( 02 ) video ♧ life's a game but it's not fair i break the rules so i don't care

[became]

[ along with his map, neal's been working on a calendar of sorts. it's not an exact science, but long practice (and prison) taught him to count the hours accurately. giving some wiggle room for longer days in space-- who knows? it could happen-- he's almost sure there's just a week to put an idea he's been sitting on since the first jump into motion.

but: first things first. he flips on his device, brushing some hair out of his eyes. it's nearly time for a cut-- while being kidnapped into space can excuse a little less than his usual crisp suits everyday, it's no reason to let everything go.

that, and asking for help sets the kind of conversational tone neal likes. everyone likes being able to help, or be owed, or simply know more than someone else. (it's a habit.) ]

Does anyone have any experience cutting hair, by any chance? I'd like to get this-- [ he brushes at the bangs in his eyes, again ] out of my way before we face the next round of seven minutes in blue goo heaven.

...Speaking of that. [ neal leans into the camera just a bit, angling his face to hit the light right. ] If I'm counting right, we have about a week to prepare for it. Is anyone else up for a sleepover? Maybe in one of the common rooms.

[ because maybe, just maybe someone will stay awake long enough to know what the fuck's happening. ] Strength in numbers, and all that.

[ it's time to throw out a line, see who bites. ]

Gltj wyrq ofpv sxwe.

[ 'olly olly oxen free'. it's not the most poetic message, but it's whimsical enough to appeal. and anyone who knows enough about history and ciphers to break the code should be fun, at the very least. ]

( ooc | OKAY SO. victor lustig is a famous con artist, known as "the man who sold the eiffel tower". to the cipher neal's using the vigenére cipher. the passphrase is sailing, a reference to lustig's start running jobs on the steamers travelling between paris and nyc. if your character would notice the cipher and know enough about the history of con artists to put together the cipher-- or if they're some kind of coded message/math genius-- go for it, but neal's purpose is fishing for other people in the game.

also here is a quick online translator for the cipher, if your character would reply in kind! )

Comments

omg i didn't see the translation underneath and i went and translated it myself i hate everything

[saidhe]

[ It opens with video, as he smiles brightly, wafting a hair at his own locks, curling haplessly at the ends. He's been well in need of a cut for a while, himself, and it shows. ]

Unfortunately, I'm hapless with scissors, or I'd spare a hand. [ His hands are typing idly at his phone as he speaks, and a typed message is sent to Neal just as he looks up to regard the lens accordingly. ] Though I suppose the price might be an ear in the process.

-- ohg divrano

[ And then he tilts his head, regarding him quizzically. ]


( ooc: which is simply 'why sailing', by the by. )

i love you so much. SO MUCH.

[became]

I'm not that hardcore a Von Gogh fan, but I appreciate the offer all the same.

[ ...ooooooooh. neal's charming smiler goes sharper, and he looks down at his own screen for a second and taps his chin thoughtfully with one slender finger before locking the feed. ]

Duaeqt mgt pta fzsrb zv fzwaupzf. Egu ntohxwd qe whz oibswhz lhm aifyhhzlar?


( ooc | IF YOU CAN RESIST YOUR OWN TRANSLATION 'Lustig got his start on steamers. You figured it out without the passphrase?' )

HAHAAH DON'T JUDGE ME

[saidhe]

Something so post-modern, I see. I suppose he's one of the latest sensations, [ and he pauses, because the haircut, someone that cleanshaven, the accent, no, he's entirely anachronistic from Holmes, ] but you're beyond that.

[ He likes this guy. He certainly doesn't look like a cryptography enthusiast in the slightest, but here he is, keeping up with the big kids. ]

Rumor had it he cut off something far more detrimental. But I never asked.

faup zvtts zsk i foftzx bwty. vpviead hsdltwafu m fba xnyt ng mxmw. ugr mpq gjjaxy aca hpqghe wfwgvs.
izrfsuui iivbg n lbffb.


( ooc: I DID THIS TIME SHUT UP okay: name rings not a single bell. perhaps something a bit past my time. but the cipher was simple enough. everyone needs a hobby. )

I SHOOK THE LAPTOP AT MY BOYFRIEND'S FACE you get me bb ;;

[became]

Good call-- Hamle 2003. [ so early july 2011 on the ethiopian calendar. just testing holmes' esoteric knowledge, now-- his speech (and general aura, as unreliable as it sounds) makes neal think victorian era, or thereabouts. well along enough for the calendar to be known, among certain circles. ] You?

[ geeks come in annoyingly suave looking packages, trufax. ]

...You met him? [ KJBFDKHBFSDKHBSFDHSD fanboyglee. ]

Ze'a "epr ssn esw fudd bsm Roxfmw Bbcwr". Bhqpk, fo tpaf. Gfd Q'x qzvjeadmq-- ux cwfzfk, at'a ywg gk dqqnvimlb hqgngub epr gvdqeqbt gf iy ihzgkmj, jhz A'm aeqyr amxcmfywd.

