#seven tears at high tide

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#fantasy #books #Seven Tears at High Tide #C.B. Lee #poll #result: no #l: English

[aurorawest]

Reading update

Just Like That by Cole McCade - 2/5 stars

So I started reading this age gap romance about two professors at a boys boarding school expecting it to be different than the last Cole McCade romance I read. It...wasn't. The emotions are turned up to 11 all the time, from the very first page, and that means there's nowhere emotionally to go. It also felt rushed and like the characters didn't really have room to breathe. So...I might retract what I said about the first Cole McCade novel I read needing to be shorter, because this one was shorter, and it didn't work.

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell - 4/5 stars

Bought this for the SnowBaz story, ended up reading the whole thing and quite enjoying it. The SnowBaz story was definitely still the best though.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - 4/5 stars

In my last reading update I said I wasn't going to read any my Leigh Bardugo books, totally forgetting this one was sitting very near the top of my TBR pile. I liked it a lot, but I have been informed that Hellbent involves a glowing, fully erect demon penis in multiple scenes (and not even for demon sex) soooo yeah. I think I'll give it a miss.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles - 4.75/5 stars

Drama! by AJ Truman - 4.25/5 stars

Bloodline by Jordan L Hawk - 4.75/5 stars

Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

Oh I loved this one so much. I love when KJ Charles writes books with a twist because I never see them coming. And it's not like the clues aren't there. This is a super quick read but so good. I definitely could have read a full length novel about Martin and Theo.

The Klockwerk Kraken by Aidee Ladnier - 5/5 stars

You look at this book and you think, tentacle porn. And yeah, there's some sex with tentacles. But??? This book??? It kind of wrecked me. It's two connected novellas about trauma, healing, family, memory, love...really really good. Highly recommended.

Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara - 5/5 stars

And then I read a werewolf book and loved it! Not that I expected to hate this or anything, but I definitely went into it feeling a bit iffy, because werewolves are really not my thing. This book is romantic suspense and really good, and I loved Julien and Eli so much. This is a spinoff of Adhara's other werewolf series, which I want to read, but it's only available as an ebook, and I don't do ebooks.

Seven Tears at High Tide by CB Lee - 4/5 stars

Cute little YA mermaid book. Mermaids also aren't my thing so I liked this more than I thought I would. Much better than Jason June's Out of the Blue, imo.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske - 4.75/5 stars

Again, my toxic trait is I don't really enjoy reading books about women or f/f romances. But not surprisingly at all, this book was really good. Though, you know. I inhaled all references to Robin and Edwin (of which there were many) and was sorta/kinda more invested in the hints of romance between Hawthorn and Alan. Obvs excited for the third book.

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic by FT Lukens - 3.5/5 stars

Just Like This by Cole McCade - DNF

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I put this one down before I got through chapter 2.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales - 5/5 stars

I tore through this book in a single day. It was SO funny and sweet. It's considered YA but quite honestly I'd call it New Adult. Or if you don't like New Adult, straight Adult. Sophie Gonzales is the author of one of my top reads of last year, but of course, since this is an f/f romance, I was wary. But ugh, so good. Highly recommend this one.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard - 5/5 stars

Apparently the idea for this came from the author posting polls on twitter for what would happen next, which is...unspeakably lame, honestly. But the book that came out of it is great. Loved the world, loved Winnie and her family (especially her brother and his boyfriend).

Beguiled by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

Loved the first one, loved this one more.

This Census-Taker by China Miéville - 3.25/5 stars

What was this even about? Pretty sure Miéville was high on peyote when he wrote this.

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman - 3.75/5 stars

Picked this up because it was 20% off at Target and was actually pleasantly surprised by how much more adult it is than the series. Then of course started watching season 2 of the series and found it to be as sanitized as season 1.

The Henchman of Zenda - KJ Charles - 3.5/5 stars

He Bears the Cape of Stars from Duck Prints Press - 4.5/5 stars

Glitterland by Alexis Hall - 3.75/5 stars

This is a re-release of one of a novel Hall wrote like a decade ago. It's not a romcom (which I knew going in), but I didn't expect it to be quite so rough. Similar in ways to Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble, only that was funnier. The fact that he wrote out the Essex accent really grated, but I guess it kind of made sense. My bigger issue with this book was the absolutely shit editing. There were repeated paragraphs, formatting issues, and places where it seemed like there had to be something missing because it made no sense.

The new edition is annotated by Hall, which was pretty fun. Not a bad read, but it's not Boyfriend Material.

Part 2

#just like that #just like this #cole mccade #scattered showers #rainbow rowell #ninth house #leigh bardugo #wanted a gentleman #kj charles #the klockwerk kraken #aidee ladnier #pack of lies #charlie adhara #seven tears at high tide #cb lee #a restless truth #freya marske #never ever getting back together #sophie gonzales #the luminaries #susan dennard #glitterland #alexis hall #reading tag

[desdasiwrites]

C.B. Lee, Seven Tears at High Tide

#book quote of the day #C.B Lee #seven tears at high tide #selkies #wholesome read #bisexuality #pride month

[minhosimthings]

Someone Older, Just a Little Bit Colder.

Summary: Yoon Y/N and Lee Minho. Perfect enemies. But when some guns and roses get mixed up with both of them, I wonder what the fates have weaved for their story.

Pairings: Fem!reader × Minho, classic Enemies to Lovers. Includes rest of Skz and other groups

Warnings: lots of violence, blood, murder, guns, swearing, mention of food, mention of dead bodies. There is a lot of violence so please do not interact if you are sensitive to these things.

A/N - I finished this finally. This took a lot of time and it is probably my longest work till date. I took inspiration from an edit I saw on Instagram. So here you go! Please enjoy this and feel free to give me feedback. I don't like some parts of the fic that much tho. Cause I was very lazy when I wrote them.

Song rec:

1: I need someone older

"No, no, no" Mournful voices were surrounding your frame. "No this can't be happening. Please Y/N!" Tears, not yours, dripped onto your skin as something red mixed with it to create a pretty little cocktail. "Fuck princess wake up! Fuck no....."

"Y/N! Come down quick! You've gotta get to school!" Another day of school. How mechanical was your life. In your final year of high school, you'd have thought that your life would have sugar, spice and everything nice. But instead, you got stuck with a robotic schedule, which consisted of waking up, going to school, coming back, food time, homework, checking to see if any colleges had sent you mails and then going back to sleep. But you couldn't really complain, because you were in Jeju Island. Literally everyone here had the same robotic schedule. Well maybe except for the richest people here. Your family was what was known as the middle classes. You lived comfortably, but not too plushily and your mom and dad both had jobs. Your elder sister Jinhee and you basically raised each other and now, with Jinhee, already graduated and married (since she was seven years older than you), you were left all alone in your turquoise room, with white borders and black finishes. It wasn't the fact that you weren't happy or anything. But, as a child of the Cosmos and as a ruler of the skies and tides, you wanted to feel that feeling that people had when they would roll around in the grass, or buy flowers from a sweet old lady, or wear ridiculous nail polish with someone, keeping the stories of the stars to yourself, whenever someone asks 'what did you do last night?'. But wasn't that why fairytales existed? To tell you that getting all those things was nothing but a mere dream? A dream which you hoped would come true? Which you hoped that the universe would understand your heart's desire and grant it to you?

"Be safe alright? Got your pepper spray?" "Yes ma don't worry. Im always safe aren't I?" Your mother kissed your forehead gently before letting to walk off to school, pepper spray in hand, knife hidden up the sleeve of your blue school sweater. The road from your house to your school was one of the safest ones. It was a suburban area, with families like yours lining up the street. You had no problem walking by yourself, and casually greeting the wakening families, with their toddlers and teenagers. You felt safe here and in the rare times there was some danger, you knew you could kick their asses (flashback to that one time you thought your dad was a stranger and accidentally kicked him hard in the shin. He still doesn't forgive you for that)

"Miss Yoon. Are you walking alone your highness?" That voice. That voice was perhaps the bane of your existence (not the object of all your desires. Sue me for using Bridgerton right now). A smooth black car pulled up next to you as you were just a metre away from the school. The windows were rolled down to reveal a young boy, your age with fluffy plum brown hair, cat like eyes, a sharp nose and a smirk on his stupid face. Lee Minho. Also known as the worst person you knew. And no this wasn't an enemies to lovers scenario. It usually is but this? Yeah absolutely not. Lee Minho had been your childhood neighbour since he was six. He lived with his grandparents since he was six, with his parents being in one of the richest families of South Korea and working in Seoul. He also went to your school, which was weird considering he was basically a billionaire and still chose to go to the 'middle class' school along with his his seven friends, who coincidentally were also from the seven richest families of South Korea.

"Oh no Minho. I wasn't walking alone. I have an invisible friend that you can't see from behind those stupidly pretty eyes of yours." You threw him a glare as his smirked just increased in size. "You think my eyes are pretty?" "Oh for fucks sake. What do you want?" "Language, princess." Minho chuckled and unlocked the passenger seat door. "Get in." You let out a chuckle and said "With you? Oh no thank you. I would rather go to Hell and dance with the devil." "Oh come on princess." Minho's face only widened even more to form the face of the devil himself. "You know people who die to even touch my car. You're lucky I'm offering you to ride in it." You rolled your eyes at him. So fucking cocky for no reason. You decided that you couldn't take it anymore and just started walking with a small 'I'll see you at school Minho goodbye now.'. Minho seemed to have taken the sign as he locked his doors, rolled the windows down and sped away to school.

Finally some peace. You breathed in the September air as you watched the Magpies fly around with their mates. You always loved Magpies, courtesy to your dad always encouraging you to birdwatch whenever you were free, with the pink binoculars you had. And today, in the serene September air, it felt good, watching two birds in love fluttering around, probably having a conversation about who knows what. There was that odd feeling in your chest again, that feeling which you pretended wasn't loneliness. People never understood the difference between alone and lonely. Yes you can be alone and you can enjoy it to your fullest. Some of your friends loved to be alone, eating chocolate, reading a nice book, sitting by the rain, all of those aesthetic things those Pinterest people do. You always craved to be like that too, but you never could. And you still had to learn to accept the fact that being basic wasn't a bad thing.

"Babe your foundation isn't blended properly come here. Hasn't Mama Huh taught you anything?" Your best friend Yunjin greeted you at the stairs of your school, with her bright unicorn bag and her perfect makeup as usual. "Sorry sweetheart. I really can't focus today." Yunjin gave you a sympathetic look as she blended the foundation on your neck with her hands carefully. "Is it Lee again? I swear to God one of these days I'm gonna go and tell him that you like him and then he'll confess to you and then this can be an enemies to lovers novel where I'm the sassy, amazing best friend who saves the day." You laughed at Yunjin's rambling. "And I thought Chaer was more delusional than you." "Do I hear my name?" A pretty girl with long black hair and perhaps the greatest jawline in the world came up behind you. Lee Chaeryoung, cousin of Minho and your second best friend, also your prettiest friend (sue me she's my wif- I mean my bias) "Hey Chaer. By the way have you guys completed Mr Hong's assignment?" Yunjin groaned at your words as she pulled out a red copy from her bag and opened it to reveal her messy handwriting. "I stayed up to finish this shit. Why do we need to analyse what a curtain means in Shakespearean language? Like I don't know. It could mean the heroine wants to be at an orgy for all I know." Chaer hit Yunjin's arm as you laughed at went inside the school to go to your English class along with Yunjin. Chaeryoung stalked off in the other direction, to her biology class, as you entered the class, where Mr.Hong wasn't present yet. You always dreaded English period, not because you weren't good in the subject, but because of the seating arrangement. Yunjin would always sit at the back of the class while you were stuck in the front with Minho. You internally groaned as you walked up to your seat, where Minho and Chan were talking to each other. Chan was a good friend of yours since your mom was the head of the Jeju Island branch of his dad's buisness. Curly haired, eyes filled with stars and the most gentle behaviour ever, he came straight out of a goddamn book. You always wondered how he became friends with Minho, considering both of them were as different as chalk and cheese. But then again, they has been brought up together, by their grandparents while their parents would stay in Seoul to run buisness.

"Hey Chan. Did you get those physics notes done yesterday?" Chan greeted at you with than omnipresent smile on his face as he nodded fervently like a puppy. "Yeah I got them done! It was really hard though. I really hope Mrs.Choi is absent today. So she can't call me out on my 'mistakes'." You smiled fondly at Chan as he took his seat on your other side, while Minho toyed with a blue hairband. Your hairband. "Minho where did you get that?" He turned to look at you and gave you that smug smirk again. "Why princess? Is it yours?" You scowled as you reached forward and grabbed the hairband out of his hands and stuffed it into your bag. "Yes it is mine! I think you'd know that considering I have been looking for this ever since the playground incident from when we were seven! Oh but I think you wouldn't remember that would you? Considering you're an ajhussi." It was Minho's time to scowl now and he scrunched up his nose like an angry bunny and stuck his tongue out at you, all while mumbling "I'm only two months older you know.", As Mr.Hong entered the classrooms in his pinstriped shirt and began asking for the assignments.

