The notifications on Roscoe's Instagram, are numerous -- probably, some of them are bot-follows, probably, some of them are other NuMetheans texting him, probably, some of them are those same bots tagging him in the comments of branded giveaways.
Naomi's message comes in two bursts -- first, on August 11th:
- winters.call shared an Instagram post
- (winters.call --> vosco34): hi! hope yr doing ok
- (winters.call --> vosco34): theres a memorial party/celebration for Dusk (batman from the raid) happening in NY on sunday
- (winters.call --> vosco34): anyone ever been through the labs is invited
- (winters.call --> vosco34): games crafts dancing food
- (winters.call --> vosco34): if u wanna come someone can pick u up?
- (winters.call --> vosco34): probably spence
- (winters.call --> vosco34): but there some other porters around too
- (winters.call --> vosco34): lmk!!
Then again the morning of the 13th:
- (winters.call --> vosco34): bump
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ppl hoping to see u tonite
- (winters.call --> vosco34): if u don't wanna see me specifically though thats cool
- (winters.call --> vosco34): imma be with derek's crew mostly
- (winters.call --> vosco34): so if you just wanna hang w the rest of Holland Gang! it can be a naomi-free zone
- (winters.call --> vosco34): let someone know tho
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ain't gotta be me
Roscoe comes online with no fanfare; all of a sudden there is a little green dot underneath his profile picture in the instant message feed to let everybody know he is Active Now. It is not for a while after this that --
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Yo
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Lol sorry I didn't see these until this morning. How was the party
The little double checks -- message delivered and read -- turn opaque, but it's still a moment before Naomi begins typing. Stops typing. Starts typing again. When the messages do start to come, its in a furious flurry.
- (winters.call --> vosco34): oh rip 💀
- (winters.call --> vosco34): that sucks
- (winters.call --> vosco34): are you not an insta person /srs
- (winters.call --> vosco34): cuz like our phones got regular ass texting on them too 🙄
- (winters.call --> vosco34): it was pretty cool
- (winters.call --> vosco34): lots of folks from round New York I ain't knew was lab-alums before showed up
- (winters.call --> vosco34): including the guy who did the news last year??? makes sense now but a little wild to think about
- (winters.call --> vosco34): and folks turned up from everydamnwhere
- (winters.call --> vosco34): lil bit of Freaktown done got blew up though
- (winters.call --> vosco34): so maybe its good you didn't check yr phone
Roscoe starts and stops typing a few times too, throughout this.
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I don't even have a regular ass phone lol, my sister's boyfriend is letting me use his
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I probably couldn't have made it out anyway tho I'm lowkey grounded
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): What's Freaktown
- (winters.call --> vosco34): tf
- (winters.call --> vosco34): we only been out like three weeks HOW you gone n got grounded already
- (winters.call --> vosco34): this is THEE top perk of boarding school ain't nobody gonna ground you
- (winters.call --> vosco34): bet you dm spence he'll pop over n give you his phone or something
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ionno why but he gave his switch to echo maybe we can keep it going
- (winters.call --> vosco34): OH freaktown is uh
- (winters.call --> vosco34): bunch of folks took over this fancy neighborhood in the bronx round about when i moved north
- (winters.call --> vosco34): and its grown into a whole ass mini-town
- (winters.call --> vosco34): just for mutants
- (winters.call --> vosco34): its great
- (winters.call --> vosco34): when it aint being blown up
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Oh is this from back in like 2020, its still there?? Idk how USA gov didn't already blow it tf up, they love locking up freaks
- (winters.call --> vosco34): 😬
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ionno either but it is, maybe the rich ppl didn't want their mansions back?
- (winters.call --> vosco34): you should visit!! usually it is not getting blown up usually its firepit storytime and pool parties and super chill
- (winters.call --> vosco34): when you gonna be ungrounded
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Idfk, whenever everyone stops thinking I'm 0.2 seconds away from falling back into a life of crime
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I wanna go to these fancy mansion pool parties wtf 😤 maybe once school starts in a couple weeks
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I gotta start as a freshman again 😫🤧
- (winters.call --> vosco34): what!!!
- (winters.call --> vosco34): that blows!!
