seventh quarto. | anon text; backdated to 1/26

[cassassin]

[ texting is enough of a pain for her that she doesn't usually bother, really. but this has been weighing on cass's mind for the past couple of weeks, and she needs to get the thought out there somewhere. so hi network have an anon post!!! ]

turned 21 today
didn't think i'd get this far
died twice at home, kept coming back
almost doesn't seem right that i did

don't really know what to
do?

[ ugh. she already feels weird about this. ]

sorry this is dumb

Comments

also anon;

[plentystrong]

[ oh. a future? the thought of hitting a certain age? uncomfortable. ]

just keep going

nothing else to do really

[cassassin]

not always easy

[plentystrong]

why

don't you have things to do

[merging]

Birthdays suck
but uh happy birthday anyways

I hope you can have an okay day??

[cassassin]

thanks
i guess we'll see

[fridgeflower]

It's not dumb! Happy Birthday! (Hopefully!)

I'm actually operating under very similar circumstances. I mean, I didn't keep coming back at home, only HERE, but... Same concept, right? So, I get it. Every year feels like you're pushing your luck a little more.

People usually go out and drink at 21, if you're into that. Cake's also good at any age.

private video.

[cassassin]

[ not much point in keeping the charade going here. ]

Not much of a drinker. [ there's a hint of a wry smile. ] But thanks.

private video.

[fridgeflower]

Oh! Well. Right... Hi, there.

You should've mentioned your birthday was coming up! I'd have-- [ Well, planning a whole thing might be a bit much, right? Maybe. ] Well, I'd at least have gotten you a fancy cupcake or something.

[text] ID : anonymous

[batburgers]

[Seeing this, Jason has a pretty good idea of who it is, especially based on the writing style, but just in case...]

Life sucks, then you die. And then you come back. Rinse and repeat.

At least enjoy legally drinking in the States.

[cassassin]

[ oh fuck whoever this is, that first part is--

she's going to just not even respond to that part. ]

don't drink much

[private]

[batburgers]

[Yeah, he's pretty sure he knows who this is. Which makes him feel a little bit bad about being cavalier about death when he knows she is sensitive about it.]

Which is why you're the one who never has a hangover in the morning, but you could use something to relax.

text, not anon

[choosetruth]

I'd say "happy birthday", but it doesn't seem like the sentiment you're looking for.

Is this survivor's guilt? So to speak, I suppose.

[She doesn't get the dying and coming back as something other than a zombie thing, but cultural differences.]

[cassassin]

[ comic books, man. ]

something like that

[choosetruth]

That’s pretty common in my world. There’s no rhyme or reason to who ends up zombie chow, not counting the people who specifically put themselves on the line, of course, and there’s always an element of “why them and not me.”

Wish I had an actual answer for you, but I don’t think there is one.

u/n=Oracle

[codeoracle]

It isn't dumb. I didn't think I'd be looking at 17 for a long time back home.

Looking at the idea of death was...my choice though. It was messed up.

[cassassin]

[ oracle is a surprise, for a moment, until she remembers there's another imPort who uses that codename. ]

same for me
the first time

it's not easy

[codeoracle]

the first time...

can I--what was your reason? the first time.

text

[nextsymbol]

i don't think it's dumb
um, i haven't died before, so i couldn't give you advice, but if you wanted to talk about it, i'd listen
for what it's worth, i'm glad that you came back

[Sure, he doesn't know who this is, but he feels it strongly anyway. It's hard to imagine not feeling glad that someone is alive, as a Hero.]

private video; id: batman

[cassassin]

[ oh. oh, god. deku. okay.

you know what, the kids have been in the dark on this long enough. so her response comes like this. no mask, no suit, in her house. ]

Thanks.

action

[alreadywon]

[Yeah, so. Tim knows immediately who this is because he knows Cass's birthday and may or may not have a gift for her squirreled away somewhere. He tries to be a good brother.

Instead of bothering with the facade of an anonymous text conversation, he just goes directly to find Cass, do not pass go, do not pass $200 but do stop to scoop Harvey off the floor and bring him with you because having a cute fluffy thing with him might make this conversation a little easier.

Her room seems like the most obvious place to find her, so he goes there first and knocks on the door gently.] Cass? I saw your post on the network and I wanted to check on you because you're my family and I care about you. [He, uh. He meant to stop at just "Cass?"]

[cassassin]

[ ... yeah that seems par for the course with what's happening with imPorts lately. cass comes to the door. wearing a purple shirt with the bat symbol on it. she looks from tim to harvey, and nods, opening the door wider. she's got some punk album playing, but not horribly loud. there's an easel with paints and canvases, a bunch of potted plants and succulents near the windows, and of course clothes and weapons scattered around. ]

Hey. I'm fine, just... you know. [ she gestures to her head. ] It's... hard, sometimes.

[alreadywon]

I know. [Unfortunately, he knows. They may not have the same kind of survivor's guilt, but - yeah.

He steps inside slightly, not sure if he should find somewhere to sit down or not, but he offers out Harvey for her to take or pet or whatever.] I've wondered why I'm even still alive, especially after my dad and Steph and Kon and Bart and - everyone.

[slightlyoffchilt]

It is a fair thing to pose, you know. A search for celebration.
It is a milestone.

[cassassin]

maybe
didn't have a lot of reasons to
think about that at home

[slightlyoffchilt]

Do you welcome the change of pace, in this world? That you have the time to ruminate about things of this nature?