( ooc | I LOVE YOOOOOOOOU: he's "the man who sold the eiffel tower". twice, no less. and i'm impressed-- of course, it's not as difficult without the addition of an autokey, but i'm still impressed. )

video;

[cons]

Yeah right, like anybody would be brave enough to take scissors to your hair. [Says the girl with bangs in her eyes too, but she prefers it that way.

Also she's squinting at that code, weirdo. Who does that stuff.]

video;

[became]

Do I hear a volunteer? [ wichita darling you're such a pretty girl why don't you stand up straight and scrub off some of that black stuff, so sayeth neal caffrey's internal tim gunn.

WHATEVER CODES ROCK. ]

aaaaalways i wanna beeeee with you

[saidhe]

[ He draws a hand vaguely along the side of his face. ] So pristine, and the knack for keeping a meticulous hygiene and upkeep, yet not a stitch of sideburn. Gave you away too easily, I'm afraid. [ Amongst like four hundred other things. ]

[ He likes this guy. Not a challenge, per se, but... it's exercise. It's a light jog he hasn't had in too long a time. His smile crooks up at the corner, this time more genuinely. ] Miyazya. 1883.

"Met" being a strong choice of word, though I was victim to a particular outburst at a small cafe in Fontvieille - he had both his ears, I suppose, at least then. [ He regards Neal with an imperceptible shake of his head. ] Hamle 1880. More of a passing by than a meeting.

[ "The man who sold the Eiffel Tower". What an eloquent ruse. Twice. Holmes is impressed with the story, but the man telling it is something entirely different. He's given away nearly everything with just one, four word sentence. ]

a scdxribwx lwev'l akxye rgqy mexpwalm ytzl. eiy lpxhyf no wpze xhhaei jgf mhs zzcy lzsqj vv tp e htmsdxiyi, tjvxz vpl.

( ooc: i suspected that's where your intrigue laid. you appear to have gotten far too much sleep to be a detective, after all. )

and ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy will always love YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[became]

Hey, I'll take good hygiene as a tell. [ he's fastidious as a goddamn cat-- being 'that really clean guy' suits neal just fine. ]

I thought so. [ holmes is rapidly reminding neal of sherlock, to a level that won't be ironic eventually. it's not often neal feels as though he might have to work doubletime to keep up with someone, enough that the feeling stands out. a less secure man might run away from those rarities, but for neal it's like christmas. ]

Still, it's more contact than anyone I know has managed.

[ victor's a personal hero, really. anyone with that much savoir faire deserves no less than whole-hearted admiration. ]

Gr ulgok A jcdb ugne wym bl lhwdm sguea. Rwbj yevpa.

( ooc | or maybe i just have one of those faces. good genes. )

video;

[cons]

[Hey, she's getting better! Mostly because she's running out of eyeliner. But that's why she has her bangs in her face now, see, it's all still very mysterious.]

The last head of hair I cut was my little sister's. All she wanted were "bangs like Hannah Montana", and that's what I gave her. So. Am I volunteering? [SMIRK.]

video;

[became]

[ it looks like wichita needs a haircut too is what it looks like 8| ]

...I don't want bangs like Miley Cyrus, just so we're clear. But all I need is a trim, if you promise not to head into Disney bangs territory.

video;

[cons]

[what nobody asked you sir. and now she's faltering a little bit, because she really didn't think he'd still trust her with hair duty after that.]

I can try?

-- But only if you tell me what that thing is.

[code thing. she wants to know what it says but she has literally no idea where to start in figuring it out. is that even real.]

video ; locked

[became]

Worst comes to worst, you take off a little too much and I go short for a while. It's just hair.

[ ...oh wichita, be less completely up neal's alley. look, the idea of teaching someone crime is kind of his jam. it's stealing and passing on knowledge and being needed combined-- what could be better?

give him a second to lock the feed. ]

It's a code-- The Vigenère cipher. I can teach you, if you want. Everyone in our line of work should know a few by heart, just in case.

shriek

[saidhe]

[ It's nearly militarial, but he knows it's not - far too familiar to know it's not. Something different, someone who keeps up appearances. Neal has no reason to be exactly shy about his looks. Why be modest about what's obvious? ]

Unfortunately the story ends there, to be true. I did, however, have a longstanding chat with Mr. John Melhuish Strudwick, before his time could really blossom, naturally; either of ours. A bit too Pettle for my tastes, then, but he seemed relieved to have someone recognize the -- concept, if you will.

zavoabsl aag uzqzee. l'o lx olv tqalm wppesww iz wew crn vszil'h vvtciexe ktzxzrj phwf.

