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

I’m: CliveRosfield | text

[herofhopeless]

No. Are you alright?

[He says to a person who tried to knife him.]

[rudelanguage]

[it's okay, that person is currently being a girl and a furry right now.

the delay is only because she has to wait for text-to-speech. enjoy your government-assigned voice, dude.]

Me? Oh, oh yeah! I'm not the guy.

Voice

[herofhopeless]

Who asked if you wanted to buy someone?

[Because Clive and that person need to talk.]

Un: TerribleTinkerer | Audio | Private

[badnewsandshitlist]

"Hello. I assume you know who this is."

[A beat. He exhales through his nose, a faint, nervous laugh.]

"I'm calling about the transaction. The one where I apparently sold myself. To you."

[Silence. He presses on, voice taut with restrained horror.]

"I wasn't quite myself at the time. Or rather, I was a version of myself who thought it terribly clever to test what a man is worth when he stops valuing himself. Turns out the answer was a candy bar."

[He winces audibly, the humor brittle.]

"I would like to say reverse it, but I doubt that is how these things work. I am not here to threaten or bargain. I would just prefer not to be owned. Not even ironically."

[A pause. He forces a thin laugh.]

"I understand it was a fair trade at the time. But now that my head is clear, I would like to buy myself back. For a little more than sugar and shame."

[He exhales, the wryness returning in quiet defeat.]

"Perhaps we could negotiate. I could offer a better candy bar. Or a favor. Something a touch more dignified than being traded for nougat."

[rudelanguage]

[okay NOW the pause is because Knife recognizes that voice and needs a second to remember if he's a Pending contact or an Antigone contact.

...they're 80pct sure it was Pending. so. play stupid! and if that fails...play stupider!]

Some funky demon-fiend-monster-guy. Beaky face. Asking because I dunno if I poisoned that whole thing up or not, y'know?

[rudelanguage]

...

[...]

...

[...]

Bottlecap.

Cw: mention of human trafficking

[herofhopeless]

Demon fiend monster guy. Did he give you any other identifiers? A name or anything? Who did he try to sell you?

[This could have been a hallucination but if someone is starting a human trafficking ring, he needs to shut it down immediately.]

[rudelanguage]

Uhhhh...nnnot? That I recall? I didn't ask. Kinda bad to exchange names with things like that, I figure. Also I was kinda scared shitless?

un: Wolfman | audio

[will_chase_balls]

Um...no?

[rudelanguage]

Okay! Great! That's two.

[badnewsandshitlist]

[A pause. He laughs softly, too tired to pretend surprise.]

“…A bottlecap. How perfectly humiliating. I accept.”

[Another pause. His voice lowers, steady but thin with pride.]

“And… thank you, for not naming me. I would prefer to keep it that way. Etraya has enough gossip without my contribution.”

[A faint, rueful smile in his tone.]

“Besides, my wife still believes I have a trace of sense left. If she learns I sold myself for confectionery and scrap metal, she will never let me near a marketplace again.”

[He exhales, quieter now.]

“So let us leave the story untitled. A secret is safest in indifference, after all.”

[rudelanguage]

[again, another lengthy pause while Knife is processing.

then:] How was I gonna name a guy whose name I didn't know?

un: Emet-Selch | audio

[untsundered]

Obviouly you did. Are you upset that your purchase was a mere delusion? Are you experiencing buyer's remorse, perhaps?

[He doesn't believe that she bought anyone, or tried to, but sometimes it's easier to antagonize the truth out of people who are so clearly dancing around the details.]

[rudelanguage]

[beat.

Is that Legs? That sounds like Legs.]

You didn't say 'yes,' or 'no,' mister.

[untsundered]

Then we make quite the pair dodging questions, don't we?

[rudelanguage]

Don't be a jerk! I asked first, so either play fair or don't play!

[untsundered]

Very well. It's possible. The fog had a profound effect on our minds, and so I cannot say with certainty that it did or did not happen, for I simply might not remember it.

Your turn.

un: s0001 text

[miniroth]

No, but I did have someone act like I already owned them. Hopefully not the same person.

[rudelanguage]

[You flighty motherfucker.

Antigone sighs in a huff and then loudly and bluntly blurts:] SURE DID!

See how easy it is? Less words, too!

[rudelanguage]

[after a text-to-speech-delay:] Did you throw anything at them? To like. Make sure they were real or not?

[miniroth]

I didn't actually think about that at the time, something in the fog made me very paranoid. But I'm sure he was actually there, sound and other sights and so on. It would be a very complicated illusion.

[rudelanguage]

Compared to what? You mean you didn't have full-on excursions into entirely different locations that aren't here? [head empty the whole time? Box-free? well, ain't he the lucky duck!]

[miniroth]

I might have but I'll be honest, I haven't explored the entirety of this city and wouldn't know if it's a new location or just a new location to me.

[rudelanguage]

You know what?

[...]

That's actually really fair.

[congrats. congrats to you, Antigone has no cause to bitch about that.]

[miniroth]

I'll try to change that so I know better in the future. If your buy-a-guy was a blond man, maybe he's the same one, if not, the fog's messed with more than one person on a similar vein.

Either way I'm sure you're not obligated to keep anything or anyone you buy while under the influence.