#Found Dead on Bow of Cruise Ship

[mudwerks]

(via 44-Foot Whale Found Dead on Bow of Cruise Ship Coming Into New York - The New York Times)

As the cruise ship approached New York on Saturday, it was found to be carrying a grim, and unexpected, catch: The carcass of a 44-foot-long endangered whale, draped across its bow.

The whale, which marine authorities described as a sei whale, is known for its rapid swimming and preference for deep waters, far from the coast. Its body was discovered as the ship neared the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, and the authorities were “immediately notified,” said MSC Cruises, which owns the ship.

what the actual FUCK

[larsbarsart]

Hehe Hat game go brrrrr

Also self insert :3

Lars!! Or also Scarf Teen/Adult!

Their scarf is their equivalent to HK's Hat!

Bio older sibling to Hat Kid and just. Adopted Bow Kid and Timmy as siblings along the way to in-game events

Edit: Tumblr, how did you fuck this up? Why did you move my images??? Anyways I fixed it, all is as it should be.

More Info-Dumping below cut :]

So! I don't really know how Lars and Hat Kid (Harriet, Harry, or just Hat or Hattie in this AU) ended up travelling space but something happened because here they are

During their explorations of planets, they found Bow, a young orphan living on the streets of her hometown, and Timmy, a boy with a not so great home life (understatement).

Their spaceship is basically the same, with another couple of rooms.

Hattie's room, now shared with Bow, is the same but with more furniture and decoration for the latter kid. Hat still has her lil' diary hideout because sometimes the girl just needs some space to be on her own. Lars is the only person on the ship allowed in with permission

Timmy's room is in the basement, as an area renovated and repurposed to be a room. Think the room with the Alpine Skyline Warp Telescope. Harry did argue at first, but was eventually persuaded in the end. I'm not gonna explain, that'll have me writing an entire scene

Lars's room is the attic, where the Finale Warp Telescope is. They repurposed the attic in the first year or so of living on the ship so that they could have their own room.

Anyways, let's go onto the game events!

It all starts relatively the same, the kids wake up, Lars sleeping through the first alarm. Timmy and Hat, knowing how to handle the ship on their own, get started for travelling through the day when, Uh Oh! Mafia!

A couple of five minute alarms later.

Due to damages on the ship, the first couple of Time Pieces on the ship don't warp the kids back to the ship, but once Lars fixes it (and the hole in the window) it works again. After some talking, they start a plan:

Timmy, being a bit more tech oriented and avoidant of most conflicts, will stay on the ship to locate the Time Pieces while the other three track down and retrieve them, Tim relaying to them through earpieces and walkie talkie things. Mustache Girl still goes on the ship to plan Mafia Takedown with the kids, but Lars, back on Earth, remains unaware of their adventure until last second. ("Great. A kid working against us to gather the Time Pieces. Just what we needed.")

After that fiasco, the girls aren't allowed outside of Lars's sight when on field.

Which, of course is quickly disobeyed when Lars loses them at Dead Bird Studio, finding them again while DJ Grooves and the Conductor are roping Bow and Harry respectively into their movies

After a bit of persuading (the girls to Lars) and threatening (Lars to the directors) the girls are allowed to help the birds while their mostly legal guardian checks out Subcon Forest.

If you've played/watched the game, you can guess how that turns out

Anyways, a couple more things I wanna point out is, in my mind, the kids go on the cruise while Lars looks around Nyakuza Metro ("I feel safer leaving yall on a boat than wandering around a bunch of speeding vehicles"). That leaves them all to got around the Skylines together. Family Fun!

Anyways, that's about all I've got on that. Idk if I'll make more posts about this, but I just wanted to get all of my thoughts out in text

[grantgfan]

Hey, Ellie. I had a bit of weird dream last night.

It was where me, Mina, you, Dexter and the other Genie Team members were having a vacation on the largest cruise ship; the Oasis of the Seas. We were enjoying ourselves, partying, playing games, etc…. However, the next morning, the ship stopped despite being nowhere near land or any harbor. We all woke up to go see what was up. As I walked onto the ship’s bow, i saw everyone standing in stunned silence at something. I gently and politely moved my way through the crew. When I finally saw what it was, my mouth hung open in shock and my mouth ran dry…

…

…

There, in the middle of the ocean, mere 60 meters from the cruise ship’s bow, floating adrift in the ocean and dead silent… was something that left me shocked and confused. Slowly, I said “The RMS Mauritania? But— but that’s impossible, she was scrapped in 1935”. You and Grant looked at me and i explained to you both and everyone else everything about the Mauritania. That being she was a Cunard Line Ocean Liner from the late 1900s al the way to when she was sacrificed to the scrapper’s torch in 1935 in order to give jobs to jobless people during the Great Depression. And yet, the Mauritania was there, in one piece, in her original launch color of white, completely devoid of passengers and crew, and covered in masses of a dark substance.

As if her unknown and mysterious appearance wasn’t enough, Dexter, Mindy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles noticed a foul odor in the air, and using a Cybertronian-upgraded iPad Pro, Dexter found that the stench was coming from the Cunard liner. The boy genius then sent 6 small Cybertronian drones near the vacant ship and through screens from a transforming computer suitcase, we all saw that the dark masses on the ship’s hull was the source of the stench.

A few hours later, the Mauritania was being towed by the Oasis of the Seas on the way back to the mainland. I was at the cruise ship’s stern, staring silently at the ancient Cunard Line ocean liner, still reeling from seeing a ship that was scrapped in ‘35 right before my eyes.

Ellie: wow

[pomegranate-cuties]

Original poster turned off reblogs, but I think this is important, especially the tags:

[Image description: Screenshot of a Tumblr post by @thatpunnyperson, posted on June 22, 2023.

According to NBC here in the US, the missing titanic sub has been found. As debris. Off the bow of the Titanic wreckage. And it looks like the sub suffered what we all suspected, and what was undoubtedly the more merciful of the two options: a catastrophic implosion from the pressure. Also, more info has come to light about the fishing trawler with the hundreds of migrants that sank cataclysmically off the coast of Greece, indicating that the greek coast guard knew about the vessel AND how much trouble the vessel was in, and were towing it at a speed that made it capsize, at which point they unhooked the tow line and watched the trawler sink without helping the passengers to safety. Despite a bunch of other ships trying to help as well throughout the whole ordeal. So a lot of people are dead, all because of regulations (and the lack thereof) regarding sea-faring vessels and rescue protocols. People shouldnt be allowed to make a business charging a ton of money for a ride on an uncertified, unsafe, un-seaworthy ship going deep into the ocean with no distress beacon or tether to the mothership. People also shouldnt be allowed to enact laws that criminalize the ferrying of refugees, which then force the refugees to hitch rides on fishing trawlers, and which also prevent people from helping those fishing trawlers full of refugees due to fear of legal consequences. Hopefully BOTH of these events spark changes on an international scale in terms of what is legally allowed to be sailed, who is legally allowed to be the passengers, and what the rescue protocols are in the event of disaster for any seafaring vessel, illegal or not. It shouldnt be just the global 1% who get 24/7 search parties and remote-operated submersibles helping rescue them.

The tags are as follows:

#the question of 'what do we owe to each other' can be answered simply with 'the dignity of retrieving our remains when we die' #another answer is 'the dignity of thinking about each other fellow humans with similar motivations and feelings' #also 'stopping someones potentially self-destructive behaviors just because theyre rich and want to feel special' #also i feel like humans have been sailing the seas long enough that it should be guaranteed that people will survive sea voyages #im very mad about specifically mediterranean maritime disasters because we have ancient writing saying they made it safe #sailing from Egypt to Greece was so old hat and safe that people legit took the ancient equivalent of cruises back and forth #cleopatra habitually sailed from alexandria to rome with a ton of ships and was fine #Nero tried to have his mother drowned at sea by orchestrating a dramatic shipwreck while she was our sailing AND SHE SURVIVED #and then swam to shore got back to rome and whooped his ass #fuckin pliny the elder tried to evacuate people from pompeii and the surrounding coast villages when vesuvius erupted #and he actually WAS able to rescue people #but he himself had an asthma attack from the fumes which led to a heart attack and he died on the beach #there is legit no excuse for that trawler of migrant refugees to have wrecked #negligence all around #anyway #oceangate

End description.]

[annarellix]

Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley (Magical Mystery Book Club #2)

Paige and her joyful Aunt Glo have learned that the home they inherited comes with a magical library. They put together a book club group of loveable kooks to explore the magic. They’ve recovered from their first book journey, and they all agree on their next book which takes place on a cruise ship bound for Hawaii. Problem is, they were so excited about the cruising idea that they didn’t read the entire blurb on the back of the book. (“It was entirely too long,” explains Zell.) Once on the ship, they meet a charming and likeable man who blends seamlessly into their motley group. Too bad they don’t know why he’s so scarce during the day but shows up to join them every evening for dinner, drinks, and a show. When a dead body shows up on board, their new friend is labeled a suspect. Can they help him out by finding the real murderer? Or is he the real murderer? The book club will need to solve the case to get off the ship, out of the book, and back to their home.

Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

My Review: I’m happy I was able to join this blog tour and review this book because it’s an intriguing and well written series that never disappoints. The idea of a magic book club that magically travels into stories where there’s a mystery to solve is very original and there’s plenty of possible scenario. I was happy to catch up with Paige, Aunt Glo as the rest of the quirky characters. I appreciated how they are evolving and it’s interesting to read about them. The paranormal part and the mystery are well developed and I appreciated the world building and the solid mystery that kept me guessing. I can’t wait to read other books in this series. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Elizabeth Pantley  and Partners In Crime for this digital copy, all opinions are mine

The Author: Elizabeth Pantley says that writing her serveral Mystery and Magic book series is the most fun she’s ever had at work. Fans of the series say her joy is evident through the engaging stories she tells. Elizabeth is also the international bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents. Her books have been published in over twenty languages. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful inspiration for her enchanted worlds.

Catch Up With Elizabeth Pantley: www.nocrysolution.com/books Goodreads BookBub - @DestinyFalls Instagram - @destinyfallsmystery Facebook - @DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic

Read an excerpt: “Here’s one with a cruise ship on the cover,” yelled Forrest. “It’s called Havoc in Hawaii.” “Yes!” squealed Sebastian, doing a little jig. “I loooove Hawaii!” Zell marched up to Forrest and he handed her the book. She began to scan the back cover and mumble, “Cruise … adventure … tropical islands …” “Ah. The blurb is too long. I’m sure this will do!” She flipped the book open and before we could stop her, she began to read. “Zell! Stop reading!” Vee yelled. “We don’t even know what the mystery is about yet—” It was too late. The globe turned golden until it shone like the sun. It began to spin, faster and faster, the speed increasing by the moment. Sparks began to shoot from it, and the room slowly filled with fog until we could no longer see. In the quiet fog-filled room, Million’s thunderous gasp of a string of bad words made us all laugh. As the dense fog continued to fill the library, we all became perfectly still and silent. Waiting. Wondering. What would be next? The silence finally gave way to the excited chatter of a crowd around us. Once the air was cleared, we found ourselves in a boarding line, heading onto a majestic, glittering cruise ship. Its name was painted across the bow: Serendipity of the Seas. The air was warm, humid, and smelled of tropical flowers. Beyond the glass enclosed walkway that snaked back and forth toward the ship we could see palm trees and blue skies. “Looks like we’re embarking right in Hawaii,” said Zell. “Most likely Honolulu,” added Million. “Probably Pier 2,” said Zell with a look of superiority. “Looks busy today. I’d say we’re using the alternate terminal at Pier 11.” Million looked smug, as if he’d just won that round of their game of one-upmanship. “This is so exciting!” squealed Sebastian. “And look at my outfit!” He did a spin showing off his crisp khaki trousers, an aloha shirt airbrushed with colorful bird-of-paradise flowers, and beige espadrilles. We had all arrived in clothing that wasn’t ours but was suitable for the trip. The only person who looked perfectly normal was Moonbeam, except that the type of flowers displayed on her kaftan were more tropical than hippie. Even Forrest was decked out in a Hawaiian print shirt, though his was teen-appropriate, worn open over a white t-shirt, and set off with a stylish pair of sunglasses. “Isn’t anyone weirded out about our clothes changing?” asked Vee. “Hold up, Vee-Vee,” said Frank, sporting a floral print scarf around his neck. “You’re okay with plopping into a mystery book and solving a murder case, but you think it’s weird that your clothes have changed?” “If you put it that way.” She shrugged. Glo called out over her shoulder. “We’re almost to the front of the line!” She was leading the group and trotting so fast we could barely keep up with her. Her beach-print sundress was fluttering in the breeze behind her. My aunt loved adventures and having fun, and this was certainly both. As soon as we were over the gangway the crowd split into two directions. Photo stations were set up on both sides with a screen shot of a Hawaiian beach, the Serendipity of the Seas cruise ship in the background, and a banner over the top saying “Welcome Aboard!” A photographer’s assistant was placing a lei around each passenger. “Wait up, Glo! Veer to the right!” Zell shouted, then she turned toward us. “You need to pick your photographer wisely.” “Yeah,” said Million, nodding in agreement. “Cuz they charge an arm and a leg for those photos, but you can’t resist buying them.” “You’ve got the millions, so spend a few,” laughed Sebastian. “Who told you I got millions?” Our newest member turned to Sebastian with a scowl. “As I was saying,” Zell said. “You want the best one. See that guy on the left. He’s boring and bland. Looks like he’d rather be somewhere else. People are barely smiling for him. His assistant is passing out wilted leis. Now, that guy on the right – he’s the life of the party. Even his assistant is doing a little dance to the music. He’s joking, he’s talking. Everybody’s laughing. Makes for a great photo.” “Plus, he looks like Mr. Bean. Makes you laugh before he even opens his mouth,” said Moonbeam. “Who’s Mr. Bean, Mom?” asked Forrest. “Google him, honey.” A moment later Forrest chuckled. “He does look like Mr. Bean!” “Hey! You have cell service. Good deal,” said Vee. “Means a contemporary setting, right, Zell?” “Yeppers!” Zell nodded vigorously. “… as far as I know.” Her voice faded off at the end. We were at the front of the line where Glo was eagerly waiting. “Picture time!” She was bouncing on the toes of her cork-wedge sandals – a pair she’d never buy for herself, though she was obviously enjoying them. “Howdy folks!” called the photographer, Mr. Bean’s twin, with a name tag that said Grant Perkins, USA. “Welcome aboard!”

Excerpt from Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley. Copyright 2022 by Elizabeth Pantley. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Pantley. All rights reserved.

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours

[lebrookestore]

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Collab hosted by @heartyyjeno and @neojaems

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧

Pairing: Qian Kun x reader

Themes: richkid au-ish, royalty au-ish, slight humour, ANGST, strangers to lovers, betrayal, suspense, drugs, murder, cruises, pride and prejudice

Warnings: angst, mentions of murder, drugs, smoking, betrayal, drugging, making out, messed up stuff honestly

Wc: 17.1k

Taglist:  @danishmiilk @channoticedmeuwu @chicksung @1-800-seo @blueprint-han @jenosslut @cupidluvstarrz @kkakkdugi @sweetlyjaem @vera-liscious @leetaeyonglover @kunrengui @unknown5tar @kisshim @the-rooftop-fight @rueyins @kiri-ah @sly-merlin @alicanta77 @rouiyan @jae-dreamin @peachyyjaes  @girlwithmightymuses-deactivated @jenoleemonade​ @radiorenjun​

Summary: Many things can happen on a cruise ship, most of them are unexpected. Secrets are exposed, arrangements are brought to light and love can bloom- but when the secrets and arrangements clash, will the love survive? [loosely based on the Opera; Tristan and Isolde]

Playlist: here

Authors note: My first collab fic!!! I honestly really love how this turned out, and I hope you do too! Take this as a thank you for 400 as well, since I have literally nothing else planned rip. Thanks to Mina for letting me scream about this fic to her and feedback would be really appreciated! Without further ado, I present to you: Love Shot!

“Lady Y/n”, the woman greeted you, bowing respectfully. You smiled softly, touching her shoulder to indicate that it was alright. “Winter”, you said fondly, “You know I don’t care for formalities”, you reminded the girl, who nodded eagerly, and took your bags.

Sighing tiredly, you stood at the entrance, waiting for Winter to return and guide you to your room on the cruise ship, where you would be staying for the next three months. The air was crisp, more breathable than it was in the city. Crossing one hand over the other, standing up straight, you exude confidence and an air of authority, something everyone around you acknowledged and respected.

Your family was and would always be one of the most respected families in Japan. You had money, a name, and many many enemies. There was always someone on the prowl, ever ready to steal your family’s worth, to ruin its reputation. Your father had gotten the family estate when the wealth had been divided amongst him and his brothers, and that had only added up to your net worth. As the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, you had big shoes to fill, especially since you had no siblings. 

You had had your fair share of bad publicity, and drama. Scandals always lazily floated around, and at this point, you welcomed them like an old friend. Added some spice into your otherwise very structured life. 

A year ago, your father had died, leaving all the responsibilities to fall upon you. He had been found dead one morning in his bed, your mother shaking as she sat on the edge, looking on at her dead husband with a crazed look in her eyes. There were rumours and suspicions, but you decided to pay no heed to them.

And with all these new responsibilities, you made the news more times than you cared to count, and the way the media preyed on the tragedy, highlighting it, using it against you. Your mother was at her wit’s end, a broken shell of the commanding woman she was before. You heeded every request of hers, and fulfilled any wish, no matter how idiotic. Your life had changed, but at the same time, it hadn’t. You were still the same filthy rich girl from before.

Winter returned, a rosy hue on her cheeks as she greeted you once more. “This way Ma’am”, you grabbed her arm, glaring mockingly, “Y/n”, you asserted, “You’re never this formal Win, what happened?”

“It’s my job”, she said sheepishly, “And I’m a little out of it, please don’t pay any attention to it”

You wanted to prod her further but decided to respect her privacy, and silently followed her down the halls of the ship, studying your surroundings. It was clear the place was dripping with money, nothing you weren’t used to. With the gold plating and jewel-encrusted chandeliers, you felt more at home than on a vacation.

Well, it wasn’t really a vacation now, was it?

This was business, for your family. A set plan, rules and things you had to do. Even thought it was all arranged, you still had to look pretty and smile and be nice to him.

Stopping in front of a door, she fished out a pair of keys and inserted one of them into the keyhole, opening it and leading you into your room for the stay. It was one of the first-class cabins on the cruise, more spacious than the others. Bowing once again, Winter left you, promising to return to call you for dinner. Sitting down on your bed, you inspected the room, noting its features. It was all the same.

Deciding to get ready for the dinner, you unzipped one of your bags, picking through the garments you had brought along with you. You knew dinners were a big thing, especially if you were of your status, and today would be monumental, especially since you would be meeting someone, and that someone was very important. Finally choosing a silk dress, you slipped it on, retouching your makeup and checking your phone for any updates, you left your room making sure you had your keys with you. The hallways were pretty chilly, so you decided to turn back and get your pullover just in case. 

Waiting patiently by your door for Winter, you checked your phone, reading over the message your mother sent you. A list of instructions, a code of conduct for the evening.

You had to impress them.

Once again, Winter showed up, still donning the rosy blush as she regarded you, and began leading you through the winding halls of the ship. She seemed to be very out of it, not completely focusing on the task at hand as she tripped over her own feet. You reached out, grabbing her arm and stabilizing the girl.

“I’m sorry”, she squeaked, “Forgive me”

“Be careful Winter”, you said, “And stop patronizing yourself, you’re never like this”

Flustered, she nodded a little too fast, “I’m sorry Y/n, just following orders”

“Whose orders?”, you asked incredulously. She rested her hand on the gold plated doorknob, turning to you.

“Your mother of course”, she said, before pushing the door open. Hushed whispers traveled across the room at your arrival, the room falling into silence.

Dinner was served.

Kun walked into the dining hall, his eyes dark and alight with amusement. He slipped his hands in his pockets, leisurely making his way to one of the tables. He observed the scene, taking note of the crowd. Jazz music played softly in the background, setting the mood. Clicking his tongue, he pulled out a chair taking a seat at the table he had chosen. 

He wasn’t alone, there were two other men sitting there, and a woman. One was his brother, Chenle, who was six years younger than Kun. He looked intimidating for an eighteen-year-old, with a square-ish jaw and large eyes. They were set in a blank stare, as if he was used to this, and was tired of it. He regarded Kun with a nod, before going back to his food.

The other was his uncle, Akira, who was only ten years older than Kun himself, being the youngest brother from his mother’s side. He was dressed in an expensive suit, eyes covered with his dark sunglasses. He didn’t even acknowledge Kun, instead, he had his eyes trained on the door, presumably waiting for someone.

The woman was sitting next to Kun, his sister, Yuxi, younger than him by a year. She didn’t even spare a look at Kun, but he was used to it.

A server walked up to the table, handing Kun a menu, and bowing respectfully. He was wearing a white suit, in pristine condition, hair slicked back, shoes polished to the point of reflection. Kun studied the boy, who seemed a few years younger than him. His tag read ‘Heesung’, and he looked bored out of his mind.

“Heesung”, Kun said, “I’d like a glass of Dom Pérignon please”, he requested, to which Heesung nodded, taking note of it in his notepad. “I’ll come back with your drink and order”, he informed Kun as he left.

