#correspondence (MAILBOX).
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solacanis · 4 months ago
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" Father! Father! "
The moment the young heir caught sight of his father, he hurriedly sprinted towards him. With his little arms, he tightly embraced the Earl, seeking warmth and affection. As the child's face tilted upwards, his sapphire eyes sparkled like the vast sea, accompanied by a radiant smile that illuminated his rosy cheeks.
" Can we go boating tomorrow? "
Vincent cupped his little face and smiled to him in return, "of course we can but we have to ask you mother if she wants to go or at least to come outside for a bit. The weather has been very nice lately and I think your mother and brother recovered. I will go and ask mother and you can tell your brother the good news!" He picked him up and toss him in the air, "tomorrow's going to be a great day!"
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lizardmonet · 11 months ago
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remember when USPS released merch to make money in 2020 cause they were tanking and everyone fell for it hook line and sinker as if USPS isn’t the worst package delivery service to currently exist
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katsigian · 1 year ago
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🌈💖✨Send this to the twelve nicest people you know or seem to have a good heart and if you get five back you must be pretty awesome 😎💜💚💙🩷
AHWHDHS I just saw this now 🥹 thank you so much! I truly appreciate it 🩷🌺 right back at you!
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zephyrchama · 5 months ago
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Diavolo using the royal family's official letterhead and seal to send MC random pen pal-style letters for fun.
A postal demon who is anxious beyond belief grips the letter as tight as they dare to, neither wanting a breeze to blow it away nor for the paper inside to get crumpled. It was the talk of all local postal workers that morning. It's obviously incredibly important, the prince's own penmanship graces the front of it! Such a letter should not be left in the mailbox.
They knock on the door to the House of Lamentation, shaking. MC opens it.
The postal demon quickly bows their head. "An urgent correspondence!" they proclaim while handing over the message with two scrawny arms. As soon as MC has their mail, the postal demon flees and MC returns inside to find a letter opener.
Hey!
I discovered a book the other day with many fascinating human jokes! Have you heard this one?
Q: Why don't skeletons fight each other?
A: They don't have the guts!
Isn't that hilarious? Everyone knows that common undead skeletons don't have cognizance and will absolutely fight each other. Or anything that moves, really. This must be an example of that 'sarcasm' you told me about. Human jokes can be so funny!
Yours truly,
Diavolo
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genshin-impact-updates · 3 months ago
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Genshin Impact and Discord Account Linking Now Available: Complete Discord Account Linking to Unlock More Game Info Display and One-Click Rewards
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Dear Traveler,
In anticipation of Version 5.0, to help more Travelers on Discord quickly find each other and make Co-Op gameplay more convenient, while also providing possibilities for more features in the future, we are excited to announce the official launch of the Genshin Impact Discord account linking feature!
This new addition will allow you to unlock real-time game information display on Discord, invite friends to quickly start the game, and claim a one-time reward of Primogems ×30 upon linking your account for the first time!
https://hoyo.link/8qTkFJAL
How to Complete the Linking
Follow the steps below.
① Log in to your HoYoverse Account and link your Genshin Impact game account.
② Log in to Discord.
Once logged in, the page will detect your login status. Click on "Link Account" in the center, and you will successfully complete the Genshin Impact Discord account linking.
How to Obtain Rewards
1. After completing the linking of your Discord and Genshin Impact accounts, you will need to manually click to claim your reward.
The reward will be sent to the in-game mailbox of the linked account and may have a delay. The email with the reward will be valid for 30 days, so please claim it promptly.
2. Each game account can only receive the reward once. You cannot switch the linked Discord account to claim the reward multiple times.
3. If your Discord account is terminated or suspended, or account age changes have occurred before rewards are distributed, this may result in rewards not being delivered. Please head to the account linking page and provide authorization again to prevent issues in receiving said rewards.
4. If you need to unlink your accounts after collecting the rewards, please wait for the rewards to be delivered via the corresponding account's in-game mail before proceeding. You can unlink your account only once per calendar month, so please make sure to select your primary account.
*Your personal information will only be used for platform display.
5. A Discord account can claim a maximum of 10 Genshin Impact first-link rewards. If you have already used a Genshin Impact account to link to a Discord account, it cannot be used to link to another Discord account.
6. Do not rent, lend, or allow others to use your game account or Discord account. If such cases are found, we reserve the right to cancel the rewards issuance and handle it in accordance with the relevant Terms of Service.
7. Please also comply with Genshin Impact's Terms of Service (https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/company/terms), Privacy Policy (https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/company/privacy), and Discord's relevant policy regulations.
Information Display
1. After you complete the linking of your Discord account and Genshin Impact account, when you start Genshin Impact (on PC and mobile), your information will be displayed on Discord.
2. After completing the link, the following game information will be displayed on Discord: Nickname, Adventure Rank, game server, and online duration.
*Due to technical limitations, currently, PS server gameplay status display is not supported.
*Currently, only the above game data can be displayed. Stay tuned for more features in future updates!
Unlinking Instructions
Go to the official linking page and click the "Unlink" button.
How to Change the Link
1. After unlinking, you can change to a Genshin Impact account that hasn't been linked to any Discord accounts.
Please note: You can change the link once per calendar month, so please proceed with caution.
Lastly, if you have any suggestions or feedback regarding the use of Discord account linking, feel free to leave a comment or provide feedback through Modmail on the official server.
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sweetbunpura · 9 days ago
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Ok I NEED more of the love letter's concept. I've seen that movie before, but it was a really long time ago. I think in that movie they exchanged letters through a desk and not a mailbox, but I could be wrong...
It sounds like such a cute idea.
Hell, it could even fit in with the journal entries thing Historians found.
At first, Skully was just writing letters to pour out his feelings somewhere besides his journal (think like those letters from Violet Evergarden, something sort of like those kinds of letters), and sashing them away. Only for those letters to find their intended recipient. Thus begins the exchange.
Many think Skully had some kind of secret lover that he was corresponding with, since they also found scrapped letters hidden in his journals as well.
And that secret lover is Yuu.
Yuu, who currently lives in the modern era, sum several centuries after Skully's death.
Skully always starts it with "My fairest Yuuki." and the historians how no idea who Yuuki is. Skully goes into some vague descriptions on her but never actually puts down her whole name so they know who it is.
Meanwhile Yuu's gotten another letter and she reads it with a smile on her face before responding.
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katsigian · 1 year ago
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I also seen Ethan do it 😳 if big old Ethan can do it so can I
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BUT you cross that border and then I GET you
Rude, I would not dropkick you
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I would hurricanrana you off the top rope of course
THEIDKEKEJ busting out the flippy stuff on me 😱
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Bestie’s got that luchador arsenal 🤭🤭 Full on throw down in broad daylight 🅰️🅰️🅰️ as one does 😂
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therealslimshakespeare · 8 months ago
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Dear John || Tell me you didn’t
Dear John || Masters of the Air fanfiction
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Series Summary: Major John Egan wasn’t the pen-pal sort but a couple of hours into a dark night full of writing condolence letters he finds himself wondering why he never tried his hand at the nicer forms of correspondence. Who better to reanimate his numb inspiration than the glamorous Miss Lana Tierney? -the army’s girl next door, the pinup so prolific she was practically a wall paper print and Bucky’s long-standing cinematic crush. It’s not like she’ll read it anyways, tucked up in luxury in Beverly Hills with carts of tedious fanmail burned in her back yard each day, his letter will get lost in the mix. It’s harmless. That thought -and the booze- may loosen his pen a little too much but it’s alright, it’s not like she’ll read it. Right? Right.
Circa: August 1943
Plot: Gale Cleven learns that not only did his best friend send dubious fanmail while blind drunk, he seems to have singled out with his indomitable luck the one starlet of the silver screen capable of matching his depravity
Warnings: 18+ for suggestive and crass content, it’s pretty much two boys acting like a couple of girls at a sleepover deciphering a dirty text from one’s crush
My thanks to my baby Bri for literally being the brains behind the plot and for Christi for assuring me this ain’t trash. We shall if y’all share those sentiments…
The referenced letter link 💌
“Tell me you didn’t.” Gale managed to keep his tone calm but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit his fingertips had gone a little chilly.
“I-“ Egan threw his arms out as if a better truth might form with a little more gesticulation but nothing came, “I did, Buck.” he admitted.
“You wrote it blind drunk.” Gale reminded him with urgency, as if the reminder of its ill calculated circumstances could snatch back his letter from out of Lana Tierney’s posh mailbox.
“I did!” He agreed, “-And I sent it blind drunk. And I never thought she’d read it.”
“I saw you eat it!” Cleven’s voice was growing angry, “I made you-“
“That may have been a botched first draft to Donny’s folks instead.” Egan winced.
Both of them lapsed again into silence, staring warily at the unopened and daintily addressed envelope in Egan’s hand like it might explode at any moment.
“You sonuvabitch.” Gale breathed, two frantic pink splotches appearing on his cherub cheeked face, judgment and disbelief making a whirlpool of his eyes. “Can’t leave you alone for a minute. What all did you even say?”
“I didn’t tell her about ACORN!” John vowed like a child swearing to their sibling regarding secrets kept from mother, “I mean, i called her that but I didn’t explai-“
“-John!”
“-and I said a lotta nice things too, I think, but, I also-“ Egan scrunched his eyes up as if to either better recall or maybe banish entirely all memory of his sentiments, “-I may have mentioned wanting to give her children.”
“JOHN!”
“It can’t have been that bad, she wrote back!” Egan defended with wounded hope, holding up his still sealed prize. “Buck, swear to God, I never thought she’d read it.”
Gale slumped down next to him on the bed as if the ordeal in voyeuristic stupidity had taken something out of him. “Maybe she didn’t.” he suggested grimly. “Maybe it’s from her attorney tellin’ you to never contact her again.”
He was enjoying ruining this moment a little too much, and now Egan was growing angry he had waited to open it until confiding in his friend. Not a little anxious, and not a little smug, Egan flipped the envelope over, ready to tear its flap. That’s when he saw the kiss print. “Ha!” he barked, flipping it back up and shoving it directly in front of Gale’s crossing eyes, “Do lawyers leave lip prints?” he questioned cockily and when Gale pulled far enough away to ascertain for himself, he gave a conceding nod.
“Huh.”
“Yeah, huh.” John goaded but his heart beat a crazy and skittish rhythm as he slipped his finger inside the fold and tore at the slip.
Lovely, scented, gold embossed stationery came into view, it made Egan question how well he had washed his hands the paper was so white and pristine.
“Well?” Gale kept to a respectful distance of half a foot away from his friend on the bed, and being a good sort of man, he was not snooping or side eyeing private correspondence.
“Uh, yeah, right.” Bucky rallied himself and unfolded the missive fully, forcing his eyes to focus on deciphering charming, school girl cursive. “Get over here, Buck.” he griped at last as it was hopeless to make headway between his own nerves and Cleven’s hovering presence.
Gale didn’t move and Bucky didn’t expect him to so he scooted over herself, smashing him on the edge and held the letter out as they both leaned in.
“Dear John, -I’m sorry Major Egan, I just had to.”
“Oh shit.” Bucky swore in realization.
“She’s funny.” Gale’s tone was ever so mild.
