video: un; apparition

[unphase]

[Tinya is sitting at an almost obscenely long dining table with a red velvet cupcake with a single candle in it sitting in front of her.

the light of the candle is all that's there in the room]

Today is my twentieth birthday.

I've had more birthdays away from home than I've had at home. Two more, in fact. How does that work, I wonder.

Anyway. Happy birthday to me?

[and she blows out the candle, leaving everything in darkness]

Comments

Video | Clickclickbloom

[onekindsoul]

I know that feeling.

Kind of weird being away from home for so long, huh?

Would you rather be there or here?

[unphase]

It is strange, isn't it?

I'd rather be there. I have a husband who's been subjected to unimaginable trauma and a son who needs his mother.

What about you? Would you rather be there or here?

video | un: sds

[fogsong]

So, does the birthday girl want to do anything for the big day?

[onekindsoul]

...That's awfully sad.

I- Well I grew up with my mother. So I do know how lonely that can be. I'm sure if you returned though. He'd understand the circumstances.

I don't think returning is actually in the cards for me. So I like to think I'm making the best of my time here.

[unphase]

[a rueful smile] I don't know. I used to have big parties for myself, but...it is so weird to be older here than I am at home. And, twenty. It feels impossible. In a bad way.

I wouldn't say no to company, though. There are more cupcakes.

[unphase]

Yeah. And if the local lore is to believed, all we do when we go into the ocean is become a squid again. I don't want that. I want to be able to go home.

I hope he will. He has this...condition where he ages rapidly. No one knows why or what's causing it. Or how old he'll eventually become. So, I worry.

That's an admirable way of looking at it. Perhaps the only way.

[fogsong]

I can see how you'd feel that way. There are definitely days when I realize certain things about this place and... Impossible is the right word.

I'll come over then. I can't say no when there are cupcakes involved. [ As if she'd deny Tinya anything on her birthday. ]

[unphase]

Yeah...there are days when I don't recognize the me who's staring back. That makes me really worried.

[but a warm, genuine smile] I'll leave the front door unlocked. Carmilla will be waiting.

[fogsong]

We have to change to survive places like these, Tinya, but... If it helps any, the you I see is the you I became friends with.

Front door unlocked, got it. I'll be there in maybe a half hour, give or take. [ She's gotta pick some stuff up first, of course. ]

Video | UN: jaya

[forcechanic]

I'm not sure when mine was exactly. But it was weird to have it with my twin.

[unphase]

[she sounds genuinely happy] Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Okay. Just follow the fluttering batkitten. [Carmilla meows loudly at that]

[unphase]

You don't know? Are you from a world with another calendar?

That's got to be rough. I...have a twin of sorts. We've never met. What is your twin like?

un: kickflips, text

[strongroots]

happy birthday

no time for birthdays back home?

[unphase]

Thank you!

Not exactly.

I was taken from my world to another one when I was fifteen.

I lived there for almost four years, but I was brought back home where I was eighteen.

Then I had two birthdays here, nineteen and twenty.

But back home, I'm still eighteen.

[fogsong]

[ It takes about forty-five minutes before Sharon finally enters Tinya's place. She had a few stops to make. She's never been all that great with birthdays. For a girl who grew up poor without friends, birthdays were bleak, but she knows that wasn't the case for Tinya.

She follows Carmilla to Tinya and smiles gently when she sees her. ] Hey there, birthday girl.

Video / un; Abigail Williams

[iaiafhtagn]

It's you're birthday!? Oh, well then happy birthday to you miss! What sort of cake is that?

[unphase]

[Tinya doesn't mind. after all, it's not like she's going somewhere. she wants to feel as excited about turning twenty as she thinks she should be, but that's hard when it means she's been away from home as long as she's been.

and Tinya smiles warmly at Sharon when she arrives, the built in lamp on, enough to light up the room, but not enough to completely banish the shadows] Hey there, prettier sister. Feel free to have a seat. And there are more cupcakes. [she says, gesturing to a large plate absolutely covered with red velvet cupcakes]

[unphase]

[Tinya smiles warmly] Thank you, I appreciate your well wishes! And it's red velvet. Sort of like chocolate with cream cheese frosting. And red sugar sprinkles because why not?

[strongroots]

damn, how does that work? you went back home and only three years passed?

and you think if you went home now you'd be eighteen? you sure?

[iaiafhtagn]

You're welcome, everyone deserves to be wished a wonderful birthday!

But red velvet? Hm, I think I tried that once back home. Um... did you make it yourself? It looks wonderful!

[unphase]

Sure did! They were an unfortunately eventful three years. Coming here was almost like a vacation.

Pretty sure? Even though given the whole squid in the ocean part I'm not sure we can go home.

[unphase]

That's a good way of looking at things.

I did! I didn't know how to cook at all, so believe me, there was a lot of trial and error while I learned. Mostly errors!

[strongroots]

place doesnt really make a lot of sense. i thought i was dead when i showed up. but then i dont remember anything to make me think i died?

i just figured we were squid. and dont think about it that hard

but thats a lot of not fun stuff to think about on a birthday

[unphase]

No, it doesn't. It has its own rhythm and I honestly wonder if Trench itself is alive somehow and influencing us to be more influenced by the Pthumerians than we'd ordinarily be.

I think too much. It's a curse more than a blessing.

It's okay. I don't mind. Usually I have a big party, but I didn't feel like it this year.

[fogsong]

You have to be the prettier sister today. Sorry, it's your birthday, and thems the rules. [ She tries to be easy-going but Tinya's death still lingers in the back of Sharon's mind even though it was some time ago. Between that and her own recent death, she's mentally sore and trying desperately to be normal.

She pulls her leather satchel from her shoulder and sets it on the table. It clinks. She begins to pull things out. First, there's a bottle of aged cabernet sauvignon and then it's followed up by a carefully packed container of what looks like pretzels and then a mason jar of bright orange cheese, labeled in Sharon's sharp, slanted writing. Finally, she pulls out a rectangular wooden box with a golden latch and hinges. She slides it over to Tinya.

Inside, are a variety of carefully filled paint pans, each color iridescent or duo-chrome, reflective even in the dim light. There's a blue shade awfully similar to the color of their coldblood. ]

I might have paid attention to that anonymous post about seeking help with trauma. I wasn't going to drag a bunch of canvases over but... I have them, brushes, and an extra easel back at my place for you. It's not therapy but I've heard it helps.