Oh, yes, I was, quite unfortunately. Nothing to worry for! I've put it quite safely from mind. Tis but the usual bout of nostalgia to contend with, so I ought be back to proper activity given a few days!
I used to know people who dealt with fits of nostalgia. They didn't tend to last long.
Look, far be it for me to tell you how to handle those bouts. God knows I try to drown mine in rum. But all that...it's not the sort of thing that just leaves your mind once it's done, in my experience. It likes to stay and haunt you.
[It appears perhaps that Jonathan is having himself dictated, as despite absolutely not wanting his next words sent, they are sent indeed.
Alfred is helpful like that.]
Oh. I'm rather used to people ignoring me after saying such a thing...
Truthfully I'm not certain I do more than attempt to just not think about the matter. Quite a lot that comes to require that, I find. I
[Jonathan trails off, the words cutting short, but another message comes through not so long after. Well, not a message persay, but rather a photo; bat on their back, his oversized great dane sniffing worriedly at them.
Once again, Alfred is helpful like that. At the very least Edward has the insistence of a pokemon to come and visit.]
[The door is opened by- ah, yes, Alfred of course.
Though from behind the Indeedee, there is a protesting shout.] Alfred-! I am not so bedridden that I can't handle a door..!!
[Jonathan in his human state comes rushing to greet his friend of course, and tagging along is a somewhat anxious great dane. Birds of a feather, those giants. The door is held open to the rest of the cozy 'ghibli' cottage, and the man sighs.]
I expect we'll need to wait a short bit for the tea, but... ...well, far be it from me to not thank you for coming, if those around me feel it necessary.
[He'll admit that much- if Alfred insists, it's...probably for the best.]
Alfred's just trying to ease your burdens. [Edward tips his hat to the Indeedee, then nods to the great Dane, and makes his way inside as he talks, demeanor so casual and chill that it's deliberate. Edward's trying to deal with the trauma in his own way, too.] I get that, I've done much the same.
[He shrugs.]
Don't have to thank me for it. You'd look out for me and anyone else, yeah?
[Besides, they're both men of the past. Nostalgia means something very different to them than it does to everyone else.]
...did I ever tell you, before I was a pirate, I was a privateer in a war?
[Jonathan can't help but sigh to that, a somewhat wry smile upon his face.]
I can't rightfully say otherwise, [he admits quietly.] Indeed, had I heard you claim a bout of nostalgia yourself, I would certainly jump to offer some aid and company. I...
[In his hesitance, Edward has plenty of time to speak, and Jonathan blinks.] A...Privateer? No, you hadn't, not at all. I...
A while. Starting from when I was...hm, eighteen? Nineteen? Young enough that I thought I was invincible, in the way of all youth then. [A shrug, as he sits down somewhere, sets the bag down on a table.] Privateering was more lucrative than any other job I could find, and I'd just married, too—I couldn't afford to keep her in the style she was once accustomed to, not unless I could find work that could pay more handsomely than farming could.
She told me she didn't mind being more frugal. She told me that me being around was enough. [A sad smile.] I didn't listen, obviously. Too busy being blinded by visions of gold spilling out of my pockets.
...What they don't tell you about privateering is, it is so bloody easy to start to think that it's the only thing you'll ever be good at. And while you're at war, that's all well and good, but—what do you think happened to us when the war ended, and we were left adrift?
[They'll create a rather horrid feedback loop if they aren't careful, but fortunately Jonathan can be distracted from insisting self-deprecation by the polite obligation to listen. He nods, slowly as he does- the kettle slowly rolling to a boil in the background, Danny in the meantime coming over to sniff at this new fellow's legs as Edward sits.
He finds himself unsurprise that Privateering paid well, given what it entailed. Death was more than possible after all.
...It hits him rather like a brick, that such justification would also mean something Else.]
...They'd not offered a thing to replace the task afterward...did they? [he finds himself asking, still standing, if only because he needs to get to that kettle once it clicks. Jonathan's face is slack with a particular kind of grief.
The sort that speaks of having known something...but not actually understanding it, until that moment.
Nope. Not a thing. When the peace came, we all ended up drifting in the wind with no real idea what to do next, and no real skill at anything else.
[Edward had been a sheep farmer before he'd been a privateer, and what he'd learned at sea wasn't the sort of thing you brought home with you. He leans over and gives Danny a gentle little pet on top of the head, making sure to scratch behind the ears.]
So we turned pirate, instead. [He sighs.] I tell you this because...well, like I said. I've seen men overcome with nostalgia before. I've been one. And so much of the time it's because you've just—seen too much, done too much, and in the aftermath you can't see a way through.
...Such things that they enjoy painting away from history texts... [Jonathan can't help but murmur, the kettle clicking in that time.]
...It feels odd. ...To experience a thing one expects of soldiers, and the like, [he confesses.] Truthfully now that I'm speaking to someone who actually knows what nostalgia entails, I almost feel a fool for claiming it.
...but I suppose the very matter of it is that quite a lot more than soldiers have, and shall again, seen horror despite anyone's efforts.