“Nah she’s, Buck, she’s quoting me back to me I told her -nevermind, let’s see-“
They peered back at the letter together, Cleven more invested that he’d ever admit and Bucky’s heart doing the oddest little flips at the realization that someone gave enough of a damn to write this sorta thing back to him.
“Heartfelt.” Gale murmured her choice of words for Bucky’s letter aloud with something close to relief, only to be then followed by a groan- “you did not write the word ‘knockers’ in a letter to a woman!”
“You're right, you’re right,” Egan ducked his head, repentant, he wouldn’t have been the least surprised if he got a wallop from Cleven for it, “awful of me. I admitted it even then. She admits it. Let’s move on.”
“RACK!” Cleven growled moments later in growing disbelief. “Jesus, John.”
“Oh don’t act better than all of it, you know she’s got the best melons out there-“
“-you’re the one who felt compelled to write a nice young lady and tell her as much.” Buck stabbed an accusatory finger dangerously close to Egan’s nose, “And used vulgarities while at it.”
Egan gave a defensive shrug and began his reading anew. “She said she’s fizzing…over making babies.” he whispered, “With me.” John was awed and this time Cleven had no rebuttal, just ever growing wonderment on his ever reddening face. “And she says here, look! she says you’re a bad boy for breaking us up that night! HA!”
“She’s being polite Bucky,” Gale cautioned, worried at where this surge of confidence might lead, “she didn’t admit to remembering a bit of it. They send girls to school to let fellas like you down easy.”
“Aww, now she says to give ya a kiss.” Egan cooed, saccharine and wicked, “See, she’s so nice and you’re the one who’s awful, doubting her like that. She says to give ya one if you’re the sort to take it well, are ya Buck, huh? Are you? Huh?”
“No, no! Jesus, get off me!” Cleven exerted every bit of his wiry strength to lug off the sudden onslaught of Egan’s heavy embrace as they folded together back onto the bed, John’s mouth making sickening smooching noises against Cleven’s baby smooth cheek, mustache a foreign and terrifying tickle on his jaw. “Get the hell off me, what is wrong with you?”
“I’m riled, just like her, that’s what’s wrong.” Egan replied vehemently, pulling his face away but keeping a perturbed Buck beneath his greater weight. “And maybe one day you’ll know what that feels like, Goldilocks. See, says right here: *I can feel my pulse somewhere besides my wrists* Do you hear that?” He demanded, still holding the letter aloft as Gale looked up at him with the sort of patience people reserve for lunatics liable to murder them at the least hint of movement. “I’ve made her horny.” he spelled it out and Gale’s face somehow flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet. “She wants to know what acorn means.”
“Don’t you ever tell her.” Gale warned.
“Why not?”
“It’s not even a good acronym, it’s misspelled and missing a whole word.”
“She wants it to be ‘salacious’ -says so herself.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.” Bucky flipped the letter over for Gale to see and judging by the panic in his eyes he caught more lines than that one alone.
“Jesus.” he repeated, it was starting to sound like a genuine beg for divine intervention. “Get off me.”
That itching physical impulse to roughhouse remained but Egan obligingly rolled to the side, aware Buck didn’t have what would cure his own riled self. “She says she enclosed something for the morale, said to keep it safe. But there’s not anything else. You see anything else?”
“I don’t.” Buck sounded worn down but he made an effort to look around amongst the sheets.
“Julia Jean.” Egan pondered, “Says that’s her real name.”
“Yeah, well, maybe now you can stop calling her acorn every damn time she comes on screen.”
“Don’t count on it.” Egan grinned back.
“Maybe it’s still in the envelope.” Gale suggested, tentatively picking up the air mail slip and handing it to Bucky.
Egan sat up and shook the paper between them, wondering if it was really something worth hiding from the censors like some OSS spy shit. A couple of shakes and sure enough, some slippery little card shaped thing fluttered out of a crease and wafted to the ground, settling between Buck’s boots. John’s stoic young friend bent over and retrieved it, but not without his entire spine stiffening like he’d been hit as soon as he’d caught it.
“Jesus.” it was more of a wheeze this time. Gale’s slow hand raised it and passed it over.
There wasn’t anything to say, not when confronted with such perfection. Not even a shielding arm to cheat him of the whole display, nothin’ at all but a carefully cropped photograph of the ripest pair of-
“Goddamn.” John’s tongue finally materialized a sentiment and he heard Gale’s appreciative sharp intake of breath beside him as if he’d forgotten to breathe here lately. “They’re wonderful.”
“Yeah.” Gale’s own throat sounded dry as dust, “W-we should probably stop starin’.”
“Whadda ya think she sent ‘em for?” John laughed, a rough, victorious laugh, never once dragging his admiring eyes away from them or ceasing to thumb over the shiny print. He could almost feel her warm, giving flesh under the pad of his finger, could almost imagine the pebble of a rosy nipple responding to his swipes.
“Yeah, they’re alright-“
“Alright? Alright!?” Egan repeated, incensed for his beloved’s reputation, “THESE ARE THE BEST TITS IN THE NATION!”
Gale actually looked mildly chastened, especially as his eyes strayed guiltily back to the photograph like twin marbles gravitating to the corner of a box when tipped.
“I know you haven’t seen many, Buck,” Egan goaded him further, “but take it from me -they don’t get better than this. And you better enjoy this look, it’s your last, she told me to keep them safe. So see this? These? This pair? S’why we fight, Buck.”
“Don’t be crass, John,” Gale stood up abruptly, less angry at his friend than at himself for his momentary lapse of discipline, “we fight for the people we love.”
“Course we do,” John grinned, “but I also happen to love these, told her so myself.”
“You didn’t-“
“I did.” Bucky was pretty chuffed, bouncing on the edge of the bed like he had her seated in his lap right now, “Everybody’s got to have a goal, Buck, you wanna marry Marj and I wanna aggressively come on ripe knock-“
“-A.C.O.R.N. yeah, yeah.”
“Acorn.” Bucky grinned in agreement.
“You gonna admit to her you didn’t know knockers was spelled with a k?”
“I did, too! Just couldn’t make it work.”
“Still doesn't work.” Buck informed, but his smile was returning, he’d not been this close with Bucky for this long not to learn to roll with the differences and appreciate that what made his best friend tick was a very different sort of morale than his own. “I’m happy for ya, John.” he conceded, as he turned to leave, “But when you write her back -and you gotta, she’s been too kind -promise me you’ll be a gentleman about it. Apologize, like the man I know you are. Drink got the better of you, just, explain it that way.”
“Uhuh.” John gave him a sober nod, still a little dazed this wasn’t some fever dream. “Kinda already did. In the one I sent.”
“She wasn’t deterred.” Gale mused, “Either you were shit at it or she’s-“
“Zesty.” Egan deduced, sucking his teeth with a manic gleam in his eye.
“Yeah, as an orange peel.” Gale snarked and walked away, past the rows of empty beds and outside into the rain, “I’ll leave you to it.”
Bucky fell back against his mattress, sudden peace and aloneness giving him a chance to soak it in a second time, carefully reading over it all again, savoring each quip, each earnest prayer and naughty subtext. Which naturally led him back to admiring her little picture, groaning in unrestrained appreciation for her assets. She’d hinted about him taking it to his bunk -well wasn’t he fast to obey! Something possessed him to flip it over and there in the corner of the photograph, written in tiny little script, were doodles of music notes along with the ever so familiar lyrics:
“Beat me daddy, eight to the bar.”
John threw back his head and let out a roar of appreciation for finding a mirrored soul. “Oh Julie Jean, honey baby, don’t you worry, I’ll beat out somethin’ for ya, that’s for sure.”
💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌
Thank y’all for reading, hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer’s life blood, please scream at me, I thrive off it. 💋
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iboatedhere · 4 months ago
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could I please get "heart shaped sunglasses" as a prompt? I love canon but if there's an AU that speaks to you I'd love that too
I went with a photographer/model AU.
Alex didn’t grow up thinking he wanted to be a photographer.
He cycled through dreams that almost every kid has—doctor, teacher, President of the United States, and astronaut. For a few weeks, when he was four, he thought seriously about becoming a T-rex.
When he was thirteen, he found an old camera in the attic that his father had left behind when he moved out.
He watched a half-dozen YouTube videos to figure out how to get it to work, then took a photography class in high school and got a position on the school paper, taking shots of football games and events around town.
He thought he looked cool, carrying around a vintage camera that used real film in the age of sleek digital devices and camera phones, and he was good at it. He received heaps of praise from his photography teacher, won awards in local contests, and even sold a few prints at farmer’s markets and craft fairs around Austin.
Alex majored in studio art in college, focusing on photography and media. He learned about color, composition, and lighting. He studied Ansel Adams, Dorthea Lange, Steve McCurry, and Robert Capa. He thought about becoming a war correspondent, embedding himself in the most volatile parts of the globe and reporting the truth through photographs—gritty, raw, and dangerous.
Where he ended up was someplace much softer.
Alex first saw Henry Fox on the glossy pages of one of June’s fashion magazines when he was twelve.
Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. Maybe Cosmopolitan. He can’t remember. What he can remember is Henry Fox’s wide, blue eyes and golden hair. He remembers looking at the close-up photo of him for too long until June cleared her throat and met his startled gaze with raised brows.
He looked for Henry after that. Sneaking into June’s room or stealing the magazine straight from the mailbox when it was delivered. He’d bring it with him to the treehouse in the backyard and search.
Before Alex even had a word for it, most of the photos had felt exploitative. Henry, too young, around much older models. Odd poses and barely there clothing. Henry never looked happy. He never smiled. Alex would never photograph him like that. He never really thought about photographing him at all. Mostly, he just wanted to hang out with him. Maybe take him swimming at Barton Springs, to a baseball game in Round Rock, or ride their bikes together. He just wanted to make Henry smile.
Alex found out later that Henry’s father was a famous actor and his mother was a supermodel, making Henry one of the world’s biggest nepo-babies.
Maybe doors automatically opened for Henry. Maybe he has a trust fund or an inheritance and never has to work another day in his life. Alex is unsure of those things, but he is certain Henry is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
Alex lowers his camera as the art director flutters into the frame, tugging on the strap of Emily’s bikini top and sweeping Henry’s hair off his forehead.
“Perfect,” she says before waving in Alex’s direction. “Okay. Keep going.”
Alex rolls his eyes and lines up another shot.
He doesn't really know what the point of this shoot is. He guesses it’s supposed to be playful…a fun day by the pool where Henry has stolen her heart-shaped sunglasses and perched them on the top of his head while she’s taken his diamond-studded watch and is holding it against her throat like a necklace. But Emily’s bikini is practically see-through, Henry is wearing a pair of swim trunks that hide nothing, and Alex doesn’t understand what they’re trying to sell, aside from their bodies.
So goes the fashion industry.
“Did you get it?” Henry calls out to him without moving a muscle.
Alex blinks through the viewfinder. “What?”
“Did you get the shot?” He asks.
“Oh. Yeah. Probably.”
“Good,” Henry says, “my foot is beginning to cramp.”
He shifts, and Emily hops off his lap and into a robe a PA is holding while Henry stands up, stretches the arch of his foot, and accepts his own robe.
It’s all so fast and formal as if they didn’t just spend the last hour dry-humping each other by a pool at a mansion in Beverly Hills.
Alex isn’t sure if he could pull that off, being that close to either of them and acting like it’s no big deal. Things are easier behind the lens of a camera.
