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[espigeonage]

Network number: 72464772786363

Answering machine: "Julien Sakazaki! You've reached my number! Leave me yours, and let me know what it is that I can do for you!"

Comments

[espigeonage]

Gwannas lû and! ['It's been too long', never mind that he talks to Gabriel regularly. Julien's more inclined to use longer sayings around people who can understand them.] I can't complain. -well, no, to be perfectly honest I can complain, but I'd rather not.

[He doesn't want to look like a whiner, and it's better if people think he's okay.]

How about you?

[thebalrogslayer]

Good enough! I appear to still be getting younger. [Laughing it off because it's just become something of a constant now. As long as it stops before he hits his teens again...]

Do you still want someone to come with you to that photoshoot or did you decide against the whole thing in the end?

[espigeonage]

Numbers Club problems, man. [yeah it worries Julien a little too.] Why can't ridiculous things like this mean the milk never goes sour and wifi always works fine?

Ariel went with me. It was weird! And kind of boring. But I made a bunch of friends and there's another thing scheduled, and apparently there's interest, so!

[thebalrogslayer]

If life was that easy then we'd all be fat and lazy. Coming up against obstacles sometimes keeps us on our toes!

I did warn you that those things aren't as glamourous as people would have you believe! I'm glad you got along with people, though. Hopefully the photos come out well.

She offered to get me in touch with her father as well.

[espigeonage]

Hey, I'm on my toes already. Quite literally! [and can't get off...] I'd be quite happy with some fatness now. -As long as it wasn't literal.

Cool. Thinking of going for it?

Ah, before I forget, I found a poem and thought of you. Want to hear it?

[thebalrogslayer]

I think I will. There seems little point in trying to hide this. It's only a matter of time until someone recognises me and realises for themselves. This way I have control.

I'd love to hear it!

[espigeonage]

Right, right. How are you thinking about going about this?

All right, then. It's called "Youthening", by Nina Cassian. I'm sure you can already guess. [He makes a throat-clearing sound with a hint of a purr in it and launches in. It's actually "Youthing", but otherwise Julien remembers how it goes. Poet! He does arch his eyebrows as if daring Gabe to comment when he gets to the bird claw part.]

[thebalrogslayer]

I'll text Ariel first, I suppose, and then have a chat with my agent.

[Gabriel can, sometimes, be patient, and although his lips twitch at the bird claw part he says nothing until the younger man finishes, when he hums and sits back in his chair.] Did I tell you, Puck saw the moon for the first time as an adult? He was surprised by it's rising.

[espigeonage]

If you ever do something with me - models do that, right? This is still weird - I'll do my best to outshine you, you know.

...huh. [Julien gets a wing up and scratches the side of his face using the rough scales on a finger. He knows better by now than to use his claws.]

That just sounds mythic.

[thebalrogslayer]

It never gets any less weird, trust me. I'm sure you won't have to try too hard to outshine me.

Do you think? It's disconcerting to think about. That he looked young and yet was apparently older than the moon.

[espigeonage]

This is not what I'd have guessed I'd be doing ten years ago. Or last year. [He blinks his inner eyelids and falters for a moment, then surges back.] C'est la vie! ...I should try and get that in Sindarin.

Sounds like cheating, to me! [Julien flashes his not-teeth in a smile.] Nah, nah. Double mythic - I read a book as a kid where a wizard would age backwards, and then reverse, and have it pretty much indefinite. Which sounds like it'd be a pain. I guess stasis is better?

[thebalrogslayer]

Ask Eliot to help you, I'm sure he'd have fun with that.

I hope I wasn't a wizard, at least. I don't think a beard and robe would suit me. [Laughing.] That sounds awful, especially at this speed. Imagine being 50 one month and 60 the next?

[espigeonage]

You just need the right accessories.

Worse, he was a teenager. Imagine going through puberty twice in as many months.

[thebalrogslayer]

What's the right accessories? A wand and a pair of cello taped glasses?

I'd really rather not!

[espigeonage]

Floor-length tie-dye robe, tinted glasses, headband, patchouli... c'mon, I'm sure it'd be like coming home.

Acne medication and like five sizes of shoes. You can't tell me you never had bad skin.

[thebalrogslayer]

Ah, that kind of wizard. Now you're talking my language! I'm sure I could pull off tie dye. [Laughing.]

Would you hate me if I said I didn't? I mean, I had a couple of spots, but I was fairly fortunate. I was just so - so gangly.

[espigeonage]

I wonder! Seems it might clash with your inherent dignity and professionalism!

Yes. Yes, I would hate you. I'm like half Asian, you could've run an oil rig on me! Were you at least the kind of gangly that hits himself on things?

[thebalrogslayer]

I was the kind of gangly that hits himself on things and falls over his feet, don't worry. And when my voice broke it squeaked for what I was sure at the time was an entire lifetime. But as long as I kept my mouth shut and didn't move I could pull it off. [Sadly, that's not what happened at the time.]

[espigeonage]

That's adorable.

So, did you call to ask about the shoot and fall into our usual patter, or was there something else?

[thebalrogslayer]

[Whoops, he completely forgot about that.]

Ah, right. I got distracted for a while there. Let me see, I wanted to tell you that I decided that I would reveal myself after all, and therefore if you want me to come with you to any more photoshoots, just ask.

And what was the other thing - ah, right! One of my friends offered his beach house for us for watching films. It's a bit of a trek, half an hour or so, but it's on the coast and so it should be far enough away from the city to make things easier for you.

[espigeonage]

Heh, I'm glad to hear that. You going to make some kind of announcement to the public about it, or just go about your business like oh, this is what's happening?

A beach house! Sounds decadent. Is it? Have you been out of the city lately?

[thebalrogslayer]

I need to talk to my agent before I decide that. But probably; if I can sell it as a feature then I can make sure that it's released positively.

It probably is, knowing her! I haven't actually been out there myself yet. I haven't been out since before Christmas, and even before then... forgetting and then remembering was too disconcerting so I tried to avoid it.

[espigeonage]

Lemme know what you end up doing. I'll support you if I can.

Oooh. Think she'll mind if I use her shower? [It is the biggest pain in the world bathing while being a big harpy thing. Julien tends to leave Locke at least once a week just to take a bath without having to make a production about it.] Mmm, well, it seems like how much people forget now is all variable. You might end up going "Why am I old?" and I can't say I wouldn't tease about that. But "I'm going with this cheerful mutant kid to watch something and let him cook for me" is easy enough to remember.

[thebalrogslayer]

Thank you. I appreciate that. [He probably won't need the help; he's been in this business too long and believes he knows the ins and outs of it, but the support is still appreciated.]

I'll ask, but I'm sure it'll be fine as long as we clean up! [Which is more or less what the conditions of borrowing it was. She gets the security of knowing that the place is being checked once a week when otherwise it's mostly empty.] I'm more likely to end up wondering why I'm young, I think. I hope I forget Quenyan for a while. It's a nice enough language, but it makes conversations tiring. How does it effect you?

[espigeonage]

Well, I'm more human, but I still kinda look weird. Like I have claws and some of my skin's red, my feet are big and like... chimp-y, and it's like I have fur on my arms. And I always kinda feel like I should be really big and ponderous, so I have to talk myself into using chairs like a normal person. I think that's why I don't forget as much as some people.