deercountry | [Open] 🚬 June Flames

[ he's heard the whispers. gossip in hushed tones (or not, it's not like what he's doing is illegal) about some guy who has a bunch of random shit from other worlds for some reason—things he's willing to part with for a fair trade.

cool. whatever. why should he care? what could this guy possibly have that would make him go out of his way to figure out what the hell he could trade and then seek out some weird shady figure in an equally shady bar to make an offer?

the answer, of course, is cleaning supplies.

he's not able to stock up on things like sponges and gloves the way he used to; that alone might not have been enough of a push, but that's before he hears about the magic wipes. a single disposable cloth that can disinfect anything from any surface with a simple swipe. what the fuck, right? it's almost like cheating.

he's gonna get some of that shit, one way or another.

and so it's this probably-misplaced enthusiasm that drives him to walk into this bar—someplace that likely wouldn't interest him at all otherwise—and meander towards the back in search of this mysterious tradesman of otherworldly cleaning materials (and probably a bunch of other shit he doesn't care about). it's not terribly difficult to spot him, what with the weird eyes that cast just enough of a glow to make out the telltale burn scars on his face. yeesh.

Levi approaches him with a blank expression that belies the rigid (and ridiculous) determination to acquire disinfectant wipes under the surface. if he looks like he's come empty-handed, it's because he has. ]

You're the guy with all the loot.

[ just to confirm. it'd be pretty awkward if he just started talking about magic cleaning wipes to the wrong person, after all. ]

[he's let the word out slowly, but hearing whispers and gossip going pretty strongly, he's starting to wonder if maybe he should make it official. but then again, rumors and assumptions certainly give him the advantage when it comes to people approaching him, and it's not like he's doing this "business" for monetary profit.

only thing he's making sure to keep a dead secret is where all his "random shit" actually is. and he makes a point only to do trades with other sleepers, since the locals around here aren't going to offer him anything he actually wants. that keeps his admittedly-large stock from dwindling quickly. and it creates links between him and the people who matter in this hellhole.

not that he won't talk to locals if they happen to swing by... always a conversation before bothering to do any business. kind of more an advantageous hobby to keep him somewhat occupied and entertained.

~~omg, levi meets lysol wipes. a match made in heaven.~~

he likes this bar. it's out of the way, doesn't have too many customers, far from the sea and the market, and basically your somewhat-seedy back-alley don't-look-at-me meeting place where he'll neither get mobbed by annoyances or completely missed by potential interested parties. still "open" enough the person approaching him won't feel completely swamped either.

someone's straight laced... reminds him of an almost militaristic air, though he's not carrying himself with chest puffed out and looking down on him. though the determined aura around him is interesting... obviously someone's heard of him.]

Ya say "loot" like it was plundered. [totally was, but no one needs to know that. explicitly. except the two people who watched (and helped) him do it.] Whatcha want?

[ he snorts, taking a quick second to eye his surroundings again. it's more of a habit than anything. he's been attacked in bars before, you see. ]

Not really concerned with how you acquired it. Even if you told me, I'd have no way of knowing if it was the truth.

[ he's stolen some shit in his day—out of necessity, mainly, but he has no room to talk about how shoplifting is bad.

he crosses his arms. the determination only intensifies. ]

I heard something about "disinfecting wipes."

[ of all the ridiculous things to say in such a serious tone. what a fucking weirdo. ]

[an experience they share. though dabi's not afraid to leave the entire bar he gets attacked in burning up in flames as he walks out. he'd prefer not to; this is an optimal place, after all.]

Fair point.

[he can take that comment a few ways, making assumptions about this guy. already from the way he carries himself, dabi's getting thoughts... he's direct, says he's not digging, carries himself strong, despite that tired-looking face he's got his attention sharpened around him... something else they share.]

Yeah. I got some. [kills 99.9% of bacteria and germs. fear the 00.1% that is immune...] Germaphobe?

[he's seen weirder.]

[ ah.

he frowns, almost sheepish, gaze suddenly flicking off to the side like he's just run into an unfortunate truth and he'd rather not look at it.

in other words: bingo. ]

I prefer to think of it as having high standards.

[that's pretty telling. there's a few seconds of silence, but he shrugs afterwards, not seeming like it's a bother to him. memories regarding "high standards", but whatever.

if this guy's embarrassed about it, that's something else entirely.]

Because...

[you're a germaphobe. no escaping the truth. he leans back in the booth, hands lowering to rest on the table. gloved.]

One container. Call it a trial run. Whatcha got in return?

[ he eyes it, but makes no move to take it. even if all this stuff was acquired in a less-than-legitimate fashion (and he's assuming that it was), he's going to play it fair. ]

I don't. That's half the reason I'm here. I've only been in this place for about a month, so I don't have the best idea of what people tend to value the most here.

