Inbox for duplicity

[chopoffyourhead]

Username: rosehearts

Comments

text misfire; un: pigbenis

[eelusive]

how to impress someone

do humans like being given big fish as a gift

what color roses look nice together

when is it ok to suggest anal

[... Floyd's search history is very colorful.]

un: rose<3scocks

[chopoffyourhead]

[WELL... this sure is something

And Riddle almost overlooks it but

Then

There's the roses

And the fish

And the typing...

And it's a little too coincidental.]

................Floyd?

[eelusive]

[Wait. Who is this? Floyd squints at the username then back at the inbox to make absolutely 1000% sure he's reading things right.

Now, Floyd never panics--or at least it's very rare for him to panic--but he's also not too keen on thinking before he acts. Sometimes.]

whos floyd

[Fuck. Is that believable? No way is that believable.]

1/2

[chopoffyourhead]

[For a few moments, there's nothing... and then?]

2/2 misfire video

[chopoffyourhead]

[There's suddenly a video of Riddle, laughing lightly with his fist up to his mouth. It's not a mean sort of laugh. If anything, all signs point to him being tickled and... even happy.]

1/3

[eelusive]

[Wh-- For why...]

2/3

[eelusive]

[Is he laughing at him or is this a random saved video from something else entirely? ... Oh, for the love of chum, why is he even overthinking it?]

3/3 misfire video

[eelusive]

[For a few seconds, there's no response, but eventually Riddle will receive a returned video of Floyd staring straight down at his device while the sound of Riddle's laughter continues to play over and over and over again in the background. Yes, he's watching it a few more times. No, he has no idea he's being recorded.

Is there a way to save this to his camera roll? There's gotta be a way to save it to his camera roll. Just... let him figure this out before he comes up with a decent bullshit response.]

1/4

[chopoffyourhead]

[... huh? A response back? But he hadn't—]

2/4

[chopoffyourhead]

[—wait whAT WHY WAS THAT SENT?!]

3/4

[chopoffyourhead]

[His face is turning redder and redder with realization...]

4/4 misfire video

[chopoffyourhead]

[Oh seven what if this is being recorded too?!

An ungainly flustered sound of alarm escapes Riddle, and that'll be the last thing before the device is shut off altogether.]

video;

[eelusive]

[Floyd blinks, staring back at the video and the squeals to follow, and once realization sets in, he juggles his device between his hands in an attempt not to drop the damn thing. Ah, fuck.

He's already yelling at the screen before it starts recording, so pardon him for the sudden cutoff.]

--uper cute, but like--! What were you laughing about? ... Was that you? Where'd you go?

[Word vomit. Just plain word vomit.]

video;

[chopoffyourhead]

[It's only about ten minutes later once Riddle feels calm enough to turn the device back on.

He gives a sigh.]

There truly is nothing sacred in this city, is there?

[He shakes his head.]

Anyway... [A light blush comes to his cheeks as he glances to the side.] ... were you... really searching all that stuff for me?

[eelusive]

[Floyd doesn't stress too much about the lack of response. Maybe he's busy. Maybe he's eating or taking a shower or chopping off someone's head. Whatever the case, Floyd sets his device to the side and busies himself by punching a few pillows... and wandering into the kitchen for several unhealthy (but crunchy) snacks.

He's seated atop the kitchen counter with a cookie in his mouth when he receives the call.

Muffled,]

Hmmm... What stuff?

[He wants to make sure they're on the same page here. It's not that Floyd's embarrassed. He just wants to make sure whatever surprises he was planning weren't horribly ruined.]

[chopoffyourhead]

[Riddle copy and pastes the message because that is much easier than saying these things out loud.]

how to impress someone

do humans like being given big fish as a gift

what color roses look nice together

when is it ok to suggest anal

[eelusive]

[Floyd looks over the text... and after chomping a huge chunk out of his cookie heaves a sigh and smears a hand down his face.]

I mean, yeah, I was looking that stuff up. I was bored!

[Which isn't a lie.]

It's not like the answers I got were helpful though.

[How much more specific could he get? Anyway, his questions aren't that revealing. He thinks. Though Riddle's blush kind of proves otherwise. In an attempt to divert the attention away from that,]

... I bet you look up a bunch of random stuff too.

[chopoffyourhead]

[Oh, Floyd. You are not subtle in the least.

But that's a good thing, in this case. Subtlety would leave room for doubt, which would be all too easy for Riddle to latch on to.

