

Is this thing recording? Hi guys.

[ Winn scrunches his nose at the terms ] Dude, ‘Drifters’ makes us sound like a New Age boyband. [ He shakes his head and looks back at the camera - oh yeah, it’s rolling. ] You’d think I’d learn to rehearse first by now -- hi, whatever we call ourselves! If you’re new, that’s Cisco, I’m Winn, and we are proud to finally open the Iskaulit’s brand new lecture hall for business!

[ Hold on hold on he prepared for this - he pulls a party popper out of his pocket, and pops it at the camera!! Colorful confetti everywhere! ]

Dude my hair - anyway, we will be adding a document of the lectures to come and we want to remind a few unruly members of the Realitynauts - I’m looking at you Hank - to give us the titles for your lectures. Pronto. ASAP or I’ll be forced to tell awkward stories about you to the whole network even if they’re not true!

You really have a fixation on ~nauts, you know that? [ It never sounds good. Ever. Especially now, when he’s bringing it up. Why did he bring it up? He’s regretting all his life choices. ]

Anyway yeah, hurry up and tell us what you’re talking about, and if you weren’t around for it last time and wanna sign up you’re always welcome to, just hit up either Cisco or myself, and we’ll work it out! Lectures are gonna be Every Thursday at 8 PM, because of a very scientific selection process - but if our kindly lecturers are up for it - we were hoping people working on series will continue them on a day and time of their choosing so people don’t have to wait too long between installments. Admittance is first come first serve, but don’t worry - everything is gonna be filmed and uploaded for you!

Oh my God, do you get the paradox of us filming ourselves while we’re already being filmed by tacky aliens? It’ll break your brain if you try to figure it out. Anyway, to more important business.

[ Have a line face, network ]

It has come to my attention that different people here on the fleet are trying to convince others in various, unholy ways that their world makes the best pizza. Which is a crime since everyone knows Central City has the best pizza of the entire multiverse.

No one knows that because it’s a dirty heinous lie - National City pride!! [ Winn pumps a fist in the air; completely invested in this fight. If you’ve never met him, you might think he really is treating it like a life-or-death issue. ]

As you can see, this disagreement risks friendships and lives and so we have decided to solve this once and for all. Since we can’t actually have any world’s version of pizza here because space sucks, we are going to do battle, the winner will win everlasting honor for his city as the city where the best pizza of the multiverse can be found. And since we’re nerds we have decided the battle shall be based on -

[ wait for it ]

Song. Yes, you heard it! We are going head to head in the ultimate karaokebowl! Winn. Show them the machine.

[ Winn pulls what appears to be a small screen on a tripod into the camera’s view. Holding it in one hand, he gestures towards the various parts of it as he speaks in a Shopping Network voice. ] This is a state-of-the-art Winsco original Sound Weaver 9001 [ Because of course it had to be OVER 9000!!!! ] with a sound quality you have to hear to believe! Easy to connect to with all your network communicators or bluetooth devices!

The perfect war machine of our ultimate-once-in-a-lifetime-karaokebowl in the name of Pizza, the Flash and heroics. And just to give you a little example of what’s going to happen, me and Winn the Traitor here are going to do the first round using a song we found on the comms which is only the most please-get-out-of-my-head song. So, karaokebowl first round, Cisco Ramon representing Team Flash and Central City against -

[ Winn unzips his hoodie to reveal his custom made t-shirt underneath ] Winn Schott, representing Team Supergirl and National City!

[ Hitting the play button, the music starts playing ]

[ enjoy, Space, as you view the surprisingly-good-voice-wise-but-otherwise-absurd karaoke version of Let it Go by these two morons, complete with Cisco untying his hair dramatically in the middle. When it ends and just before the feed ends too, he will lean close to the camera ]

Pause for applause - other pretenders to the throne of the best pizza of the mutltiverse, you have been challenged!