The rest of the day went as normal. You went to all of your classes, had a gossip-filled lunch with Chaeryoung, Yunjin, Miyeon, Sunoo and Jake, accidentally spilt water over Sunghoon from Chemistry, and got top grades in biology as usual.

Gosh September was good. September was lovely. People don't really get why September was so comforting to you. And to be frank, you didn't get it either. But there was this aura that September had that you couldn't shake. It wasn't just all pumpkin spice lattes or orange scarfs. It was..... Something else. Something you couldn't describe. You know that feeling when you bite into an ice cream cone? It crumbles all over you, but you love that feeling, that crunch combined with the sweet ice cream inside. That's what September was.

The bell rang loudly as school got over and you went over to the the basketball court. Being captain of the girls team, you always needed to stay back after school in order to train your team. "Unnie come quick would ya!" Chaewon, the team's greatest shooter called out to you. "Im not that late today Chaewon. That's a record for me!" Chaewon rolled her eyes as she adjusted her shorts. "Y/N are we gonna discuss some tactics for next week's game then? Cause I drew a lot of shit last night and I don't want it to go to waste." Wonyoung, the team's co-captain was nudging some papers into your hands. You gave her a quick smile as you looked over all the loopy drawings she did. "Oh and girls! Please remember to get your registration documents tomorrow! I really don't want to submit them late to Coach Kim." All your teammates nodded at your words and went on to the court, where to your dismay, Minho and his team were also practicing. You were annoyed. You had booked the court for today and has specifically checked with both of your coaches and yet again, your mortal enemy was playing with his team on what was meant to be your court. "Yah Minho! Get off the fucking court. We have it booked for today!" You gave him the biggest glare that you could muster, while he simply strode up to you, ball in hand, and that stupid smile on his face. "Aww princess. You booked the court for today? Well sad because I booked it earlier. I have a signed consent form from Coach Kim too. So either you can get off the court or we can have a practice game together." You felt like blowing up the earth below his feet right now but you couldn't do anything when he showed you the piece of paper on which Coach Kim had signed specifying that the boy's team could play today. "Fine then. But a practice game? Together? Boys versus girls?" Minho simply nodded at your words as you looked back at your girl standing behind you who were currently looking like they wanted to go to war. Seeing their determination, you extended a hand forward to Minho and in a assertive tone, said, "You're on then Lee. I wanna watch your pretty little face when you lose really badly. So what's the prize then?" You regretted asking that question when you saw Minho's face turning into that evil little smirk again. His team was assembled behind him and now you were a bit scared, considering that your tallest player was the size of their shortest one. "How about........ loser has to take the winner to that nice ice cream place that just opened down the street? And it'll only be us two. You know, captain to captain." Hearing that both your team and Minho's team broke out in high pitched 'ooohs' (yes even the Bois) as if you were doing something scandalous. You had no choice but to accept so you extended you hand again as Minho gripped it with his veiny hands and shook it firmly.

Chan and Chaeryoung were sitting by the stands since neither of them played and you smiled gently at them talking and giggling so fondly. The game started with one of the assistant coaches, Jungwon, refereeing. You were more determined now than you were at last month's regional games. You had to beat Minho and he had to take you to that stupid ice cream place. "Scared princess?" Minho asked as you assembled on the half line. You didn't say anything but threw him a smirk, hoping that it would catch him off guard. "Alright, ready set. Rumble!" Jungwon blew the whistle and threw the ball up in the air as you reached forward and managed to slap it onto your side of the court, where Wonyoung caught it and swiftly passed it on to Chaewon, who was standing by the hoops. You heard Minho scolding Jeongin, who was defending Chaewon, for not blocking her properly as you high fived Wonyoung for the quick pass.The rest of the game pretty much went the same way as you kept using witty tactics while Minho kept using speed and strength, which you knew was his greatest weakness. From time to time, his shirt would fly up ever so slightly and you would get distracted for a split second by his abs (which you scolded yourself for).

"Guys can you stop now please? It's 7:30. I'm going home now and you guys should too before they shut the school gate." Jungwon finally ended the game as you looked over at the scoreboard. You had won! You hugged Chaewon tightly before striding up to a very sweaty Minho who, not even in the slightest, looked defeated. "So, Mr Lee. You owe me ice cream now." He gave you a small smile, which made your heart leap, and said "Of course your Highness. Do you wanna get changed and then we can go? Or would you like to come being all sweaty?" You scowled at him and stuck your tongue out as you made your way to the changing rooms as he shouted behind you, "Meet me at the gate!" You quickly took a shower and changed into the tshirt and yoga pants you usually brought with you to change into after a sweaty game.

"Yah are you going to take me in your dumb car?" You questioned Minho as he pulled up by the gate. Chan had taken Chaeryoung home today so you didn't have anyone to walk you home, which was a plus point (for Minho). "Yes princess. Since the ice cream place is not at a walkable distance, atleast for my feet, we are going in my dumb car. And you don't wana walk home this late Y/N. It's dangerous you know? So get the fuck in and let's go. I'm hungry." You begrudgingly got in the car, silently admiring the sleep leather seats as Minho started the engine and turned the car. "Oh and Chan hyung already informed your mom and dad. They're not gonna come home tonight cause they're busy or something so I'll drive you back if you want." You snapped your head from the flying butterfly outside the window to Minho's concentrated face as you shyly mumbled a 'thank you'.

The drive to the ice cream was long and silent. You simply stated out the window while Minho stared forward, trying not to look at the way the rays of the setting sun fell on your skin or how your hair fell in that particular way that just felt good. Do the boys usually confess first? He didn't know. No he hated you. This is absolutely not fucking happening right now. You were Yoon Y/N, captain if the girls basketball team, annoying neighbour, beautiful mortal enemy. No not beautiful. Get out of it Minho!

"Uh is this the place? Looks cute." Minho's car pulled up near a tiny cafe like building called 'Jureimi's parlor', lit up in bright pink signs. "Oh yeah. I'll just park and we can go." You got out of the car as Minho parked nearby and got out too. "Is that boba flavoured ice cream?" You pointed at a brown coloured ice cream in ghe booth. The lady at the counter smiled at you as she nodded and gave you little sample cup. You offered a bit to Minho, who shook his head and went to find a table. "Get what you want. I'll pay." You rolled your eyes at him. He had to pay anyway for losing the game so badly.

You tasted the ice cream, which tasted like heaven and decided that you wanted this. "Can I get this in a cone please? Two scoops." The lady nodded and told her co worker your order, who went to the back to make it. You noticed some pudding cups on the shelf behind the lady. "Are those puddings?" "Oh yes. They're a new addition really. It's a favourite among all the grandmas here." You pointed at the vanilla one and asked the lady to give you that one, while you handed her the money and she handed you your ice cream and the pudding cup. You strode over to Minho, who was sitting with his legs wide open at the little round table in the corner of the store. "Is that for me?" He pointed at the pudding. "No dumbass it's for the Magpies." He gave you a sarcastic smile and grabbed the pudding cup from your hands. "I only got it for you cause this boba ice cream is expensive. So stop smirking at me." He looked up at you with those cat like eyes and slightly pouted, but remained quiet as both of you savoured on the sweet, sticky food.

"Dude how slow do you eat?" You watched Minho as he has halfway through his pudding, while you had already finished your ice cream. "Just slow enough to annoy you baby." You frowned at his words. "Do not call me that ever again. It's makes me wanna vomit." You made a gagging motion as Minho just simply chuckled. "Fine then. While I finish this amazing pudding, how about we play truth or dare hm? Because our impatient princess can't wait for five seconds without doing anything." You thought for a while before finally saying yes. "Alrightly then." Minho smiled at you. "Y/N. Truth or dare?" You picked truth, which seemed like the only viable option, considering the fact that you were in a shop, and Minho said, "How's your brother?"

Your heart dropped as you heard that sentence. How did he know about that? The blue shade of the shop spun around you as you tried to focus on anything else other than what just came out of Minho's mouth. Silence. Yes silence would work. Just give him a glare and it'll be over. "Oh come on princess. We all know what happened to your brother. I just wanna hear it from you personally." Your blood turned cold as your mind kept feeding you memories of that night. That faithful night. That peace filled night. That night when the Magpies stopped singing and September ran cold once more.

"Fuck you Lee Minho." Saying that, you picked up your bag and got up, slamming the chair to the ground, behind you. The lady at the counter looked up to see you walking about the door, pushing it agressively. "No Y/N wait!" Minho knew he had fucked up now. He had never meant to hurt you like this. He had learnt from Yunjin that you were already over your brother's incident. This was just supposed to be normal mortal enemy banter. How do you still remember? He quickly pulled out some cash and slammed it on the counter to the very shocked lady as he ran out after you. You wouldn't have gotten far. After all, you had to pass the school to get to your house. Minho quickly got in his car and started the engine with a blast. You had also left your headband in the carseat. So, that was another excuse for him to chase after you. He wasn't going to lose you again. Not now. Not when he was so close.

The street was dark and cold, lit up faintly by the wavering streetlights. This wasn't September anymore. You could feel December taking all the love out of September. And as you walked upon the concrete, you could feel the Magpies talking about you. You could feel the crescent moon feeling nothing but pity for you. You could feel all the plants with their bugs, looking at you and saying, "Yoon Y/N. You fucked up again just like you always do." You shouldn't have let your anger take control. But then again, when we deal with anger so long, she never tells us that her actual name is grief. Your brother was supposed to be a closed chapter of your life, but like a faded page of an Agatha Christie novel, he lingered on in your brain. All your family had far moved on, but you loved your twin brother, older than you by 8 minutes, too much to let him go from the dusty cabinets of your brain. You tried to forget his screams on that day and that cold, hard cackling but you couldn't. You were right there. Right in front of all the destruction, when your heart broke into a million pieces. Yet how could you forget such a memory?

"Y/N!" Minho was rolling up with this car next to you as you reached your house. The magenta coloured door was locked, your parents were still out on work. "Minho just fucking leave me alone. And I mean it this time. Don't even fucking talk to me." "Yn would you listen to me? Don't go inside the house!" What was this maniac saying? You stared at his figure getting out of the car and swiftly moving across over the lawn to your figure standing at the front door. "please just don't go inside the house." You noticed some figures behind him and you realised that Chan and his friends Jisung and Changbin were also there. "Minho what the fuck are you doing?" Minho looked at with what you thought looked like an expression of pity. "Just please don't go inside the house."

No you weren't going to listen to him. Absolutely fucking not. The last time you listened to him, you ended up in a mud covered ditch. Not today. "Fuck you and fuck your fucking existence Minho! I'm not listening to one word that comes out of that stupid mouth of yours." Before Minho could stop you and before Chan called out your name, you opened the door with gusto, only to be met, not with the familiar scent of Eau de Perfume but with the stench of iron. Your world came crashing down again. Your parents. Lying dead. On the floor. Of your house. Covered in blood. You were frozen. You couldn't move. A sense of familiarity came over you. You knew this feeling. This feeling of feeling like a thousand icicles had pierced your veins. All that came to your mind was him. No this can't be September. September was his birthday! It can't be this bad. No please don't let September be bad. "Y/N. Princess are you alright?" "Min- Minho. They're- they're not. No." The tears weren't coming. This wasn't sadness this was shock. "Chan hyung can you get her out of here? Jisung call the police. Now. Y/N. Y/N what are you doing!" You had strode up to your parents' bodies. Your mom was covered in more blood than your dad. Your dad looked like he was peacefully sleeping. Your mum's head seemed bashed in. Oh god the smell of blood. That night. All that remained was that night. You were too immersed in looking at your parents, that you didn't notice the creeping black figure in front of you. "So you're their daughter are you?" That husky voice was the last thing you heard before a gun shot, Minho's voice and the thud of your body. There was something warm on your stomach. And gooey. And red. This felt nice, you thought. Dying felt nice. If only he felt like this before....

Chan and Changbin slammed the man who had stabbed you onto the wall, destroying some photo frames in the process. Jisung turned on all the lights and went over to the two other men to get a look at the stranger. Minho, on the other hand, had rushed to your side, picking you up in his arms, towel pressuring the wound on your stomach.

"No, no, no" Mournful voices were surrounding your frame. "No this can't be happening. Please Y/N!" Tears, not yours, dripped onto your skin as something red mixed with it to create a pretty little cocktail. "Fuck princess wake up! Fuck no....."

