video » some conundrums

[bricks]

So it's like...August, right?

( Ellie is small and vaguely grubby looking even after a shower, a damaged winter jacket sitting next to her shed to deal with the warmer temperatures. Some time has already been spent exploring every nook and cranny of her designated apartment (sorry housemates) and she's already begun hoarding, but that's neither here nor there. Just don't ask about the pile of apparent junk that is haphazardly stuffed under a blanket and comes into shot every now and then. )

How do birthdays work? Because I was still ages away from mine before here, but now it's like, soon. Do I call that a year older? 'Cause I'm already plenty wise.

( Ha Ha Ha et cetera. She's clearly amused enough to grin at that, but she doesn't waste much time in expecting anyone else to find it entertaining. Instead she just shrugs and continues quickly. )

And the houses. Is this whole place mine? Well not just mine, shared right? But I can use pretty much all of the space?

( She gives a wave by way of a sign out, but can be heard saying "that's so fucking cool!" as she fumbles to switch off her feed. )

Comments

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[flightforfreedom]

The calendar here doesn't even match the calendar I have back home, so I think you can just decide to do what you want.

And yeah, your house is your house. Though my advice? Don't destroy the furniture. Roommates tend not to be impressed with that.

[bricks]

Furniture destruction, hard no, got it. ( she echoes, making pretend motions as if taking notes. )

How does your calendar work then? It's not like...January February March?

( sounds fake but ok )

[video]

[pigmypouter]

Is it everybody's birthday this month?

[Okay, well, three isn't really so many but it sure seems like it.]

It was early July where I was from, but now my birthday is in a few days. I just decided to go ahead and celebrate. Maybe if you're within six months of it, just go ahead and count it? It's like an official half birthday.

[bricks]

Maybe we should all just have a combined party. Hundreds of people, one cake. It'll be wild.

( Is it obvious she's basically never had a real party for her birthday? )

Half birthday, that's cool. I like it.

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[deadsmizing]

Honestly, I'm pretty... sure the answer to all of those questions is just do whatever you want.

[bricks]

I mean that's not the worst rule of thumb. Doing what I want is pretty much my favorite thing to do.

[incogneto]

I did.

And yes, you get to use your room and then all the designated living space. So long as your roommates don't mind.

How old are you turning?

[bricks]

I guess I need to learn to cook then.

( yikes, supervision may be required. )

Thirty five, but everyone tells me I don't look a day older than twenty nine. ( she was going to leave it at that, but after a brief pause she gives a vague gesture and then adds: ) Fifteen.

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[bookkeeper]

[ He's found some paper around the house and he's got a pencil. Since it's a special occasion, he decides to shoot her this drawing, to mark it as such. It feels nice to sketch something silly, to use his fingers with a pencil rather than a gun. ]

Why wouldn't you be able to use the space? I say do it.

[bricks]

Irrelephant, nice. ( That might seem sarcastic, but it's clear Ellie is genuinely amused by the drawing. Finally someone who appreciates a good pun. ) Thanks man.

You think I'm allowed to decorate?

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[earnedmystripes]

You could always celebrate your birthday and say you're the same age, if you wanted? That way you get cake and presents without it having to be too weird.

[There is an actual legit thumbs-up here. It's super dorky.]

And yeah, you can do whatever in your house. [Beat.] Well, maybe not whatever since it technically still belongs to the government, but y'know. Within reason and stuff.

[bricks]

But what if I want to have my cake and eat it too?

( which...is...not really a saying she understands, exactly, but she's going to bust it out anyway. it's funny, alright?! )

I think the government owned my house back home. Or well, the military, but it was as good as. They were way strict though, this place seems...more relaxed.

( "more relaxed" than an actual post apocalyptic world is, admittedly, not hard, but yknow. )

[namesaquestion]

Yea. It's shared. Unless you mean your bedroom deal. That's yours.

Hopefully, you didn't get housemates that like to pull knives on you for a harmless shove.

[bricks]

People pulled knives on you?

( and there she was thinking it was safe!! )

[Video]

[versusseeker]

[Birthdays? Birthdays are fun! Here, Ellie. Have one smiling (is he smiling? it's a little hard to tell - his affect is actually pretty flat, all things considered) Pokémon trainer and his trusty Pikachu peering at you from the other end of the feed.]

When is it?

[You know. The birthday.]

