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aajjks · 3 months

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TC!dad!JK

“i know, i know bub. give mommy a second okay?” you say to jinseoul as you put the 1-month infant in his bassinet before pulling your dress down to unveil your breast for him to eat from. motherhood has definitely taken its toll on you and the weight of it all is showing in your exhausted demeanor. you’ve been more forgetful lately and since you aren’t likable amongst both the governors and consorts, you aren’t treated so nicely.

despite your exhaustion, isuel has been very helpful since she agreed to stay in the palace and help nurse jinseoul. you still are overprotective of little ‘seoul but you don’t feel so overwhelmed when you know your son is in the care of someone entrusted by your husband of all people. speaking of your husband, you find yourself missing him.

you wonder if he knows how bad you are at being the queen of goryeo but because he loves you, he keeps his comments to himself. or maybe he doesn’t know at all.

your thoughts are interrupted when jinseoul finishes feeding from you and after a good few pats, he lets out a loud burp and some yummy acid reflux. because he loves you so much, he throws up on your pretty blue dress and don’t feel guilty about it.

“gross, seoul~” you whine as you take a baby wipe from your dresser and use it to clean the white spit from your dress. like his father, jinseoul is fast asleep in your arms with his mouth ajar, snoring away. quietly, you lay jinseoul in his bassinet and pat him back to sleep when he starts to whine.

nearly ten minutes later, jungkook walks inside the bedroom unannounced but you know it’s him. you stand from the bed and bow to show your respect but jungkook just takes you in his arms and pulls you in for a tight hug.

eventually you do relax in his strong arms and take in his scent: *inhale* God, he smells so good. you could scent him forever but you’ll settle for reciprocating his hug; appreciating the comfort.

“Is ‘Seoul sleeping?”

“mhm”

you both pull away but only enough for jungkook to look at your glowing face, his arms still wrapped securely around you. when he lets out a sigh, you raise one of your eyebrows expressing both your curiosity and concern for his sighing.

“what’s wrong?”

“Yn I got a letter today from the Yamato Empress, and she has invited me to come to Yamato for a supposed promise that I was supposed to fulfill….”

you already know where this going: he wants you to come. it’s not often that you travel beyond the palace walls. ever since you’ve began working as a maid you’ve never left the walls, so being offered to travel to another country sounds like fun until you realize you’ll both be in enemy territory.

“a promise to fulfill? in yamato?? i don’t know” you say but since ‘you’re the queen’ you should come. you’re pretty sure that’s jungkook’s way of bribing you into going with him but you’re uncertain. what promise is he to fulfill anyways?

“trust me, if the empress knows my background she won’t like me at all” you sigh “i don’t think i can go. i’m still breastfeeding, jinseoul so i have to stay. why don’t you just go on your own?”

~🫧

He shakes his head, “yn my sweetheart… you are my queen now. Where I go, you go.” he looks into your eyes, and he uses one of his hands to caress the skin of your cheek. There’s definitely improvement in your physical appearance because you had been so exhausted and depressed. He feels some happiness radiating off of you.

“and if the empress won’t like you I’ll kill her- or announce a war.” He looks imho your eyes and you should definitely know that he’s not kidding.

No one should even think of disrespecting you. You are the Kings lawfully wedded wife and the mother to his only heir to the throne- plus you’re the Queen.

“of course I’m going to take you with me to Yamato. What am I supposed to do without you there?” He asks you lovingly, you just make him so soft. And don’t think that he’s not aware of your struggle in the court.

He’s going to make sure that no one disrespects you ever again. “Baby… we will be taking him along, but maybe he could be under the care of Iseul?” he knows you’re really attached to your one month old and he is too, but is he going to be comfortable throughout a journey so complicated?

That’s going to be your decision and he will do whatever you want about that. “ the invitation was for me and mine so you are mine… you will be accompanying me yn.” He declares and you know better than to try to convince him not to take you because that’s not gonna happen.

Jungkook looks at you before pressing a kiss at the corner of your mouth. “Okay?”

______

It’s been seven days and you both have been traveling by the ship of Goryeo, it has been really comfortable in the ship, because there are chambers made exclusively for the king, but still, it’s not easy.

Of course, Jungkook declined the offer to travel by the Yamato ship to the country, because… he doesn’t have the nicest feelings towards the country.

In 2 to 3 hours you’ll be in a different territory, which is Yamato. So Jungkook is busy looking at you as you prepare yourself to meet the empress.

