Out of time

RP Blog. OC friendly. Muse and Mun are 21+

[historically-accurate]

About Historically-accurate

Old blog got deleted so welcome or welcome back!

Meet Percival Aevum, historian and (accidental) time traveler who will talk your ear off.

(More information about muse, mun and rules below the readmore)

Rules:

Pretty straight forward. I don't write with minors and I don't really do smut.

I always try to read other people's rules before interacting, but do let me know if I accidentally break one. Sometimes I don't remember them all.

If you need me to tag something, tell me. I’m open to darker themes and I try to tag accordingly, but sometimes things slip through the cracks.

About Percival:

Percival is a 35 year old man. From an early age, he was captivated by tales of the past and this fascination never went away. When he was 20, Percival stumbled upon an old pocket watch. As soon as he touched it, he found himself transported through time.

After some trail and error he found that the hands of the clock would decide on what time he would travel to. He tries to remain in the present as much as possible, after all, messing with the past is not without risk, but the watch seems to have other plans.

Percival can be a bit of a chatterbox, he hardly ever keeps his thoughts to himself, and sometimes he could use a bit more of a filter. He is also clever and resourceful, but above all; curious.

His clothing style is much like his personality; a bit eccentric, often based on clothing styles from the past with a modern twist. He also loves a bit of (tasteful) bling.

Link to his different AU's!

About the mun:

My name is Victor (they/them) and I’m 26. I have been on Tumblr for a bit now, but sometimes the RP community still confuses me, so please let me know when I do something that you didn't like.

Thank you for interacting with me.

Tags:

for memes #timeless memes

for ask replies #the clock chimes

for RP posts #traveler out of time

[letsdrinktotruelove]

René had committed so many crimes through the years that identity fraud barely registered any more in the list. It was a necessity every decade or two, when he needed to change jobs and avoid the inevitable scrutiny at his lack of long term change.

"Sometimes you do end up needing an extra set of hands," he replied finding a pen from his bag and a scrap of paper, noting down both his own mobile and the address for Worth's clinic. Percival didn't seem like an overt threat, at least, and... he would let the doctor know to reach out if Percival did show up. He didn't want to coddle the man, and better, he mused, that Percival had some non-watch related options as well, potentially. Perhaps Worth could figure out more about the situation there.

"I suppose that is... sensible. At least from fiction, affecting your own timeline too directly is a recipe for disaster. From universe-destroying-paradox to ending up fighting yourself for timeline survival."

He did allow himself a demure handwave and chuckle at Percival's compliment. "It is always nice when you can be open about things, and serendipity has certainly worked in our favour. But really, short of a wealth of experiences and opinions about the condition of different types of soils and their effect on how easy they are to move through, there are far more interesting creatures out there. I'm just a queer little Frenchman who really should have been a court jester or fool, and the Lord has chosen this existence as the best way to allow that, apparently."

[historically-accurate]

Yes, Percival's situation was undeniably bewildering. Percival himself often felt bewildered by it himself, so he simply nodded in understanding at the other's words.

"Not a problem at all, you had quite a good reason for panic, and I had nothing else planned anyway." He didn't make plans, most plans fell through anyway since he could never guarantee that he could make it.

He clinked his glass against René's, smiling slightly at the gesture. It wouldn't matter if they became friends or if they simply stayed mere acquaintances; this meeting alone had given them both a nice opportunity to share about themselves, and that was already plenty.

"I see! Do you still garden? Is it an active part of your life?" He imaged there were plenty of ways to still do such things while avoiding the sun, and the love for plants shone through while René spoke. Percival never managed to keep plants alive for long, though that was mostly the result of his constant absences. Not to mention the absolute jungle that his backyard had become. "Do you have any favorite flowers or plants?"

[historically-accurate]

Percival is so oblivious when it comes to modern trends or pop culture. Dude doesn't remember a thing from before he found the watch, he hardly ever spends more than a couple of days in a row in the present, and he always forgets to charge his phone. He has never watched a tik tok, he does not know what a "spicy" book is. You want to make a movie reference? He will not get it.

