#emcads

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Amusement caused his lips to twitch for a moment before -- his mask of indifference slipped back into place. Leaning closer so only she could hear, he whispered against the shell of her ear, " I beg your pardon? I dare say it sounded like you said something unladylike in the presence of the ton, but I am not quite sure if it was my hearing or if you were wounding me with your sharp tongue again. " Shrugging back into his stance, he watched the couples sweep across the floor in quick succession to the upbeat melody of the orchestra. Lifting the flute of his champagne to his lips, he noticed the glances from women over the tops of fans who pretended to fan themselves. Scoffing, he turned to look at the exotic creature next to him; " I can see it on your face that you wish to say something. Do you think they are frightened to come this way because of you or me? "

To outsiders, it would appear that Simon was courting Esmeralda -- only they had an understanding when it came to these affairs. They would enjoy each other's company to keep the scheming mamas and the fortune hunters at bay. However, it was his Aunt, Lady Danbury, who made him promise to keep an eye on the chit, saying, 'These vultures want a taste of blood and will only look for a drop.'

this is such a good question! tysm for sending it in 🫶

it's like 50/50 in all directions for margarethe, i think. taking care of her hair is a chore, but it's also a routine she finds comforting. she likes being in control of even the tiniest detail, and preening herself until she looks a certain way is immensely satisfying. that said, it's work and it takes time. in her canon verse, she does utilize the help of servants, but it's still a time and energy suck, and after francis and then auguste's deaths, she no longer has servants to take on the mental and physical energy of it, so it's all her.

when it comes to how her hair is cut/trimmed, she doesn't like to do it herself, but also doesn't like to have someone else do it--mega catch-22. she doesn't like having someone else do it because yielding control is difficult for her, and she also doesn't like being touched by anyone but close intimates. however, she also doesn't like doing it herself because it's a manual skill one has to actively learn to achieve the desired results, and she doesn't want to do that #lazy. i imagine she has a hairdresser she is VERY tight with in any verse where one is available to her, and that that's the only person she allows to touch, cut, style, dye her hair.

her hair is quite weighted with social/cultural meaning, which is why she's so precious about it; similarly it's why she's so precious about people knowing her hair is gray. it's one thing in environments (such as her canon "historical" verse, which given her new fc, veers closer to the late 18th century) where powdered hair and white wigs are desirable; it's another thing when it's a clear sign of her ageing and is considered ugly and unattractive. in modern verses, she treads on plausible deniability by dyeing it just this side of light blonde. the only modern verse where she doesn't dye her hair is in vampire verse, where her hair is fully silver.

"What, both of them?" She sits back, frowning, to think. Well, there's one easy answer: "Roger, of course, naturally." Though she does prefer her men with more... Ambition. There's something shiftless, idle about him that she doesn't find terribly attractive; it makes her wonder if in the act, he'd only lie there--imagine that, a man the one to lie back and think of England... She gives out an inelegant snort. Still, of course, yes, she would.

inside, a brooch that once dangled off a branch of the family tree, spirited away before her brother could pass it off to his latest wife. the accompanying note is written on Collinwood letterhead, in an elegant, dated hand. "For a friend. Affectionately, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard." ( from terrorpenned muah )

Margarethe's thumb draws slow circles over the milky stone at the heart of the brooch. An opal.

She supposes it's fitting. Always something... Murky about the Collinses--remote, foggy, rather like their damp, sea-clinging home, but she does enjoy a thoughtful gift, and she does enjoy Elizabeth, whose letter she now taps idly against her lips. She can nearly imagine a whiff of salt air from the page, a hint of perfume.

@emcads said: “ i can't believe i trusted you all this time. ”

“ It was your first mistake to be puttin’ trust in me at all, Cap’n de Sevilla. After all your years spent in the company of self-servin’ pirates ⏤ and bein’ one yourself, I might add ⏤ I thought that perhaps ye might’ve known better. Though, I suppose every man be susceptible to the occasional lapse in judgment. ”

There was an undeniable smugness in his voice as he replied to his guest from his seat at the desk in the captain's cabin. Hector Barbossa was every inch a vainglorious usurper, perched upon his new throne; maps, logs, and piles of leather-bound books sat before him, strewn across the dark wood as evidence of him having rifled through Jack's belongings in the hours following the mutiny. He slowly rose from his chair to regard her, as she stood flanked by a pair of armed members of his traitorous crew.

While he would never say it aloud, he had to admit that it was difficult for him not to feel some remorse over how he intended to dispose of Esmeralda. Not only was she a capable pirate in her own right, but she was also the granddaughter and successor of Don Rafael: a respectable man and captain who had aided him in his time of need and given him passage to Shipwreck Cove so many years ago. 

However, Don Rafael was dead, and Doña Pirata was one of the few remaining obstacles between him and his next prize.

“ It's best not to dwell on what’s already done, ” He swept his arm outward to beckon her further into the room, and gestured towards the wooden table at its center. A decanter of wine sat upon it, along with two glasses and a bowl of various fruits. He was cruel, not inhospitable.  “ ⏤ But I think a parlay be in order. Sit. ”

PROMPTS FOR EXPRESSING DOUBT.

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

in terms of creatively formative, probably wind waker? in terms of hours sunk... stardew valley LMAO. skyrim. i loved the tomb raider and god of war reboots.

😍 — celebrity crush(es)?

all the women on abbott elementary 🤤

Regent, Paramount, King. the difference between those titles were surprisingly few, what had been expected of him remained his duty now. it was his job to salvage what remained of their resources, and secure what ever might be precured form the free cities. But FIRST there was the problem of the Iron King.