[ tseng is no stranger to the concept of revenge as motivation. like sasuke, he knows how compelling the desire can be, the desire to return all of the pain and rage and desperation tenfold onto the person who hurt you to begin with. like sasuke, he also knows how easily you can be consumed by that desire, how easily you can be blinded. ]
I see. [ the hesitation in sasuke's voice is notable enough to tell tseng that the wounds still hurt. either that, or sasuke doesn't really want too talk about it. either way, tseng feels that now is not the moment to push for more information. ] The parallels between our worlds are interesting. Turks and shinobi... or the Intelligence Division. Not the same, but similar.
[ it's... sort of nice, in a way. that regardless of the fact that they hail from different home worlds, sasuke understands the circumstances, at least to an extent. the turks who make a living, the turks who are expected to become turks, the turks who are also soldiers, whether by choice or by force.
the question does take a step away from their previous topic, but all tseng does is lift his eyebrows slightly in response. ]
It is more important to me that my partner be well-informed and able to consent. As a matter of personal preference I draw the line at sixteen. [ like, he became a full-fledged hitman at 13. that kind of thing can skew perspective. ] Is it important to you?
[He agrees with that sentiment — not the same, but similar. And perhaps there are others here who could share that experience, living in those worlds, but Sasuke doesn't know them. Doesn't trust them.]
I wouldn't say that it's important to me, but I've seen it discussed here. The age at which one is considered an adult. It confused me, because nothing like that truly existed in my own world. Someone's level of maturity and life experiences mattered more, as well as the age they became fully-fledged shinobi. For me, I graduated when I was twelve.
[Still, he often considers his own beginning even younger than that, when his childlike view of the world was shattered by cold reality.]
I'm eighteen now, though I spent time in another dimension and prior to that I was in prison, so it's not something I can say I've accurately tracked. [What is time, really.] Some still consider this to be young — so I thought that I should ask.
[ twelve. not that much younger than tseng's formal training with the turks began, although like sasuke, he considers his own introduction to adulthood to have begun much earlier. still, he can appreciate why sasuke asks—better to figure it out now, than to learn the hard way much later on. ]
I was thirteen. [ and just barely thirteen at that. ] And I'm thirty—no, thirty-one, now.
[ as of several days ago, thirty-one. he mentions it just in case the question of age goes the other way too, with an upper limit for sasuke rather than a lower limit for tseng. (he does not yet know that cyram the boyfriend is millenia-old eldritch horror!) somehow, he doesn't think that will be the case, given the givens—being forced into adulthood so early does tend to change your perception of these things. ]
Prison and another dimension. You've been busy. [ it's a joke, or at least as close as tseng really gets to outwardly joking. he's curious, and the way his eyebrows lift makes that much clear, but he'll leave it to sasuke to explain if he wants to explain. ] I appreciate that you asked, but your age is not a concern for me.
[That quick correction makes him curious, but he doesn't comment further. Perhaps Tseng also hasn't been tracking his own age reliably — or, it changed recently.
And yes, from an outside perspective it's a lot to go through in the last several months... though perhaps prison is the least of what he deserved back then. A story for later, given all it involves. He has told only pieces to all but one person; it's a lot to share, and to him it feels like an unnecessary burden so soon.]
Okay. I just wanted to check. [He sits up straighter.] That's all I had to discuss, unless you have any more questions for me. I can... contact you later, otherwise.
[How does one do this sexual relationship thing, actually??]
no subject
I see. [ the hesitation in sasuke's voice is notable enough to tell tseng that the wounds still hurt. either that, or sasuke doesn't really want too talk about it. either way, tseng feels that now is not the moment to push for more information. ] The parallels between our worlds are interesting. Turks and shinobi... or the Intelligence Division. Not the same, but similar.
[ it's... sort of nice, in a way. that regardless of the fact that they hail from different home worlds, sasuke understands the circumstances, at least to an extent. the turks who make a living, the turks who are expected to become turks, the turks who are also soldiers, whether by choice or by force.
the question does take a step away from their previous topic, but all tseng does is lift his eyebrows slightly in response. ]
It is more important to me that my partner be well-informed and able to consent. As a matter of personal preference I draw the line at sixteen. [ like, he became a full-fledged hitman at 13. that kind of thing can skew perspective. ] Is it important to you?
no subject
I wouldn't say that it's important to me, but I've seen it discussed here. The age at which one is considered an adult. It confused me, because nothing like that truly existed in my own world. Someone's level of maturity and life experiences mattered more, as well as the age they became fully-fledged shinobi. For me, I graduated when I was twelve.
[Still, he often considers his own beginning even younger than that, when his childlike view of the world was shattered by cold reality.]
I'm eighteen now, though I spent time in another dimension and prior to that I was in prison, so it's not something I can say I've accurately tracked. [What is time, really.] Some still consider this to be young — so I thought that I should ask.
no subject
I was thirteen. [ and just barely thirteen at that. ] And I'm thirty—no, thirty-one, now.
[ as of several days ago, thirty-one. he mentions it just in case the question of age goes the other way too, with an upper limit for sasuke rather than a lower limit for tseng. (he does not yet know that cyram the boyfriend is millenia-old eldritch horror!) somehow, he doesn't think that will be the case, given the givens—being forced into adulthood so early does tend to change your perception of these things. ]
Prison and another dimension. You've been busy. [ it's a joke, or at least as close as tseng really gets to outwardly joking. he's curious, and the way his eyebrows lift makes that much clear, but he'll leave it to sasuke to explain if he wants to explain. ] I appreciate that you asked, but your age is not a concern for me.
no subject
And yes, from an outside perspective it's a lot to go through in the last several months... though perhaps prison is the least of what he deserved back then. A story for later, given all it involves. He has told only pieces to all but one person; it's a lot to share, and to him it feels like an unnecessary burden so soon.]
Okay. I just wanted to check. [He sits up straighter.] That's all I had to discuss, unless you have any more questions for me. I can... contact you later, otherwise.
[How does one do this sexual relationship thing, actually??]