2: Just a little bit colder

"Well well well, Mrs Yoon. How are the children?" Your mother cowered in fear as your elder sister and your dad were tied up next to the fridge in the kitchen. Your twin brother and you were in the clutches of some buff looking men. Eleven years. That's all you were. Eleven fucking years. "Mr. Wang I promise I won't leak the papers. I swear on my children. Please do not harm us." Mr. Wang or whoever he was striding up and down the carpeted room, white papers in his scarred hand. "It's ok Y/Nnie. I'm right here. It's just another November. September will come soon won't it?" Your brother, Doowon tightly held your hand and calmed you down, as your tears threatened to escape from their prison. "Mr. Wang. Please I beg you. Please do not harm me. You have the papers. What more do you want?" Mr Wang smiled at your mother. A cold smile. Shivering and undaunted. "Oh my dear Danbi. I have the papers of course, but you know how I do my work. I do not like bitches who butt their heads into everything. So I want your children to see how their mother is a little bitch." Mr Wang pulled your mother's hair as she screamed and cried out. "Hey don't do that to my mom!" Your borther screamed out as you but the hand if the man who was holding you. Both of you escaped from the clutches of the two men as Mr Wang looked on, slightly amused. "Or what little boy? You gonna beat me up?" Your brother stood his ground, not even daring to break eye contact. "Doowon get back please!" Your mum pleaded with Doowon, but he wouldn't listen. He stepped forward to Mr Wang and stepped painfully on his smooth black shoes. Mr Wang let out a cold laugh as he grabbed your brother by the neck of his shirt. "Grab the little girl too. Let her see how her twin meets with death." A man grabbed you from behind as your family pleaded and you thrashed around, trying to escape. "Let me go!" You screamed as the man took you upstairs while Mr Wang followed with your brother. You reached your bedroom door, which you shared with Doowon and Mr Wang slammed it opened pushing you and your brother inside. "Open that window, Brian." He spat at the man who grabbed you, while you and Doowon stood still. "Now boy. Come here. Come. Here. Now. Unless you want your sister harmed." Doowon looked at you and squeezed your hand before going ever to Mr Wang. And that was the last touch of your brother you had, before Mr. Wang pushed him out of the window on to the green grass below. Your screams had filled the neighborhood, scared the Magpies and threatened September to never come again. September's child,you told yourself. That's all he was. September's child, at the mercy of October.

"She'll be alright Minho. Just give her a few hours. She'll wake up." You were lying on an oak bed with grand purple bedsheets. You had a white sheet wrapped around your waist and your stomach, which stopped blood from coming out of your stab wound. Minho had taken you to his mansion outside of town, where all the sons of the mafias of Korea would hang out. Bang Chan, Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, Minho's brother Lee Felix Yongbok, Han Jisung, Kim Seungmin, Yang Jeongin and Lee Minho. Stray kids, they called themselves. Basically abandoned by their workaholic parents and brought up by relatives. "Hyung she'll be fine don't worry. Seungmin's aunt is the best surgeon in the country. She stitched Y/N up all fine." Changbin put an arm on Minho's shivering shoulder. Chan and Jisung were also there in the room, trying to comfort Minho and convince him that you would be fine. "What if she's not ok hyung? What do I tell her when she wakes up? Ho-how do I explain to her how I knew that her parents' bodies would be lying in her floor before she even got home? How do I fucking explain that?" Minho looked up at Chan with teary eyes. Chan was worried. Minho hadn't eaten or drunk water for the whole day, ever since you came out of that four hour long surgery. Never before had he seen Minho's cold face so filled with emotion. "Minho listen to me. You can explain everything to her once she wakes up. I called her sister and she'll be coming over in three days from Busan. Now please. You've got to eat something or drink water atleast. I promise you, Y/N will understand if you speak to her properly. Now come on, let's get some breakfast. It's 8 am in the morning. The boys would have woken up by now." Minho listened silently to Chan's words and simply nodded. Words weren't coming out anymore as he slowly got up from his chair and let go of your hand. Taking one last look at you, the boys left the room, all the while commanding two bodyguards to stand outside the door, making sure no one else can even come near you.

"Y/Nnie! Look what I can do!" "That wasn't a proper cartwheel Doowon, it doesn't count!" "Atleast I can do a cartwheel." "Yah don't stick your tongue out at me! Jinhee unnie! Doowon's making fun of me!"

'Do you remember? Twenty first night of September? Love was chasing the minds of pretenders.' "Happy birthday Doowon! I got a CD of your favourite song!" "Thanks Y/Nnie. Let's listen to this song on my birthday every year!"

Purple sheets? This was not your bed. Your bed had dinosaur sheets and made a rickety noise every time you moved. You noticed the white tape wrapped carefully around your waist and dared not touch it. You tried to remember what day it was and where you were as you slowly moved and leaned comfortably against the bed frame, groaning slightly as your stomach was hurting. Gosh what day was it? Was it still September? Or did October come to take you away again?

Lost in your thoughts, you looked around the room, trying to figure out whether you were still in Jeju Island or not. You noticed a drawer close to the bed. Curious, you opened the drawer, to find your phone, a bracelet and a picture of a you and Minho in your jerseys. That bracelet. It was the one which your brother had made for you. Which you hadn't seen ever since that day. And the picture was the one which was taken when you and Minho were elected captains of your basketball teams. You grabbed your phone hurriedly as you realised that this had to be Minho's house. You had to get out. Now. Your memory was coming back to you and you remembered the events that had unfolded the night before. Blood. The smell of iron. The blade of a knife. The tears of a plum brown haired boy.

You threw the sheets off of yourself and made to get up. Stupid decision, you told yourself as the moment your feet hit the floor, you fell down witha loud thud. "OUCH!" you cried out loudly, hoping that this was a soundproof house. Probably not, because five seconds later, you heard footsteps coming down to your door. The oak door swung open with a loud crash to reveal a panic stricken Minho, who had dark circles under his eyes, a worried looking Chan, who was clutching a half finished piece of toast and a very confused Seungmin, who was holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "I knew I shouldn't have left your clumsy ass alone." Minho grumbled as he made his way to you and gently lifted you up, taking care not to touch your injury. You should have probably thrashed around, but for the sake of not accidentally injuring yourself even more, you resisted, as Minho put you back on the head and flicked your forehead painfully. "Yah!" You exclaimed rubbing your forehead. "Ok first of all, where the fuck am I? Second of all, what the fuck am I doing here? Third of all, I know my parents are dead now, so what I am going to do?" You directed the last question at Chan, who scratched his hair and glanced at Seungmin, who was looking at you as if you were his hero. "You know noona, you can come stay with me if you don't wanna stay in Minho's hyung's house." Minho glared at Seungmin as Chan took him by the arm and forced him out of the room, before saying "Minho explain everything. And no I will not help you stop pouting." He slammed the door, leaving Minho and you all alone. All alone in this wood carved room. All alone to face September together. "Alright" Minho took in a deep breath. "Im going to explain everything to you princess. But you will not fucking interrupt me, got it?" You opened your mouth to fire something back at him, but you decided against it in the last moment and quietly nodded. "Alright here goes. First of all I am really sorry for bringing up your brother. I know it was an asshole move and I thought you'd have forgotten about it. Clearly you didn't so I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Second of all, yes your parents are dead. Im sorry Y/N but they are. We informed your sister, she'll come in a few days from Busan. And the reason I knew that your parents were dead and tried to stop you was because my cousin killed your parents." Pause button. Wait what?

"Minho what are you talking about? If this is some kind of joke I will seriously kill myself right here and right now." Minho looked at you with an expression of pure sympathy. "It's not a joke Y/N. You know your mom is the head of the Jeju Island branch of Chan's parents' buisness right? Well all our businesses are connected. And one day when you were a child, your mother had found some papers which proved that my family was in illegal work. My family was ready to forgive her but my cousin, Jackson, wasn't. All those papers were related to his dealings and he wasn't happy that a mere woman had found out about it. So one day, without my parent's knowledge, he found out about your family and well. I think you know the rest don't you?" Too many things. Too many things for your brain to process as it went back to that night. Mr Wang. Jackson Wang. Pretty name, you thought, as you tried to bring his face back to your memory. Scarred. That's all you remembered. Scarred face, scarred mouth, scarred hands grabbing your brother by the cuffs on his shirt. "Chan had found out first. You know him having contacts and all. And when he told me about it, there was this thing inside of me that told me that your parents were probably already dead. I know my cousin pretty well. And he isn't one for patience." "But what did my mom do now?" Minho sighed at your question. "She, she found out some more information about Jackson and she decided to step up. But we all know what happens to heroes don't we?" Your breathing had gotten more steady now and your hands had stopped shaking. Sadness wasn't arriving for you. Not yet. Was it September? Or was it because you never actually knew your mother and father? Because thinking about it, you actually never did.

"Y/N I think it's time to tell you what my parents actually do. What all the boy's parents actually do. We run an underground syndicate over the whole of South Korea. We own every piece of land in Korea. We have information about every person existing in this country. And I want to tell you that your mom was actually one of the most important people for our 'buisness'. She wasn't just some head of the Jeju Island branch. She was a personal spy for my father and mother, put here along with your dad, to spy against, uh, some people." Your head hurt even more with all the information that Minho was unloading on you. You held your head in your hands and massaged your temples gently. Minho looked slightly worried at this and nervously asked, "You ok princess? Want some breakfast?" Oh gosh his lips. "Or a doctor? You know what I'll get a doctor. Chan hyung will say no-" Those lips looked so kissable" "- but what if you don't feel well later on a faint and then you become even more sick-" Don't kiss him Y/N don't you dare. "-and then I'll have to marry you and take care of you foreve-"

Yep you couldn't keep it to yourself anymore. "I wanna kiss you." You blurted out, instantly cringing and regretting your words and Minho turned his head towards you, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted in surprise. "This is adream right? Oh shit I had too much coffee." You were surprised at his words. Wait did he dream of this in a regular basis or what? Or were in you in a coma and this was all in your head? You slightly moved in the bed and as your stomach slightly hurt, you thought, yes definetly not a coma. "Or you could just get me some breakfast? Im hungry and in pain right now." "O-oh yeah I'll just tell t-the guys to get you some. K cool bye Y/N! See you later definetly don't wanna kiss you haha bye!" You were in a state of euphoria as Minho left the room, a blushing mess. Did you just make the Lee Minho blush and stutter? Oh you could jump in joy right now. Well if you could jump. Was this wrong, you thought. Not feeling sad even though your parents had just died? Or were you too familiar with sadness, that meeting her wasn't a big deal anymore?

The door opened again after fifteen minutes to reveal a blonde- haired boy with the most prettiest eyes you've ever seen, carrying a breakfast tray, followed by a taller long haired boy, who looked like he came straight out of those anime comics you read. "Hey noona! Here's some breakfast! Are you feeling better now?" The blonde haired boy, who had a very deep voice, said in a cheery tone. You considered asking him if he was a pixie or an angel because God did he emit that vibe. That positive vibe that just made you wanna pick some flowers and braid them in someone's hair. "Oh hello there. Um thank you for the food. Im sorry if it was of any inconvenience to you." This time, the long haired boy responded instead, saying "Oh no Noona it's fine. Minho hyung would kill us, well specifically me, if, according to his words 'you felt any discomfort', so please eat up. Im Hyunjin by the way and this is Felix." "Im Y/N. Yoon Y/N. But I'm guessing you already knew that?"

"Well of course we know about you. Minho hyung doesn't stop talking to me about you." Jisung had just appeared at the door, dressed in a leather jacket with leather pants, making him look like a biker. "He literally talked to me about your favourite ice cream flavour for five house noona I'm not joking. So please would you tell him you like or something so that I can get out of this hellhole of listening to him?" You were slightly taken aback by Jisung's words and as he plopped and deflated onto the purple couch, you looked at him with a curious expression, "Oh I'm Jisung by the way. Minho's amazingly talented best friend." You heard Hyunjin mutter something along the lines of 'he forgot to add annoying'. "Um I have a lot questions that Minho didn't properly answer. May I ask them,if you don't mind?" You directed this question at Felix, who looked ecstatic at the thought of answering questions, as Hyunjin pulled up two chairs. "Yeah of course Noona! My brother is really vague so please forgive him for that." You smiled at Felix's words about Minho. "Ok first of all where are we right now?" "We're in the outskirts of Jeju Island. This is Minho's hyung's mansion. Well technically our mansion, but my parents are the ones who own it. It's really old and no one cares about it. So we carry out our, er, operations here." Seeing Felix say all that was like seeing a chick with a knife. "So do all of you have like different jobs here? Like in the books and movies?" Hyunjin chuckled at that. "Minho hyung told us you liked suspense literature. Well to answer your question, yes we do have different jobs here. Chan hyung is kind of like our leader. He basically gives all the contacts and manages our profile and connections. You know all the administration shit. Changbin hyung and this idiot over here-" He gestured towards Jisung who gasped dramatically, "-they are our muscle and also so the money work. Lix over here does all the hacking work since his parents trained him and also since he's obsessed with gaming." Felix turned red at that, "Seungmin and Jeongin are our snipers. They are really young but I mean none of us really had an actual childhood. I run the interrogation work. And Minho hyung basically does everything. He doesn't really have a designated position." The way Hyunjin said all of that in the most casual tone weirded you out. He talked as if he was talking about morning coffee, as if it completely normal and nothing suspicious. You smiled awkwardly at Hyunjin who simply stared out the window at the sunlight. "Are all of you so gorgeous over here?" You blurted out, to which Jisung choked on his own saliva, Felix blushed pink and Hyunjin blinked multiple times. "I mean unless you count Jisung out, then yeah all of us are really pretty." You laughed at Hyunjin's statement to which Jisung looked like a furious squirrel.

