video | un: NAILS

[nichocolatine]

[ the video begins with badou wearing one of his usual tees, carefully setting his phone down so the camera angle can spot him sitting on his living room floor surrounded by an array of dresses. affixed to his wrist is a little cloth pumpkin, stuck full of needles and pins. he's without his usual cigarette, instead sucking on a lollipop that stains his lips bright red. last time he made a post on the network his neck was bruised and bandaged — this time it's the same thing, but the bruise is angrier, spreading across his neck and shoulder, disappearing under a bandage and gauze that looks about ready to get changed in an hour or two. ]

Evenin'.

[ he picks up the skirt of one of the dresses, flipping it inside-out to access the pocket he'd been working on attaching. ]

So I'm sittin' here, mendin' dresses — as you do — and I nicked myself pretty good and I'm thinkin', well, shit, that's another one I gotta wait on, y'know?

[ he lifts a forefinger, displaying a bandage that looks an awful like like dora the explorer, and wiggles it in the direction of the camera. ]

It got me thinkin'—

How many of us here are just regular ol' humans? Or whatever. I'm talkin' no magic, no special augmentations, no fancy shamcy abilities that got you doin' better than the average guy.

[ he pauses to finish off a stitch, making a knot with his thread and cutting the excess with his teeth. ]

See, where I'm from, that ain't the norm. But that doesn't seem to be the case around here.

[ oh, one more thing— ]

And if you are one of the special ones, go ahead and tell us what you can do. Why not, right? What else do any of us got to hide at this point?

Comments

un: hidden | audio

[matermali]

[ Drumroll for the powerhouse that is the mother of evil...! ]

I never lose a game of cards.

[ Or there's that.

'What do any of us got to hide'? A lot, Badou, a lot. ]

[nichocolatine]

[ badou can't even say he's surprised she's deflecting given her username pretty much warns it anyway... but he'll still hold this against her, don't think he ain't that petty! ]

Pretty shitty power, if you ask me.

Text @Alhaitham

[justscribing]

For someone where that is the norm for everyone, the "average guy" would have those abilities and you're actually the outlier. With the discrepancy of the places we come from those are imprecise quantifiers.

Even in your concept of a regular human, people will exhibit different levels of potential. If someone is a naturally strong swimmer beyond the average, or is more intelligent, would you count that as special because it gives them an edge over the rest of their species?

[nichocolatine]

you know NOT participating is also an option
if youre just gonna be a whole ass about it

text | @stray

[kampfgeist]

mr big brain pretending like he's never heard of a bell curve

action » but also video, the accidental dogs household livestream

[kampfgeist]

[ after another minute or so heine wanders into the living room, carrying a bowl of something, and takes a seat tucked into one corner of the couch so he's not getting in badou's way. ]

Cute bandaid. [ he is definitely not hovering, he knows badou can change his own bandages and trusts him to do it when he thinks it needs doing, but he does also want to make it known that he'll help if badou wants him to. ] What are you working on?

[ he doesn't even have his phone on him, so he has no idea that badou made a video post at all, much less that the video is still streaming. ]

nasty voyeurs, all of ya

[nichocolatine]

[ there are a few items on the couch, but occupying mostly just the one side of it, giving heine plenty of room to sit. ]

Putting some pockets on these skirts for Ness. She likes 'em heavy and functional, apparently.

[ he arches a brow heine's way. ]

Why? Thinkin' of repeating your maid look?

voice, un: 46

[cranekin]

I'm good at matching sea shells!

(And other things too but this is what he settles on.)

[nichocolatine]

[ siri, how do you undo a post and also your life ]

Everybody thinks they're so damn funny in this city, huh?

audio; un: loveless

[limbical]

I suppose it's not much of a secret anymore, but I do have a variety of spells available to me. Most of them involves some measure of healing, but often they come with a heavy price to pay.

