˛ — ∘ 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚋𝟶𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜. ‘ you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. ’ a dependent multi-muse blog for midastv, featuring mature themes. dni if you aren't a member. lovingly handcrafted by min. [ 29. gmt. any pronouns. ]
𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗼𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚔. prodigal genius, midlife burnout, best man.
— thirty7, he / him, quantum software developer.
closed starter , august fairchild @aquamar1nes
location @ the sea , paddle boarding
“ gus, excuse me for saying it, but i can't help but feel like you have an unfair advantage. ” referring to their now hours-long paddle board races, in which his friend had successfully trounced him every time. tone is knowledgable and somewhat teasing, cosmo aware that his athletics prowess was reserved for whatever his personal trainer had planned for him ( and some football in his youth ). “ i think my arms are going to fall off. ”
sweat pooled at his temple, this weather a definite contrast to what he was used to — most of his time spent inside an almost freezing ice arena, goosebumps sometimes covering his skin before the warm - up commences. beckham wasn't sure if he enjoyed the heat, but it would be too british of him to complain and so he didn't. " can't say i own any. " he admits, internally debating whether it would be worth buying a bottle or two. " do people actually like this weather? "
“ you– what?! ” impossible to hide cosmo's true feelings on the subject when they paint themself all over his face, head shaking as he murmurs a “ no, no… that won't do. ” after a moment of shuffling around, he pulls a bottle from his back pocket and hands it to the other. “ please, help yourself. take the whole thing. i must've brought at least twenty bottles. ” eyes squint as they look back to the sun, even with sunglasses. “ i'm the wrong person to ask. i like the rain – feels like home. ”
open starter , accepting replies
location @ beach front
lazuline sea met glittering sand at his feet, juvenile waves barely even crashing against his skin as the sound of grecian birds filled the air. it was certainly a sight to behold – the sort of thing cosmo hadn't taken note of for quite some time. “ this is factor 50 weather if i've ever seen it! ” he proclaims to the person next to him in an attempt to make conversation. “ have you put your sun lotion on? the uv index regularly reaches 9 or 10 here in the summer months, better to be safe than sorry. ”
❝ you've got to try one of the loukoumades. ❞ pregnancy craving turned true delight, even with oven long empty, nana delights in their syrupy goodness even as her fingers grow sticky. ❝ i promise they're worth the extra sugar. ❞
doesn't protest, never does with nana, just reaches out to pluck one of the loukoumades from his own plate to try the delicacy, usual wariness absent in the presence of a friend. “ mm, duhlishus! ” said with muffled tone, mouth now full of sweet treat. apologises with a hand wave, swallows and then tries again. “ delicious! sorry, it was even nicer than i thought it was going to be, i think i went into it a little enthusiastically. ”
ˇ ༚ STARTER ˒ open to @softb0dies .
location ˒ the estate's gardens .
‹ ✽ › with a book safely tucked in his hand, julian made his way through the state at a leisurely pace. the place was enormous, wonderful and magnificent in a way only greek things can be, and he couldn’t help but let a small, incredulous smile stretch his lips at the luck that sometimes struck him in this life. with that thought in mind, he kept wandering around, unworried, looking for the perfect spot to sit and read for a while, when the sight of another person with a book drew his entire attention because, yes, finding people with a book wasn’t really that hard when you were in a coffee shop or the beach or a fucking library in the city, but right here prior to a wedding ceremony ? what if said person had more ? he had to approach. he had to. “ hello, hi, ” the greeting was so lame julian wanted to smack himself with the sample in his own damn hand, yet he held back, and instead straightened his back and put his charming smile on. “ i don’t wanna sound like a creep, but i was wondering … what are you reading this fine morning ? ” maybe he was lucky enough and he wouldn’t run out of books before the end of the summer.
cosmo had been something akin to a dog with a bone whilst seeking out a quiet spot, worn and well-loved book clutched between his fingers as he previously searched the grounds. that was how he'd came to be at his current perch, a marble bench betwixt the exotic foliage, hidden from most… until his company arrives. “ hi, hello, ” greets the other with a lame salutation of his own, “ i, ah… ” takes a second to peer round the corner of his book, as if the cover and contents had suddenly become a surprise, “ my friends by hisham matar. it's a 2024 release, remiss of me really to have missed it for so long, too busy stuffing my nose into computer screens and coffee cups. ” blinks hard, as if he's already trying to wipe the memory of his overshared sentence from his mind, followed by a pause. cosmo recalls he should ask a question of his own. “ what about you? ” points to the book under the stranger's own arm. “ reading, i mean. what are you reading? ”
blink . blink . blink . truthfully , luiza did not know what to make of cosmo's display , caught somewhere between amused and confused . instead , she pursed her lips and offered a small nod . " i believe a wave would have sufficed , but i am sure she appreciated ... whatever greeting that was . " for a moment , luiza forgot about the painting in her hands , only looking down at it again before responding . " today , she is . tomorrow is another story . you know how ... temperamental she can be . now , i have to burn this painting as my offering . a small sacrifice seems reasonable considering I would like to continue enjoying my stay here . " a joke , of course .
