In Our Ongoing Efforts To Give You More Tools For Curating Your Archive Experience, We’re Rolling Out

Since I'm always sitting, I see my friends' service dogs before I see my friends' faces, and it's always a Doofenshmirtz moment, like:

"Friend's Service Dog, what are you doing in the middle of Tesco?"

*Looks up*

"FRIEND!"

DL!Pearl x Arachne!Gem

Fair warning, I don’t know how people usually go about posting fics on tumblr but some quick disclaimers:

-Mildly suggestive(physically)

-Descriptions of violence

“My webs do have a tendency of snaring little bugs in.”

“Little bugs?”

“Little bugs.”

=======••••=======

“I know you’re here with a purpose.” Gem chittered. Her mandibles clicked along to the trill of her voice. “So what was it? To plunder my friends? To steal my belongings? Because you’ve certainly achieved your goal if that’s what you meant to do.”

“I was only trying loot this mineshaft.” Pearl tugged at the webs. It didn’t want to come off. “This mineshaft that I didn’t even know was occupied.”

“Does that change the fact that you’ve caused me damage though, moth?” Gem’s tone stayed dark, though her eyes trained on Pearl’s hands with a hint of amusement.

Pearl felt herself burn under that gaze. Judging from how her skin would sooner tear off her body than it would the web; and how the arachne loomed over her with a keen interest that was closer to predatory than it was curious—the odds weren’t in Pearl’s favor.

Still, she couldn’t allow her dignity to go down like this. “I have a name.”

“You look like nothing more than a moth to me.”

The arachne had an attitude, it seemed. Pearl would’ve loved to play around with someone like this if she wasn’t in a life-or-death struggle. “Not to be egotistical, but people fear the mere sight of my axe. I’ve killed for less.”

“I don’t see an axe, nor a fearsome killer.” The arachne’s front appendage tapped against the floor, and the rhythm was eerily similar to the ticking of TNT.

It wasn’t difficult to see why. A soft hissing shadowed her every word, and a sharp rap came of those spindly legs—tick, tick, ticking.

Pearl tried to supress her shuddder.

As if by mercy of the watchers above, or perhaps by the arachne herself, the tapping stopped. Pearl wasn’t looking at her to see the way that the arachne’s brows furrowed. “…that name of yours, moth, what was it?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“You were so eager before. Why rescind now?” The arachne leaned forward, with a grin that Pearl thinks burns her skin in a way that no flame can. “My name is Gemini Tay. Call me Gem.”

“Pearlescent Moon. They call me Pearl for short.”

At that, Gem hummed. “They. So there are more of you plunderers?” She straightened back up.

Pearl had the urge to laugh. This woman was so wary, especially for someone whose only threat for most of her time has been cave-lurking mobs. “Like I said, I’m not a plunderer, and they certainly aren’t either. That bunch of ‘em have souls more golden than I.”

Gem cocked her head. “So you are wicked?”

“It’s subjective.”

The arachne shot her a tentative glare.

Pearl didn’t know much about spiders other than the way that their heads severed at the end of her blade. She’s only familiar with them in the way that their blood splattered across her armored chest. Never given the creatures much thought.

And yet she seemed to be giving her plenty of thought now. The urge was ever-present—to dissect things, to rip them apart, and to study them all from the most grotesque to the most intact parts of their corpse.

That was the same kind of look Gem was dissecting her with. Violent curiosity. The same kind Pearl held for her.

“You look as if you wish my neck were between your fangs.” Gem spoke up first.

“You look like you want me as your next meal.” Pearl responded in kind, unaware of when exactly her heart decided to spite her and hammer a wild rhythm in her chest.

“If I freed you from those webs,” Gem’ four eyes were all lasered onto her. “What would you do, Pearl?”

“I could give your treasures back and leave you be.”

“Why? Is there anybody waiting for you on the surface if you leave?”

Pearl’s expression dropped. She ignored the sourness trying to crawl up from her stomach, acidic and vile. Even Gem’s words could cut, it seemed.

“What’s your point, Gem?”

“Tell me more,” The arachne invited herself into Pearl’s personal space, of which the moth was helpless to combat. “Tell me about you, about the surface.” One, scythe-like spider leg prepped its blade up to the peeling, stringy web. “Do that, and I’ll cut you free; but you won’t be rid of me for a while.”

Pearl eyed her diamond axe, the single glint of the torch’s light stared back at her. “Don’t hurt me?”

Gem found herself looking at the axe too. “Don’t hold back on me.”

Pearl smiled. “Deal.”

The sound of the webs tearing were the same as when she cleaved through fabrics with her axe. Like a puppet whose strings were cut, Pearl fell.

Gem’s ginger braids filled her vision before she felt the impact of landing on the arachne’s chest. “Careful,” her voice took on a softer quality. Was this how she spoke to all the mobs in her keep? It was invigorating, shameful as it was to admit.

Pearl, always a curious creature, wrapped her arms around Gem’s waist. It was the point where Gem’s spider and human half met, which was a strange mix of textures; and it brought about a confusing clash of bloodthirst against instinct.

The moth wanted to run. The wolf wanted to hunt.

She ran her hands over Gem’s fuzzy hide, and slowly, brought it upwards to feel at the skin of Gem’s waist under her top. Was there a vulnerability here somewhere? Did it have less durability than the rest of her body? Pearl wondered.

Her wrists were seized. “Are you not pulling away?” Gem’s mandibles clicked.

“You aren’t pushing me away,” Pearl shrugged. She quite liked hugging Gem. Yes, hugging, because she had the face to admit that’s what she was doing. An embrace, albeit with ulterior motives.

Gem sighed. “Are you always like this?”

“What can I say? I like being difficult.” Pearl hummed. Though there was a limit to her ability to be thick-skinned, so when Gem let go and lifted her arms to accommodate Pearl’s, she finally peeled away.

julethief extra following up after this post .. because.. im feeling .. soft.…

Also not sure if I ever posted this???? Sorry I'm going through my files if you couldn't tell

Thinking AU thoughts once again... head full of cowboy outlaw Xie Lian

Jesus scar in my pocket were really in it now

hey dude, idk how much you remember from the party last night but- yeah, everyone saw your want. yeah no it was pretty late and winding down so it was quiet enough that every single person there saw it throbbing and twitching in your chest and so wet with hunger it was glistening under the kitchen light. they said it looked like it was reaching for something

wait i lied this is worse wtf do u mean 'why did u take mumbo away from me' Grian Minecraft

SO obsessed with the way the game cut off gem's f-bomb literally as perfectly as possible. phasmo is a comedy game first and a horror game second etc etc

my completely unbiased and purely objective ranking of the life series seasons