Janet is there for the trial, and afterward.

The possibility that keeps him up at night is that Meng Yao came into his service an honest man, and over time changed into what he sees before him now. That, as his ambitions rose and his world grew grander, he reshaped himself and discovered the things he was capable of, all the while looking like his familiar self, but transforming under his skin into something Nie Mingjue could hardly recognize.

A little breaking-and-entering never hurt nobody, right? Especially if they're rich pirates who deserve it.

(For the Star Wars Rare Ships Challenge over on Pillowfort!)

He Xuan had been ready to leave the desert well before Shi Qingxuan had finished her little investigation. It wasn’t the sun, or the sand, though both were unpleasant, but Crimson Rain’s stupid voice on the private communication array: « Oh, sorry, are we walking in on something? If I knew there was a dress code I would have gotten done up. » And if it wasn’t that, it was the tinkling of jewelry in Shi Qingxuan’s hair as she moved, or the meaningless asides that were disorienting in…

An unpublished footnote in the history of Henry Jekyll.

Mipha would go out with the Guard and take stock of the Domain. She would eat fish fresh from the river and feel the sun on her skin. And when the sun began to set, she would be ushered back to her rooms and told to stay the night, safely in the center of the Domain. Nobody noticed when she slipped out, dressed in armor meant for a man who did not exist, exploring the world around her.

"Assume success," says Bruce unencouragingly. "Describe how it's achieved."

The Brides have their hooks in Jonathan, less pleasurably than before. Written for Elise, prompt "naked".

I've made a lot of promises in my life. Even kept a few of them, though I don't make a habit of it. What's the harm in telling someone what they want to hear?