[ The whole time Klaus is speaking, Tim's kind of silently begging him to say something that isn't so heavy, so when he mentions the shrimp Tim practically leaps on it, moving over to the table and dropping down into a seat. He places his wine glass very carefully on a coaster, avoiding looking at Klaus while everything else he said rests quite heavily in the air between them, a presence he can almost feel.
It's hard for Tim to engage with people on this kind of level; he did all of his growing up in situations where people just don't talk to each other like this. No time for feelings. He was never especially open as a child, but almost a decade in the army plus a few years being raised exclusively by his father after his mom got sick โ those things will change a person. He wonders if he would have been any different if he hadn't enlisted. Probably he would've. Either way, he would've gotten out from under his father's thumb, probably gone to college somewhere and grown up normally. He's bitter, sometimes, and annoyed at the non-existence of this hypothetical Better Tim, who can express his feelings properly, who doesn't clam up so tight around people he likes, who maybe wants things like dates and boyfriends, who can sleep past six thirty and doesn't have to regiment his life strictly enough that sometimes it feels like he's living in a prison he made for himself.
To distract himself from all of that, Tim picks up a fork, stabs a single shrimp on the end of it, and eats it. ] This is good, [ he says, which isn't an answer to anything Klaus said, except maybe that last thing about the shrimp. It takes more effort than he'd be willing to admit to clear his throat and add, ] What d'you mean, you died?
I died. For good. I am an Original vampire, and indestructible at that, but one thing, the ash from a white oak tree that my mother used to help -- make us like we were, can kill us.
( This, he tries not to make sound as heavy as he pours some vegetables on his plate and sets the bowl back down. )
[ He hadn't even meant that, but maybe it makes sense, that he's not so easily killed. Except for when he is, apparently. Tim scoops some vegetables onto his own plate and nibbles at one thoughtfully. ] Y'know, [ he says, around a smile, ] I could slip on a banana peel walkin' down the street and die. You just said indestructible so easily.
I did, didn't I. And, if you died with vampire blood in your system, you'd wake up in transition. One drop of human blood and you too would live forever. Forever and indestructible are quite normalized for us.
[ That makes him laugh, another little exhale around a grin. ] You sound like you're sellin' it to me. Like, "for just twelve instalments of $49.99 you too can be immortal as fuck."
As fuck. I see that that term has staying power. ( He smirks, again. ) I wasn't offering. Unless you only prefer coming out at night. I don't have a witch in my employ, or my sister here to enchant a daylight ring for you. Nor would they have their access to magic. It would be quite limiting.
[ Of course, a daylight ring. Tim nods as if that's obvious. ] Yeah, nah, it's cool. I'm more of an early bird, anyway. And imagine if I went home all vampiric and shit, my boss wouldn't know what to do with me.
As a vampire, you'd be an every bird - and hopefully a more secretive one. It may not seem like it, but it is better to keep it under wraps under most circumstances not revolving around extra-dimensional kidnapping.
[ Tim hates hypothetical states. He'd rather be up against real ones. ]
Mhm. [ To demonstrate, though, he delicately eats a few more shrimp and a couple vegetables, and then has another sip of wine, and decides maybe he could be a wine drinker. ] When's your birthday?
Can you imagine that I have no 'one' birthday? I was born around the 900's. AD. We didn't track the days like we do. I was born in the warmer months. That is all I know. I don't think I ever chose a day to lay claim to. Perhaps that's something I can do here. Put down yet more roots in this time.
Shit, I have no idea, [ Tim says, gently mollified. His mom would probably know in an instant, but that little fact is for him to know and Klaus to... not know. ] I'm an Aquarius, though, if that matters to you at all.
It doesn't. But, it has been put to file in the record. Timothy. Of the house Aquarius. In the age of, you could say. I followed horoscopes briefly when it was still a larger fad in the 90's. You do have to keep up with the kids these days. But, it was exhausting - and generally universal. Just specific and vague enough to pertain to someone and make them feel more special. Whereas, I'd always known I was. I didn't need extra validation from planets and character traits.