"Yah Yongbok, Hyunjin are you coming down?" You heard Minho shout from below. "Oh gotta go. Anyways it was nice talking to you noona! I think Minho hyung called the doctor to come in the evening, so you should probably rest up until then. Oh and-" Felix paused for a moment and pulled out a sketchpad from nowhere. "Don't tell Minho I have you this. He told me you like to draw so I sneaked this in here." With that, all of them left you in the room, with a sketchpad, your phone and September's tunes.

You wiled away the hours by drawing the room around you. You tried to draw Hyunjin, Felix, Jisung and Chan too. The house was quiet apart from the voices of whom you assumed was Jeongin and Seungmin talking very loudly. But something was distracting you. That bracelet. The bracelet lying on the bedside drawer. You knew that bracelet very well. It was the bracelet which Doowon had made for you when you were eight or so. And you hadn't ever seen it ever since that night. So what was it doing here? Minho had told you that his cousin and his family don't talk at all, so how was this bracelet here? Was Minho lying? No he wouldn't do that. Yes mortal enemy things but you didn't think this man would be crazy enough to kill. You picked up the bracelet and twirled it in your hands. It was pretty, with gold lining the thing.

You noticed something on one of the biggest pink beads of the bracelet. The bead was... Open? It had a line tracing it as if it was a Pokemon ball, ready to split at any moment to reveal your Pokemon. Curious, you dig your nails into it to open it up. After a few minutes of difficulty (and you almost giving up), you managed to open the ball up. Inside was a tiny piece of folded paper. It was so tiny indeed, that you wondered how someone had managed to fold it. You dug the paper out and unfolded its many layers of folds. This definetly wasn't there when your brother had so lovingly made it for you. The paper was faded, but still looked relatively new. There were some words on it typed out in red, black and blue. The words:.

Yoon Doowon

Birth: September 21, 2005 (Age: Unknown)

Job: Hitman, Ally, Possible heir

Status: Alive

3: Take the weight off his shoulders

'Do you remember 22st night of September? Love was chasing the minds of pretenders all while dancing the night away."

"God boss can you turn that off? It's been playing for an hour now." A stout man, dressed in tight black clothes, which fitted his muscles was sitting spread eagle on a nice blue cushion chair. Sitting in front of him on a much more bigger chair, was a man dressed elaborately in a white mink stole, a pristine white suit, with rings of all colours adorning his fingers, and a big black brooch on a golden chain stuck to his suit. "I won't turn it off until the chorus Brian. You know I love this song don't you? And you shall listen to it until your ears bleed out." Brian groaned and leaned back in his chair. "When is Mr Wang coming?" The man asked Brian. "It's possible he'll be arriving in a few minutes sir. But don't worry. I have intel that he got the job done well and good." "And the little rat? What about her?" Brian shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well she might have gotten away. Lee's gang was there." The man threw his long hair back and threw off the stole, a frown and a red scar decorating his handsome face.

They were in a large room, an office, but it looked more like a King's throne room, where there were chairs for the ministers and wine glasses all decked with pink fluid. There was no door, but a few handing blue beads, which tinkled every now and then. "How could she have gotten away? Who did you send to kill them?" "I sent our best assassin sir." The man scoffed. "Well, clearly he wasn't the best. Does he have family?" Brian nodded in response to the question. "Good. Kill them." "Of course sir."

The blue beads tinkled as a heavily scarred man came into the room along with two bodyguards. "Mr Wang." The white draped man bowed deeply to Jackson who bowed back, only a bit. "Well well well Doowon. You did good. Your parents are dead. This deserves a toast. Shall we?" Doowon smirked at the man and got a green bottle from underneath the table. "Only the finest whiskey for you Mr Wang." Jackson chuckled coldly, taking a glass from the table and extending it forward to Doowon. "But-" Doowon said as he slowly uncorked the bottle. "I do not wish for your bodyguards to be here. You know how the Lee Family works? Even the most trusted allies can turn into back stabbers when their money is involved. " If Jackson Wang was startled, he didn't show it on his face. Instead he motioned for his guards to leave the room, who followed suit, although with a little uncertainty. Brian also left the room, leaving the two scarred men alone.

"Well then a toast. To me and you. Buisness partners." Doowon raised his glass in unison with Jackson, who drank up the whiskey quickly. "Mr Wang I have something to tell you." Jackson looked up at the younger man and waved his hand as if to say 'go on'. "First of all I just want to thank you for taking me in that night, when everyone thought I was dead. You were so ever so good with your observations to notice that I was only playing dead. And then you trained me and everything so thank you for that. And for telling me the truth about everything." Jackson simply nodded. He felt a sharp jab in his stomach and his head started to stir. Doowon was going out of focus now and in what seemed like a split second, Jackson Wang rolled off of the chair, onto the floor. Dead. "But I wanted to tell you sir." Doowon spoke to the limp body on the floor. "That I would like to take over by myself now. You're getting too old and I don't want you to interfere in my personal matters."

"How do you feel now Y/N? Better?" A pretty older woman was checking up on you. She wore a doctor's coat with the nametag 'Dr Kim' on it. She was Seungmin's aunt, the surgeon who had saved your life. "Well the pain has subsided a bit Dr.Kim. I still feel a bit dizzy every time I move, but I think I'm good now." Dr Kim warmly smiled at you as she checked your heartbeat. "Well in any case, I think you'll be fine by tomorrow. You can even walk around tomorrow if you like. But for now, just get some more sleep. I'll tell Minho and the boys not to disturb you alright?" Dr Kim gently squeezed your hand and packed up her equipment. She spoke to you as if you were her own child, with such delicate words and a comforting voice, something that your mother never gave you. "Um Dr Kim? Could you ask Minho to come up here please? If you don't mind?" "Of course honey! I'll ask him. Take care now." She gently kissed your forehead and went out the door.

"You wanted to see me?" Minho was dressed in a blue shirt, slightly open at the top and white pants. He looked so.... refined. And hot, exactly like a K drama CEO. God damn he looked delicious. Don't lick your lips. Do not lick your fucking lips Y/N. "Yeah I have some questions." Minho groaned as he shut the door and came forward to sit on the bed. "What now?" "Where did you get this bracelet?" You held up the bracelet to Minho, who looked at you, perplexed. "That's my bracelet, for your information. My mother gifted it to me. It's been in my family for centuries." Wait what now? "Minho stop fucking lying would you? My brother gave me this as a surprise gift when I was ten. And it went missing ever since the day he fucking died! So could you please tell me where the fuck you got this? Or I'm getting out of this bed and asking Chan." "Woah there princess." Minho looked at you, worried at your outburst. "Alright don't get out of bed please. I don't want you bleeding out and dying. But I'm telling the truth. This is the bracelet my mother gave me when I was twelve. It's been passed on from generation to generation in the Lee Family. It's a special bracelet, because it has these tiny chits inside the beads, telling the person who opens it who the next leader of, well, underground South Korea is going to be."

Too much information again. Number one, you could not stop staring at Minho's pretty pink lips. Number two, why did the chit inside the bead have your brother's name? And why did it say that he was alive?" "Wh-who puts the chits inside of this?" You asked Minho, carefully hiding the chit inside of your hand. "Well my uncle Wang dies. Jackson's dad. His great great great grandpa was the one who made this bracelet. So he has the right to choose the heir." "Minho I think you need to see this." You handed Minho the faded chit. He looked at it for a solid fifteen seconds before looking at you, blinking rapidly, just like how he does whenever someone surprises him. "Y/N oh fuck. Shit come on get up. Quick. I'll help you." "Wait Minho what? What happened?" You asked Minho as he gently wrapped his arms around your waist, supporting you as you slowly got out the bed, and onto your legs. "Y/N we need to get to a safer place. If- if what this chit says is true, you're in more danger than I thought." "Wait Minho stop. Would you stop for a moment? Minho- Lee Minho!" You shouted his name, which made him stop in his tracks, arms still supporting your waist, even though you could still walk fine. "Would you please explain to me what's going on?" "Come down to the hall." Minho sighed and told you. "The boys, except Chan hyung, don't know either. So I can tell them and you at the same time. It'll be easier won't it?"

You nodded, not saying anything. Your mouth was dry and words were not escaping it. Gosh September was meant to be good. Why was it so full of surprises?

"Yah Minho Hyung! Auntie told noona can't get up until tomorrow." Seungmin said to Minho as both of you cam doen the stairs. All of the boys were pin the living room, immersed in their own work. Seungmin and Jeongin were playing chess and Chan was on his laptop as usual. "Chan hyung. I think I've figured out who the Mink Thief is." Chan's head snapped from his laptop to Minho so fast, that you swore you heard a cracking sound. The other boys' attention was also now on Minho. "Are you joking or are you actually telling the truth right now?" Minho smiled at Chan's words and set you down on the couch next to Changbin gently. "No I am not joking. Look at this." He handed Chan the bracelet and the chit, which Chan twirled in his gorgeous fingers, all the while looking at it as if it was some alien substance. "Oh fucking hell. Not him?" Minho nodded at Chan's exasperated words as Chan slumped in his chair, setting his laptop down on the table. "Can anyone explain what's going on please? Minho hyung?" Felix asked. "Alright bitches-" "language Minho" "Hyung stop being so old. Alright bitches listen up. So first of all let me introduce you to a man named Yoon Doowon, also known to us as The Mink Thief, who has been sending our families threats for a long time, also know to Y/N as her dead brother." "Yah! Rude!" "Anyways, one thing that Chan hyung found out a few days ago is that The Mink Thief has been in contact with my cousin, Jackson, ever since the day of Y/N's brother's murder. Also Y/N," he paused at looked into your eyes. "Whatever I'm about to say next will probably shock you so please don't faint out of surprise." You looked at Minho with the best offended eyes you could.

Minho then continued in a much more serious voice, "Yoon Danbi, Y/N's mom has been a spy for my family ever since I was born. Her and her husband had been placed here in Jeju Island along with their only daughter Yoon Jinhee, for an important mission. But soon, people grew suspicious of how both of them would act all the time, leaving their daughter alone for such long periods of time, coming home late at deadly hours and blah blah blah. So, in order to make their family seem much more 'normal', they took in two children. Choi Doowon and Jeon Y/N." "Minho what the fuck are you saying right now." Why were there so many surprises? Was your entire life a lie? Were you adopted for some stupid mission or something? What kind of Marvel shit was this? "Yeah this is why I said, don't faint out of shock." Minho slightly chuckled as Chan looked at repramandingly. "Look yes it's true your parents aren't your real parents. But the thing is your didn't even have parents. You came straight from the orphanage. So when my family took one look at you, someone with no background information which can be traced, they thought you were perfect for this mission. I mean, think of it Y/N, haven't you ever saw your parents hiding any documents from you or getting afraid when you asked for your birth certificate whenever you needed to register for your basketball games?" Yes, when you thought about it, they did do that.

"Hyung don't you think you should have had this conversation somewhere more private?" Felix looked from your distraught face to Minho's. "We probably should have but I have shit to tell all of you too." Minho said to his younger brother. "When Doowon supposedly died that night, Jackson Wang got a new partner in crime. Doowon was probably still alive. I know that no one can survive a fall like that, but I seriously don't know how he survived. So what I'm assuming from this tiny chit here, is that Jackson probably told Doowon the truth about his true parentage and all, and then like a basic villain, Doowon wanted revenge and now Y/N's life is basically a fantasy novel." "Ain't that right?" You scoffed. "My entire fucking life is a lie. I mean is my name even Y/N? Are we just living in a hallucination? What if all humanity is meant to do is just live our boring lives until a giant space turtle comes along and kills us all?" "That would be a cool way to die." Jisung said, not even a bit surprised by your rambling. "Jisung." Chan looked at Jisung with a glare. "Alright listen up everybody. Now that the sad backstory is out the way, we need to get down to buisness. First of all we need to get Y/N somewhere safe. Well safer. So Y/N, would you be willing to go along with Jisung, Jeongin and Seungmin?" You nodded at Chan, who looked very relieved. "Great. Felix, Hyunjin, would both of you search out if Vernon's mansion is still protected and everything? " Felix and Hyunjin replied 'yes' to Chan and quickly went out the room. "Um noona we should get going. Can you walk by yourself?" Seungmin stood up and extended a hand to you, which you gratefully took and got up. "Yeah I can walk don't worry. Um where are we going?" Seungmin smiled at you, revealing his braces. "Don't worry about that. Just follow me to the car."