[historically-accurate]

I get so excited and happy when people want to write with me and interact with Percival 🥹

[letsdrinktotruelove]

René had committed so many crimes through the years that identity fraud barely registered any more in the list. It was a necessity every decade or two, when he needed to change jobs and avoid the inevitable scrutiny at his lack of long term change.

"Sometimes you do end up needing an extra set of hands," he replied finding a pen from his bag and a scrap of paper, noting down both his own mobile and the address for Worth's clinic. Percival didn't seem like an overt threat, at least, and... he would let the doctor know to reach out if Percival did show up. He didn't want to coddle the man, and better, he mused, that Percival had some non-watch related options as well, potentially. Perhaps Worth could figure out more about the situation there.

"I suppose that is... sensible. At least from fiction, affecting your own timeline too directly is a recipe for disaster. From universe-destroying-paradox to ending up fighting yourself for timeline survival."

He did allow himself a demure handwave and chuckle at Percival's compliment. "It is always nice when you can be open about things, and serendipity has certainly worked in our favour. But really, short of a wealth of experiences and opinions about the condition of different types of soils and their effect on how easy they are to move through, there are far more interesting creatures out there. I'm just a queer little Frenchman who really should have been a court jester or fool, and the Lord has chosen this existence as the best way to allow that, apparently."

[historically-accurate]

Admittedly, Percival's morals had become a tad more...flexible since this whole time travel thing started. Desperate times called for desperate measures after all, and as long as the end justified the means...

He gratefully accepted the scrap of paper, taking his notebook out of his bag so he could fold the scrap between the papers. He would have to copy it properly one of these days; he was prone to losing small objects and a scrap of paper was likely to disappear while it was in his hands. He would also have to figure out where he left his mobile phone, as well as the charger since the phone probably hadn't been charged in a good while... All things he should try to figure out when he got home.

That was, if he managed to get home without being whisked to a different time. And if he remembered to actually do all these things if he did manage to get home.

"Yes, media certainly seems to display it as a dangerous thing, and frankly I think it best to be overly cautious rather than accidentally careless. Some mistakes cannot be fixed, so I'd prefer not to make them."

"I don't enjoy talking to you just because you are an interesting creature. I enjoy talking to you because you seem knowledgeable, well spoken and you have a sense of humor. I also would actually like to hear about the soil sometime, it actually sounds quite interesting."

[historically-accurate]

Open starter

Percival did not normally like to leave the house. There were too many people out there, and he did not do well around people. Every single individual he'd ever met carried some form of pain with them, and because of that god-forsaken watch he had to see and experience all of it.

But even though he did not like people -not anymore, at least- he still couldn't fight the human desire to be near others. Being completely isolated wasn't good for anyone and he had been going stir-crazy after staying home for far too long.

He'd put on an eyepatch over his left eye in order to avoid stares;both the sclera and iris were a pale pink and the pupil was always glowing, causing it to look rather eerie. His right eye had a bright pink iris which admittedly did also result in strange looks, but at least the right eye didn't give people visions of eternal suffering if they looked at it for too long.

He'd been walking for a little bit, regretting his decision to go out quite severely, zoning out and dissociating heavily as he bumped into someone with quite a bit of force. The touch was enough for visions to flood him temporarily, leaving him frozen and clenching his jaw before snarling.

"Watch it."

He hadn't yet noticed the eyepatch falling down, causing whoever just got bumped into to possibly get a glance at something quite unpleasant.

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"God's grace, the paperwork this century needs... Frankly you're best just to pay to steal someone's identity and get new papers drawn up every now and then." Once you had them, you could always do a name change or whatever else. "I can recommend a doctor whose experience is at least more recent than my own, and who is used to unusual cases, but I could also manage your basics still. Arrow and blade wounds I do at least have more experience with than any doctor born this or last century. My first death was from a bayonette wound." The last scar he'd ever received for keeps.

"The last time I renewed my medical knowledge more broadly was back in the 1970s though, I think." Bits and pieces he kept up on, new discoveries in the news, the odd thing that caught his fancy or someone he knew mentioned...

He did nod at the explanation of Percival's. "Well, at least having a personally consistent rate of ageing is useful. It would make things somewhat awkward if we were to meet again in a week or so and you had suddenly gone to grey and wrinkles."

