completelycrazy | in the night: ic inbox

["Incredible enthusiasm and questionable taste." He's not sure why that's a bad thing. People have used those exact words to describe him.]

Hmmmmmm.

I'd love to see you in like jeans and a T-shirt. Or anything more comfortable and practical than your usual getups. No one wears corsets anymore Ros.

Really it's more of a general thought though. And hey you're already making progress! Calling me Newt a minute ago was a step forward.

I've seen the general state of posture in this town, and I'll be keeping mine, thank you very much. Corsets do more work than just offer an appealing figure. Someday we'll reverse this little game of dress-up and I'll show you.

[Is she joking? Probably.]

But jeans . . . I could try those. You're about my height and size, or at least close enough; I'll steal one of yours tomorrow. It's been a long, long time since I tried wearing pants. That will be fun. Even a t-shirt, though I'll leave selecting that up to you.

[Oh. So now she's borrowing his clothes? That escalated quickly.]

OK deal.

I'll wear a corset for a day if you let me dress you up for a day then. And you have to go out in public. No sulking in the lab.

Then again you're a lot less difficult to convince on all this stuff than I thought you'd be. Is that because of your quest to get more people to like you?

Good god, would you really? I'm impressed.

And before we discuss my reasons, I reserve the right to spend as much time in the lab as I please. I'll interact with others, but I'm not going to walk around all day greeting people just so they can gawk.

Keep in mind that I'm making that promise before I know just how uncomfortable it'll be. I reserve the right to bail if it's too annoying.

Other than that I don't really care. I'll wear anything.

Well fine I suppose that's fair. We're definitely doing something social that day though. Like we'll get dinner or something. Hang out at the bar. Something in public.

[Does this count as asking her out??? He'd tread more carefully if he was truly angling for a date, but hey, this is a good precursor.]

[It sort of counts. Half-counts. Counts in the sense that she wouldn't be so displeased if he did count it as a date, but there's little pressure to impress. She wouldn't bother going out with him in any sense if there wasn't a level of respect there.]

A bar suits. If nothing else, it would be nice to be a bit tipsy if people decide to make a thing of it— though I suppose that might sharpen my tongue. We'll see. Pick a day and we'll do it. Though you're paying.

[It's not really a joke in the sense that it's not, like, objectively funny, but she means it teasingly, is the point. She's trying.]

What's the strangest thing you've worn in public?

Well obviously. It was my idea.

Though that's not putting me out much given this place has no currency (Which is insane, btw. How has society not crumbled around us?) soooo how about instead I promise to fight off the masses that will surely be clamoring to mock you.

No one's gonna make a thing of it. You'll be fine.

If I can wear a full body spandex body suit in public then you can manage jeans and a T-shirt.

[Green Man is multidimensional.]

[God, she absolutely had a reply for the currency thing, and she will assuredly come back to it in a few minutes, but, like, priorities. And honestly, she debates this for a second, but:]

Do I dare ask what kind of material spandex is? I'm going to ask why you wore such a thing regardless, I simply want to know what amount of detail I ought to truly ask after.

Ummm it's kind of like panty hose material but thicker and not see-through. Mine was green.

As for "why" that's a story I'll tell you at dinner. It's an intricate one with a lot of twists and turns.

[Or just a weird thing he was trying at a musical festival once, but he'll drag it out, make it exciting.]

A boat was involved and a flock of angry geese make an appearance. I'll leave time for questions don't worry.

I hope you leave time for alternate theories, too. That's a fascinating amount of information for you to hand me with no context.

[But ah, speaking of silly stunts and breaking social norms:]

I meant my question from earlier, though.

[She circles a fair few lines up: What was university like for you? You were 14, but what else?]

Your experience must have been vastly different than my own, sexism et all aside.

Oh by all means. We can make it a guessing game lol.

But yeah it'd be pretty weird if our experiences weren't different. The university system as I know it developed long after your time I think. I tested out of a lot of stuff so I was already like halfway done by the time I got there. I blew through the undergrad part so I don't really remember much of it.

I was pretty distracted getting used to living on my own in a new country.

What was university like for YOU?

I do want to hear about the culture shock, you know. You've told me of your childhood in Germany, but not the transitionary part.

But as for university . . . it was many things. Thrilling. Overwhelming. Frustrating. For the first time in my life I found myself among, if not intellectual peers, at least people who thought more or less the same way I did. Some women, which was even more thrilling. Mostly men. I was even adopted, in a sense, by a pretentious little cohort— I've told you of them, I think.

