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

[eyediot]

Just. Quick flashes, here.

[Is it the table? Is it sitting at the table like this? Maybe.

He ever so casually stands, grabbing his finished plate and steps away. The sink should be fine.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric hurries to grab his own things, tucking them in the sink too. And just putting a hand on his shoulder. ]

Hey. I'm - I'm here, okay? Can you ... vent it or something?

[eyediot]

I-i don't think you'd want to hear it.

[He'll just clean this up. They'll go pick out some notebooks, and it'll be fine. Better than fine.]

Look, it's probably already over?

[curriculum_fictae]

Well - not especially, but -

[ He puts a hand on Jonah's shoulder. ]

Let's sit down for a bit. We can go after, okay?

[eyediot]

I--

[I'm fine. It dies in his throat. Jonah nods, a hand resting on Algric's arm.]

All right.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ He guides Jonah to the couch to sit. ]

What do you need? What can I do?

[eyediot]

There's nothing really to do?

[The couch is easy. And once he's out of the kitchen he seems fine enough, for the moment.]

Actually. A favor? Make sure there aren't any spiders about?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric fetches him a blanket, then. And stands back up. ]

Of course. I'll go scour the room for you.

[eyediot]

[Before Algric walks away, Jonah grabs his hand, looking up at him.]

...Thank you.

[For once, he lets how utterly exhausted he is sip through. Squeezes his hand once before letting go. Even if it was just a flash of a memory, it still had some effect on him. That feeling that this is scripted. He has no say here. Did a spider even need to be present? The Web was one of the few he never got much information about in comparison to the others.]

I mean, I'm sure it's fine and there isn't one. But... All the same.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Oh. Oh Jonah. Algric's eyes widen when he sees that - when he catches a glimpse of the abyssal exhaustion below. Poor Jon. Poor Jon ... ]

You're terrified this is all Web's doing somehow.

[eyediot]

[He shrugs.]

I did come through Hilltop... It's always been a possibility in the back of my mind.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Hilltop. That place -

Algric shudders. ]

R-right. It's - it's possible, of course. We can't fight it. But ... it's possible that our goals are in the same direction as Web's?

[eyediot]

Maybe.

[He sighs, leaning forward and rubbing at his forehead. The flash doesn't seem to be coming back. A plus.]

Hard to even guess at, we can just hope that's the case for now.

[curriculum_fictae]

Yeah. And - and it's not like we have an alternative, right?

[eyediot]

No... Not unless we knew where Annabelle Cane was. And even then, it'd be difficult.

[curriculum_fictae]

Right. So - let's not think about it, okay?

[eyediot]

[Deep breath.]

Yeah. Good, uh. Good plan.

[ Because the Spider usually wins.

One day he'll get Elias' voice out of his head.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ The spider does usually win. But ... he has Martin again, doesn't he? Safe and devoted to him, willing to trust him in ways that he'd never shown before. Also, currently tackling every corner of the room with a broom as he searches it for spiders.

If this is the Web's plan, there's certainly a benefit in it for Jonah right? ]

Right. I don't see any, I think.

[eyediot]

[By the time he's done, Jonah's got his head in his hands, trying not to run through those stage directions again. The image of just a normal, kitchen table on a stage with hooks and-- It roused the memory a bit more than he'd like. At least he can process it while Algric is around the room and not next to him.]

Thank you. I thought as much, but no harm in checking.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Can he, though? Is he sure?

Or does it seem like Algric's movements are ... constrained, today? Sure, he peers into all the nooks and crannies for spiders, but he seems drawn back to Jonah in a way that doesn't seem efficient. He keeps bobbing back as if bound to Jonah by invisible strings. ]

Of course. I really don't mind them, after all.

[eyediot]

[The worst part is he doesn't even see it. Rubbing at his eyes occasionally, keeping them covered so Algric doesn't see the green static... It keeps him from seeing that weird way of checking.]

I really will never understand that.

[curriculum_fictae]

I'm just a bit weird, I suppose. We all have something.

[ He settles down next to Jonah at last, seeing that eye rubbing and frowning. ]

Let me see your eyes?

[eyediot]

[He stills before turning - the red ring around his pupils is definitely visible. But not danger zone. Yet.]

I'm really not sure if I like having a progress bar here.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Not dangerous, no. But concerning. ]

Mm, well. I'm grateful for it.

[ Then, more gently: ]

We ... should do something else instead this afternoon.

[eyediot]

[Jonah's eyes are fixed on him. Promising to not Know things about Algric is proving to make this a lot harder.]

Like what?