The doors opened, two women standing there. One was obviously the help of the other, dressed in a black and white uniform. She opened the door wider, exposing the other women to the crowd. She was obviously of some high status, the air around her seemed to hold some sort of authority. She walked down the stairs, her help close behind as she scanned the room to spot a table for herself.

You soon found the table you had been assigned to by your darling mother and walking towards it. You held your head a little higher, asserting a sort of silent dominance over them. Winter pulled out a seat for you, and you thanked her softly, turning to the man on your right.

“Akira, I suppose”, you said, lifting your hand up and shaking his hand. He smiled, “The lovely Y/n”, he said, “I presume your mother has told you about me”

He was handsome, you supposed, in an oldish way. You nodded, “Yes, she has”

“And I hope you are intrigued”, he suggested. You forced a smile, biting down the initial disgust at the older man. “Very much so”, you assured him, turning to the other two, “And you are”, you asked, desperate to avoid any further interaction with Akira.

“Yuxi”, the lady sitting next to Akira introduced herself, holding up a glass of some sort of drink, looking at the other two men.

“I’m Chenle”, the one on your left greeted, smiling slightly. You returned the gesture, looking at the other one expectantly.

“Kun”, he said, disinterest apparent in his tone. “A pleasure to meet you, Y/n”, he said coyly, leaning back in his chair and observed you. Nodding at his curt response, you waited in silence for the waiter to come and take your order. “So who are you?”, Kun asked, to which you blinked in surprise. “You mean you don’t know?”, you asked, not meaning to sound as vain as it came out. You were genuinely shocked at the fact he didn’t know who you were.

“Kun”, Akira warned, “I told you about the lovely Y/n”, he explained, “You know about the deal”

“Was I expected to know her?”, he asked, “To be fair, she's like every other woman here, just richer”

Your eyes widened at his blatant disrespect, as his lips upturned into a smirk, somewhat enjoying your obvious discomfort.

“Ahem”, Heesung interrupted, “Your order?”

Mildly put off, you asked for the meal you wanted, trying not to sink into your seat from embarrassment. If your mother was here, she would’ve given you an earful if you slouched.

Always hold yourself to a higher standard Y/n, she constantly reminded you, Head a little higher than the rest.

Ignore him darling”, Akira advised you. The nickname set a bitter taste in your mouth.

“Excuse me”, you said, “I’m not feeling well”, getting up, you called for Winter, asking her to get your food to your room. 

You walked out gracefully, not missing the sly smile that Kun gave you.

Mornings were something you had always looked forward to. You woke up early on most days, while your mother was still asleep, to be alone with your thoughts. It was hard to think with your mother droning on about responsibilities, and things she wanted you to do for her. You had to mindlessly listen, and accomplish every task she set out for you. You were beyond thankful for Winter, who helped you, and single handedly kept you sane. She was your friend, more than a servant, which was why her sudden formality was confusing you.

While your mother wasn’t with you at the moment, you still decided to leave the confines of your bed, and explore the cruise in peace and quiet, perhaps get an early breakfast alone. You changed into acceptable clothing, casual instead of the finery you were used to and tired of, and headed out to the deck. The cool sea breeze was welcoming, making you feel refreshed. You sipped the tea in your hands, cupping the mug to provide some warmth to your fingers, as you leaned against the railing of the ship.

The floors were made of wood, giving it a rustic feel to it. It contrasted the marble interiors, giving it a simpler look. It was homely, more so than your own home. You smiled wantonly, the silence of the scene comforting.

You mother came to mind, as you remembered the deal, the entire reason why you were on this cruise, it wasn’t a happy vacation, on the contrary, it was a welcoming, an introduction to a new family, one you would soon be thrown into. 

“You're alone”, a voice observed. You turned around to face the man from yesterday.

“Qian Kun”, you said politely, “It appears so”

You weren’t particularly angry at him for not knowing who you were, in fact, you would go as far as to say, you were relieved.

“Relax, I know who you are, I’m just teasing you”, he said, which destroyed all hopes of you being an unknown person. You raised an eyebrow in the question of his doings, to which he grinned, “Y/n Osaki”.

You nodded, looking down at your tea, not quite knowing what to say. You didn’t know Kun very well, but from the short encounters you had with him, he confused you. You studied him for a moment, trying to understand him. He seemed to be put together, content with himself, yet he took pleasure in trivial things, like getting a reaction out of you.

“Well, I don’t truly know you, other than the fact you’re this rich girl my uncle is interested in”, he quipped, standing at your side and looking out at the sea, not sparing you another glance.

“Uncle?”, you asked slightly horrified. Kun seemed to be around your age, so the thought of Akira being his uncle sounded very messed up, especially since your mother was also rooting for the older man.

Kun hummed in agreement, “he was ten when I was born”, he continued. You decided to ignore that fact, for now, focusing on the subtle dig he had thrown at you. “You’re rich too, or so it seems. Certainly, you’re wealthy if you can afford this cruise”

You hadn’t meant to sound vain or stuck up, but it was true. This wasn’t a cheap stay, especially since you knew they were staying on the first-class level of the ship just as you were. Your mother had told you almost everything about them.

He seemed amused, his dimples appearing as he smiled, “We’re comfortable”

You scoffed at the statement, deciding to take a sip of your tea instead of retorting. The conversation, if you could even call it that, fell into a silence. You tapped against the porcelain of the cup, looking blankly at the water.

He was attractive, dark hair splayed across his forehead, dark grey eyes, lips that seemed to upturn into a smirk easily. He had an easy going demeanor, with a touch of underlying darkness, you supposed. It piqued your interest, but you made sure not to show it. 

“See you around Y/n”, he said, walking away, seemingly bored. You watched him disappear under the deck, and suddenly, you were all alone.

Alone with your thoughts.

“And school? How is that going?’, you asked, switching your phone to your other hand as you flipped the page of your book. Your brother bristled at the other end of the line, clearly not pleased with the turn of the conversation, “It’s fine”, he said, “Same old. Sungchan is still trying to woo that lower class girl”, he said this with a snicker, “It’s pathetic really.”

“Tsk”, you clicked your tongue, “Don’t belittle her, she’s smart”

“And not to our standard”, he replied, “Sungchan should know better”

“Shotaro”, you said in a warning tone, “Leave it alone, he’s probably just messing with her. You know how we do things”

“Of course, but it’s turning into an infatuation of sorts, he only talks of her! I’m tired of it”

“Maybe he’s in love”, you suggested, turning the next page. The line went silent, you didn’t worry too much as this gave you time to read a few paragraphs properly, instead of the skimming you had been doing. “And what is love Y/n, hmm?”

“Am I supposed to know?”, you bit back sarcastically. You could hear Shotaro scoff on the other side of the line, “You’re the one getting married, dear sister, and isn’t the eldest sibling supposed to teach the younger one?”

“I am not in love”, you said, “I do not need to teach you anything, pay attention in school instead”

“Love you too Y/n, goodbye”, he said flatly, deciding that if you were to talk of school, he was not going to have any part of it. You shook your head amusedly, placing your phone down and continuing to read. Shotaro was your brother, you were close to him, even with your constant bantering and seemingly formal conversation. It was just how the two of you had been brought up- in a very classy way. You had a reputation to uphold, and a family name to flaunt. 

You shifted in your seat, hearing three knocks on the door. “Come in Winter”, you called out, and the girl walked in, holding a box that was wrapped in ribbon, a pretty bow sitting at the top. You placed your book aside, taking the box from her hands. “What is this for?” “Sir Akira sent it”, she explained, dusting down her generic uniform, “Hesaid he would like you to wear it tonight”

You raised an eyebrow at this, skeptical, but nodded. Winter made motion to leave, but you held her hand, “Sit”, you said with a smile, “Talk to me”

“Miss-”

“Y/n”, you reiterated, “Please Winter?”, she sighed at your request, taking a seat next to you on the bed. “You’re keeping your guard up, we grew up together, stop”, she sighed, “I know, I hate this too”

“Do you? This is my room, no one is watching here, now”, you moved over, patting your lap and she grinned, laying her head down on it. “Aren’t you going to open that?”

“Mmhh”, you hummed, pulling the ribbon, letting the cover loose as a pretty red fabric peeked through. You pulled out the dress, studying it.

“It’s pretty”, Winter observed, looking up at your skeptical face. “What happened?”

“I hate it”, you muttered, “It’s tasteful, sure, but I don’t want to wear it”, you folded it and placed it to the side. “I have several of these.” You wondered how Akira had gotten your size perfectly, let alone the similarity in your style of clothing so on point.

“You still have to wear it tonight”, she reminded you, prospering herself up on her elbows, “How’s your brother?” You glanced at her, picking your book up again, “He’s fine”

“Oh what are you reading?”, she asked, “Will you read to me?”

You nodded with a smile playing on your lips, opening the cover of Pride and Prejudice, leaning back and searching for the line you had finished on. The musty pages welcomed you back like an old friend as you indulged in the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. You read about the part, those five chapters where her feelings matured and her opinions changed over time for the man, who she had positively despised before.

You wondered if you’d ever fall for Akira, who you despised too, and was forced into marriage with. Maybe you were a lot like Lizzy Bennet, except you didn’t have a father to back you up.

Duty.

The Osaki Family was very familiar with this term, it was like every second day you heard it. With your family name came responsibilities, expectations and a warped sense of reality. Warped because your reality was very different from most people.

Duty came in different forms. For Shotaro, it was completing his extensive education and taking over the business side of the family, succeeding your father’s work. Your mother’s was to sit there and look pretty, the face of the family as of now, a sympathetic heroine of sorts ever since your father deceased. Yours was to extend family relations, and keep the prestige. You were going to take your mothers place, not something you were particularly looking forward to, but it had to be done.

It was your duty, after all.

The cruise was a way to get away from these duties, by keeping them at the forefront of your mind, replaying like a broken cassette tape. 

“Y/n Osaki”, someone called out, and you looked up from your seat. You were sitting on the deck of the ship, reading in peace with your phone by your side in case of emergency. You recognized the woman as Kun’s sister.

“Yuxi, If I’m not mistaken?”, you asked, moving aside on the bench to give her room to sit.  She crossed her legs, propping one hand on the backrest of the bench and smiling, “Tis I!”, her voice was cheerful, “I’m terribly bored of being surrounded by my brothers, so I thought I’d find you and talk to one of the female specimens”, she joked, causing your lips to upturn into a smile.

“Talking seems wonderful”, you assured her, “What would you like to talk about?”

“Anything honestly, something that isn’t about ‘who’s the man’”, she drawled, an unamused look on her face as she supposedly referenced her brother's banterring. Her eyes cast down to your book, “Jane Austen hmm? My brother loves that book”

“Which one?”

“Kun”, she answered, shifting in her seat, “He can argue for hours about whos the better character,” she smirked, stretching out her legs, “I love my family, but I’m tired of them”

“I understand that far better than you think”, you said, “I sometimes wish we weren’t related”

“You’re one to talk”, she snorted, “You have just about everything you’d ever need and more.”

“I’ll be losing it all in a little, I assume you know this”, you smiled sadly. She nodded, “Alright”, she said, “Perhaps you have everything except freedom”

Kun was tired.

 In the event of having to deal with his brother and uncle’s ‘nonsense’ as he called it, he left the table at dinner to search for some quiet. He walked down the hallways of the ship, the soft rumbling of something he couldn’t quite make out reached his ears. 

He passed his own room, and several others, before coming to the room he was looking for. It had a red door, washed out and dark so it didn’t really stand out. He pushed it open, entering a sort of mini hallway, with another door at the end. 

He walked to that one too, entering a small, dark room. There were boxes and suitcases in there, all from his family.

 But they weren’t all luggage.

 He scanned the room, trying to remember something, it was like there had been an itch ever since he saw you. Like you had opened a door to a memory, but the memory was hazy, he couldn’t quite catch it. It was like a connection had been established, and he couldn’t quite shake it off.

 He sighed in defeat, leaving the room and walking into the hallway once again, only to be met with you, donning a red dress, hair done up in curls. You startled, blinking on seeing him emerge from the side, “Oh”, you said, looking him up and down, “Hello, Kun.” 

He took in your pretty features, wondering how you got roped into this. 

“Shouldn't you be at dinner?”, Kun asked you, lips turning into a sly smile. You looked at him, seemingly unfazed, “Shouldn’t you?”

 “Dinner is nothing special I can assure you that”, he muttered bitterly, “I take you're procrastinating getting there?” 

You nodded, “As much as I enjoy your family's company, I am not entertained by your Uncle, no offense”, you rubbed the side of your arms, “This dress was given by him.”

 “So that’s why he was talking to your servant”, Kun said, “Alright, let’s skip dinner then.”

 “Skip it? My mother would-”

 “We won't tell her”, he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We’ll make up a convincing story.”

 You studied him, deeming him sincere and nodding, “Lead the way then”, you gestured, and he took your hand, smirking and leading you down the hallways, “There’s a lounge somewhere here”, he mused, “Ah here.”

 The two of you entered a fancy looking lounge that definitely matched the entirety of the cruise ship. There was a bar at the end, and couches in the center. You took a seat, leaning back as he went straight for the drinks

. “Want anything?”, he called, taking a bottle down.

 “French 75”, you requested, “You sister told me you liked Jane Austen?” 

He raised an eyebrow at you, “I do”, he agreed. “Why?” There was that odd feeling again, as if you held some sort of importance, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

 “I mean”, you looked over at the bar, “dinner isn’t going to get over anytime soon and we’re stuck with each other, friendly banter might help pass the time since I don’t have my phone or book with me.” 

He hummed in agreement, “Which book are you reading?” “Pride and Prejudice.”

 “High class families and their literature”, he hummed. “Alright, what about it?”

 “You don’t seem very intrigued by the story”, you observed, taking the cocktail he handed you. “What do you think of Lizzy Bennet’s and Mr. Darcy’s relationship?”

 “Lizzy Bennet, in crude terms would be considered a high class bitch.” 

“Excuse you?”, you asked, slightly outraged in a playful manner. “She is smart and funny and has some brains, unlike the rest of the sisters.”

 “She judged Darcy all too fast don't you think?” He raised his own glass to his lips, keeping his eyes on you as he spoke. “She blatantly disregarded his affections.” 

You felt heat rush to your face, mostly in indignant anger, an urge to defend one of your all time favorite heroines of any sort of story. You had always stood by her. Seeing someone ridicule her, though you had invited him to do so, was irking. “She did not! He bitched about her family and confessed, expecting her to be okay with his idiocy?”

 You asked him hotly, leaning forward in anticipation for his answer. He seemed amused by your irritation, “He’s a man of class, he’s going to judge a not so upper class family. I mean, you would know of this right?”

 “Not if my family was belittled”, you said with a frown, “I see Darcy as the prick who refused to back down because of his goddamn pride.” 

“I always thought Elizabeth was the one with pride, and Darcy held the Prejudice against her family.” His argument was strong.

 You nodded. “I suppose you’re right, but Lizzy Bennet-”

 “Can’t do any wrong?”

 You muttered some not so ladylike things under your breath that your mother would’ve had your head for, glaring at the man who sat across you. While you were all up for playful arguing, being interrupted was something you weren't used to—nor did you appreciate it. 

“Would you let me speak?”

 He smirked, “I suppose you’re defending her because”, he looked at his glass, studying the clear liquid inside it, “you think of yourself as her.”

 “I’m done here”, you said quietly, placing your drink down and getting up, refusing to look at him, knowing his smug expression would just irk you more. His accusation, while probably lighthearted, did not sit well with you. 

“Goodbye.”

The sun was out the next afternoon, casting its golden rays on the deck of the ship, giving it a lovely, summery feel. Guests bustled and walked about, chatting in groups. A small band played their merriment off to the side, setting the mood with their joyful tunes.

Winter stood off to the side with the rest of the servants, a pensive expression on her pretty face.

You stood with the rest of the crowd, next to Akira’s family, returning the warm smile Yuxi sent you. Apparently, there was supposed to be some sort of performers on the ship to entertain the folk. 

You sighed, watching the scene with a polite, yet bored gaze. You would rather be in your room reading, instead of out here. But of course, this was all done from obligation, you had to be there.

Akira shuffled to stand next to you, “I missed you yesterday”, he said, “I was looking forward to seeing you in the dress I got you.”

“I wasn’t feeling too well last night”, you fibbed, eyes meeting Kun’s for a fleeting second, “I appreciate the dress.”

You could feel Kuns smirk, even if you weren’t looking at him. Shifting on your feet, you leaned towards Winter, requesting her to get you a glass of water. 

You were still so uncomfortable around Akira, with his easy smile and underlying words. You knew he was being nice because he had to. You were already his, whether you liked it or not. Shivering at the thought, you took the glass from your friend, taking a sip and trying to focus on the band that played a jazz rendition of ‘Seven Nation Army’.

You wondered for a moment, how it would be if you weren’t from the Osaki family. If you were just another girl, instead of leverage for your family. Once Shotaro was of age and finished his schooling, he would take your fathers place, your mother would remain a shell of herself, useless and forgotten.

You would be like her soon.

Yuxi called Akira for something, giving you room to breathe.

“I hope you’re not still angry at me”, Kun’s voice came from behind, an amused lilt to his voice, “About our little miff yesterday.”

You turned to face him, shaking your head, “I’ll admit, my storming off was a tad immature.”

He frowned, studying you. “Why are you so formal all the time?”

The question took you aback, “Sounds like you have a stick up your ass, reminds me of my friend, Ten.”

“You literally just apologized to me, only to insult me once again?”, you asked, wondering how his mind worked. He was so confusing, one moment all proper the next he acted like a regular kid with a crass sense of humour.

A smile stretched out on his lips, “I never apologized Y/n”, he reminded you, “I only asked you if you were still mad.”

“Touche”

“Loosen up a bit”, he said, “Don’t be so high strung all the time.”

You raised an eyebrow at this, “Oh do tell me how”

He grinned, taking your hand in his, intertwining your fingers, “Let’s go then, I have an idea.”

“Oh hell no”

“Oh hell yes”, Kun smirked, “Are you telling me you’ve never had a water balloon fight?”

“You’re telling me this is a regular occurrence for you?”, you asked incredulously. He shook his head, “No, but it's fun, so lets start”, he handed you a bunch of balloons in a bag.

“How the fuck do you even have these? We’re on a cruise?”, your confusion was comical.

The two of you stood in an empty hall in the cruise, and Kun had locked the door so no one would barge inside. Somehow he had accumulated a bizarre amount of balloons all filled with water. You could foresee the mess that was about to befall you.

You silently wondered why the fuck you agreed to this madness. Maybe it had something to do with Kun;s pretty smile.

He shrugged, “Don’t question it. Yuxi me and Chenle fight this way when we want to get away from our Uncle”, he swatted you away, “Now go! Unless you want me to destroy you from the start.”

A challenge.

You never backed down from a challenge.

You thanked yourself for deciding not to wear that summer dress Winter had initially laid out for you, opting for some pants and a shirt instead. 

Grabbing the bag, you hurried to the other end of the hall, hiding behind one of the heavy curtains and picking up one of the balloons, getting used to the weight in your palms. All you had to do was hit him right? Seemed simple right?

Wrong. So wrong.

As soon as you felt as ready and slipped out of your hiding place, you were hit on your leg, a cold wet feeling creeping up on your leg. The impact of the balloon made you stumble a little bit as you regained your footing, shooting Kun a dirty look. He smirked in response, “Pay attention L/n”

You felt another hit on your arm, realizing he had taken advantage of the fact you had been distracted. Narrowing your eyes, you flung your own balloon and gracefully missed him, the balloon ending up rolling on the ground sadly. 

Embarrassed, you retreated back behind the curtains, grabbing two of your weapons, and scurrying to the other curtain before you could be hit again. Your left pant leg was soaked through, still smarting from the hit and your arm was damp, but your focus was on hitting your opponent.

He chuckled, “Hiding just prolongs this, you know that right?”, he was taunting you, and you scowled, coming out from behind the curtain and throwing your balloon, hitting his calf and making him grunt. 

It was your turn to smirk, pleased at your successful attempt. 

Your triumphant feeling lasted about for five seconds, until you were hit again.

Damn Qian Kun and his quick thinking.You staggered back and he walked closer, “Gonna stay behind those curtains?”, he asked coyly, “Okay, fine you need incentive.”, He threw another at you, making you whine at your own slowness. “Lizzy Bennet needs to be more forgiving”

He had brought up your argument. He knew it would tick you off, making you want to justify your own point of view.

“Mr. Darcy needs to stop being such a prick!”, you exclaimed, flinging your own balloon at him, hitting his side, making him wince, “And you need to stop being so stubborn.”

“I’m the stubborn one?”, he said, almost whined. Another water missile landed next to your foot, bursting and spraying you with water. 

After a few minutes, the two of you were soaked to the bone, your clothes stuck to your skin uncomfortably, but a tired smile stretched out on your lips. His expression mirrored yours as he tried grabbing your arm. The two of you had finished all the water balloons and had been chasing each other around the hall like kids.

For the first time you actually felt like a kid.

You squealed as his fingers wrapped around your wrist, pulling you down with him as he tripped. Falling into him, his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to him and entrapping you in his embrace.

Laughter bubbled from your lips as you struggled against him, “Leave me!”

He laughed into your hair, “Truce. Lizzy and Darcy are both idiots.”

