first video.

[briste]

Who: Leo Fitz
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: on the Bishop
When: Jan 6th ; post-shuffle

[ he hardly had a chance to really look around the marsiva before he was transported elsewhere. the time allowed him to get his bearings, but mostly it allowed him a chance to calm down a little after what he just experienced with the whole... well, hydra. he's by no means past the whole ordeal but he feels like he can breath now, at least.

he halfheartedly looks around the bishop, trying to get a feel for the layout though not really entering any of the rooms just yet. except for the kitchen. that's where he sits down and pulls out his communicator ]

My name's Fitz. Leo - Leopold - Fitz. Is this really some sort of reality show? In space? [ and if so, why did they chose him? especially without simmons. at least if she was here they could properly appreciate the fact that he is on a ship in space right now. instead he's worried about her. and the rest of the team, of course ]

Quick question. Another question. Does shield mean anything to you? Not a shield, but just... shield.

[ and he ends the feed there. coulson, may, ward, any one of them would be much better at asking without asking. but they're not here! well actually he's not sure yet if they are. that's what he's trying to find out. at the very least, maybe this will point him in the direction of someone he can trust ]

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[reconstitution]

So far as we can believe, yes.


What does shield mean to you?

[ Don't mind the anonymous text, Fitz. Totally normal. Yep. Hearing the organization's name sparked his attention toward the communicator, but knowing what he does.. Well, better find out what he knows before revealing himself. Never know what side anyone is on, and after Zemo? Can't be too careful. ]

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[briste]

[ he is minding the anonymous text. it could be someone he knows who is simply flying under the radar for now or it could be someone else entirely. he's hoping for the first, but assuming the second.

he switches to text because two can play at this game. the game being texting, because he already lost any sort of anonymity text could have given him ]

I asked you first.

...

Protecting people. [ which is really no different from a shield ] Protecting people from things they can't or shouldn't have to protect themselves from. Doing the right thing.

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[reconstitution]

You did.

[ And yet, this kid still answers first. It's certainly what shield should be made for, but got corrupted along the way. The road to evil is paved with the best of intention. ]

Most people believed in that part of it.

[ From what he read, seeing the aftermath.. getting some of his memories back. Shield was supposed to be a thing of good. Hydra corrupted it, as it tends to do to all things it touches. ]

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[passingthrough]

Hello Fitz, Leo, Leopold Fitz. [She tilts her head and smirks.] Reality show in space is the standard party line. Whether you believe the story or not is kind of up to you.

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[briste]

[ okay he deserves that response. he did that to himself ] Fitz. Just Fitz is perfectly fine.

If that's the case, what's the general consensus on what this really is then?

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[passingthrough]

Mmm, I think general consensus is assuming it's the truth? Maybe? Haven't seen a poll. I tend to assume experimentation myself, Just Fitz. [She might drop it. We'll see.]

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[outstandingbalance]

[What does "shield" mean to them? Now that was a hell of a question, wasn't it? Natasha considers her response briefly, but in the end, she opts not to overcomplicate things, responding to the video with one of her own.

If he means SHIELD, if he knows who she is, well... she'll know soon enough.]

You aren't exactly subtle, are you, Leo?

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[briste]

[ it may not be the most subtle of questions, but he figures that to the people who doesn't know what he's talking about, it's just a meaningless question.

but to someone like... is that who he thinks it is? he leans a little closer to the video feed to get a better look at her ]

Maybe not exactly, no. At least if you know what I mean, anyway. Which I... assume you do.

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[outstandingbalance]

You assume correctly.

[And if she had to put money on it, Natasha would say so did she. His reaction points to recognition.]

I do know what you're talking about. And I have the feeling you have more you want to ask than that.

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[mucked]

[ the feed flickers to life and shows a sternish expression. she parses the accent -- restrains her smile -- and has to consider whether his question isn't just a little too on the nose. ah, well. it's worth introducing herself to a fresh face even if her suspicions go unfounded. ]

Odd sort of query, that. [ ... ] I suppose I'm about as fond of shields as the next person. The word has a fine ring to it.

[ or. well. maybe a little more. she remembers what someone told her, once, when describing her future career: how it had seemed likely the founder of the organization had really truly wanted its initials to spell out shield. ]

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[briste]

[ when the video feed comes on, the face that he sees is not one he ever expected to see, at least not as she is here, as he's seen her in old photographs. because the woman on the video feed is before his time.

it doesn't really make sense though, because the woman who looks like this is from before his time. she's older now, much older. and yet- ]

...Agent Carter?

[ -he says it anyway. and feels utterly ridiculous for it ]

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[beathach]

This really is a reality show in space, I'm afraid. [it's still such a weird concept when he remembers that that is what it's supposed to be]

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[briste]

[ it's a very weird concept ] Who are they actually broadcasting to? I wouldn't think there'd be much of anyone a broadcast out here would reach.

[ it's mostly a rhetorical question. none the less, he's curious about whether or not there's an actual answer to it ]

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[frigidaire]

Yeah, TV show in space is the name of the game. It's really exciting.