“ it was a wowing. a mixture between waving and bowing. i coined it only recently, do you think it'll catch on? i'm hoping so. ” doesn't take long to devolve into ramble, wary of trying too hard with luiza yet overcorrects the other way. “ burn it… ” he repeats, turning the words over in his mind – she was joking, wasn't she? loud chortle erupts from his mouth, met moments later with a hand, as if he could stop something that had already escaped. “ sorry, sorry. that was… funny. ” this was getting worse. “ well, it would be a more than worthy sacrifice. are you planning on making this a daily ritual? ”
ꗃ 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 : estate beach front
⤷ 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 : open starter , accepting replies !
“ did you say hello ? ” chocolate hues fixated on her watercolor book , trying to capture the exact hue of aegean blue . finally , she looked up at the other through her sunglasses . “ — to the sea , ” pointing at the crystalline water using the tip of her brush . “ my server insisted to always greet the sea . there's an etiquette to the ocean here . greeting it is apparently the first rule . she remembers those who dont ... ” she said with a shrug . now , luiza wasn't supersitious but there was something about old customs , especially the ones that had survived centuries , that she found difficult to dismiss entirely .
surprise at the greeting translates into a mild stammer, pointing to himself as he glances between the other and the sea – moments later he's doing a strange combination of bowing and waving towards the body of water, as if he's stuck between the two and struggling to decide. “ i'm not sure she'll be best impressed with my display, but i hope she appreciates the effort. ” gaze naturally travels from the waves to the watercolours, eyes widening ever so slightly at the sight. “ you've really captured her essence. ” lame joke. “ has she been a compliant model? ”
𑁯 * robert pattinson, cis male, he/him .ᐟ hey, i think i just ran into COSMO AUCHINLECK at athens international airport ! you mean the THIRTY SEVEN year old QUANTUM SOFTWARE DEVELOPER known for their LINDBERG BO GLASSES, WELL-WORN MERINO WOOL CARDIGAN AND TOUSLED HAIR ? no way, i heard they were invited by the ELLINGTONS. no surprise when you realize their family net worth is insane, i bet it’s all on off - shore accounts on the cayman islands. word goes that they are THE GROOM'S BEST MAN, but it makes sense when you consider their RESEARCH PAPERS COVERED IN BLOTTED COFFEE STAINS, SMILES THAT UNASHAMEDLY CRINKLE THE CORNERS OF HIS EYES, THE CRICKETED STILLNESS OF A LATE EVENING, it matches their reputation. maybe they will bring some drama to the wedding, i mean their vibes are similar to RYLAND GRACE and BRUCE BANNER. but truly, i don’t believe MO will be the one to speak up instead of forever hold their peace ⸻ let’s wait and see.
𝒊. restless sleeper, find him wandering around late at night. 𝒊𝒊. particular about what he eats and drinks. has his favourites and tends to stick to them. 𝒊𝒊𝒊. phone always on do not disturb, everyone's become accustomed to ringing him twice so it goes through. 𝓲𝓿. knows too much about space for someone with a glorified desk job, passion flows when questioned – doesn't take much.
˛ 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚜.
full name: dr cosmo richard rupert auchinleck. nickname(s): coz, mo, momo. gender + pronouns: cis male + he/him. age: thirty seven. date of birth: 8th february. star sign: aquarius. hometown: sevenoaks, kent, england. current residence: san francisco bay area. occupation: quantum software developer.
education: bachelor's in physics and computer science, master's in materials science, phd in electrical engineering. spoken languages: english, french, russian, mandarin, spanish, german, japanese (conversational).
face claim: robert pattinson. height: 6ft 1.
˛ 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢.
positive traits: kind-hearted, genuine, trustworthy, honest, intelligent, patient. negative traits: shy, aloof, awkward, indecisive, unsure.
general overview: unassuming appearance lends itself well to cosmo blending into the background, which is where he likes to be. always happy to allow others to take centre stage. he entirely lacks ego, which was shattered a long time ago. aware that his current career likely has a time limit, but he isn't as worried about being unemployed as he is about suddenly having too much time to think.
seems to rub people the wrong way despite his friendly persona, likely because he is not against leaving a conversation or situation that makes him uncomfortable. has a tendency to talk too much about boring, science bullshit. not a great conversationalist, sort of feels like he's stumbling through social interaction and hitting the marks out of pure luck. doesn't like talking bad about others behind their back, so doesn't participate in the usual gossip that floods his social circle. has alienated himself over the years from his peers due to this. (and a variety of other factors…)
likes to be the guy with the answers to logical questions, is never the guy with answers to emotional ones, but really does try his best. will always be a shoulder to lean on or even cry on, even if he doesn't know what to say. never malicious, always approaches things with the best intentions, though that doesn't necessarily mean he gets it right every time.