“That's established!”, you said, “Let me go idiot”

He did, a wide smile on his face, “You’re more comfortable around me now”, he observed.

You realized he was right, you were more comfortable. You liked the smile on his face, the lilt of relief in his voice. The hall was wet in some places. One of you hiding places, the curtains had a big splotch of water on it, you silently wondered how the staff would react to the state at which it was in.

“I am”, you stated, “Not so strung up now?”

He snorted, “I destroyed you in the water balloon fight, I practically knocked you down from your high horse.”

He looked at the smile on your face, liking it. Even though your hair was wet and messed up, he thought you were beautiful, now that your face wasn’t set in a semi permanent haughty expression.

You hit him playfully, not finding it in you to glare at him. His dark hair was wet, and it fell in front of his eyes as he looked at you, feigning a look of hurt. “You wound me.”

“My mission in life”, you snickered. A silence fell upon the two of you, as you rubbed your arms, the cold biting into your skin. You would have to leave soon, take a shower and show up and dinner, all prim and proper again. The thought made your stomach sink, because you had had fun for the first time in a long time.

You met Kun’s eyes, which were sparkling with a mischievous glint. Raising an eyebrow at him, you crossed your arms, “What?”

“We both have to agree”, he started, “That Mr. Bennet is the best character.”

Winter scurried along the hallways, clutching an envelope, hiding it under her apron lest she ran into you. Her nails dug into the paper, guilt welling up in the pit of her stomach. She stopped outside the door she had been summoned to

Knocking on the throat thrice, she took a step back, waiting for it to be opened. 

A man opened it, narrowing his eyes at her, “Yes?”

“A letter for you sir”, Winter squeaked, “Sir Akira. From Mrs Osaki.”

Akira grabbed the envelope from Winter, swatting her away. The girl bowed and scurried off, not wanting to have anything to do with the contents of the letter. She had already been swayed by your mother enough.

Akira shut the door and locked it, tearing open the letter, desperate to get to it. He pulled it out, fumbling with the paper and reading it hastily.

Dear Akira,

                I would first like to thank you, this wasn’t easy to do without you. Don’t worry, everything will fall into place, and no one will be the wiser. Y/n, my darling daughter, doesn’t know the whole story, only about the wedding, and we shall keep it that way. When our families unite, it shall all be sweeped under the rug.

I shall forever be grateful to you for helping me get rid of him. My debt is free I suppose now, as you read this letter our plan has been put into effect. In return for helping me you shall have protection and a new reputation.

Thanking you, 

                  Mrs. Osaki

Akira sighed in relief, knowing his fate was sealed. He had been skeptical at first, when he saw how distant you were. You didn’t even give him an inch, and he suspected you knew what he-his family did and had done.

But supposedly you didn’t.

When your mother had asked him for his help, he was surprised. The Osaka family? Not happy? How could it be?

How could a wife have murderous intent as much as your mother did?

Folding the letter, he stuffed it into the pockets of his pants, pulling out his lighter and setting fire to the envelope. He watched the tongues of fire snatch onto the paper, bright yellows and blues emerging from nothing. Throwing it in the bin, he crushed it under his heel and pulled out a cigarette.

Kun walked into the room, rubbing his hair with a towel. His and Chenles rooms were connected to Akira’s on the cruise, so that he could check up on them. A frown appeared on the older man's face as he studied Kun’s bedraggled appearance.

Kun’s parents weren’t like Akira, they were respectable and wealthy nonetheless, but still dabbled in the darker aspect of things from time to time, not that many people knew of it.

“Why do you look like a wet rat?”

Kun scowled at this, “I went for a shower”, he said, “You look like a rat more than I do”

It was no secret that Kun, Chenle and Yuxi despised their uncle for his dealings and amoral nature. But of course, Kun didn’t know the whole story, he didn’t know everything, all the letters, the truth about you and your family.

Even you didn’t know.

The only reason they were there was because if the plan didn’t go through exactly as it had been planned, their family’s reputation would be ruined for possibly forever. It was risky business, one that was going to be fixed, no matter how vile and wrong it was.

“Get ready for dinner, and for goodness sake, clean up”, Akira instructed, ignoring the dig and gesturing towards the door that connected his room to Kun’s, “Be on time.”

His nephew obliged and left, leaving Akira alone. He took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway, travelling along it quietly so as to not attract any attention. He stopped outside a red door, opening it and travelling along the dark little hallway it led into. Opening the final door, he found himself in another room, one that was dark. 

There were several boxes there, and a few suitcases. Akira’s, Kun’s, Chenle and Yuxi’s extra luggage. The boxes were not luggage though, they were Akira’s job. The dark side of things. He fished the letter out of his pocket and put it on the top of one of the boxes, next to the rest of the letters.

Leaving the darkness with the dark.

“You’re quite fun actually”, Yuxi said, chattering away to you during dinner. You smiled, returning the compliment.

You were grateful for her talk, which distracted you from the burning stare that Akira held on you, and Kun’s occasional glances. Not that you were against the latter, but it was slightly unnerving. Of course the two of you were much more comfortable with one another, but another feeling had settled in, a prickling on that settled in the bottom of your stomach.

Did you like it? You didn’t know.

Chenle indulged in conversation as well, you learned that he went to the same school your brother went to: Culture Academy. Apparently Kun had graduated from there just before he left for the cruise. Yuxi went to a finishing school, but you expected that, their family seemed the type to send their children to finishing schools.

You had graduated a few months ago as well, but from another high class school, while your brother attended Culture Academy.

“She’s terrible at water balloon fights”, Kun quipped, a smirk on his face as you glared, “Excuse me-”

“You guys had a water balloon fight without us?”, Yuxi asked, in mock offense, “And to think I actually trusted you for a moment”, she said, turning away from you and jutting her bottom lip out. “The betrayal.”

You laughed, “He dragged me, I had no say in it.”

They weren’t as cold as they had been when you had initially met them. It almost felt as if they were your friends. Taking a bite of whatever Winter had gotten you, you met Kun’s eyes, taking in the amused look in them.

Akira cleared his throat, “I assume you’ll be there for the dance next week?”

You raised an eyebrow, “What dance?”

“Instead of a regular dinner there is going to be a sort of dance”, he explained, “I expect to see you there.”

It was a command, not a request.

There was that constricting feeling again, you gave him a tight lipped, curt nod, looking away again. You hated being around Akira, he made you so uncomfortable, and even though you couldn’t avoid him forever, you would try.

He made you sick.

You took a sip of your drink, letting the burning taste trickle down your throat. You were barely past your first glass, not being a heavy drinker. Your mother had told you it was not respectable to drink too much, so you stuck to her rules. You always stuck to her rules, but god, you would’ve loved to drown the entire glass and ask for another at that moment.

Or throw it at Akira. But that probably wouldn’t have been very respectable either.

Winter walked up to you, tapping your shoulder timidly to get your attention, “Miss”, she said, leaning down to your ear to speak in secrecy, “Your mother has called.”

Pressing your lips together to avoid making a displeased face, you excused yourself from the table and followed your helper into the hallway, taking your phone from her. She gave you an encouraging smile as you began speaking.

“Mother?”

Her harsh voice brought you back down, “Y/n”, she said sternly, “Why did you not go to that dinner?”

You fisted your hand, clenching your jaw. Of course she found out, “I wasn’t feeling well.”

“So you tell no one?

“I wasn’t aware of the fact that everyone was supposed to know about my health”, you couldn’t help the bitter undertone in your voice. She didn’t care whether you were sick or not, she cared about why you skipped.

“Not everyone, just the Qian family”, she hissed, “Y/n focus. Duty.”

You knew there was no point in arguing with your mother, she was as stubborn as an ox. You could never be right against her.

“Yes mother, I’m sorry”, you said through gritted teeth. You could hear the smile on her face at your surrender, “Remember darling, you need to impress them”, she reiterated, “It’s for-”

“The good of our family, yes I know”, you sighed, “I’ll follow the rules.”

“Don’t just follow the rules Y/n, behave”, he tone of voice made you feel like a little girl. “You may not know it, but our family name depends on it.”

This took you aback, leaving you mildly confused. What did this stupid vile plan have to do with anything? Sure your family didn’t have the cleanest record (those scandals tainted it a little bit), but otherwise it was extremely respected all through Japan and other parts of the world.

The question sat at the tip of your tongue, but you knew better than to press your mother for answers. If she wanted to be vague, she would. Ending the call politely, you walked back into the dining hall, sitting next to Yuxi. Whatever momentary joy you had gotten from talking with them vanished, instead it was a reminder of your cruel fate, the bitter reality you had to face whether you liked it or not.

Why?

“You’re insufferable”, you declared, leaning against the railing, “Poor girl, you guys really made her jump into a pool?”

He laughed, “Yeah, you should have seen the look of anger on her face. And in full clothing too?”

You frowned, “You monster!”

“Hey, she signed up for it, she wouldn’t have gotten in if she refused”, he reminded you. Kun was currently telling you stories of his schooling at Culture Academy, particularly about a club he was in. You listened intently, enjoying yourself more than you would like to admit. He was definitely entertaining.

Maybe it was because you never experienced half the things he did.

You looked at the ocean, the sun shining down on it and sparkling. “I suppose she did”, you whispered, letting the words float about in the air as a silence settled upon the two of you. It was comfortable, you didn;t feel the need to fill it in. He took out a lighter and a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long slow drag.

“You smoke?”, you asked, unable to keep the surprise from your voice. You had never seen him do it before. The revelation was something you hadn’t expected.

Another thing your mother drilled into you: never smoke. It’s unladylike and very unbecoming of a person, and also because the news would latch onto it and create a scandal that was not needed. In general you had never seen the appeal of smoking.

He raised an eyebrow at you, nodding as if he expected you to know this. Almost as if he was bewildered with your surprised response. And he was, Kun was confused as to why you were so shocked with the fact. It was just a cigarette, nothing that terrible. Didn’t you know what Akira did-

Oh.

Oh no.

“Yeah, occasionally”, he said, brushing it off quickly, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his heel, “Want to head back in?”

You nodded with a shrug, “Okay.” 

He smiled brightly, and a fuzzy feeling made its way into your stomach. You returned the smile, pushing away the feeling away to the back of your mind, far away in a dark corner of your mind, simply because it wouldn’t be right. You couldn’t even afford to think that way.

Not with the arrangement that had been set up, that was for sure.

You followed him inside, another thought blooming in the same dark corner of your mind, no matter how much you tried to push it away.

God it was wrong on so many levels though. 

“She got in”, Kun said, continuing his story from before, “It surprised everyone.”

You smiled, “I’m glad, poor girl, I hope she didn’t get hypothermia or something.”

Kun smiled, “She took my place as I left, you know, graduation and all”, he said, reaching his hand out and grabbing your own, leading you down.

“Your friends sound like fun”, you said fondly, even though you didn’t know them, “Especially that Hendery guy. Did he actually do that?”

Kun laughed, nodding, “He’s mad. I miss them”, his voice turned wistful, but only for a moment, before that pretty smile stretched across his face once again, “I have to tell you about the time Dejun…”

As you went back under the deck and the warmth of the hallways hit you, you decided you would deal with the feeling later. You decided to listen to him instead, liking the way his eyes lit up talking about his friends. You were starting to realize that you were now one of them, one of his friends.

That though stayed in the forefront of your mind, refusing to be pushed back.

And somehow, you didn’t mind.

Kun stepped into Akira’s room, eyes narrowed at his uncle. The tension in the air immediately raised tenfold. 

“She doesn’t know, does she?”

Akira sent his nephew a questionable look, “What do you mean?”

Kun sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Y/n”, he said, your name rolling off his tongue easily, yet there was a sort of anger that settled into it. Why didn’t you know? You should’ve known.

Why did he care this much?

Akira sighed, “What about her?”

“She doesn’t know who you are, not the entire truth.”

Akira let the statement hang in the air, his silence answering. He leaned back in his chair, humming an idle tune. “You’re right, but what prompted this?”

“She saw me smoking”, Kun said, “And was confused, she definitely didn’t look pleased. Tell me, how would she react when she realizes the man she has to marry is a fucking drug lord?”

His uncle winced at Kun’s words, “I know, but she won’t ever know.”

This was madness.

Kun knew of course, of the plan, but he didn’t know the whole story. He knew you were to be married to Akira, an arranged marriage that had been, well, arranged by your mother. And Yuxi had confirmed you knew of it as well. You had never seemed too keen on it, and this worsened everything.

“Sit”, Akira ordered, “And I’ll tell you.”

Holding back a grimace,  he complied, sitting opposite Akira. He waited for the older man to go on, wondering for a moment how it would be like to be in your shoes. You were around his age, and had to marry his uncle? The thought itself was mortifying.

“The Osaki family”, Akira started, “Well known, you’ve heard of them”, he didn’t wait for Kun to respond in any way, “They’re practically perfect, are they not? You’ve seen Y/n, you’re closer to her than I am. With her airs and graces, you’d think she’s perfect too, wouldn’t you?”

Of course Kun though you were perfect, but that's besides the point. He didn;t see how this made any sense.

“It’s all a lie Kun”, Akira said, “They’re unhappy, so unhappy. Her mother was a miserable, poor lady, forced to sit on the sidelines while her bastard of a husband ignored her.”

Wasn’t your father dead? 

Akira cleared his throat, “They’re perfect on the outside, a dollhouse, but through the curtains, it's all a mess. She asked me for help.”

Kun frowned, “Y/n-?” “No”, he said with a smile, “Her mother.”

It was slowly coming together, a puzzle so horrifying Kun didn’t want to believe it. His uncle had done many horrible things, many illegal things, but fuck, he prayed this one wasn’t real.

This was murder.

“So I helped”, Akira’s voice went hoarse, “I helped the way I could. I slipped a drug into a package and sent it to her, one so strong that could kill.”

Horror. This was madness.

“The next day, Mr Osaki was found dead”, a slow sadistic smile stretched out on Akira’s lips, “And Mrs Osaka was overjoyed! She thanked me profusely for helping with her plan. She promised to repay me somehow for my kindness.”

Kindness. Crime. When had the line between the two grown so blurry? Kun was frozen in his seat, frozen in fear. In fear for himself and his siblings, in fear for his family for being related to such a monster. He feared for you, the unsuspecting girl who had walked into his life and brought out things from the shadows he wished he left there. The girl, who’s own mother had been the reason behind her fathers death.

Fuck it was so wrong.

He knew the world he lived in, the wealth and the riches always brought trouble, but never in his life had he ever foreseen this much trouble. The clock on the wall of Akira’s room ticked slowly, every second seeming like an hour. Kun wanted to leave, but he was frozen in his seat, glued there.

His curiosity had gotten the better of him. He needed to know more. What was the ending to this tragic tale?

“And this is my repayment”, Akira said, “I marry Y/n, and everything gets sweeped under the rug. I can start a new Kun, I don’t have to be this person. I know you hate me, but listen, this could change everything.”

Kun felt sick.

“No”, he muttered, “This changed nothing you…”, he studied his uncle's tired expression. Akira’s eyes held a triumphant glare, and that made everything worse.

“You sick man”, he whispered, getting up, “She doesn’t deserve this. You don’t deserve a fresh start Akira, you have blood on your hands.”

Akira groaned, “I don’t expect you to under-”

‘Good”, Kun said, “I’m leaving and I want nothing to do with you for the rest of this trip.”

“Don’t tell your little friend”, Akira sneered, “If you tell her I won;t be the only one affected. Her mother will be brought into the light as well, and you really think no one will suspect Y/n?”

It was a losing situation from all sides.

“She doesn’t know who I am”, Akira said, agreeing with Kun’s earlier statement, “let's keep it that way, shall we?”

Dearest Akira,

                    Thank you for sending me the drug, I’ve slipped it into his drink. He shall be gone soon, and I shall be free. My son will take his palace when he finishes school and Y/n will be yours. A lovely full circle. I won’t have to deal with a man I hate anymore, a man that pushed me aside for everything.

Once upon a time I truly loved him you know? I trusted him and I gave him my heart. He trampled on it and now all I’m left with is a shell.

He forgot I existed, I am but a placeholder.

Not for long.

Thanking you,

                     Mrs. Osaki

You sat on your bed, reading yet another chapter of your beloved Pride and Prejudice in silence, as Kun sat on the other side, looking at his phone and occasionally stealing glances at you.

The friendship the two of you shared was….odd to say the least. You didn’t have to talk, even the silence was enough. You enjoyed his company a lot more than you cared to admit. Turning the page, you decided to stop for the day, placing your bookmark in the middle and shutting the book, turning your attention to Kun.

He couldn’t help the guilt that bubbled inside him, even though he had done nothing wrong. It was the heaviness he carried around for possessing the truth, and was hit with the consequences everytime he looked at you.

“Yes?”, you asked.

He blinked, “What?”

“You’ve been staring at me oddly”, you clarified, “I’m wondering if I did anything to offend you.

“No, no!”, he said a little hurriedly, “I apologize, I’m a little out of it today.”

“Do tell”, you said, propping your chin up on your hand, eyes meeting his with an expectant gaze. He gave you his easy smile, “It’s nothing I promise.”

“I don’t believe you for a second, you’re terrible at lying”, you declared, “Oh come on, I thought we trusted each other?” You tried guilt tripping him into telling you, but he was surprisingly stubborn.

“Do we now?”

“You wound me”, you muttered dryly, “Alright I won’t press you for answers.”

“Thank you for this kindness, oh Lady Y/n”, he said, making a show of pretending to curtsy, which was comical since he was sitting. You couldn’t help the amused smile that made its way to your face at that.

You stood up, placing your book on one of the side tables, brushing down your pants, “We need to be at the deck in five minutes, so I suppose we should make a move.”

He followed suit as the two of you made your way up to the deck. The dinner was out there tonight, so it was bound to be a little bit more casual than the usual dinners in the dining room. This also meant that you didn’t need to sit with the Qian family, which was a mix of relief and disappointment. You liked Kun and his siblings, but at the same time…

Yeah.

The night was a little chilly, so you had pulled on a sweater, finding a table and taking a seat, watching as Kun walked over to his own family, looking stiff. You took the menu from Winter, eyes scanning over the food.

“Ahem.”

You looked up from the menu, only to be met with Akira’s disapproving gaze. “Y/n”, he greeted, “How are you feeling today?”

You swallowed your contempt, forcing a tight pained smile, “Very well, thank you Akira.”

“I’m glad, then why don’t you sit with us?”

Your lips twitched as you tried to think of a way to get yourself out of this. “I’m quite fine here, thank you for the offer.”

He smiled widely, leaning down to your eye level, resting his elbow on the table and effectively capturing your attention. “It wasn’t an offer, sweetheart.”

The nickname made your skin crawl, as you reeled back, “Akir-”

“You will sit with us”, he said firmly, “What would your mother say if you refused?”

Your eyes widened as you realized he knew, fingers gripping the menu. He knew how your mother was and fuck, him knowung that scared you even more. Clearing your throat, you pushed all your confidence into your voice, “I’m quite comfortable here Mr. Qian.”

You didn’t use his first name, you used the family name, hoping to settle the argument, to show that you were not moving.

He took the menu from you, “Come along Y/n, its for the be-”

“Let her be.”

Akira turned around, facing his nephew, “Kun”, he said, voice falling into a tone that screamed it was a warning, “I am not talking to you.”

“But I’m talking to you”, Kun narrowed his eyes at Akira, “She wants to sit there, let her sit there. She is not obliged to follow your every instruction.”

Akira sighed, glancing back at you and smiling sickeningly sweet, inclining his head and walking away, going under the deck. You let out a sigh of relief, looking at Kun who looked oddly guilty.

“Thank you”, you said, “I could’ve handled it, though.”

“I know you could’ve”, he acknowledged, “I just felt like stepping in and helping.” His explanation was curt as he pulled out the chair opposite you, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all. I suppose you’re wondering why I let you sit and wanted nothing more to do with your uncle?”

“I’m not”, he said, “I know what's happening there. And the position you’re in, better than you do.” A sad smile stretched out on his lips(not that you were observing them or anything), leaving you slightly bewildered. What did he mean by that?

You studied Kun, his attractive features and dark eyes. They looked like they held a secret, one you couldn’t figure out.

“Why did you help me?”, you asked again, meeting his eyes. He held your gaze for a few minutes, before they dropped to your lips for a split second. You held your breath, waiting for his answer, and mildly overwhelmed.

Did he feel the same way you had been feeling lately? Why did the prospect of that make you feel elevated? Fuck, you couldn’t think like that, it would ruin everything-

“I can’t tell”, he muttered, “I just care.”

The truth chases a lie with fervor, no matter how small. Like a lover in the night, chasing its partner with passion even in the darkest times.

You observed yourself in the mirror, studying the black dress you were wearing. It had a gold trim at the edges, and lace at the back, giving it the perfect combination of classy and scandalous.

Winter took a step back, curling iron in hand as she marvelled at her own handiwork, a smile adorning her pretty face, “You look lovely Y/n!”, she praised. You really did look lovely, the picture of what you were always supposed to portray: perfection.

“Thank you Win”, you smiled at her, “why don’t you wear one of my dresses tonight?”

Her eyes lit up in surprise and confusion as she placed the iron down, shaking her head, “Oh I couldn’t Miss, I’m a part of the staff, I will be helping out for the evening.”

“You don’t want to pretend you’re not just for a few minutes? You can change after fifteen minutes and go back to your work”, you enticed her, wanting your friend to have some fun.

