two kings; cash money

The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich & the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs & demand more." -- This is the worldly doctrine of today.

[notmikhail]

lalitaatri

what better way to see who people truly are than to pretend being drunk? lita found this to be an effective way of gaining information. people felt safe when conversing with her when they thought she was drunk. there’s something about the possibility of her not remembering what they say that made them feel more comfortable. so tonight, lita was at the karaoke bar to see what she could find. 

“ oh my god, i love this song! dirty dancing is the best, i swear. ” she sloppily pointed to (i’ve had) the time of my life in the song catalogue. “ ah, i forgot it’s a duet! ” turning to the person beside her, “ will you sing it with me? ”

the woman now trying to egg mikhail on wasn’t the first drunky to disrupt him while he worked. she wasn’t even the second or the third. in the past hour, a lady in a party frock with bleached blonde hair and a pink feather boa demanded total isolation lest she weep so she could lie on the lid of the piano in what was meant to be a  c h i l l i n g  rendition of ‘i need a hero’. you can’t make that shit up even if you tried. in retrospect, this was nothing. mikhail affects a piteous smile, “i’m sorry, ma’am, but i’ll have to say no. i’m one of a two-part ensemble. ‘fraid steinway & sons over here is nothing without me. try a member of the audience? i’m sure they’d love to help you out.”

[notmikhail]

itsacocoonthing

her second day on board of the swiss noel and her second day of working as a lifeguard was over. it’d been a pretty relaxing day since most of her job was to look after those by the pool and promote the swimming classes that would officially start tomorrow morning. it was all good, if she was being honest; however she couldn’t bring herself to leave the pool’s side and rest for a little while in her room. she didn’t know why. she didn’t really want to know either. all holly knew was that her phone was providing her with quite some entertainment involving the news of blac chyna and rob kardashian’s drama over the weekend. “what has the world come to” she shook her head as she laid back on one the seats.

as a rule, the crew was limited to the employee-sanctioned floors when off work. not that he would have obeyed anyway but this time mikhail struck  g o l d  with his arbitrary talents. he’d get to play the piano, a pastime from the less sinister parts of his life that he had actually enjoyed, and, as a member of the entertainment department, he was allowed access in guest areas when not performing. although some might say that sunbathing on the upper deck was  p u s h i n g  it slightly. but it’s not a vacation without a tan, is it? just as he’s about to settle in a chaise for the rest of the day, a voice, sharp and needling, interrupts his course of action. he doesn’t look up, he doesn’t lift even a finger  ( behind his shades, he really can’t bother )  but he lets loose a snark all the same, “if you’re whining about the service here, i get you -- 100% -- like more than you know. but if you’re really bothered, maybe lend a hand and crank it down an octave or eight. thanks.”

[notmikhail]

activity notice pls read

just a heads up for everyone: i’m going on a trip (in our favourite rocketship) to ~* korea *~ tomorrow (til jan 4th). i know, terrible timing but no worries - i’ll still be checking in and out on mobile when i have the time. this just means no gifs :< and slower replies. in the meantime, i am always up for plotting. i’m on telegram and kakao mostly but i’ll gladly expand my horizons in messenger apps if that means i can connect with u guys. just let me kno?!?! thanks love ya a a

[notmikhail]

graylandry

he has to admit, upon properly taking in the other’s features, gray can’t blame him for the rather unconvincing attempt at placing him — he too, has to admit the other looks familiar, but where … ? would have dismissed it as nothing, perhaps a passing resemblance to a television actor or something of that ilk, had the other not had the same reaction. ❛                       yeah, i’m me.     ❜ small smile ( attempt at humour ). pauses for a beat, then, mind still grasping at those tenuous, just-out-of-reach confines of his memories, offers a tentative & subtle white flag in the form of proffering his own identity. ❛    grayson landry,     ❜ he says at length, gaze dropping to take another sip of his drink as he does so. hopes it will do double-duty & hide his ( hopefully soon-to-be-present ) glint of recognition as the other gives his name.

no hostile movements -- a good sign; at the moment, he’ll take any. the smile preserved on his face thaws a tad, melting into something more, dare he say,  r e a l  . but mikhail simply isn’t in the mood for conversation. even if it is with someone who didn’t want to kill him. now in receipt of a name, ( “right! grayson landry” ) -- he repeats it, vocalises it, butchers the words in his head until the memory comes trickling in, and then flooding in all at once. he remembers but for once in his life, he’s bowled over and reeling. who’d have thought someone so deep into his past would show up now? of all times? of all places? there’s a pause as he curses himself silently ( a re-examination of the guestlist is well in order. no more unwanted surprises puh-leeze. this is supposed to be a vacation. ) but the words come tumbling out before he knows it, “it’s me, mikhail.” -- it’s a rookie mistake, the worst, perhaps the most thoughtless thing he’d tried in years but, in the end, it’s a plea for some recognition of a person he used to be, a person he once thought he’d purged from reality.