Robert had the same experience. The same friends, too.

I grew beyond it, of course, and it didn't take long. And there were the same age-related hurdles as you faced, I suspect. Not a child, and yet not an adult either: a strange amalgam that was taken seriously only when she insisted upon it, which was always.

I miss it sometimes. Not often. But it was peaceful after the stifling childhood I had.

[A moment's thought, and then:]

Did they have fraternities at your university? Or had that died out?

Hah I like the thought of you having a cohort. I wanna hear more stories about them. I'm jealous. I didn't really end up with a circle of friends until my 20s.

Wait how old were you? And Robert had the same friends like literally the same people? Or did they get gender swapped too?

Anyway I get that with having like pseudo peers. That was nice at least. My intelligence was always pretty well catered to through most of my education. I always caught some flak for being weird but people thought it was cute until I grew up lol. After that is when it started to get conflated with the work I was doing.

Uhh yeah there were frats. And sororities. I snuck into a couple of parties just for the hell of it but I never messed around with Greek life. Seemed mind-numbingly stupid.

"Friends" is a strong word, but they were my first real experience with socialization. There were three— Victoria, who was my roommate at Girton; Henry, who was charismatic and charming and a bit of a rake; and Charles, who was kind, in his way. A bit damp, though.

I was fourteen when I entered university, and fifteen when Victoria befriended them, and thus by extension connected us. And yes, Robert had the exact same friends— though they weren't gender swapped, no. But the dynamics were similar. We were both overwhelmed by Victoria and Henry, and each of us briefly courted the other— that is, Robert chased futilely after Victoria, while I used Henry to my own ends. And whereas Victoria and I were amiable companions, Robert and Henry got along smashingly.

I don't disagree about Greek life, but I am surprised. That was the only way to advance in your career if you wished to go anywhere— at least for men. Robert was in one; I was, for obvious reasons, not.

Who were your first friends, then?

Ehhhh still sounds like friends to me! They were your buddies!

Love that Charles was just left on the fringes here though. Serves him right for his dampness.

What did you like better about Henry? Or did you mess around with Charles too? We'll get to my friends later. You're not weaseling out of elaborating.

[It's an odd feeling, how interested he is in Rosalind's social escapades of the past. Normally he'd be more invested in her work or, more likely, this opportunity to talk about himself. But after everything, after dying and losing his planet, he's realizing how intensely focused he's been on surging forward.

It suited him when he was alive. Being on the front line of defense against the apocalypse will do that to a person. The last year of his life was spent rushing to the next problem to solve, moving too quickly to get caught up in the existential dread of alien invasion. What the hell does he do in the aftermath, though?

For now, gossiping about Rosalind's college pals is the answer, apparently. Baby steps.]

Greek stuff is just a social thing in modern times. Some people still care about it I guess but I just associate frats with parties.

[She starts to write I'm not weaseling and then scrubs it out. Sometimes you take the L, you know?]

I did not mess about with Charles, no. He was very . . . well meaning, in his way, and kind enough, but rather dull altogether. Henry, on the other hand, was intoxicatingly charismatic, often to a fault. He was thrilling to be around, but he was reckless with other people's feelings, and too immature to ever bother to take accountability for himself. Ultimately he wanted little more than to spend his wealth and keep himself entertained for the rest of his day. So: a fine enough companion to bed down with, and one who was a thorough education in socialization— but not someone I kept in touch with once I graduated.

For Robert, add all that with the thrill of homoerotic tension that Henry expertly drew out, and frankly, neither of us were in a position to resist.

Victoria was much the same. They eventually wed, to no one's great surprise.

Is that enough, or shall I tell you their general descriptions, too?

[Teasingly meant, for it's oddly fun to talk about them. She hasn't thought about them for ages on end— and there's something a little wonderful about getting to share some part of her life with someone. With him, in all his endearing encouragement.]

Or I could tell you more salacious gossip.

Edited 2023-11-27 05:06 (UTC)

So was Henry hot? He sounds hot.

[So yes general descriptions please and thank you.]

Were you always using Henry for the sex or were you actually into him at any point? Before you realized he was all flash and no substance.

And yes of COURSE I want to hear the gossip. Dish, sis.

[He is dying to know what her definition of 'gossip' looks like.]