She hesitated, “No miss, I could get in trouble.”

“Alright”, you relented, standing up from your seat and turning to the door, “Thank you Winter”

“Your very welcome miss, now go, the Qian family is awaiting you.”

You nodded, walking into the hallways and following the few people who were already going to the dance.People of repute, people who would look at you and incline their heads respectfully, as you did for them. They were from your world, after all, everyone was rich and important.

Standing outside the doors, you took in a deep breath and walked in. The hall had been decorated, changed drastically. The tables had been pushed to the sides, for the seating, and the center was left as the actual dance floor.

You walked over to the tables at the side, greeting a few people you knew. You spotted Winter standing at the sidelines with the staff. On reaching the refreshments table, you took one of the glasses of champagne and brought it to your lips.

Jazz music played as couples took the floor, swaying to it. You watched the Qian family, noting that Akira was looking for someone, probably you. Turning your back towards them, you took another sip of your drink. You looked at the starters that had been placed out for the guests, wondering what your mother would think if you took a plateful and sat alone in a dark corner eating. The picture of her horrified expression was enough to tickle you.

Distracted within your own thoughts, you failed to notice Kun standing next to you, an amused expression on his face as he watched you. To him, you looked absolutely breathtaking in your dress, even more so than usual.

“Y/n”

You jumped slightly at the sudden intrusion of your thoughts, facing the man. He was dressed in a suit, hair done slightly messy, but on purpose. His dark eyes met yours, amused as he smirked, “Hey.”

“Hey”, you breathed out, snapping out of checking him out. He looked extremely attractive tonight, a thought you couldn’t shake off. “Kun.”

He nodded, inclining his head towards the table, “I’m sure the refreshments are extremely interesting but”, a slow grin stretched out on his lips, “Would you like to dance?”

You suppressed your own smile, nodding and taking his hand he had offered you. Kun led you to the dance floor, a little off the centre so you wouldn’t be seen easily. Resting one hand on your waist, the other grasped your own, bringing it up mid air. He took the first step behind with you following him as the two of you danced.

“I’m not great at dancing”, he confessed, “So I have to warn you, I’m running off ballroom dancing class from school when we had our Formal Dance.”

You smirked, “Do you want me to lead or something?”

“Only if you twirl me”

You laughed at this, “Alright, brace yourself.”

He gave you a horrified look, “NO, nevermind, I’ll twirl you instead”, he muttered, retrieving his hand from your waist and raising the other so you could turn gracefully. You didn’t make any attempt to bite your giggled away at this, turning and facing him again, back into your former position.

“That was actually quite fun, wanna try?”

He gave you a look that screamed ‘really?’, shaking his head, “I thought we established that I was fine without twirling.”

“But-”

“No”

“Fine”, you made a show of being upset over it, saying something about he was missing out on his youth and that twirling during ballroom dancing was one of the few fineries of life he would never experience if he didn’t do it right now.

That, for some reason, still didn’t entice him.

Oh well, his loss.

You bantered lightly, as you swayed to the music together. You melted together almost, in the midst of your laughter and smiles. You felt so comfortable with him, but every moment you felt like that seemed like a curse, reminding you he wasn’t what you were there for. Whatever you felt towards Qian Kun was wrong, so wrong.

He led the two of you off to the side, away from the dance floor, still in each other's arms for some reason, even though you had finished dancing. He lifted your hand, twirling you once again just for the effect and grinning.

Once you faced him, you realized how close the two of you were. His hands were on your waist anyways, one of your hands was around his neck. Your other hand was intertwined with his, making the contact seem even more intimate.

The smile melted off your face as his eyes flickered to your lips. It was as if he had read your mind, and you wished he'd do it again. You wished he woul-

He leaned forward hesitantly, and in that dark corner of the dining hall, while the others danced around, while Akira looked for you somewhere, behind the tables and everyone, Qian Kun kissed you.

It was a timid kiss, his lips barely brushed against yours, before he pulled away, blinking at you. You stared back at him, equally as surprised, but not in a bad way. He dropped the hold he had on you, but kept holding your hand, as if he was figuring out what to think.

You grew slightly impatient with this, leaving his grip and cupping his face, bringing him back into a kiss. This one was much less innocent, it didn’t feel like he was exploring something for the first time. It felt real, and it felt right.

“Not here”, he muttered softly against your lips, pulling you along with him, out into the hallways. You followed him, giddy from the kiss, giddy from the fact that you had even kissed him. How did that happen? When had that happened? The incident that had taken place mere seconds ago seemed days old, almost as if it had happened several times before.

You wanted to kiss him again.

Resisting the urge to stop him right there and there, you let him lead you to wherever. He stopped outside a red door, almost rust in colour, hesitating for a moment, before he seemingly decided to fuck it all and opened it, pulling you into the little corridor it opened into.

He kissed you again, once, twice, thrice, until you lost count. Pushed up against the wall, your senses seemed to heighten. The low buzz of the cruise ran through you as your fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. All the banter, the teasing, the way he would trap you with his words had built up to this.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

The only way you could describe the kisses was breathtaking. You felt as if you were struggling for air, yet you didn’t want to pull away. Your lungs screamed for air, but you didn’t want to heed. You didn’t want to break the spell he had put you under. You liked the burning feeling, the way his lips felt against yours, the way his body felt against yours. Drowning, you were drowning but fuck, you wanted no one to save you.

You wanted to drown.

He pulled away finally, letting you suck in a breath. 

“This is wrong”, you whispered, and he nodded, agreeing, “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it again.”

He took a step away from you, studying your features. You leaned against the wall, letting the silence overtake the two of you. You breathed heavily, making up for the air you had lost, albeit willingly.

Footsteps.

Soft footsteps made their way down the hallways, you could hear it. Kun looked alarmed, glancing at the door, “Wait here.”

You frowned, but nodded as he left, closing the door after him and supposedly speaking to someone in hushed tones, further muffled by the barrier between the two of you. You sighed, looking along the corridor you were in at the moment, walking to the end and opening the other door, lest the person he was speaking to burst in and found themselves in a very awkward situation.

You found yourself in another room, one that was dark. Using your sense of touch, you managed to navigate around it, noting that there were suitcases and boxes. You stumbled into one, wincing slightly as a sharp pain travelled through your shin. Using the box to steady yourself, your eyes were drawn to the little labels on the sides of them.

Squinting, you brushed over the names, trying to make out what they were.

Qian Akira, cocaine.

Reeling back, you blinked. Were those drugs? Looking at a few other boxes, you had forgotten about the pain in your leg as horror filled your senses, reading the names of drug after drug, all with the Qian’s names on it. The man you were being forced to marry was a criminal.

You had been thrown into a trance of some sort, a trance of absolute dread. For some reason you couldn’t look away as you kept reading, realizing that whatever was happening was much more serious than you had thought.

The next box had a few papers on the top of it, kept haphazardly one on top of the other. Letters of some sort, envelopes and receipts. You picked one up, eyes scanning over its content, or whatever you could make out in the darkness.

Dear Akira

                It’s set in stone! He’s gone, thank you so much. I promise you that this time next year you will be with my Y/n and everything will be solved.

Thanking you,

Mrs Osaki

The sight of your mothers handwriting and her name at the end of the letter made you sick. The other letters were much like the first, each one releasing more and more information, letting you piece together its words to form a cohesive thought.

Fuck.

You dropped the letters, breathing going heavy as you heard more footsteps. Someone was entering the room, they were coming inside and they would find you. You weren’t supposed to be here, you could tell by the way you had been written in the letters. 

You should have listened to Kun when he told you to stay where you were-

Kun.

Oh god.

The room seemed to close in on itself, the stacks towering above you. You felt trapped, claustrophobic and disgusted. Disgusted by the fact would ever put you in such a repulsive situation. You ran your fingers over the dust covered boxes, reeling back at the names and information that was on them. Bile rose to your throat as you choked back sobs.

He was responsible for it all, all the misery that had been thrown upon you, the odd requests all made sense. This wasn’t an innocent union, it was an elaborate cover up, and you were the leverage.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you staggered back, leaning on the wall behind you for support. Shouts echoed from the other end of the dark room, and your breath hitched in your throat in fear of being caught.

Shutting your eyes and clamping your hand over your mouth, you counted to ten in your mind, praying that whoever it was wouldn;t find you. The voices resided, the footsteps growing farther and farther. You opened your eyes, only for them to widen in a mixture of relief and fear.

“What are you doing here?”

Fuck.

Kun had made a big mistake, he had led you to the worst possible place he could have taken you in his daze. He had gotten distracted by you, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

If he could fucking find you.

After thwarting Akira’s attention by telling him you had gone on the deck for some fresh air, he returned into the corridor, before realizing it was the one place he wasn’t supposed to take you.

And you were nowhere in sight.

He looked around in alarm, before Akira’s voice called out again, “What are you doing Kun?”

He turned around, “Nothing, just checking, I want something from my suitcase,” he said quickly. His uncle narrowed his eyes at him, “And what is that something?”

“I left my book inside the suitcase, and I’m not interested in the dance so I thought I’d go read.”

“Y/n is not on the deck.”

“Am I supposed to keep tabs on her?”, Kun bit back, “She’s probably back at the hall Akira.”

Akira raised an eyebrow at Kun, “I don’t know what you’re playing at, young man, but I don’t like it”, he said, raising his voice. Kun felt like a little kid again, even if his uncle was just ten years older. Clenching his jaw he stood his ground, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, old man.”

Akira left Kun alone, deciding that he wasn’t worth it. 

Kun walked into the room, looking around for you, praying you weren't there. He walked to his suitcase, and narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the outlines in the room.

He heard something shift, and turned on his heels, squinting. He could just about make out your figure standing in the corner, hand over your mouth, eyes squeezed shut. You trembled slightly as you stood there.

He walked over just as you opened your eyes, to meet his own in horror. You were definitely shaking, lower lip trembling in what looked like fear as you tried backing away from him, even though you were already against the wall.

“What are you doing here?”

He took a step forward, reaching out to hold your hand, eyes shrouded in concern at your state, but you shrinked away. “Don’t.”

“Y/n-”

“No”, your voice was shaky, “Stay away from me.”

Your mind was a mess, thoughts racing. You felt used and exposed, so vulnerable. Everything you knew had been a lie, you had been betrayed. Just a few moments ago you were happy, now everything you knew had been shattered, including your own heart.

“You knew didn’t you”, your voice broke in the middle, “You knew.”

Kun’s fake smile melted off his face as he realized what had happened, taking a step away from you. The tears in your eyes made their way down your face as you sucked in a breath, crouching down with your hands over your ears.

All you wanted to do was block all of it out, block reality out and not think of it, but that was hard when reality was staring back at you with a guilty expression.

Suddenly everything clicked into place, why he had been so nice, why he kept helping you. I was all out of guilt, everything was a fucking lie. Half truths and twisted words, secrets and scandals.

It was sick and twisted and you had fallen into the trap unwillingly, and didn’t know how to get out. 

You rocked yourself slowly, trying to compose yourself amongst the madness. You wanted to scream, to cry and tell Kun that you hated him, that you wanted him to leave and never talk to you again. Maybe that’s what hurt worse, the fact that you were attached. 

You had trusted Kun, you had fallen for him like the idiot you were, only for it all to come back for you, slapping you in the face. You felt so stupid for letting yourself believe anything good would come out of this. You should have listened to your conscience when it told you this was wrong.

But this...this was worse than wrong. This was murder. The betrayal of it all hit you hard, and it took all of your willpower not to fall over and give up.

“It was all fake”, you muttered, “all of it”

“Y/n I-”

“You were pitying me”, you spat, “You knew and yet”, sucking in a breath, you swallowed the lump in your throat, ignoring the heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach, the hole that seemed to have been ripped out from your chest. “You still played me.” 

Kun pressed his lips together in a tight line, regret eating away at him. Of course it wasn’t all for his uncle, but you wouldn’t listen even if he tried. You were much too distraught, too far gone for that. Instead he composed himself, leaning down and resting a hand on your shoulder.

“We need to get out of here.”

The harshness of the statement made it worse. You looked up at his serious face through your hazy eyesight, wanting to push him away, but neither did you want to be alone. He sighed, helping you up to your feet, “We have to go or they’ll find you here and it won’t be pretty.” 

Taking your hand in his, Kun pulled out of the room, raising a hand to his lips, silently telling you to keep quiet. “If you don’t want Akira to find you here, go straight to your room, say you were sick.”

He was pity helping you again.

You nodded, sniffling slightly and pulling yourself together again, rubbing your arms. You hated it, fuck, and that moment you hated your own mother. You hated the fact that you had to depend on the boy who betrayed you. The boy who you kissed, and was willing to forget that it was wrong, until the world crashed down upon you.

Walking with you, he decided to part ways where the two hallways met, repeating his instructions from before, refusing to meet your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, before walking away in the direction opposite where you were supposed to go.

How had so much gone so wrong so fast?

Locked.

You were locked away in your room, refusing to get out of it. The only person you let in was Winter, who came in with meals and other information. You ignored every one of Akira’s presents, declined your mother’s calls and avoided the rest of the Qian family like the plague.

It was like you had spiralled, down into this hole you couldn’t climb out of. Your father was dead, it wasn’t natural. He had been killed and you were amongst the murderers. Your mother had worked with them.

Your brother was back home, going about his life as usual. The world revolved as it always did, but yours has stopped.The little bubble that you had lived in for most of your sheltered life had finally burst. You had been thrown into real life before you could even say anything about it.

Knock!

“Come in”, you said, watching as Winter entered with a plate and her own phone, “Y/n”, she greeted you, with that same funny formal tone, “It’s your brother”

She handed you her own phone, and you frowned. Why hadn’t Shotaro just called you? Why had he called Winter?

Brushing those thoughts aside, you held the phone to your ears, “Taro?”

“Hey”, he said, “hold for a second, would you?”

You didn’t reply, patiently waiting for him, but instead you were greeted with another voice, a voice you definitely didn;t want to hear.

“Darling.”

Your throat seemed to close up, mouth going dry as you gripped the phone even tighter, looking at Winter in alarm. She looked away, and began setting your things straight on the little table next to your bed.

“Mother.”

“What has happened to you?”, she asked, voice cutting through any thoughts, “I thought you understood the gravity of the situation. I have told you countless times-”

“I understood what you told me before I found out I was a pawn,” your voice was remarkably steady, almost scarily calm as you leaned back, “I don’t care anymore.”

“Y/n”, your mother warned, “I told you, our family name depends of it, even if you don’t how how or why-”

“I do know”, you interrupted her smoothly, “I know that my mother is an amoral bitch and the fact that you killed father, without thinking of the feelings of her children, and went on to throw her daughter into a dangerous position.”

You were met with the static from the other line. Had you finally won? Your mother stayed silent at your sudden outburst.

“How did you find out.” It was a question, but it came out as a statement. That helplessness returned, your level headedness disappearing all of a sudden. How could she be so insensitive? She didn’t care at all.

“Doesn’t matter”, he continued, “Now you know it's imperative you marry Akira, or our secrets will be exposed and the family name will be tainted. This also saves the Qians.”

You fisted your hand, spite coursing through your veins. Fuck, you were so angry, angry at your mother for never doing your job, for expecting you to comply with her twisted plans. You were tired of playing along, you were fed up of being perfect, or at least, fed up of portraying that image.

“I hate Akira”, you said for the first time out loud, making them real. You despised him and everything he was, and the new information you had gathered about him had just made you hate him more. You wished you had never met the Qian family, Akira, or Chenle, or Yuxi, or Kun-

That was a lie. You didn’t regret meeting Kun, you regretted trusting him. You regretted not listening and going into that room. You regretted so much, but you regretted knowing the truth the most.

You wanted to live the lie again. 

“And I don’t care if you get in trouble mother, you deserve it.”

“It’s not just me Y/n”, she said, “It’s the Qian family as well, and it’s you and your brother.”

Shotaro.

“He still doesn’t know?”

“We’ll keep it that way. He’s still in school.”

Pursing your lips, you sighed, “I don’t want this”

It was as if she knew she had hit a weak spot, she could feel your resolve wavering. “Do it for Shotaro, if no one else. He hasn’t met life yet.”

You couldn’t understand how she was so cool about it, how she didn’t seem to care that there was blood on her hands, blood of her husband and no less. You supposed crying and screaming wouldn’t accomplish or change anything. This was your reality, and you just had to accept it.

Clicking off the call, you handed Winter’s phone back to her, burying your head in your hands. Decisions, decisions.

Winter stood there with a pensive look, biting her lower lip, before sitting down next to you, “I’m sorry Y/n, but what is troubling you?” Her soft voice mixed with the concerned look on her face was enough to make you break, leaning into her as tears built up in your eyes. She wrapped an arm around you, keeping you steady and holding you up.

She figured she owed you as much.

“Everyone I know has destroyed me”, you whispered hoarsely, choking back a sob, “They’ve either betrayed me or destroyed me and I’m so tired.”

“Who has done so?” She asked, rubbing your back comfortingly, prompting you to go on without actually asking you. You took in a shaky breath, thinking of everyone that was to blame for your misery.

“My mother”, you spat, “Akira, Kun-”

“Kun?”

Sucking in a breath, you nodded, “Kun. He-he knew. He knew and he still led me on, fuck I feel so stupid”, you laughed at the bitter irony, wiping away your tears, “And the thing is, the fact he did it hurts much more than anything else.”

“And why is that?”, Winter whispered.

“I trusted him”, you said, squeezing your eyes shut as if that would help somehow, “I liked him, I gave him my trust, even when it went past my duty.”

Duty, you were starting to realize, was slowly destroying you and everything you held dear.

Yuxi raised her hand so that the light fell on it, the pretty red nail paint glowing as she inspected it. Her right hand was a little messier than her left, she decided she would fix that later. Her hair was perfectly straightened, not a strand out of place, she looked perfect. Her appearance paired with her pretty airs and manners made her slightly intimidating, a little better than the rest.

Finishing school had been fruitful afterall.

Clicking her tongue, she dropped the act, sitting on her bed, hunched over her phone as she scrolled through her messages, catching up on whatever she was missing back home.

Truth was, she didn’t want to get on this cruise, none of the Qian siblings did. Spending time with their uncle? They hated the few dinners they had to tolerate anyways, but a whole three months? That sounded like torture, a torture they were enduring at the moment.

Akira had insisted, saying it would be a good experience for them now that they were adults, well, except Chenle. The boy was still sixteen, but was very much on their level. Their parents had unfortunately agreed, and so they found themselves where they were.

Kun walked through her door and into her room, pacing around, before taking a seat next to Yuxi and looking at her expectantly.

“What?”

“I fucked up”, he confessed. His sister wondered if he was waiting for her to ask the question just to dump that on her.

“Thank you for that eloquent explanation”, she said, “Mind telling me exactly how you did the fucking up?”

He sighed, running a hair through his hair as he leaned against the headrest and told his sister the whole story, from the arranged marriage (though she knew this), Akira’s plan and what he had done, to the kiss and you finding out. Yuxi listened intently, placing her phone aside as he went on.

Once he reached the end of all the events, Yuxi looked pensive, confused almost. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do to fix this,” she said truthfully, “It’s royally fucked up and I don;t want to have anything to do with our uncle dear ever again.”

“You’re telling me”, Kun groaned, “I feel terrible, and I didn’t even do anything.”

“You did do something”, his sister said, walking to the little table and picking up her little bottle of nail paint, “You stayed silent.”

Winter burst into the kitchen, walking over to the drink area. She inspected them, figuring out which one was yours, and which one was Kun’s. Producing a small vial of some sort of liquid, she took the two drinks and placed them on the counter opposite, opening up the vial.

Guilt had been eating away at her for weeks now, especially when she realized that there might be more to the story than she thought. She had complied with your mothers orders, but now she didn’t care. 

Heesung walked into the room, “Idiot, what are you doing?”

Winter ignored him, putting a few drops in each glass and mixing them in. Heesung took the vial from her when she kept it down, inspecting it, “What is this?”

“Took it from the luggages”

“You stole? You could get fired!”

“I know that!” She snapped before sighing, “But I stole it from a criminal, so it’s even.”

Heesung raised an eyebrow, lowering his voice, “The Qians?”

Winter nodded, “A drug.”

The boy wondered if he should ask, if it was worth it to do so.  Winter took the glasses and placed them back on the tray, turning back to Heesung, pointing to them. “Kun and Y/n. These two glasses are for them.”

“Right. Why should I listen to you again when you’ve spiked their drinks?”

“Because”, she said, “What you’re holding is an infatuation drug.”

Heesung snorted, “So it’s a love potion? I knew you were a romantic Win, but you do know she’s marrying Mr. Akira right?”

“Not if I can help it”, the girl muttered, “She doesn’t deserve it, and is in love with someone else. And it’s not a love potion, it’s a drug.”

Rolling his eyes, the waiter picked up the tray of drinks, “So it’s a love shot then”, he asked, proud of his pun, “And I suppose you think it’s Mr Akira’s nephew?” Still, he pushed the two glasses a little away from each other so he remembered what he was instructed to do. He still thought it was ridiculous though.

“It is, she told me herself, well not that bluntly, but I know it.”

Heesung pinched the bridge of his nose, “And what if your meddling backfires?”

“Wouldn't change a thing., everything is fucked anyways”, she said, “I just want her to have one thing going right for her.”

