In which XIV is my personal OC dress-up simulator & I revel in any & every opportunity to make Brontë look soft & also to make Cyril absolutely suffer.
A chill crawled down my spine. I’d like to think it was from the wind and the rain but I wasn’t so naïve. Captain Cyril Stacy... I mentally kicked myself. I should’ve pried for more information, but I was desperate to leave that bloody town. The barkeep I’d bribed with my last gil had mentioned there was only one ship leaving port that night but he, very likely willingly, had left out the most important detail of all… who captained the vessel. I had thanked the Twelve for the thick clouds blocking the moon's light as I snuck aboard. It must have been sheer luck that I was able to make it to the cargo hold, tucking my small frame amongst the barrels and crates below. Or so I thought.
I clutched the ratlines, desperate to remain upright. My legs unaccustomed to the sea, let alone it being as angry as it was at that moment. Another wave rose and sea water rushed across the deck. Gripping the ropes, I pulled myself up with full intent to climb. At that moment, lightning flashed and illuminated the world. That’s when I saw his face… and his damned smile. My brows furrowed in frustration. The bastard was enjoying this. We were enveloped in darkness again, save for the lanterns. In this storm, they didn’t provide much light. Not wasting time, I stretched my arm above me to continue my ascent. I wasn’t really sure what my plan was and my stomach turned with the idea of running from a fight. However, I was ill-equipped to take anyone on, let alone him.
The only belongings I owned were the clothes on my back, the coat I’d left below, a dagger and the choker around my neck. The dagger and choker never left my person, being my most valuable possessions. Holding my weight with one hand, I reached down to pull the weapon from my boot, tucking the handle between my teeth. Briefly my eyes scoured the deck, searching for my pursuer. Why hadn’t he called his crew to hunt me instead? Why was their illustrious Captain giving chase himself on such a dangerous night?
A deep voice slid through the howl of the wind. I wasn’t sure where it’d come from but I needed no further warning to move faster. Finally I’d reached the platform just above the yard. I leaned back against it, wrapping an arm around it to hold me steady while removing the dagger from my mouth with the other. I wasn’t going down without some sort of fight and kept my gaze at the edge of the platform, watching for any sign of the man who hunted me.
Personally, I was willing to stay there as long as was necessary to stay out of his hands. Fate thought otherwise. A large wave rose beside the ship. I watched in horror as the monstrous wall of black and deep greens and blues rose higher still. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, as if allowing me to contemplate my life and why I’d decided to step foot on a ship, this ship, at all. The roar of the ocean was deafening as the wall of water came crashing down on top of me. It pinned me against the mast and pitched the ship to the side. A thought flashed across my mind and I hoped, just for a second, that the Captain would be washed overboard.
I could feel myself sliding. Desperately I drove my dagger into the wood below me, my sad attempt to keep from being pulled off of the platform. Just as the ship was righting itself I slipped. And I fell. My arms flailed about to catch anything. How far up had I climbed? I thought as I fell through the air. Then with a loud slam, I hit the deck. I swore I heard bone and wood alike splintering and breaking. The air was knocked from my lungs and sharp pain shot through me as if the lightning above had struck me. The darkness of night seemed to be growing closer, enveloping me like a blanket. Just before it overtook me, something seemed to form from the blackness itself. A man? A gold orb drew closer and I could see the white of his teeth with that same arrogant smile on his face. Ah, Captain Stacy. I wanted to laugh but my lungs wouldn’t expand. Finally, unconsciousness claimed me.