Fifteen minutes later, you were sitting in the back of a Bentley with Jisung, with Seungmin driving and Jeongin stared out the window, sitting quietly in the passenger seat. "You're lucky Minho hyung gave us his car noona." Jisung commented. "He never even lets us touch it. But then again, we're with you, so I guess that makes up for it." You looked at Jisung's wavy hair and thought to yourself that how can a sweet boy like him, be Minho's best friend. "Jisung, when you said Minho doesn't stop talking about me to you guys, what exactly does he talk about?" "Oh noona I could write an entire seven book Series about that " Seungmin responded instead of Jisung. "He doesn't ever stop talking about what your favourite song is, or what you wore today or how your hair falls in such a perfect way. And when we tell him to just tell you that he is pathetically in love with you, he sulks and says that he would rather kill himself." Well that was certainly surprising. "Oh we're here." Jeongin said, as the car pulled up to a massive iron gate, which had the letters C, H and V on it. What it was guarding was a massive black mansion, which looked very much like a vampire's lair, covered in vines of ivy with a statue of bat hanging out in the big yard. "Chwe Hansol. Also known as Vernon. This is his mansion. He's a good friend of Chan Hyung's and he lets us use the mansion whenever we want. It's the safest place in Jeju Island so we'll be good here noona." Jisung told you, as you stepped out of the car. The mansion looked so ethereal and as you walked into the yard through the gate, you wondered if this was the mansion which was described in the story of the vampire Carmilla. You lived and breathed for that story and you were excited at the thought of hiding in a place which looked exactly like Carmilla's mansion, where she took the blood of her lover, weeping over her body, and complaining about her death.

The boys pushed open the big dual doors of the mansion with difficulty, but not before Jisung had entered a pass code on the tiny keyboard thing which was on the right side of the door. This was indeed Carmilla's mansion, you thought as you entered the big living room, which was decked from head to toe in gold and silver. There was a magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling, along with busts of some vague looking people.

"Gosh this is so pretty." You said to Seungmin, who smiled and said "Wait till you see the ball room." You were about say 'theres a ball room here?' when suddenly the lights went out. "Ah fucking hell. Guys stay here with noona. I'll go and see what's wrong." You heard Jisung's voice. "I don't think you need to do that, my dear Mr.Han." you heard a cold voice, which didn't belong to any of the boys. "Who's ther-" Before Seungmin could finish his sentence, you felt a hit to your head, and you blacked out, before hearing Jisung shout, "Noona!"

"Y/Nnie. Wake up." Doowon said in a sing song voice. The boys were tightly tied up to the chairs, with cello tape around their mouths. You were also tied up to the big blue cushion chair, with Doowon, standing in front of you, wearing a red coat and that mink fur stole. He had three bodyguards with him, all buffer than Changbin, all carrying guns and all looking scary as fuck. "Y/N wake up you stupid bitch." Doowon slapped your face painfully, which made you slightly stir. "Hey don't do that she's injured!" Jisung shouted out, having managed to chew through his cello tape. Doowon looked at Jisung with a sarcastic smile and said nothing, while one of the bodyguards punched Jisung. "Doowon?" You had woken up and the surroundings were appearing more clearly now. Your stomach hurt so much and your brain was still fuzzy, except for your dead brother standing in front of you, smirking. "Oh hey Y/Nnie. You miss me?" He asked you in a cold voice you didn't recognise. Never September. This was not September's child standing in front of you. This wasn't September's child, who used to chase butterflies and gift you cute little stones, standing in front of you. "Doowon you're alive." You managed to cough out some words, along with a bit of blood. "Ahh yes I am. I assume your stupid boyfriend already told you what happened to me. So I'm going to skip over the part where I explain shit to you." He let out a cold laugh which made you flinch. "Doowon this isn't you. What are you doing?" You asked him, tears welling up in your eyes. "This isn't me? No Y/N this is me. I've been lied to my entire life and Jackson Wang told me the truth. He taught me the way to survive in our world. He's dead now by the way. Just like our 'parents'." "Doowon please. Stop this lunacy! Atleast let the boys go they haven't done anything wrong!" Doowon leaned down to your level and lifted your chin with his finger. You shivered at his cold touch. "Aww Y/N. Always so fucking innocent. Baby the boys are leverage. Soon the rest of the boys will be here and then after some introductions, I can finally rule all of South Korea." Your tears had escaped now as you looked over at the boys, who were knocked unconscious by the bodyguards. You felt like the most lowest human being on earth, when you looked at Jeongin's bleeding lip, wondering what Chan's reaction would be when he arrived here. "Brian! Go check if the doors are open please. I want them all to waltz in here and call for these pathetic boys. And then we'll hit them where they don't even know it hurts. Maybe we'll start with this one." He moved over to Jeongin. The man named Brian laughed and winked at Doowon. "I'll get the door sir." He moved out the room swiftly.

Fifteen minutes had passed. Fifteen silent minutes. This was silence which you did not enjoy. Silence was sweet in September, when only the Magpies chirped. But now, as you watched Jeongin and Seungmin slightly stir, silence became bitter. "Is Brian not coming? You!" Doowon shouted at one of the guards. "Go out and see where he is! Does it take this much time for the rascal to come back?" The guard obeyed and made to get up from his seat on a rickety wooden chair. BANG! A bullet shot went through the guards head, and as he slumped to the ground, with a pool of blood around his head, Doowon screamed and grabbed Jisung by his chin. "You! What have you done!" Jisung merely smirked at him as Doowon lay frozen there, staring at the body. "Oh for fucks sake what are both of you doing?" Doowon spat at the two remaining guards. "Go upstairs and check if the rats have entered the house already!" The guards nodded their heads fervently and went off in opposite directions, only to be met with two gunshots. The door burst open, as Minho and the remaining boys barged in.

"Doowon." Minho said coldly to Doowon, who merely smirked, trying to hide the fact that he had peed his pants a bit. "Well you found me didn't you? Good job Minho. You know Mr Wang told me how your family works. So I'm honoured that I'm actually getting to experience a member of the great Lee family trying to kill me." You were disgusted by his words. Where did your sweet Doowon go? Where did the boy whom you had cried for day and night go? "Let the boys and Y/N go. Now Doowon. And we won't have any consequences." Chan said to Doowon. He looked furious. You hadn't ever seen Chan like this. "Oh you can take the boys first and then I'll give you Y/N." Hearing that, Changbin and Hyunjin hurried forward, untied the boys, who were concious by now and supported them on their arms, as they carried them back to safety.

"Now Y/N's turn. Give her back to me Doowon and maybe you won't end up choking on your own blood tonight." Minho's voice made your heart go warm. He had nothing but cold fury in his voice. If you thought you had seen his anger on that one particular basketball match in Busan, you were mistaken.

"Now why would I do that? Sweet little Y/N is all ok tied up to his chair aren't you Y/Nnie?" He pulled your hair and kicked you hard in your stomach, which made you cough out blood. Yep, the stitches in your stomach had probably opened up. Fuck no, not now. Don't die in September. Let me wait for October. October seemed more comforting now. The Magpies had their babies in October. Im October, you could get boba on discount. In October, you could hand out with your friends whenever you want. In October, Minho would turn a year older. Wait how did you know that? Why was this room so fuzzy? Hey Minho's face. His beautiful face. It was going out of focus now. Good way to die isn't it. You hoped death came to you, wrapped in white silk and picked you up in her arms like a baby and put you in a cradle. A cradle painted orange and yellow. A cradle with Magpies on it. A cradle which loved all the months equally. But especially October. Especially October.

"Doowon, stop that! Stop fucking hurting her!" Minho screamed at Doowon. You were blacked out now and as Minho looked at your gently sleeping figure, his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach. "And what if I don't? What will you do oh great Lee Minho? I have her in my arms and I can do anything I wa-" That was the last thing Minho heard before all he saw was Doowon's dumb face, struck with shock, bullet hole in his big head, blood staining his already red suit and his stupid mentality finally gone from this world. "Good job Minho. Now come on let's get Y/N. Guys get Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin to the car. We'll get Y/N." Chan told the others, while Minho had already strode over to you. He hurriedly untied the ropes around your arms and legs and got you to his arms, fingers looking for your wrists, to check your pulse. Tears were coming out now. Tears he never knew would come for you. He loved you. So much. So much it was honestly pathetic. The way you scowled everytime you saw him, the way your eyes lit up whenever you got a high test score, the way you cherished December for your birthday, the way you existed. He loved everything about you. And he can't lose you. Not now. Not ever.

"Feeling good kitten?" You had woken up in Minho's house again, with Dr Kim checking your heartbeat and adjusting your blood pump. "Minho." You managed to breath out weakly, making Minho's heart drop again. He was quick to stand up and cup your face in his arms gently as tears poured out of your eyes. "Hey hey hey don't cry." He said so gently, in a tone which he never used with you. "No Y/N. Shh. I've got you. You're safe. You're safe." He hugged you gently, supporting your head with his hands as you silently sobbed into his shirt. Once you pulled away, you noticed that his shirt was wet from all the crying and that his eye bags were more prominent. "Im sorry. I'm so sorry Minho. I-I really didn't know about..... about him and I caused you all this trouble. I am so sorry." "Hey hey princess. Y/N listen to me." You looked into his eyes, which were twinkling into yours. "None of it is your fault. You hear me? None of it. If anything, I should have told you all that I know earlier but I couldn't. Because- because I- I love you Y/N." That was it. That's all it took. That's all it took, for your eyes to widen, your hands to reach up to his jaw and for your lips to meet his, in a slow dance accompanied by the melodies of the Magpies outside, celebrating that you two had finally realised your love for each other. You pulled away after what felt like a very short time, but you were running out of breath. Minho and you stared at each other for a while and then burst into giggles. "That felt nice princess. You sure you haven't kissed anyone before?" You slapped his chest playfully as you said "Yah! Don't make me think back about being your girlfriend Lee Minho." Minho's eyes lit up and he stuttered out "Girlfriend? Yep I'm in a dream someone pinch me." You rolled your eyes as you pinched him and he let out a tiny scream. "Oh stop so dramatic. How long was I out by the way? And are the boys alright?" "You were out for two days now kitten. And the boys are good. Jisung is saying he finally got his 'Wattpad best friend gets kidnapped moment' and I think Chan told Dr Kim to double his dosage of sleeping pills so now he's crashed out. And snoring loudly."

"Noona you're awake!" Felix had come into the room, well more like bounced into the room along with the rest of the boys, Seungmin sporting a cast, and Jeongin having a pink band-aid on his lip. Felix hugged you tightly while Chan hugged Minho. "Lix let her go. She needs to breath." Chan said to Felix, who had been hugging you for a long time now. "Seungmin, Jeongin are you guys ok now? I am literally so sorry." Jeongin smiled at you sweetly, his fox like eyes forming crescents and said, "We're good noona. Technically we should be asking you that question. And it's fine please don't apologise." He bowed a bit to you and as you tried to bow back, whilst sitting, Hyunjin said, to Minho "So hyung. Have you finally got your ass together and asked noona out?" Minho glared at Hyunjin as everyone else in the room laughed. "You will be getting your mouth stuffed tonight Hyunjin. And yes I have asked her out. And now she's my girlfriend." "Yah who said I was your girlfriend?" You jokingly said. "Ok I'm gonna ask Jisung out then." Minho said standing up.

Four years later

You had been living with Minho for four years now, as his live-in Girlfriend. He had introduced you to his parents, who had been nothing less that kind to you. They had first apologized profusely for the whole Doowon incident, to which you told them that you really didn't care. You had Minho with you and all of your past had slowly faded away.

And every year as October and September came, you learnt to cherish ,not the month, but the memories you made every day. You learnt to forever keep memories of you, your boyfriend, your friends and everyone around you. You learnt how to let go of grief easily.

And when Minho proposed to you, on the twenty first night of December, you learnt, you just needed someone a bit older, and a bit colder, to teach you what it meant to love a person like you'd love a month.

#lee know #lee minho #skz lee know #skz lee Minho #skz #stray kids lee minno #stray kids lee know fic #lee know fic #lee Minho fix #Minho #minho fic #angst and fluff #enemies to lovers #skz mafia au #lee know mafia au #lee minho mafia au #Minho mafia boss #minho mafia boss au #minho mafia au #stray kids fic #skz fic #stray kids minho #kpop fics #took a long time but shes finally here #the minho is this is Maniac era minho by the way #i described him as having plum brown hair #which is what he had in Oddinary era #SO HAWT #bye bye now #have a great day ahead

[lost-girl-2021]

I need another fem Spider chapter please. That's so (I don't know what to call it exactly) "refreshing"? Fem Spider is such a rare topic in this fandom and an interesting topic for me, every time I see work with it I go crazy

Here's not a chapter, but I did write something with fem Spider in the canon universe, so here's that to tide you over XD.

Spider had always been an outsider. It didn’t matter if she was around humans or Na’vi, around the young or old. It didn’t matter, because her father was a monster. It didn’t matter, because although Spider couldn’t remember either of her parents, she was a reminder of all the bad they did.

Jake had said it once. He didn’t mean for her to hear it, probably. She’d gotten in a fight with Kiri, over a wooden Ikran that got broken when they were playing. It ended with Kiri pulling her hair and Spider pinching her arm, at which point the adults stepped in and seperated them. Neytiri had punished Kiri while Jake took Spider back to base camp early. She was six or seven, maybe, still too young to visit the Omaticaya without an adult accompanying her.