Winter took the vial back, stuffing it into the pockets of her uniform and straightening out her apron. The smell of whatever was cooking wafted through the air as she composed herself again, “See you later Heesung, don’t mess up the drinks.”

Winter hoped her meddling would pay off

You walked into the dining hall, head held high as you made eye contact with the Qians. Akira gave you his sickly smile, Yuxi with her worried gaze and Chenle still oblivious. Kun looked confused as he watched you approach the table, taking the seat you usually did, before the entire truth came out.

Sitting down, your eyes flitted to Kun’s before you looked down at your lap, plastering on a fake smile and looking at Akira, greeting him.

“I take it you're better?” He asked this, leaning forward, “You must have been really sick, staying away for so many days. It's been a little over a week?”

You nodded, “Yes, I apologize for my absence.” You realized someone, probably Kun had covered for you. The waiter approached, handing everyone their respective drinks, before bowing and leaving.

You raised the glass to your lips, inspecting the table, eyes meeting Yuxi’s who averted her gaze immediately.

She knew too.

Suppressing a scoff, you decided to address the elephant in the room and announce what decision you had come to. You still weren;t completely happy, but it was better than nothing, and you had stood your ground against your mother, who finally agreed, albeit begrudgingly.

“I revoke our little arrangement Mr. Qian”, you said after clearing your throat. He raised an eyebrow at this, a sliver of panic visible in his eyes, “And why is that?”

“I know”

Those two words had held so much, his eyes widened as he stared at you dumbfounded. That dumbfounded expression morphed into one of misplaced anger. “You are not the one to say that.”

“Yes I am”, you said cooly, “I am the one getting married, well not anymore. My mother has agreed and I want nothing more to do with you.”

He clenched his jaw, visibly trying to control his anger. “A deal is a de-”

“Alright, I’ll tell you why you should agree”, you said with a mocking smile. Somewhere in the back of your mind you began to feel slightly drowsy, but you pushed it away, looking at Kun once more.

You didn’t want to look away.

The two of your eyes locked and it felt like you were falling. You could almost feel his lips on yours, his hands on your wait, the way he kissed you-

You snapped back to reality, looking away. 

“I have a message on the top of my fingers ready to be sent right now”, you said, “To the police about your little dealings and the fact that you killed my father”, the words rolled off your tongue easily, almost as if you were talking about something as mundane as the weather, “And then you’ll be ruined.”

Akira paled, and it was clear who held the ropes over the conversation now. You decided to give him proof, raising your hand that held your phone, finger hovering over a number.

“But this can be avoided! You see, just call off the deal”, you took another sip of whatever the waiter had given you, mind going ever so slightly fuzzy once again. “And I’ll keep silent. No one will ever know.”

He clicked his tongue, “You were my repayment.”

“I know, I was a prop hmm?”, you said, “Not anymore, call this off right now Akira.”

He sighed, as if he knew he had lost. There was no point in fighting anymore. “We’re done”, he said finally, and you smirked in triumph, taking another sip of your drink, “Thank you.”

Winter came around with the food, looking suspiciously at you and Kun, before walking away. You sighed, that feeling of blankness returning. You still had to deal with Kun, of course you did, but you didn’t want to do so now. That would make everything messy, but fuck, for some reason all you could think about was the way he kissed you.

This was bad. You had to stop.

You looked at your food, pushing it away and getting up, sighing, the adrenaline from confronting Akira. Did you expect to win? No, but now that you had, your head swam as you got to your feet, glancing at Winter, nodding your head slightly.

“Goodbye”, you said, “I have no business with you anymore.”

Leaving your dinner and the table, you walked into the hallways and sighed in relief. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off your shoulders and you could finally breathe again. You made your way to your room, before stopping outside a door, freezing in your place.

That door led to the hall where you and Kun had that water balloon fight. You took a step towards it, placing your hand on the knob, but not opening it. You didn’t want to open it, just wanted to reminisce.

“Trying to run away from us? Or me? Because you’re still slow.”

You whipped your head around, meeting Kun’s gaze, “something like that.” Your voice was cautious as if you were walking on nails. As if you weren’t trying to not stare at his lips.

He leaned against the wall, staring at you as if he was trying to crack a code. His mind went fuzzy as well, the drug taking effect as it had for you. But both of you were fighting against it, desperate to win.

When did winning come at the cost of losing everything you loved?

Loved?

You bit your lower lip, averting your gaze. The tension in the room had risen tenfold, the way the two of you tried to navigate the gray area you had fallen into.You wondered why the world couldn’t be simple, black and white. Why couldn’t it be bad and good? Why did it have to be so complicated?

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear. You snapped back to attention, forcing yourself to get out of your little headspace. Looking up, you met his eyes, and by god, you had never regretted doing anything more than that.

His eyes, they were dark,  voids of nothingness. They didn’t sparkle like they usually did, shining in the light. Instead they were like pools of ink, no light let in. Gone was the smirk you were so used to.

“I know”, you said simply, realizing it was true. You acknowledged the fact that he was sorry.

A bitter chuckle fell from his lips, “I hate myself for not telling you the moment I found out, but everything was so-”

“Messed up?” You finished his sentence, giving him a crooked smile, “Yeah, I get it. It’s all over now though”

“Over”, he repeated, “Right.”

Silence.

“I don’t want it to be over”

You looked at him, a sigh escaping you, “Kun-”

“You’re you, and I don’t want to lose you”, he said bluntly, “You can hate me-I hate myself, but I don't want it to be over.” You began to feel drowsy again, all you wanted to do was walk away and forget the past two months, because now you were attached. Emotionally.

“But I understand if you want nothing to do with us, with me-”

You took a step forward, leaning towards him and pressed your lips to his, mind going completely blank now. You wanted to melt into him, as he kissed you back in surprise, to forget.

You couldn’t do that.

He cupped your face, kissing you again. There it was that feeling, that feeling of drowning. Make it stop, stop, I want to breathe, you thought, before giving up. You liked the breathlessness, even if you tried not to.

Pulling away, you looked at him one last time, before pushing yourself off of him, away from the door that led into the hall, away from him. Kun watched you walk away, down the hallway, before you turned the corner.

And then you were gone.

You leaned against the railing of the deck, watching the water below you. The ripples were somewhat soothing, as you hummed an idle tune.

“Y/n Osaki”, you turned around to face the owner of the voice, Kun himself. He smiled taking position next to you, “Remember when I said I didn’t know who you were?”

You chuckled nodding, “Yeah.”

It had bewildered you at the time, the way he pretended he didn’t know who you were. Now you wished he really didn’t. That seemed so long ago.

It had been a week since the confrontation, a week since the last kiss. The effects of the infatuation drug had long worn off, but what was real was left behind. All the drug had done was amplify it. You didn’t see the Qian family much after it, making a point to avoid them. You didn’t have a reason to see them anyways, you were done.

Yet you still had unfinished business.

The cruise was coming to an end anyways, so what was even the point? Your life would go back to normal like nothing had happened, even though your world had been ripped apart and was holding itself together by threads.

Kun cleared his throat, “We need to talk.”

“We’re talking right now”, you said, avoiding the heavy meaning in his words. 

He sighed, letting it drop for a second before speaking up again, “I didn’t know myself until I asked Akira”, he said, not specifying what exactly he was talking about, but you already knew. “I asked him if you knew who he was and he told me the whole story, and I was….”, he trailed off, searching for the correct word, “horrified.”

“I believe you”, you said softly, “I’ve forgiven you.”

You haven’t forgotten though, you doubt you could ever forget something like this.

Kun didn’t know if that made him feel any better, but he knew he had to get it off his chest. He wondered how he could get you back. You seemed cold again, like the day he met you, closed off and wary of everything. You had a right to be, but he wanted the Y/n he had grown accustomed to, back.

“So”, he said, “Mr. Darcy or Elizabeth Bennet?”

“I thought we agreed on a truce?” You let a smile slip, amused. He grinned, “We did, but I have to know.”

You thought for a second, before inclining your head with a sheepish smile, “I’ll eat my words Qian Kun, Mr. Darcy has grown on me.”

“I’m glad. I won after all”, he said childishly, and you couldn’t help but scoff. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Why don’t I tell you something? Infact, I’ll say it in the words of Mr. Darcy himself”, he declared, “I found myself in this mess before I could do anything about it Y/n, and I can’t take what has happened. I cannot fix on the hour or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It was too long ago, I was in the middle before I knew it had begun.”

Your eyes softened as you shifted closer to him, meeting his own. Yours sparkled with mild amusement as you slipped your hand through his, “You do know that’s how Mr. Darcy tells Lizzy he loves her, right?”

“Is it?”, his eyes held the same mischievous glint yours did as he raised your held hands, pressing a kiss to your knuckles, “I suppose it’s fitting then.”

And then he kissed you properly, fingers intertwined, wind in your hair. 

Were you happy? Not entirely, not yet. You still had duty, you still had to bear the weight of your family name. You had to live with knowing your mother was responsible for your fathers demise, you had to keep it a secret for Shotaro. You had to be perfect.

No, you weren’t happy, but you were getting there.

fin.

[storiesbymads]

THIS BIKINI’S MADE FORE DANCING (AND HITTING THE FLOOR)³ ( sun kissed desires . )

Y/N finds herself on the lovers cruise she was supposed to be on with her fiancé—ex-fiancé—when she meets a single man in the suite right next to hers.

warnings: smut

add yourself to the taglist + series masterlist

Your morning ventures ended with probably the best mid morning nap you’d ever had in your life. You woke up without a headache, thankfully, and with the way you’d guzzled the water bottle on your nightstand before you’d crashed out, you felt halfway ready to take on the world.

You dug through your duffel bag in an attempt to find one of the twelve bathing suits you’d packed three days ago. Hopefully you’d packed your cute ones, you’d been in such a rush you honestly had no idea what all was in your bag or if anything really matched. Finally, you found a black set at the bottom that was simple enough that it wouldn’t require too many of your brain cells to put on, still being kinda sleepy and everything.

Finding your way to the pool was easy, considering it was in the dead center of the boat. You were surprised to see the number of kids sitting around the edge of the pool when you got down there, feet dangling in the chlorine filled liquid. You glanced down at the phone in your hand to see the time. 12:08. Adult Swim.

You crossed the short expanse of wooden walkway over to the lounge chairs, dropping your few belongings onto the small table beside the single free one you could find before covering your phone and key card with the towel you’d just barely remembered to bring down so the sun wouldn’t wreak too much havoc on them. The chair was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked when you situated yourself on it.

The sound of a whistle sent your head snapping in the direction of the pool only to see a few dozen kids jumping into the water as the few adults scrambled to get out in time.

And, of course, your eyes found Sidney’s in record time. God, how could one man be so pretty? The fact that he was practically dripping wet didn’t help, either.

He had a pair of teal swim trunks on, oddly enough, and they seemed to cling to everything as he climbed out of the water. To you, it felt like he was moving in slow motion, but it probably only took him about thirty seconds before he was walking in your direction. No. Right. To. You.

He shook his head slightly as he did so, attempting to conceal the grin making its way onto his face. God, he’s cute, too.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, louder than the other times you’d spoken with him—you gave that up to the fact that you were outside. He’d still yet to adjust his swim trunks and the tent in them seemed to be staring you right in the eyes.

“Hey, you’re the one that came up to me,” you scoffed dismissively. Sidney just cleared his throat in response, nodding toward his belongings in the seat next to yours. The only thing separating his belongings from yours was the tiny metal table, and even that was covered in your personal items. “Oh.”

“Oh,” he mocked lightly. He opted to sit on the edge of your chair rather than take the last two steps towards his own, the warm skin of his thigh brushing against your own. The barely there touch sent tingles up your spine. You couldn’t imagine what having all of him pressed up against you would feel like.

He picked his hand up off the plastic of the chair, hesitating slightly and letting it rest in the air above your leg for a second too long, before letting his rough fingers meet the smooth skin.

“I’ve been thinking,” he started. “About your offer earlier.”

Your breath hitched in the back of your throat as his hand trailed higher up your thigh, dangerously close to the flimsy bow holding the fabric together.

“M-my offer?” you stuttered out.

“Are you sober...” he trailed off, tongue darting out to wet his lips. He was fiddling with the nylon string at this point.

“Y/N,” you hummed out a response. “And, yes. Took a nap and everything.”

“Good,” he said before abruptly getting up so that he could collect his things from his own chair. Your skin felt cold without his touch despite the scalding heat you were being exposed to. He turned back around as he shoved his phone into his still damp pocket, “C’mon, pretty girl. We don’t have all day.”

You practically jumped up from your seat to grab your things, in spite of a chuckling Sidney behind you.

The walk to the lobby happened in what felt like half a second and before you knew it, Sidney had you pressed up against the outside of his room door. Maybe being on the first floor wasn’t such a bad thing.

His hips were pressing into yours, his fingers were bruising against your waist, and his lips. They were everywhere. You don’t even remember when he’d started kissing you, you just know you didn’t ever want him to stop.

He pulled away just enough to leave you panting and chasing his lips.

“I gotta open the door,” he whispered, lips grazing yours as he did so. The door clicked seconds later which allowed the two of you to slip inside only for Sidney to halfway shove your against the other side of the door the second it closed. Your palms fell flat against his exposed chest, slipping lower and lower as the moments passed until you were thumbing the hemline of his shorts.

“Please,” you whimpered out.

“Please, what?” he asked.

“Just. Please,” you answered. His hand found the tie to your top in a matter of seconds, undoing it slowly before repeating the process with the one around your neck and letting it fall to the floor between you.

His lips attached to the column of your throat as his fingers traced the edges of your bottoms. His mouth moved lower and lower until he was circling your left nipple with his tongue.

Stopping suddenly, he rose back up to his full height, motioning for you to jump with two taps on your hip as he lifted it to his waist. He carried you across the short expanse of his room, dropping you on the recently made up comforter of his bed.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?” he mumbled before reattaching his lips to yours. He tasted like heaven. There was a faint mint flavor that you chalked up to being his toothpaste mixed with the distinct taste of Minute Maid lemonade and a sweet tea brand you couldn’t identify.

His clothes cock rutted against your core, sending flickers of the sight of him getting out of the pool glittering through your mind again. Those swim trunks left nothing to the imagination.

He shifted lower over your body, tugging your bikini bottoms down in one swift motion and quite literally tossing them over his shoulder.

“Look at you,” he praised. “So pretty and pink and wet for me. You’re dripping all over my sheets, pretty girl.”

One of his digits slipped between your folds, spreading the wetness around as he circled your clit with the pad of his finger.

“I think you’re a little-“ you cut yourself off with a moan when he slipped the finger inside you. “Overdressed.”

“Patience,” he said, inserting another finger into your hole. He curled his fingers in a scissoring motion, eliciting a high pitched gasp to fall from your lips. His thumb quickly found your clit which sent your eyes rolling straight into the back of your head.

“Oh my God,” you whimpered.

“Look at me,” he said. You ignored his comment, head hitting the pillow underneath you only for his movements to stop. “Look at me.”

Your eyes snapped back open.

“I want to see your eyes when you come on my cock,” he said, pulling his fingers from you so that he could shove the teal shorts down his legs just enough for his dick to slap against his stomach.

He grabbed a condom out of his wallet on the nightstand, ripping the packaging open with his teeth before rolling it down the length of his dick.

“Fuck me,” you groaned out as he lined his tip up with your entrance.

“I was planning on it,” he exhaled. He didn’t even give you a second to respond before he pushed in halfway.

“Holy fuck, you’re huge,” you said, unintentionally clenching around him. He shuddered before fully bottoming out.

“And you’re incredibly tight,” he said. It didn’t take him long to find his pace as his hands molded bruises into the sides of your hips.

His lips found your neck soon after, running his teeth lightly along the top of your collarbone as your hands found his hair. You would’ve commented on the softness of it if you had a coherent thought in your head. But all you could think about was the burning pleasure building in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum-“ you repeated like a mantra until your orgasm washed over you like a tidal wave.

“I’m right behind you,” he said, hips snapping into yours at an even faster rate. He lasted about two more thrusts before you felt him still inside you. He stayed there for a moment before he pulled out and made his way to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

The thoughts started rushing into your head before the post-orgasm bliss even had the time to fully wear off. You couldn’t believe you’d just done that. Sure, he was gorgeous and, sure, he was practically the most gorgeous man you’d ever laid eyes on. But you were gonna be stuck living next door to him for the next two weeks.

You were already off the bed and grabbing your things from where they’d been dropped at the door—something you didn’t remember doing in the first place—when you heard Sidney turn the shower on. You had your bikini back on before his eyes hit you again.

“You can join me, if you want,” he said as he watched you scramble around his room from where he was leant up against the ensuite’s door frame.

“As much as I would love to do that, I’ve gotta get going,” you said, throwing open the room door and letting it shut before he could get another word out.

You had other things on your plate, anyway. Current mission: find Sigma. She might not be your best friend in the world, at least, yet, but you needed to tell someone about what just happened.

And judging by the way you’d scrounged what felt like the entire ship at this point—not really, you really only checked like three, very public areas—your mission was proving more impossible than you would’ve liked. Then, when you thought all hope was lost, you remembered the teensy tiny little tidbit of information she’d given you this morning when you were in six mimosas. She was staying in Room 215.

“Y/N! How unexpected,” Sigma said as she opened up her door wide enough to let you in. Her southern charm was seeping through every word and it really was no wonder how she’d already gotten married at 23.

You saw a man laying on the bed, thankfully, fully clothed with a remote control laying on his stomach. You heard a woman’s voice coming from the TV and what sounded like a murder documentary.

Sigma was ushering you out onto her balcony before you had time to really search her and husband’s room any further.

“What’s this surprise visit all about? I thought you’d gotten of me this morning,” she said as the two of you sat in the bolted down, metal chairs out there.

“You know that really hot guy in the room next to mine,” you said.

“No,” she exhaled. Maybe you’d forgotten to mention that this morning. Course, you barely remembered anything you’d mentioned this morning.

“Well,” you started. “There’s a really hot guy in the room right next to mine. And I may or may not have just hooked up with him.”

“You’re kidding!” she gasped.

“I almost wish I was,” you groaned, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Was it that bad?” she asked with a wince. You looked over at her with a dumbfounded look on your face.

“It was the best sex I’ve had in my life,” you said.

“So, what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know. He’s kinda like my neighbor for right now, and somehow we manage to bump into each other everywhere we go. I just don’t want things to be even more uncomfortable for me on this stupid boat.”

“Honey.”

“I know, I know. It’s dumb,” you sighed. “I’m just not ready to get involved with another guy. Not after what happened with Max,” you said.

“Look, sweetheart. You’re never gonna find someone if you don’t give yourself the chance to open up. And who says this whole thing with your supah hot guy has to go any further than it has. I say if you get the chance, go for it.”

“Get the chance?”

“To have sex again! According to you, it was the best sex, like, ever.”

The next twenty minutes went on like that until Sigma’s husband practically forced her to go back inside and get ready for something. You took that as your cue to leave.

You were glad you’d gone to find her today. As weird as a start that you’d had for your friendship, she was probably one of the easiest people you’d ever had the opportunity of talking to.

The walk back to your room was quick. That was when you realized the only item you currently had in your possession was your phone. And not your key card. You knew you’d had it before the incident with Sidney and you were sure you’d grabbed everything on your way out of Sigma’s room. Which left one option. It was still on Sidney’s floor.

Sighing, you dropped your head in defeat, walking the two steps it took so that you were face to face with the wooden door you were pressed up against over an hour ago. Your hand hovered in the air until you worked up enough courage to actually knock.

“Here for this?” he asked, holding up the white card in one hand after he opened the door just wide enough to see you.

“Yes, thank you,” you said, reaching out to grab it from him only for him to pull it back, inches from your grip.

“You could’ve just gone to the front desk,” he said.

“I-“ you started. “Forgot that was an option.”

“Why are you always wet when we see each other?” you asked with an eye roll as the door swung open.

“Actually, I distinctly remember you being equally as wet when we met earlier,” he said.

“You’re insufferable,” you scoffed.

“And you’re adorable,” he said before actually handing over the key.

“Says the guy that takes hour long showers,” you said.

“I got a little preoccupied.”

“Uh-huh,” you hummed.

“You sure you have to go to your room?” he asked, tantalizingly slow, allowing his words to hang heavy in the air around you as his tongue slipped past his lips. Your eyes stayed glued to the water droplet running down his throat.

“I guess-“

“Well, come on then. Wouldn’t want you getting cold out there, pretty girl,” he said, the hand still holding your key card clasping around your wrist as he pulled you into his chest, and consequently, back into his room.

tags @kiedhara @thefootballfaithful @stuetzlesumlaut @penstxgal1968 @linkingdolans @englishmuffinwritesbooks @mrsvech37 @honeybearbarzal @burningbiatch @hannabritta @monalicia @mymanshawn @butgilinsky @pierreslucdubois @damndunner @klutchnetsov @stampiej @punkharts @heatherawoowoo

[flyingupward]

critical role - vox machina chapter 2 - adventures in vasselheim

all sentences taken from episodes 17-23 of the first campaign of critical role. feel free to change pronouns, phrasing etc. to fit your needs!

“I feel uncomfortable. It must be the emotion.”

“She bets for all of us.”

“You know what I love about these fights? They’re just beautiful.”

“It’s okay, buddy. This isn’t the first time you’ve been knocked unconscious.”

