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

[kampfgeist]

[ heine has never had a home that was another person before; now that he's said it aloud he's shocked as shit to realize that it's true. it's a thought he stores away, to be taken out and examined another time.

he gives badou a long, considering look. ]

...I was thinking about lounging, yeah. [ the way the corners of his mouth twitch make it obvious he's fighting for his life not to smile. ] Why, what do you need?

[nichocolatine]

[ the pause between responses is just long enough for badou to climb up onto his feet, shaking out the skirt he'd just finished up with. what does he need, you ask? ]

A model.

[ weird how he stands as if to block heine's only mean of escape. weird! ]

Strip, Rammsteiner.

[kampfgeist]

[ the kill bill sirens start playing in heine's head even before badou is done standing up, but by the time he understands exactly what badou is asking him to do, it's too late to make an escape. so he stays where he is on the couch, legs stretched out, cradling his mostly empty snack bowl in his lap.

heine makes eye contact, slowly eats one dried strawberry, and says, ] And what do I get out of this arrangement?

[nichocolatine]

[ badou puts a finger to his chin, looking like he's really putting some thought to it. ]

You don't have to listen to me bitchin' about not havin' a model?