driftfleet | 04

Entry tags:

04 - video

Who: Winn and you!
Broadcast: y!
Action: on the Tourist!
When: August 2nd

[ some of you may have noticed that winn has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past...16 days. he's not really sure how to address the elephant in the room - he knows these two weeks and change have been hard on the people he loves but for him it's like no time has passed and the dissonance is hard to bridge.

it's a good thing he has a not at all unhealthy coping mechanism set in place. ]

You know, if we're entertainment on a reality show, the least they can do is give us like a recap - you know your basic [ in a tv announcer impression ] here's what you missed on the Fleet - or - last week, on the young and the Drifting - [ he rubs the back of his head before shaking it ] Well, maybe talking about the 'least they can do' isn't such a great plan...first order of business - what'd I miss? Second order of business - if you or anyone you know has ever fallen into an unexplained sleep here or at any other kidnappy world - I'd appreciate it if you'd answer a couple questions, they're a text attachment at the bottom. Sorry if it's been done before, I'll gladly take a link to any previous research as well as fresh data. Third order of business -- hi. [ he gives the camera a little wave and a nervous chuckle ] Um. Yeah, I'm, I'm fine, I should've opened with that but if you know me the order isn't really gonna surprise you that much and if you don't you're probably really confused right now and looking for the off button - it's to your right, right on top, there you go.

That's it, I guess....good morning, Drifters - don't forget to drink your coffee! Winn out -

[ except he's not all the way out. hank and cisco each get the following message to their personal numbers ]

I need to discuss something in person. My place? [ he can't really leave kitty yet ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Are you sure, man, cuz you're at the part of the horror movie the audience screams 'no, don't do it' -

[ he has endless questions and his inhibition is down. ]

You may never get another chance, I don't like talking about it.

I know - which is why I wanna make sure you're sure. I care about you more than I care about answers.

[ he cares about his friends more than he cares about most things, really, including his well being. ]

I know. [it makes him smile a little, small but genuine. Winn is a good friend] I'm sure.

[ he's had so few real friends in his life. he's not going to risk the ones he has now for the sake of something as trivial as curiosity. ]

Stop me anytime. So how'd you get involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis? Your CIA days?

In a matter of speaking. The CIA was originally involved, and Charles, Raven, and - Erik, I guess - were all brought in to help find a very powerful mutant - Sebastian Shaw, He was able absorb energy and use it, so . . . attempts on his life were next to impossible. He . . . well, he subscribes to the thought that mutants are the next step in evolution, as well as the superior race. [he makes a face] He tried to recruit us at one point, but - that's another story.

Anyway - he manipulated the Russians into moving their missiles, Kennedy issued the blockade and sent our navy out there - and we went out to stop Shaw and the mutants working with him, while trying to stop the two militaries from firing on one another.

[ while part of him remains aware that this is real life to hank, the rest is just really excited because this story really appeals to the conspiracy buff in him. ]

Originally involved - at what point did you break away from it?

[he totally understands that]

After Cuba. I couldn't go back for a lot of reasons - the facility I worked at was completely destroyed, and my boss - had been killed, and at the time, I was stuck with the blue fur.

That and both militaries firing their missiles at us sort of . . . made the decision very easy. [dryly] They saw us as a bigger threat than each other.

[ he's about to offer his condolences but then hank keeps talking and he's too busy being incredulous. ]

Wait - what?

[WELCOME TO X-MANS]

They saw what were capable of and decided firing on us was the best decision.

[ groaning in frustration and raising his arms only to drop them by his side in a frustrated thump ]

Humanity why - [ usually he has a lot of faith in people. but sometimes? sometimes it just feels like he's surrounded by idiots. he facepalms and shake his head, rubbing his face before looking back at hank ]

Man, now I gotta add 'human' to the list of things I'm embarrassed to be. [ alongside 'male' and 'white' ]

If it makes you feel better, I know it isn't all of humanity that's like that. [just the government, and the old, powerful officials in charge] There's still hope for most of them.

