transgressings | inbox for duplicity;

[ pre-disappearances! ]

helllooo!!!

i have a gift for you and i was trying to be subtle but idk where you live so i cant actually be subtle

Edited 2022-10-01 05:25 (UTC)

In the Down, actually.

But if you like I can pretend to be appropriately surprised.

i would appreciate that

if you give me the address i can send it over

[ which she does, and no more than a half hour later a courier drops a box at vanessa's door, tied with a crooked ribbon, obviously grace's handwork. inside the box is:

a jewelry box, per duplicity's style the engraving is a little filthy but grace tried to find the least offensive one

inside the jewelry box is a pretty lemon brooch

there's a note as well, in grace's tidy print: i don't know how to issue a formal invitation for a dinner date, please consider this it. ♥ grace ]

[ it's only within a day that grace receives an answer, delivered to her courtesy of a messenger — who hands over a small bag containing a jar of aloe salve along with a small note folded up.

vanessa's elegant cursive reads: I will call on you at your preference.
P.S. The salve is for after you've been gardening, in case you ever forget to wear gloves. ]

[ grace grabs her phone to reply but in a fit of inspiration, stops herself. she is trying to flirt with the prettiest woman on earth, she should do this properly which is why instead of texting, she sends vanessa a letter on clearly brand new stationery, staying on brand.

it's a short letter because she isn't used to writing letters, but the enthusiasm is there. and it turns out she does know that capitalization and punctuation is. ]

Dear Ms Ives,

The wonderful time spent with you makes me want more time for you. Would you like to go on a date with me?

Hopefully yours,

Grace ♥

[ truth be told, there are a lot of things that vanessa is severely overdue in informing grace of — the changes to her nature, for one, and there are many advantages that a date in and of itself presents in terms of moving things in the direction of having that particular conversation.

regardless, she sends back her own message, charmed by the consideration that grace has taken into writing her something by hand. the stationery is plain stock, with her initials monogrammed at the top and vanessa's elegant hand crafting a small note. ]

Grace —

Simply inform me of the evening you would like to meet and the location of our meeting place and I will be there.

Yours,
Vanessa

[ for reasons that are currently only obvious to her, she elects for a nighttime option in the hopes that grace's schedule will accommodate it. ]

[ grace sends her a note with a date and time in a few days at a quiet little bistro that is too fancy for grace but daniel liked it so seems fancy enough for vanessa. but then shit starts hitting the fan and their reservation it fine because it's a dominant and submissive pair, but grace is like one of those small dogs that shakes nervously at loud noises so things like a crackdown on anything make her anxious and she reluctantly asks for a raincheck.

but, when in rome! ]

Vanessa,

I haven't written a real letter since I was about ten and my penpal at the time was also ten so we didn't have much to talk about. A lot of it was "hey, how are you? I'm fine!" which in hindsight wasn't very exciting but probably neither was the nitty gritty details of learning to plant beets with my foster mom. She was a nice lady and I still like beets so it worked out, but a letter to another ten year old about the soil acidity necessary for full globes was probably not very exciting for Hannah from Montana. (They do not tolerate acidity, for the record.)

I don't think I even know what else to write in a letter. I'm just sitting on the balcony with Jingles, eating pasta and drinking wine, waiting for the sunset. It's always been my favorite part of the day. Sunrises are okay, but I prefer the sunset. Even if your day has truly sucked, there's some bright spot at the end.

Hopefully this wasn't the most boring letter on earth, I'm out of practice.

Yours,
Grace & Jingles 🐾

[ she feels a little stupid and the handwriting slowly devolves into a slightly messy scrawl, but she doesn't stop herself from calling that same courier to run over and deliver it for her. he's a good kid and grace tips him massively. ]

[ it's a fair assumption that the date would be postponed when people are taken from the city at random — vanessa is not among them, but she ends up being drawn into a rescue attempt for some who have been firsthand, and understandably, any previous meetings she has arranged do fall out of her consideration.

that does not mean she isn't pleased to receive the letter, and it does not mean that grace will not receive a reply within the following day, returned by a different courier. there's no indication that it was written by night, but she waits until right before she falls into torpor to send it out. ]

Grace — and Jingles, of course,

I have had some opportunity to pen letters while here in Duplicity — not often, as you can imagine, given the prevalence and reliance on the devices we were given, which enables these sorts of messages to be sent much more rapidly — but I have found that I enjoy the personable aspects of writing to another person, as well as receiving their replies. There is something particularly intimate about receiving a note in someone else's hand, and knowing that they themselves are responsible for writing it. Sometimes I feel as though I can picture them wherever they are, even if there are some details my imagination must fill in for me — like the face they might be making as they think about what to write down.

[ there is a pang as she reads, however brief, when she considers the fact that bearing witness to a sunrise or sunset will never be a possibility for her again. ]

It sounds like a very peaceful evening, and one I should strive for where possible, although the cat I share my home with is largely independent and only emerges when she deems it important enough to reveal herself, accepting affection in small doses before disappearing again — no doubt to catch herself another mouse.

One might say that the best way to be practiced is by continuing your efforts. In other words, if you wish to extend our correspondence, you would have no complaints whatsoever from me.

Yours,
Vanessa

inbox for duplicity;

text — un: grace expectations

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