tushanshu | fifteen : carry on my wayward son [video]

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fifteen : carry on my wayward son [video]

[Hayley folds her hands in her lap and offers a smile that's obviously fake and disjointed at best.]

So Clark Kent is gone.

I, uh, paid some kedan to help me move the radio stuff into my suite? I didn't want it to get taken away. I mean, I'm not really the radio type. So like, I can show someone how it works or whatever, but I don't want to be in charge of it.

[She lifts a hand to wrap around the back of her neck, awkward.] If you didn't know, there's a radio system that people can use to transmit messages. He left a bunch of extras to hand out if people need them, so you can listen. But anyone can come transmit a message if they need to - if it's important, you know? Allegedly It can't hear the radio. The big bad wolf, I mean. I don't know if that's true though.

[encrypted 60% to Tony Stark]
Before you even ask, no, you can't butcher it for your project. If you want to come study it or whatever, I can.. figure out a time and someone to watch you.

[encrypted 60% to Aya]
Hey. I think you were friends with the Kents, right? I don't really know how to repair any of this stuff if it breaks.. Maybe you could help? I mean, you're already basically my boss at both Stark and Wayne, so I don't want you to be my boss here too, but I might need help if you're willing to.

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That seems like a good idea. Is now all right for me to bother you with questions and such, or would another time work better?

Uh.. maybe tomorrow? Is that okay? I haven't really gotten everything.. situated yet.

Tomorrow would be fine. I...will you be all right, though? I've found that going out with someone else to talk about people who've gone home can sometimes be helpful, if you'd ever like.

Maybe we can talk tomorrow.

[There is a considering nod at this, and a bit of a sympathetic smile.]

I would like that if you are ready for it. Until tomorrow, then.

..Thanks.

Oh, will you bring coffee? I'm almost out.

I can certainly manage that. Coffee it is.

[And probably something in the way of pastries too, since he might as well stop by the bakery if he's walking over anyway, right?]

Cool. I'll see you tomorrow.

[The next day finds Enjolras making his way to Hayley's suite, vast amounts of coffee, both a carafe of the already brewed kinds, and ground beans and a box with a box from the bakery because who knows how long its been if she hasn't wanted to leave her suite. And, also, because he liked her when they met on the network, and it doesn't help to get in better with someone teaching him about the radio, so.

Anyway, he's knocking, offering a little smile when she gets there.]

I wish the circumstances were a bit better, but it is nice to meet you in person, at last.

[Hayley's expecting him and opens the door not long after his knock, her eyebrows rising as she takes in the amount of stuff he's brought. Enjolras is right about it winning brownie points though and she quickly steps aside to let him in, gesturing over to the coffee table as a place to drop things.]

Hey, come on in. Thanks for- you know, for bringing everything and coming by. The radio's in the other room. We can.. [She gestures at his hoard.] ..eat first, if you want? Or, I mean, we can take things in the other room too.

[Oh good, then. Erring on the side of everyone appreciating food and coffee had been a good one. Either way, Enjolras is not quite sure what might work best here either. Social niceties are something that have changed so frequently here and informalities are...he is not sure of the words for them much of the time.

Instead, he's setting things down before answering.]

I...is there anything that you might prefer, actually? I am somewhat intruding, after all.

You're not intruding. [She reassures him, giving a light smile. It's so much easier to pretend nothing's wrong at all when everyone who knows her is gone. Hayley closes the door behind him and then moves over to the table, looking over it.]

We can just like, grab what we'll eat and then take it into the other room. [She begins rifling through the bag and pulls out the collection of unmade coffee, grinning.] You have no idea how much better you just made my day. You're like, a hero of the caffeine deprived.

[It actually is a pretty easy tactic, one that Enjolras found to be useful too. Hayley, however, is not someone he knows well enough to see that that is what is going on, and she does, indeed, look fine.]

That will work out well, then. And, well. Having been the caffiene deprived on more than one occasion, there was little else that I could do.

[It's easier to joke, at least, about the sorts of things that, before, he would never have considered. Small mercies, maybe,that he can find the humor in that, now.]

