Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“I have,” Cas rubbed his arm as he admitted that he’d attended formal events often. After visiting the districts—if ‘visiting’ was even the right word for it—he was a little uncomfortable talking about the life of luxury that he was accustomed to. It wasn’t something that he could feel guilty about, since it hadn’t been his choice to be born into royalty. However, knowing that Iris had been poor for the entirety of her life made it awkward to discuss things like balls and gallas that she could never attend. “Honestly, they’re a little overrated,” he went on. “I’ve always preferred the atmosphere of the bars a lot more, because everyone is so much looser and more fun. The people who show up for formal events are pretty snobbish, and they spend all their time gossiping about anyone who doesn’t look or act in ways that they’ve decided are acceptable in high society.”

“Yeah, even my family doesn’t like going when we get invitations,” Miles nodded in agreement. “I’m pretty sure my mom and dad purposefully take on jobs overseas whenever there’s a galla, just so they have an excuse not to show up. My sister is the only one who gets excited about going.”

“That’s because her life’s goal is to be a sugar baby,” Jay snickered.

“I wish I could say you were wrong, but she’s told me that almost word-for-word before,” Miles wrinkled his nose. “It’s so creepy watching her flirt with all the old men at those events like she’s trying to be picked to join one of them at their playboy manors.”

“It’ll be even creepier if her plan works and one of them proposes to her,” Jay teased. “Imagine having a seventy-year-old brother-in-law!”

Miles gagged in disgust.

When they drank their champagne, Caspian held the cool liquid on his tongue for a second before he swallowed it, enjoying the crisp flavor. He’d silently limited himself to one glass, since it would take some time before he wanted to get drunk again, so he was savoring the contents of his glass. He didn’t want to burn through it too quickly or he wouldn’t have any to sip at when their food arrived. The light champagne would pair nicely with the salmon pizza he’d ordered, and he was just enough of a connoisseur to appreciate the combination of flavors. Just because he had a hard time distinguishing between cheap and luxury wines didn’t mean he didn’t like rich meals, after all.

“This was a great choice, Cas,” Miles nodded approvingly as he set his flute back down on the table. It seemed like he and Jay were pacing themselves too, because the glass was still more than halfway full.

“Thanks,” he replied. In truth, he’d just grabbed one of the first bottles he’d seen on the shelf, but he was glad that his selection was praised. He glanced down at Iris, noticing that she had only taken one small sip of her drink. Remembering that she’d liked mimosas when they had shared drinks at his family’s private bar, he was a little surprised that she was hardly touching her beverage now. He couldn’t tell if she was drinking slowly because she didn’t like it or if she just wasn’t very interested in having alcohol at the moment, but either way, he wanted to assure her that she didn’t have to feel pressured to conform.

Subtly, he reached down to rest his free hand in his lap, touching her upper back gently with his fingers and tracing absentminded patterns on her skin.

“So, how have you been doing since we busted you out of the hospital, Iris?” Jay asked, taking no notice of the prince’s discreet gesture behind her head. “You’ve got more color in your cheeks today. Seems like you’re getting on despite the fact that you’re stuck here with Miles.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Nice xD Miles might make it worse by pestering her for her approval.

I've actually had some pizzas like the ones they bought, so that's where I drew my inspiration from, haha. There's a restaurant in my city that makes all sorts of neato recipes, and they're delicious!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“Only because wine and champagne are served at every formal event in the history of Aspiria,” Caspian rolled his eyes when Iris commented that he’d probably had a lot of it before. As a member of the royal family, he had practically been born with a crystal flute in his hand. Anytime there was something to be celebrated—a holiday, a birthday, a successful political endeavor—out came the wealthiest supporters of the monarchy and the finest champagnes that money could buy. In truth, the one they were about to drink was on the lower end of the spectrum too. He’d had bottles worth fifteen thousand credits at high born gallas in the past. The sad part was that he still couldn’t tell much of a difference between any of them. The more expensive drinks were better, sure, but it seemed a little ridiculous that they costed so much more when the cheaper stuff was good too.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy it,” Miles called him out as he popped the cork off the bottle and lifted the brim to his nose to breathe in the first fragrance of the champagne. “Louis Roederer makes some of the best champagne you can drink. There’s a reason why it costs as much as it does.”

“Pretentious,” Cas coughed into his sleeve.

“Seriously?” Miles said dryly, casting him an unamused look.

