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neallosince there are approximately 4 total people who are aware of this page's existence, and since i REALLY should not be writing something new while i have so many active WIPs already being juggled, i am going to share something i wrote this morning here >:3 shhhhhhhh it will be. our little secret.
this one is very silly. it's based on an actual seventeen magazine article from last year. i had fun starting it. i have an outline of more or less what i want to do with this, but it'll be a matter of finding time and attention span amongst other projects that are competing for my brainspace. you know how it goes. without further ado, the underedited first chapter of:
15 Totally Chill Ways to Flirt With Your Crush
Near sat cross-legged on his bed, his newest and most promising study guide open in front of him. This magazine was called Seventeen, and though Near was, in fact, nineteen years old, he surmised that the number was more of a generalized guideline than a hard rule. Their sales would undoubtedly be miniscule if it were truly only germane for one year of each potential reader’s life.
It was uncommon for him to read something like this, but he was in a desperate position. The etiquette guides and self-help books he had been relying on were not getting him anywhere, and he suspected that was because they were either outdated or written for different social contexts. This, however, could not have been more relevant for his purpose— it was current, the latest edition, published this very month. A handbook with cutting-edge information written for people that were (approximately) his age.
He scanned through the table of contents. Hot Trends to Try This Summer. 20 Best Affordable Lip Glosses. How to Take Care of Your Mental Health in College. None of these were right. Near was not interested in fashion, suspected lip gloss would be unpleasant to him from a sensory perspective, and he was already the picture of excellent mental health. He kept searching, a small frown on his face, until— lo and behold— he found the page number of the article that had made him pick up this text in the first place, nerves electrified as he quickly flipped to it.
15 Totally Chill Ways to Flirt With Your Crush.
Letting go a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, Near began to read.
1. Like their Instagrams and watch their Snapchats.
Hm. Not off to a strong start. Near didn’t doubt the wisdom of the advice, but it wasn’t especially useful to him, as he did not have accounts on either platform. Then again, maybe that was part of the problem; people his age did do a significant amount of their socializing online. Maybe this was a contributing factor to Near’s general isolation from his peers.Maybe it was worth a try. He turned to his backpack and pulled out his planner, writing this new task on his to-do list before continuing to read the article.
2. Make eye contact.
Near’s lips pursed. This was something he was working on, though it wasn’t especially easy when the object of his affections looked away each and every time their eyes met. Eye contact was not something that came naturally to Near, though he had found ways of faking it— staring at the space between someone’s brows, for example, was relatively effective and mostly painless— but Mello made it impossible. From Near’s own observations, he had determined that Mello was not averse to eye contact in general, but rather specifically uncomfortable with meeting Near’s gaze. This could be either very good or very bad, depending on the reason he avoided Near’s gaze. Without further investigation, the matter was inconclusive; this tip would not be his saving grace, most likely.
3. Let your emojis do the talking.
Hm. Worth investigating, he supposed. There was possibly less room for misinterpretation in text-based communication if he indicated his tone this way. As of right now, he only ever emailed Mello if it was related to class or work, but if he did elect to download Instagram and attempted to converse with Mello there, this could prove helpful.
4. Wave and say “hi” when they walk by.
This method was one he already employed. His results were not impressive.
5. Invite your crush to hang out as part of a group.
Though Near’s first instinct was to dismiss this tip, after a moment of consideration he paused, index finger and eyes both following the rest of the text.
He added another note to his planner and continued to read. The next several tips weren’t really new to him— 6. Say something simple, then keep the conversation going, 7. Remember what they tell you, then bring it up later, 8. Ask questions, 9. Give them a sincere compliment— but the tenth tip caught his eye.
10. Casually touch their arm when talking.
A thrill went through him just reading it. It was, perhaps, a little silly, but Near had never even considered trying to touch Mello. It was something he thought about a lot, of course— the entire point of this endeavor was that he wanted to touch Mello in all sorts of ways— but he also imagined it was the sort of thing reserved for established couples. As general practice, he avoided physical contact with most people, and had forgotten that this was not the case for the public at large. It was difficult to say when the opportunity might present itself for him to employ the advice, but he decided he would keep it in mind.
11. Offer them a fry.
This, he thought, was unlikely to be relevant unless he managed to turn his idea of a happy hour into a reality. Worth remembering for the future, but not actionable in the immediate future.
12. Give them something small but thoughtful.
Ah. Wise. There was an obvious option, here, that Near could default to, which would be to purchase bars of chocolate and offer them to Mello. He already knew that Mello’s favorite brand was [XYZ], and could probably purchase a few to keep in his backpack so that he would have something on hand if the moment was right.
The rest of the tips were related to conversation. 13. Gently tease them, 14. Send funny memes, and 15. Share details about yourself— Near catalogued them, considered them, and filed the information away for later use.
Smiling, he dog-eared the page. This was a good start. He had a plan.
this one is very silly. it's based on an actual seventeen magazine article from last year. i had fun starting it. i have an outline of more or less what i want to do with this, but it'll be a matter of finding time and attention span amongst other projects that are competing for my brainspace. you know how it goes. without further ado, the underedited first chapter of:
15 Totally Chill Ways to Flirt With Your Crush
Near sat cross-legged on his bed, his newest and most promising study guide open in front of him. This magazine was called Seventeen, and though Near was, in fact, nineteen years old, he surmised that the number was more of a generalized guideline than a hard rule. Their sales would undoubtedly be miniscule if it were truly only germane for one year of each potential reader’s life.