“oh, sweetheart, don’t worry about her-you are the queen of the strongest empire in the world. She’s going to love you.” of course you’re looking radiant in the blue red dress you have adorned on you, it is a little different, however, because it is tailored in the traditional hanbok style.

Jungkook is wearing black, your outfit Colors definitely represent Goryeo. And he loves his country so much.

“relax We will be there in two hours.” He looks at you, getting up from the bed to help you with your crown.

“Here let me fix your crown.”

#ask: tc!jungkook #let’s let you decide if they take the baby or not to Yamato #also I didn’t want to add the joseon Empire flag colors even though I love to add small details so that’s why I chose to #Add South Korea’s flag colors

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dramaswithasideofkimchi · 2 years

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August Teaser Roundup

August is bringing a buffet of new #kdramas to the table. What will you be adding to your plate? #PoongTheJoseonPsychiatrist #LittleWomen #TheLawCafe #IfYouWishUponMe #BoarHunt #StockStruck #AModelFamily #GoodJob

August is for historicals and tension and comedies about investing in stocks, among other things. Come see if the variety of dramas headed our way are tickling your fancy! (more…)

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#A Model Family #August 2022 #Boar Hunt #Good Job #Hunted #If You Wish Upon Me #Kdrama #Kdramas #Little Women #Poong the Joseon Psychiatrist #Stock STruck #Teaser #The Empire of Law #The Law Cafe #Unicorn

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molokiahamster · 8 months

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this roman empire thing is wrecking my brain literally no one around me thinks about it ever. sānguó yǎnyì maybe.. that is because im korean but still!!

#roman empire #i personally think about joseon

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astrophileous · 9 months

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Thunderstorm

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Reader

Synopsis: Spencer Reid was never a fan of thunderstorms. On one particular night, he woke up to one.

Warning(s): established relationship, mentions and/or depictions of gun violence/injury, protective spencer, parent-child relationships, I think that's it (?) this one is really just fluff wrapped in more fluff 🥰

Word Count: 2400-ish

Author's Note: HELLO! I'm finally back from the dead (yayyy)!! To celebrate, and as we all wait for me to finish rewriting the remaining chapters of love bugs, I'm posting this fic here for you all to enjoy :) I think it's the fluffiest piece I've ever written (srsly, not even a drop of angst!) so I hope you will enjoy! Let me know what you think okkk, don't forget to LIKE+COMMENT+REBLOG if you like this one xx btw I'm pretty sure this can be read as gender neutral reader since I'm positive I didn't use any gender-conforming words, but pls lmk if I'm wrong!

Criminal Minds Masterlist

Spencer hated thunderstorms.

He had many memories of them, not particularly good ones. Most of them involved him being on the field during yet another atrocious case, gun and flashlight in hand, trekking after muddy footsteps that belonged to an UnSub he was chasing.

He had been shot, once, during a thunderstorm. The bullet lodged itself against his bulletproof vest before the perpetrator had received a retaliation shot from Derek's gun. The vest had saved his life that night. The nasty bruise decorating his torso for the following week, though, served as a sufficient reminder in Spencer's mind.

Thunderstorms were a natural enemy whenever he was on the field. Unfortunately for him, the rivalry seemed to continue past the doorstep of his home, too.

Back when sleep was a luxury that he had to scour and cherish, thunderstorms would be the antagonist that kept the two even further apart. The sound of heavy rain against windows was a line of needles prickling into his circadian rhythm, erasing any possibilities of sleep if he was even lucky enough to have them in the first place.

On those nights, Spencer would sit against the headboard with a book in his lap, hoping that the passage detailing the fall of Joseon Dynasty in Korean Peninsula--or the rise or Majapahit Empire in the island of Java, whichever had caught his interest more at that specific moment in time--would be enough distraction to take his mind off the disaster wreaking havoc outside of his apartment.

Thanks to years of therapy, Spencer now had found it easier to chase sleep whenever he needed it. Still, its sweet relief stood no chance against the chaos brought by a raging thunderstorm.

This time, too, was no different.

Spencer had been dreaming. A land of reverie where his tongue had tasted honey, where his nose had recognized the hint of mint and juniper berry before the image was rattled by a high-pitched shriek in the sky.

When Spencer opened his eyes, the bedroom was enveloped in a near state of total darkness.

The sharp cry he heard had come from a lightning that struck momentarily before he woke up. Five seconds later, another one struck again, sending a jolt of adrenaline through Spencer's body as he waited for the imminent thunder to shatter the atmosphere.

