first statement } audio; un: archivist

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[oho, what’s this? a new voice on the network?]

Erm … I suppose it’s customary in a situation like this to introduce myself. [he lightly clears his throat before continuing:] My name is Jonathan - erm, Jon. Sims. [and he really has to bite down on the impulse to add the archivist after that.] I am somewhat new here and have yet to meet many of you. [which is intentional, on jon’s part.] But I - I actually just have a question, seeing as - if I understand the situation correctly - we are all from different places.

[jon hesitates for a moment and takes a deep breath to steady his nerves. public speaking is so much less comfortable than reading statements into a tape recorder.]

Have any of you heard of something called The Vast?

Comments

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Oh ... he’s married. I see ... [hoo boy. jon smiles thinly.] It sounds like your situation is almost as complicated as mine.

[becoming some kind of monster, trying to stop the world from ending in a horrible transfiguration of one of several manifestations of fear, sorting out his feelings about martin ...

ah, yes. martin. jon frowns into a sip of his tea. maybe it’s for the best that they missed each other here ... or maybe that’s just what he’s told himself he wants to believe. seeing martin would mean he’d need to put his finger on what exactly that dull ache in his chest means.]

Erm ... if it wouldn’t be too awkward, could I ask - what did Martin tell you, when he was here?

[11calls]

Complicated. That's... well hell it's the best way to put it. Considering everything. I just wish it had some signs that it would end up getting less complicated at some point.

[Honestly, Alex doesn't think that it will, especially with everything that's going on with them here. God, she wishes that he'd ended up coming in from somewhere closer to where she was from.

But Alex buries those thoughts when Jon mentions Martin, and she wraps her hands around her cup for a moment with a frown.]

It's a little fuzzy, honestly. Like I was connected with him like I am with you but I can't remember very much about it. I remember more what he was like when he wasn't my partner. I know he was completely livid with Navi because he was from a time when you'd gotten together with him and the you that was here before wasn't.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[ah. so he and martin are together, in the future - a future, at least. that's - hm. jon isn't sure how he feels about that. conflicted is a word for it, and again, he thinks that it's probably a good thing martin isn't here anymore, because if he were? jon wouldn't be able to shove down this - whatever it is he's feeling at the moment. sad? anxious, hopeful? jon only vaguely remembers the sound of martin's voice talking to him while he was comatose in the hospital.]

I see ... [he smiles thinly again, a weak attempt at brushing off the sudden churn of emotion inside of him.] It's difficult to imagine Martin truly livid about anything. I suppose it's a good thing he - well, he must've been sent back to where he belongs, right? That's better. For him, I mean.

[11calls]

He definitely was angry, Jon. It was an entire thing when he yelled at Navi and was extremely upset that you didn't match up timeline wise then either. Which obviously sucks when you know, they're not quite the same people that they know at that point.

But yeah, I think it's definitely better. And if it's any consolation, he's probably back with that future version of you. And you're with the past version of him.