Still, though, he could appreciate the problem with that-- so easy to miss things, staying in the past and having to lose that time in the present. "I suppose it would get far too confusing even if you did arrive back moments after you originally left, then travelled again right before your stint in the past was up to arrive again just moments after your last jump," he remarked, joking. He figured the watch wouldn't approve, somehow.

He'd already decided that there was some element of pettiness to the thing.

[historically-accurate]

The way the other spoke so casually about identity theft made Percival raise his eyebrows, though admittedly René had a point. "I have gotten fairly good at patching myself up, but that would be most helpful. Thank you." Though some of his physical...differences... did make him think twice about actually getting anybody else to help him. That being said, if an emergency called for it, it would be nice to have a place to go.

"Ahah, yes, exactly, though if I had been gone for that long, I'm not sure i'd even remember you." He already had a tendency to forget people after a few trips to the past, though he usually just chucked that up to his brain being made to deal with far more impressions than most people usually had to deal with.

While the remark clearly wasn't serious, Percival still felt the need to explain. "Ahah...yes, well, good thing such a thing could never happen. The watch is very careful about timelines and such. I cannot travel back to any point where I've already been. Same century? Sure, but not the same day, usually not even the same week really... But I suppose that makes sense. Wouldn't want to cause issues by creating different versions of myself or anything of the sort... Would that create multiples of the watch as well do you think? Hm... Well, doesn't matter." He shook his head a little as he decided not to go down that rabbit hole.

"But yes, I do tend to be gone for long stretches of time, which, again, can make it difficult to actually create relationships with people. I am glad that we ran into each other, it's so very nice to be able to talk about some of the... stranger aspects... of my life so freely. Not to mention the fact that you are positively fascinating yourself."

[historically-accurate]

"Very true, but there are some...physical aspects when it comes to my body that could prove troublesome," he smiled uncomfortably. "So the watch has been keeping me safe. I do sometimes get wounded before the watch moves me, but so far I've managed to deal with those injuries before they could put me in the ground." Spoken as if he were discussing the weather.

"That is... well, it sounds awful. I may have only experienced a fraction of such things, but even that fraction is more that anyone should have to experience. How do you cope?" The rest of the information was undeniably interesting as well, and usually he would've jumped onto that information with great enthusiasm, but the bit about dying and feeling all of it... that was too horrific to gloss over.

"That sounds like a blessing and a curse. A blessing to remember loved ones and valuable memories, but also a curse because those memories can hurt, and the memories of dying most definitely would leave some mental scars that the magic couldn't heal as easily."

[historically-accurate]

Percival grimaced. "I can only imagine. I don't usually go to the hospital anymore because it's become pretty difficult to explain things. Bullet wounds but no bullets, wounds inflicted by swords and arrows, and of course the fact that according to the government, I don't exist..." Not half as bad as that fully body cast, at least.

It was a relief to hear that René had found ways to deal with the situation. He had no experience with immortality, but he had heard enough to imagine how painful and lonely it could be at times, not to mention how traumatizing the experience of dying repeatedly had to be. Percival already struggled with nightmares about his own near death experiences.

He sipped from his drink as he processed what René had just told him.

"I do, I think." A wonderfully clear answer. "I'm not actually a 100% sure about my age, but I don't seem to be immortal or anything of the sort, nor am I aging slower than other people. The watch will usually try to keep such things...streamlined, I suppose you could put it. As in, when I go to the past for two weeks, I will show back up in the present two weeks after I disappeared. That way I still age normally in the present."

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"I stayed for some of the Revolution, but it was getting a bit... upsetting," he replied. He'd certainly seen the line of events that lead his country there, and it had been a easy time for him to feed. Plus, he'd been very much a working man at that stage, long since lost to the passage of time and his connection to royalty and the aristocracy. "It is quicker and cleaner, but yes, still not a favourite way to die. Stabbed in the heart with a substantial enough blade, a quick slit throat, or being crushed head-first is preferable in terms of coping with pain. Burning in a volcano, drowning in a mud-slide, and a number of different poisons hit my top 5 least favourite methods." The volcano didn't take long, but he'd found he felt it until his nerves fully gave out, which wasn't nearly quick enough. At least burning on a pyre there was something to do, and his limbs could still shift as the agony overcame him, even if it was horrible. Lava was so thick and awful to try and fight against, impossible to obey the instinct to get away from it.