[nichocolatine]

[ the lollipop in badou's mouth makes a loud rattling sound as he rolls it against his teeth in thought. there is, of course, the obvious question... but he can save that for later. ]

S'that why you're a doc, Doc? Or did those spells come after?

un: Kromer, audio

[gripper]

I'd say it's pretty even split back where I'm from, as far as "regular 'ol humans" and "special ones" go—tons of people go off and get augmentations, especially if they're Fixers. Tattoos, drugs, cybernetic prosthetics.

( her voice is light and normal until the last one—it edges a little on derision, then jumps back to nonchalance. )

Haven't got any of that myself, though... I prefer honing what I was born with, celebrating it. ( she doesn't hate people for it though



well. unless you go the metal route, then Fuck You! but otherwise, whatever, she'll just judge you quietly and make comments. )

[nichocolatine]

[ "fixers." one of don's then. ]

Yeah? What do you celebrate, exactly?

text; un: Constantine

[keepgodwaiting]

"Human" and "magic" aren't mutually exclusive. Anybody can do ritual magic with the right attitude.

[nichocolatine]

well shit where do i sign up for my seance license?

text; un: rosella

[savewell]

Oh, I'm just a normal person, myself! Or, well, I certainly think of myself as normal, anyway. Of course I know of magic, and there are plenty of people who can work it, but I'm certainly no magician, myself.

I, er. I did turn into a frog once? But that was more my little crown than anything I did personally, and I stopped being a frog as soon as I took it off again. But I rather think that shouldn't count, should it?

[did you know her kisses can break curses though. did you. NOW YOU DO.]

[nichocolatine]

[ hang on, important question first: ]

you got a crown that can turn people into frogs?

also video (un: netzach)

[abstractart]

[oh, this one takes some thought.]

I guess I am, but I'm not...? Being able to do anything special was just 'cause of where I was, though, not me.

Still don't know if I'd count myself human, though.

you're the realest homie, netzach

[nichocolatine]

no? why's that?

@keter, audio

[gradenine]

I mean, I got bioaugmentations myself, but I'd still consider myself human. It's mostly to keep up with my harsh line of work back home.

I'm a Fixer. A mercenary, in other words. Nothing too flashy.

[nichocolatine]

[ badou waves a needle-armed hand in the air. ]

"Human" was just the best thing I could come up with at the time. [ he will begrudge alhaitham this one thing: he definitely could have phrased himself better. ] More just... "special" versus "not." You'd count as special, I reckon.

What's it your augmentations do, exactly?

[willtheunwise]

[ Okay since Badou is on video wounded and it’s not sending one to the person who gave him it… Will switches his video on. There’s a lovely green and yellow bruise across his left cheekbone. ]

The vast majority of people where I’m from don’t have powers and the small handful who do are government secrets. I don’t have powers and I can’t fight so I feel like kind of an outlier here.

[nichocolatine]

[ badou squints at the image on his screen. it's not uncommon for him to see a kid sporting scars of an unfortunate time, but that doesn't always make it any easier to swallow. ]

Yeah there's a lot more to survivin' here than just beatin' the next guy out to the best slice of bread. Fortunately, nothin' seems permanent. [ except for all the things that matter, he guesses. ]

un: junpei | video

[coolerjunpei]

You ever seen that show where the guy accidentally jumps through time to fix mistakes? I used to do that.

[This is his answer..... early 90s American sitcom Quantum Leap. Sorry. More importantly:]

Nice shirt.

[nichocolatine]

[ badou grins around his lollipop. ]

Thanks. I don't believe in false advertisin'.

[ not one he can attribute to the previous apartment owner's this time; the fault lies in him and the mall's version of hot topic. ]

Used to, though? This place neuter you?

[Video] un: Capsulecorp

[fashionably_strong]

I'm one of the people with powers and it's pretty rare back home. Although some of the stuff I can do can be learned by a regular human who trains intensely in martial arts for years.

[nichocolatine]

But for you it comes naturally? Somethin' you're born with?

text; un: dynamight

[apshot]

Only about 20% of humanity don't have a "special ability."

So "normal" is relative.