Alex busies himself by pulling the photos up on his laptop. He took nearly two hundred. At least one has to be good enough to go to print.
“May I see?”
Alex nods, and Henry steps into his space, pressing their shoulders together before Alex can make room.
“Christ,” Henry says as he peers at the screen. “Am I really that pale?”
“We can fix it in post?”
Henry hums. “Add it to the list,” he jokes, but it’s not funny at all.
Alex knows that no one is perfect, but he thinks the people he photographs—Henry especially—are about as close to the idea of it as possible. That won’t stop every photo he’s in from being scrutinized and edited to death. They’ll airbrush out the moles that dot across his ribs, the small half-moon scar by his left hip, and the line between his brows. Whatever they do to Henry, it’ll be ten times worse for Emily.
“You’re very good at this,” Henry tells him. It’s not the first time they’ve worked together, but it’s the first time Henry has complimented him.
“Thanks. You make it easy. I mean you guys—you two—you and Emily,” Alex flounders. “You look good.”
“Is it the sunglasses?” Henry asks as he reaches up and touches the thin, pink frames.
“Yes,” Alex answers. “They complete the look. Maybe they’ll let you keep them since they suit you so well.”
“I’ll be sure to ask,” Henry says, the barest hint of a smile on his face.
Unsurprisingly, it was June that helped him shape his view of fashion.
When he was younger, he’d point to the avant-garde looks in her magazines and genuinely ask who the hell would ever wear this?
“No one,” She’d tell him as she snatched the magazine away. “Sometimes clothes aren’t meant to be worn, they’re meant to be admired. It’s like how some people go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. Other people find their art in fashion magazines.”
He reminds himself of that each time he attends Fashion Week in London, Milan, or Paris. It’s an art exhibit; the models are living sculptures.
In the front row of the Dior show at Bryant Park, Alex thinks Henry makes a stunning canvas.
His hair is dyed dark brown, a near match to the cropped leather jacket he’s wearing, only half zipped, his chest bare. Alex watches his long legs in oversized wool shorts as they walk down the runway, where he stops at the end, poses, and then continues back. He looks down at Alex as he passes, tips his head up, and disappears backstage.
Only after he’s gone does Alex realize he didn’t get a single photo of him.
They let me keep the glasses, by the way.
Alex frowns down at his phone as he tries to parse out the Instagram DM that popped up on the screen.
He has two accounts—an official photography account and a smaller, more personal one, followed only by his family and friends. Alex knows he isn’t famous, not yet anyway, but he knows that people can get weirdly parasocial, and he’d rather not have to purge his main account a few years down the line.
This message, from a GEJames97, was sent to his personal account.
????? Alex sends back.
The ones from the shoot, the next message reads.
This is Henry.
Fox.
Alex’s frown deepens. Henry has an Instagram account. He has nearly four million followers and posts photos of his most recent campaigns at least twice a week. Not that Alex is keeping track.
Prove it, Alex says.
A few moments later, a photo of Henry Fox in the pink, heart-shaped glasses pops up.
Pez told me about this account. I hope that’s okay.
Pez…..???????
Percy Okonjo.
Percy Okonjo is an up-and-coming designer who is best friends with Henry. They have the entire fashion world buzzing with speculation that Henry will start working with Percy the second his contract with Dior ends.
Percy also was a guest editor for Vogue and had an undefined thing with June. Alex doesn’t know the details, and he’ll never ask for them, but it was enough that Percy followed Alex’s personal account.
How long are you in New York? Henry asks, and Alex feels his heart rate kick up.
Why do you think I’m still in New York?
Henry sends him a photo Alex posted earlier of a friendly Central Park squirrel eating a small piece of bagel out of his hand.
Until Sunday, Alex tells him. Why?
Doing anything tonight?
Alex blows out a breath.
Not yet.
Alex has only been at the bar for three minutes before Henry shows up. Alex appreciates the promptness, it gives him less time to be nervous.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Henry says anyway, leaning in to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek that leaves Alex feeling untethered. “Traffic in Manhattan is insane.”
“It’s fine,” Alex says, “you’re good. You’re…” Alex trails off because Henry is beautiful in jeans, a t-shirt (that probably cost more than Alex’s hotel room bill), and a Yankees cap pulled low over his face.
“If you want to go someplace else–,” Alex starts.
“Why would I want to go someplace else?” Henry interrupts, raising his hand to wave down the bartender.
“I don’t know. I feel like this place isn’t your usual vibe.”
It’s not a dive by any means, but it’s certainly not the flashy restaurants and clubs Henry usually attends.
“A few months ago, Pez brought me to this place in Chinatown. We followed this woman down a narrow stairwell for what felt like forever, light flickering and water dripping from the ceiling. I would’ve phoned my sister to say goodbye, but I didn’t have cell service. If I can survive that, I can survive this.” He glances around the bar. “I don’t fear for my life at all here.”
“You’re in America,” Alex tells him. “You should kinda always be fearing for your life.”
Henry snorts. “I suppose that’s true, but I am enjoying myself.”
“You just got here.”
Henry shrugs. “Then maybe it’s the company.”
Alex ducks his head. “How long are you in the city for?”
“At least another two weeks,” Henry tells him. “I’ll have a good bit of downtime, but not enough to fly home between shoots. I’m trying to figure out ways to keep myself busy. Do you have any ideas?”
Alex has about a million. He’s been thinking about this since he was twelve years old.
“Have you ever actually been to a Yankees game?” Alex asks, and Henry shakes his head. “They’re in town if you wanna go.”
Henry smiles, big and bright, even in the murky lighting of the bar, and Alex feels like he’s suddenly accomplished everything he could ever want in life.
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mimisempai · 6 months ago
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I'll find you at the end of the road - Chap 3/8
Chapter summary
Through the mysterious mailbox, Crowley and Aziraphale get to know each other and their bond grows stronger...
On Ao3
Rating G -  3764 words
Chap 1 - Chap 2 - Chap 3 - Chap 4 - Chap 5 - Chap 6 - Chap 7 - Last chapter
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April 15, 2024 - 7:00 a.m.
Crowley, his heart beating a little faster than usual, approached the mailbox from which the flag was raised.
He opened the flap and unfolded the note with slightly shaking fingers.
Thank you for this lovely gesture. I haven't stopped wearing it since I received it. But how did you know that tartan is one of my favorite things?
You tell me that this connection with me allows you to open up to others and not feel alone, and you ask me if I want to continue this correspondence?
I don't want to stop either! I feel the benefits in my life as much as you do.
I don't know if we'll ever meet, but I want to keep getting to know you and for you to get to know me.
Let me know what you like, what you don't like, what makes you tick, whatever you feel like writing.
Sincerely.
Aziraphale.
Crowley, not realizing he was holding his breath, let out a sigh of relief, tucked the letter in his pocket, and left. He had to get to work before he could write. It was no longer a matter of writing a short note; he wanted to take the time to think before he could answer Aziraphale.
As he walked through the school gates a few hours later, even though he loved his job, for once he couldn't wait for the day to be over.
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April 17, 2022
Aziraphale was reading Crowley's latest letter, a steaming cup of tea beside him, sitting in what had become his special Crowley corner, the armchair in front of the bay window.
As for the tartan, I was really acting on a hunch, I saw this scarf and thought you'd like it.
A little more about me: 
I became an astronomy teacher because I've always loved the stars and planets. I lived in a country village as a child and was fascinated by the night sky.
My favorite color is red, although I pretty much only wear black.
My favorite spirit is Talisker and I love spicy food.
Queen is the best band! (I won't accept any arguments to the contrary).
My favorite book is Persuasion by Jane Austen.
I love to drive my old Bentley. 
I'm afraid of fire.
I can't stand cruelty, condescension, and lying, especially people who lie to themselves.
And I hate people who feed bread to ducks (it's not good for them).
I love the lake house.
Aziraphale laughed slightly at the humorous tone of the letter, then finished his tea before fetching his notepad to begin writing his reply.
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April 19, 2024
Crowley, sitting cross-legged on his sofa, Harry curled up in a ball on his lap, read the latest letter from Aziraphale.
I love old things, especially old books. In my antique shop, the only thing I refuse to sell are old books. I prefer to keep them for myself.
I love restoring old furniture and objects to their former glory.
I also drive an old car, an old yellow Beetle from 1941.
My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, but Persuasion is a close second.
I listen to my favorite classical music on an old gramophone, but I also have Queen records. (Which I listen to sometimes and I won't deny that they are the best band).
I like to draw, or rather make sketches that I never finish. 
My favorite drink is sherry and occasionally a good glass of French red wine from Bordeaux. I love sweets more than anything and especially French crêpes.
I also dislike lies, prejudices, and gratuitous meanness - well, just plain meanness.
I also like the lake house. A lot. A lot. (All the more, since it seems to be what made our connection possible.)
As for the ducks, what should I feed them if I see any on the lake? 
How did you come to live at the lake house? 
Crowley reread the letter, folded it, and placed it in the small metal box where he'd put the others before going to bed and thinking about what he'd answer the next day.
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April 21, 2022
It was a day of rest, and Aziraphale was still in his bathrobe when he left the house to see if there was any mail. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Crowley had already replied, if the little flag was to be believed. He refused to think about the fact that his heartbeat had quickened for that reason, attributing it to the fact that he'd been walking a little faster than usual.
He took the letter and read it over his breakfast, Harry munching on a lettuce leaf at his feet.
Frozen peas. The ducks love them and it's good for them. 
I rented the lake house after I graduated from university. I needed some space and peace.
It was the strangest place I'd ever seen. 
I couldn't imagine anyone building it. In fact, I couldn't imagine anyone building it and not living in it. I liked the way it seemed to float above the water. I liked the path that led to it. I don't know why, it has a strange, timeless charm.
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April 23, 2024
Crowley, during a break between classes, took Aziraphale's answer out of his pocket and read it again.
I now have a bag of frozen peas in my freezer. I'm ready for the ducks. 
Regarding the lake house, I so agree with you.
The fact that you have to walk so much to get to the front door, it's like you have to earn the right to enter the house. Every time I walk up the path, it's like I'm on a quest, and the prize is the right to enter.
I'm sorry, I must sound a little eccentric. 
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April 24, 2022
During his lunch break and throughout the day, Aziraphale read and reread the last words from Crowley.
Please don't apologize. Not to me for being who you are. 
You can be eccentric. You can be anything you want.
Aziraphale had always felt different, in both his personal and professional life choices, never accepted by his own family for who he was, so Crowley's words eased some of his inner struggles. 
He couldn't ignore the warm feeling in his chest at this affirmation from someone he'd never met.
There was someone in this world who accepted him for who he was.
You can be anything you want.
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A few weeks passed as Crowley and Aziraphale continued their strange correspondence. 
It was late spring now, and yet the wind was blowing strongly on this early morning in London as Crowley walked briskly to the academy. 
As he always did these days, he smiled at the thought of Aziraphale's latest letter, already thinking of what he would write back. 
His phone began to vibrate in his pocket, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he reached for it to answer the call.
Seeing the name on the screen, he said in a cold voice, "Yes?" 
He held back a sigh of annoyance as he listened to his caller and then replied, "Look, this isn't easy for me either. You know... no, I'm not angry that you called. It's just that... I'm sorry, I have to go to work and I..."
