[honestly czeslaw is the last person who should be talking about this kind of thing - if claire stanfield were to appear before him right this second, czeslaw would run out into the night screaming without hesitation, and they haven't had a poor interaction in a good sixty years - but he has enough trouble without people pitying him. that's good. his pity would be unbearable.]
Time does go funny, after a while. Though I must admit, it's tough being the "youngest" immortal in a group. We've all lived as long as each other, just about, but I still get treated like a kid.
[he smirks at claude, thinking that he does look young, indeed.]
You've got a young face on you. Maybe you understand?
Yes, I have to imagine that being stuck at... well, the age you appear to be presents itself with some challenges. Even I had a difficult time getting over that.
[ Though the root of his power is a troublesome one to say the least, the thought crosses his mind how much easier his life would be if he were to have this power, no strings attached. Even for an interaction as low stakes as this one, it's good to know where to go, what to say, what well-meant sentiments would be taken as pity and scorn, what the other person wants from him.
He's spent much of his life trying to read situations and give people what they want from him, or what he thinks they don't want from him, depending. To no longer have to guess would be of immeasurable relief. It is not a power he can keep. He knows what it will do to him.
But now, at least, he knows not to pity this boy -- this man. He rubs at his chin, smiling ruefully at him. ]
While I appreciate my boyish good looks, my inability to grow a proper beard has been a constant thorn in my side. My father has the most luxurious beard you've ever seen, you see, and I have not yet been able to follow in his footsteps. Though here, everyone thinks I'm older than I am, and I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered by that.
[ A beat. ]
I'm twenty-one, for the record. Or twenty-two, now? I've rather lost track of time here.
[ He looks young enough, but holds himself like a much older man. Something Czeslaw can relate to, perhaps. ]
Be flattered, [czeslaw suggests playfully,] you never know when being taken for older might come in handy.
[hmm, claude has shared his own age. should i tell him?...well, why not? czeslaw seems much more at ease now, both mentally and physically. having claude's acceptance makes him feel...secure, in a way. confident where he's normally uncertain. living a lie takes a toll on him.]
I passed my three hundredth birthday recently. It's no millennia but I have seen the world change.
Three hundred? [ Claude's brows raise. ] And here I thought you were no more than a chipper ninety years old!
[ It would be a more surprising prospect to him, had he not been acquainted by others already. It still is, if he allows himself to sit down and meditate on the enormity that it is to live for such a long time, generations that were raised and died, the technological advancements and political shifts.
Claude would like to live forever, or at least a very, very long time. He won't deny that impulse in himself. But still, he is only in his twenties, and he already feels terribly tired much of the time. ]
You'll have to be careful, Czeslaw. If you let me, I'll interrogate you for every scrap of knowledge across all three hundred years. What sort of changes did you see?
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expiationlogs2025-03-11 10:18 am
no subject
Time does go funny, after a while. Though I must admit, it's tough being the "youngest" immortal in a group. We've all lived as long as each other, just about, but I still get treated like a kid.
[he smirks at claude, thinking that he does look young, indeed.]
You've got a young face on you. Maybe you understand?
no subject
[ Though the root of his power is a troublesome one to say the least, the thought crosses his mind how much easier his life would be if he were to have this power, no strings attached. Even for an interaction as low stakes as this one, it's good to know where to go, what to say, what well-meant sentiments would be taken as pity and scorn, what the other person wants from him.
He's spent much of his life trying to read situations and give people what they want from him, or what he thinks they don't want from him, depending. To no longer have to guess would be of immeasurable relief. It is not a power he can keep. He knows what it will do to him.
But now, at least, he knows not to pity this boy -- this man. He rubs at his chin, smiling ruefully at him. ]
While I appreciate my boyish good looks, my inability to grow a proper beard has been a constant thorn in my side. My father has the most luxurious beard you've ever seen, you see, and I have not yet been able to follow in his footsteps. Though here, everyone thinks I'm older than I am, and I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered by that.
[ A beat. ]
I'm twenty-one, for the record. Or twenty-two, now? I've rather lost track of time here.
[ He looks young enough, but holds himself like a much older man. Something Czeslaw can relate to, perhaps. ]
no subject
[hmm, claude has shared his own age. should i tell him?...well, why not? czeslaw seems much more at ease now, both mentally and physically. having claude's acceptance makes him feel...secure, in a way. confident where he's normally uncertain. living a lie takes a toll on him.]
I passed my three hundredth birthday recently. It's no millennia but I have seen the world change.
no subject
[ It would be a more surprising prospect to him, had he not been acquainted by others already. It still is, if he allows himself to sit down and meditate on the enormity that it is to live for such a long time, generations that were raised and died, the technological advancements and political shifts.
Claude would like to live forever, or at least a very, very long time. He won't deny that impulse in himself. But still, he is only in his twenties, and he already feels terribly tired much of the time. ]
You'll have to be careful, Czeslaw. If you let me, I'll interrogate you for every scrap of knowledge across all three hundred years. What sort of changes did you see?