that one time travel psl

[eyediot]

sad bad end s5 jon and tim on a monster road trip



[Algric had given the trio a fair warning of what was happening. Not the specific details of what he was coming from, but he was from a little further along Algric's timeline, and came through Hilltop Road. Never pleasant, but he's here now. IT took a few days of settling, readjusting, and putting some firm self-imposed boundaries on himself before Jon felt comfortable enough to see the others.

After a few minutes of surprise and staring, Jon ends up sitting alone with Tim for a few minutes; the others having some things to take care of themselves. He sits there, fiddling a bit with his fingers, trying not to be self conscious. He can't do anything about the myriad of different, newer scars, nor about his black sclera or so many other things about himself now.

But god... Tim. Alive and not shouting at him right this second. How novel.]

Tim... I.. [Where does he even start.]

Comments

[kayakking]

[Not shouting. Not shut down to protective, stubborn apathy. The eyes on him are conflicted but without the spark of what could only be termed as hatred. No, something wildly different has happened here. When the trio watched him (And Jon could FEEL those eyes, those questions, the feeling of those familiar with HIM weighing him and the marks of tragedy and power, making their decisions.) Tim had even put a hand on the younger Jon's forearm, eyes cast his way now and then to make sure Jon was all right.

And now, while the Martins are with Jon, working through the aftermath, Tim sits in the room with-

-Every time he thinks With Jon, those black rimmed eyes slide back onto him (and through him) and he can't think in those terms. He wants to. He saw the desperate hope and delicate balance in Algric's eyes. And-

God, what is his life right now?]

Yeah?

[eyediot]

[The thousands of apologies he wants to say. For taking him from Research, for leaving him alone after the worms, for ..being horrible those following months and not trusting him. For only being able to make any kind of amends when it meant absolute destruction that resulted in his own Tim's death.]

It's... Really good to see you. [Start small.]

[kayakking]

[It's... a good start. Something in Tim's posture relaxes a little, even as his expression gets a bit wry there.]

I, uh. Heard. So. Good news: We're working on a better plan this time around.

[He doesn't really Know how bad it gets. Algric never went into it.]

[eyediot]

[It might be best for now, this moment, that Tim doesn't know how bad it gets..]

A better plan is good. I can... guide you all through the Unknowing itself.

[kayakking]

[Right. He's already lived it. (Sort of.) And was there.]

That... would help a lot. You know, just where things fell out and went wrong. We can plan around it.

[eyediot]

[Jon watches him carefully; it's hard to know for sure if his eyes are seeing him, or Seeing him.]

It... isn't just that. The Unknowing ritual is... Like nothing you've experienced. [He leans forward, folding his hands carefully, knees on his elbows.] You cannot believe anything you see. Basira- she made it because she logicked her way through it.

I can See through ...most of it now, I think.

[kayakking]

Wont... Okay, I was there for- for something that wasn't a ritual. Wont seeing what's really there be- I don't know? worse? Like infinitely worse?

[eyediot]

I guess it depends on your definition of 'worse'. Do you consider the grotesque reality of what's actually happening and knowing you can never forget it to be worse, or an elaborate set of sights and sounds meant to disorient and confuse your senses so you can't trust anything you see or hear to be worse?

[Asked so matter-of-fact.]

[kayakking]

[The former. The former by a LOT. He already knows that answer. But it's easier to deflect.]

I know you're talking in absolutes and concretes here, but that kind of philosophical navel gazing is bit more contemplation than the 'salt or steak spice' delivery that just came in.

[eyediot]

[Ah.]

Sorry.

[Sllllllow inhale. Right.]

That's just... What you'll have to deal with there. I can see through the illusions at least. Help make sure you all come out the other side.

[kayakking]

[That... that really does cut through one of the stickier parts of the planning.]

... Enough that we could make it out before the detonation?

[eyediot]

[Jon thinks on that for a long moment. He knew he'd planned on taking Hope, but...]

Theoretically. We still have to worry about Nikola and the Others. They may slow us down.

[kayakking]

[He drums his fingers on the side of his chair.]

So, a smaller team would definitely be better.

[eyediot]

Definitely.

[He glances at Tim, then at where the other three disappeared to.]

Keeping this timeline's me from it would be best, I think.

[kayakking]

Right. There's no need for him to risk things like that at this stage.

[In some weird way, Jon's life hasn't been better, even living with two semi-eldritch boyfriends and a rapid slide into it himself.]

Get it, make sure it's the right time, set it off, and get out.

[eyediot]

[Not to mention avoiding one of the worst marks... Jon wonders if Tim actually knows about all that.]

Right. Shouldn't be too hard at this point.

[A quiet exhale and Jon falls quiet again. After this long it's comfortable. But he also just doesn't know how to approach other topics with a Tim that doesn't hate him.]

[kayakking]

[The Stranger's is just as deep on this Jon as the future one, just via other means.

But... the End...]

.. So, what's the plan. I mean, really. Last I knew, Algric didn't want to go back to his time.

[eyediot]

[He'd been listening to everyone in the other rooms, other apartments. Hard to turn it off. Tim's voice jerks him out of it.]

Uh. Y-yes, he... still doesn't want to. And he said I'm not going back either, which... I admit is preferable. I'm not sure where to go from there. I think we were focusing on the immediate issues.

[kayakking]

[One young couple talks fondly of their plans to move out of the city, scraping pennies and dimes together. It should be easy, given that the wages are higher here, but there never seems to be enough to save at the end of the month. An elderly woman collapsed two hours ago and now lay helplessly beside her favorite chair, her dog snuffling confused at her neck, but she can't work past the pain and the phone her grandson had left her is in the kitchen. The dog doesn't understand at all but is enjoying the fact that he can lay on the couch. Two young children fight over a small blue truck. One had never liked it before, and had thrown it under the bed, but the sibling finding it was enough to make him want it all the more. Neither realize that this noise is driving- ]

Right. That's probably best for the moment, anyway.

[There's a beat as yet again, he struggles to find a way to call Jon, Jon but mean this Jon and not the other Jon.]

... Do you have a middle name? ... online name?

[eyediot]

....A. A different name. No, no middle name, and I didn't really do the online thing much.

[It's selfish, to want to keep his name. It isn't his timeline, and it only makes sense since Algric did the same thing. He thinks on that, going through some different names he... might tolerate going by.]

Maybe... [He hesitates. He just cannot think past his own name. He's always been Jon.] I don't know, maybe Will?

[kayakking]

[At least Tim seems to be on the same page here.]

... You don't really seem like a Will.

[eyediot]

No, I suppose not.

[Stephen? No, not quite right. Andrew doesn't sit well either.

He laughs a little huff to himself.]

I guess it would be bad luck to call myself "Jonah".

[kayakking]

[A beat



then another....]



... depends on how much it'd piss him off.

[eyediot]

[That reaction told Jon quite a bit... So Tim knows.]

This early... I think it might piss him off quite a bit. But it isn't as if he's using the name now.

[kayakking]

[HE SURE DOES.]

I'm sure there's a form he can fill out to lodge a formal complaint if there's a proper issue.