“You can’t fight with the others.” He told her as they flew, one arm wrapped around her front so she wouldn’t fall off. “They’re bigger than you and sometimes they don’t realize their own strength.”

The lecture wasn’t anything new. Spider was always and would always be the weakest link. Lo’ak was two years younger than her and even he was bigger than her already. She ‘hmphed’ a response, brow furrowing in annoyance.

Jake sighed. “How about I make you a brand-new toy? I’m sure it’ll be much better than Neteyem’s hand-me-downs, huh?”

She crossed her arms in front of her, digging her elbow into Jake’s arm. “I liked that one.”

It wasn’t really about the toy Ikran— if it was, then her mood would’ve been easily changed by a ride on a real Ikran, which can actually fly and take her with. It was about the fight, how Kiri got to stay at camp and Spider had to go back to the stupid lab and the extra-stupid scientists. There were only, like, two other kids there and they were both way younger than her. And they all thought she was weird. Norm would make her put on shoes and too many layers when she got back, Max would probably try to make her do more schoolwork. She hated the lab.

“You can come back in two days, okay?” Jake offered, seeming to sense her mood. “I’ll even come pick you up, so you don’t have to wait for the slow-pokes. How does that sound?”

“Two days?” She whined, turning to glare up at Jake. He was looking forward, too high up for her to be seen, so she tugged sharply on his hair.

“Hey, it’s not— “ He cut himself off as he finally peered down at her, eyes suddenly widening. She wondered if he saw something down below, behind her. But, no, he was staring at her like he’d never seen her before.

“Jake?” She asked, features morphing from angry to scared.

He seemingly snapped out of it as his Ikran jerked below him, startling him back from whatever had happened. Spider, as emotional as most six-maybe-seven year olds were, was already starting to cry, startled from whatever had come over the man.

“Are y— you mad at me?” She mumbled, tears starting to drip down her cheeks. “Are you gonna— are you gonna tell everyone I— I— I can’t go back to the forest?”

A big hand reached up, as if to brush away tears. Unable to breech the mask, Jake settled for pulling her closer, trusting his steed to keep them steady.

“No, I’m not mad.” He assured, cupping the back of her head with one hand. “It’s okay, I’m sorry, it’s okay.”

By the time they landed, Spider had mostly stopped crying. Jake carried the girl inside, peeling off the mask and setting her down once they’d been through the airlock. Max was waiting near the door, frowning at the tear tracks on the girl’s face. Eclipse was still hours away, meaning everyone expected Spider to be gone for hours to come.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, scanning the little human for injuries.

“I— “ Spider cut herself off, feeling like she was about to start crying again. Instead, she justs shook her head, running towards her room.

She ended up crying in bed for another few minutes until she felt better, sure that Jake was already gone by the time she got back up. But, she’d been wrong.

She hated the feel of the shoes trapping her toes, making her always quiet footsteps loud as she crept towards the lab. She hated socks and dresses and most of all, shoes. But, she also hated when people were angry at her and she really wanted to ask Max for a hug. And some food, ‘cause she hadn’t gotten lunch yet and she was too short to reach the rehydrator buttons.

As she neared the lab door, she heard voices echoing into the hallways. The door was always closed to the lab, but she must’ve left it open on accident when she’d ran away.

“I feel like such an asshole.” That was Jake’s voice.

“What even happened out there, man?” Max asked, voice quiet. “Spider barely even cried when she broke her arm.”

“She furrowed her brow and I swear, it was like I was staring at Him again.” Jake groaned. “The next thing I know, she’s crying and it’s her again. But, I . . . “

“Quaritch is dead. And Spider is nothing like— “

“I know that, Max. But, I just . . . it’s just hard, sometimes.”

Max sighed. “It’s hard for all of us. I mean, every day she looks more and more like . . . like both of them.” Spider had snuck back into her room before she could hear anything more. But, the words had stuck with her. It was the first time she’d heard anyone talk about her like that, but it wasn’t the last.

#atwow spider #spider avatar #avatar way of water #atwow fanfiction #spider #avatar fanfiction #avatar #miles spider socorro #atwow #days into decades

[qbdatabase]

I’m sorry to ask, but are there any gay pirate books? I love a good lady pirate book, but I’m really struggling to find mlm/nblm pirate books :/

YES! and this is a super fun ask to answer, don't worry :)

MLM / NBLM Gay Pirate Books

(YA) The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

(YA) These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch

Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews

Young Men in Love by Joe Glass (MM anthology, includes a pirate story)

Sailing by Orion's Star by Katie Crabb (can only confirm it has pirates and mlm characters)

(YA) The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (M/NB)

bonus Gay Mermaids

Walking on Water by Matthew J. Metzger

(YA) In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

(YA) Seven Tears at High Tide by C. B. Lee

(YA) Out of the Blue by Jason June (M/NB)

full notes on representation and publishing info at qbdatabase.com

#pirates #gay #mlm #gay rep #nonbinary #nonbinary rep #romance books #lgbtqia #queer books #bookblr #book recs #ask #anon #answered

[the-bi-library]

Part 3 of my bisexual bipoc books posts!!!

Books listed: 💖Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert 💖Division Bells by Iona Datt Sharma 💖America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo 💖The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste 💖What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan 💖Death by Society by Sierra Elmore 💖Sweethand by N. G. Peltier 💖An Unexpected Truth by S.A. Meade 💖No Two Ways by Chi Yu Rodriguez 💖Exposing Lesser Demons by K. N. Robertson 💖The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown 💖Bruised by Tanya Boteju 💖Abbott by Saladin Ahmed 💖Harper by Shawna Walls 💖Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns 💖Off the Record by Camryn Garrett 💖Fly With Me by Hudson Lin 💖Cat's Got Your Heart by Jem Zero 💖The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau 💖Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz 💖Ida by Alison Evans 💖The Path to Dawn by Miri Castor 💖Hope in Nautical Dusk by Miri Castor 💖Hold Me by Courtney Milan 💖No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado 💖Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee 💖A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith

#bisexual #bisexual representation #bisexual pride #bi books #bisexual books #sapphic books #achillean books #booklr #book blog #queer books #lgbt books #lgbtq books #bi4bi #bi4bi books #bisexual romance #bookblr #book tumblr #Bi rep #black books #asian books #indigenous books #bipoc books #Queer bipoc books #queer bipoc #My posts

[apollo-cackling]

[ID: a Goodreads aside that says "Because you enjoyed Seven Tears at High Tide" and recommends me a manga whose title is untranslated but is by Ranmaru Zaria. /end ID]

is the goodreads recommendation algorithm getting desperate with me or what

#my rambles #remember that time it was like 'because you enjoyed girls of paper and fire' when I rated the book like 2 stars and it and its sequel #were probably two books I've hated the most that I've read since joining goodreads #good times! #goodreads #speaking of that book wonder how I'd rated it #probably wouldn't rate it near as high as whatever I rated it as then lol #from what i remember by the standards I have now it's pretty forgettable lol

[joycieillustrations]

Rhaenys vs Daemon please?

Of course! 😊 This one was a result of me trying to figure out how the arrangement that Baela would be warded with Rhaenys and Rhaena would stay with Daemon came to be, particularly as the show presents him as having much more interest in Baela as she’s a dragonrider.

I quite like this draft but I’m not sure if I’m going to use it any time soon, so I’ve included everything I’ve written thus far!

- - -

High Tide

“My daughters should remain by my side, good mother.”

Rhaenys rises slowly from the Driftwood Throne, feels the weight of her skirts settle about her feet, her breath swell in her chest, and takes a moment to cooly consider her kin.

“You have stolen my children from me, cousin.”

A ghost of a smile twitches on Daemon’s lips at the challenge.

“The birthing bed stole your daughter, ill-fortune your son. I cannot be blamed for unfortunate timing, nor should I lose mine own children to soothe your grief.”

Rhaenys’ mouth thins dangerously. “Fire murdered my children, Daemon. Fire and blood.”

Stood in the very hall where Laenor’s body had been pulled from the flames, Daemon laughs.

“Prove it.”

~

“Laena wrote to me before her death. I know she wished to return home, to raise her babes at Driftmark with her family.” Rhaenys swallows as she feels her throat tighten, choked by the imaginings of what now would never be. “My daughter will not see her children grow; but Baela and Rhaena are here, at Driftmark, with their mother’s blood. I ask that you honour my daughter’s wishes before you forget her so quickly for her brother’s bride.”

Daemon ascends the steps to the throne, his eyes never leaving hers.

“My bride is the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms,” he says, standing two steps down from the dais, eye level with her. “You should not dismiss her so.”

Rhaenys flexes her fingers idly, her thumb toying with one of the golden rings on her fingers. “I have known many future Kings and Queens of the Seven Kingdoms, cousin, most never see the crown placed upon their head. Girls are so easily set aside, after all.”

“All this blue,” Daemon begins quietly, raising a finger to trace the intricate beading at her collarbone, “and yet it is still not enough to hide the scorned dragon beneath, is it, Rhaenys?”

Rhaenys pauses, allows Daemon to think for a moment that he has the upper hand.

“Nyke gīmigon sparos nykēla ikson, valonqus.”

Daemon sneers. “Ӯdraō velāriono valyrio, mandȳs.”

Rhaenys lifts her chin triumphantly, looks down her nose at the cousin she has always favoured least.

“You may have your brother fooled, your new wife fooled, mayhaps even my lord husband fooled, but I know who you are, Daemon.”

She moves forward, forcing him back a step, and stares him down.

“You are a little boy who has always lived in his brother’s shadow, breaking his toys and causing offence in the hope that someone will notice him for it.”

She takes another step and leans closer, the tips of their noses near brushing.

“So desperate for the Iron Throne when you were never truly considered worthy; a last resort for once all the better options had been exhausted. How did it feel when a girl of four-and-ten was named heir in your stead?”

A muscle twitches in his jaw.

Rhaenys does not falter, the faintest hint of a triumphant smile on the corners of her mouth.

“Guards, summon my daughters.”

~

“Grandfather has gone,” Baela weeps, clinging to her sister’s hand, “we wanted to go to the docks to say goodbye, but he had already gone.”

Rhaenys kneels before the girls, wiping away their tears with her thumbs, ignoring the stinging in her own eyes.

“Hush now, my little loves. Your grandfather will return to us and-” she breaks off before her voice can choke, collecting herself, “-and when he does, he will have new stories, new adventures, to tell us of. Won’t that be exciting?”

Baela smiles half-heartedly, but Rhaena frowns her concern.

“But who will stay here with you? You will be alone here without grandfather.”

~

“You may choose one.”

The words chill her blood. Openly startled for the first time, she clutches her granddaughters to her, two pairs of thin, wiry arms moving to wrap themselves tight around her waist.

“Father,” one of the girls says, “we both wish to stay with grandmother.”

“Please let us stay,” the other whispers tearfully.

Rhaenys sinks to the stone floor, taking her girls with her, one hand atop Baela’s head, the other brushing back the locs from Rhaena’s face. Her two joys, the very image of their mother, the only comfort left to her.

“Cousin, I-”

“For too long my daughters have been intertwined. It is time they learned to stand independent of one another.”

“You would treat your own children so cruelly? You would make me choose one over the other as though they were a litter of pups? I will not-”

Little Rhaena stands, her hand gripping so tightly about her grandmother’s fingers that they are beginning to tingle with numbness. Squaring her shoulders, the little girl looks defiant and proud, even as her bottom lip wobbles.

“I will go, father. Let Baela stay here at High Tide ‘til grandfather returns.”

~

“You are so very brave, little dragon.”

“I’m not a dragon, Baela is the dragon.”

“You are a dragon; only a dragon protects her kin the way you protect your sister,” Rhaenys affirms, readjusting the scarlet cloak on the girl’s shoulders, then moving her hands to cup her granddaughter’s face. “One day you will have a dragonbond, whether it be with a hatchling like your sister and Moondancer or with a full-grown dragon, as Meleys bonded with me.”

Rhaena’s eyes swim with tears, but the girl holds her head high and does not allow them to fall.

“Perhaps Meleys will be yours, one day. It would be a comfort to me to know she will not be alone.”

Rhaena jerks her head. “Meleys is yours and you are hers. I could only claim her if you are as dead as mother. I would rather never be a dragonrider.”

Rhaenys smiles sadly, acknowledging her mistake, and gathers her granddaughter in her arms, holding tight.

~

Catching Daemon’s wrist in a surprisingly iron grip, she pulls him close to hiss in his ear. “They will remember this. For the rest of their lives, they will remember how you tore them apart when they most needed each other.”

Daemon smiles a cruel smile. “Did I tear them apart, mandȳs, or did you?

- - -

High Valyrian:

“I know precisely who I am, little brother/cousin.”

“You speak Valyrian like a Velaryon, older sister/cousin.”