Thanks! Seriously, this is great. Thank you. [She can't help a wide smile as she sets the unmade aside and grabs a cup of the ready-brewed. Then she eyes the food before looking back up to him.] Which do you want?

[If Hayley doesn't think about it too hard, she can almost pretend he's the older brother she never had, bringing groceries to work on some computer thing. Or maybe an assigned partner in her bio class. They can both forget the turtle and everyone who's left and just goof around for a little while in their own little world.]

Anything is perfectly fine. Though they do a particularly nice croissant.

[The fact that there is chocolate in some and cheese in others has nothing to do with that fact. Really. ...Maybe.

It would be nice to have a little sister, really. Enjolras had been close to Eponine in the same way, and had spent some time getting to know Midii, but that had been a while ago.

Forgetting problems is a great idea too. They can just be...learning about technology or something along those lines. It works, anyway.]

Do you know, I've been giving the paper more thought, and like you said, this might be an easier answer. I know there was a program once, but no reason, once I know how, that it can't be done again.

[Denial, for now, seems like a decent idea, sure.]

[Hayley nods with his suggestion, looking into the bag to see what's available. When she confirms that there's more than one of the recommended croissants, she grabs one with chocolate inside, thrilled with whoever brilliantly came up with the idea. Then she smiles up at him again.]

Oh my god, that would be so cool. You have a good voice for radio too. People like that.

[And Enjolras is grabbing one of the others after, shooting her a grin as he gets some coffee as well.]

It will be new, but perhaps we all could do with a bit of new things here. And thank you. I hope that it will be all right.

[Hayley waits until he seems ready, then gives a tilt of the head in the direction of where they're going. She leads the way immediately after, over behind the stairs and tucked back into a corner. The set up is fairly extensive, filling the corner a meter on one side and sprawling along the wall for a few meters on the other. Most of it seems automated.

There's a desk near the middle, with some equipment on it that might be more familiar to the average person - headphones, keyboard, soundboard, basic laptop, etc. Hayley walks over and takes a seat in one of the two chairs.]

Honestly, I don't know how most of it works, but the soundboard controls the important things. I know the computer sets the frequency and stuff like that.. and, uh, here's the mic- [She points.] -to talk into, the headphones- [She lifts one set.] -to hear yourself how you sound to them.

Clark showed me once how to set it up just to practice. I never wanted to be on the radio, but I liked messing around. [Hayley sets her croissant down on a napkin on the desk, then sips at her coffee and sets it down too.] Anyway, it's set up for practicing right now.

[The setup is rather extensive, and Enjolras has a moment where he feels a little overwhelmed, taking the whole thing in. He's glancing at the meters, trying to determine what those mean, but thankfully, once he's made his way over to join Hayley at the desk, things start looking a bit easier. He's not seen anything exactly like them, but in his time here, some technological advances are a bit easier to understand, and he's sighing, rather audibly, in relief. And then he's realizing she could hear that.]

Ah, sorry. [Enjolras is a bit embarrassed, ducking his head just for a moment.] It looked a little intimidating from that angle.

This though...these make a bit more sense.

[He's slipping on the headphones, then, pushing a bit of stray hair out of his eyes where it had escaped its braid.]

So, then, one simply speaks into the microphone to determine how they might sound?

It's totally intimidating. [She chuckles a little, spinning around in the chair for one rotation. Then she scratches at her hair before flipping open the laptop.] Luckily, they made it pretty easy.

[Hayley grabs the other set of headphones when he does and slides the hand mic his way. Both headphones come with a simple mic to transmit to each other - as the headsets are noise-canceling to the point of near silence. The hand mic, controlled by the computer, is what transmits to the actual radio.]

Slow down. We have to open the program.

[As she says so, she reaches over to the screen and taps to open a pair of programs. Then she's in a menu, selecting options, etc. Hayley figures this part of the lesson can wait, speeding through it. Then, finally, the mic is active and feeding back to itself.] Try now.

[Oh good. That wasn't Enjolras being nervous without a good reason. He's glad of that part anyway, and that this is not just some century divide or anything. He's watching carefully, especially the program being opened itself, and blinking at the options, certain he'll need some sort of manual to work them all out later on.