He approached the school and didn't want to continue this conversation as more and more students entered.
After listening to the arguments on the other end of the line, he replied firmly, "I don't think that's a good idea. No, Furfur, I'm asking you not to come. Because we need more time... Especially if we want to stay friends. I just don't think we should... Look, I'm on my way to work, so we'll talk. Bye."
Crowley sighed again and shook his head as he walked out the large front door.
"Don't tell me you've lost your motivation already."
Crowley looked up and, meeting Mrs. Tracy's gaze, replied, the smile back on his lips, "Absolutely not."
"That's fortunate. Eric has the flu and we need someone to cover his classes while he's out. Since your resume says you majored in art, I was wondering if..."
"No problem! I'm happy to oblige. Just don't blame me for associating it with astronomy." 
"I'm already happy to have someone, I'm not going to be picky. You can check Eric's schedule with the assistant and then make arrangements. Thank you, Crowley, really. If it weren't for the exams, I wouldn't have asked you."
Crowley replied kindly, his expression open to show her he meant it sincerely, "No worries, really."
On the contrary, he was pleased to see that even though he was the last to arrive, he was trusted.
However, at the end of the week, when he came home with his arms full of groceries, he thought maybe he should have thought before saying yes, because he was literally exhausted. He hadn't realized how much time and energy it would take to do the work of two people.
Luckily, Eric was back at work by Monday. 
But despite his exhaustion, nothing could stop him from going looking for Aziraphale's letter, which must have been waiting for him at the lake house for days.
Less than two hours and a few speeding violations later, he parked in front of the mailbox in a cloud of dust, and a few seconds later, leaning against his car, he eagerly read the letter.
Hello, pen pal. 
It's been a while since you last wrote. 
I hope all is well.
Several words were crossed out before the letter continued in Aziraphale's elegant handwriting.
It's ridiculous, just a few words to write, and it makes me sound like a babbling teenager (if there's such a thing as sound when it comes to a letter).
Well, I'll write it: I MISS YOU
It was obvious that the last words had been written with determination, probably as much for the author as for the recipient.
Crowley felt a strange warmth in his chest. He, too, had missed the correspondence, more, he had missed Aziraphale's words, so he hurried to reply and put the letter in the box before heading home.
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Parking the car in front of the mailbox, Aziraphale decided to ignore the butterflies in his stomach when he saw the little flag raised.
He took the letter out of the box, and once he was home and Harry was fed, the antiquarian went to his favorite spot to read it.
It's been a tough week.
I've had to take a sick colleague's classes and have only had the strength to go to bed at night (and feed Harry, of course), and I feel like it's been a century since I've looked at the sky or seen a bloody tree. That's what I miss. The nature that surrounded me at the lake house.
It's not so bad when I'm busy. It's when I have a minute to breathe, to look around, that it seems really hard. 
I wonder what I'm doing here, alone, in this gray city. I miss the trees.
PS: I missed you too. A lot.
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June 15, 2022 - 7:00 pm 
Aziraphale left the house with a medium-sized tree and gardening tools in the trailer attached to the Beetle and headed for London.
June 15, 2022 - 8:55 p.m.
Arriving at Crowley's address, in front of the construction site he'd seen the other night with Muriel, Aziraphale parked the Beetle. He took out a shovel, put on the gardening gloves he had in his pocket, and after finding the ideal spot in front of the construction site where Crowley's future home would be, began digging a hole.  With the help of a rope and a lot of sweat, he managed to get the tree into the hole and covered its roots with the soil and potting soil he'd brought.
Half an hour later, at 9:30 p.m., he stood in front of his work with his hands on his hips and said quietly, "I hope this will work."
June 15, 2024 - 9:30 pm
Halfway between the school and his apartment, Crowley saw rain gathering in the sky and began to pick up his pace as he realized he didn't have an umbrella. Suddenly, a rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance, and as he ran almost the entire distance to his apartment, the rain began to fall.
Of course, he was completely soaked as he ran the last few meters to the front door of the building. He fumbled for his keys, dropped them, and grew increasingly frustrated as the rain poured down on him, when suddenly it stopped. 
Which surprised him because it seemed to be falling everywhere around him except on him.
He looked up.
Above him, the thick green branches of a young tree formed a canopy that swayed in the rain just above Crowley. That tree hadn't been there a second ago, but now it was sheltering him, and Crowley stared at it, mouth agape.
June 15, 2022 - 9:37 p.m.
Aziraphale smiles as he tosses the shovel into the Beetle's trailer before heading home.
June 15, 2024 - 9:37 pm
Crowley, overcome with emotion, smiled broadly and, knowing that only Aziraphale could be responsible for it, whispered to him, though the other man could not hear him, "Thank you, my friend."
Raindrops fell through the green branches, but Crowley didn't care as he danced with joy under the tree, his face turned skyward.
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2022 - A few days later
Muriel stood on the small path in front of the lake house and exclaimed, "Wow!"
Aziraphale motioned for them to follow him inside, and Muriel entered, still stunned by the house, before asking, "So this is where you've been hiding?"
Aziraphale smiled back, "Yes. Would you like some tea or something stronger?"
Muriel replied quietly as they looked around, "Tea is perfect."
Aziraphale took two cups from the cupboard, poured the tea and they sat down in the chairs in front of the bay window. 
They talked for a while about the new house, for Muriel, as usual, had a lot of questions and Aziraphale was happy to answer them.
Muriel finished their cup of tea, put it down, and with a more serious expression, they said quietly, "Aziraphale. I didn't just come here to escape my miserable existence in the city. I've come to talk to you about HH and to ask you to come back with us. We need you."
Aziraphale shook his head vigorously, "HH? Sorry, Muriel, but no."
His friend insisted, "But if you talk to her..."
"Forget it, Mother doesn't want me back. I don't want to come back. Everybody's happier now."
Muriel argued anyway, "What about your work? Your work was great. Even she admitted that. Look, I know it's hard, but if you put aside your problems with her..."
"I said forget it," Aziraphale replied, this time in a firm tone before softening, "I'm really sorry, Muriel. It's just that... I like it here. And I like my job at the shop."
Muriel replied gently with a slightly sheepish look, "At least I tried," then after a few seconds they asked with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes, "Are you seeing anyone?"
After a slight hesitation that didn't go unnoticed, Aziraphale shook his head.
"Why did you hesitate?"
"I didn't hesitate."
"Yes, you did."
Aziraphale said in a voice he knew was a little unconvincing, "I... I'm not committed to anyone, okay?"
"Okay," Muriel replied, smiling amusedly before continuing, "I'm just saying you might want to think about the future."
Aziraphale laughed. 
He couldn't stop himself. 
Think about the future.
For God's sake, he was communicating with someone who lived two years in the future.
Muriel looked at him as if he'd gone mad, "What?"
Aziraphale continued to laugh.
"What?"
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A few days later, with Crowley's letter open in the passenger seat of his Beetle, Aziraphale drove to Waterloo East Station, near Westminster School. 
He parked, picked up the letter, and got out, heading for the station entrance.
About the same time, two years ago, I lost something. 
At Waterloo East station.
I was taking the train home to my parents and left it on the platform. See if you can find it for me. I won't tell you what it is. 
Then drop it in the mailbox. 
It's your mission if you decide to accept it.
The exact date and time is on the back of the letter.
Aziraphale couldn't resist a challenge, so he found himself searching for an object he knew nothing about. He wandered around the station, scanning the few people who were there. 
He looked for a single man and saw none. Only a few families and an elderly couple. 
He continued his search when suddenly, through the window overlooking the platform, he saw a man with short red hair get up and prepare to board the train.
Aziraphale's heart leapt, he wasn't sure if it was Crowley, but he had this deep intuition that it was, and if it was, oh my God, his pen pal was incredibly handsome. 
Aziraphale hurried through the door to the platform where he was standing and was about to approach him when he stopped abruptly.
The red-haired man was embracing another curly-haired man who had his back to Aziraphale. 
They kissed quickly and embraced again before parting.  
Neither of them noticed that Crowley, for it was undoubtedly Crowley, had left a book on the bench behind them. Aziraphale had seen it, but he didn't dare come any closer and decided to wait and watch, a slight twinge in his heart that he chose to ignore.
A voice over the loudspeaker announced the train's imminent departure.
Crowley gave the other man a sad smile before boarding the train, obviously reluctantly.
The one who appeared to be Crowley's lover didn't move and watched the train pull away until it was completely out of sight. He didn't notice the book. Aziraphale watched him go, and when he was far away, he approached the bench. He looked at the book that Crowley had left behind. It was a well-worn copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion. 
It had definitely been Crowley.
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Crowley impatiently made his way to the mailbox, thinking that Aziraphale might already have gone to the station. He was not deterred when he saw the small flag raised.
He opened it, disappointed not to see the book, but only a note. With just one question.
What are you doing on July 1st?
Crowley replied immediately on the same piece of paper, and just as he was about to leave, he heard the characteristic sound of a small flag being raised and returned to the mailbox and opened it. He grabbed the note and unfolded it.
C: I have no plans. Why do you ask?
A: If you remember, the village celebrates summer with fireworks on the lake. 
Would you like to watch them together? 
From the lake house. The fireworks on the lake are wonderful.
C: I know, I used to watch them from the house when I lived there. You're not asking me out, are you?
A: No, no. I just thought it would be nice to do the same thing, that's all.
C: The same, but two years apart.
A: It's better than staying home.
C: Okay. Let's go see the fireworks.
A: See you in 10 days. 
July 1st at 10 p.m. in front of the mailbox.
Aziraphale didn't wait for an answer and walked happily back into the house. Even though he'd denied it, it still felt like a date of sorts. Perhaps Crowley would agree to tell him more about his mysterious companion. 
July 1, 2022/2024 - 10 p.m.
Two years apart, in the same spot, Crowley and Aziraphale sat next to the mailbox. Aziraphale brought one of the chairs from the garden and Crowley brought an old folding camping seat from his car.
They were both armed with notepads and pencils.
The strange, timeless conversation resumed, still punctuated by the little flag going up and down.
C: Did you go to the train station? I never got my book. You're not going to keep it like all your old books, are you?
A: Let me keep it for a while. I want to read it. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you.
Who was the other man at the train station? Was he your boyfriend?
Why didn't you tell me about him?
The way the questions were asked gave Crowley the impression that Aziraphale was jealous, but he didn't want to get the wrong idea.
C: You don't talk to me about your love life either.
A: Because I don't have one. God, I can't believe you didn't tell me you were married.
C: I'm not married, you idiot. We split up when I moved to London.
I'm single now.
The fireworks have just started.
A: They've started here too.
I'm sure yours are better because they're supposed to get better every year. 
C: Probably. Let's enjoy the show.
Then, during the fireworks, the flag didn't move for a while. But the noise did not drown out the sound of their hearts beating in their ears.
Then, as the last bouquet ended and silence fell, the flag suddenly rose, startling Crowley.
A: At the station, when I saw you... I didn't expect... I mean, you didn't tell me you were gorgeous...
Crowley gasped, then blushed at the compliment. He looked around, embarrassed, even though he knew no one was there.
C: That's not fair. 
You've seen me, but I still don't know what you look like.
Aziraphale ran his hand over his face and figured that since it was the night of truth, he might as well go for it.
A: You're right. 