It was uncommon for him to read something like this, but he was in a desperate position. The etiquette guides and self-help books he had been relying on were not getting him anywhere, and he suspected that was because they were either outdated or written for different social contexts. This, however, could not have been more relevant for his purpose— it was current, the latest edition, published this very month. A handbook with cutting-edge information written for people that were (approximately) his age.
He scanned through the table of contents. Hot Trends to Try This Summer. 20 Best Affordable Lip Glosses. How to Take Care of Your Mental Health in College. None of these were right. Near was not interested in fashion, suspected lip gloss would be unpleasant to him from a sensory perspective, and he was already the picture of excellent mental health. He kept searching, a small frown on his face, until— lo and behold— he found the page number of the article that had made him pick up this text in the first place, nerves electrified as he quickly flipped to it.
15 Totally Chill Ways to Flirt With Your Crush.
Letting go a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, Near began to read.
1. Like their Instagrams and watch their Snapchats.
Hm. Not off to a strong start. Near didn’t doubt the wisdom of the advice, but it wasn’t especially useful to him, as he did not have accounts on either platform. Then again, maybe that was part of the problem; people his age did do a significant amount of their socializing online. Maybe this was a contributing factor to Near’s general isolation from his peers.Maybe it was worth a try. He turned to his backpack and pulled out his planner, writing this new task on his to-do list before continuing to read the article.
2. Make eye contact.
Near’s lips pursed. This was something he was working on, though it wasn’t especially easy when the object of his affections looked away each and every time their eyes met. Eye contact was not something that came naturally to Near, though he had found ways of faking it— staring at the space between someone’s brows, for example, was relatively effective and mostly painless— but Mello made it impossible. From Near’s own observations, he had determined that Mello was not averse to eye contact in general, but rather specifically uncomfortable with meeting Near’s gaze. This could be either very good or very bad, depending on the reason he avoided Near’s gaze. Without further investigation, the matter was inconclusive; this tip would not be his saving grace, most likely.
3. Let your emojis do the talking.
Hm. Worth investigating, he supposed. There was possibly less room for misinterpretation in text-based communication if he indicated his tone this way. As of right now, he only ever emailed Mello if it was related to class or work, but if he did elect to download Instagram and attempted to converse with Mello there, this could prove helpful.
4. Wave and say “hi” when they walk by.
This method was one he already employed. His results were not impressive.
5. Invite your crush to hang out as part of a group.
Though Near’s first instinct was to dismiss this tip, after a moment of consideration he paused, index finger and eyes both following the rest of the text.
Whether you’re hosting a party, group study sesh, or movie night, invite your crush along. The group setting is way less pressure than a one-on-one date, but the fact that you thought to include your crush lets them know they’re on your mind.It wasn’t a bad idea. He and Mello both worked as research assistants under the same professor, and though Dr. Lawliet was not known to be overly social, he was puzzlingly fond of Near and had a weakness for the promise of free food, something Near suspected was a vestigal trait left over from his still-recent graduate school days. Mello, though reticent to spend much time with Near, was almost disturbingly devoted to Dr. Lawliet— if he could orchestrate a happy hour or some such thing toward the end of the semester, it would be a promising opportunity to get closer to Mello.
He added another note to his planner and continued to read. The next several tips weren’t really new to him— 6. Say something simple, then keep the conversation going, 7. Remember what they tell you, then bring it up later, 8. Ask questions, 9. Give them a sincere compliment— but the tenth tip caught his eye.
10. Casually touch their arm when talking.
A thrill went through him just reading it. It was, perhaps, a little silly, but Near had never even considered trying to touch Mello. It was something he thought about a lot, of course— the entire point of this endeavor was that he wanted to touch Mello in all sorts of ways— but he also imagined it was the sort of thing reserved for established couples. As general practice, he avoided physical contact with most people, and had forgotten that this was not the case for the public at large. It was difficult to say when the opportunity might present itself for him to employ the advice, but he decided he would keep it in mind.
11. Offer them a fry.
This, he thought, was unlikely to be relevant unless he managed to turn his idea of a happy hour into a reality. Worth remembering for the future, but not actionable in the immediate future.
12. Give them something small but thoughtful.
Ah. Wise. There was an obvious option, here, that Near could default to, which would be to purchase bars of chocolate and offer them to Mello. He already knew that Mello’s favorite brand was [XYZ], and could probably purchase a few to keep in his backpack so that he would have something on hand if the moment was right.
The rest of the tips were related to conversation. 13. Gently tease them, 14. Send funny memes, and 15. Share details about yourself— Near catalogued them, considered them, and filed the information away for later use.
Smiling, he dog-eared the page. This was a good start. He had a plan.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-13 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-06 11:25 pm (UTC)ANYWAY. I absolutely love this?? I didn't know Seventeen was still running but I'm glad it is. This made me very nostalgic in a good way. Also this fic is so delightful --- it so perfectly evokes the feeling those magazines created of this special little interior world where you can daydream freely about your crush.
I also really love what you picked as things for Near to already have known or not known. They feel like the exact right things for him to be aware of and, although I'm having some trouble putting this into words, this is very touching.
Also this took me off guard, I absolutely loved this:
no subject
Date: 2024-04-13 05:10 pm (UTC)