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]

Yeah, I'm gonna blame Evan, the whole thing reeks of nerd. [ she says it so lovingly, though, and can't stop smiling. ]

And don't worry, they were just half grievances anyway. I was feeling whiny. Thanks, guys.

[longtempered]

[Aki, who has also been thoroughly bemused by all this noise, eventually climbs its way off Achilles' other shoulder over the course of this exchange in favor of making a beeline back to Shizuo. While the squidge proceeds to clamber up his good arm and onto the top of his head, he shrugs.]

No problem. Honestly, it's not like there's a lot else to do in here right now until we get moving again...hey, how old does this make you now anyway?

[heavyhitter]

Yeah, may as well put on a concert, right.

Officially 19! In, you know, Earth years.

[longtempered]

Wow, nineteen, really? [Visibly vaguely surprised at this.] Ah, so you still have to wait a whole other year until you're twenty, I bet that sucks. Well, but you'll get there eventually. It'll just feel like forever. [Ok now he's just being a jerk admittedly...]

[heavyhitter]

[ suspicious pause... ] How old are you?

[longtempered]

[Arches eyebrows!!] Twenty-four. What about it?

[heavyhitter]

Not 20? Good, then stop being its PR man. I'll get there when I damn well feel like getting there.

[longtempered]

[Ah, this rudeness...]

Hey, you say that like I completely skipped over being twenty or something. It's not like I've forgotten what it's like already... [He'd try being a little more indignant with this, actually, except Aki is still being very distracting as it tries to settle on his head properly. Shizuo pauses to one-handedly readjust the squidge, and ends up more nonchalant than anything.] Actually there was literally nothing special about it, I felt exactly the same. No difference. But everybody always makes a big deal out of it, so I was trying to be funny just then. You're not too excited about it?

[heavyhitter]

Oh. Well it was hilarious. [ clearly. a beat. ] Okay, actually, I usually lie about my age. Normally I'd be telling people this is my 22nd birthday, or something.

[longtempered]

[Clearly......though honestly this is about how well his sense of humor tends to go over with people anyway half the time, so. He's not terribly bummed about this reception, at least. Moving on--]

Huh, yeah? Guess twenty-two's as good a number as any to go with...why the change now, though?

[evantuality]

Hey, I know my role, I can embrace it.

[He's grinning just as hard]

Though granted I'd never guess that role would ever expand to teaching Happy Birthday to someone from ancient Greece.

[heavyhitter]

So how'd it go? Did he pick it up easy, or was he too distracted by the shame of what the human race turns into?

[evantuality]

Well, I mean, isn't there always an undertone of that?

But you heard the song. [Achilles's deep, resonant tones had outshone Shizuo's self-conscious singing and Evan's measured warble.] Soon as I said it was a tradition, [he punctuates the word with a bit of jazz-fingers,] he buckled right down.

[heavyhitter]

That's so fucking cute. Man, that guy's great when he's not being an asshole. [ which is less and less these days! good on you, Achilles. ] And damn, he was good, even on that shitty song. We gotta get him doing more singing.

[evantuality]

Right? Someone who is not me needs to start an Audentes choir, post haste, with that guy as the backbone.

Anyways, happy birthday. How would you be celebrating if you weren't stuck underground with only our illustrious company for solace?

[heavyhitter]

Ideally? Probably with shots and a casino. But here, I guess I'd settle for the shots. You figure anyone still has any left?

[evantuality]

Why are you asking me? No one's deigned to share their alcohol my way.

Actually, no, that's not true. [He backtracks prosaically.] Serene shared one of those big, weird fermented grape things with me. Does that count? It's not shots, but, uh. Hit harder than I would have expected for fruit.

[heavyhitter]

Kinda counts. It definitely counts if you kept any. Did you?

[heelies]

I can scarcely fault your chapped breast when you must languish in these dark caverns on this day that is meant to be merry. As I understand it, among your people birthdays are cause for feasting and festival, and so we merely wished to give to you some small parcel of that.

[heavyhitter]

Yeah, my chapped breast is real torn up about it. [ she does not, in fact, look mopey at the moment. she just looks pleased. ] But as it turns out I got great friends, so I guess I can pull through.

[heelies]

Then you consider me your friend, daughter of Jolanda?

[Perhaps it seems a strange question from a man like himself, and she may find unfamiliar the softened edges of his words which often are so robust - but had she not said before that she would like to share with him in friendship rather than their tempers?]

[heavyhitter]

Yeah, of course! [ Her own hard edges are distinctly absent as well, her voice out with nothing but warmth. ] Come on, I thought it was obvious.

[heelies]

I suppose it has indeed been some time since last I stirred your ire - or "pissed you off" as you so delicately care to say.

[ ]

[heavyhitter]

Yeah, see! We're doing great. I hardly ever even insult you anymore, too.

[heelies]

This I do find quite to my liking.

[There comes a brief pause, crackling with the fragility of the connection, before he speaks again.]

Tell me, were you in your dear native land on this day what would you do? What manner of celebration is befitting the day of one's birth?