“Where do I mark off my loss of pride?”

“We’ve had a really emotional day, can we just sleep?”

“That’s not even chicken, that’s just a piece of wood.”

“It seems a shame to have a family and not take advantage of it."

“What is family for other than to take advantage of?”

“We haven't had an awkward parental confrontation in what feels like months."

“You left during the family meeting.”

“Most people just say thank you!”

“I judged him, apparently, and I don’t remember doing it.”

“There’s nothing you can’t ruin.”

“I used it in that fight that you didn’t want to fight in.”

“While you were gone, everything happened, by the way.”

“I’m eating so much sugar compulsively out of nerves.”

“Can you just call us people, please?”

“Do you have a name other than husband?”

“I made a holy hand grenade.”

“He looked kind of like a dick if you want my personal opinion.”

“I am very very nervous that somebody’s going to die when we fight this thing.”

“I haven’t finished my training montage yet.”

“Oh, this is wonderful. You’re all gonna die.”

“Can we all get inspiration from seeing ________ just massacre?”

“Leave none alive, my boy.”

“I think we’re going to have to have a talk circle right now.”

“Can we make an agreement: I kill you, you kill me?”

“Somehow you made that less sexual than I could have ever imagined.”

“Your good fortune is a plague upon your friends.”

“Welcome to the shit.”

“We can both hold the monster.”

“I believe that you squishy people should be back here!”

“No plan is a good plan.”

“All I needed was fried chicken.”

“What a glorious moon are you amongst the stars of your treasure.”

“I’m called Burt Reynolds and I take great offense to that.”

“I’m never going. I’m going to just have a snack.”

“I would like to move away from this group of soon to be blasted with dragon fire people.”

“I built a thing and it blew up! Kind of on purpose!”

“I’m sorry! I’m a genius! I’m sorry! God, I’m clever!”

“You leave when Burt Reynolds tells you to leave!”

“Way to not die.”

“By the way, your lips taste like bubblegum.”

“I take my social cues from other people, I’m sorry.”

“Everyone talks about spontaneous combustion, but I never believed it.”

“Just let me step into a bucket. Please let me step into a bucket.”

“It’s like a cruise ship goth club.”

“It’s not impressive, that’s mythic.”

“That’s the thing, you’re beating math.”

“He’s sometimes hard to follow. You don’t want to fuck with him.”

“Ninth time’s the charm.”

"I would like to cast all my spells in succession for the next ten minutes"

“At this point, can I be amazed that he hasn’t helped us in any way, shape or form?”

“Math has no power here!”

“I think you pissed it off when you set it on fire multiple times in a row.”

“And with that, I must inform the internet of my majesty.”

“How is that like, being married to a god?”

“It’s hard to accept love from others when you hate yourself.”

“My sister is going to kill me, specifically.”

“There’s time to mourn the dead… and carpet… later.”

“He’s just slow because he’s processing and dealing with the rage and anger and the memories of betrayal that he has experienced.”

“I feel like we’re this close to starting the apocalypse.”

“Somewhere deep beneath the Vatican, there’s some monk who is running around screaming as all of their artifacts are cracking in half.”

“Little busy right now. On fire.”

“I am accustomed to failure.”

“I’m not stabbing you the worst I could.”

“Why are you smiling the whole time?!”

“I don’t know if explosions in small, earthen tunnels is a really good idea.”

“And you, you might be the most annoying person I’ve ever met in my life. *suddenly kisses*”

“Everybody else is getting a fucking hug.”

“He almost died. How did you do?”

“Guys, I’m thinking this might be, like, a cult.”

“You saw Harry Potter. The Hippogriff will jack you up, bow back.”

“It wasn’t a guy with a cat hat, it was a demon.”

“You just got mad at me for pretend marrying your brother.”

"We slept in a tent! In the woods! With the loudest librarian on God's green earth!"

“I’ve thought about that a little bit and then tried not to think about that a lot a bit.”

“We’re getting you a leash!”

“I’ve always wanted to see a volcano anyway.”

“Are you haggling with the fabric of time and space?”

“That was the day that __________ set himself on fire.”

“You know you don’t have to breathe all of it in every time.”

“Your future is as important as it is fragile. Protect it.”

“Oh cool, is this like a Cirque du Soleil thing?”

“I like the comma there. The comma really brought it together, like a haiku.”

“You are always a part of our journey no matter where we go.”

“You’re my favorite… Everything, I guess.”

“You’re this close to a breakdown from Grease.”

“It seems an enormous amount of alcohol has given you some perspective. I’m very proud of you.”

“I was gone for like a day!”

“I, of course, encourage your violence.”

“It’s all right, we didn’t touch in my family.”

“I realize what I’m doing and I stop.”

“That’s going on your tombstone.”

“Maybe make a friend, like a new friend, like one who isn’t us.”

“See The Matrix now, bitch!”

“I eat barstools for dinner.”

“Why do I always get busted?”

“I’m proud to have finally found my match.”

“If someone were to be an idiot, where would you take them to hold them while other people decided just how much of an idiot they were?”

“I noped myself on that one.”

“People like me because of my hair.”

“We should respect it… And also make fun of it when he’s gone.”

“Guys, his fucking eyes are glowing.”

“We are officially drunk in two different cities!”

“You know you can just be chill sometimes.”

[dtccompendium]

Episode 96: The Cornered Famous Detective

In part one, Ran takes Conan’s glasses off while he’s sleeping, and somehow recognizes him as Shinichi. A Magician woman’s husband is dead, but he didn’t commit suicide, so she goes to Mouri per Eri’s recommendation. By pure coincidence, Shinichi and Ran once went to the husband’s magic show, and Ran goes to get the picture, realizing that Shinichi and Conan without glasses look exactly the same. This prompts her to very creepily insist that Conan is part of the investigation, doing strange things like pushing him out the door behind Mouri with a creepy a smile on her face, refusing to let him go shopping with a little girl because he’s “BUSY RIGHT NOW!” and offering a pen. And also creeping up behind him and telling him, “Good deduction!” Conan does nothing to alleviate her suspicion as he proceeds to first detail the complexities of aconite poisoning, which he apparently saw on Kamen Yaiba, and then demonstrate all the ways in which the victim couldn’t have used his thumbs, to make a phone call, or to open the door, etc.… as well as sitting on top of the desk, with a maniacal expression on his face, solving telephone codes. The suspects include three magician apprentices. One pretended to be Kaito Kid and got fake-shot by Sonoko’s mom on a cruise ship, so he’s not the murderer. Another is a new apprentice who cooks all their meals, so he’s not the culprit. And the final one is overly sophisticated, so she’s obviously the murderer. She takes the little girl shopping, because her mom broke her promise and is a liar. This is actually true because, even though the guy’s been dead for over a month, they told the daughter he’s just been overseas. She killed him because he killed her brother fourteen years ago. Conan deduced this after noticing the lack of dust on his portrait. You later learn this is because the culprit was hugging the portrait while planning the murder, and the victim saw them doing this, but decided to let them murder him anyway……I guess.

Anyway, part two. Ran drags Conan to Shinichi’s house in the middle of the night, under the excuse that they’re going shopping for dinner. There she confronts him, demanding that he tell her the truth, that he is Shinichi. Then his mom shows up and clears everything up. She kidnaps Conan, which Ran seems perfectly fine with, and takes him to her friend’s house. There’s an interesting group of people there, to hear the reading of the will of the friend’s recently deceased father. Many of them seem to randomly appear, and Conan comments, “Where did all these people come from?” First there’s the friend, who’s not the murderer, because she’s Yukiko’s friend. She likes firewood and has stegosaurus hair. Then there’s her punk brother and his wife, sunglasses girl. But she doesn’t wear them on her face. She wears them on her bangs, and you can barely see her drugged eyes, that is until she’s caught for setting up a timed crossbow to kill another one of the suspects. And then all you can see are her eyes. Then there’s curly haired guy who has no purpose. Finally, there’s SHIRAMPURI and Carlos. They make an interesting pair. SHIRAMPURI is an old man with a toad face, about three feet tall, and Carlos is a young man from Brazil who doesn’t speak, and he’s about eight feet tall. They never leave each other’s side, except for when SHIRAMPURI takes a bath. Everybody thinks Carlos is SHIRAMPURI’s bodyguard, and SHIRAMPURI is an imposter, but actually Carlos is the real SHIRAMPURI’s son, and SHIRAMPURI is his bodyguard. We forgot to mention the deceased’s second wife, who is found dead in a well, which happened to be the same place his first wife was found dead fourteen years ago, with a flower in her hand. She planned to kill SHIRAMPURI, but SHIRAMPURI killed her, by using Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It was self-defense, but afterwards, he strung her up in the well, apparently in order to protect Carlos. Oh, and there’s a creepy guy with glasses and a muffler who’s creeping around the house. Yukiko finds one of his cigarettes and deduces that he’s really Yusaku, who came to Japan from America to take her back – because they had a giant argument in the beginning of the episode that we forgot to mention. Yusaku hangs out in the old shed rafters, a little bit like a bat, listening to frequencies sent out by bow tie voice changers. In short, he lurks around, listening to everything Conan is saying, so that he can appear dramatically at the end of the episode and counter his flawed deduction. Yukiko, Yusaku, and Shinichi disappear in a cloud of dust on a motorcycle. Ran reprimands Conan for not telling her he was sleeping over at Dr. Agasa’s.

Best Quotes:

Yukiko: (About Conan) “This boy happens to be my grandfather’s older brother’s daughter’s cousin’s uncle’s grandson.”

[shadowthrone-ammanas]

Guilt Chapter Two: Here to Stay

Finally the continuation of Guilt! 

“Hey kiddo,” Snatcher said as Hat Kid strolled into the room. He’d invited himself abroad her ship again and had taken his old spot on the edge of the pillow pool.

“Hi,” she said with a smile as she ran up to him, seemingly unsurprised by his presence. “Does this mean you have new contracts for me?” She was way too excited by that thought. … Maybe he could come up with some later, ones that wouldn’t put her in much real danger while still being difficult and therefore apparently exciting and fun to her because she was insane.

“Not right now. I came up here to ask you something.” He’d been thinking about it for the past couple days since their talk and he may have already started preparations to find her good parents. Before he proceeded any further though, he needed to okay it with her.

“Oh.” She was disappointed, of course, why wouldn’t she be? But would she be excited by his proposition? “What is it?”

“As we’ve established, you’re an orphan. Regardless of whether or not your parents are dead or just abandoned you, you’re an orphan either way.” Hopefully it was the former because the latter was more depressing – people who abandoned their own children were a special kind of evil. “I however am a lawyer and thus have the credentials to fix that if you would like me to.”

Hat Kid’s face once again lit up with excitement; good, she deserved loving parents. “Are you saying you want to adopt me?”

Snatcher flinched. “No! I’m saying, I could find you good parents and write up the required legal documents for an adoption.”

“You’d be a good parent though.”

“Uh… kiddo, have you forgotten what I’m like? I’m a bad guy, remember? I eat people’s souls, I tried to kill you multiple times. That ringing any bells in that empty head of yours?”

“So? And you’re not all bad, very few people actually are. I think you’d be a cool dad.”

He scowled at her, crossing his arms in disapproval. “No, I wouldn’t. So, I’m not adopting you are anyone else.”

Her face fell, almost making him feel a little bad. But it was for the best. She’d be better off with almost anyone other than him as a parent. Heck, even the Mafia Boss would probably do a better than Snatcher could. So, it wasn’t happening no matter how sad she looked about it.

“Uh… okay,” she said, seemingly getting over it. “I guess I can’t force you to or anything so…” She shrugged. “I don’t need parents anyway. But thank you for the offer, I appreciate it.” She smiled at him. “But anyway, I’m going to Dead Bird Studios now. The Conductor and DJ Grooves are making another movie together, can you believe it? They agreed to let me play a small side character for a couple scenes. I was just coming in here to get a cool outfit for it.” She turned away from him to skip to her closet and pull something out. “I’ll see you later,” she called as she skipped back out of the room.

Snatcher sighed and slumped back into the corner. There went that idea. That was fine though, he didn’t care. He’d been offering to do a good deed for once on his unlife, if she wanted to reject it, that was on her. She was clearly perfectly capable of taking care of herself anyway so let her. It was none of his business.

 -

“Earlier why was your first assumption that I was going be the one to adopt you?” he found himself asking hours later when Hat Kid returned after she’d told him way more about the directors’ movie than he really cared to know about.

“Well you’re the one who brought it up so why wouldn’t I assume it was you?” she replied, kicking her feet as they dangled over the edge of the pillow pool. She had a point. “I don’t really need parents though so it’s okay.”

He frowned at her. “What about the directors? You seem to like them a lot. One of them could adopt you.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be adopted by them though. They already got the Conductor’s grandkids to take care and I know from babysitting them that they are a lot of work. And as cute as they are, they like to bite and pull on people’s hair and it hurts. I don’t want to deal with that. Also, DJ Grooves and the Conductor are still trying to figure each other out. They love each other, I know it, they just have to sort it out and then… kiss or do whatever it is adults do when they realize they’re in love. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

Assuming Hat Kid’s assumptions about the directors’ feelings for each other were correct they’re relationship was likely to fall apart and cause trouble for everyone around them so… it was perhaps best they didn’t adopt her. “What about the Walrus Captain?” Snatcher suggested next because he’d liked his idea of finding her a parent; it would’ve been his one good deed of the century. Which would hopefully make up for the fact that he’d tried to kill Hat Kid; an orphan with a tragic backstory who was just happy go lucky because she was a freak. “You like him, right? He’d be a good dad.”

“Yes, but uh…” she grimaced. “I still feel bad about wrecking his ship especially since he still doesn’t know it was me. And if he adopted me, I’d have to tell him and I’m not doing that.”

A chuckle bubbled up in Snatcher. “That was your fault?”

“Wait! You… didn’t know? Uh… nah, of course it wasn’t me.” She put on a forced grin and looked away, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. “I would never try to steer a ship that isn’t mine.”

The chuckle turned into full laughter because it was just too good. The world’s perfect little hero wasn’t actually a hero all the time after all. “Good job kiddo, you destroyed a man’s livelihood and almost killed a whole bunch of people in the process, some of them children so young even I wouldn’t murder them.”

She turned back to face him, scowling. “It’s not funny, don’t laugh. How was I supposed to know that driving a sea ship is so different from driving a space ship? It’s dumb that the boat didn’t have brakes because it should’ve. … But uh… I guess braking in the water is different than in space, huh? Still though, I didn’t mean to. It was an accident and I feel really, really bad about it. But… no one died so it’s not that bad, right?”

Snatcher’s chuckles died down. “Some of us did get awful wet though. Turns out that box wasn’t waterproof. And that water’s real cold kid, I hated it.” The fact that they’d crashed into an iceberg made it even worse because ice was the worst. Upon escaping the box, magicking himself back to the mainland and then his forest had been a pain.

“Oh… sorry. But… why were you still in the box? I would’ve thought you’d get out once the ship sailed.”

“I only left it at night when almost everyone else was asleep. I didn’t want to deal with having to kill a bunch of people to keep my place on the ship, it would’ve ruined the whole vacation thing.” More like he hadn’t wanted to deal with people at all. Living people weren’t his thing and he’d rather not be around them. Why he’d chosen to go on vacation in a cruise ship, he no longer knew.

“Oh well… sorry. But uh… it’s all fixed now, right? Everyone’s okay and the Captain’s got a new boat. So, it’s almost like it never even happened and we can all pretend that it didn’t.”

Snatcher could use that info to blackmail her one day. Though… he wasn’t going to, was he? Because of that whole dumb soft spot thing he had for her that was a like a disease so… “Fine,” he said with a sigh. “I guess the Walrus Captain is off the table then.”

“Yep. I guess there’s Cooking Cat, maybe. But she’s already adopted Mu and I know Mu has to be a handful. And I don’t really know Cooking Cat all that well anyway. She just kind of showed up in my kitchen on the ship a few times to experiment with my stuff. Cooking’s not really my thing so I just left her to it. And uh… that’s everyone off the table because I don’t want to be adopted by anyone I don’t know well because then what would be the point? I really do appreciate that you even thought about it though.” She gave him a sweet smile. “So don’t feel bad about not finding me a parent.”

Snatcher grunted. He didn’t feel bad about that, he didn’t even care. So, he was just going to drop the whole idea.

 -

A few weeks went by that turned into a month and then two. Snatcher came up with more contracts to challenge her with. None of them, though difficult, were terribly dangerous and he may have kept a bit of a closer eye on her than he had before just in case. It wasn’t necessary though, she was just as skilled and nimble as ever, excelling at every challenge presented to her.

None of the rewards he made for her could ever top the shadow puppet – or apparently the bow because she wore it all the time when she wasn’t specifically using any other hat. But they weren’t meant to, he’d probably never be able to make something better. Just like before she was pleased with every reward.

Eventually he started running out of ideas. There were only so many types of physical challenges he could throw her way that didn’t involve someone or something specifically trying to kill her. Maybe he could start coming up with puzzles to challenge her intellect instead. It was certainly something to think about if she stuck around long enough. Speaking of that though…

“How long you planning on staying kiddo,” he asked as she reentered her room after changing into the outfit he’d made for her as a reward for a challenge. It was a version of the cloaks the Subconites wore. He considered infusing it with magic so that when she pulled the hood up, she’d look like a Subconite as well but had decided against it because she’d undoubtedly use it to bother him.

She froze for a second before continuing on her way back towards him, the spring suddenly out of her step. “Uh… I don’t know. Just… however long I end up staying, I guess.” she shrugged before sitting down next to him. “Thank you for the costume, it’s very cute.”

He grunted, unsatisfied with that response. “What was with that response? Why would me asking you how long you’re staying, make you sad?”

“Um… it didn’t make me sad?” Even if her tone hadn’t made it sound like a question, he probably wouldn’t have believed her. She was happy most of the time so when she wasn’t, it was very noticeable and her mood had definitely dropped at the question even if she’d brought it back up. “I just… don’t know when I’m going to go home.”

“And come to think of it, when you first got here and mentioned why it took you so long to come back, you seemed sad then too.” And Snatcher had forgotten to bring it up again until now. “Why is that?”

“Uh… reasons.”

He frowned and crossed his arms. “Something happened at home that delayed you and is the same thing making you not want to go back, right? What is it?” He was curious now.

She frowned right back at him. “And you say you wouldn’t be a good dad.”

“What does that have to do with this? Answer the question.”

“It has everything to do with it. But uh… I guess I can tell you. There’s no real reason not to because even if you wanted to you couldn’t turn me in. Basically, you remember what I told you about the school? They taught me how to fly and stuff. Well, that voyage I went on with my ship when I lost all the Time Pieces here was my final test for graduation and becoming a full pilot. I was supposed to visit three planets, collect stuff from them and go home. Which I succeeded in, this planet ended up being an extra one which I thought would be a good thing. But turns out, they know I lost the Time Pieces. They don’t care that it wasn’t my fault or that I got them all back.”

She sniffled as her eyes filled with unshed tears. “They failed me. And because of that they tried to take my ship away. I stole it back though and ran away. I got away somehow and had to hang low for a while because they’re looking for me. Coming back here was a risk that I probably shouldn’t have taken. But… the planet I was hiding out on didn’t have any intelligent life and everything alive bigger than me saw me as prey and tried to eat me, everything smaller saw me as a predator and ran away so I didn’t even have any animal companions. I was getting so lonely I felt like I was going insane. So, I had to come back. Thankfully, it seems to be okay. But that means I’m stuck here for uh… a long time. Leaving would risk their sensors picking up the movement of my ship.”

“What happens if they catch you?” Snatcher asked.

“They’ll take my ship and bring me back home to publicly execute me. They might torture me too if they think I might have any information about their enemies.”

“You’re a child though.” Even when Snatcher had been trying to kill her, he’d meant to do it painlessly. Heck, rarely when he killed someone did he mean for it to be painful. Torture was not his thing, just eating souls.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m a traitor now and all traitors must die. So, if they ever find me and catch me, I’m as good as dead because there’s no way I can fight all of them and win. And it’s not fair. I got the Time Pieces back, all of them. Why would they fail me? All I want to do is fly my ship. And it is mine no matter what they say. It’s not fair.” She sniffled again as she looked away.

Snatcher grimaced as he reached out a hand to lightly pat her head in hopes of that being a comforting gesture. “Well… good riddance, I say.” He tried to make his tone light. “They’re clearly all a bunch of corrupt peck-necks. You’re better off without them. And it is your ship, maybe not legally but in this case, who cares about the law?”

“I know but… that place was home and… I spent my whole life there on that station and I worked so hard to get back to it. But now I… I guess I’m homeless, huh? A homeless orphan, the only thing keeping me from basically being the stereotypical protagonist of a kid’s book or game is the fact that I don’t live on the streets stealing from rich people. I have my ship though which… I guess is good enough.” Her less than happy expression said she was lying about it being good enough. So…

“Uh… you can call this planet home if you want,” Snatcher offered.

Her face lit up as she turned her head to look at him. “Really?”

“Yes, really. You’re going to be stuck her for a while anyway while you wait for those assholes to stop looking for you so you might as well.”