I would like to know what I'll look like in two years. Why don't we meet in the future and you can tell me what you think? 
Crowley thought, then looked at his watch; it was 10:43 p.m. He took a deep breath, suddenly excited and nervous, then wrote quickly.
C: Why don't you call me on July 1, 2024 at 10:45 p.m.?
Just as Crowley was about to raise the flag after dropping the note in the mailbox, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate, nearly knocking him out of his chair.
Heart pounding, without looking at it, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and picked it up, "Hello?"
_________
A damaged author can't write the next chapter... so don't hit me for this cliffhanger...
Still not beta'd
Still not my native language
Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰
Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝
Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here
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katsigian · 1 year ago
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Fack not again why do this keep happening 2 me 😔 damb sorry 9 inchs isn't enough Nathaniel was so hot 😭
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Uhh asking for a friend is Nathan single
Is Nathan Verner Kinlaw like free sometime cos I know a guy who wants to cherish him and adore him and love him and suck him off
Asking for a friend you've probably seen him around. Might be Nathan's type iunno. Really fuckin tall and built, kinda emo but he's got dark hair and giant c--
(The sniper got me)
Sorreeee, but uhh, I think you're a little late. He's already got a guy. Kinda not well known, not sure you'll recognize the name. Valen, made by a person called katsigian.
But oh yeah, that's his type to a T. Too bad man, maybe if your friend had been a little quicker. Can't guarantee he'd get a shot though, Valen's also got a massive co-💥
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solacanis · 4 months ago
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" if you were mine I would ... Kiss you, hold you and say I love you each day." / And more 😏
" if you were mine I would ... " finish it in my askbox !
"You already do all those things BUT I wouldn't mind a kiss from the love of my life." He smiled and blushed a bit when Rachel confessed her desires. "Can I do the same for you as well my dear?"
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blossomverse · 1 year ago
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⋆ ˚。⋆୨୧˚El Chico del Apartamento 512˚୨୧⋆。˚ ⋆
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pairing: neighbor!miguel o'hara x fem!reader
word count: 4.9k
summary: you've had a crush on miguel for the longest time. he happens to be your very kind, extremely attractive, next-door neighbor. what happens when you end up bonding over smoothies and a broken elevator?
cw & tw: mostly fluff, mildly suggestive dream, catcalling (by strangers), random man grabs reader's wrist without permission, stuck inside an elevator trope, some cursing, minors dni
a/n: i'm currently undergoing a miguel brainrot, that's how i found myself writing this in the middle of the night. the sentences on bold and italic are supposed to be reader’s inner thoughts. the story is heavily inspired by the song "el chico del apartamento 512" by selena. i srsly recommend listening to it as you read
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Every day, coming home from work, same routine. Life in Nueva York was like this. The unwanted stares and comments from strange men were a frequent thing you’ve had to deal with. Your response would always be to ignore, continue walking as fast as you possibly could, and show that you were not afraid, nor bothered.
Today was no different, unfortunately. After a stressful shift at work, you had arrived inside your apartment complex and clicked on the elevator’s summoning button. That old thing would always take forever to arrive when called. As you waited patiently, one of the neighbors that always had some unwelcome attention to give, began approaching to make conversation.
Please, not today. I’m tired of rejecting this dude.
“Oh, how lucky I am! I’ve been waiting to see you again, Y/n.” He stood next to you.
“Mhm, I bet.” You answered, uninterested in whatever he had to say.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask–“
“No offense, but you should really go shower…” You blurted the words out, cutting him off before he could ask anything.
The man stood speechless for a hot second, unsure on what to say next. You simply stared blankly at the wall, not even sparing him one pitiful glance. He was about to speak again, when a familiar ding was heard. Finally, that prehistoric device had reached the first floor and opened its doors.
A few people made their way out and as you looked up to see the last one leaving, your heartbeat completely accelerated at the sight. There was he: the image of your dreams, the one your heart belonged to. The guy from apartment 512.
“M- Miguel, hi!” You said, a little bit too loud and enthusiastically for your own good.
You’d bask on the embarrassment later when you had reached the comfort of your home. For now, all you cared about was him.
“Y/n, it’s nice to see you.” He walked fast and made his way to open his mailbox.
“It is– it is always nice to see you, too.” You heard your words become nothing but stammers. Something that happened regularly when you would speak to him.
“Home from work already?” He asked while taking out his correspondence and shuffling through it.
“Oh, yeah… finished early. I’m guessing you’ll probably head to work now, I see you’re umm– you’re wearing your gym clothes.” You subtly admired his muscles, which looked enhanced by his tight fitted shirt.
“I’ll stop to get a smoothie from across the street first. They’re really nice and nutritious, you know. Maybe you’d like to check them out sometime.”
With you?
Your heart ran a mile, just thinking about that possibility. But no, his voice was too nonchalant to be asking you out. He was simply recommending the place. Nothing more, right?
“Sure, I’ll go when I have the time.”
There was an awkward silence growing as you looked down at your feet. You didn’t want to make this situation uncomfortable or to keep bothering him. Everyone that was waiting for the elevator along with you had already disappeared, including the annoying neighbor. You had completely disassociated with the fact that you were evidently trying to go home, ignoring everything just to give him your attention.
Would that make me look like a fool in front of him?
“Well, I– I should probably leave now. Guess we’ll talk another time.”
“Have a nice evening, Y/n.” He stuffed everything he had picked up at the mailbox into his duffle bag.
“Yeah, good luck at work.” You offered a tiny smile and pressed the button again, summoning the elevator.
“Thanks.” He chuckled and simply left.
In a few minutes you were stepping inside your apartment. Which just happened to be right next to his. That’s how you had met when you had just moved in. Both of you quickly became acquainted with each other over the months, although it’d be too extreme to call yourselves friends. You were just… neighbors on friendly terms.
“Ugh, I totally made myself look ridiculous again, didn’t I?” You spoke aloud to yourself as you took off your shoes.
This crush was something you had been harboring for quite a few months. At first, you just noticed he was an attractive man. No one could deny that. But as you continued getting to know little bits and pieces of him, and noticed how respectful and kind he was to you, compared to others, your heart couldn’t help but fall for him.
You went inside your room and opened the window. Looking down at the streets, you noticed how he was walking away from the kiosk with his smoothie in hand and couldn’t help but continue admiring him from afar. He took a small sip from it and continued his steps. Your eyes never left him, convinced that he would not notice you staring his way.
Miguel looked up and glanced at the building where you both lived. His eyes immediately noticed the opened window on the 5th floor, with a certain person leaning her elbows on it. He smiled at you and waved. Your cheeks and ears immediately heated up. He had noticed you.
You waved back reluctantly, then slowly stepped away from the window, closing it a few seconds later. As you sat down on your bed, you fanned your face and ears. Things just couldn’t get more humiliating than this.
You decided to take a cold shower, hoping it would relax your mood. Once the cool water hit your skin, you were able to take a deep breath and release all the tension. At some point you’d need to confess your feelings, right? The worst thing that could happen would be getting rejected. Or maybe he’d be nice enough to accept going on a date, just to try things out, and then end up confessing you’re not exactly compatible.
I could just keep this to myself forever, though.
The evening went on as it usually would. Dinner was made while playing that romantic playlist you had created when thinking of him. Then you watched some tv, not paying too much attention to it, as you wrote the —probably— thousandth love letter you had made for him. That was the only way you knew how to pour out your feedings. At least without stuttering like a fool. But you could never give these to him.
Acting like a schoolgirl in love was definitely not the best way to go about this, you knew it. And yet, you couldn’t stop yourself from wasting the ink of your pen on a piece of paper that’d remain stored away, along with others like it. A red sharpie adorned the corners of the letter with pretty hearts. Each one was a symbol of your infatuation.
The sky was dark outside, letting you know it was probably time to go to bed. After all, tomorrow you had to wake up early, just to repeat the same, boring routine. You went to the kitchen to grab some water, like you usually would before sleeping. The faint sound of a blender could be heard through the wall. He was already home.
You smiled, knowing that only a wall separated both of you. A wall that felt infinite. With a final sigh, you heard the blender stop, and made your way to your room. The satin bedsheets welcomed you, bringing comfort after a long day of work. The thought of your earlier interactions with him clouded your mind as you waited for sleep to take over.
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The next morning, as you were making your way out of your apartment complex, some random old man you had never seen before began trying to talk to you. There weren’t a lot of people around, unlike most mornings. For a moment, you considered going back inside, but you simply couldn’t afford being late for work. The old man spoke in Spanish so you could just act like you didn’t understand that he was talking to you.
“Chica, ven a verme.” [Girl, come to see me.]
You walked away without breaking pace. The old man kept calling behind you, his voice getting closer, until suddenly, his hand was clutching your wrist to turn you around. Your gasp was audible. No one had gone as far as grabbing you without permission before.
You were ready to defend yourself and slap the man away, when you felt the presence of another person, yanking the stranger away from you. When you turned your head around, you saw Miguel. His tall figure was blocking you from the old man’s view.
“No le caen los viejos rabos verdes.” [She doesn’t like dirty old men.]
“Perdón, no sabía que tenía novio.” [Sorry, didn’t know she had a boyfriend.]
You were breathing heavily, trying to process everything that had just happened. The old man walked away. Miguel didn’t move for a few minutes, staring at him menacingly. Once your knight in shining armor had made sure the coast was clear, he turned to you with a soft expression on his face.
“Are you alright? That fucker didn’t hurt you, did he?” He was concerned and his arms wanted to hug you, but he didn’t want to step outside the line, like that other man had done.
“N-no, no, I’m okay… I think.” Your body was shivering just a bit, partially because of the chilly morning air.
“I’m glad to hear that. If anyone ever bothers you again, tell me.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Thank you, for helping me… but, how come you’re outside this early?” You were confused. He had told you about how he only worked from afternoon until nighttime at a gym, and barely ever woke up early.
“I was on my way to the airport.”
“Oh– you’re going to travel… well, I wouldn’t want you to lose your flight because of me. Anyways, I have to get to work–“ You began walking away.
“Wait wait, I’ll go with you. And I’m not traveling.” His words made you slow down your steps.
“I don’t want to be a burden…” You said, reluctantly.
“You’re not, I promise. But it’s completely fine if you don’t want me to accompany you, so don’t feel like you have to agree.” He assured you with a warm smile.
“No, I would really like that– I mean… sure, you can.”
He gave you one of the chuckles you loved so much and you resumed your walk to work. He followed after you silently. It was quiet as you both made your way through the streets, save for the sound of some cars and the other people that walked by. It was a comforting silence. It made you feel safe.
Once you had reached your destination, you turned around to thank him again. You both said your goodbyes as you watched him leave. There was barely any time to process anything. Much less as you both walked together. He always made you so nervous.
Work was slow and tiring. Your mind drifted to the thought of Miguel, as it often did. But today, he seemed to be persistent on staying running through your head for longer. It definitely made you get distracted way too many times during working hours.
Finally, after each agonizing second, it was time to clock out for the day. Once you were a block away from home, you remembered to buy groceries. By the time you had finished, the night had covered the sky with its starry mantle.
As you neared the building of your apartment complex, your eyes drifted to the kiosk across the street. There they found Miguel, and a smile crept up on your face. He was speaking with the other customers, a lively conversation likely taking place by the looks of it. His gym clothes were on, meaning he was back from work.