[ he shrugs. it's all pretty casual, like having nothing isn't a new thing for him. ]

Figured I'd just ask what something like this would be worth.

[good. cause that'd've been the second mistake someone made tonight. dabi normally doesn't carry any of his wares around with him. he works out a trade first, agrees to it, and then brings the goods to a separate meeting place. levi happened to luck out that a previous trade hadn't gone through. for reasons called mistake number ne. so he gets the rare treat of seeing first.

the other bit of information, however, earns a slight twitch at the villain's brow, and he lazily passes the yellow container to his other hand.]

Yeah, see that's gonna be a problem.

[as expected, most likely. the guy's new, however, and dabi's not an idiot.]

Most locals value blood. Little vials of it, pin pricks, stuff hardened into stone. But people like you and I---sleepers, they call us---ain't really interested in that kinda shit.

[dabi regards the other man with the same cool gaze.]

I tend to look for stuff that's equal to or better than what I'm givin away. Things other people'd find valuable.

[but since he's knew here and sending him off on some vague goose chase without definition would be detrimental... dabi leans back in the booth.]

You familiar with the shit ya got in those bags on arrival? Specifically those lunar orbs, the canteens, or the robes. I ain't askin for yours, but if ya happen to find one of those things no one's usin, think we could work somethin out here.

[and rolls the container to his other hand again.]

Or we'll settle on ya owin me a "favor" in the future.

[ well, as much as he likes the idea of having that kind of decontaminating power at his fingertips, he's not big on owing people favors. and while he's not a fantastic judge of character by any means, he's kinda getting the feeling that maybe this guy is not the most wholesome of random shit resellers.

maybe because he's not exactly a model citizen himself?

in any case, he considers Dabi's words, and initially he's stumped. how the hell would he get a hold of someone else's hellscape starter kit, short of straight up stealing it? he doesn't have it in him to do that no matter how badly he wants those goddamn wipes. and it's not like he can just give away his own necessities, like the canteen or the one lunar orb he has, or the bag, or—

wait. wait. he's got an idea. ]

You gonna be here tomorrow?

[that instinct if yours, levi, is likely spot on with this guy. though the option of a favor is usually dabi's last resort to nailing in a deal, as to many people, such an offer puts them off entirely thanks to it appearing as shady as he looks. then again, others who are more desperate or have nothing to offer as trade find the idea of a favor more appealing since they get something for "nothing" and can then opt to be an asshole later and not hold their end of the deal.

which won't go well for them, but anyways... another bridge for another time.

well there are ways, ranging from stealing to buying to trading to finding something cool in the caves currently opening under the city. who knows. that's not entirely dabi problem. the villain never promised to be a convenience store with his trades. if he's going to give away something, he wants something equal or better in return. watching levi spin his wheels is interesting. the trading also lets him get involved with other people, meaning information links...

oh? looks like he hit on something.]

I can be.

[ he nods once, all business now. ]

Good. Then I'll be back.

[ and then he promptly turns and strides purposefully out of the building.

...for now. ]

[ sure enough, the following evening at roughly the same time, the same germophobic weirdo shows up—and this time, he's not empty-handed.

he has his bag with him: the same one that somehow magically washes up on the beach for every Sleeper who does the same. he's terrible at small talk (and Dabi doesn't seem like the type who's much into it, either), so he just skips all that shit and reaches into his bag.

his offering? the indestructible newbie robe, neatly folded and immaculately clean. ]

This good enough?

[ hmm. so either he's an idiot for trading something legitimately valuable for fucking disinfecting wipes, or there's some reason he won't be using the robes anyway.

or maybe it's a little bit of both? ]

Edited 2022-07-21 07:25 (UTC)

[he's back the following evening, same time, same place, same table. staked it out on his own and the owner of the bar's more or less become accustomed to dabi being there. the villain's curious about what the military-style man's going to bring. seemed at a loss for what to do, but then hit upon something before that curt departure.

so when levi shows up, dabi quirks a brow at seeing him with a bag with him. gonna guess that's his personal bag, the one everyone seems to "find" on their advent to trench. that's somewhat suspicious, since he hadn't intended for the other man to start dishing out shit from his personal supplies. so when levi reaches into his bag and hauls out one of those indestructible robes, dabi eyes him with a silent scrutiny.

normally, he doesn't give a shit about other people and most of the time he'd simply accept it. so with that in mind, he reaches out and pins the robe to the table with the bottom of the disinfecting wipes canister. but neither offers nor takes, putting the two of them at a momentary neutral.]

Good enough. But why're ya willin to trade this? Ya only got one of these and they're pretty fuckin important. Offerin to trade something "permanent" for something "exhaustible" is curious.

[does levi think he won't need or use this robe?]

