[There's a moment of quiet before he starts, the sort of thing that's only really audible if you're listening for it; it's been some time since Alexei has addressed any number of people at once, and while it's something he used to be accustomed to, it's also something that he's rather out of practice with.

So there's quiet, and the awkwardness is palpable when he does start, and he doesn't bother introducing himself; maybe some will recognize his voice, maybe not. It matters fairly little to him in the scheme of things.]

I don't normally request guidance, and particularly not regarding personal matters, so I pray I may be forgiven for the vagueness of the question. But I suppose that the recent conditions on Monsun have me contemplating things.

Is it...acceptable, I suppose, to continue to want something that you have no right or claim to anymore?

[...And apparently that is all for now.]

[He speaks in a calm, even voice, perfectly casual. No one can ever truly get used to losing good friends, it will always hurt, it's always too soon to say goodbye... but it's happened countless times to him, because that's simply the way it is when one is being forgotten by both the living and the dead. He's one of them, los Olvidados. They all swallow their pain, they bury it deep and they carry on, remembering those they've lost as long as they can.

And he is very, very accustomed to living with the pain. What he enjoys and what he wants has nothing to do with it. He's not the only one dealing with it.]

Muffet's also gone. I know she did a lot of the baking, especially for the Denny. I'm not so bad at that myself and I like it, so it's no problem for me to carry on with it. It's just, ah...

[Here comes the shameful part.] I literally have no muscles, I'm not so good at carrying things you probably wouldn't think are heavy. If anyone doesn't mind helping out part of the time, I'd appreciate it.

And there's something of hers I'd like to put up in the Storyteller's temple too, I think they'd like to have it.

[Seems that's all. He doesn't say any more...]

[A slight clearing of the throat, followed by a soft, heavily-accented voice. Prim, almost. And serious.]

I, ah, understand there's been some talk of firearms and their usefulness lately, but — well. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience in the art of blacksmithing? Or might know where one could hypothetically acquire a sword? A shortsword, specifically.

Erm.

Thank you... in advance.

[Awkward pause goes here.]

— this is Aziraphale, by the way.

[Another pause.]

Very good, then.

[The new iStone clicks on, and with a quick clearing of his throat, Kravitz’ voice comes through crisp and… maybe a bit rehearsed. It’s obvious he’s fumbling with the new text feature, so he’s just going to stick to talking right now.]

Our last few months on these islands have me thinking about a conversation I had a while ago with someone who is unfortunately no longer here. While I know we’ve learned quite a bit in the time some of us have been on this archipelago, very little of it is properly available to new arrivals and we risk the loss of this information when people unexpectedly disappear. In addition, seeing as people can simply vanish at any given time, it’s horribly difficult to figure out how many of us we have running around at all. When half of us were children recently enough we couldn’t have told you the information we had as adults, and if that had been permanent, we’d be, well, rather shit out of luck.

[He sighs, trying to collect himself in a way that isn’t just a frustrated ramble, which is also the technical point of this miniature speech.]

All of that is to say… we have a library with books and paper, and if our purpose here is to be telling a story, I feel we should start recording it. I’d like to invite people to come and write down what you’ve learned here, so we can keep a catalog to inform new arrivals and refresh ourselves before we repeat past mistakes. Anything is relevant and nothing is too small not to be marked, so please don’t be shy in thinking someone else has it covered. I’ll do my best to compile the information into something more organized once we have a fair number of responses. In addition, I’d like to keep some record of us as well- your name and where you live would suffice. If you’re all amenable, I would also like to suggest having point people or trusted contacts for each islet and lived area, so if a catastrophe occurs on our shores we’re able to quickly locate and assist anyone who may be in direct peril.

[There’s a slight pause, before he kind of awkwardly adds--]

This is Kravitz, by the way. Uhm. You may have seen me… around. I’ll be down at the library today recording my own experiences. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[ooc: OOC Info on the library is over here!]