[ Winn points to his eyes - and then points to the camera before ending the feed. As promised, the broadcast has a text attachment at the bottom with the lecture schedule:

2016: A Space-Time Odyssey Lecture Schedule

1. Loki - The Golden Skein - the science of magic
2. Tyrion Lannister - Follow up lecture on Westeros (1 of 2)
3. Beverly Crusher - Adjusting to Life in Space (1st in a series of medicine related lectures)
4. Maglor - a Concert
5. Winn Schott - Byte me: the Digital Age Unveiled
6. Jim Kirk - Self Defense (1st in a series)
7. Cisco Ramon - The Amazing, Awesome, Absolutely Terrifying Physics of the Multiverse
8. Hermione Granger - Home World/ Life in Another Pocket Dimension/ Magic
9. Kara Danvers - A Brief History of Earth Feminism
10. Hank McCoy - genetics
11. Kitty Pryde - Genocide (Spoiler alert: It's bad)
12. Charles Xavier - TBD - offering history, biology, chemistry, genetics, English literature - cast your vote maybe he’ll make a decision!
* Online Only Lecture - nightingale - what you need to know about the fleet - Unbound to schedule ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This party's breaking up anyway - I can drop by in like half an hour?

[ he would have left even if it weren't winding down, but the trick about making an effort for people is not to let them know that any effort's involved. ]

[ He nods. ]

All right. I'll wait for you at the Shuttle Bay.

See you then, professor!

[ he gets a little salute, before the feed is cut.

winn arrives about half an hour later, after texting to let him know he's on his way, with three books in hand, all different topics. in an attempt to cover up all the anxiety, the misery, and the fears that have been way too prevalent in his mind of late, he's trying really hard to focus on remembering all the lyrics to american pie.

it doesn't do much to cover up the bags under his eyes, or the way his clothes are ever so slightly starting to hang on his body, but you can't win them all, right?

he offers charles a cheerful smile as he walks up to him ]

Hey - hope you weren't waiting long. [ he's not the fastest pilot in the fleet. ]

Not at all.

[ Charles looks him over. On the video feed, Winn looked fine but on closer inspection, it seems like the man is running himself ragged. ]

. . . You look tired.

Defending the honor of National City's a full time job.

[ he nods, wishing he could pretend even for a minute that fighting over which pizza's better is the biggest problem in his life.

now do you believe in rock and roll?
can music save your mortal soul?
and can you teach me how to...how to...dance! it was dance! real slow -

smiling; smiling is good, when he's smiling, it doesn't seem as glaringly obvious. he hands charles the books. ]

Hope you haven't read these already - there's not that much of a selection...

[ He takes them carefully. ]

I'm sure they're fine . . . [ Something is definitely strange here. The usual hum of thoughts sounds like a garble, as if the wavelength was disturbed. ]

[ he'll be thrilled to find out his silly theory actually works. well, as long as he manages to not think about things he knows he shouldn't be thinking about which, as everyone knows, is kind of impossible. ]

Call me up if you need a switch. I'm getting better at this shuttling thing.

[ it still scares him, but he's not as shaky about it at least. ]

Glad to hear it.

[ He pauses. ] You've lost weight. And you haven't been sleeping. Winn, what happened?

[ his smile freezes for a beat.

again. another person who should be worried about himself - worrying about him instead. it's not right, he has no right being such a wimpy burden, he has to earn his keep.

he has to get everyone home.

next line - what the hell was the next line?

well, I know that you're in love with him
'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym cuz he isn't some wimpy nerd who can't seem to even manage to do the one thing he's actually worth keeping around for - no, that's definitely not the next line... ]

Well, the food here sucks.

Yes.

[ He sighs, a little softer. ]

Winn. While I commend . . . whatever it is you're doing in your head right now, I can't really tell, I don't have to read someone's mind to know things are not all right.

-- so it's working? Ha, that's awesome - mind over metal!

[ he's just going to latch onto that bit of cheer like a life line. ]

[ His lips twitch, bemused. ]

Something is working. I haven't taken a look so I wouldn't know.

The point was to guard against accidental screaming in your head - my defense against purposeful exploration is faith in your not being a jerk.

