>> @SPIRITFINGERS | @ALL

[inconstantly]

while on bed rest i learned how to make pipes out of spider legs that i am now selling

60 ccs each or will trade for the spider tobacco equivalent

while i am exceedingly grateful for present and any company who has come to visit it gets very boring in recovery. place an order and give me something to do

or just send the tobacco my way

i'm not choosy

Comments

@IMAGINE

[withimagination]

new deal. I'll buy your bizarre pipe if you'll smoke with me.

[inconstantly]

an interesting offer

i don't recognize the name
you'll have to tell me a little about yourself first

how do i know you'll be any fun

[withimagination]

I'm an interesting man

the name is eames. I'm a friend of arthur's, if you know him.

and I happen to be the definition of fun. my hobbies are gambling, drinking, and poking fun at people who wear fanny packs. I've gotten kicked out of 5 bars, 7 casinos, 4 hotels, and 1 hair salon (very unfair. how was I to know that the nail person was really someone sent there to kill me? so it got a little messy, big deal.)

I would say I don't know if you are any fun but I suppose a post like this proves it.

[inconstantly]

i can't say i know arthur but with a story like that its a pleasure to make your acquaintance. for now you may call me joe strummer until i return to base

it seems we have similar hobbies, though my bar tally is higher while other locations are lower. can't say i've been ordered to leave from a salon but i have been placed on do not deliver lists from pizza restaurants for attempting pornography pickup lines in real life to see if they work

they mostly don't but i've found luck once or twice

are you new

Here(ish)

[pointedlook]

[ he's found it. No, he's watching it unfold: the most horrifying friendship in history.

This is the worst??? ]

[withimagination]

[Pure delight is what this brings Eames. Perhaps a kindred spirit?]

I do hope you'll tell me these pickup lines. I want to try.

sort of new. I was here before, transferred to another cell, and then transferred back here. thank god. it was a bit stressful trying to figure out which objects spoke and which didn't.

[inconstantly]

what do you say to hearing the pickup lines in person when we smoke and you can tell me if they work

well eames, as far as the mission is concerned i am joe strummer until we return to base. you get my real name if you play your cards right

and as far as the talking objects, i have experience in that kind of thing. send me me note if you ever find yourself in that position again

[withimagination]

sounds like a plan... mr. strummer.

[Are they using false names on the network too? He'll ask when he sees 'Joe' but damn. Eames should really pay attention now and then.]

and I'll remember that, thank you. are you bad off then, if you've resorted to spider pipes? physically, I mean.

[inconstantly]

you get impaled through your gut and tell me how well off you feel

but really you mustn't insult the pipes like that eames

true works of art they are

[withimagination]

maybe some other time. you got anything for the pain? that sounds unpleasant

well I'm sure worse things have been called art before

[inconstantly]

that's what the tobacco is for. spider products are much more strong than what a human consumes if you catch my drift

and to test your art theory i won a collection of taxidermied body parts fused together in a tasteful arrangement

in your professional opinion: art or not art?

[withimagination]

ah I see! well then feel free to call me any time and I'll pick some up. sounds like fun.

probably... art? tasteful though?


and what kind of body parts?

[inconstantly]

if you are new, are you on BASE? important to know how soon you will be joining me

the focal point of the whole thing is a magnificent aranean leg surrounded by lesser but no less striking bits native to jsshh-

jah

i don't know how to spell the name of the moon we're on

[withimagination]

am I that alluring? yep I'm on BASE.

does anyone know how to spell it? and ah interesting. how did you get this again, Norman Bates?

[inconstantly]

how did you find out my real name already

i bought the piece at auction. if there's another i'd highly advise going if you're interested in oddities and have money to spare

just don't bid on anything i want or i'll hex you to oblivion

[withimagination]

your mum's looking sexy nowadays

interesting. but that's just rude. can you even really 'hex' me or were you a little nerd growing up?

Private

[inconstantly]

don't joke like that

Private

[withimagination]

[.....Shit. He's finally done it here, run his mouth. He knows exactly what it has to be, and he's not sure why he didn't think of people here maybe having parental problems.

His first reaction is to want to get black-out drunk and forget Joe Strummer. But that's selfish, more selfish than Eames can even be. He hesitates, and then tries.]

fuck joe. I'm sorry. please don't ignore this. it's not an excuse, but I wasn't thinking. I know what it's like not to have a parent, in a way, and I said it anyway. can we switch to voice? you deserve a proper apology for this.

[He sends it and waits anxiously, hoping he'll answer back.]

Perma-private; voice

[inconstantly]

I can do voice.

["Joe Strummer's" voice is rough, evidence of a lifelong smoking habit. It's also undeniably Scouse, yet also not quite, an accent both flattened and evolved over time through travel and no desire to return home.

The normally verbose John Constantine struggles to find something else to say, and after a futile attempt stops trying.]

Perma-private; voice

[withimagination]

[He lets out a sigh with a soft -] Christ. [- Then adds -] Like your accent.

[- in his own accent, voice low and smooth. There's a decent pause before he breathes in and starts talking.] I'm not going to tell you what a jerk I am. You already know that.

[Damn, is he really going to tell 'Joe Strummer' something he hasn't even told Arthur?]

My dad's not dead. At least, as far as I know. He just... abandoned my mum a little after I was born. And that lady... If I'd lost her...

[A huff to try and hide how his voice has become strained.]

I'm a fucking idiot, okay? I use humor to deflect emotions and it's stupid because I knew I could go too far and I'm sorry-

[Fuck, is he really losing it over this? For once, he's not hiding how his voice is getting tight, because he can't, if he really hurt this guy. He may have no problem stealing all the information about some corporate fat cat's head, but standing on the fucking landmine of a decent guy's dead mom... that's just awful. And Eames isn't awful.]

I'm sorry.

[inconstantly]

I appreciate your candor.

[John feels a twisting behind his bandages unrelated to his injuries. He's regurgitated his life story to a complete stranger before, but that was out of spite, a deliberate method of making an individual feel sorry they had ever asked for a single detail about John Constantine.

This wasn't the same. He's reluctant to share details, but he also has no urge to lash out and shame the man. Everything is tiring, and the facade slips with his energy to keep it up. If he sidesteps maybe he doesn't have to say anything out loud.]

You can call me John.

[His name has already been said once on the network, may as well risk it.]

[withimagination]

[He lets out a breath, relieved, and nods, though John can't see it.]

Thank you. I don't tell people that... story. If you don't mind keeping it to yourself. Just couldn't let you think I didn't care.

[A breath of a laugh escapes him.] You still want to smoke with me?

[inconstantly]

I won't. I think you'll find very quickly that I'm an excellent secret keeper, Eames.

[John exhales a breath of relief as well. This man isn't pressing him to share, and John thinks all the better of him for it.]

Why wouldn't I want to smoke with you? After the less than pleasant revelations I'd say we're pretty well in this together now.

[withimagination]

[It crosses his mind that maybe John would be a good friend to discuss a certain problem with. Not now, of course. But he feels certain he wouldn't tell that one either.

There's a smile in his voice when he speaks again.]

I'd say so too. I won't be planetside for a few more days, so don't smoke up all the tobacco first.

[A pause.] Somebody's with you, right? You're not just rotting in a room with your wound?

[inconstantly]

I've been assigned a nurse and I have friends who have been visiting and making certain things are in order.

[While all true, there's no need for specifics.]

Is that concern I hear? Eames, you soft touch.