Accidental Video

[singloversing]

--No, no, no! Ugh, seriously?

[At first everything is dark, but then there are little shifts that produce light until finally something is lifted off of the camera and Wirt is there, looking down at the camera with some mild concern. There's a Norton Anthology of English literature in his hands (volume two, first edition).]

I hope I didn't break it...what even happens when you break these things anyway?

[He doesn't seem to realize that the camera has been turned on, and isn't paying attention to the little red recording light. Instead, he sets his book aside in a tall stack - a stack that fell right on the network device earlier. Satisfied that it won't fall again, Wirt turns his attention back to his notebook. He reads his work quietly, but just loud enough to be picked up by his network device.]

Hm...alright, so.

Wonderland's eternal winter,
thawed for mere moments,
into a lush greenery and warmth
that spreads through each limb and vein
tingling in fingers and toes.

And in that reprieve of winter
I forget myself.
I mix and swirl with what both is
and is not me,
dwell on what I am
and what I never was.

I am a raging river
waiting for the world to freeze again--

[He stops and frowns.] Wait. That's dumb. Water still moves under ice...

[For a moment, he tries to think of a way to save it, but in the end he scribbles out the last stanza entirely. He still doesn't seem to realize he's being recorded.]

Comments

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[bigbad]

[Spike leans forward.]

No, mate, it works. Water moves under ice but you can't see it. So when it's gone it's like you're exposed and doing things you might not do without that frozen facade. It's brilliant, really.

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[singloversing]

[You know who else is exposed right now? Wirt. Emotionally.]

...Oh my gosh. H-How much of that recorded?! Th-that wasn't supposed to...that was a-- oh no.

[Wirt holds his temples and tangles his fingers in his hair, knocking his hat slightly askew as his life crumbles around him.]

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[bigbad]

[Oh yeah, Spike's noticing that now. Maybe the metaphor was more apt than he intended.]

Oh, I thought you were workshopping it. Forget I said anything. [A beat.] But it is a good metaphor.

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[naughty_nurse]

Did you... write all that?

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[singloversing]

I-- well, yes, but...i-it isn't done! No one was supposed to hear it yet!

[Not that he was planning on sharing out loud either way, but it's the principle of the matter.]

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[naughty_nurse]

Eek! I'm sorry! I'll erase it from my memory!

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[determinedest]

I think it's very nice.

[They can appreciate good lyricism. Or, um...poeticism? Poetry is like song lyrics, but spoken. Isn't it?]

You could say it's like a frozen waterfall, maybe?

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[singloversing]

I-- I don't know. It's not that great. It would be a little better if it was done...

[He's still mortified beyond all belief, but he's already realized his error by now.]

I guess I could? It's-- [He pauses, deciding whether or not he wants to share his process.] --it's supposed to be about the last event, when everyone was remembering some other life. So I was trying to think like...different currents? But, I dunno. I over-complicated it and now it sounds kind of dumb.

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[determinedest]

I don't think it sounds dumb.

[Hopefully that gentle smile of theirs will be enough of a motivator to help him know that people aren't just showing up here to make fun of him. They genuinely thought it was a good composition!]

Water still moves under ice...like how we were living lives, but we weren't really living. It makes sense.

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[mandrakes]

I have never been much of a poet, myself, but I believe the imagery plays more of a part than scientific facts of nature.

[Regis would say that science is his art - alchemy - but one doesn't live as long as he without a certain appreciation for the written word.]

I think you might have been on to something, there.

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[singloversing]

[Wirt's sort of astonished that anyone has anything nice to say about his terrible, embarrassing poetry. Are they all just trying to spare his feelings? His face flushes.]

I...I-I don't know. It has to have some semblance of truth? I mean, there's some merit to artistic exaggeration, but if you bend things too much then no one can suspend their disbelief enough to appreciate it.

[video forever]

[drummeintheface]

So you want to go ice skating on the river?

[THEY COULD DO THAT!!! Which way's the river?]

[singloversing]

[There's something to be said about how Greg's nonsense can pull Wirt out of his panic, if only for a moment.]

...Greg. There isn't even a river here.

[video forever]

[goodwoofjames]

[Sirius isn't...great with poetry. He loves music, but sometimes that's more about the beat and the noise than the actual words in the lyrics. But something about this sounds, well...]

Are you okay, mate?

[singloversing]

No. I just shared an unfinished poem with the entire mansion and now I'm going to die of embarrassment. I should just start writing my will now.

[Day is done, gone the sun, etc etc.]

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[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

you write very pretty words...

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[singloversing]

Oh, um. Thank you...? I guess?

[He's still not really sure what to do with sincere compliments. Like, how can anyone sincerely compliment his garbage poetry?]

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[therapize]

[Oh no.

While most would see it as utterly harmless, Cami knows how sensitive Wirt is about his poetry. It had been a purposeful recital that clued her in on Bill’s possession of the boy so many months ago. This time it’s accidental, a broadcast of the work in progress, and in some ways maybe even worse since it’s not even verse Wirt is satisfied with.

She’s too late to warn him; there are plenty of replies to the entry already. All Cami can do is hope he’s handling it well.

…Well enough. For Wirt.]

Hey, Wirt. [She manages a smile at least?] I’m guessing you probably didn’t mean to have the video playing just then….

Re: video

[singloversing]

[While he's uncertain about the sincerity of everyone else o the post, Cami's reply is a moment of relief. He likes to think that she's someone who wouldn't lie to him, and she doesn't immediately start in on false-sounding praises.]

H-Hey Cami, uh...no. No, definitively not. I was just-- yeah. No way, this was a total accident.

video.

[duckies]

What are you writing for? Or who, maybe. ( because that poem definitely works for someone. )

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[singloversing]

Who? Uh, nobody! I-I mean not nobody, but...for. Myself? I guess?

[It's definitely not a love poem or else he would have already started to dig himself a grave.]

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[forwearemany]

You enjoy poetry?

(They are unfamiliar with this Human, but they find themselves curious.)

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[singloversing]

Um...y-yeah, I. I guess so?

[He loves poetry a lot, but he's not sure he was prepared to share that with the mansion at large, so now he's feeling rather non-committal about it.]

private video;

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper could point out that Wirt's recording, but he imagines someone's pointed that out by now, so he just messages Wirt privately.]

Hey, man, you okay? I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to be recorded.

[Wirt seems like he'd need a whole lot of preparation and probably someone literally holding his hand to willingly recite poetry in front of an audience.]

private video;

[singloversing]

[Honestly Dipper's...not wrong.]

Yeah, I-- that definitely wasn't supposed to be...no.

[He groans, burying his face in his hands.] This has been a nightmare.