"Forgive me for perhaps stating the obvious, but your head is still attached to your shoulders... Am I to take it the watch also helps with that?"

He did wave his hand, flippant. "I have had the benefit of dozens of normal lifetimes, yes. And really, you do need to fill it with something. But the odd year or two or even a decade here and there of wallowing or allowing one's baser instincts free rein help to fill in the gaps."

[historically-accurate]

"Very true, but there are some...physical aspects when it comes to my body that could prove troublesome," he smiled uncomfortably. "So the watch has been keeping me safe. I do sometimes get wounded before the watch moves me, but so far I've managed to deal with those injuries before they could put me in the ground." Spoken as if he were discussing the weather.

"That is... well, it sounds awful. I may have only experienced a fraction of such things, but even that fraction is more that anyone should have to experience. How do you cope?" The rest of the information was undeniably interesting as well, and usually he would've jumped onto that information with great enthusiasm, but the bit about dying and feeling all of it... that was too horrific to gloss over.

"That sounds like a blessing and a curse. A blessing to remember loved ones and valuable memories, but also a curse because those memories can hurt, and the memories of dying most definitely would leave some mental scars that the magic couldn't heal as easily."

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"I stayed for some of the Revolution, but it was getting a bit... upsetting," he replied. He'd certainly seen the line of events that lead his country there, and it had been a easy time for him to feed. Plus, he'd been very much a working man at that stage, long since lost to the passage of time and his connection to royalty and the aristocracy. "It is quicker and cleaner, but yes, still not a favourite way to die. Stabbed in the heart with a substantial enough blade, a quick slit throat, or being crushed head-first is preferable in terms of coping with pain. Burning in a volcano, drowning in a mud-slide, and a number of different poisons hit my top 5 least favourite methods." The volcano didn't take long, but he'd found he felt it until his nerves fully gave out, which wasn't nearly quick enough. At least burning on a pyre there was something to do, and his limbs could still shift as the agony overcame him, even if it was horrible. Lava was so thick and awful to try and fight against, impossible to obey the instinct to get away from it.

"Forgive me for perhaps stating the obvious, but your head is still attached to your shoulders... Am I to take it the watch also helps with that?"

He did wave his hand, flippant. "I have had the benefit of dozens of normal lifetimes, yes. And really, you do need to fill it with something. But the odd year or two or even a decade here and there of wallowing or allowing one's baser instincts free rein help to fill in the gaps."

[historically-accurate]

"I can imagine. I personally found the experience of drowning absolutely terrifying, I've never been near any volcanoes -I imagine the watch will change that sooner or later- but burning on the pyre was definitely up there as one of my least enjoyable experiences."

He absentmindedly ran his fingers over his throat. "Right, the watch usually removes me from any dangerous situations before I have the chance to die." Though somehow he could still remember the sensation of the blade hitting his neck... Better not question it. "It would be problematic to leave my dead body behind in a time I'm not supposed to be in, and I assume the watch can only move the living. Enough close calls though, the watch certainly keeps me on my toes." He took a large swig from his drink.

"But from the sounds of it, you have died. That is fascinating, I know an individual who can rewind the damage done to his body, but I've never met anyone capable of dying and then coming back. How does that work?" Insensitive to ask, perhaps, but it seemed the other was willing to divulge this information so Percival might as well use that to his advantage. "Does your body rewind? Repair? Do you get reborn? Do you remember every experience of dying?"

That pink glow in his eye again, though he blinked it away firmly and tapped against the watch with his fingers as he waited for René to answer.

[bestiadentro]

"Is that so?" Head quirks slightly in thought, eyes blinking again. "I wonder why that is.." Alaire isn't aware of why despite his species thought he supposes it makes sense. He may have feline attributes, but he wasn't completely feline in nature. In some ways, definitely though not completely. "I guess you don't know by the way you're saying that." So it'd be silly to ask. Doesn't change his curiosity though.

[historically-accurate]

"I have a few theories, but I am afraid they're difficult to explain." After all, explaining the watch was usually a bit complicated.