[ did you write the book of love
and do you have faith in God above - wait, he sang that already...ah, whatever, repeating's just gonna give him longer protection, right! if the Bible tells you so? ]

Thank you. Though I don't know if it's helping you. Isn't it . . . difficult?

I love a challenge and - not yelling in unsuspecting people's heads.

[ it's difficult, but what isn't for him, around here? even when everything is going right, not being able to compute at his true level is killing his soul. living in space is horrifying to him. just handling his normal life felt like too much in the weeks before he got here, so losing it?

what's humming in his head compared to that?

now do you believe in rock and roll?
can music save your mortal soul?
and can you teach me how to dance real slow?
well, I know that you're in love with him
'cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym

easy peasy ok what came next it was definitely not the same thing all over again... ]

[ The hum may be garbled, but it's also discordant. There's more happening here than loud thoughts. ]

You still didn't answer my question. What happened?

I think you know better than I do.

[ considering charles is one of the people who were hurt and winn's one of the most useless people who answered the call for medical assistance - or at least, that's what he feels like. he refuses to let his smile fall all the way off, but keeping it on is requiring effort now, and he's not really sure why he's doing it. just sheer stubbornness, he supposes.

you both kicked off your shoes!
man, I dig those rhythm and blooooooooooes -

I was a lonely teenage...mmmhmmmm
with a pink talking pony and a...pickup truck ]

[ He rubs his forehead. In a way, this kind of behavior reminds Charles of . . . himself, though he likes to think his smiling through hardship looked less demented. ]

Right.

[ In a sharper, authoritative voice that tends to make people listen to him no matter what. ]

We're going to go to my room and talk about this, young man. Hop to it.

[ sorry, charles, all it's getting you is a look. ]

I already got a disapproving dad on the Tourist.

[ ok he considers jim more like a brother, but kara's interpretation of their dynamic is more fitting here. ]

Then he's not doing a good job. And your . . . whatever is going to give me a headache. What is so hard about talking about it?

Sorry, I thought it'd be better...

[ his shoulders slump; maybe he should just stop trying to be around this guy, his head is just too active. ]

There's nothing to talk about, [ he shrugs ] it is what it is. [ and he just has to deal with it. somehow. ] Sorry I'll, keep it online next time. [ so he won't give charles any more headaches, the absolute last thing he wants to do is make things worse on anyone. ]

Even if something is "what it is", doesn't make how you feel about it any less invalid. Trying to make things better is an admirable decision, but you're doing it all by yourself.

And as someone who has done that before, I can tell you it never ends well.

[ he knows charles is right - kitty's right, kara's right, jim's right - he has to open up more, and he's been trying - trying to call kara when he needs a friend, talking to jim about his fears, letting kitty help him with his projects. but he's still blocked. for most of his life he's had the message that his feelings are invalid beaten into his head, and it's hard to break away from. with the humming gone, there isn't much left there to keep the overwhelming sadness at bay. ]

I'm not doing it by myself, Kitty and Cisco are helping.

[ because the scientific projects are totally what charles is talking about, right? ]

And I believe that. I'm sure your friends are helping, but - and correct me if I'm wrong - you struggle to express yourself.

So just do it here. No need for words. Actions. No need to have it make sense. Just let it go. It'll help.

[ he huffs a laugh; are you telling him to take a leaf out of the elsa playbook? it's not a terrible plan, winn knows how dangerous bottling things up is, he's resolved never to do it again and yet somehow - here he's ended up more repressed than ever sometimes. these past four months, he hasn't really let himself break down, not about any of it. he's cried for like a minute at finding out kitty was dead, and after she was hurt - but that's about all he let himself get away with, both times regaining control of himself as quickly as possible, hiding behind kara's comforting words.

but letting go goes against every survival instinct he's acquired. ]

How about you? Did you ever let go, or have you been saying you're fine from day one?

[ he's gotten hurt. they've seen some of the augment's more dangerous capabilities. he doesn't buy anyone who's been there for that attack being fine. ]

03 - video

[ video | private ]

Re: [ video | private ]

[ video | private ] -> [ action ]

Re: [ video | private ] -> [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]

Re: [ action ]

[ action ]