( ooc: handsome and clever. i'm at the least pleased to see you haven't bothered wasting them. )

/gnaws upon

[became]

[ neal uses the best lockpicks-- not the most expensive, not the prettiest, but the best. he wears suits that cost more than some apartments but they're never ostentatious, and he takes scrupulous care that his most inherent advantages are as finely honed as the rest of his tools. good looks used without purpose might as well just be luck, and no one successful relies on luck. ]

Now you're just name dropping. [ but that's a tinge of respect in his voice, hidden behind sheer, real pleasure-- outside of a few specific niches, people conversant in these topics are far and few between, back home. peter's one of the smartest men neal has ever known, but him casually dropping pettle and strudwick into conversation is as laughable as keller going straight. ]

Lhmcm'f tg rmlt cuanb tv bcfivr i qadl jwiqk.


( ooc | there's no real point in owning a dull blade. )

video ; locked

[cons]

If you say so. ... I'll be careful either way though, promise.

[Like her promises mean much of anything, but, whatever. Wichita's smiling, but it's that odd kind that she gives when she's not sure if she's being messed with or not.]

Whaaat, really? How many con friends do you have that you need a code..? [She's only ever worked with her sister.] I mean, yeah, if you don't mind showing me, it could be cool to know. I just never even heard of it.

my brains naoglskdjgkg

[saidhe]

[ His looks weren't something of importance to him. Perhaps for the better, when he was getting on in years, though that wasn't to say he was unremarkable. The nose, the chin, the pale complexion and the slight frame, they were all these terrible giveaways, and he dreaded them. There was certainly an upside to what was ostentatious. But there was similarly something to be said about what was so incredibly average. ]

[ Neal isn't average. Neal, as evidenced by such an avant garde reach out to - what, he hadn't decided yet - didn't try to be average. Sherlock Holmes had no reason to be average, because he most certainly wasn't average. There was nothing quite like him, except for him - or not anymore - and, well. His style was meretricious, and his gloating to match. ] I expect you'd do the same if you'd the benefit of the era. Its one perk, maybe?

l otsghw, ykhwhitwh, yt mzxy kto idw atzw ydqhsyx hnyhsg.

( ooc: ohoho, someone has changed the game. it's a simple caeserian shift, or it would be if it wasn't keyed. the shift is 5 (2 + 0 + 0 + 3 is equal to), and the keyword is 'con'. )
( translation: i wonder, therefore, to just how far your talents extend. )

text;

[starked]

[ tony isn't willing to go video or voice for neal just yet, but he'll bite just because he's amused and this was vaguely entertaining. ]

lrg siejwr qq gba vov'e entl tpp wgnwr kzlr yzazva vt gn bsqf.

And did you seriously just suggest a sleepover?

text;

[became]

[ fine be that way tony, neal will just troll with some slightly rewritten cole porter. ]

tizoa qu at, jpmf jg ib. pdrt wdcnigkv tptzgkwn gpie udd otzyy vo qe.

video ; locked

[became]

Sounds like a deal.

[ sometimes, neal just feels like connecting. it's an impulsive habit, and sometimes it looks like telling young people how to lie better. ]

...Friends or contacts? Or enemies, because I have a couple of those, too. [ oh, there's a whole world of liars out there to discover bb. ] Just call me Moz. [ old, long story. ] And of course, I don't mind. We'll start with Vigenère, maybe move onto some simple shift codes after.

text;

[pocketfulofsouls]

[ What demon can't love a good scam? ]

qoc dpbadd spmc ol lwyo fu at klv ok tritlrj st bsm cgjtg

[ 'You should keep it long so it can be braided at the party' ]

text;

[goingsilent]

petw, errd, wmwt, zx zowo.

text;

[starked]

vomd bugl mmlv lum'rm l buojtmpv lksr wwl tojl ttdvty iv dwzkgnm ptfk'k bwog? v'j kag epnz'k wmtzq, hmt vzb niluiwtl zze epqejwsb qwe sw.

snl jwh qfoe tn lum azp, au ok iv l jvz gf bcwhhde.

[ tony is vaguely trolling, maybe. ]

why?

video;

[onsilksheets]

[Well hello, handsome. Despite the hair in his eyes, Bela knows a pretty face when she can see one.]

Mass sleepover. Interesting way to get to know people better.

TEXT;

[widowing]

fob emexabtj ahhllm, lzr egu?

[ she's not quite a con artist, despite what some others would say (hi tony), but she does know her history well enough to make an educated guess about what he's referencing.

also, she's pretty great at hacking, so. ]

[ OOC | "not terribly subtle, are you?" ]

TEXT;

[became]

Fob rmakjatwg. Ntv ywf sauo Vqrmaéxw bmnihyw ywf'zr... g Xrmyku nasbzzl ssjwc?

[ oh natasha, he likes you already. ]


( ooc | not generally. and you know vigenére because you're... a french history major? )