"Still, I've tried to show them I mean no harm; slow movements, no staring, paying attention to their body language and giving them space... but alas, it hasn't done much to help." He sighed in defeat. "Are you good with cats by any chance? Do you have any advice?"

[rpmemes-galore]

random dialogue prompts … sentence starters

“I’d keep you safe.”

“You’re nothing to me.”

“I wouldn’t advise that…”

“I wish I had your courage.”

“Anger makes you careless.”

“You can do it. Just don’t die.”

“A hero’s work is never done.”

“Do I really mean so little to you?”

“I’m not going to make a deal with you.”

“Everything is an illusion. Trust nothing.”

“You’re not as bad as they say you are.”

“You aren’t the person you think you are.”

“Do you learn nothing from your mistakes?”

“Don’t go rushing in. You’ll end up like them.”

“You have a lot of bite for someone so small.”

“Nothing I do will ever be good enough, will it?”

“Do you think redemption can really be earned?”

“I don’t need your forgiveness. I did nothing wrong.”

“I don’t need you to apologize. I need you to do better.”

“You think you have to prove yourself to me. You don’t.”

“If you don’t come back, I’m going to be very, very upset.”

“How can you possibly sleep with all this on your conscience?”

“You’re not a lost cause. Not enough people have told you that.”

“Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? Don’t answer that.”

“There’s nothing to be said. Everything I could say, I already have.”

“I’ve been nothing but truthful with you… so, why won’t you trust me?”

“Considering the stories I’ve heard, I was expecting someone scarier.”

“Haven’t I given enough? Haven’t I lost enough? Haven’t I fought enough?”

“You never seem scared. You’re never caught off-guard. How do you do it?”

“I’m not the one for you. I’d only make your life worse, and we both know it.”

“I’m making us tea/coffee/hot cocoa, and then you’re telling me what’s wrong.”

“Can you just… just stop! Stop for a second and think about what you’re doing!”

“Something’s clearly going on. Keeping me in the dark about it won’t help anything.”

“I don’t need to justify myself to them/you. I know what I have to do. And I’m going to do it.”

“Keep chasing everyone away… and there’ll be no one there to have your back when you need them.”

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"I suppose you'd have to be." He'd learned some of the same habits; always keep a little changeable wealth on him, his papers or passport if he could, more recently a packet of wipes. Far easier to get about after exhuming himself if he could at least wipe off his face and hands.

"I imagine money isn't much of a consideration if you aren't there long term?" And here, he supposed? "I assume you must supply yourself with some means to keep a home, unless you're... living where you found the watch..." If it hadn't been torn down or fallen over eventually. He let it hang with a soft laugh, a joke.

"Ah, so Anglo-centric, but I will forgive you since that was the period of my youth," he said of the Tudor era. Though the idea of seeing living, breathing dinosaurs and early lifeforms did have him blinking. "I suppose that isn't somewhere you'd want to drop into unexpectedly... Not exactly much you can do to reason with a, um, velociraptor."

He couldn't remember which were Jurassic and which were from the other periods, but he figured that was besides the point.

"Yes, it... well, I see more similarities than differences. Broadly speaking, people are looking to be happy, comfortable, do something worthwhile. Survive. And yes, support each other." Mostly. There were times when fear and panic won out, when social ties frayed and tore because there was too much pressure. But mostly, in René's experience, they tended to band together.

"I'm from a more modern period, all things considered. The Romans and their ilk were almost as far away from me as they are for people from this age. But even then, we have letters and carvings, family homes, statues of lovers, people negotiating for more food, fewer hours of work, going out to eat and drink and make merry..." He enjoyed learning of those lives, those people and the things that had been important to them.

"I've seen islands in Polynesia where people shared what they had, worked together to bring in enough for all, then spent the rest of their time courting or building or teaching, mapping the world around them. Places in Africa where the day was spent resting from the heat, putting out meat and roots to dry or leather to cure, clay to bake, and then as night came, that was when everything important was done, laws were discussed, trade deals hashed out, celebrations had, spectacular feats performed. The coldest parts of Siberia where even in the middle of Winter, people would make space to dance and share drink and food, sing love songs to each other, watch children cause havoc; they'd share stories and wonder about the world beyond what they knew and they'd name their dogs and have their favourite things; They all lived. Lived as much as they could before they died."