You considered going there with the pretext of trying the smoothies he had recommended, but desisted upon the idea for the moment. First, you needed to get rid of the grocery bags. Perhaps, by the time you had left them at home, he’d still be there chatting and you’d have time to come down and casually join the fun.
If only the elevator was faster, of course. It seemed to move even slower when you needed it to do its job the most. Miguel and the smoothies would have to happen another time. Or not… for you felt a familiar presence entering the building and joining the long wait for the elevator.
“Hey again.” Miguel’s voice rang across the hall.
“Oh– hi, Miguel.” You totally pretended you hadn’t recognized him by the smell of the Axe body spray he’d use after gym.
“Need help with that?” He pointed at the bags.
“It’s no big deal, honestly. But thanks, you’re always a gentleman.” Soon enough, you realized you’d given him a compliment and cringed internally for some reason.
“Heh, glad to know that.” His voice all smug.
The elevator arrived and you both made your way inside. It creaked loudly as it made its way up to the 5th floor. Miguel shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Remind me to tell the landlord to get this old thing fixed.”
“It’s no use, anyways. You know he’ll just ignore the request.” You sighed and leaned your back against the elevator wall.
“I should still try, at least before it brea–“ The lightbulbs blinked and the elevator stopped.
The two of you stood in silence for a few seconds, realizing what was happening. You were now stuck inside an elevator, and with the man of your dreams no less. But even the fact of being here with him didn’t stop you from slowly panicking.
“Shit… Miguel, what are we going to do?” You asked, exasperatedly.
“Press the button for emergencies, it should alert the nearest fire department. Just don’t panic.”
“How can I not panic? We could run out of air and die here…” You pressed the emergency button repeatedly and checked your phone to find signal, but to no avail.
“Don’t do that, the button could break. And we’re not gonna run out of air. This has air currents here, I think.” He spoke while typing on his phone.
“You seem oddly relaxed…”
“I’m also worried, but I’m trying to text the group chat of the people I train. One of the dudes is an engineer and there’s also a doctor, so they’ll probably know what to do.”
“Shouldn’t you call 911 or something, instead? I have absolutely no signal–“
“Hold on, I’m getting some answers… Miles said ‘don’t run out of air’…” He squinted his eyes as he began reading the replies.
“Ha, I told you we could run out of air!” You began panicking more now, thinking his doctor friend had answered.
“Hobie said ‘lay flat on the floor if it starts falling’…” Miguel continued reading the texts out loud in a confused tone.
“WHAT? Don’t tell me your engineer friend said that.” You were now seated down on the floor.
“No, he’s a musician. Only the younger people are answering right now, but these sound ridiculous.” He almost laughed as he kept reading. Leave it to the teens to joke about a situation like this one.
You leaned your head back in frustration. Miguel ended up sitting down as well and carried on typing. He looked awfully chill in this situation. Your only hope now was that the fire department had been notified through the emergency button. As time passed, you convinced yourself that if you were going to die, at least it’d be with the man you liked.
“Well… thankfully we’ve got some food and water, in case we have to spend the night here.” You pointed to the grocery bags, which were now also laying on the floor as well.
“And good company.” He smiled without looking up from his phone.
You felt your face heat up again, and your heart jumped up and down. His words always managed to fluster you in the worst moments. Now that you were stuck together for so long, it was becoming harder to hide your crush. You thought that this was probably a signal the universe was sending you, to convince you to finally confess before you died and it was too late.
“Umm, Miguel…”
“Yeah?” He looked up, glancing at you now.
“So there’s this thing I’ve been meaning to say– or ask, I guess.” You breathed in before continuing.
“I hear you.”
It was now or never.
“Okay, so–“
The elevator shook slightly and began moving up again. The lights flickered repeatedly, then the doors opened after it had reached your floor. You were not dying there together, after all.
“Oh, I guess grandpa decided to take a nap in the middle of his shift.” Miguel joked as he stood up.
He reached out his hand and helped you stand up. He then took some of the bags and carried them for you until you’d reached your door.
“I’m so glad it started working again.” You commented as you fumbled with the keys.
“Yeah, but anyways, what was it that you wanted to ask me? You never got to finish your sentence.”
You stood there frozen for a second, trying to come up with something to say. Your life was no longer at risk, so you didn’t feel the need of confessing before death any longer.
“Oh, it was nothing important.” You stalled, still thinking about what to say.
“Are you sure? You can tell me anything.”
“I just– I wanted to know if I could start training at the gym you go to.” You said as you opened the door of your apparent.
“That’s it?” He sounded like he didn’t really believe that’s what you meant to say.
“Yep. I’ve just never been to a place like that in my life so I gotta ask the expert, of course.” You smiled innocently, as if to convince not only him, but yourself, that what you had said was the truth.
“Sure, you’re welcome to do so. It’s not exactly a secret society, so you could have joined any gym without asking me.” He spoke sarcastically but your mind focused too much on the last portion of his sentence.
He probably doesn’t want me to join the same gym as him.
“Right… well, it was a long day and you must be tired. See you around, Miguel.”
You took your bags inside and closed the door quickly, leaving him slightly dumbfounded. Leaning against it after locking, you took a deep breath. Your mind felt like a jigsaw puzzle, and overthinking wasn’t helping at all. A shower was all you needed to get rid of all the stress caused by today’s incidents.
Once you had finished freshening up, you grabbed a quick snack before heading to bed. Rest was due. You didn’t feel like thinking about him and confusing your head even more. Now in the comfort of your bed, you allowed sleep to take over.
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Thankfully, there was no need to worry about waking up early the next day. The sweet weekend had arrived, meaning you could rest and stay inside all day. The perfect way to avoid Miguel.
However, your dreams had different plans. As if to spite you, your subconscious mind displayed images of how it would be like if you and Miguel were a couple. The dream began by showing how you knocked on his door and confessed to him, he looked happy as he confessed his feelings as well. Then everything shifted, you were both having dinner at a nearby restaurant and he leaned over to kiss you. One last shift of images happened before you woke up. This time, the images presented you both kissing inside the elevator, slowly taking each other’s clothes off. His mouth had moved to your neck, leaving marks as he made his way down your body. It all felt soft and intense… and so real.
The loud honk of a car resonated through the walls, making your eyes open. The memories of your dream flashing rapidly inside your head, making you cover up your face in shame. But you wouldn’t deny how much you were enjoying it, so you screamed into your pillow in frustration.
“Fucking car had to wake me up exactly when it was getting good!” You whined and threw the pillow.
What if this was another sign?
Sitting up on the bed, you reached out for your phone and called your best friend. Sometimes when a girl doesn’t know what to do, she needs professional assistance from someone who knows her better than she knows herself.
“Oh em gee, look who’s calling!” You heard your friend on the other side of the call.
“Hey, bestie… so, I really need help with something– more like, someone.” You admitted nervously.
“And here I thought you wanted to, you know, say hi to me and know how I’m doing, maybe ask me out for brunch but nooo… I’m kidding, of course. How may I be of service?” She joked, making you laugh.
“Well, it’s about my neighbor.” You whispered the word ‘neighbor’, as if it was possible for Miguel to hear you talk about him through the wall.
“Wait, is this the neighbor you spoke to me about like two months ago?”
“Yeah, it’s about him. I’m in dire need of some advice.” You hated how she knew you so well.
“Girl, seriously… I thought by now you had already fucked him.” Her words made you gasp and burst out laughing.
“You did not just say that.” You continued giggling, unable to control yourself.
“Well, did you do it? Or did he break your heart and you need your best friend to cheer you up?” Maybe she didn’t know you that well.
“No, I just have this huge crush on him–“ You began explaining.
“Still?” Your friend cut you off with her comment.
“Yes, still. And I don’t know, but lately a lot of strange things have been occurring. I keep thinking they’re signs saying that I should tell him how I feel, but he keeps giving me mixed signals sometimes. I never know what’s going on inside his head.”
You continued rambling about everything that had happened in the past two days. Your friend listened carefully, her own mind trying to come up with the best answer to your problem. Surely, you couldn’t continue living life like this. Once you had finished the rant, she stayed silent for a few more seconds before finally speaking.
“In my opinion, you should knock on his damn door and confess. What’s he going to do? Bite you? You’d probably like it, anyways.” At least she spoke the truth.
“You make it sound so easy.” You shook your head and sighed.
“Because it is. You knock on his door, confess, I’m sure he likes you so he’ll say yes, then he’ll invite you in and you can fuck. Simple.” She sounded proud of her answer.
“It’s not certain that he likes me, maybe he’s just really nice.” You protested, still denying that possibility.
“Gosh, just get it over with! If he rejects you, just come over to my house for the weekend and I’ll help you deal with the pain. But now I need you to get your ass up and stop being a coward. Or else, I’ll show myself up when you least expect it to tell him everything.”
“You wouldn’t do that…”
“Try me.” You heard her chuckle.
“Ugh, fine! Fine, I’ll do it myself.” You sighed in defeat.
“Today.” She almost threatened.
“Mhm, today, whatever.” You spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’ll be expecting an update of how it went. But if by midnight I don’t receive anything, I’ll know for sure it wasn’t a rejection. Good luck, love ya!” She blew a kiss through the phone and hung up.
This girl…
You armed yourself with the courage your best friend had provided you with. She was right, you needed to get this over with. The next two hours you spent getting ready, making sure you looked and smelled nice. Even going as far as shaving, because you never know.
Once you thought you’d done enough, you checked yourself in the mirror one last time and inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. As you made your way out, your heart was racing like never before. With wobbly legs and fiddled thumbs, you found yourself at his door. Another breath was taken before finally knocking on it.
Each second felt endless, even the door seemed to be opening in slow motion. Goosebumps suddenly appeared on your skin as you timidly looked up. But right there, standing in front of you, wasn’t the guy from apartment 512. Instead, a beautiful blonde woman had answered.
You felt your heart chatter. A million things going through your head as you stared at this woman you had never seen before. She looked a bit confused, waiting for you to speak first. At the moment, you simply couldn’t find any words.
Of course, he has a girlfriend. How could I be so stupid?
You were about to turn around and walk away while apologizing for the interruption. She obviously didn’t recognize you, so you’d just pretend you didn’t live next door and act like you were looking for someone else’s apartment. Then you’d pick up the pieces of your heart and spend the weekend with your best friend. As you took your first step back, the blonde spoke up.
“Were you looking for my brother?”
You froze and blinked twice. The breath you didn’t realize you were holding was released. Now you felt even more confused than her.
“Your brother? Miguel never mentioned he had a sister.” You scratched the back of your head.
“Are you the neighbor he was stuck with inside the elevator last night?” Miguel’s sister chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“My brother went to the kiosk to get us breakfast, even though we should already be having lunch. You can come in and wait for him if you’d like.” She opened the door wider to invite you in.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come by another time.”
“Alright, then I’ll let him know you were looking for him when he comes back.” She gave you a warm smile as she began closing the door.
“Sure, no problem.” You smiled back.
Once the door was finally shut, you remained standing in the hallway. There were now two options: either run back inside the house like a coward, or meet him at the kiosk. You chose the latter.
The elevator was as sluggish as ever, yet this time you didn’t care. You made your way out of the building, feeling like you were in a movie scene as the air hit your face while you walked to the kiosk. You noticed him immediately, leaning against the counter as he waited to receive his order. And in this moment, this was all that mattered. Him, only him.
