[He doesn't just stumble on things by accident, save for maybe that hole in the ground. He doesn't just have good luck, and if it seems that way, there's probably someone watching, making sure everything goes according to plan.]
[He sees the carrot. Now, where's the stick?]
If it wants me to be spreading anything, it's not exactly doing a great job. Like I said, there's just...nobody.
[He stares at the table, shoulders hunched. He mumbles his next words. Maybe he's got distance, maybe Tim's saying he'll forget whatever Jay says anyway, maybe he's supposed to be getting things off his chest, but maybe he's just gonna embarrass himself.]
[Again, at least the camera's not running.]
Didn't think it was possible to get, like, lonely after all this.
[The word sticks in his throat. Lonely, like his friends went out to some bullshit college party without him. Lonely, like some asshole whining about the fact that his girlfriend broke up with him two weeks ago. He's been working alone for years. Alex was a fluke, and one he didn't remember. Tim was a fluke. Jessica was only a few days, and then she was gone.]
[But even then, there was the person at the front desk, the person behind the counter, the anonymous masses online. Even on the days he was terrified, the days he checked the corners of his hotel room for hidden lenses, watched the staff's body language for tension, for violence, for a knife hidden in a pocket or a gun tucked in the waistband, there was some reassurance in the knowledge that he wasn't entirely alone.]
[Too bad he didn't notice until it was taken away.]
[The next words are bitter, spat through a tense jaw.]
Guess you learn something new every day.
[He went directly to the Masons, upon showing up. He went looking for Clem, and Sans, and Shepard, and the Tim he remembers. He needed to see they still exist. He needed to know.]
no subject
[He doesn't just stumble on things by accident, save for maybe that hole in the ground. He doesn't just have good luck, and if it seems that way, there's probably someone watching, making sure everything goes according to plan.]
[He sees the carrot. Now, where's the stick?]
If it wants me to be spreading anything, it's not exactly doing a great job. Like I said, there's just...nobody.
[He stares at the table, shoulders hunched. He mumbles his next words. Maybe he's got distance, maybe Tim's saying he'll forget whatever Jay says anyway, maybe he's supposed to be getting things off his chest, but maybe he's just gonna embarrass himself.]
[Again, at least the camera's not running.]
Didn't think it was possible to get, like, lonely after all this.
[The word sticks in his throat. Lonely, like his friends went out to some bullshit college party without him. Lonely, like some asshole whining about the fact that his girlfriend broke up with him two weeks ago. He's been working alone for years. Alex was a fluke, and one he didn't remember. Tim was a fluke. Jessica was only a few days, and then she was gone.]
[But even then, there was the person at the front desk, the person behind the counter, the anonymous masses online. Even on the days he was terrified, the days he checked the corners of his hotel room for hidden lenses, watched the staff's body language for tension, for violence, for a knife hidden in a pocket or a gun tucked in the waistband, there was some reassurance in the knowledge that he wasn't entirely alone.]
[Too bad he didn't notice until it was taken away.]
[The next words are bitter, spat through a tense jaw.]
Guess you learn something new every day.
[He went directly to the Masons, upon showing up. He went looking for Clem, and Sans, and Shepard, and the Tim he remembers. He needed to see they still exist. He needed to know.]
Wait.
[If it wants me to be spreading anything...]
Wait, shit.