˛ 𝚋𝚒𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢. tw: death, drugs and alcohol mention, car accident, grief.
born to old money british aristocrats, cosmo was provided with every and any opportunity he wanted or desired. it was evident from childhood that he was different, leagues ahead in development milestones and acutely aware of the world around him. still, he remained a happy and pleasant young boy, whose friendly demeanour only grew with the birth of his little brother two years after his own. cosmo and palmer were best friends who did everything together, pleased to be put into matching outfits by their mother, who doted on them endlessly. their father always stocked the house with the latest camera equipment, desperate to capture every still – and then moving – image of his sons growing up. they were, despite their abundant wealth and influence, a happy, healthy, normal family. cosmo wanted for nothing, emotional or otherwise, and it allowed him to develop without issue.
rambunctious, confident, wild and free, he was often found somewhere amongst the grand grounds of his childhood home, elbow deep in mud so he could pick out bugs to show his wary but supportive parents. he was able to list the latin names of most flora and fauna before he could ride a bike, his endless fascination with the world around him lending itself to a natural education. he decided young he wanted to be an astronaut – his parents joked that he was aptly named, then.
sometime in their teens, mr auchinleck took the family over to the east coast of the united states to meet a man he hoped would help invest some of the money burning a hole in his pocket. that man was nathaniel ellington's father, and it took no time at all for the three boys – cosmo, palmer and nathan – to become thick as thieves. their families became interwoven, even without the promise of business. shared holidays to private islands, the same box seats at the must-see concerts, red eye chartered jets to see each other graduate – the ellingtons were like a second family, and nathaniel in particular, a second brother.
everything was blissful – until tragedy struck. cosmo was twenty-four when he got the call, a 3am trill that seemed to herald misfortune. there had been an accident. one of palmer's friends was drunk, high, some combination of the two, it was hard for him to hear his aunt's voice through her own sobs and the ringing in his ears. he'd gotten behind the wheel, let palmer get in with him knowing he wasn't fit to drive, and smashed his lamborghini into a wall at 120mph. there was no chance for either of them. dead on impact. no amount of money, influence or intelligence could save his baby brother. he was just gone.
palmer's death shook cosmo to his core. his entire world fell away from him, and suddenly there was nothing left to cling to. his parents were bereft, almost inconsolable, and so he did everything he could to be the strong eldest son – gave up his own needs, pushed his grief deep into a pit, and plastered a smile onto his face as he fed his mother spoonfuls of soup and put his father back into bed after finding him in the garden at 2am. after a while, the auchinleck's began to recover enough to step back into society, but cosmo had been left aimless. adrift. palmer had left behind a noise in his older brother's head that he couldn't quieten, and so began his search to dull it.
cosmo followed his parents back into society, only to realise he was not the same person. his light had dimmed, his charismatic and warm persona was now encased in a fidgety body that lacked willful confidence; firm handshakes still, though they ended a second too soon; conversation flowed easily, yet his mind always seemed elsewhere. he began to retreat into himself, into the numbers and the diagrams, hoping to find some meaning amongst the pages. it was like he was looking for palmer everywhere he searched – a sign, a nod, something that let cosmo know they would meet again one day, but he failed at every step. his passion for going to space faded, and his intelligence became something to fall back on rather than utilise.
for a few years he found himself moving between jobs, all of which were clamouring to have him. they didn't care that he left most of them within six months, what they cared about was his brilliance, his brain, which was still perfectly intact and functioning. but cosmo found it all lacked meaning. he lamented the loss of his dream, his desire, his passion for the stars. he still felt haunted by palmer. until a job listing came across his desk for a quantum software developer.
at the time it was practically brand new technology, a risk most were taking on something that sounded impossible to quantify. impossible was exactly what cosmo was looking for. difficult, soul-crushing, it'll take over your life. music to his ears, as far as he was concerned. the less free time he had, the less time he would spend thinking about his brother, and it wasn't long before he rose through the ranks and began to rake in a healthy six figures. soon, cosmo auchinleck was one of the most sought after names in quantum mechanics, but his hermit-like personal life was something the tabloids often picked at.
he's known about the wedding, and the prior engagement, for what feels like years. it's been one of the few things that he's kept as a firm constant on his social calendar. his relationship with nathaniel never faltered, only grew stronger after their loss, and now he's beaming with pride to be able to stand there next to him as his best man – but palmer's absence feels stronger than ever. cosmo knows it's now or never to pull himself together and help deliver everything nathaniel and penelope have ever dreamed of, knows that it's not only his expectations, but his little brother's, too. maybe greece wouldn't be a terrible place to do a little bit of stargazing, maybe the meaning he's been searching for was here all along.