- (winters.call --> vosco34): can't they just put u in the right grade and also the classes u missed it can't be that serious
- (winters.call --> vosco34): bet u would do less crime if u were a sophomore
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ...ur not doing crimes right
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Pls nobody is leaving me alone for long enough to do crimes
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I'm like, it was literally easier to do crimes at Lassiter. Not that I ever did bc I was such a good prisoner
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Really not feeling this forgiveness and grace shit the president promised me 😒😒
- (winters.call --> vosco34): great, keep not doing crime
- (winters.call --> vosco34): joe and kamala gon be real disappointed in u if u do
- (winters.call --> vosco34): nah but /srs
- (winters.call --> vosco34): that sounds a bit....
- (winters.call --> vosco34): ionno
- (winters.call --> vosco34): its nice ur fam cares but they really should give u ur phone back
Roscoe is typing for a while.
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): 🙃
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Idk I'm a fuckup they don't have to trust me
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I think I can still talk them into letting me have a phone, I just gotta play my cards right
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): So prob no field trips to freaksville 😞
- (winters.call --> vosco34): maybe for the best
- (winters.call --> vosco34): i think queen bee is setting up there
- (winters.call --> vosco34): got NO clue what you did to piss her off still 😭
- (winters.call --> vosco34): i don't think it's fair to hold pre-torture jail roscoe's fuckuppery against you
- (winters.call --> vosco34): how old were you even
- (winters.call --> vosco34): 13?
- (winters.call --> vosco34): who isn't a whole mess at 13
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Ya..sure
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I can't believe QB is in Freaktown
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Now I'm forreal not risking it I love not having my bog ass beat 😵 All of my favorite jail memories were not beatings
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I'm glad she's like, alive tho
- (winters.call --> vosco34): i'm like 95% sure there's a "no beatdowns" rule 💀
- (winters.call --> vosco34): it's not like outdoor lassiter
- (winters.call --> vosco34): it's just
- (winters.call --> vosco34): a community
- (winters.call --> vosco34): y'all got any other mutants up in boston?
- (winters.call --> vosco34): maybe there's something like this round there too
- (winters.call --> vosco34): like, a shittier version tho
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): I'm 100% sure there was teeeechnically a no beatdowns rule at Lassiter too
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Js
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Statistically we have mutants in Boston, idk about freak zones
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Doesn't matter either way if I'm grounded
- (winters.call --> vosco34): well i ain't been queerbashed once in freaktown
- (winters.call --> vosco34): js 🤷
- (winters.call --> vosco34): some point they gon have to let you on the internet for school at least so
- (winters.call --> vosco34): <link>
- (winters.call --> vosco34): save this
- (winters.call --> vosco34): its gonna be a ex-labrat resource page when its done
- (winters.call --> vosco34): idk what you might need but maybe it will be helpful to you later
Roscoe's first response is instantaneous:
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Lmfao is this a fuckin labrat carrd
But then there is a long pause before he comes back with:
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Thanks
Naomi's next response almost crosses Roscoe's thanks:
- (winters.call --> vosco34): bruh 💀 millennials don't know what carrd is
Another pause, though its not meant to be -- Naomi is typing and deleting:
- (winters.call --> vosco34):
its the least i can do for all the mind co
- (winters.call --> vosco34):
if you ever come visit i'll buy you dori
- (winters.call --> vosco34):
are we good
- (winters.call --> vosco34):
thank you for
- (winters.call --> vosco34): no problem 🙂
- (winters.call --> vosco34): dm echo before u have to give this phone back
- (winters.call --> vosco34): let her know ur alive haha
After a moment, the little green dot below her profile picture disappears.
Roscoe just misses Naomi when she goes offline --
- (vosco34 --> winters.call): Lol ok 🙄
His unread messages from Echo also include an invite to the Batman Dusk memorial and, from a few days later, a selfie she took with an arm around Naomi's shoulders, angled to show a small crowd at Evolve behind them -- "missed you tonight hope you're doing something fun!!" For a while after "seen" crops up at the bottom of the message chain, Roscoe doesn't say anything, then:
- (vosco34 --> helcaraxe): Lol u finally got glasses
- (vosco34 --> helcaraxe): Naomi says to let u know I'm alive
- (vosco34 --> helcaraxe): 🤪
- (vosco34 --> helcaraxe): Spence gave u his Nintendo?
Thirty minutes later, the following messages appear in Roscoe's DMs:
- (helcaraxe --> vosco34): thx for the info lol, glad to hear
- (helcaraxe --> vosco34): spence gave me SOMEone's nintendo
There are ten seconds of typing before she adds:
- (helcaraxe --> vosco34): you can prob borrow it if you visit ☺️
Roscoe is still on the borrowed phone, apparently -- the first messages are marked "Seen" even before the last one is sent -- but after a short pause he just disappears offline.
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