“Hmmm… I guess I could find a place to land my ship and live out of it from there for a while. That’d be safer anyway because then they’d have to scan the planet directly in order to find it. Where though? Probably not on the island because I don’t think there’s enough space. Definitely not anywhere near the Metro. The mountains are too mountainous for sure. Maybe the desert would be good even if it would be hot so…”

“Kid, I know what you’re leading to,” Snatcher interrupted. “And fine, I’m not going to fight you over it.” Because she’d undoubtedly convince him anyway because she was just like that. “Go ahead and land your stupid ship in my forest. That’ll be my good deed for the century, letting a dumb homeless and helpless orphan live in my territory, so don’t expect me to do anything nice for you or anyone else for the next hundred years at least.”

Hat Kid giggled. “Okay, thank you.”

 -

Snatcher frowned down the document he’d just finished revising for the fourth time, making sure it was as perfect as it could get. Was he really doing this? Really? After he told both himself and Hat Kid in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t? … Yes but… he had an excuse. She was moving into his first meaning he needed to have some level of authority over her and this was the best way to do that because it was the way she was most likely to respect.

Before he could second guess himself any further – which considering what he was doing probably wasn’t a good idea but he was full of not good ideas these days – he teleported onto Hat Kid’s ship again. “Hey kiddo,” he said.

Hat Kid, sorting through her closet jumped and turned to face him. “Hey Snatcher,” she replied, smiling.

“There’s one last thing I need you to do before you park you ship in my forest.” They’d already cleared a space and set up a basic landing platform, the only thing she was waiting was his okay to land. “I need you to fill in your full real name on this document.” He snapped his fingers, making it and a quill appear before.

She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion before looking down at the paper. As she read her expression brightened. When she looked back up at him it was with a large smile. “You’re adopting me?”

Snatcher held back a sigh. “Yes but only because if you’re moving into my forest I need to have some authority over you. This is the easiest way to do that.”

“Yeah, sure it is.” She giggled as she picked up the quill to fill in her name in the needed areas. When she was done, she handed both back to him because now it was time to sign it and make it official.

He sighed as he looked it over one last time. Hat Kid had written her name in her native language, meaning he couldn’t read and thus still didn’t know her real name. It didn’t matter though. He signed it at the bottom before he could think too much about it.

“There.” He snapped his fingers as he sent the adoption document to the same sealed, protected, and hidden room he kept the contracts with the Subconites in. “I’m legal guardian now.”

“Thank you!” She ran over and hugged him. He sighed and tolerated it. Just this once though, after this no more hugs. … He was glad she was happy though.

[whiskeyworen]

Tenna - Dangerous Creatures

It happened so fast.

One moment, they were cruising along above the jungle, and the order was given to open fire. Like many of its sister ships, the Vengeance Rising trained its cannon down at the thick, dark jungle. What they were firing on was unknown, but presumably someone had spotted Mordrem monster groups, or their giant, toothy-plant champion...things.

Tenna was below decks, preparing a dataslate to present to the captain. Most of the Priory crew was looking askance at her, particularly the asura crewmen; tales of her experiments had already spread far and wide. Were it not for a formal edict from Steward Gixx, which demanded she show for duty despite the injunctions placed on her, she wouldn't have been on the ship at all.

Satisfied the TO&E was correct, she headed up to the bridge, just as the first volleys were being fired.

"Captain, here's the information you wanted." She handed the slate over to the tall sylvari. He took it from her, and gave it barely a glance before handing it back.

"Good, Tenna... good." He nodded, and began to head down from the overhanging bridge to walk the deck. Tenna followed, simply as a matter of protocol; she had not been dismissed yet. "I'm glad to see everything is in order."

"Yessir, Captain Rhinffrew." She replied crisply. She noted the cannons rippling with fire, making the ship shudder, and could see through the viewpanes that other ships were opening fire as well. "I take it we have headed into the engagement zone?"

"You are correct." Rhinffrew nodded, frowning. "Word from the Glory of Tyria is that there's quite a lot of Mordrem mobilized below. We're hoping to...thin their numbers."

"With your permission then, sir, I'd like to get back to the munitions." Tenna bowed slightly. "We might need quite a lot, given how big the jungle is."

Rhinffrew held up a finger, not looking at her. "A moment, Tenna. There is... something..."

It was at that moment that something enormous, sharp-edged, and green launched from somewhere in the jungle depths. It was a coil of iron-hard jungle vines, each one wider than the entire engine assembly of the Vengeance Rising, swirled around each other into a vaguely spear-like shape, and moving at a speed that amazingly broke the sound barrier.

The tower-sized spear -- or tendril, properly -- of plant matter lanced across the bow of the Vengeance, to rip into the belly of another, nearby ship. Tenna and everyone else watched in horror as the vines not only speared the ship through and through, but apparently opened up like a flower within the hull, spreading thorned vines everywhere to shred through armor, bulkheads....people.

The entire ship was then lifted even higher into the air as the main tendril twisted and curled. In Tenna's eyes, the way the vine had split on impact and had grown around the now-foundering ship, it looked like a grand, long, arm of some terrible beast.

The Dragon had used a claw on the ship.

It had a great many of them to go around.

All around, ships were wracked with explosions as tendrils, launched from the forest and shredding the landscape beneath them, where they had been buried underground, ripped apart ship after ship. One ship was wrapped in a great, octopoidal tentacle of thorns, and squeezed vertically, its contents pouring out of the shattered hull and into the jungle below.

The Vengeance herself took a glancing strike that opened all the starboard compartments, ripping the cannons away and killing the majority of the guncrews on impact. Everyone lurched as the ship spun away, knocked sideways by the passing vine.

"Wheel is uncontrollable, Captain!" The helmsman called, cradling a broken wrist; on impact, the wheel had spun so hard and fast that it caught him offguard and snapped it like a twig. "We still have lift, but I think we've lost everything else!"

"Understood." Captain Rhinffrew shouted back, drawing his pistols. "Weapons up, people! We are probably going down, and it's not going to be friendly down there!"

At that moment, there was a deep, ultra-basso, guttural rumble from the south west, a sound that was almost entirely felt and not heard. But it was very much heard... especially by some people.

"What the hell was that?!" One crewman cried out, kneeling to help a staggering companion to their feet -- only to recieve a knife to the side of the neck in reply, as the person he helped suddenly straightened, and fluidly dispatched him. He went down in a welter of blood, gurgling in surprise.

From below decks there was a massive explosion, one that ripped upward through the hull and annihilated the hanging bridge -- the one Tenna had just been standing on. As she pulled herself to her feet, she called out. "I think the main engines are gone, Captain!"

"Thank you for that assessment, Tenna." He replied drily. "I believe you are correct."

She pointed at the blood-soaked sylvari, who was chuckling, staring at her hands with gruesome fascination. In the time it had taken Tenna to get back to her feet, the crazed person had taken down two more crewmates who had tried to restrain her. "I think there's something wrong with Elsbeth!"

"Oh she's perfectly fine." Rhinffrew chided her, smilingly broadly -- as he brought his pistol up and blew a hole through the helmsman. "After all, she serves Mordremoth! How could she be anything else?"

Mordremoth? Tenna repeated in her head. She glanced around the deck and realized that the only crew standing were sylvari. Each one had a strange, manic gleam in their eyes.

She didn't think. She just acted. With a mad dash, she leapt for one of the shattered windows, bullets and blades bouncing off the hull as the traitor sylvari tried to take her down.

Out on the main deck, she looked around for help, but... no. Every gun mount was shattered, their crew missing or dead. She was out of time.

"Tenna! Do come back!" Rhinffrew called playfully as he stepped through the shattered glass of the front windscreen. The fact that the ship was spiralling downward at a rapidly increasing rate didn't seem to concern him. "Our Master would love to make your acquaintance! Such a bright mind shouldn't go to waste!"

"Never!" She backed up against the railing, feeling for the edges. "The Dragon will never take me!"

He gave her a sad, pained look. "I would much rather bring you to him alive, but dead works too..."

With that, he swung the pistol up one final time and fired.

The last thing she felt was the bullet punching into her forehead. Then the lights went out.

Rhinffrew watched her go limp, and slump against the side of the railing. Her hand, loose and dead, pulled down by gravity, ended up yanking her escape glider's pullcord; it was the last thing she'd done before she died.

Before the Captain could grab her body, the glider caught the swirl of air disturbed by the rapid descent of the ship, and ripped her away, tossing her body into the wilds.

"Damnit." He cursed, holstering the pistol. "The Master could have used her."

He glanced over his shoulder to the surviving sylvari crew; anyone who had not heard the Call, or who had resisted it, were now lying below decks in spreading pools of blood and ichor. Only the faithful remained. "Right! Abandon ship! Once it crashes, we'll come back and get supplies!"

****

Hours later

Priory archivist Nemo glanced around from the underbrush. It wasn't safe to leave the brush with his small, surviving team. They'd managed to jump from their ship as it was brought down by vines, and had ended up sneaking for several hours through the thick, dank jungle. Along the way, they had dodged Mordrem patrols, run from massive saurian beasts, and narrowly escaped a toxic cloud sprayed by some damned huge insect.

All of it could drive a guy to paranoia.

An hour or so ago, another airship, one from the second or third wave, had crashed into the canopy, tearing a right big hole in it. At the very least, they'd be able to scavenge some supplies, additional weapons, and maybe some shelter from its hull. Worst case scenario... it'd be swarming with Mordrem. Whether it was traitor sylvari, actual Mordrem, or their monstrous duplicate beasts.

"Do you see anything down there?" A thick Norn voice whispered over his shoulder.

"No... there's nothing that I can see." He replied, turning to give a short wave to the rest of the team. There was only four of them... and one of them was a sylvari.

"Let's get down there and get some supplies." Nemo told them. He cast an eye at the sylvari. "... You go first, Trent."

The sylvari, with a somber nod, moved ahead to be on point. He had no weapons; he'd willingly surrendered them to his teammates the moment he'd encountered them. Even though he'd declared his innocence and loyalty to the Pact and the Pale Tree, he knew they wouldn't believe him. The fact they hadn't killed him immediately was something he'd grasped onto and was unwilling to give up. If he made himself useful, even if it was a suicide mission...at least he wouldn't die to allies.

The team worked its way down to the wreckage, sidestepping gear that was on fire and broken mechanisms. The ship had come down through the thick boughs of the jungle trees, getting wedged in them, and sat about fifty feet above the jungle floor. From the look of things, neither Mordrem nor beast had invaded the site yet. The Pact had though... post-humously.

Bodies littered the ground... some of them in several pieces.

"Gods..." Nemo hissed, shaking his head. "Okay. We'll break up into teams. You two, search for supplies. Trent... you're with me."

At the sylvari's questioning gaze, he sighed. "...we have some graves to dig."

A few hours later, the last grave was filled in. With a few words of farewell from each faith, the team turned to leave. They'd found a decent amount of supplies, and rigged a piece of hull plate to be a sled, pulled by the Norn and the Charr in their group.

Just as they were heading out, Trent coughed and drew Nemo's attention. He didn't dare tap the Archivist on the shoulder; that would have earned a quick death. When Nemo looked at him, Trent pointed up, glancing at something he'd spotted just a minute ago. "...we missed one."

Nemo looked up, and sure enough, there was another body. This one though... he shook his head. "'Fraid we can't do anything for that one. Hope the Eternal Alchemy gives her peace though."

With reluctance, the team moved on, leaving the burgundy-haired asura corpse in its place.

The indignities Tenna's body had suffered over the last day just kept piling up. In addition to the bullet-hole in her forehead, the glider hadn't lasted longer than a minute in the heavily congested airspace of the jungle. Shredded remnants of it still hung from her limp form where it sat.

After the glider had ripped, her corpse had fallen through the treeline, bouncing off branch after branch, bones snapping with each impact, until she'd come to rest in the Y of a branch about a hundred feet off the forest floor.

Then the airship came down. The needle prow had, by misfortune, impaled her body quite severely, freeing it from its wooden resting place, and left her where the team had seen her. Fifty feet off the ground, with a razor-sharp ship's prow through her torso. They hadn't even noticed her blood dripping to the ground, because it was so dispersed as it fell.

Somewhere between that day, and the next morning, life had begun to return to the area. Birds, monkeys, insects; all things that had been scared by the ship crash had filtered back to the area. A few birds even landed on Tenna's body, using her as a perch -- until their weight dislodged her body.

With a wet, crunchy slap, her body -- torn wide open by the ship's prow -- smacked into the ground. Somehow, even after a day or two of being dead, her body was still bleeding.

Bleeding, which attracted predators. Such as the massive Stonehead that suddenly rounded the bend. It snuffled the air, detecting the scent of blood and viscera in the area. The beast hadn't eaten properly in the last two days, what with all the chaos in the forest that it couldn't understand. Its brain, barely bigger than a loaf of bread, simply couldn't comprehend how its world had changed, what new dangers might exist.

But it did know the smell of food.

A few ground-shaking, puddle-jittering steps later, it was at the corpse of the little asura. Its arms were too small to reach out and grip, so it merely nudged her body, and licked a little at the puddle of blood she'd left. Satisfied that it tasted like meal, the Stonehead lowered its head and quite simply swallowed her corpse whole. That done, its belly pleasantly full, it turned and began to head back to its cave nearby.

****

Inside the Stonehead, something unnatural was occuring. The shattered ribcage and spine of the asura began to slowly knit together. Spilled entrails pulled back, winding into their proper places. Holes in organs sealed. Torn flesh knit.

The bodily destruction of Tenna had finally started to reverse itself, now that it had been freed from the bow of the ship. That metal blade had halted healing efforts, leaving her dead.

A lead bullet slowly, painfully pushed its way out of her forehead, falling into the soup of the stomach of the Stonehead, while the bone sealed up.

There was issue with the skin though. As much as Tenna's body tried to heal itself, her skin was having a hard time fighting against the digestive juices of the saurian.

Tenna's eyes flashed open, a raging orange in the darkness, and the beast within screamed.

****

The Stonehead had finally made it back to its cave, amongst a pack of its own kind. The last few miles seemed to be weighing on it in a way it couldn't understand. It... didn't feel well.

That's when the pain set in. It started as an itch in its belly, but began to spread, until its entire belly felt like it was on fire.

The Stonehead roared in pain, but that roar was cut to a squeal of pain, leaving the beast reeling in agony. Other Stoneheads turned at the sound, curious as to what was going on. They could see their companion stomping around, flailing in pain and rage at something they couldn't see. It was strange.

That's when the rippling below the surface of its hide began. Every Stonehead that saw it immediately backed away; they knew parasite behavior when they saw it. Not one wanted to be infected by...whatever was wrong with this one.

The flailing of the afflicted Stonehead began to slow, weaken, as it began to cough up blood. After a few ragged breaths, it pitched onto its side, its multi-ton weight shattering the rock beneath it and sending minor shockwaves in all directions. A few moments later, it exhaled one final time, a disgusting gurgle of blood and gore.

For a few moments, there was silence. Stoneheads crept closer, curious about the death of their kin. The rippling below its skin increased with fervor, as if something inside knew its host was dead.

A rip appearred in the beast's belly. From inside, a gore-streaked, four-fingered claw reached out, grasping at the air with a frantic movement. Frantic... or angry.

Another claw appearred, and both gripped the edges of the wound, and slid down, razor-edges slicing the flesh with a rather horrible, wet zipper-like sound. Blood and bile poured out, as well as pieces of organs and other items. Some of them were things that the now-deceased had swallowed while wandering around.

With a foreward somersault, a small, bloody, near-skinless form rolled out, collapsing into the small pile of organic detritus that had preceded it. It rapidly pulled itself to its feet, breathing raggedly and rapidly. Glowing orange eyes glared out from beneath its skinless brow.

The nearest Stonehead leaned in, and sniffed at this strange, strange thing. There was something about it that smelled wrong. So it resorted to the only thing its small brain could latch onto; it roared, attempting to intimidate the little thing into running away.

Instead, the little monster took a single deep breath, and roared right back, with a voice filled with so much rage, so much venom and vengeance, that the Stonehead actually flinched at the sound of it.

The Stonehead cast slow glances at its fellow broodmates, confused. They just looked at each other, the small gears in their brains grinding, until they made a decision. With a grunt, all of them turned and walked away, abandoning the cave glade entirely. Whatever this little thing was, it had already killed one of them. Maybe it'd go away if they took a hunt/walk.

The thing that was Tenna collapsed back against the corpse of the Stonehead she'd ripped her way out of, gasping in pain as her skin regrew. Without thinking, she reached out with one hand and tore a chunk out of the beast, before cramming the raw meat into her mouth.

If anyone sentient had been close enough to see her, they would have seen that her eyes were utterly blank. The Hunger was in control right now; Tenna wasn't home -- please leave a message.

****

It was another two days before a wandering Pact supply train passed by close enough for someone to notice the huge dead Stonehead laying on the ground. It looked like it had run afoul of a thresher; shattered bone lay splayed across the clearing, and it looked like it had been devoured by other predators.

"Jeez, I really hope we don't run into whatever could do that to a Stonehead." One Pact member grimaced. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, let's go. Nothing to see he-- hey wait! There's someone near it!"

The pair of soldiers rushed over with a medical kit, as Tenna sat up from where she'd flopped after her meal. She looked like hell, but she was alive.

"Glad to see you, boys." She smiled tiredly, her voice ragged. As they bandaged her wounds, she let her eyes travel over the ruin of the Stonehead. "There's some pretty dangerous things out in the jungle right now..."

She was one of them.

[elaianna]

Sacrifice

[ Artwork:  Promises by Iskander1989 ]

[ I couldn’t choose between two scenarios involving the same man/sacrificing for Thomas, so the anon gets two versions- this is a slightly edited version of an old post to give insight on that sacrifice]

One Year Ago

On the one hand – or rather, the one cheek – his face was burning. There was a proper lighting of blood beneath his skin, swelling a bulging where the bulk of the damage had been done. His jaw sat poorly on his skull, leaning to one end where the swelling was worst. It left his right eye shut, unable to open from the girth of flesh that formed an apple beneath his caterpillar brow.

On the other hand, the wind was screaming around the dingy, sloop they had managed to abscond with. With his limbs in poorer state than his face, Thomas possessed little capacity to row or aid in the ropework. Naught but himself and eight men were left. The sodden, salt-damaged and bloody remnants of his crew. Nine men – and one.

The past days … weeks? Had it been a month? … all slurred in his mind. But through the pain, he caught call to recollect. The tenth man desperately huddled aboard the sickly sloop had been their savior. Indeed, were it not for his station, Tom would have been dead long before the strange ‘pirate’ could have endeavored to rescue him. The why of that particular act was still hanging in the air … a question for dry land, perhaps.

Stephan, the man had said, by way of Hadley. Not a name Tom knew – and he knew quite a many, especially in the realm of seafarers.

“Ho! – HO! Lighthouse!” called one of the men in a hoarse, salt-scoured voice.

Stormholme was lay ahead, and it brought a vestigial smile to Tom’s face. Even in an overcast storm, he could still find his way home. They ran the ropes in and tightened the sail to give them the wind, scraping over the choppy waters toward the harbour.

Twenty-three days and counting.

Elaianna could feel the pit of her stomach twisting into more and more of a knot. She could hardly sleep. She barely had an appetite. It was all too familiar a sensation. Waiting. Hoping. Praying. Not knowing what had happened to her husband. Wondering if he was gone– if she would ever see him again.

And if she did, would it be him that she saw?

Sitting at her desk, she had asked her handmaiden to leave her for the evening. She needed time and space to herself. She didn’t want to admit to anyone what she had done. She didn’t want to admit what was going through her mind. She stared at the parchment, addressed to an office in Stormwind.

Arthur Daud,

I am writing to inquire about the state of our agreement, and if you have already cashed in your end of the

That was it. That was all she could write. She could feel anger flaring up. Anger at herself for writing as if her husband were some item, but at the same time, she couldn’t risk writing down and leaving evidence of the deal made a year ago.

A deal where she sacrificed her sense of pride, her sense of dignity, and anything else that Daud requested of her, in order to preserve the life of Thomas. She recalled the deal in vivid detail. She had sat in a meeting with Arthur Daud and finagled the terms of a deal. In order to save Thomas’s life, she had to sacrifice him in the same breath. The void entity would have his vessel when the time came, but she put her foot down to avoid him acquiring that time on his terms. Only when Thomas died of natural causes, only when he died without Daud’s interference in any shape or form, would he get what he wanted, and then, when he did, he was to avoid the family and the company just as he was to avoid them now. She wouldn’t have anyone who knew Thomas see him after his death. She wouldn’t put their family through that. What other choice did she have? If she didn’t agree to the deal, then she lost Thomas for good. He remained dead. He remained in the Shadowlands.

Frustration continued to rise. Thomas was gone, he disappeared. What other conclusion could she draw, other than Daud must have gotten what he wanted. She’d never have a body to confirm it. She’d forever live without the closure of knowing. It would torment at her, that she traded her husband’s life... for her husband’s life, and that she had taken closure from her family.

Then she heard it– the bells of the harbour. She stood up so fast that there was a clatter as her chair fell behind her. Racing towards the balcony, she ignored the frigid whip of the winds as they blew over her, and stared towards the harbour.

Entering into the shallow waters of Stormholme harbour, was a precarious sloop.

The vessel was beaten, wind-worn and rife with cannon damage. The headsail was nearly shred, and it was only through a tight hold on the ropes that it could swell with any wind. By a cursory glance, it seemed fit for the bottom of Sailgrave, not cruising into the protected holdings of Stormsong Valley. Spit, gristle, and willpower seemed to keep the ship afloat.