#daemon’s a Valyrian snob #my headcanon is that the Targaryens and Velaryons speak slightly different regional dialects of High Valyrian #technically it says ‘you speak the valyrian of the Velaryons’ because I haven’t figured out comparatives in valyrian yet #and technically ‘valonqar’ should be in the vocative case but I can’t find my noun endings table so I’ve had to let that one go for now 😭 #FIXED THE VALYRIAN #bloody inflectional languages are the BANE of my existence #joycieillustrations #joycie answers #rhaenys targaryen #hotd #fanfic #my fanfic

[lgbtqreads]

queer books set in deep sea/waterbodies? any genre is fine.

Yep, these all have pirates:

A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee (f/f)

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens (m/m)

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara (f/f)

*The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (transmasc)

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (f/nb)

Adult

Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn – AG

Compass Rose by Anna Burke (f/f)

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m)

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian (f/f)

And these have Selkies:

Seven Tears at High Tide by CB Lee (m/m)

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag (f/f)

And at least some of All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes is set in the sea on an exploration to Antarctica, while A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar is set aboard the Titanic.

[taylorswiftandx]

Taylor Swift and Bodies of Water

Note: huge thank you to @meandmypagancrew who assembled all the lyrics for this post! Related posts include water and beaches.

'Taylor Swift'

Tim McGraw: The moon like a spotlight on the lake

'Fearless (Taylor's Version)'

We Were Happy: We used to watch the sun go down on the boats in the water

'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)'

Mine: Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?

Mine: Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

Mine: You said, “I remember how we felt sitting by the water”

'Red (Taylor's Version)'

The Lucky One: Now it’s big black cars and Riviera views

Starlight: He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean

'1989 (Taylor’s Version)'

This Love: Clear blue water, high tide came and brought you in

This Love: Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again

Clean: Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you

Now That We Don’t Talk: You part the crowd like the Red Sea

Suburban Legends: Waves crash to the shore, I dash to the door

'reputation'

Gorgeous: Ocean blue eyes looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Jump into the pool from the balcony

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Everyone swimming in a champagne sea

'Lover'

Paper Rings: In the winter in the icy outdoor pool, when you jumped in first, I went in too

False God: We were stupid to jump in the ocean separating us 

'folklore'

The 1: Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

The Last Great American Dynasty: They say she was seen on occasion, pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea

My Tears Ricochet: And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves

Seven: Feet in the swing over the creek

Peace: I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm if your cascade, ocean wave blues come

The Lakes: Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die

'evermore'

Willow: I’m like the water when your ship rolled in that night

Willow: Lost in your current like a priceless wine

Gold Rush: Ships on waters, so inviting, I almost jump in

Long Story Short: And my waves meet your shore ever and evermore

Marjorie: Long limbs and frozen swims, you’d always go past where our feet could touch

Evermore: I’m on waves, out being tossed

'Midnights'

Midnight Rain: Jumping off things in the ocean

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: ‘Cause it’s all over now, all out to sea

Other Songs written by Taylor

Carolina: O Carolina creeks running through my veins

Carolina: It’s between me, the sand, and the sea

Official Alternate Releases

(no bodies of water)

#taylor swift #lyrics #taylorswiftandx #lyric parallels #bodies of water #lakes #creeks #waves #ocean #sea #pools

[youleavethetardisbrakeson]

The Stepstones - Chapter Two: Homecoming

Next chapter is up! Read below the cut.

You can also find the fic on AO3 here

Rhaenys re-read the letter for the eleventh, twelfth time. Dwindling supplies, eighteen ships remaining, the Triarchy still cowering in caves. Send more ships. A simple I love you scrawled at the bottom in Corlys’ decidedly scratchy cursive. 

Seven hells. She reclined against the warped wood of the throne, her fingers massaging her furrowed brow. Nearly three years of this war, and for what? 

“My lady?” 

She glanced up, peering at the Velaryon officer from between her fingers. With a sigh, she straightened and rose from her seat. “Do as he asks. Ready more ships and enlist any able-bodied man on Driftmark willing to send aid. Put out a call for salted fish, biscuits, ale; anything that won’t spoil on the journey. I will have the cook see to whatever we have to spare in the cellars.” She paused. “And pray that it reaches them in time.” 

“Yes, my lady. At once.” The officer bowed and left. 

Rhaenys closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything, something. For three years, she’d sat around and delegated, commanded from afar. Waited. Some days, it took every fiber of her being not to storm down to the Stepstones and raze those islands into the sea herself. But that was not her fight. 

And so, the Lady of Driftmark coped in the only way she knew how. She flew. 

Out in the castle courtyard, she whistled thrice. A low rumble answered the call. Rocks toppled down into the sea and the gulls scattered. Massive scarlet and copper wings beat the wind into a frenzy as the Red Queen emerged from her lair below the castle and alighted before her rider. 

“Rytsas, Meleys,” Rhaenys cooed fondly, rubbing the dragon’s vibrant scales. She received a huff in return. “You can’t nap all day,” she chuckled, resting her forehead against the beast’s jaw. Meleys shifted backwards and stretched out like a languid cat, as though to say I certainly could. 

Rhaenys patted her dragon firmly in encouragement as she climbed into the saddle. “Come, old girl. Once around the island will do us good. We can dive for your dinner.” That elicited a chirp of approval. Rhaenys cried “Sōvēs!” and they shot into the sky. 

Over the next few days, waves of ships, supplies, and men left Spicetown for the Stepstones. Rhaenys oversaw it all, spending her days between the port and High Tide, helping any way she could. It kept her occupied for a moment, but as the last of the ships disappeared on the horizon, her restlessness returned. 

The morning sky was immensely cloudy, the sunlight ricocheting in a multitude of vibrant hues. Meleys glided on the breeze being kicked up from the water, occasionally dipping a toe in as she was wont to do. It was almost peaceful. Suddenly, a flash of grey sped by Rhaenys’ peripheral vision, the accompanying gust of wind causing her hair to billow erratically. Rhaneys whipped around, trying to gauge the level of threat. Then, she heard the unmistakable call of a young dragon. Meleys returned in kind, and shivers cascaded down Rhaenys’ spine. 

Seasmoke. 

The dragon in question pulled up alongside her, carrying– “Laenor!” she cried, her heart nearly bursting. She nudged Meleys onwards, back towards High Tide, and Seasmoke followed suit. Both dragons descended into the courtyard and Rhaenys nearly leapt off before they’d touched the ground. 

“Mother,” Laenor said with a smile as he disembarked off of Seasmoke’s back. Rhaenys rushed to him, enveloping him in a hug. 

“My boy,” Rhaenys cried, cradling his head against her body. He was nearly as tall as she was now, she noted, his build more muscular than before he’d left. “Oh my sweet boy, look at you,” she took a step back, wiping tears from her eyes. “You’re a man grown.”

Leanor beamed back at her. Worry suddenly grew in her heart as Rhaenys asked “Are you home … for good? Is it finally over?”

“It’s done,” he confirmed. “The war is won. Father is sailing behind me with the rest of the fleet. I thought I’d lead the way.” 

Rhaenys’ heart leapt into her chest, and she looked to the sea where the ships could now faintly be seen on the horizon. Corlys. 

Laenor chuckled, used to his parents’ antics. “He wouldn’t stop talking about you. Every. Single. Day. I’ll find Laena and tell the staff that we’re home. Go.” 

Meleys, the swiftest dragon of her time, had never moved faster. They shot towards the fleet, Rhaenys only pulling them into an abrupt halt as she spotted The Sea Snake at the front of the pack. She need to see that he was there, that he was okay, that he was home. 

Corlys was standing on the bow of the ship, waiting for her. 

Years of stress melted from the princess’ body, and she started to laugh with relief and unbridled joy. Rhaenys raised a hand in greeting, which her husband returned, smiling brightly. 

Meleys circled around the ships, escorting them to the docks. Three years of waiting felt like mere seconds in comparison, Rhaenys ever wishing the ships to move faster. 

As the ships finally made landfall, Meleys landed precariously on a strip of empty cobblestones. Rhaenys launched herself out of the saddle and sprinted towards the dock. Her heart pounded as her mind flooded with three years’ worth of anticipation. Nearing The Sea Snake, she saw that Corlys had already disembarked from the gangplank and was similarly hastening towards her. 

They slammed into each other, bodies colliding in fervor.

Her senses were flooded, overwhelmed by everything Corlys. Strong arms wrapped around her waist. His lips, instantly finding their mark, danced roughly against hers, soft and warm. The whiskers of his beard tickled with pleasant, familiar friction against her skin. With each kiss, he coaxed her mouth apart, invading it with his tongue. She gasped at his advances, pushing up on her toes, leveraging herself against the arms she wrapped around his neck. Corlys’ body was already pressed firmly against hers, but now his large hands dug into her backside, trying to pull her even closer to him. Her fingers fisted around his hair in reply, tugging gently. He growled and she felt something awaken in her again, that intense, burning arousal she had once been accustomed to. 

He smiled, his eyes opening to meet hers. “It’s good to be home.”  

Their lips parted for a moment, both needing to catch their breaths. Corlys pressed his brow against hers, his eyes closed. Rhaenys rested her arms on his chest and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of the sea, metal, and leather.

“Welcome home, husband,” she whispered, softly, gazing up at him. 

Corlys lifted a hand off his wife’s back, moving to cup her cheek, thumb softly gliding over her soft skin. Rhaenys kissed his palm in reply. 

“I love you,” he whispered, willing three years’ worth of feeling into those words. 

Her breath caught and she started to cry. “Corlys-”

“Every day, I only wished to be back by your side.” Silent tears fell from his eyes, and Rhaenys wiped them gently away.  

“You came back to me,” she reminded her mariner. “Back from the ends of the earth, Corlys. You always do.”   

She kissed him again, softer now, the taste briny from the sea on his face and tears on both their lips. With each caress, their ardor built again. Rhaenys felt wandering hands land on her bottom and suddenly hoist her up, causing her to let out an involuntary yelp. She wrapped her hips around her husband’s waist, anchoring herself to him. 

If the men onboard the ships were staring, they did not notice. 

Corlys kissed her again, his eyes twinkling with desire. “Take me home, wife.”

#my fic #fanfiction #rhaenys targaryen #corlys velaryon #house of the dragon #hotd #eve best #fire and blood #rhaenys x corlys #next weeks trailer wrecked me so i fast tracked this #will upload chapter three in a bit #yes i stayed up until 4am I know I have a problem #please comment so I can justify the sleep deprivation

[bbyaksha]

𓂃୭̥ mysophobic!sakusakiyoomi

genre ꒰ mental health induced panic attack, angst(?).

▧ trigger warnings ⇢ discussion of mental health (specifically mysophobia & a panic attack), self-doubt, self-degradation (talking down on oneself).

message to minors ༺ my content is not intended for you, do not interact.

⋆୨୧˚ word count ⋮ 931.

preview ➛ ❝ if only he hadn’t been so careless. ❞

there are times when sakusa kiyoomi is certain he’s going to die.

these moments, much like waves, come and go. flowing in before, naturally, pulling back out— differing between higher and lower tides.

today, he thinks, is drastically high tide.

his body is crouched into as small of a ball as he can muster with his forehead tucked onto his knees. his hands mirroring those of a surgeons in preparation for surgery. it must be a comical sight, he presumes, how his six-foot-something body curls in on itself in some weird balancing act.

maybe someone’d laugh if they saw him right now. perhaps they’d write it off as someone just playing around and testing their own abilities— maybe he looks more ‘silly’ than he does ‘crazy’.

he definitely feels the latter. rationally knowing that his physical reactions aren’t necessary nor the socially correct way to respond to this situation, yet here he is; muttering to himself broken words of affirmations in between hiccups.

they’re clean, he finds himself promising, i cleaned them.

that is true. he did clean them. he washed his hands for seventeen minutes and thirty seven seconds. he used three different pumps of soap in five batches. he did everything correctly, his hands are one-thousand percent squeaky clean.

they wouldn’t be burning if they’re clean.

he’s right. they never burn when they’re clean. when he has them tucked tightly in his pockets, the zippers closing right around his wrists so nothing could possibly blow in, his skin doesn’t feel like it’s melting. so they must not be clean. they must not be at all. in fact, they hurt more now than they did before he washed them.

that’s only because my skin is raw.

he’s also correct in that point. he always washes in excess, his hands bright red and pruned as his clothed elbow nudges the faucet closed. raw skin hurts— it stings with even the slightest movement. that must be why they burn so much. it’s not because they’re dirty. it’s because they’re clean.

if they’re clean, then why won’t you touch yourself?

it’s a valid question. if he truly knew he was clean, as he has been telling himself, he shouldn’t feel like vomiting every time the thought of touching the fabric of his pants crosses his mind. he shouldn’t feel like his own hands will bring him harm if they do anything besides tremble within the air.

he feels so weak. situated within a stalemate in an argument against himself. powerless against his own mind as it tortures him with venom-laced threats of illness that he gave himself access to.

if only he hadn’t been so careless. if only he hadn’t just brushed off the alarms blaring in his head before he’d borrowed the pencil. if only he’d remembered to bring his own, like he’s always done.

he wouldn’t have given you one if it wasn’t safe.

he knows he wouldn’t have. komori’d always been the one person to ensure his mental and physical safety. always offering unopened packages, wiping things down before he’d arrive, asking people to stay at a distance when he’d been too nervous to say something himself. komori’d never force steps, he’d never do something behind his back— the pencil must be safe.

his arms ache. almost mirroring the same throbbing sensation as his palms. he should bring them in, tuck them under his legs against his shins. at least they’d be further from his face. he can’t get sick if they don’t touch his face.

i won’t get sick even if they do.

his lungs feel as though they’re inhaling glass shards. cutting, ripping, tearing out his body with each coming breath. yet he’s not crying anymore. the choked sobs have dissipated into sniffles and coughs as a numbness washes over the entirety of his body. inside and out.

pins and needles swarm his hands, his arms. the boiling gone as fast as it came. it’s in moments like this where he feels the most stupid. moments where his body shows him he panicked for nothing. moments that make the trauma his brain was putting him through feel fake.

his body still trembles as he retracts his arms back to his form, folding them neatly under his knees as he’d previously decided on. his heart rate hadn’t even quivered at the motion. no pain, no thoughts, no illness.

he’s fine. it’s fine. he’s safe.

though, sometimes he believes that truth is worse than any flu he could imagine.

it was always fine. he was always safe.

it’s not him being dramatic, is it? it’s not a temper-tantrum due to not having his own things or way? the waves of terror and nausea aren’t just a result of a change he couldn’t control?

there are times when sakusa kiyoomi is almost certain he’s going to die. times where he’s so violently nauseous that it puts the worst case of seasickness to shame—

but at least seasickness had validity.

it can be seen and felt, a common thing amongst the billions of people in the world.

at least seasickness doesn’t come in dangerous waves and whirlpools, just to calm entirely half a second later.

at least seasickness doesn’t leave the host questioning their own emotions and self-trust.

