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.

[matermali]

[ Look, now, look. It would be a different answer in private. But still probably unsatisfactory. ]

I'm not certain you appreciate the strength required of a girl attempting to defend her wits to a company of sour old men. By my memory, it was quite impressive.

[nichocolatine]

[ fine keep your secrets SEE IF HE CARES he cares, he cares so fucking much ]

By your memory, you're biased as fuck.

[ he says that affectionately, though. ]

Go on, then. What games d'ya know?

[matermali]

For the sour old men, or your lack of appreciation? You cannot claim to know what it is to be a young girl, Mr. Nails.

[ Try calling her that to her face, mister ]

You wish for me to begin listing games in some manner of defense? You forget yourself. [ That's an affectionate 'fuck off'. ] If you wish, we can play something. Draw poker? Écarté?

[ So she lists some, anyway. ]

[nichocolatine]

Only the poker part sounds familiar, unless you feel like doin' some teachin'. Promise I'm a fast learner.

[matermali]

Écarté is not a difficult game to learn, but if you have a desire to actually win against me, something more familiar may offer you a better chance.

Unfortunately, I have no such deck of cards and would not know where to look in this city.

[ There's her Tarot but no. ]

[nichocolatine]

Nah, no desire. Just interested in the game, s'all.

[ he looks down at the pools of fabric in his lap. ]

I have a pretty good idea where to look, but it'd probably take me at least a year to get out from under here. I could give you directions?

[matermali]

[ He acts like that is her fault— Oh. Well. ]

You ought to consider becoming a professional tailor at the rate you can manage. If only we had an established means for trade.

[nichocolatine]

Oh, what? Suddenly it's my fault I can't say no to you?

[matermali]

Do you think that if you flatter me, I will go out and fetch a deck of cards?

[ After he insulted her???

Hm. ]

Where is it that I ought to look? I haven't yet seen a stationary shop. You would know of where a tobacconist's is located, surely.

[nichocolatine]

To be honest I'm banking more on your desire to kick my ass in a game outweighing anything else.

[ and if there's one thing badou can count on like clockwork, it's people wanting to kick his ass. ]

Cards are regular fare at any ol' convenience store. Gas stations, too. You know what those are?

[matermali]

[ He isn’t completely wrong about that. ]

I have seen something called a convenience store here, yes. …They are not very convenient if one is looking for one specific item. What does a gas station look like?

[ That sounds entirely unsafe, so of course, she’s curious about that one. ]