[notmikhail]

ycrkc

“off duty — on duty, you’re getting paid, aren’t you ?? listen, don’t be hatin’ on crocs. some of the greatest men in history could have worn crocs — trust me, i’m pretty sure joe biden has a pair && if they were signed && auctioned off, this guy right here would pay a fuck ton for them. you get tips right??” 

“not for this, no. but you’re more than welcome to take it up with the captain. i’d  l o v e  to see that. uh-huh... my respect for you as a person could not be any less inexistent right now but, please, go on. god, at this rate, my funeral march will be punctuated by the sound of rubber crocs. they’re tasteless; move on. -- sure. but you’ve gotta be rolling in  b i g  bucks for me to steal some senior citizen’s piece of footwear.”

[notmikhail]

isaisms

“you really think the fish would have eaten me alive?” he wondered, taking a moment to seriously consider that. it wouldn’t be the worst way to die, if it helped a lot of fish. “i think they’ll find a way to make it, since i doubt people fall overboard very often. or at least, i hope not.”

“it’s possible. we’ve only discovered less than 5% of the ocean. there’s definitely a fish out there that could swallow you whole,” he paused, letting the thought  s i n k  i n  . if there was anything mikhail knew about the art of pretense, it was to supplement your lie with a statistic. he shrugged, “right, you’re right. whatever helps you sleep at night.”

[notmikhail]

graylandry

it hasn’t taken gray long to figure out where the ice bar was & get comfortable in it ( feels like, right now, if he looks out at the ocean too long he’ll feel trapped – maybe keep scenic viewing for when he’s adapted a bit more to this newfound freedom ). he’s sitting at a table, gloved hands wrapped around a hot shotty, ( in a thermal mug to prevent it melting the bar … or table ), when someone else walks through the doors. ❛     this seat’s free,    ❜ he says, almost immediately. winces a little, internally – should cool it on the whole ‘desperate to make friends’ thing.  // ❰❰     ・♢ ♦ ⋰♢ ♦ ・━ open    ❱❱

“thanks for the offer but i’m here for --” the  s t r i n g  of syllables stop short as his gaze meets the other’s. he curbs the impulse to recoil; instead he blinks once and writhes a smile on to skin. there’s a semblance of recognition but his already addled brain struggled to assign a name to the face before him. who is he? an old associate looking for payback? or just a harmless goon who hit jackpot -- he had to admit: that was a sweet jacket -- ? in hopes for a luminary answer, he makes a  ( weak )  attempt at recovery, “hey! ... it’s you.”

[notmikhail]

isaisms

“it’s beautiful, innit?” he said from where he was leaning over the railing to get a good look at the water and the horizon. everything about the boat and the scenery fascinated him and he was itching to see it all so he could draw it. he leaned a bit too far over the railing and nearly lost his footing. “oops,” isaiah said as he pulled back, standing a safe few feet from the side of the boat. “i suppose i shouldn’t bend over too far. it’d be tragic if i drowned on our very first day.” 

an impromptu scoff breached the corners of mikhail’s lips as the man beside him  l u r c h e d  forward. mikhail had been making his rounds in an effort to acquaint himself with the ship and all of its emergency exits ( after all, what’s a vacation without caution ? ) but he had now bared his position -- on account of his wretched humor -- and, unable to walk away, he could only offer a retort, “tragic for you, maybe. who’s going to feed the poor little fishies now?”

[notmikhail]

ycrkc

  “is there a place where i can get a drink && some damn zofran around here ?? actually — i think i’m gonna go sit && play a game called ‘how many old men in ugly tennis shoes with long black socks are on this ship’ yeah, i think i’m gonna do that instead. but if anyone has some zofran, i’ll take it !!”

“the tag says ‘off duty’. literacy’s kind of a life skill, buddy. how ‘bout you try the upper deck? it’s shangri-la for types like you. you might even spot a grown man in his crocs if you’re lucky.”

[notmikhail]

hi hey i’m ashley and this is my son, mikhail korsakov, the fruit of my 2-day labor and professional thief ! he’s also a pianist on the swiss noel so feel free to make requests.

i’m super excited to start but i’m also terrible at small talk so feel free to skip the pleasantries and start yelling at me and i promise you i’ll do the same. i don’t have any preset connections but i do have some ideas. if u shy but u interested in knowing more/plotting/~*friendship*~, just like this and i’ll come straight to ur inbox!

< click here for mikhail/craig’s full bio >