henry and i have been learning russian now for the past month or so and at this point i can read/pronounce words written in cyrillic and its exciting! and now im learning more words and sentence structure but anyway
the lessons have included names written in cyrillic (Анна - Anna, Дми́трий/Дима - Dimitri/Dima) and im not sure how mine would be translated? its a variant of a diminutive for anastasia so idk if it would be translated as the closest variant or phonetically
January
1. Silent Parade (沈黙のパレード) (2018) Keigo Higashino
2. A Nun in the Closet (1975) Dorothy Gilman
3. The Maid (2022) Nita Prose
4. Rock Paper Scissors (2021) Alice Feeney
5. It's in His Kiss (2005) Julia Quinn
February
6. The Chuckling Fingers (1941) Mabel Seeley
7. Untimely Death (He Should Have Died Hereafter) (1958) Cyril Hare+
8. No Exit (2019) Taylor Adams
9. Apprehend Me No Flowers (2020) Diane Vallere
10. Rules of Murder (2013) Julianna Deering +
11. The Lady's Mine (2022) Francine Rivers
12. Bats in the Belfry (1937) E.C.R. Lorac
March
13. The Four Graces (1946) D.E. Stevenson
14. The Kill of it All (2022) Diane Vallere
15. The Spy Who Loved Me (1962) Ian Fleming
16. The Paris Apartment (2022) Lucy Foley
17. Nine Lives (2022) Peter Swanson
April
18. The Nutmeg Tree (1937) Margery Sharp
19. A Time of Love and Tartan (2017) Alexander McCall Smith
20. Four Aunties and a Wedding (2022) Jesse Q. Sutanto ^
21. Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled (2000) Dorothy Gilman ^
May
22. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (2021) Elle Cosimano
23. All Creatures Great and Small (1970/1972) James Herriot
24. On the Way to the Wedding (2006) Julia Quinn ^
June
25. The Resting Place (Arvtagaren) (2020) Camilla Sten
26. Confessions (告白) (2008) Kanae Minato
27. Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead (2022) Elle Cosimano ^
28. The Woman in the Library (2022) Sulari Gentill
29. Under Lock & Skeleton Key (2022) Gigi Pandian
30. Under Currents (2019) Nora Roberts
31. The House Across the Lake (2022) Riley Sager
July
32. Miss Butterworth & the Mad Baron (2022) Julia Quinn, Violet Charles
33. Rose Cottage (1997) Mary Stewart *
34. Death in the Stocks (1935) Georgette Heyer +
35. The Swimming Pool (1952) Mary Roberts Rinehart +
36. Octopussy & the Living Daylights (1966) Ian Fleming ^
37. The Science of Murder (Murder Isn't Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie) (2021) Carla Valentine
August
38. The Peppermint Tea Chronicles (2019) Alexander McCall Smith
39. Spiders From Mars (2020) Diane Vallere ^
40. Nightwork (2022) Nora Roberts
41. Parker Pyne Investigates (1934) Agatha Christie *
42. Murder Underground (1934) Mavis Doriel Hay
43. A Promise of Ankles (2020) Alexander McCall Smith
44. Till Death Do Us Part (1944) John Dickson Carr
September
45. The It Girl (2022) Ruth Ware
46. A Flicker in the Dark (2022) Stacy Willingham
47. Solace Island (2017) Meg Tilly
48. Love in the Time of Bertie (2021) Alexander McCall Smith ^
49. The Ink Black Heart (2022) Robert Galbraith ^
October
50. The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) John Wyndham
51. The Bullet That Missed (2022) Richard Osman ^
52. A Song of Comfortable Chairs (2022) Alexander McCall Smith ^
November
53. Love Me or Grieve Me (2022) Diane Vallere ^
54. The Couple at the Table (2022) Sophie Hannah
55. The Twist of a Knife (2022) Anthony Horowitz ^
56. Kurashi at Home (2022) Marie Kondō
December
57. Mystery in White (1937) J. Jefferson Farjeon
58. Murder for Christmas (1949) Francis Duncan
59. The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories (2018) Martin Edwards (Editor)
+ read what I already own challenge
^ finished or caught-up in series
* re-reads
let’s be real,,,, ppl wouldn’t even know half the time if a female cc was ND because societal ableism runs so deep no one can recognize the signs in afabs and masking is much more common in afabs with adhd than amabs :’) they’d just think she was quirky on purpose or something
HONESTLY!! i could go on forever about how afab people mask because thats all we know how do to but. so many people can claim that they’re not ableist because their favourite amab cc is neurodivergent and they’ll say something about how women talk too much
Warm- up sketches and found the coolest pixels of the night (or I always thought so in the past) @lordofcrowns.
And course it seemed he just got a cool glam. Cyril always rockin’ shit.
❄☆ HAPPY STARLIGHT! ☆❄
There’ll be no more darkness when you believe in yourself, you’re unstoppable.
- S.U.I.T.S and Company
Original Picture (Top) Taken by @lordofcrowns and various character pictures from blogs under the cut.
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Members and (unwilling) Contributors:
That Guy on the Wanted Poster at the Mini Mart: @lordofcrowns
That Germlin Who Keeps Touching Things @finalvalor
Ate the Whole Starlight Cake By Herself @manawalls
MA THAT CAT IS BACK AGAIN @reshaepocan (Honorary Member)
Mechanics Master Dragon Waifu @verdandir
Trying to Get Free Pizza with Seduction @finalsongxiv
[I’m looking forward to another year of being with friends and making bad choices! You guys are wonderful and I hope this year brings you happiness, health and wealth! Thank you for everything! <3]
All my love,
COZY