✦ 014 ✦ [VIDEO] ✦ (Open to ACTION) ✦

[backwordscompatible]

[Another day, another morning of having to ration her tea and breakfast. Of residual smoke lingering in the air from the explosions that had gone off down the street. Of the near radio silence and informational uncertainty that came with it. Of having to stare at the ugly remodeled palace and remember that, whatever was inside it, it had been enough to scare certain people into staying as far away as possible.]

[There was something particularly special about this day, however...or, at least, there was supposed to be.]

[The good news was that Zatanna seemed to be feeling a lot better. You'd never know from her expression, though, as she stared dully into the camera for a fleeting moment, before calmly holding up a sign (in English):]

WORST 
"SWEET" SIXTEEN 
EVER

[It was the most trivial of teen trivial things, but she didn't care. Malicant wanted to listen in on everybody's conversations? Find out what they were talking about? Fine. She would rant and rave all she wanted, and he would have no choice but to listen.]

[Because #F*@kYouMalicant]

Comments

[strategisch]

[Upon seeing her message, Armin offers a sorry smile and quickly scribbles a note on his desk to hold up in return.]

Happy? Birthday

[backwordscompatible]

[Oh! She remembered him. The boy who came for a tarot card reading...how long ago was that?]

Thank you.
[She managed a warm smile for him. None of this was his fault, after all.]

Long Time, No See.

[strategisch]

[He pauses to scrawl another note-- he can't help his verbosity even when it would benefit him to be short.]

I'm afraid circumstances have prevented our prior plans

[michaeljangelo]

[A new window appears.
First it's empty, nothing to see but the generic background provided by a Water Sector suite.

But then, a sign raises into view, seeming to rise from the bottom of the screen.]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

It sways side to side in time with the beat of the song of the same name. It stops when the measure too would end. Then sways again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

[The sign then turns over revealing far more words, in a much smaller script.]

happy birthday person i haven't met yet and whose name i don't know!

[Then it turns back to the front side again.]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

[backwordscompatible]

[First, Zatanna was confused. She didn't recognize either the image appearing on-screen--were the consoles malfunctioning again?--or the address it was being sent from.]

[Then, she was surprised. It was a...birthday message? A smile appeared, and she even let out a partial laugh once it started swaying in time to the music. This was utterly ridiculous. And by somebody who was apparently a perfect stranger?]

[Exactly what she needed to see.]

There are definitely worse first impressions to make. Thank you.

[michaeljangelo]

[The sign disappears and is replaced by a green bald forehead and brown eyes which move as he reads the words of her new message. Then as quickly as the fraction of a face appeared, it disappears, and another sign raises up.]

YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME.
SWEET SIXTEEN IS IMPORTANT.
NOT EVEN EVIL CAN THWART THAT
LEVEL OF IMPORTANT.

[video]

[apologiesmyking]

[Kaldur does not blame Zatanna for being frustrated with how things have been recently. And even with what is transpiring, he knows that birthdays are very important on the surface world. He holds up a white sheet of paper with a neat simple scrawl.]

Congratulations.
You did seem taller last we met.

[video]

[backwordscompatible]

[Wow. With Robin gone, is she the resident height jokes recipient these days? Is that how this goes?]

I've been drinking my milk?

[video]

[apologiesmyking]

[He considered that it might help to lighten the mood, so yes. Pardon how awkward he is about it.]

Perhaps I should include a glass with your gift.

jumps into action

[sophos]

[She could grab some paper and pencils and communicate via signs. But between the glitchy images and the unsafe network, on top of her dyslexia, Annabeth just opts for swinging by Zatanna's actual suite instead.]

[Transport today: flying horse! Which she lands easily nearby before walking up to knock at her friend's door.]

so forward, Annabeth

[backwordscompatible]

[Flying...horse? Where did you manage to get one of those?!]

It's open!

[One of two things would happen in this case. If the person knocking was somebody on the short list of people allowed through her Wards, they would be able to walk right in without incident. If they weren't, they would encounter a soft, magical wall preventing them from going in any further. It was one of the reasons why she never really bothered to lock her doors when she was home anymore.]

[And, fortunately for Annabeth, she fell into the former group. Come right on in, girl~]

how she rolls tbh

[sophos]

[Blackjack was part of the inherited zoo tbh.]

[Annabeth steps through easily, glancing around on instinct, with a knife attached to her waist (it's not out of mistrust so much as that same need to keep a weapon on her at all times). She's pretty sure she can tell where Zatanna is, at least in a general direction, but it's probably more polite to call out.]

Hey. It's Annabeth. Sorry if I'm interrupting, I just didn't have the patience for the network.

video;

[dracobin]

[The sheet of paper Temeraire is holding in his claws is barely legible; writing with a pen is difficult, after all, when your forehands are approximately the size of tires.]

WHAT, PRAY, IS A "SWEET" SIXTEEN?

video;

[backwordscompatible]

[It was too easy.]

The opposite of a "Sour" Sixteen?

Re: video;

[dracobin]

[He has spent the interval glancing through the previous responses: the phrase is a little clearer, now, but only just.]

I beg your pardon; I ought to have congratulated you on the occasion of your birth. [PAGE FLIP.] But I am afraid I do not take your meaning; is there something particularly special about turning sixteen, in your world?

[This particular set of pages is even harder to read than the last, thanks to tl;dr. Sorry, Zatanna.]

[iguanasolution]

[Frank's handwriting is pretty neat, thanks to practicing calligraphy... probably far too often. But it does give him something to do.]

Could be worse. You could be turning 18 in literal hell.

But happy turtle-birthday anyway.

[backwordscompatible]

[What pretty handwriting!]

Please tell me that's an over-exaggerated hyperbole.

[iguanasolution]

[He gives her a grin (without thinking it might get frozen and turn creepy, but that's Frank for you) before writing back.]

I could tell you if you want but I'd be lying. It wasn't me though, I'm not even 17.

action;

[wintershepherd]

[ Hi he's just there. ]

"Worst", huh? I was going to offer to make it a little better but then you'd have to change your adjective.

action;

[backwordscompatible]

[/insert half-hearted gasp of utter shock]

I'll think about it.

Depends on the offer.

Re: action;

[wintershepherd]

You want me to come up with something on short notice, hm? Well, let me see what I might have...

[ He makes an exaggerated show of patting down his pockets and pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to her. On it is drawn a map, which seems to indicate a spot out near the shell's edge. ]

[kazilik]

[Zatanna is just getting a curious headtilt from Iskierka, in this case. Guess who never bothered to learn to read? :D]

[backwordscompatible]

[Well, that...was another dragon. How many of them were in Keelai?]

[Huh.]

[Of course, this one didn't say anything. Or write anything. Maybe it was still trying to figure out what to say?]

[Either way, Zatanna just...stared back? Waiting?]

Video

[superoverachiever]

[Ava makes a sign of her own, wanting to wish Zatanna a happy birthday. Or at least... a... birthday.]

Sorry to hear that.

Video

[backwordscompatible]

Not your fault, Ava.