[historically-accurate]

Money. Percival was pretty sure he had gotten a hold of money in one way or another, a way for him to pay for the place he was living in, as well as his groceries... but he couldn't recall any of it. There was just a blank space where that information was meant to be. He ignored the question, hoping the other wouldn't notice.

"Well, the watch is selective in where it sends me, though of course the Tudor period is not the only one of interest to me. I have witnessed the the Battle of Ane and saw knights sink into the swamp, weighed down by their own armor. I've experienced the French revolution up close, even had my own neck in the guillotine... wildly preferable over being beheaded by a sword or axe if you ask me, though still not particularly enjoyable. "

He listened to the other with a level of admiration. The other had clearly been using their immortality well; using their long time in this world to witness as much of it as possible.

"That sounds nice. To be able to explore all of these things. You've seen so much... more than most would be able to fit into their lifetime... no, undoubtedly more than any ordinary human would ever be able to see even if they used every second of their day effectively. There is almost something a little enviable about that, though I'm not sure I would be able to deal with immortality."

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"Mm, it was... surprising," he replied, schooling his posture and his expression slowly into something more relaxed, more at ease after the explanation. "I imagine that must be quite startling for you as well, to suddenly have to adapt to wherever you end up without notice."

He swirled the drink in his glass, shrugging a shoulder.

"I have also come to appreciate modern amenities like running water, easily available medicine, and all the little conveniences that humanity has introduced over the years. I cannot say I miss the days of chamber pots and trying to avoid actually freezing to death in the winter."

He did sometimes wonder if he would still be same enough to Henry and the others in his past to keep their love, or would he be so changed by the years that he would seem strange to them, a stranger with a familiar face, their sense of his usual behaviours and thoughts so warped by his years they were unrecognisable, or a pale mimic of who they'd known.

"Have you a... favourite place and era to visit?" He supposed it was only fair to ask. Even if his nerves were still shot.

[historically-accurate]

"I have become very flexible." Percival chuckled. "I'm used to it, really."

"Oh yes, I always find myself appreciating modern conveniences so much more after a trip to the past. Nice, hot showers, the variety of foods, not to mention coffee. Nothing worse than being stuck in a time where coffee and chocolate are not yet widely available when all you want is a steaming latte and a big chunk of chocolate..." Though that did mean that his first cup of coffee in the present after spending a while in the past tasted all the better.

"It's a difficult question to answer, really. I find that most times and locations have elements to appreciate... though some less than others, that's for sure. I find the Tudor period to be quite fascinating. The Cretaceous period is interesting as well, but also absolutely terrifying, I am quite glad the watch doesn't send me there unless I specifically ask for it..." He shuddered.

"Still, I find that the most interesting part of each era is the people. Watching their daily lives unfold... So mundane, and yet so different from how we live now. Love and friendship, bonds being formed, in every era people have different ways of expressing such things, but you can always see it shine through. Even in times with great hardship people will do whatever they can to make it and to help the ones around them... It's terribly corny of me, I'm sure, but that will always be my favorite part of time travel. No history book can fully capture it."

[letsdrinktotruelove]

Well. That was certainly startling! And René cast a glance back towards the rest of the bar, checking that no one was making too much of a fuss about it, even if they were tucked into the corner. He might have been shaking, just a little, as he swapped to the still-full glass in front of him.

Difficult not to read that response from the watch as somehow hostile, at least.

Half tempted to try and snatch the watch and hurl it at the nearest wall with as much strength as he could muster, but he doubted he'd even get his hand within an inch of it, given its ability to move through time.

Parasites came in many forms, he supposed, and if it needed a host, and one had come stumbling along, innocent and as freely available as a deer stumbling across a tick, erasing any prior identity and encouraging its host to leave any potentially distressing situations made sense.

There was something about those next questions that grated against him like metal on metal, or the subtle wrongness before your foot went onto a step that was broken but not showing it on the surface.