The prince shrugged, “Call me uncultured if you want, but luxury wines are something I’ve never understood. Well, unless it’s an old vintage, but that bottle was only aged for about a decade.” He held up his hands quickly. “It’s still good. I just can’t taste the difference between Louis Roederer Cristal and Gosset Grand Blanc de Blancs.”

“Oh my god,” Miles clutched at his chest exaggeratedly. “How am I supposed to bow to a king who can’t tell a one thousand credit champagne from a common, one hundred credit bottle?” He turned to Jay. “This is unacceptable. I feel led on.”

“Dude, knock off the theatrics,” Jay snorted. “I can’t tell the difference either. Just pour me a damn glass and stop pretending like you’re better than us.”

Cas laughed as Miles pulled a face and reluctantly filled four flutes with the sparkling, yellow drink. The two high borns took half for themselves, leaving the other two for the prince and Iris. Cas nodded when Iris offered to get one for him, not wanting to move while she was still using him for support on the ground. Though he really couldn’t tell the difference between cheap and quality champagne, he still liked the refreshing taste of the drink.

Once they all had a glass in hand, Jay lifted his in a toast. “To pulling off the most successful prison break the capital has ever seen!”

“Cheers,” Cas said in unison with Miles, grinning as he raised his own glass and then brought it to his lips to take a swig of the champagne.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

We could probably write out a little more and then skip ahead. Maybe after their food arrives? That seems like a decent point to me.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Thanks! We ended up having a play date for our dogs xD

And we can skip over a lot of the hangout again soon if you want. There's probably a few interesting dialogues that could happen, and the rest would be mundane. I figure Cas will wait until Jay and Miles are thoroughly trashed, then come up with an excuse to get away from them with Iris.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris assured him that nothing had happened between her and Miles during the lockdown, Caspian was flooded with relief. Even though he’d told her that he couldn’t get upset with her for dating around when they hadn’t talked about being exclusive, it still would have hurt to hear that she and Miles had explored something beyond friendship while he’d been separated from her. It sounded like they had been on the same regardless of their lack of communication though. He nodded contemplatively as she told him that she’d never considered being with anyone other than him. To hear her affirm it made his heart swell with affection, and he supposed she didn’t think like other high borns in that way either.

In the capital, it was common practice for everyone to date casually, sometimes being with more than one person at a time unless otherwise specified. Young adults specifically were reluctant to tie themselves down to one exclusive partner. They preferred to keep their options open and have fun with all sorts of relationships from one night stands to casual flings to friends with benefits. Out of the few women he’d dated, only one had stopped seeing other people before he’d asked to have a closed, “girlfriend-boyfriend” kind of relationship. It was just part of the culture to remain untethered for as long as anyone could. So, knowing that Iris didn’t have that kind of mentality was a weight off his shoulders. He’d never been able to enjoy dating around anyway.

“Well, I’m glad,” he exhaled, managing a small smile now that he wasn’t overwhelmed with jealousy and worry. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you to stay with me… I’m just used to having to make the distinction because things are different here. Loyalty isn’t something you come across very often in the capital.” As she stood and reached out to touch his cheek, he leaned into her hand, happy to know that nothing had changed between them. He’d just misunderstood the situation. She still cared about him and wanted to be with him even though they still had no idea how they were going to make it happen. That was all he’d needed to hear.

“God, I love you,” he sighed contentedly as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Her lips were warm against his skin, and the feeling resonated for a few seconds even after she pulled back. Thinking on it, their relationship was unusual. They had confessed their feelings for each other quickly because they hadn’t been sure if death would part them in the rebels’ prison, yet they hadn’t talked about “what they were” in any traditional sense. Everything they’d done had been out of order, but somehow, they’d made it work.

When she leaned in to meet his lips, he closed his eyes, wishing they were alone, so they didn’t have to part so quickly. Unfortunately, he could already hear the sound of muffled voices coming from the hallway beyond Miles’ bedroom. Their time had run out.

With a pang of mild disappointment, he watched as Iris settled down on the floor at his feet, resting her back against his legs rather than returning to the sofa. It was a simple gesture, but to him, it meant the world that she was staying close at the risk of his friends thinking her suspicious. He dragged the back of his hand across his mouth to wipe away any evidence that they had just kissed as the door opened, and the other high borns stepped into the room, laughing about something one of them had said just before they’d arrived.

