Transaction 001 - [Video]

[bespectacledsnake]

Good morning

[At present you are being addressed by a seemingly sanguine old man dressed in white linen. His beard is well trimmed and his hair well kept and when he speaks there is a very distinctive accent that gives his voice a musical cadence.]

Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Semiyon Kleiman. I am a, well, a businessman by trade back home in Israel. Of course here I am just an old man

[His smile widens playfully] 

I do realize this is a strange request, particularly as I am new and most of you have no idea who I am, but you see I am entirely comfortable living by myself for reasons I'd rather not discuss as they are very personal and I wondered if perhaps anyone here might be interested in a shared living arrangement. 

[His fingers lace together] 

I keep to myself and would be respectful of your privacy, you would not have to worry about me crowding you. It is more for peace of mind than anything else. 

Thank you for your time. 

Comments

audio

[completelycrazy]

There's plenty of empty apartments and houses and stuff, dude. Why don't you just pick one out for yourself?

[Guess who wasn't listening very well.]

Re: audio

[bespectacledsnake]

[Interesting.]

I'm afraid it would seem you've misunderstood the point I was making.

[completelycrazy]

[Ughhh.]

I understood it fine. I'm asking why you'd want to crash with someone else when it's not like rent is a factor or anything. This whole town functions on dibs.

[bespectacledsnake]

Let me ask you this: what did I ask in my announcement?

[He speaks in the same hard-soft tone as a schoolteacher asking a little boy to summarize the reading that the teacher suspects said little boy probably did not do but while still trying to seem as though they are giving the child a chance to prove them wrong]

[completelycrazy]

[Newt is very dramatically rolling his eyes at his phone.]

Oh my god, I heard you the first time, dude. Personal issues, yadda yadda. If you don't want to dish, fine. So you're really just looking for... What? Companionship, or something? You gotta give me that much, at least.

[bespectacledsnake]

Ah, no, companionship is not what I am looking for.

[Semiyon can't decide if this person is stupid, rude, or just bizarre. In an odd way he's almost entertaining.]

I am looking for someone who might notice if something were to happen. That is fairly straightforward.

[completelycrazy]

...That's it? Seriously?

[Color Newt curious.]

So what'd be in it for me?

[And is also considering this wild arrangement, at least temporarily. Why not? Having someone around to clean up after him could be useful. He spends most of his time at the lab, anyway.]

[bespectacledsnake]

[Though Newt can't see it, Semiyon's mouth bows into an amused smile at the question. It's language he can work with. After all he comes from a world of the 'if you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" and it works with a beautiful, ancient simplicity.]

Of course I cannot offer you money given there is none of any value here...but I can cook and I keep a tidy household.

[A pause]

Did you have anything more specific in mind?

[completelycrazy]

Nope, that'll do it. [He's easy, honestly.]

I've got a house near the lab. Three bedrooms, one of which is up for grabs. Temporarily.

[He doesn't want this guy squatting forever, but maybe Semiyon can babysit the specimens while Newt goes off on one of those quests Love was talking about... Newt will need to train him plenty first, but hey, he can always use more assistants.]

[bespectacledsnake]

[Temporarily works for now. It will buy him time to meet more potential housemates. Or, if he could be truly lucky, Joseph could turn up and he could have things back to the way he liked it.

But for now, Semiyon is a practical man and he'll make due with this arrangement]

Alright. If you are willing to let me temporarily use the room I would be most grateful.

[A pause]

And what is your name?

[completelycrazy]

Sure. As long as you don't mind sharing the space with my work, that is. I've got both living and dead specimens in the house, so two of the three bedrooms are off limits.

[As is the freezer. For Reasons.]

I'm Newt.

[bespectacledsnake]

Also long as the specimens are not in my room then I will be fine.

[He's shared living quarters with worse in his past]

Very nice to meet you, Mr. Newt.

[completelycrazy]

Yeah, don't worry. I'll clear out your room. It'll be specimen-free.

[Look he's had an entire house to himself for months. There was no reason for him to not spread out in every direction.]

You too. And it's doctor, actually, but just Newt's fine. When you heading over?

[badchoicesmadeeasy]

I don't think a lot of people are too into random roommate ads around here.

[ She doesn't mean it as a rude critique, more of a fact. In a place full of strangers, it doesn't feel like people will just bunk with anyone. ]

[bespectacledsnake]

I was afraid of that but unfortunately I feel fairly strongly about this.

[badchoicesmadeeasy]

How come?

[ He's putting himself at risk, too. It's not like everyone here's a college kid trying to find a roomie to share the rent with... ]

[bespectacledsnake]

Please take no offense but I'd rather not talk about it. Let me just say that there were things that occurred right before I arrived here that have...well...have given me a fear of not having someone else who might notice if something were to happen.

[badchoicesmadeeasy]

Oh, sorry.

[ She doesn't take offense, though it leaves her curious. But she won't press.]

Most people around here seem pretty okay, but, you know. You should be careful.