oo1; voice + video

[justthedriver]

Biggest country in world I know but Initiative don't seem to bother to bring anyone else but me. Too many goddamned Americans and Japanese. [ Says the heavy Russian accent. ] And aliens. And fucking elves. [ For all the emphasis he puts on that word, he doesn't sound angry. More of a 'fuck, what the hell, man?'

... Sorry, elves. He's targeting one elf in particular and he doesn't much care if there's more of them.

Sharp snort. Sound of a lighter snapping on, and the crackling of cigarettes. Then the camera switches on.

Have a pair of heavily tattooed hands, one of them curled around a white stick. Then he tips the tablet upwards until it shows his face, and Nikolai pulls off the sunglasses. ]

You lot ever get tired of talking on this thing? Bunch of stupid questions lately. [ He takes a drag of the cigarette, and blows it at the screen. ] You've all forgotten how to fuck, or something?


[ ooc; for any character with knowledge of Russian criminals, Nikolai's hands carry tattoos that basically says he's one of the worst ones out there. Yeah.

Also, content warnings for sexual assault for the thread with Steph (controlledvariable). ]

Comments

[justthedriver]

Cannon fodder don't get to come back angry and kill bastards in charge for letting them get killed.

[ He quirks a smile at that, because it's true. Nikolai knows well enough what cannon fodder is. He knows collateral damage. He is both and neither at the same time.

Mob wars don't just involve mobsters. An unfortunate fact of the world. ]

[controlledvariable]

They do if they don't realize what they are.

[She's seen people angry at the Initiative, yes, and heard about a few incidents of violence, but overall people seem to be rather accepting of their circumstances. They'll fight and kill (which still leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth) and die for the Initiative without questioning it.

After finding out the Intiative had sent children on missions, she'd been ready to kill the bastards in charge, as it were, but had decided it better not to make enemies of people who have so much control over her. But that doesn't mean she's accepted this.]

Or if they think they're dying for a just cause.

[That ones a little trickier, personally, but the conflicted feelings she has about it isn't betrayed in her tone, or her expression.]

[justthedriver]

[ He lights another cigarette to delay time. ]

You think it is worth dying for people around here? [ A sharp smile from behind the smoke. ] For people who are scared of you and who don't ask before making you fight for them?

[controlledvariable]

[Her mood is settling a little, but she still laughs at that, only sounding a little bitter. The whole point of vigilantes is to put their lives on the line for anyone, regardless of whether they're scared of her, or whether they make her fight.

That doesn't really help her with responding to the question, though.]

There are worse things to die for.

[Flippant, and pretty blantly avoiding an answer, even there's some truth in what she says.]

[justthedriver]

Da. [ Just as flippantly: ] Plenty of worse things to live for as well.

[ It is easy to die; far too easy. But living- living is difficult. There's too much meaning. At least in death, there is oblivion. ]

[controlledvariable]

[This really is one of the strangest conversations she's ever had. But it's... also one of the more fascinating ones, and while she tends to be generally dismissive of criminals, she's fairly impressed by Nikolai.]

You know that from experience?

[She doesn't expect an honest answer, but the way he lies could be just as interesting.]

[justthedriver]

[ He doesn't lie. But neither does he tell the truth. ]

You asking because you have experience? [ He raises a hand, half-waves it in the air. ] Because, ah, it 'strikes a nerve'?

[controlledvariable]

[That probably shouldn't amuse her as much as it does, but playing this game can be fun. Her smile is almost indulgent, a silent I see what you did there, but I'll let you get away with it for now]

Maybe I'm just curious. [Or maybe it's a bit of both.] Why don't you answer first?

[And then she'll answer, fair trade? Though she's still not expecting much.]

[justthedriver]

[ Almost like a kid (because why not:) ]

Nyet.

[ Whether it is 'no, I won't answer first', or 'no, I don't know from personal experience'- well, it's up to her to decide. ]

[controlledvariable]

You're not a fan of straight answers, are you?

[She's going to take it as the former unless he specifies otherwise, if only so she doesn't have to answer in turn.]

[justthedriver]

Straight answers are easy answers. [ Lopsided smile. ] Very boring.

[controlledvariable]

[She won't argue that, though she does generally prefer straight answers.]

You remind me of a man I knew. He talked in riddles.

[Quite... literally. It's not just the lack of straight answer that puts her in mind of Eddie, the sense of humour makes her think of him, too.]

[justthedriver]

[ Another cloud of smoke towards the screen. ]

I don't talk in riddles.

[ Which is true. Riddles are obviously riddles; obviously tricks. They have answers - a single answer you need to solve. They are, effectively, too straightforward. ]

[controlledvariable]

Never said you did. [She lifts a shoulder in a lazy sort of shrug.] I just said you remind me of someone who does.

[a beat; and her smile is almost playful.] I think I like you better, though.

[Which is clearly a sensible thing to say to a man like Nikolai.]

[justthedriver]

p Clearly. Nikolai takes another drag. ]

From being suspicious to liking in one conversation. You always change mind so quickly?

[ Sounds mocking, but is a warning. ]

[controlledvariable]

I can be suspicious and like someone.

[She treats almost every friendship like that; just because she likes someone doesn't mean she isn't expecting them to fuck her over eventually.

Tim did. Cass left. Babs is - Babs.

And they're the people she loves. It's even easier to do both with someone she simply finds interesting.]

[justthedriver]

[ You can smoke in the screen again. ]

Very wise for you to do that. [ Pause. He lets the smoke clear. ] Where did you learn to do that, dyevochka?

[controlledvariable]

[The smoking is kind of annoying, if only because it makes a good stall tactic (she knows the value of taking time, occasionally) and she doesn't have one of her own at hand.]

At home. [A small smile,, amused, and whether she means 'back in her universe' or literally in her home isn't clear.] You ask a lot of questions.

[It's said like a simple observation, without any indication how she feels about it.]

[justthedriver]

[ 'At home'. It makes sense to him. Nikolai wonders why is it that there are so many worlds in which children are made into soldiers- and he laughs mentally at himself because it's better to be soldiers than be what he became at her age.

At least as a soldier, you have a purpose beyond purely survival.

(Whether that is true objectively or not, he has no idea.) ]

Da. I do.

[ So what is she going to do about it. ]

[controlledvariable]

[Seriously, she wishes she had a cigarette so she could do the same thing to him that he's been doing to her.

Instead, she leans back in her seat, pulling a leg up to her chest and lazily wrapping an arm around it, chin resting on her knee. It's a stalling tactic for the sake of stalling, but it also makes it seem like she's getting comfortable.]

Do you always ask little girls so many questions, or am I special?

[There's amusement in her tone, her expression, and something a little like a challenge. She wants to see how he'll answer.

And being called dyevochka is annoying, but she has a feeling he's not going to stop calling her that anyway, so she might as well make it seem like she doesn't care.]

[justthedriver]

[ He shrugs at the question.

(It's easy to tell a stalling tactic, but why call her out on it when it'll just leave him vulnerable to being prodded at?) ]

Only little girls who have enough to talk about.

[controlledvariable]

[That gets a quiet laugh.]

Most people tell me that I talk too much.

[Which is usually when she's mouthing off to Bruce, or being a little shit to Babs, but the principle still applies.]

[justthedriver]

[ Hah. Nikolai tilts his head again. ]

You think you talk too much?

[ Yay double meaning of 'talk'!!! ]

[controlledvariable]

[Her smile twists a little, wry and amused.]

I think I know when to talk and when to shut up.

[Talking can have it's uses, especially in a fight, where it serves as a distraction. But just because she's chatty, doesn't mean she doesn't know tha value of silence.]