un:antigoneiguess | audio

[rudelanguage]

S...that's fine, yeah. This'll...this'll be great. [beat.

oh.

oh fuck we're on! Antigonevoice GO]

Oh! Uh! Hhhhey! Heyyy, so uh. Did anyone get offered to, uh...buy a guy? During the fog stuff?

Quick yes or no works.

[...]

That's all.

Comments

[herofhopeless]

So, out of curiosity, why are you asking? Did you purchase the person?

[rudelanguage]

I meannnnnnnnnnn....

[...

...

...

...

she trails off.]

[herofhopeless]

[A brief pause.]

Who did you buy?

[rudelanguage]

I meannnnnnnnnnnnnnn...!

[the sound pitches up and then vocalizes in an I dunno implication.]

[herofhopeless]

Who. Did you. Buy.

[Clive sighs. You can practically hear him pinching the bridge of his nose.]

You know what? Never mind that part. Did you sign anything? And if you did, did you read it first?

[rudelanguage]

Hey, come on! I'm not that stupid! [Also I can't really write much so it's not like I COULD, ha. Haha. Ha...] I just! I don't know the guy's name, okay? No paper, just bottlecaps, y'know!

[herofhopeless]

Do you know what he loo-

[Clive coughs.]

Bottlecaps? You bought a man with bottlecaps?

[rudelanguage]

One.

[beat.]

I, I threw in some food I was saving for later? To like, get the monster to go away? [that makes it better doesn't it.]

[herofhopeless]

Okay. You bought a man for a bottlecap and some food. Did you make any agreements with the thing other than just buying a guy? I'm not sure what magic contracts might look like, but couldn't you just, I don't know, let him go?

[Also a beat.]

Unless he can't care for himself. And if that's the case, we should find him.

[rudelanguage]

[yelling over him:] Hey! Heyheyheyheyhey we're kinda jumping twenty steps ahead, aren't we, guy?! I was only throwing this out there to find out if it was even real!

[herofhopeless]

Ah.

[Well, now he's a little embarassed.]

Fair point. The fog did... a lot. So, have you come to any conclusions?

[rudelanguage]

[loud huff. Sheesh!!]

That it might've been just me! And that I've made people assume the worst of me for no good reason.

[herofhopeless]

Well, most people don't respond well to one person purchasing another. Why did you buy this bottlecap man, anyway?

[Clive has decided that is what he is going to refer to this person as. Bottlecap man.]

[rudelanguage]

To get the demon-guy to leave me alone. [said like that was the obvious thing to do.]

[herofhopeless]

Ah. Fair enough, I suppose. So, what are you going to do with him?

[This was such a weird conversation and the idea of someone owning another person went against everything he stood for, but it was sounding more and more like this person was tricked, or at least coerced.]

[rudelanguage]

If it's legit? [...] I dunno. Maybe he can carry stuff for me now n' then or whatever. S'not like I need someone waiting on me hand and foot, and we already got slaves in this city for the rest.

[herofhopeless]

Here’s a thought: you could release him from bondage.

[rudelanguage]

[beat.

flat:] If he can't release himself from a one-bottlecap deal, why do I gotta do it? C'mon.

[herofhopeless]

Because it’s the decent thing to do.

[rudelanguage]

[ennnnnnnnnghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...] I dunno. Letting a guy have a spine seems pretty decent, too...

[herofhopeless]

And if he doesn’t know that he can simply say ‘I’d rather not, thanks’?

[rudelanguage]

Learning moment! Lots of people got 'em!

[herofhopeless]

What a great point! This would be a fantastic learning moment for you.

[rudelanguage]

Sure, sure, guy. I get to learn if people even give a shit about bottlecap deals and little pieces of nothing like me.

[herofhopeless]

…I’m sorry, did you just say you had no worth as a person?

[Now you’ve done it.]

Everyone is valuable in their own ways. To imply that you don’t is a disservice to yourself and, frankly, a lie. You’ve learned what you’ve had to for survival, but you don’t have to just survive anymore. There are times where this place feels like the only thing it wants is to hurt us, but more frequently it gives us the chance to learn and connect with one another. You deserve those connections just as much as anyone else. You were put in a dangerous situation and were afraid. There is no shame in that. You are not nothing and you deserve to have people around you who are there because they want to be, not just because of some bottle cap deal you made with a demon conjured from the fog. You can build the future you want for yourself and if you need help doing it, there are always going to be people who are willing to do that. I am one of them.