The guy from apartment 512.
He looked up and your eyes met. There was no turning back now as you approached. He smiled brightly and you returned the smile with a hint of shyness.
“So, you came to try the smoothies I told you about.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Actually, I came to talk to you about something– and I promise it’s not about the gym.” You heard him chuckle.
“Okay, how about we enjoy some smoothies first and then we talk?” You were about to agree to his suggestions and then you remembered…
“But what about your sister?”
“Oh, don’t worry– wait, how do you know about my sister?” He was confused.
“Umm, I knocked at your door earlier.” You nervously admitted.
“Hmm, I see. As I was saying, don’t worry. She won’t die without her overly complicated, banana, pineapple, kiwi, and almond milk smoothie. Or her empanadas, which I seriously recommend, too.” Miguel rolled his eyes playfully as he listed out all the ingredients from his sister’s smoothie.
“If you say so… then I’ll have an uncomplicated guava smoothie with empanadas.” You spoke cheerfully.
“Good choice.” He stepped slightly closer.
“I think today I’m finally making the correct choices, for once.”
Life in Nueva York was like this, same people, same routine. Skyscrapers reaching for the sky, a bustling city scene. Yellow taxis honking loud, streets alive with motion. From dawn till dusk, a vibrant place, a perpetual emotion.
And now you had someone to share it all with. The smoothies from the kiosk across the street. The ancient elevator that would sometimes fall asleep. The unwanted stares and comments. This life and its precious moments.
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❀if you made it this far, thank you for reading~ it's been ages since i wrote anything, so i hope i'm not too rusty. let me know if you'd like a part 2❀
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katsigian · 1 year ago
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🌈💖✨Send this to the nicest people you know or seem to have a good heart! Let people know that they are admired 🩷 the biggest heart and the most kindest person 🥹🖤 besties in this life and the next 🖤🥰
DHFJDS besties from now until forever 🩷🩷
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adarkroomandawallflower · 1 year ago
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hey there! nice to see another active star trek blog 😃 could you do some relationship with Data hcs if that's okay? what it would be like?
Hello! Welcome to my blog, and thank you so very much for taking the time to pop this request into my inbox! I agree, it's always nice to find other active Trek blogs 😊
Yes, that's absolutely okay!! I think we all know that being in a relationship with Data would be so wonderful because it would be a very happy, healthy, and exciting one, but I think the specifics of the relationship would vary, based on one major factor: whether or not you both were stationed on the Enterprise together. Thus, I split these headcanons up to sort of compare and contrast this factor. As a result, this response got really long...😅
I hope that's okay, and I hope you enjoy!
Being in a relationship with Data if you're not stationed on the Enterprise with him:
Data is very detail-oriented and enjoys following a routine (or at least as much of a routine as he can follow when living on a galaxy class starship that runs into unpredictable problems several times a week), and I think he'd be even more detailed and routine-oriented if you were posted somewhere other than the Enterprise.
Because Data loves the older, more traditional aspects of humanity, I think he would love writing letters/messages. I like to think that every M-class planet has a post office-esque space station next to it, so people can "mail" things to each other (maybe every quarters in a starship has a little mailbox-like transporter where they can receive mail from these stations?). Whenever Data visits a new M-class planet, he would try to pick something up for you, and drop it off at the mail space station nearby.
Despite his love for handwritten letters, I don't think he'd do that very often if you weren't on the Enterprise (he'd definitely include one whenever he sends you a "package", though), but he would send you subspace messages via your PADDs fairly frequently.
He'd try to send you messages almost daily, depending on how busy he is and what nonsense the Enterprise is currently involved in.
The messages would probably be similar to his personal logs, but with a more jovial and romantic touch:
Dearest,
It has been quite a day! An accidental virus was created in Sick Bay this morning, which later became airborne, causing the entire ship to de-evolve into ancestral life-forms. The Captain and I were on an Away Mission during this time, and did not succumb to the virus (the Captain was infected upon on our return, but he did not fully succumb to the infection nor de-evolve). With the Captain's help, I was able to create a remedy for the virus, and all of the crewmembers have since returned to their normal, humanoid forms.
Meanwhile, during all that 'excitement', Spot birthed a healthy litter of kittens! She had five kittens in total: four males and one female. Strangely, one of the kittens elicits thoughts of you in my neural net. I am uncertain why this kitten seems to 'remind' me of you, but I believe that is something which you would find endearing.
Has your day been equally or comparably exciting? How is your current project progressing? Did you receive the 'package' I 'mailed' to you last week? (I shall reserve the extraneous details about said 'package' until our next correspondence, so as not to ruin the surprise, if you have not yet received it.)
I anticipate your response, and look forward to our next 'meeting'!
Your 'Sunshine',
Data
In addition to frequent subspace messages, Data would also schedule weekly video calls with you!
Those calls would be more personal and less clinical, but still professional and sweet.
Spot would also make frequent appearances in your video calls!
You always end your video calls by blowing each other a kiss (sometimes, Spot steals your kisses, and Data will teasingly scold her "Spot, that osculation was not intended to be received by you!")
Data probably has years worth of Shore Leave racked up, which comes in handy for you because he can almost always take his Shore Leave at the same time as you.
You're able to spend nearly all of your scheduled Shore Leaves together (except in the few instances where a last minute emergency happened on the Enterprise, and you weren't able to reschedule your Shore Leave to accommodate this). You usually try to visit a different planet each time, but if the two of you have a favorite or preferred planet, you would also schedule multiple Shore Leaves on that planet.
I think that Data is a very private person, in the sense that he doesn't offer personal information unless he feels it can be used as a helpful anecdote or example, or someone directly asks him about it.
Thus, I think he wouldn't mention you to his friends for a while, but when he does mention you, it would probably be seemingly random, as a somewhat relevant afterthought:
Riker: I don't know how couples stationed on different ships or stations make it work. Our current technology is great and makes it much easier to keep in touch than in previous centuries, but I just can't imagine not waking up next to the one I love every day...
Data: It can be difficult, in that sense, but my partner and I do not see it as a difficulty or challenge. In fact, in some aspects, it is more rewarding, as it makes our physical encounters more 'passionate' and meaningful.
Riker: I guess you're right, Data. It would be more pass---wait, did you say, "my partner"???
Data: Indeed, I did, Commander.
Riker: Data!! You have a partner, and didn't tell us??
Data: *soft, confused look* No one has inquired about my partner thus far, and I did not deem it a relevant aspect of my personal life to discuss, until now.
Riker: *shocked Pikachu*
Of course, once the rest of the crew finds out, they practically beg Data to meet you, which leads you to scheduling your next Shore Leave to be a trip to the Enterprise.
Data is so excited for your visit, but he'd never admit it.
He spends weeks planning everything he wants to show you, what activities he wants to do with you, and updates his quarters a bit to accommodate a second person temporarily living there.
Although he's not quite worried or anxious about the crew meeting you, he is a bit concerned that they might overwhelm you. So, he makes sure that he's the only one in the Transporter Room (aside from whoever is manning the Transporter at that time) to greet you when you beam aboard.
The first thing you see when you materialize on the Transporter Pad is his sweet, gentle smile, and his arms stretched out completely in front of him for a hug, "Welcome aboard, Dearest!"
The rest of your trip is spent doing date-like activities (i.e. holodeck adventures, trips to the Arboretum, painting and/or reading with him and Spot in their quarters, etc.). Overall, it's a very relaxing and sweetly domestic/mundane time, which both of you enjoy greatly.
He gives you a tour of the whole ship, which ends in you meeting his friends for a small celebration in Ten-Forward. The celebration is very chill, and mostly involves them telling you stories about their adventures and funny things Data has done or experienced during his time on the ship.
They also tease Data relentlessly, much to his chagrin. It's all affectionate taunts, like how he could have kept you a secret for so long, how he managed to "snatch you up", whether his romantic subroutine was "effective", etc.
While Geordi proceeds to tell the story of when Data let him "borrow" Spot, you move a hand under the table and take Data's hand softly but firmly into yours. Data blinks and turns his head to look at you in soft surprise, and when you return his gaze briefly, you flash him a warm smile.
Realizing this was likely a sign that you were feeling comfortable in the presence of his friends, and despite the jesting of his friends, you felt an enhanced desire to express romantic affection with him somewhat publicly, he softened his expression and posture, and entwined his fingers with yours as his lips curved upwards into a faint smile.
Troi, who's sitting beside you but angled in such a way that she can see slightly underneath the table, catches this and beams happily.
The evening ends with lots of warm welcomes and words of acceptance into their little Found Family. Everyone already loves you, and Data is so pleased!
After that first trip, whenever Data is unable to schedule a Shore Leave at the same time as you, you schedule yours to be on the Enterprise (much to Data's delight).
Being in a relationship with Data while being stationed on the Enterprise:
As mentioned in the previous set of headcanons, Data is very traditional and old-fashioned (in the best way!), and would enjoy older forms of romantic affection, such as handwritten letters, surprise gifts, etc.
Since you're on the same ship, now he can give you handwritten letters more frequently! They would come in the form of daily/routine notes, such as leaving a little sticky note on the replicator with a silly scientific joke on it, and formal love letters. He'd also leave you a little note on his pillow, if he had to unexpectedly leave during the night/earlier in the morning, and won't be able to join you for breakfast (more on this a little later).
As far as his penmanship goes, I think he would write in perfect, beautiful cursive, and probably use a quill and ink when writing a full letter. When writing official/formal love letters to you, he'd also probably use melted wax and a stamp to seal them (both as an additional security/privacy measure, but also because he's so delightfully extra like that). For his little notes, he'd probably just use a regular pen, but it would still be written in neat cursive.
You return the favor by leaving him little notes written in binary code around your shared quarters or his work areas, which he absolutely adores. He's very pleased to have this sort of inside joke, although he finds it difficult not to discuss it with others (he knows this defeats the purpose of an inside joke, which is why he refrains from doing it, but he wants to share this amusing tidbit with someone else so badly sometimes).
One of the things I think Data would covet in a romantic relationship is spending time together in a very literal/strict sense (especially because he knows that this part of a relationship is always threatened when serving on a starship), but also keeping in mind personal space.
He does this in two ways: First, he'd have scheduled, formal dates with you, probably once or twice a month. These dates would typically include holodeck adventures and trips to the Arboretum. Second, he'd have routine, daily "dates" with you. These would include having meals together, doing your individual work separately but in your shared quarters, and having philosophical/intellectual conversations.
Because Data enjoys traditional romance, he would want to share meals together, even if he decides not to eat himself. He tries to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you every day. Of course, this is not always possible when stationed on the flagship of the Federation, so he's a bit more lenient about missing breakfast and dinner.
However, he is very strict about lunch. In all your time stationed on the Enterprise together, you can count the number of times Data had to cancel lunch with you on one hand. All those cancelations were due to extreme circumstances (i.e. him being kidnapped for several days).
He (almost) always makes sure that you both take an official lunch break together. It's never anything fancy or formal (usually just the two of you in one of your offices or in a quiet corner in Ten-Forward, chatting about how your days have been so far), but it's very special and important to both of you.
Data also likes to end these little lunch dates with a literal "treat", like a cookie, tart, or whatever other sweet treats you enjoy, that he'll share with you.
