queenofseers | ic inbox (mask or menace)

that isnt an extreme solution its just what i do
youve known who i am for a few weeks now have you not thought once to google my name
it should be the first step in scrutinizing someone youre working with
anyway ive already started a queue between jaime and ruka one more isnt going to break me

[ If this much is already stressing her out, maybe she really does need the night out! ]

anyway the plan is to get out of the country and away from the import experience for a night
find somewhere quiet to have a drink and take it easy for once

[ Cassandra did Google Kanaya....

But she takes a minute to do it again, wondering if she missed something. Don't judge her!! ]

Well, I'm not going to need to add to your queue, anyway. I'm sure I've got something nice enough for whatever extravagant place you're apparently planning. [ Says the woman whose fanciest outfit is the one she got ported into this world in, but Kanaya wouldn't know that. ]

Are we going to have any problems leaving the country? I'm not sure all of us are registered. And how are we just getting there for a night out?

[ Google should've mentioned the multi-million dollar fashion company named for her, and there's probably still some blurb on their website about how she started as a small-time couturier and tailor. It would've taken more digging for any mention of her portals. ]

ill take care of that
my powers make circumventing such matters quite easy
as i recall those pings are only triggered by imports physically crossing the borders

but i hope whatever you have in mind isn't so much a robe as everything else ive seen you wearing

If you say so. If we all become international criminals, it's your fault. [ Frankly, that'd be just her luck. ]

What is so wrong with what I wear? Why are you so hung up on this?

its inappropriate for the occasion
whats appropriate to wear for a given occasion is one of those stupid things that i deeply care about

your robes are much too funerary
we mourn not the passing of a year that did good for no one
the plan instead is to dance on its grave
and cling to our weak hopes that maybe the newborn replacement wont be as shitty

thats what new years eve is for
you celebrate in defiance of the old dying night and greet the new coming dawn as a friend
for the relief of survival and the hope of a better future
whoever that future may be for

Look, not to be the world's biggest buzzkill, but it's also an arbitrary date on a fucking calendar. It doesn't mean something has magically changed. And trust me, I've seen plenty of magic change around here.

[ The last time the new year passed for Cassandra, she didn't even realize it happened. Too busy. Why should this year be any different, with the end of the world- and, perhaps, the end of her life- hanging over their heads? Speaking of which- ]

If I was going to wear something all bright and polka-dotted I'd be fucking lying to myself. Atropos is probably going to try eating us all alive in the next 365 days unless we do something about it, and that's not even considering whether or not we'll even still be around to see it. [ Somewhat literally, in her case. ] Look, I'll come if you don't shove me into some fancy dress shit, how's that?

how dare you accuse me of fucking polka dots
i offered you monochrome
anyway if you didnt want to be the worlds biggest buzzkil you could just as easily not have said anything
for fucks sake of course i know this entire miserable frozen planets way of measuring time is arbitrary
and that the year changing isnt going to make any real tangible difference in anything at all
and someone whos been swallowed by atropos once doesnt need to be reminded how likely she is to face her again
who do you fucking think i am cassandra

if you were just a smidge less dense and didnt take everything so literally perhaps you could appreciate that the whole ritual is symbolic
we dont have a lot of hope going into this next year so we have to make and cling to what we can
i can tell you from experience that there are few things as miserable as having to fight against what we must without allowing yourself any hope at all
that theres every possibility that the world will end in the next year is a perfect reason to take one god damned night to enjoy ourselves for once
and the myriad of horseshit youre spewing right now is why you in particular need that too

wear whatever you fucking want i wont stop you
but what you want to wear better not be robes

[ There's a little more time before Cassandra responds. She's trying to be a little kinder, isn't she? But Kanaya wouldn't get why she's not looking forward to another year. There's more to it than Atropos, and she's far too tired of this conversation already to explain why. ]

Fine. Bringing up Atropos was a low blow- you'd know that bullshit better than me. Sorry. But I don't have the fucking mental energy to explain to you why I know this year is going to be a potentially fatal shitshow for me beyond the constant threat of apocalyptic digestion. It's too long a story right now.

And- I'll see what I have. Do you really not have any other reason for inviting me? Most people just seem to realize I don't go to a lot of parties and leave it there.

[ Kanaya hasn't forgotten the references Cassandra's made to being doomed. It was too much of a derailment at the time to really get into at the time, plus Psychopomp was too aloof to ask and Cassandra too guarded to tell.

So, she's keeping it in her back pocket until a better opportunity arises, like when Cassandra's drunk with a group of people who've been dead. ]

you keep giving me new reasons the longer this conversation goes on
or at least reinforcing the original one
but theres a very large gap between thinking you need this and expecting you to be good company
lucky for you that being good company isnt a requirement
lucky for all of us really

lucky for you also its more of a get-together than a party
and realizing that you probably dont get out much is as much a reason to invite you as any
like i said i think you need this

There's a million things I could respond to you with, there, but I'm not interested in making this any worse...

[ How dare you try to give me therapy, are you pitying me, etcetera etcetera. All bad ideas to bring up at this point, she's thinking. ]

Anything else I need to know, besides "find another outfit?" Are we meeting in some secret locale?

no ill pick you up at yours
but i will send a text beforehand so you can make sure youre alone
im not trying to wear that mask for this

other than that
it is my pleasure to be the first to formally welcome you to the miserable bitch club for miserable bitches

I don't need to be alone. I live with friends, nobody's going to judge me. [ In fact, Rex would probably tell her it's good she's getting out of the house. As if he ever does. ]

Yes, yes, I get it, I'm horrible. Do I get a gold star or something?

[ It would be nice if, just once, Cassandra would listen to what she's saying before taking it personally. ]

you dont need to be alone to avoid some potential judgement you think ive imagined
its for my sake because even if none of your roommates know who i am id prefer that they didnt see me out of the mask

and yes in fact you do get a gold star
this is you being given a gold star by queen miserable bitch herself
we are all horrible cassandra
thats why we thought youd fit in with this
do us a favor and consider what that means before feeling offended that we thought to include you

Oh. Right. [ Look, she's tired. ]

I'm touched, then? I guess.

[ There's a moment before the next message: ]

Not to get sappy, but I'm shit at picking up things like this, okay?

yeah ive gathered that
tone isnt always easily conveyed over text especially through typing quirks

just know that we arent out to get you
we rather like you actually and wouldnt mind getting to know you in less dire circumstances than we have had thus far
there are only so many properly sensible people about

Christ, you can say that again. Although with our luck that means we'll all get incapacitated in some horrible incident while we're out doing whatever the fuck we're doing.

[ ...Look, she's got death on the brain. Always. ]

Never mind. I'll see you then, I guess.

right
be seeing you