[nichocolatine]

sucks to be us then huh

Text | Un: Ouroborosed

[inlovewithmycar]

Not human, but mostly-human-shaped and been around you lot long enough to know what's what chiming in to say it is bizarre to have this many supernaturally-inclined humans crammed into this little square mileage.

Reckon there's something to that. What, I don't know, but we haven't even been here half a year so probably too early to say.

[nichocolatine]

yo, right???

[ thanks, human-shaped person! someone finally gets it! ]

dunno if i really believe in that kind of coincidence

un: vogel, video.

[halbird]

[ that shirt... sinclair's trying not to make it too obvious he's trying to read it. it's him? he's a slut.

anyway, right, the other stuff- ]

Um. I'm... the first one, I think.

[ spoilers: he's not ]

What I do depends more on someone else, so I'd consider it... something they can do, rather than something I can do.

[ but unlike don he has more than one braincell focused on not spilling the company secrets so the way he says this is in the "i wanted to answer the question seriously to be polite but please don't ask more" kind of way. ]

[nichocolatine]

[ own it, sinclair. be the slut you were born to be. ]

That's a whole lotta words for a whole lotta nothin', my guy.

video — un: munson

[thefreak]

( Eddie just raises his hand, his lips pulled together in a tight line. ) A perfectly normal human. Kind of jealous of all these people with any magical abilities.

( It might have made the haunted house a little less terrifying, but then where would the fun in that have been? If you can call it fun. )

[nichocolatine]

[ badou, for one, would not call it fun. ]

Hey hey, welcome to the club, there's booze and existential crises. Help yourself.

Text | UN: Loki

[abit_ofboth]

Why not? My, you are very naive aren’t you.

[nichocolatine]

the most
why, i aint even stepped a day outta my mamas womb thats how green i am

video

[aceslow]

Where I'm from, the only people rumoured to have any supra-natural powers whatsoever are generally those who have been deified after their death -- and whose powers I assume are greatly exaggerated. If you asked me a year ago if any of these things were possible, I would have told you that they're not.

I suppose it should be humbling.

[ Mainly, it's exhausting. ]

[nichocolatine]

Deified.

[ more gods, huh. ]

How common's that, exactly?

video, @Conductor

[entwinedfate]

[ Gross, Roland's already replied. He hates to give the man any mind at all, but-- ]

Some people choose their bioaugumentations, and others have it forced upon them. While my... [ A beat. ] Colleague up there, a plain faced man calling himself "keter", might've felt forced by our line of work to get them, you could say I hadn't been granted another other option in the first place.

[ Argalia's finding if you start people off with "my childhood sucked ass" people here at least seem to feel some amount of compassion. Pretty useful. ]

Let's see. Enhanced speed, stamina, strength... A rather general augmentation, all thing considered. My sister and I were both raised to be who we became, in a way -- or that's how it shook out in the end. Still, any Fixer would agree that such practices have been standard in the industry, so it's more of the weapons in your possession than anything else that makes one stand out -- for example, my own is a scythe that employs reverberations to make a statement out of someone.

1/2

[nichocolatine]

[ that username....... brb getting some TRAUMATIC FLASHBACKS about the man who ruined his life nbd ]

video; un: d.larusso

[miyagimagic]

.. are you--

[ Hold on, Badou. Did you ask a question? One that Daniel can actually relate to? Yes, sure, but the man is so not paying attention to that after he's showing up on the network again like that. ]

Are you sure you're alright?

[ He's not talking about your little needle poke, Badou!! Okay!! ]

[nichocolatine]

[ daniel... you keep finding him in the most unflattering of positions. it's starting to give him a complex here. ]

Yeah. Just a lil' run-in with someone's teeth. [ but not with one of their city's many vampire inhabitants, can you believe it? ] Not too shabby, when you think about it.

video; un: louis

[deathoftheauthor]

Where I come from, ordinary human beings — for lack of a better word — are so very much the norm that nothing else is scientifically accepted to exist.

[nichocolatine]

Scientifically or socially? [ or both? ]