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[winepouring]

Shi Qingxuan
Room 110

⭐️ text • visit • delivery ⭐️

Comments

~10/11

[myagic]

[HEY. HEY, QINGXUAN.

Rita's not an idiot!! She's totally put the clues together: the cat sticker, the magic comments, the obvious dig at her perfectly fine fashion choices from the shirt, the bestie (gross) part, the female laughter...

Shi Qingxuan is the obvious culprit here. So--

BAM BAM BAM--

He's getting an angry fist banging on his cabin door.]

[winepouring]

[ WOW, knocking loud enough to wake the dead here!! Shi Qingxuan wasn't even asleep!! There's no need for this aggressive knocking!!

As usual, he's dressed as impeccably as possible given the Tommy Bahama wardrobe he's acquired! But his face is that of total irritation as he opens the door. ]

Hold on, stop that! I'm here!!

[ His expression doesn't change that much when he looks down and sees Rita standing there, but there's a light of recognition in his eyes like, Well, if anyone would knock on his door like they were trying to bust a hole in it, it would be Young Miss Mordio.. ]

Oh, it's you!

[myagic]

[Aha, he's even dressed in Tommy Bahama clothing, just like the shirt!! (nevermind that she is too that part's not important okay!!)

And he has the nerve to look annoyed and also play innocent?! Ohh, how annoying! Rita immediately tosses the red-stained tropical-print shirt at his face.]

Of course it's me! Are you stupid? You thought your little spooky act would somehow make us besties?!

--Who the hell even calls it that, anyway?! That's gross!

[This is very important?? Maybe?]

[winepouring]

[ Rita's Tommy Bahama clothing is unique and colorful! Totally different! ]

HUH?!

[ Shi Qingxuan might be one of the least athletic gods on this ship, but he still has enough reflexes to at least step back into his room with a projectile that smells like blood comes flying at his face!

How is he meant to respond here?! ]

Rita, what are you talking about? What spooky act?? Who's calling us "besties"??

Start from the beginning here. You can't just knock down someone's door and not explain anything.

[ Even he hasn't called someone "bestie"! Not even his one, single best friend! (He can imagine said friend would also say, Who calls it that? That's gross! though.)

That poor, bloody, tropical print shirt is just crumpled up there on the floor now... ]

[myagic]

[Indeed, her fashion choices are much more bold!! Which is totally better, right?!]

Oh, I should have to explain to the person who obviously left this? Get real! I'm not falling for it!

[Sure, he might be putting on a somewhat decent innocent act, but she's smarter than that!!]

You want a starting point? How about the black cat? Can you be more obvious?!

[winepouring]

What?!

[ He looks at her as if she's suddenly grown a second, equally angry head. Black cat? Shirt??

This is an attack on his good name! ]

When we first met, you were trying to win those hairpins, but you weren't able to because of me. I'll take responsibility for that one, but the black cats are because you liked them! As for this...

[ Shi Qingxuan leans over to pick it up in both hands, looking it over. It does look small enough to fit Rita, but the bloodstains... He glances back at her again to confirm she doesn't appear to have any fresh wounds visible on her body. ]

Who would give such a thing? [ He says it mostly to himself, giving the shirt one last look before he bundles it up again. ] Whether you remember our first meeting or not, you can't say I gave you something as distasteful as this. I didn't want to make you handle dirty things to begin with, so why would I suddenly decide to give you something so horrible? It doesn't make any sense to accuse me.

[ Seriously, what kind of logic is "you gave me hairpins so you obviously gave me this bloody shirt too"?! Compared to his usual carefree and easygoing self, he's actually pretty serious here. ]

Now, what actually happened?

[myagic]

[Hm...she's still glowering at him, but he's never struck her as that great of a liar... Of course, maybe she just hasn't seen that side of him.

Huff...well, fine, if he's going to continue being all innocent like this...!]

Oh, you want to know? Someone left me a suspicious letter claiming we were best friends, and also left that at my door.

[Look, the blood is so obviously fake (or so she insists) that he's clearly just trying to creep her out after they were at that stupid spooky store!!]

Still want to say you had nothing to do with it?

during the explosion shenanigans

[obeyseventually]

My room blew up but I'm okay, don't worry. Are you okay?

[winepouring]

[ Unfortunately, Shi Qingxuan was also at the source of the explosion, trying to contain aftermath... The good news is, Jack's cabin may be the only one that's wholly toxic gas-free! The bad news is...everything else.

The fact it takes Shi Qingxuan an uncharacteristically long time to reply...haha, don't worry about it... ]

Jack! Thank goodness you're okay. I don't think I've ever been so happy to have someone not be home.

I'm O.K. Lord Castor and Lady Pollux and I were trying to fix things after the explosion, but there was just so much... I'm sorry.

Did Hiyori say anything to you? What happened?

[obeyseventually]

[Being honest, the text was to head off any worrying on Shi Qingxuan's front, considering how often he asked how Jack was doing (and how quickly Jack normally answered, himself). Given the circumstances, he could understand why it took Shi Qingxuan awhile to get back to him, even without knowing how active he was in getting everything post-explosion under control. But he's still glad to hear from him. Er. Read from him?]