[His words bring with them a slight whine from Danny, though the dog looks to Edward the entire time. Jonathan meanwhile focuses on pouring tea.]
...What have you done then, you and your fellows, when such bouts occur? [he can't help but ask.] ...As you may have guessed, I've typically just waited the matter out.
There's a lot of things the history books like to leave out, mate.
[He shakes his head.]
It's not an odd thing to feel. I'd be surprised if everyone who'd died on that ship had come out feeling just fine and peachy, after everything. [He lets out a breath.] You're not a fool to claim it. You're just describing what you feel.
[There's a beat. Then, dryly:]
I got drunk about it. We all did. Not a lot of drinkable water sometimes but plenty of rum.
[A small attempt at humor, as he sighs-] Quite. It's caused an impressive sense of trouble with my 'dream career', I must say...
[...Ah, the archaeology-
Bringing the tea over though, the rather wry smile does not fade.] Would that it were only the ship, where I had such experiences...
[But, he supposes that only strengthens Ed's point. He cannot help but note-] ...There used to be a time when the only healthy thing one could drink was alcohol.
[Three cheers for beer?] ...Though I should hope you've not been relying upon that method now, at least.
[Come Christmas, Jonathan is going to find two presents wrapped up in star spangled gift wrap.
First, there's a relatively large sized box with the biggest inflatable dinosaur outfit that James could reasonably find. The other present has a pretty carefully researched and picked out geology-based archaeology kit, for any fossil-finding, rock cracking needs!]
[Noah is... a little hesitant in sending this message. Not because he thinks Jonathan might be annoyed, but rather that he's not sure Jonathan would even remember meeting him on their first day in the Event Horizon. But he may as well, all things considered- the last impression he wants to leave with anyone is a bad one, even if it wasn't his fault.
So Jonathan is going to get this text from a person who has not texted him before now.]
Hello, is this Mr. Jonathan? This is Noah Haas, we met in the unfortunate event last October. I wanted to actually introduce myself, rather than have previous horrible memories suffice. I'm a second year student in Kaisou University, studying music theory, and my talent is with a violin. It's a pleasure to meet you, actually.
Please, just Jonathan is more than fine! Mr. is quite odd I confess, I'm not even 25...
I certainly can't blame one for hoping to try a second run with introductions, but if it helps somewhat, do know that I do not associate you with such dreadful experiences!
I take it you intend to be a proper musician, then? (Or perhaps you already are..?)
Nor do I associate anyone truly with the horrors of that place. It... really wasn't kind to showing how people could be, was it?
You would be very astute- I began playing in professional orchestras at the age of 13. So yes, a musician, but... I'd like to give comfort back to the world in the way that music comforts me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text; un: captainkenway | three days post-Horrors
Do you need anything? I can stop by and drop off a few things: food, drinks, whatever you ask for. We don't have to talk.
Me to myself: ima bout to ruin both their days with One word
Oh, yes, I was, quite unfortunately. Nothing to worry for! I've put it quite safely from mind. Tis but the usual bout of nostalgia to contend with, so I ought be back to proper activity given a few days!
no subject
I used to know people who dealt with fits of nostalgia. They didn't tend to last long.
Look, far be it for me to tell you how to handle those bouts. God knows I try to drown mine in rum. But all that...it's not the sort of thing that just leaves your mind once it's done, in my experience. It likes to stay and haunt you.
Do you want company?
whispers go to him ed-
Alfred is helpful like that.]
Oh. I'm rather used to people ignoring me after saying such a thing...
Truthfully I'm not certain I do more than attempt to just not think about the matter. Quite a lot that comes to require that, I find. I
[Jonathan trails off, the words cutting short, but another message comes through not so long after. Well, not a message persay, but rather a photo; bat on their back, his oversized great dane sniffing worriedly at them.
Once again, Alfred is helpful like that. At the very least Edward has the insistence of a pokemon to come and visit.]
no subject
Give me your address. I'll drop on by with food. I'll be the first to admit I've no idea what bats prefer to eat, besides fruits and berries.
no subject
Oh, very well...
Fruit is quite nice, but I can stomach most anything if I take the right form for it. I have my own tea ready to brew at the least.
no subject
[And indeed, thirty minutes later, here's Edward knocking on the door with a bag of fruits in hand.]
Oi, Jonathan, mate! Open up, I've brought the fruits I promised.
no subject
Though from behind the Indeedee, there is a protesting shout.] Alfred-! I am not so bedridden that I can't handle a door..!!
[Jonathan in his human state comes rushing to greet his friend of course, and tagging along is a somewhat anxious great dane. Birds of a feather, those giants. The door is held open to the rest of the cozy 'ghibli' cottage, and the man sighs.]
I expect we'll need to wait a short bit for the tea, but... ...well, far be it from me to not thank you for coming, if those around me feel it necessary.
[He'll admit that much- if Alfred insists, it's...probably for the best.]
no subject
[He shrugs.]
Don't have to thank me for it. You'd look out for me and anyone else, yeah?
