04 - video

[winn]

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 -

<br />1. <b>date and duration of sleep</b>: self explanatory.<br />2. <b>surrounding events</b>: when it happened were you or your sleeping acquaintance going about your daily lives, experimenting with anything, uncovering anything?<br />3. <b>results</b>: did waking result in new memories, loss of old ones, a change in personality or attitude, were you or your sleeping acquaintance at a different physical location (ex: new planet, back at your ship, new kidnappy world), were there any physical differences or after effects, if so how long did they last, anything you can think of that changed - put it here.<br />

[ 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 ]

Comments

[beathach]

[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.

[winn]

[ 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?

[beathach]

[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.

[winn]

[ 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?

[beathach]

[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.

[winn]

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 -

[beathach]

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.

[winn]

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

[beathach]

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.

[winn]

[ 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. ]

[beathach]

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]

[winn]

[ 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. ]

[beathach]

How - how in the heck did he manage that if he was being watched? [kids are like tiny ninjas]

Oh, they can be. But it isn't all that bad most of the time. We didn't have any that were overly mean.

[winn]

We were at work, James was trying to be Ms. Grant, and the kid was supposed to be old enough to be trusted with going to the bathroom alone, so he probably just said that's where he was going and kept walking.

[ he shakes his head. he doesn't blame james for it, but he still feels guilty about it himself. and a little betrayed, he really thought they were bonding! see, clearly he's just useless with kids. ]

That's good cuz overly mean plus superpowers equals uh oh.

[beathach]

Geez . . . I'll keep that in mind if we ever get younger students.

[oh Winn surely an opportunity will pop up where you can redeem yourself. Just wait until someone deages!]

Hah, you have no idea. Alex wasn't - overly mean but he liked to pick on me sometimes. Worse, he was around my age.

[winn]

[ no way, he doesn't want the responsibility it's too stressful! he doesn't even have video games or tv to entertain them with here! ]

Moderately mean is mean enough when it's relentless.

[beathach]

He wasn't relentless so much as he had really good timing. [and by that he means terrible timing]

[winn]

[ he knows what you mean, hank. ]

That's even worse. You can't make yourself feel better by properly hating the guy, either.

[beathach]

I can make myself feel better knowing that I could beat him in a proper fight.

[he's mostly joking.

Except for where he probably could]

But - no, I couldn't hate him. He's a good guy, even if he could be a jerk.

[winn]

See I never had that - what's that feel like? Knowing you can kick your bullies' ass but choose not to cuz you're the better man - that's gotta be a good feeling.

[ and without it he honestly can't be sure that he's the better man. there are some kids in his childhood he definitely would've fought against hard. ]

[beathach]

Eh. [he shrugs a shoulder] I wouldn't call Alex a bully - I had it worse when I was in school. And even then, if given the opportunity, it isn't worth the hassle.

[winn]

Spoken like a guy with options, or not that bad bullies.

[ he takes another drink ]

[beathach]

[he reaches over to grab the bottle to refill his own glass]

No, they were pretty bad. [and immediately takes a drink] I didn't hide my mutation out of embarrassment, after all.

[winn]

[ he taps the faded scar on his chin - just a white stripe where no hair ever grows, that makes him feel self conscious when he goes too long without shaving ]

Looks like nothing, right, just a scratch. There's a piece of my jaw bone missing under it. [ bitterly. stepping away from buzzed and into drunk territory now. he takes another drink. ]

[beathach]

[he leans forward to see it better, then winces in sympathy. Okay no, his bullies weren't that bad]

A bully did that? Hell.