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

[keepgodwaiting]

[ In spite of herself, Constantine grins at her phone. ]

👍

Bingo

Understanding what you want and focusing on it clearly enough to affect the universe is difficult. There's shortcuts if you want to get something quick and dirty done, but you'll always need the will behind it.

[nichocolatine]

when you put it like that
it doesnt sound like theres limits to this thing

[keepgodwaiting]

Other than like human frailty?

[nichocolatine]

oh sure thats always gonna be the thing to fuck you up
but if its just a matter of forcing your will into the universe and making it listen
it doesnt just have to stop at the supernatural right?

[ hm. what's he trying to say here? ]

if i wanted to ward someone from themselves
why couldnt i?

[keepgodwaiting]

You're going to have to explain that one a little more

privates tf outta this

[nichocolatine]

you probably heard that saying right? we all got our inner demons and shit
what if someones got one for real
maybe not a demon but... close enough

is there a way to exorcise that piece of shit
or at least shut him up for good?

-> video

[keepgodwaiting]

[ The next message that comes through is a video: Johanna frowning at the screen in something between concern and deep thought. ]

Is it him? Like, part of his personality or his mind or whatever?

video

[nichocolatine]

[ there's a delay on badou's end before he picks up the video call, and when he does she'll find he's moved from the living room to the bathroom. there's water running in the background — the tap turned on to its fullest and loudest, though badou's hands remain dry. ]

Dunno the full specifics, to be honest. The whole science of it is a little over my thinkin' skills. It — could be? Part of him? Or part of the hardware they attached to his spine. He calls it "the dog." Some voice inside his head that spews shit at him when he's feeling stressed.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Huh. Interesting. The roommate she saw in one of the other videos, maybe? Or someone else in the apartment, or perhaps some kind of attempt at avoiding other surveillance. ]

If there's hardware involved, I don't know that a ward is going to do it. Surgery's the best magic for some things.

[nichocolatine]

[ he blows out a puff of frustrated breath, reaching up to rip the lollipop from his lips. ]

Yeah, didn't think it'd be that easy. Fuck science, man.

[keepgodwaiting]

Sorry.

[ She sounds somewhat disgruntled herself, though whether it's on his behalf or her own, for not having a good answer, is hard to say. ]

If it really is something that's -- been put into him, by magic or science, that means it can be taken out. If it's something internal, though ... [ She shrugs. ] I don't know. Using magic to try and change someone's self is pretty dangerous, I'd say.

[nichocolatine]

[ give him a second here, he's mulling something over. normally, badou wouldn't hesitate to just give up, let sleeping dogs lie and all that. but there's a nagging in the back of his own mind here, practically a voice all its own. ]

It ain't him, though. [ a pause. ] Not really, anyway. [ it's like an intrusive thought, manifest. ]

Alright, so say we can't get rid of it. Isn't there still something we can do to — fuck, I dunno. Quiet him up when he starts yappin'?

cw: mental illness discussion?

[keepgodwaiting]

Maybe? Mate, I'm not trying to give you the runaround or anything, but "voice in your head when you're stressed" could be any number of things. A demon, a curse, schizophrenia -- whatever this hardware is.

[ There must be something, though. She's trying to think back through various traditions. ]

A spell to calm the mind ... Maybe a binding? Is he aware of it? Can he control it at all on his own?

[nichocolatine]

Nah, it's... she did this to him. The bitch who put that collar on him in the first place. The Dog is part of him but... it ain't him. I know it ain't.

[ god he could really use a smoke right now. ]

He knows, though. They talk, sometimes. He can control it, usually. But this place... it fucks with his resolve, sometimes.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Wry: ] Yeah, I bet it does.

Hm. So he hasn't always had it, and he can get a handle on it under normal circumstances ... he talks to it ... I dunno, that's more promising.

Does he want help?

[nichocolatine]

[ he's silent for a moment, the sound of running water filling up the small space between what he wants, and what he thinks heine wants. ]

I dunno if he'd wanna... y'know. Get rid of it entirely. It might be too much of a shock? But I'm pretty sure he doesn't wanna keep fearing what'll happen if it ever gets out of control.

[keepgodwaiting]

If you can find out what he wants, that'd help. Binding and banishing are two different things. People get that wrong all the time.

Plus, it's bloody hard to help change a person that doesn't want to change.