A soft noise of amusement, and he looks away, not answering for a moment. Then, softly, he admits:]

It surprised me... You keep surprising me, really.

[Finally, he looks back to the device.]

Well... I can give you how I would answer those, if you'd like.

[eelusive]

Is that a good thing?

[Surprises aren't always welcome, after all. He knows that better than most.

Floyd kicks his legs a bit as they dangle from the counter and he wonders if he should just end the call all together. Or maybe it would be smarter if he went next door to talk to Riddle in person. People are so complicated to read and even more complicated to interact with... but, still, he wants to try. He wouldn't have come on land if he didn't want to try.

He looks to the device again and tilts his head. Ah. Ok. Time to take mental notes.]

Uh... Yeah. If you wanna.

1/2

[chopoffyourhead]

In this case, yes. They've been pleasant surprises.

[He puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully, then responds:]

If you wish to impress someone for the sake of getting their attention, the best course of action is simply to be your genuine self. That gives the other person a clear understanding from the start of who you are, and there is something to be said for the confidence of staying true to yourself regardless of the consequences.

Next: it depends on the person. A raw fish might be a bit much for most people, however, who aren't familiar with butchering. It may be a more acceptable gift if you plan to butcher it yourself or have it taken to a professional who can prepare it for you; in which case the fish itself could stay in its raw form for the presentation. Of course, not every person enjoys eating fish. I do like it myself.

Now, the color of roses are quite varied, so many appealing color combinations can be made. I'm most fond of red and white roses, myself, but I enjoy all of them. If you'd like, you can even go so far as to look up the meanings of each color of rose. For example, white roses traditionally symbolize purity and innocence.

2/2

[chopoffyourhead]

And... [Ahum. That... last one has his face turning red as he glances away again.] I... suppose it'd be okay to ask that as long as you're willing to have an open discussion, which might include a soft or outright rejection. A-after all, as I understand it, the main purpose is for both parties to enjoy themselves, so discussing any concerns prior to that is essential.

[A pause, and then:]

I know that was a bit wordy, so feel free to revisit it on your own time as needed.

[eelusive]

[Floyd listens quietly as he munches away at his cookie. It’s a lot of information, but it’s not complicated information, and it helps to get his answers straight from the source.

So he likes fish, huh. Gutting and filleting them isn’t an issue and neither is laying out a decent presentation. But what kind? How dangerous? How big? If Riddle were any other merman, Floyd could easily leave a whole tuna at his door and call it good.

But Riddle’s not a merman. He’s not a goldfish or even any other kind of person, and the more they interact, the more Floyd realizes just how little he knows. It’s as exciting as it is nerve wracking.

All this talk of meanings and symbols… and being true to himself–

Floyd hums in thought as he stares down at his feet, still dangling and kicking off the edge of the counter. He’ll get to that last point in a second. It’s just–]

You don’t like it when I’m my genuine self though.

[chopoffyourhead]

[Riddle blinks at that, looking back at his device. Loosely, he crosses his arms.]

Have you not been your genuine self with me over the past few weeks?

[eelusive]

Mmmn…

[Floyd shrugs. It’s difficult to explain.]

I guess I have for the most part. There’s just a lot of stuff I haven’t been doing too.

[He hasn’t wrestled him or sunk his teeth into his wrist or hunted a sturgeon and ripped off its scales to present as a gift… Floyd opts not to share those specifics.]

Riling you up and making you happy are both really fun, so– I dunno. I’m trying to be careful and it’s hard.

[Floyd still doesn’t quite understand why he’s going through all this effort. At first he chalked it up to being bored, but this has gone on for longer than a couple days, much longer than some passing interest.]

[chopoffyourhead]

[He watches him, listening, and... He thinks he knows what he's getting at.

He gestures with a hand.]

That's the way most relationships work. There are parts where you'll agree, and parts where you'll have a differing opinion and compromise is necessary.

[He hesitates a moment, before:]

You know I tend to be much more structured in my approach and living. To be honest, I've allowed far more spontaneity in the past couple months than I have in years. With you, as well as others.

I wouldn't consider that being disingenuous. It may be stretching my comfort zone, but I'm not projecting a false image of myself to please others.

I imagine your situation is similar, yes? You've certainly taken a different approach with me lately, but I would hope that's because you want to demonstrate respect of my boundaries and not because you're pretending to be someone you're not for the sake of me liking you more.