text, @TARANTO, day 2 of the cave in

[heavyhitter]

[ it might take a while for this whole post to load on the bling comm, what with the awful reception going around, but it'll pop up eventually: ]

hey do you guys wanna hear the saddest story in the world? of course you do

so i was down here, you know, trapped and bored, and fucking around on my cell even though that's maybe not my best idea ever because there's sure as hell no solar recharge down here and what else am i gonna do for light, make a torch (hell no)
anyway point is i just noticed it's my fucking birthday today back home
so this is probably the shittiest birthday yet
i just wanted to make you guys all aware of how bad you should be feeling for me. as soon as i punch my way out of here i'll start accepting pity/condolence/regular birthday presents, so have them ready

Comments

[heavyhitter]

no come on serious question

[ and a real curiosity: what kind of stuff does he deal with that someone knowing his birthday could be a bad thing? ]

[gutpunching]

[Serious question. There's a longer pause here, while he picks his way through the tunnels and decides how much he wants to give a serious answer. Almost long enough to seem like he doesn't plan on giving any answer at all. Eventually, the most immediately relevant angle—]

Turns out running into someone from your neck of the woods out here isn't as unlikely as you'd think.

[She'd already known more about him than she should have. (Skipped in from a little later down the timeline, which is a can of worms in its own right.) She's gone now. He'd checked. But a Gothamite is a Gothamite. And where there's one, there could be more. Vaguely ominous timeline spoilers aside—]

Far as anyone's concerned, I'm supposed to be six feet under.

[No fingerprints, no IDs, nothing to trace him back to Bruce. And he's got reasons to want to keep it that way until he makes his move. ALASTAIR's already got his name (and his number, if they're dumping him supplies from his own safehouse,) already posted it up on the directory, that can't be helped anymore. Luckily Jason Todd isn't a terribly distinctive moniker on it's own. Add a birthdate to that, and it starts to narrow down fast. Wouldn't be hard, if someone had the inclination to look once they had the means. Better to just not put the information out there where anyone can grab it.]

[heavyhitter]

ok that's not an answer at all

[ except it kind of is... it tells her the motive behind it, anyway, which she's sure is more than she'd have gotten a while ago. so, she'll take it. ]

but fine alright, question rescinded. who's here from your world?

[gutpunching]

[It's something, give him some credit. But in the grand continued tradition of nonanswers—]

No one.

[Not on this crew, anyway.]

I haven't seen her since Oska. Must have gotten shipped out.

[heavyhitter]

oh lame
or... good? i guess, for you

anyone i knew?

[gutpunching]

[Is it good? Left a lot of unanswered questions. But probably for the best. He'd liked her up until the Bat business came up. (Then it got messy, and it never really got a chance to sort out after that. Could have played it a lot better if he hadn't let himself get riled, but hindsight is 20/20 and all. He's being more careful, going forward.)]

Chatty. Blonde. About your age. Ring any bells?

[heavyhitter]

yeah a few, got anything else

[gutpunching]

[Come on, Ramir, use your powers of deduction. You're not even trying at all. Just to be difficult—]

Bit of a Jersey accent if you listened hard enough.

[heavyhitter]

ugh if she's not even here anymore why am i caring
did you know her?

[gutpunching]

Not directly.

[He'd helped put her c-list supervillain father away. She'd inherited his old cape at some point. (Though he'd never heard what happened to Tim Drake to clear up the vacancy.) Near misses.]

Apparently my reputation precedes me.

[Nice cautionary tale about what happens to Robins who go off book, maybe.]

[heavyhitter]

oh shit do i know a celebrity

[gutpunching]

[Sort of, actually, if you look at it right. Of course, that's more a matter of being Robin than being Jason Todd, and he doesn't do that anymore.]

Oh, yeah. Hit it real big posthumously.

[Isn't that always how it goes. (This is sarcasm, Ramir.)]

[heavyhitter]

i'm so impressed
hey next time i find you down here can i get a signature

[gutpunching]

Well, I guess it is your birthday.

[Just what you wanted, right.]

1/2

[heavyhitter]

oh shit that's right what else can i ask for

[ this is absolutely where the flirting would go... a month ago. sigh. ]

[heavyhitter]

wait i got it
how generous are you feeling

[gutpunching]

[Poor Ramir, your suffering is so real. Look at you being a Good Girlfriend.

But wow that's a potentially ominous question. Predictably, he'll go about dodging it.]

That depends. What am I being generous about?

[heavyhitter]

[ that's right it is, please appreciate that restraint ]

squidges
squidgesitting, in particular

[gutpunching]

[Ramir he's already lost his, do you really want to go down this route.]

Pass.

[What a hero.]

[heavyhitter]

come ooooonnnnn
it's my birthdaaayyyyyy

[gutpunching]

[Ramir you seem to be mistaking him for a Nice Guy who does Nice Things on the regular.]

Occasions such as these are best spent with family, don't you think?

[heavyhitter]

are you sure you wanna go that route for an out, because you're about the closest thing i got here

[gutpunching]

[Ah.

The frank way she says shit like that is enough to throw a wrench into his rhythm and shut him up for a beat. Of course, tone and text are tricky things even without the touchy topics—]

Flattery will get you nowhere.

[(Shouldn't the boyfriend rate a little higher than him on that account, anyway... Not that he's keeping score.)]

[heavyhitter]

[ she notes that pause, and figures with some pleased satisfaction she'd managed to throw him off. it's half the reason for it, really. (the other half being, of course, you never know when someone will get shipped off to another team and not come back again. gotta say these things while you can.) ]

damn you are solid on this no
fine okay FIND me a sitter that's an acceptable alternative

[gutpunching]

[Don't get smug. Maybe it's just the interference cutting in and not a factor of any deep seated issues on his part. You don't know.]

Sure. I'll just go knock on some doors. See if anyone of the neighbors are free on this side of the catacombs.