Spencer shut his eyes in an attempt to get his racing heart back under control. Once he opened them again, the remnants of sleep had washed away from his pupils, allowing him to take in the empty bed, the chill bedroom, and the opened door right across from where he was sitting.

Frowning, Spencer thought back to a few hours prior. How he had promptly retired to the bedroom after coming home from work. He remembered clearly--courtesy of his eidetic memory--having slammed the door shut before he got ready for bed.

A creak in the floorboards outside his bedroom door compelled Spencer to reach into the bedside drawer, fingers inching nearer to where the secret holster of his gun was located.

Before his hand could wrap around the weapon, the bedroom door was pushed ajar, revealing a familiar figure standing in the doorway, outline cast by a hazy kind of luminance.

Spencer breathed out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were an intruder."

You raised an eyebrow at his statement. A playful smile sweetened by the gentle glow radiating off the flickering candle in your hand.

"It's just me," you assured him, finally stepping into the threshold and placing the candle on top of the dresser.

"I can see that." He watched you approaching, gaze never straying even when you picked up the comforter a tiny bit to slip back into bed. "Where did you go?"

"Went down to check the breaker. Power's out completely, by the way. Looks like the storm took out the whole block."

He made a disapproving face at your response. "You were in the basement? Alone?"

Your forehead furrowed at the tone of Spencer's voice. It wasn't until you glimpsed the telltale sign of worry in his eyes that your shoulders eventually deflated. "I'm okay, Spencer."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because," you began, an amused smile threatening to split your face into two, "it's a three flights of stairs walk from our bedroom, darling. I think I can manage it just fine."

"But--"

"Besides," you cut him off, silencing him with a gentle palm pressing on his cheek. Spencer instantly melted at the contact. "I know how you get during nights like this. I wanted to let you have as much sleep as you could before the storm eventually wakes you up."

His hand circled around your wrist, then, bringing it upwards so that he could leave tiny kisses on your palm before he entwined his fingers with yours. "You still should've woken me up."

"Spence--"

"I know, I know. You could've done it yourself, I don't doubt it. I just--" he paused, swallowing a lump before continuing, "--I could've just waited here. In the bedroom. But in case anything happened, I would've been there for you."

The admission was quiet within the four walls of your bedroom. You knew that Spencer's plea had nothing to do with a toxic need to be controlling. Instead, it had stemmed from the vulnerability within. A naked truth that nestled in the deepest corners of Spencer Reid's soul.

The years that you had spent together allowed you to understand Spencer at a level nobody else could. They allowed you to understand that this silly request was nothing more than a fruit of his vigilant bones, forged consistently throughout his years in law enforcement. Spencer Reid, underneath his soft eyes and tender touches, had witnessed all of the gruesome layers of the world, lost far more things than anyone ever should.

It was only logical, now that Spencer had you in his life--a miraculous reprieve to his otherwise ghastly world--he would spend every waking moment to do everything in his power to make sure you were safe.

Always.

With this knowledge in mind, you couldn't, in good conscience, bring yourself to deny Spencer's plea, no matter how foolish it might seem.

What you did, instead, was shifting yourself closer to his body, seeking permission with your eyes before you leaned forward for a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry, darling," you offered sincerely. "I'll keep that in mind for next time, yeah? How does that sound?"

The relief was blinding as it washed over Spencer's whole being. "Thank you," he muttered before kissing your knuckles. "And I'm sorry, too, for being like this."

You shook your head firmly. Not because you didn't accept his apology, but because you didn't need one. Spencer didn't have anything to apologize for.

When you told him as much, Spencer's only reply was to press his lips to yours.

You were rendered pliant underneath his ministrations, your body molding into his as if you were two fabrics cut from the same cloth. Spencer poured all of his emotions into the kiss. Wishing--begging--that you could taste just how consuming the love he harbored for you was. The same way he could taste your heart beneath the hint of honey on your lips.

Once breathing became a chore, Spencer took the heavy decision to pull away, settling for resting his forehead on top of yours instead.

"Do you wanna go back to sleep?" you whispered.

Spencer wanted to nod, feeling a huge load pressing on every inch of muscle in his body. But before he could take you up on the offer, a distant sound between the roaring of thunders caught his attention, stopping his words right in their tracks.

"Did you hear that?" Spencer asked.

"Hear what?" You frowned. "The thunder?"

"No." He rushed to get up from the bed, gaze apologetic as he looked at you from the doorway. "Stay here? I'll be back soon."