[bricks]

29th, it's soon. ( birthdays were never especially exciting in the homes she grew up in -- unsurprisingly of course, there's a lot more to focus on than mundane things like that -- but this place isn't constantly under attack, right?

probably. hopefully. ) Do you guys do like..parties here?

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[knaval]

Someone else asked this. Just party anyway, organic lives are too short to worry about how old you are.

...

And, yeah. The place is yours. Lucky.

[bricks]

What do ...un-organic lives do then?

( since when does anyone specify about life being organic also???? )

[video]

[ghoulking]

Aha, birthdays are always a big question here. It's whatever you prefer, really. No one would blame you for celebrating your birthday now.

And yes, your house is shared, and you can use the space - but preferably not other people's bedrooms.

[bricks]

It's so weird-- I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's not winter any more but man. It's like we're deliberately being confused.

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[itssacrifice]

You can use all of the shared living space, yes. Unless you've lucked into roommates that don't mind you co-habitating in their bedrooms. Most people tend to frown on that.

[bricks]

Separate rooms, got it. ( she will...just go ahead and assume the people she's supposed to live with don't want to be bunk buddies. ) I can't believe they just give us houses...like they're so big!

[godcomplexing]

[he smiles a bit] I imagine if your housemates don't object, you can use however much space you wish.

[bricks]

This is so. Cool. ( clearly this whole house thing is a big deal for her..... ) Do you think I can have a garden?

text; dh4z3

[nastygram]

[Any second now she's going to notice something familiar in one of those background junk piles, but for now Darlene defaults to internet chats.]

who cares
no one knows dick about you

[bricks]

( look it's gonna take her a minute to switch over to texting, these devices are weird as shit to her and it's all very fumbly and clunky - they don't get to keep anything as fancy as this in the zones. )

well i mean you're not wrong
i just thought there might be a rule or something i don't know

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

Welllll, it depends on whether or not you want to treat yourself to some birthday cake.

[bricks]

Doesn't everyone?

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[khajidont]

I think we all just wing our birthdays. Like, I have nooooo idea how old I am anymore. My advice is just to milk it for free stuff and cake - there's places that'll give you stuff if you tell 'em it's your birthday.

[ sage, moral advice. ]

Also, I wouldn't go into my roomies' bedrooms if I were you, but other than that? It's fair game.

[bricks]

People give you free stuff just because it's your birthday? ( is this the best day of ellie's life now? probably, sadly. ) Like where? I've gotta do this.

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[fehus]

Claim squatters rights.

Not sure about the birthday thing either, but I think I just went forward about half a year, too. So. Happy almost birthday to you, happy almost September to me?

[bricks]

It's so confusing, right? Like a day ago I was wearing big huge snow jackets, and now it's like...this weather. It doesn't feel right yet.

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[aberranthubris]

I'm sure others have told you about living quarters already. Have you met your housemates already? I hope you will get along with them.

How will you turn and when do we get to celebrate your birthday?

[bricks]

No, there's no one here yet. ( Probably good, considering all Ellie has done so far is nose around the other people's belongings like the rude little thing that she is. At least she's (fairly) confident that people won't shoot her for it here. )

The end of the month, 29th. ( so grown up much adult etc. ) And I guess I turn fifteen? I don't know how much celebrating there'll be though.

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[glowsferatu]

[ So, now she's got a grey alien woman just casually talking to her. ]

Personally, I've always advocated for recalculating the date, especially when you're younger. That's when the age really means anything, after all, and age is really more about chronology than a specific date.

[bricks]

( oh good is this her first experience with non-humans that aren't zombies? probably. )

Maybe I should move my birthday to March then? That's weird.

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[am_i_a_monster]

Celebrate every birthday you can.

[bricks]

Because life's too short, or because cake is amazing?

[video]

[couldbebeautiful]

You too? Because I've been trying to figure out that birthday thing for days now.

[bricks]

It's seriously giving me a headache. ( And to demonstrate, there's a groan as she drops her head onto one of her hands. ) Couldn't they just have waited until it was like January here to bring me over so I could avoid all this?

[storyseeker]

Technically, if you didn't do the full 365, you're probably not a year older. But I don't think anyone's going to complain if you buy a cake and stick some candles on it.

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[112ounces]

[ Carl recognize Ellie, but once again, she doesn't remember. Well, Carl is used to that sort of thing, so he can handle. ]

I've been here for almost three years and trust me it gets more confusing. Half the time I forget how old I am here compared to how old I am back home.