[Besides, they're both men of the past. Nostalgia means something very different to them than it does to everyone else.]
...did I ever tell you, before I was a pirate, I was a privateer in a war?
no subject
I can't rightfully say otherwise, [he admits quietly.] Indeed, had I heard you claim a bout of nostalgia yourself, I would certainly jump to offer some aid and company. I...
[In his hesitance, Edward has plenty of time to speak, and Jonathan blinks.] A...Privateer? No, you hadn't, not at all. I...
...For how long?
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[He can't turn away. He...feels partly responsible, really.]
A while. Starting from when I was...hm, eighteen? Nineteen? Young enough that I thought I was invincible, in the way of all youth then. [A shrug, as he sits down somewhere, sets the bag down on a table.] Privateering was more lucrative than any other job I could find, and I'd just married, too—I couldn't afford to keep her in the style she was once accustomed to, not unless I could find work that could pay more handsomely than farming could.
She told me she didn't mind being more frugal. She told me that me being around was enough. [A sad smile.] I didn't listen, obviously. Too busy being blinded by visions of gold spilling out of my pockets.
...What they don't tell you about privateering is, it is so bloody easy to start to think that it's the only thing you'll ever be good at. And while you're at war, that's all well and good, but—what do you think happened to us when the war ended, and we were left adrift?
no subject
He finds himself unsurprise that Privateering paid well, given what it entailed. Death was more than possible after all.
...It hits him rather like a brick, that such justification would also mean something Else.]
...They'd not offered a thing to replace the task afterward...did they? [he finds himself asking, still standing, if only because he needs to get to that kettle once it clicks. Jonathan's face is slack with a particular kind of grief.
The sort that speaks of having known something...but not actually understanding it, until that moment.
He did, after all, study quite a lot of history.]
no subject
[Edward had been a sheep farmer before he'd been a privateer, and what he'd learned at sea wasn't the sort of thing you brought home with you. He leans over and gives Danny a gentle little pet on top of the head, making sure to scratch behind the ears.]
So we turned pirate, instead. [He sighs.] I tell you this because...well, like I said. I've seen men overcome with nostalgia before. I've been one. And so much of the time it's because you've just—seen too much, done too much, and in the aftermath you can't see a way through.
no subject
...It feels odd. ...To experience a thing one expects of soldiers, and the like, [he confesses.] Truthfully now that I'm speaking to someone who actually knows what nostalgia entails, I almost feel a fool for claiming it.
...but I suppose the very matter of it is that quite a lot more than soldiers have, and shall again, seen horror despite anyone's efforts.
[His words bring with them a slight whine from Danny, though the dog looks to Edward the entire time. Jonathan meanwhile focuses on pouring tea.]
...What have you done then, you and your fellows, when such bouts occur? [he can't help but ask.] ...As you may have guessed, I've typically just waited the matter out.
no subject
[He shakes his head.]
It's not an odd thing to feel. I'd be surprised if everyone who'd died on that ship had come out feeling just fine and peachy, after everything. [He lets out a breath.] You're not a fool to claim it. You're just describing what you feel.
[There's a beat. Then, dryly:]
I got drunk about it. We all did. Not a lot of drinkable water sometimes but plenty of rum.
[jojo voice] beer was a food group once
[...Ah, the archaeology-
Bringing the tea over though, the rather wry smile does not fade.] Would that it were only the ship, where I had such experiences...
[But, he supposes that only strengthens Ed's point. He cannot help but note-] ...There used to be a time when the only healthy thing one could drink was alcohol.
[Three cheers for beer?] ...Though I should hope you've not been relying upon that method now, at least.
Secret Santa!
First, there's a relatively large sized box with the biggest inflatable dinosaur outfit that James could reasonably find. The other present has a pretty carefully researched and picked out geology-based archaeology kit, for any fossil-finding, rock cracking needs!]
text; un: fourseasons
So Jonathan is going to get this text from a person who has not texted him before now.]
Hello, is this Mr. Jonathan? This is Noah Haas, we met in the unfortunate event last October. I wanted to actually introduce myself, rather than have previous horrible memories suffice. I'm a second year student in Kaisou University, studying music theory, and my talent is with a violin. It's a pleasure to meet you, actually.
un: jojo
Please, just Jonathan is more than fine! Mr. is quite odd I confess, I'm not even 25...
I certainly can't blame one for hoping to try a second run with introductions, but if it helps somewhat, do know that I do not associate you with such dreadful experiences!
I take it you intend to be a proper musician, then? (Or perhaps you already are..?)
no subject
Nor do I associate anyone truly with the horrors of that place. It... really wasn't kind to showing how people could be, was it?
You would be very astute- I began playing in professional orchestras at the age of 13. So yes, a musician, but... I'd like to give comfort back to the world in the way that music comforts me.
no subject
13! Quite the time to grow one's skill then- it gladdens me to hear such goals for the art though. Music truly is a comfort, after all.
(Though alas, I never had the talent for it...it's quite wonderful to be able to listen to it more easily these days!)