[ No, he does not sound even remotely convincing. In fact, he might look a little bored. ]

Did you want to play word association or something?

[ Sorry for the snarky teenager, he's trying his best. ]

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[briste]

You sound pretty skeptical. Or sarcastic. Or both, actually.

[ not that he'd be too quick to believe this guy found it exciting. consider it stating the obvious ]

What? Oh, yes! Yes exactly. It's good for keeping your mind sharp.

[ honestly, fitz hadn't really considered what he would say to anyone who questioned him about shield. his focus had been elsewhere.

thank you snarky teenager ]

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[survivalistcookbook]

"Reality television" is the narrative conceit, but I really have to say, for a reality show? There is zero imagination at work here. No hook, no gimmick, nothing.

[Not that Eugene is strongly bothered, but really. It's just lazy production values.]

Which . . . I guess is good in that no one's going to vote you off your ship and dump you off into the cold void of space. But man. That had to be the main silver lining.

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[briste]

I would say taking a lot of people out into space is pretty imaginative. Not doing anything more with the idea is just a waste. Not that I want anything strange or awful to happen to me or anyone else here.

[ actually lazy production values? that sounds perfectly fine to him ]

Yes I do suppose that not freezing up while you suffocate is good. [ ... ] That really isn't a thing that's happened right? You're not just misleading me. Which would be incredibly cruel and uncalled for, I might add.

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[winn]

Hi Fitz - I'm Winn. [ little wave, getting that out of the way early for a change so he can jump right into the rest of it. ]

We don't know what this really is, but you get credits when you do stuff that's uh, interesting, so if reality show's just their cover they're maintaining it.

[ awkward-awkward-so-much-awkward. ]

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[briste]

[ a small wave in return. hi winn! ]

Credits? The currency, I'd imagine. So I worry about the way you said interesting?

[ he's not sure what to think about the way it was emphasized, honestly. don't do this to him winn! you can't just emphasize words like that ]

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[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Another new arrival. There seemed to be a fairly steady stream of them recently. However, this particular one gets her attention when he mentions "shield." Could he mean? He did say, "not a shiled, but just... shield." She doesn't recognize him at all, but, then again, she had not exactly gotten the opportunity to meet all the individuals who made up S.H.I.E.L.D. Especially since they had by and large dissolved aside from those who showed up to help evacuate the civilians trapped on a floating Sokovia.]

Shield...

That word certainly means something, but I am wondering if we each know the same S.H.I.E.L.D.?

[He could easily be from a different world with a different S.H.I.E.L.D. But he could also possibly be from a S.H.I.E.L.D. that was less Shield and more Hydra. Naturally, that possibility has her more on edge. The last thing she wants right now is that particular skeleton to come crawling out of her closet.]

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[briste]

[ unfortunately, he recently found out that he may actually be from a shield that is more hydra than shield, if what he saw at the hub was any indication at all. sure, that wasn't all of shield, but it was a good representative sample of the whole. hydra is everywhere. why else would they have felt it was time to crawl out of the shadows? ]

Maybe we are, maybe we aren't. That depends on what SHIELD you know.

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[edwinjarvis]

I suppose it makes me think of Captain America.

[He's wondering about you, sir! Mostly from observing the other conversations a short while. He's a bit nosy, this butler, and very well tuned to the art of listening in where he really shouldn't. Peggy would know. But more importantly, it's important to give introductions, especially if this young man is tied to Miss Carter and her future group of heroes.]

A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fitz. I apologize it's under such... confounding circumstances.

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[briste]

That's a good answer.

[ fitz visibly relaxes and breaths a sigh of relief at that particular answer. maybe not the one he was looking for (or maybe just not the one he was expecting) but it's just as good. also it's so straightforward that fitz can't help but appreciate it ]

A pleasure to meet you too, Mr...?

[ fitz shrugs like these particular circumstances are no big thing ] Confounding circumstances, yeah, but it all comes with the territory, I suppose. [ big tough shield agent leo fitz, thank you. he's absolutely used to these sorts of situations! well getting more used to them since joining coulson's team ]

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[silvercast]

[ Not a shield, but just shield, eh? Pietro has to admit, it does catch his curiosity. It feels like it wasn't too long ago that he saw a glimpse of what SHIELD should be. Perhaps this person is a part of it, as well, or got lost along the way. ]

Shields are for protecting, so one can assume that is what it should mean to most people. [ Don't patronize the kid, Pietro. ]

[ A brief pause. ] To answer your first question, I hope you don't dislike space. There is quite a lot of it.

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[briste]

[ what shield should be. fitz likes to think he's a part of that shield, that he's a part of the shield that is good and that's doing what it was meant to. but then this whole thing with hydra, finding out they may have been working for hydra this whole time, not knowing for sure how long the poison has been running through shield... no he's sure he's a part of the shield that shield should be. if not all of shield, then at least coulson's team ]

That's true, but it could just as easily put people in mind of something else. It could mean something else to people. [ he is not a kid, pietro! he is an adult! ]

I find space to be quite fascinating, actually.