"It's natural to mourn what's been lost, and yes, even if I did go back, it wouldn't be the same; I wouldn't be the same. Strange only in the sense that perhaps the scale of that loss is different for me." Hungry as he'd been for any prospect of even the potential of seeing Henry or his father or any of his other lost loves had shriveled under the rosy light he'd witnessed. "The future is constantly settling into the present and bringing the new with it, potential. The past is the past, only able to be what it already was."

[historically-accurate]

Percival furrowed his brows and his tone softened as he noticed that the other was shaking. "I'm sorry, did that startle you?" He smiled apologetically. "I apologize, the watch will just whisk me away sometimes with little to no notice... I imagine it may be a bit jarring to see when you're not used to it. I most certainly did not mean to frighten you."

He did not know just what René was thinking, all he could tell was that the other was uncomfortable and Percival felt that he'd accidentally scared the other with the watch's shenanigans.

The look of concern on his face remained as the other man answered the question. Granted, the question was likely to receive a response like this, it had been like poking at an old wound, Percival shouldn't have been surprised by the reaction.

"I agree, the past is not to be changed, I would not wish to go back to a time I'd personally lived in. I think it would feel terribly strange."

Visiting the past was easy when none of the events he went to witness had taken place during his life. He could look at it in the detached manner of a historian, simply noting down the facts and trying to find answers for mysteries that had remained unsolved in the present. "And I imagine you probably are right. It wouldn't be the same because you have changed, you would have a different view on things... I think that is a good way of putting it." He nodded in understanding.

[berryinnit]

t-shirt with the words “high-functioning corpse” printed on it

[letsdrinktotruelove]

"How do you know, if you don't remember? That it wasn't important," he clarified. "Yes, you can't really mourn for the absence but... How do you even know who you are or what you want if you don't remember the life that got you to where you were?" That idea was terrifying to René, that everything he was, everything he had done or seen, could just be snatched away. It'd feel like a true kind of death, he thought. Replaced by someone entirely new.

He did consider the question of feeling changed-- something he had contemplated sporadically over the centuries. "Not intrinsically, there hasn't been any sort of... I don't know, some sense of a different me, or what have you. But having to survive on an... altered diet, and death losing most of its meaning on a personal level, but being very aware of it for others, well. That sort of thing changes you over time. The length of time itself, too." He hadn't had the same draw to violence before he'd been turned, not like the bleak, bloody moods he sometimes got into, or the way it was far easier to justify a death or some other sin he indulged in.

"Before recent connections, the only one I had verifiable proof of was the vampire who turned me, and theoretically there being someone who turned him, though I still don't know how old he is. Otherwise it was only rumours or a story, never anything I could verify myself. It was, in many ways, a wider world back then, with far more room to hide away in."

He hummed and finished the first of his glasses, lapping at the ice a moment. "It does make you appreciate them while they're there," he replied. "Though yes, not having people with the same context and experiences does make it feel isolating. Even just trying to make a joke sometimes highlights the gulf in experience and time... Throwing yourself into a new life, the current zeitgeist, living in the present does help. But I have been able to find others in my situation, now. So." It was a balm against the centuries of loss before it, but there were still so many lost to history, now no more than dust and memory.

[historically-accurate]

Percival frowned at the other's words. He did not like discussing this topic. He had no answers to any of the questions and he had no desire to think about any of the questions for long enough to actually attempt to form one.

It seemed the watch agreed with him on this, as Percival's left eye slowly turned a bright pink. At first it glowed gently, but then it flared into a bright light. Meanwhile the pocket watch rose up from the table, floating above it just slightly, radiating a similar pink light. Percival's hand snapped forward to snatch it out of the air. His body flickered for a moment, snapping in and out of existence before settling back into the present. Percival dropped the watch onto the table, muttering softly to it.

"Just give me another hour or so..."

Then he carried on the conversation with René as if nothing had even happened, treating it as just a minor inconvenience.

"That..." He was a tad out of breath from what had just happened, though he still continued talking. "That sounds tough indeed. Being unable to fully share everything about yourself. Rarely finding people who have experienced the same things you have... Do you miss the past? Sometimes? Does it feel strange to have left something that you can never truly get back? Something you cannot go back to?" A personal and downright painful question, but it seemed they were both willing to lay their souls bare in this conversation -though perhaps not the entire soul.