I'm glad you're okay too!

It's okay. It's a lot to handle right now...

[Hiyori... How is he going to explain this?]

Hiyori was home, unfortunately...😟
He didn't say anything to me before it happened...

[winepouring]

[ Oh... Shi Qingxuan wonders how much Jack saw or how much he knows. His chest feels a little tight. ]

I don't think that was really Hiyori in there...

[ It was hard to question before, but time has passed and he feels more certain now. ]

Things were pretty bad in your room, but Hiyori's body wasn't normal. I don't think it was him that we saw in there... The real Hiyori might still be somewhere else.

[ ...Not optimistic enough to say he's safe, though... ]

[obeyseventually]

What

[It's been a long week for Jack.]

[winepouring]

[ H...how morbid should he be...

But, Jack has experienced a lot. Shi Qingxuan knows that. So, after a little hesitation, he just goes for it. ]

There wasn't any blood. Your room was on fire and filled with gas and smoke [ And then some stuff got blown around when Shi Qingxuan blew the toxic gas outside, oops. ] but there wasn't any blood anywhere. It was horrible, but it wasn't normal. If it was really Hiyori in there when the explosion happened, then he wouldn't have looked like that...

some nebulous time between the end of the party and noon on the 1st

[obeyseventually]

[So, this is awkward to ask, made more awkward after helping to clean up the mess on the promenade and the... bodies that were there, but...]

Hey, quick question: were the charms meant to blow up?

[guess who's behind on who was and wasn't possessed!]

bless you, I was going to hit up Jack's inbox later. 🙏

[winepouring]

[ It takes a while to reply, but not as long as it maybe should—mostly due to panic. ]

BLOW UP?!

NO

ARE YOU OKAY?!!

[ He scrolls up, reading the previously sent messages, then sends off another panicked reply: ]

I don't know what happened. I didn't send those messages I think I've been dead for two weeks haha ans I don't knkw who did hwat charms or who you met back then, who would wven give charms tbag blow up without warning?? Who would be yhag cold blooded??? Are you okay?? Did that person do anything else strabge??

hahaha :')

[obeyseventually]

[Well now he knows!]

I'm okay! Don't worry! I had a first aid kit nearby & I'm built tough, I'm fine now!

[And with the reassurances out of the way, Jack is now free to feel like a complete heel for not noticing the change in one of his friends.]

I'm so sorry I didn't notice anything different. I had no idea, but I should have

I don't know for sure what else they did that was strange but... This does explain how my and Hiyori's room blew up I think.

then I took an unplanned hiatus, sorry!

[winepouring]

[ Okay! Okay. He can breathe again. ]

Thank god you were prepared for anything. I should have known, you're definitely the hardy sort that wouldn't be taken out by a cheap trick. 😤

It's all right. Shouldn't I be the one who apologizes here? It's shameful that I let something like this happen, and whatever being you were dealing with must have been purposely trying to deceive you.

I'm sorry about your and Hiyori's room. [ And...Hiyori? Shi Qingxuan is still a little unclear on what the ghost and Jack were on about up there in the chat history. ] Is your room back in order again?

it happens!!

[obeyseventually]

If we're both sorry then let's call it square then. 👍


It's back to normal! I haven't moved entirely back into it though because...

[Uhhh... how does he put this?]

Let's say Pollux is very dedicated to hosting her friends. Very dedicated very committed to keeping them in place, haha.

[winepouring]

[ Bless Jack for being so laidback! This is a good friend!! When things settle down, he's going to have to treat him to something nice!!

Though more immediately...

What's happening? ]

Did Lady Pollux take over your bed so she could watch over Hiyori? That's no good. If she wants to watch over him, there's no need to take you out of your shared room. Ownership aside, you're also a mortal human; she has an obligation to consider your wellbeing first.

mid-November I'm so (not) sorry......

[myagic]

[Sometime mid-month in the evening, when this is happening... Shi Qingxuan is about to receive some more bullying.]

Find somewhere else to sleep tonight. Your bed's occupied.

RITA...

[winepouring]

[ What the hell?! ]

Don't worry. If whatever's on there is too heavy for you to move, I'll sweep it off before I go to sleep.

[ Probably some involved experiment or other? He's a god; if he needs to pick up the bed and shake it off, that's not beyond him! ]

Look how mature she's being about warning him!! (to stay away or else...)

[myagic]

I said FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE, what part don't you understand??

You're not coming in tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. Deal with it.

[HUFF]

the maturity here is out if this world 🥲

[winepouring]

Regardless of what either of us want, that room is mine as well. You can't ban me from it at will; I'll come in whenever I please.

Whatever you're working on, work on it in your own bed. You can't use my bed like your own property! I'll clean it off myself if you can't do it alone, but you can't keep me from sleeping in my own bed!

visible from space...

[myagic]

I can ban whoever I want, I was here first

[MATURE]

If you come in, you're dead!

[winepouring]

And I'll sleep on the deck floor?! That's too sad! I'm not doing it!

[ Yeah, he's absolutely coming in later. ]