Closing them into the room, Miles glanced at Cas and Iris and blinked. “You know, we might just be the least gentlemanly men in the entire country,” he mused, gesturing to the latter on the ground. “She never sleeps in the bed, and now she’s literally on the floor so the three of us can be comfortable.”

“Nothing you can do if she doesn’t want special treatment,” Cas pointed out with a shrug, doing his best to hide his satisfaction that Iris was away from his friend at last.

“That’s true,” Jay agreed, ambling over to sit on the sofa. “If you forced it, that would make you a dick.”

“That doesn’t make it any less weird,” Miles shook his head, taking a seat at Jay’s side. “Anyway, weren’t we about to pop this bad boy open?” He picked up the bottle of champagne from the coffee table and brandished it excitedly.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No rush! One of my friends just texted me asking to hang out today, so I think I'm going to her house pretty soon. Either that or she's coming to mine. We haven't decided yet, but either way, I'm probably gonna be busy for a while :)

Simple question: What kinds of RPs do you guys like?

Character development and plot development are my top two focuses in any RP. I can have fun in pretty much any kind of RP as long as our characters change from beginning to end, and the plot has a good rhythm of exciting climaxes and mellow middles of dialogue and world building. I love creating a whole story with my partners.

I've also recently been interested in exploring various forms of trauma that characters can go through, either in their backstories or throughout the RP. Mental health/illness and all the things that can affect it are very attention-grabbing to me.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

He's doing better! Just recovering from surgery.

Cas word-vomited a little xD He's probably the most emotional character I've ever made. It's fun to explore all of his feelings, both healthy and unhealthy

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As Miles slipped out of the room, Caspian was instantly awash with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. He was glad that his friend was inadvertently giving him the moment alone with Iris that he had been craving, but at the same time, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. They would only have a few minutes together at the very most—and that was only if Jay and Miles got caught up in chatting at the front door—so there wasn’t time to really address everything that was on his mind. He couldn’t question her about her intentions or find out where they stood with each other in sixty seconds. However, as soon as the door closed and they were alone, Iris made the decision for him.

His breath hitched as he felt her hand leave his shoulder, and suddenly she was kneeling on the floor in front of him. At first, confusion etched itself onto his face. He wasn’t quite sure what she was doing, but he couldn’t bring himself to retreat from her touch as she took his hands in hers. Her touch was so familiar, her fingers warm and soft against his skin. In spite of his uncertainties, it relaxed him just a little, and the tension ebbed from his shoulders. His eyes fixed on hers, and he held his breath as he waited for her to make the first move.

When she assured him that nothing had changed and that she still only wanted him, he nearly closed the distance between them to kiss her. It was exactly what he had been longing to hear, yet the slivers of doubt hadn’t been thoroughly washed from his mind with just those few sentences. They kept him rooted to his seat, studying, calculating, wary of letting go so quickly that he would open himself up to be hurt if she changed her mind. He had always been the type to fall fast and hard for women whom he was attracted to, but out of anyone he’d fancied, he’d fallen for her the hardest. He didn’t want to back away from her again, but he was also nervous about the possibility of getting his heart broken. Torn in two, he took a slow breath to keep a level head before he finally spoke, “Are you sure?” He held her gaze, trying his best to keep some emotional distance just in case she didn’t answer the way he wanted her to. “I mean… it looked to me like you were both flirting with each other… Did something happen between you and Miles during the lockdown?”

He bit his lip, partially regretting asking the question that had been on his mind. “I know it’s not fair of me to get upset if you were with him while we were apart. I just… I should have made it clear a long time ago that I wanted us to be… exclusive.” He blushed as he made the confession. “I understand if that isn’t what you want or if you’re not ready for that. I also know I have god awful timing for bringing this up, but it’s where I’m at. Watching other guys pursue you is hard for me when I don’t know who’s going to walk away with you in the end. I just—Jesus, this sounds clingy as hell,” his blush deepened as he forced himself to say it, “I need… some kind of reassurance that you’re not going to walk away from this—from us—when someone else comes along to try his luck with you. I need to know that you still want me and that you won’t be running off with other guys when I’m not around… I care about you so much that it hurts to think about you being with another man. I’m sorry if I’m putting you in a tough spot, but I can’t pretend like I’m okay with just being one option.”

He swallowed hard, concluding quietly, “So, all that to say… Do you want to go steady with me, Iris?”