acaseofyou | open post

I can't give away all my secrets. Especially since you said you like surprises.

I'll have Wylan build me something that can play a tape on if I can't find a tape player.

I do, in fact. I look forward to being surprised by you however you please.

Bet in a few years they'll be back in fashion as being really retro and cool and you can pick one up at a mall.

I don't like surprises, but I like surprising others.

Malls have too many people, I'll order it online. Although maybe they're not crowded these days.

Glad I only ever surprise you with forewarned jerky deliveries, then. Other than that, feels like we're pretty complementary in that regard.

Oh, I have no idea. I'm never awake early enough to make time for wandering a towering capitalist monolith, and I hear the over-80 crowd only goes in the mornings for power walks.

I'd say so. It's not like looking in a mirror, but our differences don't put us at the wrong odds.

I think online shopping has dulled some of the craze, but probably not all of it.

It'd be a real shame if they did. I like you too much to be at wrong odds with you.

Yeah, I've been told most are half abandoned now. Some Kindred do set up shop in the ones that are fully empty, though, so at least it's not a complete loss.

Indeed. ... I like you, too.

Shop as in live there, or work out of it? Or both?

Good. I'm glad. Very glad.

Both, though probably more of the former. It's hard enough to find legitimate housing when you're alive, so hunkering down in abandoned places is ideal for most Kindred. No landlords, no rent or background checks or nosy neighbors. Not everybody has good friends with empty basements.

Housing insecurity isn’t something I wish on many.

Some, but not many.

It'll be there whenever you need it.

Some certainly deserve it. Like a vast majority of current landlords.

Not you, of course. Best landlord I've ever had. Don't have to pay rent and I can flirt with you very subtly around your friends and sneak things into your desk to show my affections.

I'm grateful beyond that, but I think you should know what the perks are on my end.

No, I'm with you. Most landlords do deserve it.

Those perks are plenty. Think they'll notice eventually?

I know, Birdie. And I've been there. Needing a place, I mean. It's nice to be able to do something about it. And screw over other landlords along the way.

They really do. I've got some songs about how much, even.

I think Nina will have that penny drop moment if she sees you give me another umbrella. Don't know if she'll let anyone else in on that revelation, though.

One day I hope I can return the favor. And screw over a few landlords in the process.

You'll have to share. I can't think of any landlord songs right now.

She'll let us know. Other people, probably not.

It's honestly not surprising that the easiest way I've screwed over the ones I have is just by offering fair rent and building maintenance. They lose a number of leases that way.

'This Land is Our Land' with all the missing verses for the classic. 'Dear Landlord,' if you're feeling sympathetic at all. 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' for getting tongue in cheek and a good beat. That's just what sprang to mind.

How, exactly, is she going to let us know? Am I going to get a talking to about your honor?

They could offer it themselves, but then they wouldn't be landlords. They'd be decent.

I only know the first one, and I didn't know there were missing verses. One day I'll teach you about a song in return. Today is not that day, but it'll happen eventually.

More a questioning look of 'why?' if anything. No, I don't see her making a big deal out of it, aside from a smug look.

Banks with mortgages and loans aren't any better. Though it's debatable whether they're more satisfying to rob than the landlords.

People like to cut out the whole second half of the song to keep it patriotic sounding. Hard to play it to fireworks if you keep in the part about relief offices and the hungry.

When is that day, though? I want to prepare myself for one of your songs.

That I can manage. I've got answers for why, and winks for smug looks. Don't know what'll happen if Jesper finds out, though. That might get chaotic.

They could be, if we do it right.

I'll have to look it up sometime to hear the rest.

I don't know about my song, but finding one you haven't heard yet... that may happen. Maybe. Someday.

Everything about Jesper is chaotic. Though he's getting a little better at channeling his energy these days.

At the very least, I don't see life ever getting dull.

If you don't, I can add it to the set the next time I'm at the club. Tomorrow night?

Your song to share, then. Much as I might know, I'm sure you'll come up with something. I'll give you a head start and say that a lot of the more modern stuff slips past me.

Can probably blame you for that, and/or Wylan. You for directing him and Wylan being the target.

At least not until there's a complete socialist utopia. Then we can just entertain ourselves with songs and free weed.

That sounds even better. I’d like to hear your take on it.

That would give me an advantage if I listened to a lot of modern music. I know people who do, though. So, there’s an angle.

Wylan has helped him a lot. A very nice multipurpose for the acquisition of a demo expert.

I might need to move on to the next society in trouble, then. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself in a utopia. But I’d visit.

It's a date, then.

You could probably also just turn on the radio and wait for something that isn't terrible. Might be hard to catch the name of it, though.

Was that an intentional effect of bringing him in, or just a happy accident?

Kaz the Wandering Rebel. It'd be like a western, only much more enjoyable for me personally.

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