video

[momchester]

[The camera opens on a woman who looks to be late-20s, early-30s. She's in leather and flannel (hard to come by in this 50's hellhole) and drinking what appears to be whiskey. She looks thoughtful.]

I turned 30 on Tuesday. Again.

You know, if I had to do a birthday twice, I'm pretty sure most people would pick 29. But hey, not everything gets to be funny, right?

[She knocks back some whiskey, wipes her mouth with her sleeve, and continues.]

I shouldn't complain. Technically I should be 63. I'm... [A very twisted, cynical, fake smile] -lucky.

Comments

video;

[momchester]

[The thin thread of underlying tension, of awkward, of suppressed barely-there something in Tate's tone (because nobody, nobody has that good a poker face, at their young age, talking about their own death) is also present in Mary's voice- in her original post, disguised as pensiveness and cynicism, and in this reply. It gives voice to the question underlying all of this- how, if she turned 30, is she technically 63? What happened to her?]

I turned 30 back home, but my birthday's in December. I was imPorted in November of this world.

[It's an incomplete answer, and it shows.]

video;

[kanyounot]

Thirty's not so bad.

[ Kanan scratches his chin thoughtfully. ]

But I feel like a lot of people here are lucky if we make it to thirty. Sixty would be a miracle.

video; i apologize for my meme brackets??

[momchester]

A lot of people would be. I wish I had.

[So mysterious, very wow. How is she 30 now if she never made it to 30??? Such question.]

video;

[9544]

Thirty! That's so young!

[ Says the guy who is definitely over thirty. (It's depressing.) ]

- I mean old.

[ Because he's definitely not thirty-and-over. Nope. Except, wait. Saying someone is old is hella insulting! Why did he do that? Abort abort -

Uhhh. ]

I mean - heyy, happy birthday. Got any plans?

[ #jakeperaltasavestheday]

video;

[momchester]

I got day-drunk with my husband and scammed free food out of 7 different restaurants.

[She sounds and looks pretty proud of herself. It almost offsets the odd, almost defeatism of her next sentence.]

I wish it felt young.

[Her tone doesn't sound like typical don't-wanna-get-old woe-is-me crap. It sounds... different. Tired. Jaded. But just a little. Just enough to make you pause a moment.]

video

[journalkeeper]

[ Lucretia looks like she's in her early fifties, but she knows a thing or two about... discrepancies. None that she particularly cares to reveal immediately to a stranger, but enough that she's sympathetic. ]

You could always skip the celebrations. I don't think, uh, anyone would blame you. But it seems you're doing what I would do.

[ And she holds up an almost comically large glass of deep red wine. ]

video

[momchester]

I decided to skip the stripper birthday cake and piñata.

[Deadpan, saluting with her whiskey.]

video

[am_i_a_monster]

Birthdays are good things. They mean you're still alive.

Happy birthday.

video

[momchester]

[It's such a charmingly innocent viewpoint that she can't help smiling. Mary misses having such uncomplicated feelings about birthdays. About anything.]

Thank you. I guess that's how I should be looking at this.

[Video]

[cadbane]

They do say age is only a number. You're only as young as you feel and all that cheery nonsense.

[Video]

[momchester]

They say a lot of things, but that don't make 'em true.

Although at a certain point, I think the numbers just make things... complicated.

Videi

[fehus]

Undead birthdays are weird. You should tell people you're sixty three so you can make jokes about how staying young is all about a good face care routine and eating, I dunno, beets.

Video

[momchester]

[she lets out a short, barking laugh.]

Ha! Yeah, I really should. I could make a killing selling skin care crap.

video

[h2no]

[WISTFUL SIGH]

I wish I could relive my 30th birthday party... that was a week and a half.

[he shakes his head. he knows his beard and the stress-graying makes him look older than he is. ugh. UGH. LIFE IS HARD.]

What happened to those thirty-three years?

video

[momchester]

Slept through 'em.

How does anyone party for a week and a half? [Don't you get tired omg.]

audio;

[onlydoubts]

[ that sounds complicated. ]

You're sixty-three but only just turned thirty for a second time. How does that work?

audio;

[momchester]

[Super complicated.]

My timeline has a massive record skip right in the middle.

[ Video ]

[ghoulking]

63? Why...?

[ Video ]

[momchester]

It's a whole weird timeline thing.

Text

[drivesadesk]

Honestly, I don't even keep track of my age. Being on different planets with different lengths of years gets confusing. I decided I'm a Pisces, though.

Text

[momchester]

How'd you decide? Did you take a personality test?

voice;

[slightlyoffchilt]

Has someone already made the Benjamin Button reference?

voice;

[momchester]

I don't know what that is, so.

video;

[dejerate]

Happy second 30th then? I know time can be...weird. I was born in 2004 back home and was sixteen when I first ended up here. Which means technically I should be younger with this dating. So. It's something you get used to. Though you seem to have missed....a lot more than me.

[He's not sure if asking on the details might be a little more personal. Since they only spoke once before and all.]

video;

[momchester]

Timelines are strange. You expect it to keep moving in the same direction, the same "one day at a time" rate.

Text

[versusseeker]

happy bday
<(ﾉo◕ᆺ◕o)>ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Text

[momchester]

i dont know what all that stuff is but thanks!

( text )

[fettering]

i hear that 30 is a good year!!
so happy bday!!
my bday is this month too! (kind of)

33 years is a lot to miss tho

( text )

[momchester]

kind of? what do you mean kind of?

video; un: clarke

[romancekiller]

How are you technically 63 if you're turning 30?

video; is that the alias that's showing?

[momchester]

My timeline is kind of weird. There was this whole dying thing, and a time thing.

video

[articulations]

[ Look, it's Mary! Leia looks on through the communicator curiously but offers a smile. ]

Happy belated birthday, Mary.

video they haven't talked much, right?

[momchester]

[Look, it's Actual Princess Leia, aka her liege and lord and master and someone for whom Mary would probably literally kill people if she asked. Lucky for her, Mary's also a master liar and actress, and is capable of swallowing all her Intense Fangirl Feelings and pretending to be normal. Which looks like returning the smile, after only a brief pause to take in this new legend.]

Thanks, Leia. Do you guys do birthdays where you're from?

Video;

[bespin]

Well, you're looking very good for 63, I must say.

Video; sliding into her dms

[momchester]

[Stay cool it's fine it's fine Lando just complimented you this is fine

She does, however, give him a brilliant smile.]

Thanks! I moisturize and take my vitamins.

Video;

[extremeteenbible]

[ Congratulations, Mary. Have one slightly confused dwarf. ]

Ahh... See, I can't tell the difference between a human that's 30 and one who's 60 anyway.

[ Merle sucks at gauging human ages. ]

Video;

[momchester]

[He's a weird looking little dude, but she's not hip to the dwarf thing.]

Really? What are you, then?

video;

[heisenbitch]

[ That's... really confusing. But also, shit, he's sorry, lady. Between all the shit that's been happening and dealing with dying? Jesus. Jesse decides to opt for the light-hearted response. ]

If you said you were 63 and nothin' else, gotta say that I woulda thought total MILF.

[ Aggressively flirtatious as that may seem... there might also be a bit of a sympathetic lopsided smile as he says that, though. ]

video;

[momchester]

[Well, it gets a snort out of her, if nothing else.]

Thanks...? Maybe I should lead with that next time.