Video

[recognize_an_opportunity]

[Despite the fact that he'd largely been managing to avoid them, he's not without his own balloon companions today, and while he's been able to get rid of some of them, some of them are still following him around. And that's why, of course, this video is entirely accidental, inadvertently posted while he's dealing someone a round of cards at the casino.

The balloons are alternating languages -- sometimes they're speaking Yiddish, sometimes Russian, sometimes English, sometimes even Italian, but their messages are all very similar.]

You'll never amount to anything
You're no better than your father
You'll never succeed
You're pathetic
You're a cheater and a liar
You're wasting your time
Why would anyone trust you?

[The odd thing is, his balloons aren't speaking particularly loudly. No, they're almost whispering their comments, insidious and irritating as they are, and he casts a particularly dour look over his shoulder at them, before realizing his video is recording and shutting it off with a long-suffering sigh.]

Comments

[deadmanbusiness]

[Theo walks in for his shift a bit blurry eyed and he almost doesn't notice the balloons. Which is surprising. He walks right past the Meyer and his balloons ... then stops and turns to stare.]

Are those balloons speaking Russian?

[Because that's the thing he needs to pick up on, right?]

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Some of them. Others are speaking other languages. They're a multilingual bunch of irritants.

[That he's doing his level best to ignore.]

[deadmanbusiness]

I didn't know you spoke Russian... or... [he listens to the languages] Italian.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Russian's my second language, Italian is my...

[He has to think about it.]

Fourth, although I wouldn't consider myself fluent.

[deadmanbusiness]

Four languages, that's not too bad. What's that... it's not German?

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Yiddish. But it isn't far off from German, so good guess.

[He also speaks some Polish, but he's not here to brag about his linguistic skills.]

[deadmanbusiness]

I should learn German sometime.

And brush up on my Russian.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

German isn't particularly difficult, so I doubt it would take you long. I can't imagine why you'd want to learn Russian, though.

[deadmanbusiness]

I was in Russia before I showed up back here again.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

That's as good a reason as any, I suppose. And there are quite a few people here who speak it.

[deadmanbusiness]

There is. Which I suppose isn't too surprising.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

I found it a little strange -- I didn't know many people back home who spoke it.

[deadmanbusiness]

I have you beat in obscure languages. If I ever hear anyone speak it I'll be seriously surprised.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

I'm sure you do, considering your...

[He waves a hand thoughtfully, shooting another dirty look at the balloons.]

Well. You have an unusual background.

[deadmanbusiness]

[Theo says something to the balloons. It could be considered rather rude from the tone and Theo's grin. It's definitely not any living language.

Then to Meyer.]

I guess so.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

[He's about to say something, when the balloons chime in with a chorus -- in Italian -- of you're not even smart enough to understand that. He sighs.]

And what was that?

[deadmanbusiness]

[Sadly or fortunately Theo doesn't understand what the balloons say.]

A pretty much dead language. Very few people speak it. It's a dialect of ancient Babylonian that my father and uncle spoke. My father is afraid that it'll die out completely so it's my first language.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Ancient Babylonian. You don't hear that much.

[Or, you know, ever.]

[deadmanbusiness]

And it's a very particular dialect.

My first couple of years of school was hard.

Your balloons really have it in for you... or they didn't understand me.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

As were mine.

[Hey, at least they have that in common. He nods, eyeing the balloons suspiciously.]

They're intent on insulting me, and not much else. I doubt they're listening to you at all.

[deadmanbusiness]

English wasn't yours?

I'm guessing that trying to deflate them doesn't work.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Yiddish first, Russian second, English third. And no, deflating them doesn't work, although I wish it were that easy.

[deadmanbusiness]

That's even worse than mine.

Nor does locking them in the closet?

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Sadly, no. Ignoring them has been the most effective so far, but they seem to think that my ignoring them is an encouragement for them to be louder.

[One of them pipes up with a particularly nasty Yiddish comment that has Meyer wincing, and then rolling his eyes demonstratively.]

Case in point.

[deadmanbusiness]

What's it say?