Then the microphone is up, and well, the moment of truth is here.]

Ah right.

[He's pausing a moment, trying to think what to say here.]

Good morning, foreigners, hatchlings, and any kedan who are not currently upset with us.

[Hayley's lips quirk into a smile as she listens to him. The girl holds up a finger to say 'hold on' and then reaches forward to the computer and clicks a few things. His own words are echoed back at him through the computer. Of course he hears them as he says them as well, but it's different when it's isolated. As expected, he has a voice perfect for radio.

Then she gestures at him to say more before grabbing her croissant to take a bite. Hayley is content to watch him. It's the first time she's been able to feel like a kid again without it being demeaned or condescended or criticized. It's like a weight off her shoulders.]

[Ah, of course. Enjolras returns the smile, then blinks a little as the echo shows up. Does he really sound like...well, like that? He's not given much thought to his voice before, beyond modulating it a bit for crowds.

The words had always been the most important part, and getting them to the people, when he had had call to speak to them at rallies and on barricades, in classes, when he had gone to them and argued with professors, but he is completely shocked to find that the played back words do come with a sense of power.]

We begin this program with an update, and a warning to the parents and guardians of our beloved hatchlings. As they continue to learn and grow, you will notice some changes.

[He continues, glad to see that Hayley seems a little more relaxed. Condescension and criticism happen, he supposes, but there is nothing here, or about her to criticize, and condescension went out a long time ago, when Bahorel had brought them Gavroche who had defied that with his very presence.

The pair of them would have gotten along, he thinks, and there are several similarities that he has noticed. It is too bad that he went, well "home", if death could be called home, anyway, some time ago. For now, he pushes the thought away, focusing, instead, on the future before both of them.]

Yes, the dreaded teenaged days have come upon us. You may notice that your hatchlings seem a little moody, just a bit defiant, and prone to arguments and just a bit of sass. Foreigners and Kedan alike are advised to remember their own adolescence, and to have a bit more patience with them as they move through this exciting, and yet angst filled journey to adulthood.

[This? Is kind of fun, actually. Enjolras could become used to this, he decides, giving Hayley a thumbs up, a gesture he's seen used here on occasion.

So far? He's enjoying this more than he could have imagined.]

[Hayley smiled widely at his announcement. Herself a teenager, she appreciates that his words are patient warnings and not accusations. It serves as a nice reminder not only for those turtle parents dealing with adolescent turtles, but for the thousand-year-old assholes who are trying to remember what it's like to be young and human. Or as close as they came to human, anyway.

At the thumbs up, Hayley reaches forward to the computer and clicks for a new file. Then she returns the gesture and sits back again, continuing to watch him. It's fun.]

[Thousand year old assholes need a reminder about that sort of thing, definitely. Enjolras is fairly sure about that one. Granted, the only thousand year old asshole he personally knows of seems to be Malicant. He's willing to consider he just doesn't know that about the others though. There ARE, of course, things that slip his mind that way, or that he doesn't notice, so he would hardly be surprised for long, anyway.

And well, as far as asking for patience goes, it is not SO long ago Enjolras was closer to the position of teenagers than not. He'd been 26 when he died himself, and in a place and position that had tended to think of him as legally an adult with legal adult duties, like voting, for just one year. Maybe that is why all of this resonates so strongly still, or the fact he had known who he was for the first time then, or...something. Anyway, he's pressing on, shifting into other topics then.]

In other news, preparations for our victory celebration continue moving forward as shopkeepers continue to stock up on, and very quickly sell out of, all fireworks and festive clothing as we continue to reach the date, other than, of course, the blindly gleeful celebration of our initial victory, which very few people here seem to have specific memories of. For more on the story, we bring you back to Mademoiselle Hayley Stark for commentary on what all of YOU are doing to get ready.

fifteen : carry on my wayward son [video]

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Action: I'm cool to keep going or to handwave! I know I've been super slow. :c

Action: This is a lot of fun! I'm cool to keep going!

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