Edited 2023-11-27 05:09 (UTC)

He was very attractive, yes. Dark hair and dark eyes, with high cheekbones and a quick smile . . . you would have fancied him too, I suspect.

And it was both. I was using him for sex, but I cannot deny I was attracted to him. He was unlike anyone I had ever met before, and I was fascinated by how he could charm anyone, myself included.

As for gossip . . . let's see, now. Some of it was dull: impending divorces or infidelities, things of that nature. Who was promised to whom, who was courting whom, things like that. Whether or not it was a scandal that I myself had no intention to marry, and was particularly vocal about that opinion . . . but hm.

It was a widely known thing that the men of Oxbridge were expected to sleep about; less so for the women, not that such a thing stopped Victoria. She was rumored to have not only slept with at least three men before I met her, with two of them occurring at once, which was nigh-unheard of. She had piercings, too, which was less uncommon than I suspect you might think, though still stunning to me. As for Henry . . . well, more of the same. Sex parties and the like, alongside fucking anything that moved, male or female— the former of which wasn't so scandalous, but he was obvious about it, when it was a far more unspoken thing.

I learned a great deal about what consti

[A pause, and then she scribbles the latter half of that sentence out, replacing it with:]

I learned a great deal from him.

Hah probably. I have lower standards than you I bet but anyone can be hot if they have the confidence.

[The gossip is a fair bit more scandalous than he anticipated though, coming from her. He was sure she was about to drop some story about how Victoria once dared to show a bit of ankle at a potluck or something, but no, Rosalind delivers. That's what he gets for underestimating her, he supposes.]

Victoria sounds like a babe too. And omg why is this the first time I'm hearing about sex parties? I figured you guys were still all having sex wearing onesies with holes in the crotches back in your era.

Don't think I didn't see you change your mind there. What'd you learn from him exactly? Did he ever take you to any sex parties? Did YOU sleep with two men at once???

Do you really think we had no sex drive? I'll get back to what I personally have or have not done in a moment, but I'm curious. Besides: I've half a mind to have you earn knowledge such as that. You can't simply demand to know what I've learnt from him without a price.

And Victoria was, indeed, a "babe". Dark hair and red lipstick is a deadly combination, especially from her. Though don't you go around wearing it, I don't think the effect would be the same.

Not so much that you didn't have a sex drive and more that everyone in ye olde times was sexually repressed. Don't get me wrong! I'm glad that's not the case lol.

Alright fair enough. What do you have in mind in terms of earning it then? Name your price.

(Also don't count me out. I've already got the hair and I bet I could pull off the lipstick if it was the right shade.)

[He's kidding but like don't push it.]

[Ah, see, she hadn't actually thought about a price . . . hm. She chews on her pen for a few moments, frowning, before impulsively jotting down:]

Tell me something of your past when it comes to your sex life. Whether that's a fascinating story or someone who taught you what it was to actually sleep with someone— tell me that, and I'll tell you mine.

[Oh, wow. He's not sure what he was expecting—well, that, truth be told, as that's the exact price he would've suggested. But it's still jarring for her to ask about his sex life so bluntly.]

Hmm.

I messed around with a student once lol.

I'm like 80% sure she was just angling for a better grade but we got a couple good lays out of it.

I didn't actually bump up her grade btw. I never said I would and she never actually asked but she sure did stop coming by the office after she got a B- on her midterm.

It doesn't feel as racy as I've heard it sounds though. I was only like a year older than her.

[They're mirrors of each other for a moment as a pleasing sort of shock runs through her. She hadn't expected that either, truth be told, and whether she means the fact he was a professor or slept with a student is up for debate.

Both, maybe.]

Poor thing. Some might call that cruel, you know, taking advantage of that assumption.

[Sarcasm, for honestly, she approves. Earn your grade or suffer the consequences, but don't try and get around it.]

[But all right, fine, and though she wrinkles her nose as she writes it, it isn't so terrible as all that. It's hard to be too embarrassed around Newt, she's finding.]

I'm not going to bother to answer the question about two men. As for what I was going to say: I learned a great deal from him on what what constitutes a kink. He was far more knowledgeable than I at the time, and an education through words alone. We weren't "sex repressed" so much as it simply wasn't talked about in polite society, but university didn't count.

So: he was my first introduction in more ways than one to the fact sex could be more than merely reproductive. Positions and indulgences and all that . . . it was a new world, and I quizzed him on it endlessly for hours on end.

in the night: ic inbox

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