And the missiles didn't hit, obviously. Erik deflected them.

[back at the militaries themselves but those are details he's purposely leaving out, for Erik's sake]

[ it does make him feel better, for the simple selfish reason that he doesn't want his friend to think he's a part of this backward way of thinking. ]

-- that is seriously badass. And I'm guessing that's not how they saw it.

[ all they saw were people so powerful they could deflect their weapons with ease, right. they saw something they need to better arm themselves against, because that's what people do. they escalate situations. ]

[he'd never think Winn was like that. He knew there were good people out there]

Not really, no. But we got out of there pretty quickly after that. After . . . Erik and Raven left, there was no point in sticking around. Charles and a couple of the others needed medical attention anyway.

[ it's yet another reason why they're such good friends - they don't tend to fall into the habit of making toxic generalizations.

that's...weird, for him. they're all close, aren't they? he knows hank hinted things were complicated back home but, they'd just survived a missile attack and some of their members were wounded - from the fight with the mutant? either way, running away and leaving them to face the consequences alone doesn't sound very heroic. unless...was it a 'we'll stay on the outside and bust you out when you're healed' kind of deal?

he might have drank too much to make sense of this. ]

Why did they go?

[this is the part of the story he always refuses to tell. Ten years and repaired relationships later, there was no point in it, and more often than not he he was vague for Erik's sake, not his own.

He's quiet for a moment or two]

Like I said . . . a difference in opinion. A very strong one. Erik and Charles didn't see eye to eye on a couple of things, and it hit its breaking point in Cuba. So they parted ways.

Raven . . . was a lot of things. I screwed up really badly and said the wrong thing, which was part of it. And - I think Erik could give her the support she wanted, that we couldn't give her. So she went with him.

[ it had to have been one hell of a difference of opinion to have them part ways in that situation, one he can tell still hurts. he's no stranger to the pain of saying the absolute wrongest thing to say in the worst possible time. ]

So then you moved on to open the school?

[it certainly hurts less than it once did, since things have been more or less settled. But even then a lot of it was still something of an open wound]

Right. I moved in with Charles, and we started looking for students and teachers.

What did you teach? How did you teach? I mean, I imagine controlling powers is a very personal process since all of you have completely different ones -

Ah - yeah, it is. I didn't do much with the children and their powers, though; that was mostly Charles. I'm not exactly a good example of embracing one's powers. [not back then, at least] But since it's a proper school, I taught general subjects - mostly science.

Do you like it -- being a teacher? How old were the kids?

Older kids - mostly teenagers. That's when most mutants' powers manifest, depending on the mutation. But - yeah, I enjoyed being a teacher. It's . . . a lot more satisfying, than being a researcher. I mean - I obviously still do that kind of thing in my spare time, but.

[ he salutes him ]

I can't handle kids. Well, I can when they're one on one and exceptional teenagers like Margaery - I'm probably more of a kid now than she ever was though - but the one time I tried babysitting the kid ended up running away to try to find Supergirl and nearly got himself killed. [ shaking his head ] Me and kids - bad bad idea.

[ this sudden rant is brought to you by: his girlfriend of just a couple months has brought up kids and he's not done freaking out about it because he never let himself properly freak out about it. ]

Geez. [that sounds like a nightmare]

I don't - think I'd be very good at younger kids. [he thinks, anyway; he has no exposure to make a good argument for it] But older ones I do alright with. I know how to keep them entertained, at least.

[let's not talk about having kids, Hank would panic too and he's already had that conversation with Charles. And - Raven already has a kid, and he's been real good about not thinking about it lately]

[ it was a nightmare, hank! he was a worried, anxious wreck! ]

I left him in his mom's office playing video games with an adult present to go get pizza, I get back and puff -- [ gesturing wildly in front of him ] no kid. And the worst part's I would've done the same thing his age so I can't say it's a freak kid.

[ shaking his head again ]

Teenagers are a whole other kind of scary. They can be mean.

[ long story short - kids of all ages are terrifying, says the guy with two close teenage friends. ]

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