“sakusa?” his head snaps up at the sounds of his name, meeting gazes with the brunette in the doorframe. komori’s soft, knowing eyes almost bring him to tears again— but it was his words that pushed him over:

“ i’m sorry i didn’t let you open the package first. ”

©2022 bbyaksha ⃕ don’t copy layouts/posts.

「 220731 」

𓊔 ⋆·˚ ༘ * ╰► please refrain from adding on to, copying, reposting and/or promoting my works anywhere without my written permission. thank you.

#╰► 「@ ｡ﾟ･ ‹𝟹 hq 」 #haikyuu!! #haikyū!! #haikyu #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #kiyoomi sakusa #sakusa #kiyoomi #sakusa angst #sakusa fluff #mental health #mysophobia #panic attack #this legitimately is terrible im so sorry #if you’re still reading this hey :)

[coffeeangelinabox]

Febuwhump #26 Help Them

Hero throws himself at the bars of the cage. He doesn't expect it to do anything but layer bruises over bruises, but he can't just stand and watch this.

Villain however, turns from the bench on which he has the others strapped, twirling the scalpel absently between fingers. An eyebrow creeps hairline ward.

"What was that?" He sounds genuinely curious.

Hero bares his teeth in a snarl and throws his weight against the bars once more.

Villain purses his lips and steps towards him, eyes alight. "This...this is all it takes?" He laughs, high and cracked, no humour in it. This is a laugh that speaks of brittle fury. "I've had you here for seven weeks and you've never so much as raised your voice. This is what it takes to get a reaction?! You...cliche!"

"You want a reaction, you bastard, I'll-" Hero is so furious he's frothing like a rabid dog. Let Villain take one step closer and he'll rip his eyes out of his face with the soft ends of his fingers where his nails used to be.

Villain however turns almost casually back to the others. He regards their still forms. Sidekick glares right back despite the wobbling lower lip.

Hero's heart breaks a little further at his bravery.

Then, Villain spins back to Hero and this time his eyes are bright with malice. "I don't need to hurt them. There's no point."

Hero is not at all reassured.

Villain goes on, stepping closer (but not close enough) to the cage to hiss his words so that they fall across Hero like lashes of a whip. "With all five of you here, who do you think is commanding the army? No one. My forces will ride through them, decimate them and leave them easy pickings for the Outland raiders on their way. I'll have my pick of slaves and sacrifices and samples for my experiments and those seadogs can have the rest. I hear they're cannibals. And those they don't feast upon, they will rip the souls from, turn them to little more than beasts to ravage your lands."

Hero darts a quick look over Villain's shoulder and the Captain's expression is pained enough to give truth to Villain's words.

"You- you can't," he starts.

The ragged laughter fragments the dungeon once more. "It speaks. After all this time, I wasn't sure you were capable."

"I can speak," Hero mutters, lowly. "It seems my secrets are worthless to you, but-"

"But you'll beg?" Villain mocks, "Humiliate yourself for my amusement?"

Hero glares back, but it's a poor ember of his earlier fire. "If you want."

Villain's answering smile takes ten years off his face. "There is little help I can offer. My forces aren't enough to stop the Outlanders. I'd have no hope against your army if they weren't leaderless and panicked," he adds baldly. "The only thing I can offer is-"

"Yes?" And again Hero throws himself at the bars, desperation now instead of blind fury.

"I have some little magic..."

"You could turn the tide? Stop them from landing? I would..." Hero swallows. "I would be grateful...I would...I- Anything you want, Villain...I-"

"Oh, nothing so grandiose," and he laughs again. Then he takes something approaching mercy on the expression that crosses Hero's face. "I can spread fire in my wake. Something fearsome and fiendsome, something your poor soldiers will be unable to put out or pass through and hemmed in by those sea cliffs as they are..." His voice trails off suggestively.

Hero swallows insults and bile and tears. He does not look at his Captain, Sidekick, Mage. He cannot. This decision must be his. He looks away from Villain. "Yes," his lips move, soundless.

"Again, Hero."

"Yes. Help them. Please."

#my writing #febuwhump #whump prompts #torture #hero&villain #mercy killing #minor swearing #febuwhumpday26 #whump

[blairhuddy]

I spend a lot of time thinking about these recurring themes in Taylor’s music:

Flowers, particularly roses, as a symbol of love:

“You gave me roses, and I left them there to die” - Back to December

“All my flowers grew back as thorns” - Call it What You Want

“Carnations you had thought were roses, that’s us.” - Maroon

“A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground.” - The Lakes

“Rose garden filled with thorns” - Blank Space

“When the flowers that we’d grown together died of thirst.” - Clean

“I once was poison ivy but now I’m your daisy.” -Don’t Blame Me

“My knuckles were bruised like violets” - The Great War

She often writes about herself and her love as being a bandit or criminal

“You’re a bandit like me.” - Cowboy Like Me

“Put the money in a bag and I stole the keys.” - Getaway Car

“No one wanted to play with me as a little kid, so I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since.” - Mastermind

“Forever is the sweetest con.” - Cowboy Like Me

“I think you should come live with me and we can be pirates.” - Seven

“We were jet set Bonny and Clyde” - Getaway Car

Waves seem to represent love and love lost

“Waves crash to the shore” - Suburban Legends

“And so the battleship will sink beneath the waves.” - My Tears Ricochet

“And my waves meet your shore ever and evermore.” - Long Story Short

“If your cascade ocean wave blues come” - Peace

“I’m on waves, out being tossed.” - Evermore

“Clear blue waters, high tide came and washed you in.” - This Love

Throughout Ivy, There’s a male third party that causes dismay with her muse

“He’s in the room, your opal eyes are all I wish to see.” - Ivy

“He’s gonna burn this house to the ground.” - Ivy

“He wants what’s only yours.” - Ivy

Her two primary muses have green eyes and blue eyes, respectively.

“Get me with those green eyes” - Sparks Fly

“All I’ve seen since eighteen hours ago is green eyes.” - Everything Has Changed

“In the dead of night, your eyes so green.” - I know Places

“Didn’t you flash your green eyes at me?” - Wonderland

“I searched aurora borealis green” - Snow on the Beach

“Ocean blue eyes, looking in mine.” - Gorgeous

“Your opal eyes are all I wish to see” - Ivy

“Oh damn never seen that color blue” - Delicate

There’s a consistent thread of late night car rides

“Midnight, come and pick me up no headlights.” - Style

“Remember when I pulled up and said get in the car” - August

“Standing in your cardigan, kissing in my car again” - Cardigan

“It’s 2am in your car” - How You Get the Girl

“Cut the headlights, Summers a knife” - Cruel Summer

“Kissing in my car again” - Betty

#taylor swift #taylornation #taylurking #taylorswift

[herbs-and-poultices]

More of my stranger-than-fiction music tastes...

A Vaguely Whumptober-Themed Anthology of Folk Songs from the British Isles / Transatlantic Tradition: Part 2

(Part 1)

16) "Would you lie with me and just forget the world" / Don't go where I can't follow: Clyde Water / Drowned Lovers

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

The very next step that she went in She’s up unto her chin And the deepest part of Clyde water She found sweet William in Saying, you have had a cruel mother, Willie, And I have had another And now we’ll sleep in Clyde water Like sister and like brother

17) "Leave Me Alone": Edward / Son David

There are so many versions of this ballad, here is a sampling: X X X X

A murder ballad: "Blood on my sword, what blood on my sword? Oh, yeah, that... Wonder how that could have gotten there..."

18) Hit Them Harder: Haughs of Cromdale

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A rousing Jacobite song dramatizing two battles on the haughs of Cromdale. The first was a humiliating defeat; the second, they were out for blood. (The historical accuracy ends there, but what it lacks in veracity it makes up in spirit.)

Day 19: I'm not as stupid as you think I am: Turpin Hero

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

The exploits of an infamous highwayman whose career came to an anticlimactic end

Now Turpin is condemned to die To hang upon yon gallows high His legacy is a strong rope For the shooting of a dunghill cock

Day 20: Found Family: Boys of the Old Brigade

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X

An Irish rebel song. I'd be remiss if I didn't manage to fit in at least one.

It was long ago we faced the foe, the old brigade and me And by my side they fought and died that Ireland might be free Where are the lads who stood with me when history was made Ghrá Mo Chroí, I long to see the boys of the old brigade

Day 21: Restraints: MacPherson's Rant

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

Another notorious outlaw come to the end of his luck. James MacPherson was also talented fiddler, and with his final hours he gave the world this fine tune.

Untie these bands from off my hands and bring to me my sword For there’s no a man in all Scotland but I'll brave him at a word

Day 22: Vehicular Accident: Lowlands of Holland

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X X X

Do shipwrecks count? I think shipwrecks should count.

23) Stalking: Johnny o' Bredislee

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

An intrepid poacher is ambushed while out on a morning's hunt; despite being sorely outnumbered and wounded in the first exchange, he puts up quite an impressive fight.

But he's rested his back against an oak His foot upon a stane And he has fired at the seven o' them He's killed them a' but ane He's broken four o' that one's ribs His airm and his collar bane And he has set him upon his horse Wi' the tidings sent him hame

24) Goodbye 'Note': The Cruel Sister / Wind and Rain

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A chilling tale of jealousy, murder, and a haunted fiddle made of human bone and hair. Depending on the version, the fiddle only plays one tune, compels the murderer to confess, or forces her to dance herself to death.

The first string that those minstrels tried And terror seized the black-haired bride The second string made a doleful sound The younger sister, oh she is drowned The final string played beneath the bow And surely now her tears will flow

25) Storm: Three Score and Ten

Nothing compares to hearing Roberts & Barrand perform this one live some 8 years ago, and as far as I know they never recorded it as a duo. Here are my favorite of the recordings I've found: X X

October's night brought such a sight, 'twas never seen before There were masts and spars and broken yards came floating to the shore There was many a heart of sorrow, there was many a heart so brave There was many a hearty fisher lad who found a watery grave

26) Exhaustion: The 51st Highland Division's Farewell to Sicily

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

Then tune the pipes an' drub the tenor drum Leave yer kit this side o' the wa' Then tune the pipes an' drub the tenor drum Puir bluidy swaddies are wearie

27) Let Me See: Holland Handkerchief

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A ghostly tale of love beyond the grave

 With this young man she got on behind And they rode swifter than any wind They rode on for an hour or more Till he cried, “My darling, my head feels sore” A holland handkerchief she’s then drew out And with it wrapped his aching head about She’s kissed his lips and these words did say “My love, you’re colder than any clay"

28) Bloody Knife: Matty Groves

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

CW: domestic violence

An old and well-traveled murder ballad: an affair ends with a lady and her lover dead at sword-point

29) "I only sink deeper the deeper I think" / troubled past: The Outlandish Knight / The North Strand

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A murder ballad with a twist

Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man Lie there instead of me For six pretty maidens have you drowned here And the seventh has drowned thee

30) Borrowed Clothing: William Taylor

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A tale of betrayal, cross-dressing, bloody retribution, and women's empowerment, set against the backdrop of the Royal Navy

31) Setbacks: Johnny Cope

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

In which the Jacobites send the redcoat army running back with their tails between their legs. Many thanks to General Cope for his contributions to the Scottish musical tradition.

#whump playlist #about me #the formatting is refusing to cooperate with me for some reason