Given the lack of any weaponry aboard, there was no call to arms. Though one of the harbour guardhouses did rise with activity. There was a pause in the harbour bells. The spyman atop the eastern tower held his glass to eye and –

“MEDIC! MEDIC! MEDIC!”

The cry was followed by a horn blast, the fat-belled trumpet at the spyman’s side coming full of air. As was commanded, so came to be. Attention and sound came from the upper estate, and soon enough men in white frocks rode down to the harbour, just in time for the decrepit sloop to all but ‘ram’ into the dockhead.

There was a still moment, filled only by the ‘clack-clack!’ of horse hooves coming from the harbourway until …

CRRRRKK – KSSH!

The foremast split with a sad, sickening sound like broken twigs. It fell forward in an impotent display of destruction, falling without consequence onto the dockhead.  Bubbles began to emerge around the sloop, betraying it’s hull failures – she was slowly, slowly sinking right there in the harbour.

All that Elaianna could make out from where she stood was the small vessel making it’s way into the harbour. She squinted, and took note of what disrepair she could see from a distance. The foremast wasn’t aligned. By the time she had turned from the balcony to race down the stairs of Stormhollow castle, she missed the very thing she scrutinized collapsing.

The medics were on their way before she was. Yet the lady wasn’t far behind. She didn’t have time for a saddle. If she was right, then she had already lost twenty-two days worth of time. She had to be right. What other peoples would come back into Stormholme harbour in such a state? She could reason a great many people seeking refuge after dealing with the Horde on the open sea, or pirates, or other dangers. But she tried to think optimistically. She had to. Even if she was running out of that optimistic steam.

Click-click. Click-click.

Arriving after the medics, Elaianna swung one leg over the horse, and landed with a light ‘thud’ on the ground. She ignored the looks she acquired from what few paid mind to the new arrival. The Duchess riding a horse bareback, like a man, in a dress? It drew a few glances, but the attention was ultimately on those who had returned from sea.

“What is going on? What is the state of things?” she asked the first man she found.

The man in first attention was a medical professional – at least he must have been, by the white-frock coat and the elbow-high rubberized gloves he wore.

“My Lady – please, we aren’t sure yet. These men are severely injured, we need to get them to the – “ he spoke as he turned toward the Duchess, head bowed in respect. Yet he was cut off by a sudden, loud ’thump!’.

As it turned out, most of the men trying to climb off the broken sloop were not in any condition to walk, let alone climb. Many scuffled and fell to the knees as they came onto the dock, immediately in the arms of the white-coats who cooed to the salt-scoured men with a chorus of, ‘Whoaa – whoa!’s and ‘steady now, steady –’s.

Elaianna looked towards the vessel as the first of the men fell onto the wooden boards of the dock. Her brows were knit in concern. “–I don’t care who these men are, see to it they are all seen to, and the duchy will fund all medical costs,” she instructed to the same white coat professional.

However, the last man off the derelict once-sea-faring vessel merely collapsed the instant he touched the wooden dockboards. One arm hung limp at his side, earlier clutched with delicate attention to his chest. His right eye was swollen shut, stained with black and yellow bruising. The weatherworn rag trousers he wore were stained to a sickly orange. By the shaking, he seemed to possess rather … poor vitality.

All the same, a tiny hoarse call left his blistered lips, ”Ain’ no place .. like hooome~”.

Elaianna’s eyes went wide as that hoarse voice called out. It wouldn’t have been heard over the commotion, were it not for the Lady being so familiar with the sound of her husband’s voice.

“THOMAS!”

Holding up her skirts up as Elaianna sprinted forwards, dropping to her knees beside him. She felt the burn of knees being skinned by the rough wooden boards. “Thomas, Tom… Oh tides. Tides.. You’re…” She looked up and towards the medic she had first bothered, waving him over. “Medic! Over here!”

At the waving of the Duchess, the medic rushed forward with his satchel in hand.

With the sound of his wife’s voice, Thomas tried to move. It was a valiant effort, truly, but availed him very little. His torso rose in a breath, but the airflow caught in his throat and hitched with a twitching of the ribcage. His left arm tried to reach out toward her, but it seemed ill-fit for service at the juncture of his upper arm and shoulder.

“Thhff – ick. Thfickk – Mff .. “ he attempted to speak, with little grace. The swell of his blistered lips gave terrible aid in pronunciation, and left him impotently waving a few spare fingers at the other men as he spoke.

Elaianna reached a hand out, fingers delicately caressing whatever part of his arm looked the least swollen and prone to feel pain at her touch, rather than any sense of calm. “–Shhh, dear. Shh. We’ll have plenty of time to talk once you’ve been looked after.”

A concentrated groan left him at her statement.

He rose somewhat, coming up to keep his weight on his hip as he wagged a limp hand at the coughing, beaten and bloody men being attended to by the medics.

“M’boys – th’thhfick – sick, sick. No water in five .. “ his voice trailed off, too sucked from moisture and nourishment to do much other than whistle with a hoarseness further.

“We’ll get them watered, love. They’re already being taken care of,” she assured Thomas gently.

The medic crouched beside Thomas and stuck his jaw tight, appraising the Admiral’s poor state of condition. A few lines creased themselves in the man’s brow, and he called over two other men to help him lift the half-conscious sailor into a stretcher.

“… I will be honest, my Lady,” he spoke in address to Anna, “I am not certain how his grace is even alive. With your leave, we must get him to the infirmary immediately at risk of fatality … “ His eyes trained on Anna in wait for the slightest indication of an ‘OK’. As urgent a matter as it was, they were still on her order above all else.

Leaning out of the way, she gave the man some room to inspect her husband. His words gave reason for her complexion her to pale. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t have him returned to her only to die. “Do what you must to save him. Please,” she urged, rising to her feet.

Don’t you dare die on me now.

As simple a command as that was enough to strike the medics into action.

With a thorough grunt, the three men loft Thomas into a stretcher despite his half-lidded arguments. With quite fine timing, a horse-drawn carriage arrived with a massive red cross on the side of it, and the rear doors flung open to accept the Duke within.

The other sailors were being quickly allotted to other stretchers, and those of standing-health were given to horseback to be taken to the manor’s infirmary. Most were of reasonable state, enough to hold their heads aloft at the very least. One amongst them, a younger man by comparison, seemed to lack anywhere near the injured state of the rest.

“Your grace? Are you coming with us, or riding ahead?” The medic spoke to Elaianna as he stepped up into the front of the carriage, leaving a space in case the Duchess desired to ride with her husband.

Elaianna glanced to the carriage, then towards the horse she had ridden all the way down to the harbour. She waved at one of the passing dockworkers. “You there,” she called out, stopping the young boy in his tracks. “Can you ride a horse?”

“Yes, ma'am– Lady– Grace.”

“Take my horse, and head to the castle. Ride ahead, and alert them that the Duke is en route with life threatening injuries, and several others are on their way to the infirmary for the same treatment. – Hurry.”

The boy nodded and sprung into action with the orders given by the Duchess herself.

Only then did Elaianna turn and hurry to the carriage, letting her actions answer the medic’s question. As she climbed inside she stayed as near to Thomas as she dared without being in the way of the medic. “I’m not leaving him alone,” she told him.

The conviction of her voice allowed only a nod in response from the medic.

Three of them went about their work to attempt to stabilize Thomas as the carriage rocked to and fro along the cobbled road. One of the men held a lantern aloft as the other two pressed and prodded the Admiral’s wounds for information.

“NNGHH! – “

One of the medics frowned at the pained response.

“I’m feeling separation – atleast two are floating in the abdomen.”

“Two? Tides … wait, one here as well. L3 – which do you have floating?”

Another press came against Thomas’ side.

“NGHH – hgh, hghh – mhh .. “

“R1 and R3, both outside ligament limits. The bruising is consistent with rapid, repeated blunt force trauma. I’m seeing stippling … a studded tool.”

There was a calm, methodical tone to their voices. Quite professional, and rightly so. Stormholme held no half-baked professionals, least of all medical staff. As fate turned, the Anchor Trading Company held quite a need for finely talented healers.

“Heart rate is rising … I see clam and fever. We need to brace and get an airway – “

“I’m on it, get me a tubing and a separator for his throat – “

The carriage hit a bump, and Thomas head rocked forward, and then back. There was an uncomfortable ‘krrkt!’ sound as he came back to a rest. Both medics cringed, locking their teeth and simultaneously commanding the third to hold Thomas’ neck and head in place.

Amidst the ongoing diagnosis and preliminary treatment, there was a scouring of wind past the carriage windows. Unnoticed, apparently, by the medics focused on their work – it whistled like a man’s voice. A mocking, taunting tight-lipped tune.

“Not yet,” Elaianna mumbled to herself– or was it to the wind? “Not yet.”

She could feel her heart pounding heavily in her chest. She was anxious, and truth be told? She was terrified. She couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not yet. Not again.

“Hang on, Thomas,” she murmured softly. “Hang in there, love. Stay anchored with us now…”

Yet as they spoke of a separator for his throat and needing an airway, she had to turn her head to hide her cringe. She couldn’t watch that. She’d have the memory burned in her mind if she did.

Keen was the mind that looked away.

There was a thick, strangulatory sound as the medics intubated Thomas. They produced a hinged, metal tool to hold the flaps of his throat open as they put a tube to his trachea. Attached was a hand-pump which could provide a steady flow of air.

While oxygen was quite welcome, it produced quite an audible pain in the man as his lungs swelled and – in doing so – pushed his shattered ribcage to and fro.

A stronger man might have kept his mind, but there was only so much rope on a ship. Thomas had thrown all he had overboard, and thus gargled and fell unconscious from the pain.

As his eyes rolled back and his breathing steadied without the constant clenching of his muscles from pain, the whistling halt. Were the medics wise to the sound, they had no mention or care for it. They were too busy halting the steady decline of Thomas’ blood pressure.

But by thankful speed, they arrived then at the infirmary. The rear doors opened abruptly to reveal a half-dozen strong team of healers and a tidesage ready to take the Admiral within. As they stabilized him and got him onto a gurney to wheel within the primary trauma ward, a black-coated bird swooped down to perch atop the wagon. It remained there as Thomas was wheeled inside, watching. Arthur Daud had come to keep an eye on his prize, waiting for the moment.

[kadmeread]

Not Over Yet - Chapter 1: A New Pantheon

If anyone is interested, I decided to redo this story, it is currently published under my account on fanfiction.net (kadmeread) there as well. But I thought I might publish this new version on here and AO3 (same username again) as well to hopefully get it out there. Please let me know what you think!

So this story is a PJO/HOO/TOA crossed over with MCGA. Set after Burning Maze and during Ship of the Dead. Basically the summary goes along the lines of; Jason's confused. Where the hell is he? This isn't Elysium...and there are Norse gods now?

Chapter 1: A New Pantheon

So I finally did it, I died. Now I’ve been close to dying before, I’ve even actually died for a minute, but I never expected to go so soon. When I did go I expected to wake up in the Underworld, on my way to be judged. I would hope that I would get judged worthy of Elysium, but it's hard to tell sometimes. Anyway, I did not expect to be holding the hand of a girl riding what looked like a venti. As I started to show signs of being awake she dropped me on this lawn. It was connected to this really large building, like Olympus sized. As I was looking around, the doors opened and I was addressed.

“Ahh, you’re early, oh well come on in Mr Grace.”

The guy who spoke had on a doorman’s uniform, but the rest of him contradicted the welcoming look. He had a distinctly viking like look, with the wild hair and beard. He had a large double bladed axe at this side and his hand hovered over it threateningly. I decided it would probably be the best idea to do what he said as I still wasn’t even sure if I was dead.

As I walked towards him I noticed the lack of pain, in theory I shouldn’t have even been able to walk, even if I had survived. But I couldn’t even feel any of the various wounds I knew I had gotten. When I looked down at myself I saw no sign of the wounds, I also noted that I was in my Camp Jupiter t-shirt, and IVLIVS was in my jeans pocket. I thought this was odd as I knew I had been using it when I died.

The doorman looked at me impatiently, “Well hurry it up,” he said. “You can’t hang out over there all day, we have other new arrivals expected after all.”

I sped up slightly and tried to work pout what exactly had actually happened. I had been fighting Caligula…Piper and Meg and Apollo had been there fighting with me…Oh gods, the Sybil’s prophecy…it had come true...I had died, I was now dead. I felt the weight of this realisation settle upon me. If I was dead then…

“Where am I?” I demanded. I was confident that this wasn’t any part of the Greco-Roman Underworld. Between Percy, and Nico, and Annabeth, and Hazel, and even Thalia, I knew what it all looked and felt like and smelt like. It was kind of sad that most of my friends could describe the entire Underworld to me like going there was an everyday thing.

The guy’s eyes softened, I really needed to get a name for him.

“All in good time lad,” he said, “For now let’s get you checked in.” He put a hand on my back and guided me in.

The foyer was larger than I expected considering the outside appearance, sure the building seemed tall, but large? Nope. I was no architecture expert like Annabeth, but I was pretty confident that it was physically impossible for the foyer to be this big without magic. The walls were covered in polished Viking shields, the floor almost reminded me of how Percy had described Diana’s tent; (that was a story, he was the only man to have gained her respect in centuries) covered in the pelts of various animals, including what appeared to be a dragon skin. On the right wall a large hearth crackled, I bowed my head towards it, Vesta probably wasn’t there but you never know, and she would always have my respect. There were pictures and statues of wolves scattered around the room, which I greatly appreciated, wolves always did make me feel at home after being raised by Lupa.

I found what appeared to be a reception desk and headed over there. Another guy who unless my dyslexia was acting up was called Helgi said “Welcome to Hotel Valhalla, here is your room key, it’s a suite.”

I had no idea what was going on so I decided the best idea was to ask this guy. “Ah...thanks, I guess? Where am I? This isn;t part of the Underworld is it?”

Helgi’s eyes crinkled “No, you are now in Valhalla, the home of the valiant warriors who shall fight in Ragnarok. Congratulations. In Midgard we are in Boston. Your Valkyrie should be by soon to answer any other questions you might have. Hunding…” He glanced at the other guy, well I knew his name now, “Can you please escort Mr Grace here to his room on Floor 19?”

Hunding nodded and gestured to a door through which I could hear the shouts and metal clanging. “Right this was Mr Grace.”

I shifted uncomfortably, I might not be like Thalia and have completely renounced our last name but I wasn’t used to it being constantly used. “Please, call me Jason.”

He looked at me strangely for a second before nodding.

After we went through the door, we came upon a lounge. We were walking through the lounge to the door on the other side, when a guy about my age came in. I noticed him because he wasn’t really bothering to try and avoid the weapons, nobody else really was, but he also wasn’t joining in on the shouting or other games going on. He appeared to be looking for someone. It became obvious who he was looking for when he came over and started up a conversation with Hunding. I stood there awkwardly for 5 minutes as Hunding had forgotten about me for his conversation. Eventually the other guy gave Hunding what looked like some chocolate before noticing me for the first time. He gave a start and looked me up and down before smiling at me and asking Hunding.

“Who’s the new guy?”

Hunding glanced at me and replied “Jason Grace, just came in today. He’s actually going to be your new neighbour.”

“Really? Cool…” he nodded at me “You’ll have the corridor to yourself soon.” He told me before turning back to Hunding, “Would you me to show him around until Sam gets here, I’m guessing he’s one of hers? I know Helgi will have a bunch of other jobs for you to do.”

Hunding beamed at that, “Yeah he’s one of Samirah’s, and I’d really appreciate it thanks Magnus, you’re a star.”

Magnus turned towards me as Hunding walked off. As I got a good look at him, his eyes startled me, they were the same steel grey as Annabeth’s although they were a lot friendlier, that girl was scary.

“Hi,” he said, “I’m Magnus, welcome to Valhalla.” He held out his hand for me to shake.

I took it saying “Thanks, Jason Grace.”

He looked down at my arm and noticed my tattoo, I had forgotten about it. I wanted to ask about his reaction as he almost seems to recognise it but he forestalled me by asking, “So what impressively heroic feat did you do to end up here?”

As I turned to follow him as we got into an elevator to go up to my new floor I told him, “Umm...I got stabbed in the back with a spear.”

He winced “Ouch, I know how that feels.”

He seemed to be a good person to ask what the Hades was going on. “So,” I continued, “What exactly is Valhalla?”

He looked uncomfortable, “I’m probably not the best person to explain this, but basically it’s the Norse afterlife for those who died heroically with a weapon in hand.”

“Ok…” I decided that until I was sure what the Hades was going on I wouldn’t mention that I’m in the wrong afterlife. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t meant to go to the Norse afterlife instead of the Underworld.

After standing in an awkward silence for a few seconds the elevator finally arrived at floor 19. Magnus told me all about my new neighbours as we passed their rooms. “So this is Halfborn’s room, he’s your typical Viking; big, hairy, thickheaded, good to have on your side in a fight. He and Mallory are in an on again off again relationship, so tread carefully there, I think they aren’t currently together. That’s T.J’s room, he was a soldier in the Civil War. He fought with the Union and is obsessed with hills, I think it’s a Civil War thing.”

I nodded, “I have a friend whose grandmother was a slave, she wasn’t happy to hear that my forebears were Confederates.”

Magnus nodded, “Yeah probably best not to mention that to T.J either. Anyway that’s Mallory’s room, she’s Irish and has the brogue to match. Don’t get on her bad side, her knives are always sharp.” I thought that she sounded kind of like Annabeth and noted to be careful where I stepped with her.

I then pointed to a door which had Alex Fierro and a snake like symbol on it and asked, “What about him?”

Magnus hesitated before answering, “That’s Alex’s room...she’s genderfluid, so be careful what you say about her.”

I nodded absorbing that information, “Sorry about that, almost sounds like you have a crush on her.”

Magnus looked kind of panicked “What?! No...she’s just...cool. Anyway, you're here beside me.” He hurriedly pointed to the next door.

I looked at the door for my new home. It was purple and orange, reminding me of the two camps. Magnus looked queasy at the colour choices but it made me feel nostalgic for my cabin on the Argo, it’s door had been the exact same, all the doors had all been like that, in order to remind us what we were fighting for. I opened the door and was transported to the lounge of the Argo, it even had the Camp Half Blood video walls, but it also had Camp Jupiter ones as well.

“How did they do this?” I asked in awe, wandering around.

Magnus grinned and said “Magic, it takes your best memories and recreates them to make you feel at home here. My rooms have a tree. What’s the reasoning behind yours, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Uhh…” I said as I caught sight of the Superman poster in my bedroom, that Leo had hung in my room in the Argo as a joke. “This is the lounge area from a cruise I went on with some of my friends and family. The video walls were created by a genius friend of mine, they show videos of the summer camps we went to, we all met at them.”

“Wow,” he said looking at some photos. “Are these your friends?”

I joined him and picked up one of the photos, which had me, the rest of the Seven and Nico and Reyna in it. We had taken the photo in Epirus, so Percy and Annabeth were still looking a little the worse for wear, but we were all ecstatic to have survived to close the Doors of Death and to have Annabeth and Percy back with us.

I felt close to crying, “Yeah, those are my friends, this one has all of us who went on the cruise and a couple of others who flew out to join us, we’re in Epirus, which is in Greece. That’s Nico,” I pointed as I named them and described them for Magnus. “The goth looking boy, he’s my cousin along with Percy and Hazel. Reyna, we grew up together, she’s one of my best friends, she’s amazing, a natural leader and very strong in all ways. Frank, he's a beast man, I didn’t really know him all that well when we first went on the cruise, but now he’s a good friend. He’s also a distant cousin of Percy’s I think. Hazel, she’s Nico’s half sister, and the sweetest thing alive. She and frank are together and adorable about it. Then it’s Annabeth, she’s crazy smart, and super scary.” Magnus smiled at that for some reason, but I carried on. “When I first met her, she was looking for her boyfriend and thought I might know where he was. She scared the heebie jeebies out of me, when she stalked up to me demanding to know where he was. We’re close now though, my older sister practically raised her as a kid. Next is Percy, Annabeth’s boyfriend, he’s kinda the leader of our group of friends, but he’s really cool, we’re bros. He and Annabeth had just got back from a really hard tramp, which is why they weren’t looking so good. Then it’s Piper, we’re best friends, at the time this photo was taken, we were together, but she broke up with me later because she felt it wasn’t working. Her mum pushed her into it, her mum is a crazy matchmaker and really ships Percy and Annabeth together. Then it’s me, and then it’s my boy, Leo the Supersized McShizzle, he’s annoying and a bit of a jokester, but we’ve been through a lot together. He decided to go AWOL for a bit, and I only just found out where he was.” I choked back a sob, “We were about to see each other again too, when I died. Oh, and this…” I picked up another photo. “Is Thalia, my sister, she had only just found me again before we went on that cruise. My stepmother decided to raise me, and then Thalia ran away because our mum was abusive, and she didn’t even know I was alive. Gods she’s going to be devastated when she hears…” I trailed off lost in thought of all the friends and family that I had lost, and Magnus quietly slipped out the door behind me.

I hope you enjoyed! Please do let me know what you think, and I’ll try and get the next chapter up soon hopefully. Redoing this in part was me trying to get past writer’s block on some of my other projects, but if you guys ever want feel free to send in prompts or requests for me to write, it’s always nice to get feedback etc.