[Private to Jay Zimin]

[fridgeninja]

[Souji's mental voice is quiet, subdued, even - not as open and emotive as Seth's usual enthusiastic mask.]

Hi.

We don't know each other's real selves yet, but...

If you need to talk, I'm someone who can listen.

Comments

[amourtician]

[ Jay's mental voice is very much an outdoor sort of voice. He hasn't mastered the indoor mental voice yet. ]

Oh! Er— That's very kind of you to offer, darling.

... you were Seths. Seth. Right?

[fridgeninja]

That was me. This me is Seta Souji - just Souji, to my friends.

[amourtician]

I think you know I was Isaac— Halitosis. I think I — er, he — preferred to be Halitosis. By, ah. Quite a large margin.

This is all very bizarre, darling. Very, very bizarre.

[fridgeninja]

Under the circumstances, "you get used to it" probably isn't reassuring.

What should I call you now?

[amourtician]

Hah! No, darling, it's not— urgh.

I'm Jay Zimin. Just Jay, to just about everyone.

[fridgeninja]

Jay. It's good to meet you.

If I'm remembering what Seth knew about good manners correctly, should I be asking about your preferred pronouns?

[amourtician]

Good to meet you too—

Er. I'm a man, darling. I know you know certain ... facts about me, but nonetheless. So, er. Male pronouns, please.

And I'd appreciate it if you didn't, er. Tell people about my, ahhh. My condition.

[fridgeninja]

I understand. I won't mention anything.

My girlfriend is a boy sometimes, but Japan in 2011 had different manners, so I wanted to be sure I could do what's right for you and your expectations.

[amourtician]

Oh. Ah—

[ Momentarily, Jay is lost for words. It's a rare occurrence. ]

My boyfriend isn't sure if he's a girl or a boy or even if he needs to choose. But, ah. I'm more straightforward.

[ That's a lie. But Souji doesn't need to know that. ]

[fridgeninja]

It's just as okay to be straightforward as it is to be complicated. And to still be figuring it out as to have it figured out.

Anyway. I might not always know enough to understand, but I believe in respecting who everyone is.

[amourtician]

Thank you, dearest. I do appreciate it—

I'm very much relieved I've met no hostility among the Travellers. At least, not about this particular thing—

[fridgeninja]

... What are people being hostile about?

[amourtician]

Oh, nothing, really. I'm just expecting the other shoe to drop, so to speak.

[fridgeninja]

Well. We have been captured by mysterious extradimensional beings who use our minds as pawns in their power struggle.

[amourtician]

Urgh. Well, there's the other shoe to all this, ah, frankly fascinating stuff with the Liminal Space and everyone's different universes—

I'm sorry, darling. I can't quite turn off the natural philosopher bits.

[fridgeninja]

Jay.

I know it isn't this way with everyone, but with me, there's no part of being you that you'll need to apologize for.

Besides, I like having friends who think deeply about things.

[amourtician]

Oh, believe me, dearest, you'll be singing a different tune in a few weeks. I'm nastier than I look!

But, ah. Do you mean that? That we're— that we're friends?

[fridgeninja]

I do.

[amourtician]

Ah.

Thank you.

You, ah. Probably have no idea how much that means to me.

[fridgeninja]

Maybe. But four years ago, I didn't have any friends at all. And I remember what that was like.

[amourtician]

Hell. Wasn't it?

I always had my twin— but no-one else. Until. Well. Until Lyova and Gigi.

[ Bringing them up is painful, but bittersweet, too. He'd give anything to have them here. Involuntarily, he tears up. ]

[fridgeninja]

I'm sorry. I got here before any of my friends did, at first...