[ god damn it.

he was prepared for this, because the man's right: this looks like an extremely stupid trade, one that benefits Dabi a hell of a lot more than him. he thought maybe there would be no questions asked for the same reason—why not just take advantage of said stupidity and run with it?

whatever, though. it's fine. he sighs inwardly before admitting the truth. ]

It doesn't fit. I'm sure having something made of indestructible fabric is great when it does fit, but when it's not even close to the right size, you're shit out of luck. You can't exactly cut it up and resize it. It's indestructible.

[ he's not just gonna come out and say it, but even with the robe still folded up it's probably pretty easy to figure out: it's way, way too big for him, to the point where it would be more of an encumbrance than anything else.

it's very tragic. ]

To be honest, I think this bag was probably meant for someone else.

[ perhaps someone who isn't five foot three on a good day. ]

Edited 2022-07-27 04:54 (UTC)

[the transaction is still halfway through, considering dabi's got the cloak pinned to the table via that tube of clean wipes. but usually when someone offers a trade that's far greater in value than the traded item, it rouses one's curiosity. he wouldn't have bothered asking if levi came across as an idiot. but unfortunately (or fortunately) levi doesn't seem a fool, and so dabi's more than willing to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth.]

It doesn't fit...

[just gonna repeat that for a second. somewhere in his mind, he assumed these satchels and their gear inside were tailored for the individual, specifically for the sake that this kind of thing doesn't happen. but then again, dabi's no expert in the way trench works, nor in how it prepares or under-prepares its captives for their lives here. that said, levi makes the obvious point about how tailoring this robe wouldn't be possible (ignoring the notion of knots and non-penetrative clasps + belts and shit).

he hums in thought before giving the canister's "butt" a drag towards himself, scooping the robe off the table and into his lap before offering levi the container of disinfecting wipes. this is going to bite one of them in the ass later... guaranteed. but! trade's done. levi's got his intensely-lemon scented fresh wipes and dabi's the new owner of another indestructible robe.

fair? nope! accepted? yep!]

Huh. That so... The way some people go on, you'd think these bags only show up to the person they're meant for.

[at least levi's got some good quality on his hands, dabi rests his elbow on the table and tilts his head towards the canister.]

Those things are pretty concentrated. One'll go a long way.

Yeah, well, I guess I just have shit luck.

[ for a second he just eyes the canister, kind of like he thinks it might not be real. but when he finally reaches out to pick it up, he can confirm that it's definitely real—and definitely not just an empty container, either.

not that he really suspected it might be, of course. no trust issues here. nnnope. ]

Oh, I won't be wasting any of them. I'm not looking for an excuse to be lazy.

How cavalier...

[more of a sarcastic, but noted drone than anything complimentary. dabi tucks the cloak away under the table; he'll be making good use of that in the future, so no complaints at all about the trade. hopefully levi's gonna be able to find or acquire another blood-proof robe or he's gonna get fucked up bad out there. if he ever goes hunting that is.

as for the disinfecting wipes, they're very much real. with that same intense "clean and zesty" scent if he cares to pop the top and take an aromatic sampling gander. it's pretty hefty too, no skimping on the wipes inside. dabi has no issue with levi checking the traded item out; he'd have done the exact same thing.]

If ya were lookin to be lazy, ya wouldn't be askin for cleanin products.

Oh, you'd be surprised. This kind of thing would be perfect for a lazy person to use instead of actually getting shit clean.

[ "a lazy person" in this context most likely means "a person with normal standards who doesn't spend a large chunk of their life cleaning their already very clean home." you know, just for the record. ]

As a finishing touch, though, or maybe in a pinch, it'll be ideal.

[ cool, great, whatever you say, weirdo. he pulls his bag back open and places the canister safely inside. not that he's going to take it with him everywhere or anything.

that would be ridiculous. ]

If you ever happen to get more of these somehow, I'm Levi.

[ as in, on the magic rock. he's still kind of figuring out the omni, but he'll always find a way to make himself available for cleaning shit. ]

That's like sayin usin soap's the lazy way of gettin clean. What're ya gonna do, pour boilin water over everythin?

[dabi rolls his eyes at the notion and his own sarcasm. this guy doesn't seem the joking type, so he's pretty sure what he just said was in earnest sincerity. how can using a flash wipe not be considered cleaning? weird...

anyways.]

Clean freak...

[he's gonna let him do what he wants with it. dabi's in no position to be offering "cleanliness" advice. the trade's done, so at least both parties are satisfied with their ends.]

If ya got more interestin stuff to trade, then yeah, I could find more.

[psh, oh he has *a lot* more in storage, but considering what this guy produced for a trade, he's gonna give it a bit to settle and see if levi (odd name) is actually interested in more.]

Dabi. Call when ya like; I'll get back to ya whenever.

[no promises.]

[Open] 🚬 June Flames

this is so late i'm sorry

s'all good. life's a bitch.

it sure is

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1/2

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dammit, levi; don't go trading your giant boyfriend's cloak!

omg he would NEVER

Good man!

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