[ It makes him smile, almost. He thinks, very stupidly, that Angie Gutterson would like Klaus, or at least she'd find him very amusing, which is almost the same thing when it comes to her. God, he misses his mom, he's never missed her so much and she's so unbelievably far away. His face falls, and it's obvious for a second, the way his jaw hardens and a muscle in it jumps before he makes himself even out his expression. ]
That's a very Leo thing to say, [ he says, with no idea whether it is or not, mostly just to keep the mood light. ] Hey, how come you call me Timothy? 'Tim' has less syllables.
Does it? I had no idea. ( He does... give him this. ) Honestly, I come from a more formal time and it tends to be harder to break those habits. But, in some - specific cases it may have to do with how close I feel to the person, how much I trust them and think of them as something resembling family or even a friend. And sometimes I just prefer pronouncing one's full name. Wait until I start calling you Timothy Gutterson. All the syllables I'll have to say there.
Nobody calls me Timothy, [ Tim says, although he doesn't sound all that put-out by it; it's kind of a nice feeling, like his full name has somehow become a nickname in and of itself by virtue of Klaus being the only one to use it. ] I was nearly Roy Junior, though, how d'you like the sound of that?
( It has, though. It has, Timothy. ) I like it less. I can't do much with Roy and Junior is accompanied with implications of inadequacy. No, I think Tim Gutterson, Timothy suits you. In truth, I'd call you whatever you wished as it is your name we're discussing. I can't promise to cease calling you Timothy. I could make an effort.
Nah, it's cool, [ Tim says, sitting back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the edge of the table once. ] I don't even hate it, if I'm honest with you. Sounds nice the way you say it.
[ Tim shrugs with his mouth. ] Yeah, I guess that's true. I personally have the gift of makin' everythin' sound like it's been pulled through a hedge backwards.
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Date: 2020-02-14 06:27 am (UTC)It's hard for Tim to engage with people on this kind of level; he did all of his growing up in situations where people just don't talk to each other like this. No time for feelings. He was never especially open as a child, but almost a decade in the army plus a few years being raised exclusively by his father after his mom got sick โ those things will change a person. He wonders if he would have been any different if he hadn't enlisted. Probably he would've. Either way, he would've gotten out from under his father's thumb, probably gone to college somewhere and grown up normally. He's bitter, sometimes, and annoyed at the non-existence of this hypothetical Better Tim, who can express his feelings properly, who doesn't clam up so tight around people he likes, who maybe wants things like dates and boyfriends, who can sleep past six thirty and doesn't have to regiment his life strictly enough that sometimes it feels like he's living in a prison he made for himself.
To distract himself from all of that, Tim picks up a fork, stabs a single shrimp on the end of it, and eats it. ] This is good, [ he says, which isn't an answer to anything Klaus said, except maybe that last thing about the shrimp. It takes more effort than he'd be willing to admit to clear his throat and add, ] What d'you mean, you died?
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Date: 2020-02-14 06:33 am (UTC)( This, he tries not to make sound as heavy as he pours some vegetables on his plate and sets the bowl back down. )
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Date: 2020-02-14 06:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 06:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-14 07:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-17 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 04:29 pm (UTC)( A beat. ) Is the shrimp to your liking?
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Date: 2020-02-25 02:03 am (UTC)Mhm. [ To demonstrate, though, he delicately eats a few more shrimp and a couple vegetables, and then has another sip of wine, and decides maybe he could be a wine drinker. ] When's your birthday?
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Date: 2020-02-25 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-08 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-08 09:20 pm (UTC)( Genuinely curious, he asks. Does Tim know him well enough? Let's find out. )
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Date: 2020-03-11 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-11 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 04:57 am (UTC)That's a very Leo thing to say, [ he says, with no idea whether it is or not, mostly just to keep the mood light. ] Hey, how come you call me Timothy? 'Tim' has less syllables.
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Date: 2020-03-13 05:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 05:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 05:33 am (UTC)( Literally. That's it. )
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Date: 2020-03-13 05:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 05:43 am (UTC)Is that what you sound like? I quite like how you speak.
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Date: 2020-03-13 05:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
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