#ive really disliked my writings recently maybe i need stop writing cheriecrash for a second or something idk-

[starry-sophrosyne]

Referring to this post:

@crashingstar69 - just for you XD /j -- I had this rotting my inbox for WEEKS and now i've come back to it, just for my own purposes.. XD

1st post of this little rabbithole of mine, which is a spin off of my wotc timeskip au (spun off of pen's wotc fic) and is a three-parter, the intial post about it is here ( ´﹀` )

(also this became so fucking long bc i tried adding a little more analysis from Crashing's pov and it spiraled WAY out of control to become an entire/in-depth view of Cherie's experience and development after Mon Cheroi's marriage from Crashing's pov, I plan to reblog this post with it like I did for my TTOS King Of Soph drabble but I genuinely HATE the way I have the second "part" worded so idk when ill post it-)

Despite being one of the queen's personal maids, Crash found themself seeking regular work whenever they had nothing to do, rather than standing idle. They had simply been going through the unused rooms, to clean them up and lighten up the castle, when they noticed something special. This crystal blue glass, in particular, had always caught their eye, even from their previous rounds of cleaning in the past months. It was one of the only gifts the King Of Skill had kept from Cherie's family's extensive dowry after they had married. It sat in a display case of an unused study, collecting dust but still glimmering in the far-away light of the window.

After opening the cabinet to clean the contents inside, they paused, before setting the feather duster aside, and taking the glass out the case. Rotating the glass by it's stem, they stared at their reflection in it's triangular basin. The faint layer of grey dust upon it coated their fingertips, peeling off of the crystal. It was.. just as mocking as ever.

Crash's hands shook as their grip on the glass tightened, squeezing its base; but the durable crystal held steady despite feeling so delicate, digging the circular bottom into their palms. It was something so beautiful, left forgotten, cast out of memory rather than admired, left to rot out of sight; It's true beauty was unable to be seen by anyone. It was a painful parallel, to the king and queen's relationship. How could the king, who had everything given to him on a silver platter, disregard his wife, the queen, the way he did? No, how could he disregard Cherie like that?

They became enraged thinking about it again; Gritting their teeth together, they settled for barely nipping the flesh of their inner lip with their own teeth. Calm and collected, composure was such of the title that needed to be upheld as one of the queen's personal maids, no matter the personal grievances.

"Interested in that piece, I see?"

"!!" Crashing jumped at the sudden voice with a startled yelp. The fright was enough to make the glass slip from Crashing's grasp, causing them to panic as they then made various cartoonish grabs at it, practically falling over in the process, before finally catching it with a desperate final swipe.

Crashing let out a sigh of relief, steadying themselves as the sudden adrenaline began to fade away, heart still pounding in their chest. They slowly turned around, only to see Cherie, standing what would've been right over their shoulder. Despite having been there the whole time, they had only just now noticed her presence, and the suddenness of said realization along with their unsettled nerves caused them to panic again. Crash let out another screech, but just as quickly, cut themself off, managing to compose themselves once they had realized who it was past the sudden shock. Erratic heartbeat hammering in their ears, as they stammered:

"Ah, m-my lady!- You scared me!-"

Cherie barely held back a giggle from Crashing's reaction, a soft exhale coming from her nose instead as she tried to suppress the involuntary smile that spread across her face, reaching forward to take the glass from their hands: "This glass was the work of an artisan from the TCNation. Supposedly she lives far into the snowy mountains, in a place almost entirely unaccessible. It's said those mountains are carved peaks of crystal themselves, although, I doubt that."

As she continued, she twirled the glass around by it's stem. She didn't look up at Crash while doing so, seemingly fixated on her a specific part of appearance in the glass, and yet, her gaze seemed vacant: "And they say the carver was a lady too! Could you imagine that? A woman all alone way up in the mountains, working away at timeless crystal?"

The idea seemed to amuse her, her grin curling upwards as she let out a soft laugh. It's litheness made Crash's heart flutter, but they forced out a hesitant laugh in return, trying to act natural despite knowing that Cherie had indeed seem them make a fool of themself.

"It's said she stays up there in order to view the stars, but still.. It's almost a shame, to be that alone and isolated, wouldn't you think?"

The pause made Crashing stiffen, as did the shift in Cherie's tone. It was extremely subtle, barely detectable, but the soft amusement had faded from her voice within the last remark. It's somber contents were telling, knew knowing what she was thinking of. Her troubles, her ailments; His returned apathy for her love, and the mistrust of her son whom she had neglected for her own disillusion. All of this had been a result of the king, and it made a sort of vengeance burn through their blood. They could only mask it outwardly as apology, bbut Cherie noticed this anyways, having known them for so long and understanding what they truly thought behind their outwards manifestations.

Cherie looked at them with an almost somber look, if only for a split second, before a small apologetic smile graced her lips. She rested her hands over Crashing's, cradling her hands and the glass, staring into it as if it were a crystal ball once again. Crashing was almost entranced by her, her gentle gaze, and flustered by how close she was; her rosey perfume was intoxicating despite her wearing it in smaller amounts through out the years as it wafted into her nose. Cherie looked back up, an intent swirling in her eyes as her smile softened at the edges.

"Keep it, Crashing."

".. Huh?!"

Cherie giggled once more, her lips splitting into another genuine grin as Crashing stumbled over their words, an evident panic in their voice.

"M-my lady, I couldn't possibly!-"

But Cherie stilled them, holding a finger up to their face, dangeorusly close to their lips. It was enough to quell them, as they went silent almost immediately out of shock. Cherie tried to limit the grin that stretched across her face, pressing her lips together. Crashing had always been the one who could easily make her laugh.

"Think of it as a gift, for taking care of me after all this time.."

She paused, her eyes dimming in brightness once again as they filled with remorse; it almost made Crashing want to say something, but they didn't, holding their voice in fear of disturbing their mistress, waiting in high held anticipation for the next words that would come out of her mouth. It was almost laughable, they thought, how every word that came out of Cherie's mouth managed to make their heart leap. Cherie cradled Crashing's hands again, rubbing her thumb over their hand in some sort of contemplative manner, trying to find the right words. Cherie had come to understand, to not let too much of her and Brent's rocky relationship meet the ears of the servants. But Crashing was an exception, and this hinderance was more like her struggle to put the ideas lightly versus deciding if it made sense to tell them.

"Besides, Brent won't realize it's missing anyways. It's just another one of my family's gifts, nothing too important to him."

Her voice trailed off in the end, turning into silence as she exhaled, her shoulders dropped, and Crashing's heart fell. They had long since mastered a poker face, despite their crestfallen. It made them almost angry, once again, but for Cherie, they would do anything. Raising Cherie's hands up with their own, holding the glass between the two, they gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you, my lady."

And, maybe it was a figment of their imagination, but they swore they saw Cherie's face flush ever so slightly at their honest and given softness. No, they were being delusional. Sincerity was nothing but a given, and Cherie had always been suffering since.. Since. Every reminder was another flare up of anger that they struggled to keep down. However, Cherie didn't respond, and for a moment, it brought Crashing panic, as their smile morphed into a sheepish grin, anxiety starting to pound in their chest. It wasn't until Cherie smiled back, her gaze was soft but pure, a passion in her eyes. She truly was always grateful for Crashing, who had been by her side since they were little children.

"Of course, Crashing."

honestly i think we all need weight of the crown self inserts