He doesn't do this every time because "the element of surprise can make the reward even more pleasurable", but you do somewhat expect it. Regardless, it always brightens your day and makes you smile!
He insists on eating it with you, and always lets you have the last bite.
He'll also try to be extra cute every once in a while by attempting to do the classic Lady and the Tramp spaghetti moment (it doesn't work very well for desserts, but it always makes you laugh because he ends up getting some of the dessert on his face) or by feeding you a bite or two.
Lunch dates always end with a soft little peck, exchanged smiles, and gentle farewells.
You'd be very perceptive of Data's love for routine, so I think your main form of love-language for him is to incorporate a little routine into your romantic affirmations and affections with him.
One of the major ways you'd do this is by sort of scheduling your kisses. I strongly believe that cheek kisses are his favorite/preferred form of physical affection, so you'd always start your days with him by giving him a cheek kiss. You'd likely do this right after your shared breakfast/before the two of you part to start your days.
Once this becomes routine, he'd be a little cheeky (pun completely intended 😈) about it. For example, if you're running late one morning and try to leave without giving him his morning cheek kiss, he'd give you a very pointed look and extend his cheek out towards you, "Are you forgetting something, Dearest?"
If one of you isn't there in the morning due to work, don't think he's letting you get out of his promised daily cheek kiss! He'll make sure to squeeze one in during your lunch break later that day.
I think he'd also enjoy nose kisses, both a little peck to his lovely snoot and bunny kisses/nose nuzzling. I think Data considers sharing deep conversations in private together to be a very intimate activity. So, this would typically trigger his intimacy circuits, if you will, which would make him want to cuddle, bunny kiss/nose nuzzle, etc. These moments are likely when he'd be most physically affectionate with you.
In general, he considers these kinds of kisses to be more intimate and not "appropriate" as PDA, so these would be shared exclusively in your quarters.
Knowing his love for routine, right before you both go to 'sleep' each night, you'll kiss his nose softly (and just like the morning cheek kiss, you can expect him to remind you about it, if you ever forget).
Speaking of PDA, I don't think Data particularly enjoys PDA. Personally, I think he would only want to hold hands (especially on your Arboretum walks/dates), and share an occasional cheek kiss. That being said, if you'd prefer more PDA, then he would consider displaying other forms of affection with you in public (he'd still never do anything he deems to be 'too intimate', though).
Sometimes, when Data is really busy but you aren't, you'll just sit near him and his console while he works, with Spot curled up in your lap. He especially enjoys and appreciates this, although he can't explain why. Something about sensing your proximity and your relaxed vitals is very comforting and soothing for him.
I think Data's main love-language for you is sharing time/moments together. In particular, he enjoys moments where both of you are doing your own, individual work/things in each other's company. Usually, this involves Data softly tapping away at his console while you're on the couch with your PADD.
Spot also enjoys these moments, and will go back and forth between the two of you to get her desired amounts of affection.
However, he sometimes feels a little guilty about those moments because he's concerned that you're bored or that your free time could be better spent elsewhere.
You always reassure him that you're never bored and the activity is equally soothing and enjoyable for you, and that usually brings that cute little smile onto his face.
I think both you and Data would also have a bit of magpie instincts, so another one of your love-languages for each other is exchanging surprise and nuanced gifts with each other.
Data would definitely hand-make gifts for you, but those would be very meaningful and reserved for special occasions (i.e. birthdays or anniversaries). For other occasions, the gifts would be seemingly random, but actually quite personal. For example, on one Away Mission, he found a little rock that was the exact color of your eyes (and I mean exact, his positronic net calculated a 99.9999917% match). He can't explain why, but he had a strong urge to bring it back and give it to you, so he did (after intensive testing to ensure the rock didn't harbor any biological or chemical dangers, and was safe to keep aboard the quarters of a starship).
On your side, this would usually include artwork, either something you made yourself or purchased from other artists. Another common gift you'd give him is flowers/plants. I think Data absolutely adores plants, and almost nothing brings a smile to his face as easily as you surprising him with a lovely flower bouquet during his shift (note: I think Data would consider exchanging gifts in public as a form of PDA that he appreciates)!
Eventually, this leads to Keiko joking that your quarters is the Arboretum 2.0 of the ship because "your plant count comes very close!"
When he presents these kinds of gifts to you in public areas, nearby eavesdroppers would find it a bit odd, but you know what a deep and endearing sentiment it actually is, so you always appreciate it very much!
Whenever he'd get a questionable reading, he'd contact you immediately, make sure you're in a private area, and double check you're okay:
On busy days, especially ones where you don't get to see each other as often, he makes sure to check on you through the use of your Communicators. I think Data would keep tabs on you throughout the day, checking on your physical and mental well-being, this way.
Additionally, if you have a chronic illness, he'd also keep track of that (with your permission and approval). For example, if you wore some sort of device that monitors your condition/relevant vitals, he'd adjust that device so that its readings were shared instantly and constantly with his positronic net, especially in case of an emergency.
"Data to Lieutenant Y/L/N."
"Lieutenant Y/L/N here."
"Are you in a private area?"
"Not at this time."
"Are you able to relocate to a private area momentarily?"
"Yes, one moment."
"Acknowledged."
"Okay, I'm in my office now. Is everything okay?"
"That is the inquiry I have for you. I just received some questionable readings from your health monitor, and wished to 'check in'. Have your slightly elevated vitals been reduced? Are you hydrating properly and frequently? Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, my elevated vitals have been dealt with, and are currently on the path to returning to normal. Yes, I just had some water about fifteen minutes ago. And yes, I'm feeling okay. Thank you for checking in, Sunshine. Are you doing okay?"
"I am...relieved to hear that you are alright. Please refrain from straining yourself excessively for the remainder of your shift, if possible. Yes, I am fine. Thank you for also 'checking in' on me."
"Will do, and of course. I have to get back to work now, but I'll see you at around 21:00 hours for dinner?"
"Yes, I anticipate that my shift will conclude in time to keep our shared dinner arrangement at 21:00 hours. I will contact you immediately if this changes."
"Sounds good...good luck with the rest of your shift, and I'm fond of you very much."
"Likewise, Dearest. Data out."
A/N: Okay, I think that's finally it...I really hope this response was satisfactory for you, anon! These were really nice and comforting to write 🥰 Thank you again for the request, and please feel free to add on to these ideas and/or send in more requests!
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peeweekey · 8 months ago
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Another thing; the melusines seem especially eager to share correspondence with you. They asked me personally for the mailing address of your new residence and I could not refute them. They seem to be abusing the soft spot I have for them, do forgive me.
With the help of the Hydro Sovereign, the melusines have taken over the mailbox of Furina’s new residence.
furina/neuvillette ; fluff
07/20 Lady Furina,
As per your request, I have provided you residence outside the Palais Mermonia. Take as much time as you need in moving in, I shall send Sedene to check on you every few days. I would have done it myself had it been that she was so insistent on it. Do not fret about repayment, this is the least I could do for you. It is hardly a dent in my coffers.
Another thing; the melusines seem especially eager to share correspondence with you. They asked me personally for the mailing address of your new residence and I could not refute them. They seem to be abusing the soft spot I have for them, do forgive me.
Rest well, if there is anything else, do not hesitate to send me a reply.
Your dear Iudex, Neuvillette
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07/28 Dearest Lady Furina,
Is your new house comfortable? When I visited you last time, it was cramped. And it was dusty and it smelled kinda bad… If you want, I can help you dust it the next time I visit. Even if I don’t understand why you’d choose to live there, if it makes you happy, then I guess I can be happy also.
The food that you made for us last time tasted funny, my lady, I think you don’t have much talent in cooking. When I told Monsieur Neuvillette, he wrinkled his brow. He does that a lot lately, and sighs a lot more too. He’s busy all the time now, especially with all that paperwork you left behind! He always asks me about my visits to you after, I think he’s worried about something. Anyway, I’ll bring that cake you like next time! I’ll just have to ask Monsieur Neuvillette what it was again…
I will stop my letter here now though, my hand is starting to ache.
All love, Sedene (P.S. I miss seeing you everyday, Lady Furina)
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08/10 Hello Lady Furina!
Work at Meropide Fortress has been hectic lately, but I finally found time to send you a letter. Now that you’re human, you have to take much more caution with your health, but if you ever come down with a case of the sniffles, I’ll come to you right away! I’ve also collected some cosmetics that you will absolutely love, I can even tell you about their properties and benefits, if you want to of course.
I’ve been wanting to visit you and Monsieur Neuvillette a lot, I have a lot of stories to share. Like when one of the prisoners at the fortress taught me how to braid hair, I tried it on Mister Wriothesley but his hair isn’t long enough. I told him he should grow it out, you agree right? I’ll try braiding yours once I find the time to visit, I’ll even ask Monsieur Neuvillette to tag along.
Anyway, I hope you don’t feel too lonely anymore. You can chat with me anytime you want, my lady, I always want to hear from you! And before I forget, I put a sheet of stickers in the envelope with this letter. It’s melusine themed! And they are scratch and sniff stickers. I’ve been saving it but I want to give it to you. Cute, right?
Kisses and well wishes, Sigewinne
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09/23 My Lady,
I have written and rewritten this letter countless times, I hope you don’t blame my poor writing skills. Some of the melusines I’ve spoken to say that they see you around the court more often than before. But I haven’t had the chance to see you again. If ever you make your way to Marcotte Station, I hope I could greet you then.
Monsieur Neuvillette has been taking the private aquabus ride to Opera Epiclese alone now, and the rides to and back are silent. He sometimes chats with me, but I’m not too fond of talking. I guess all the chatter you two had came from you.
From, Elphane
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09/30 To Miss Furina,
Congratulations on your stunning theater performance, Miss Furina. It was truly a sight to behold, you are a natural in the limelight. I hope to be able to attend more of your future performances. I can clearly see you flourishing brightly now. And truly, I am happy for you, Furina.
It is also nearing your birthday. Your first as a human, I have to say it is quite bittersweet for me. But if you’ll have me, I’d want to visit and celebrate that day with you. Like we always had done before. I will not come alone of course, the melusine children are practically buzzing with excitement.
Please do not think of me a stranger, Furina, you are the closest person to me. You are always in my thoughts and I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours, Neuvillette
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10/20 Dearest Lady Furina,
I’m sorry, my letter is probably the latest out of all my sisters! I’ve been quite busy with my aquabus shift much more now than before! I think it has something to do with the performances you do for the theater troupe now. All that heavy rain stopping is surely a plus, too. before I overheard a passenger saying that she desperately wanted to watch one of your shows, but the tickets were all sold out! It was a shame, she looked like she came all the way from Mondstat too, don’t worry I made sure to cheer her up with my tour guide skills.
If you don’t mind me saying, my lady, your face seems so much brighter! Like the glow of Lumitoiles. Even Monsieur Neuvillette has been much more perky lately, most don’t notice it but I do. Maybe because you’re spending time together again, I’ve seen a lot of articles on the two of you in the Steambird. The two of you must be super close again if you’re holding hands and sharing desserts. Your good mood is surely infectious! I’m grinning so hard, my cheeks hurt. It’s amazing!
Anyway, if you see me around, please say hi! I can be quite ignorant of my surroundings at times…
Don't be a stranger! Aeval
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