1. ➟ video

[heymcfly]

[ The video starts with Marty holding the communicator really, really awkwardly. Behind him you can probably see a line of freestyle soda machines behind him. Marty has a dollar in his hand, but apparently something's not working for him. ]

Okay. So...ah, I'm Marty. I guess I'm new? I don't know if you gotta introduce yourselves or anything when you make a new one of these, but...

[ He gives the communicator a sheepish kind of shrug, unsure of whether he wants to feel stupid holding a camera like this, or feeling uncomfortable because people were looking at him weird. ] ...right. So I got a question. I guess.

So these touch vendor-things are everywhere, right? How the hell do you get your soda?

[ Marty turns the video to the machine, where he presses his finger against 'diet coke' on the main screen and then mashing it against the PUSH button. ] I press diet coke on the menu and it takes me to this thing where it shows me all kinda of flavors, but it won't give me my soda!

[ joke's on you marty, you have to select the big fat diet coke button before you can get your soda, duh. that's probably why people are looking at you weird.

Eventually he just lightly taps the toe of his shoe against the bottom of the machine. ]

This thing sucks. I don't even like coke.

Comments

[leonized]

Those things are weird, just buy a bottle of soda from a shop.

[... He doesn't know how they work either, but he just avoids them because he has too much pride to ask.]

[heymcfly]

[ in the eyes of marty pride is questionable sometimes ]

Jesus, why make these things so complicated? All I wanted was a soda.

Are all things 'round here like this?

[eastdetective]

If you don't like coke, why are you trying to buy one?

[heymcfly]

I thought they would have a pepsi or somethin' at least. You're tellin' me they have over a hundred flavors of coke stuff alone?

[glitterateur]

You gotta keep hitting buttons on the screen 'til you get what you want!

[heymcfly]

I have been pushing buttons! It always gives me what I don't want instead.

Like it gave me cherry coke, and then it gave me somethin' like grape? Gross!


I just want a diet soda.

[4thdimensional]

That's why I've largely stuck to coffee. That hasn't been entirely automated yet.

[Doc smiles. Ah, he sympathizes---it took him a little while to figure out a few of the comm functions.]

That said, I did hear some news that might interest you. Apparently there's a rock and roll museum nearby. I misunderstood before. It's not that rock never existed, it's that it was a fringe genre of fleeting popularity.

[heymcfly]

[ THANK YOU DOC that's the good news he wanted to hear! Marty's soda dilemma goes forgotten. ]

Get outta town! Here? So you're tellin' me that rock's in the process of dying, but not dead yet.

[ He turns away from the machines, staring down into the communicator. ] You wanna go?

[driftsintobuffetline]

Of all the tech, you're defeated by a touch-screen soda dispenser. Man, are you in for some culture shock. [Don't be mean, Newt. You wanted to meet Marty so badly, okay. It's not his fault he didn't live through the 90s/00s yet]

But wait 'til you get a load of digital music downloads.

[heymcfly]

I'm not "defeated" by anything! It's just really complicated for a soda machine. Are they trying to make it harder?

[ Digital music, though. You have his attention. ] Digital music downloads? What's that?

[dendarii]

... Oh, I've never seen one of those either. What are you supposed to be doing with it?

[heymcfly]

I was told you gotta push the buttons on the screen for what soda you want. But when I push from the main menu it just doesn't do anything. It only gives me grape and weird flavors like that.

This sucks.

video

[rathercommon]

[ Would you like advice from a cat? Here, have advice from a cat. (She speaks with an English accent.) ]

Oh, don't get soda at all. It's quite overrated. Go for a coffee, at the very least.

video

[heymcfly]

[ WELL THAT'S A CAT TALKING TO HIM ]

Uhhh...aah.........I don't- I don't like coffee.

[ He already met a platypus that could write you messages. Is this so shocking? ]

Are you talking to me right now?

[liverletdie]

I think you have to pour it, too. Which seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth -- the whole point of getting it is having someone else pour it for you.

You could just abstain from soda out of protest.

[heymcfly]

What? The machine pours it for you!

[ marty please ]

If this thing doesn't start workin' for me soon I'm gonna give 'em something to protest about.

video;

[textualhealing]

[This is basically the best thing ever, just from that face and name alone. Totally playing it cool, kthx.]

You show up at this place and the thing you're worried about is a soda dispenser?

[heymcfly]

Well, yeah! When I've spent the money and everything for it!

[ He shrugs. ] If I already hadn't put my dollar in, this wouldn't be such a big deal.

video

[quaerit]

[ Jesus Christ that's Marty McFly.

Okay, let's try not to be too nerdy about this. ]

It's a touchscreen. Just be gentle with it.

[ And then, because he just can't help himself: ]

You know those also come in Pepsi, if you prefer that. It depends which store you find them in.

[heymcfly]

[ How did you know he likes Pepsi better? ]

Touchscreen?

...I might leave the dollar and go get my pepsi. I can't stand coke. Doesn't taste right, y'know? [ Marty's going to smile though, because it sounds like you got the same taste in soda that he does! Good, good. ]

voice;

[hisheartsdesire]

[There's amused, curious wonder in this young man's tone; he speaks in a Northern English accent:] You're—I mean, aren't you...

You're actually Marty McFly? [An amazed chuckle escapes him.] I can't—I can't believe it, you're actually here. I dressed up as you for Halloween, sometime in the eighties...

voice;

[heymcfly]

[ Marty is officially stumped. ]

...Well, yeah? [ How can this guy know who he was so early in the future? Unless, somewhere, the Pinheads were a super big thing. Maybe some people knew him off of there! That was actually kind of cool. ]

You know 'bout the Pinheads?

[flynnnotjunior]

Flynn. [ He's just going to ignore the Back to the Future reference... even if it's more immediate than hearing about Gotham being actually a place. Can he even call it a reference? ] Uh, these things usually just tell you...? Sorry, man, they don't really have it in Albuquerque.

Have you touched the logo?

[heymcfly]

Wait, what? Flynn who?

...You think these things talk to you? Shit, they haven't talked to me or anything. Musta missed it, I guess.

[ Touch the logo... ] Y-You mean, of the coke? Which one? There's a bunch of 'em.

voice;

[valuemeal]

[ .. people baffled by soda machines. Not the weirdest thing he's seen so far, but still.. ]

You'll break it if you push it any harder. [ JUST SAYING. Not very helpful, but it's the first thing that slips out after the initial surprise of this whole situation. ]

voice;

[heymcfly]

Well, it's not like I can do anything else! [ He's just...irritated. Excuse him. ]

What do you suggest then?

video

[youbastard]

[ Ellie is trying so hard to not laugh. She can't hide the tiny smile though. ] Have you really never seen anything like it or something?

video

[heymcfly]

I mean...not like this? The ones we have at home don't have a big screen on 'em. And we fill it up. Not the machine, or whatever.

This looks cool and all, but jesus. Is it all this complicated?