Soft footsteps trudged along the landing of your two story house, leading Spencer towards another door located right by the stairs. He knocked slowly on the wooden door, twice, before pushing it open with a gentle nudge of his hip.

The room he entered was smaller than the room he shared with you. During the days, the windows on the far end of the wall would offer a mesmerizing view of the creek that ran along the backside of the neighborhood. During nights like this, however, they merely provided another harsh peek at the tantrum that mother nature was throwing against the world.

Although the room was swallowed in darkness, Spencer could still make out the silhouettes inside. From the haphazardly scattered toys on the floor, the colorful drawings taped on the walls, even to the lavender-colored furniture that seemed to fill every available corner in the entire space.

Amongst them all, the one silhouette that managed to pull at Spencer's heartstrings was the one curled up on the center of the bed. A usually joyous sunshine, reduced to a whimpering ball under a cotton unicorn-themed blanket.

"Princess."

Spencer tugged the blanket down, revealing misty eyes and pouting lips on a face he held dearly. A sob managed to wreck itself out of the little girl's chest, plummeting Spencer's heart further down the abyss of no end.

"Oh, sweetheart."

He gathered the 4-year-old in his arms, feeling her immediately hugging his neck. Her body was still shivering with tiny whimpers and sobs, all of which Spencer tried to subside gently by constant strokes down her back.

"It's okay. You're okay," he shushed quietly, rocking his body to a phantom tune while she clung to his chest. "Do you wanna tell me what's going on?"

The girl sniffled aloud before lifting her head, her tiny hands rubbing rigorously on the tear stains around her eyes.

"The-the thunders," she murmured. "It was so loud. I woke up and everything was d-dark. Daddy, I'm scared!"

She threw her arms around his neck again, crying softly into the collar of his sleeping shirt. Spencer tightened his embrace around his daughter, heart breaking into pieces with every tear shed from her innocent eyes.

"Sshh, it's alright, princess. Everything's alright. Daddy's here now," Spencer cooed. "Do you wanna sleep with us tonight? Hm?"

His daughter started to nod frantically. "Don't forget Mr. Elphie, Daddy."

Chuckling, Spencer quickly grabbed the elephant stuffed animal lying next to her pillow. "Of course not. Mr. Elphie is coming with us, isn't he?"

Spencer began to retreat back in the direction of your bedroom, all the while conversing with his little girl to keep her mind off the storm that was still raging wildly outside.

You were checking something on your phone by the time Spencer finally returned. Immediately, you tossed the device aside once you saw him, eyes widening in concern when you saw your daughter's limbs entangled around Spencer's form.

"What happened?" you asked.

Spencer headed for the bed, slowly putting down the little girl who instantly cuddled your side after he had tucked her under the duvet.

"The thunders are scary," your daughter mumbled into the fabric of your shirt.

Your eyes flicked towards Spencer, who gave a single nod of confirmation before settling back on his side of the bed.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry." You brushed back the hair from her face, taking in the sight of your favorite pair of eyes that seemed to have lost their usual sparkles in the wake of her tears. "What do you wanna do, hun? Should I tell you a story? Play a little music?"

"I wanna sleep here with you and Daddy," she said in a shaky voice. "Is that okay?"

Kissing the crown of her head, you answered, "Of course it's okay, sunshine. Come here."

Your daughter fell back into your awaiting arms. Her small frame fitting so easily into the front side of your body. You watched as her tiny fingers clutched Mr. Elphie tighter, breath evening out while her face burrowed even deeper into your chest.

It felt as if hours had passed before you could find the will to rip your gaze away. In all honesty, you could probably have spent an entire eternity staring at the little miracle in your arms had the universe given you the chance. When you lifted your head, your eyes automatically locked with Spencer's, who looked as if he, too, had been entranced by the sight in front of him.

"She's incredible," Spencer confessed into the night, voice fragile with the weight of awe it seemed to carry. "I can't believe she's ours."

You extended your hand towards him, smiling brightly once Spencer secured it in his own.

"Seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," you mused, eyes glinting mischievously from the knowledge that your daughter--just like her beloved Daddy--also had a fear of thunderstorms. "Like father like daughter, huh?"

Spencer rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of thunderstorms. I'm just... not fond of them"

"Uh-huh."

"Shut up." He bit your knuckles playfully, seemingly pleased with himself when he managed to elicit a laugh out of your chest. "Go get some sleep. You have an early day tomorrow."

"Speak for yourself, Mister." You settled your head back on the pillow, Spencer mirroring your position without breaking his hold around your hand. "Where are you going again?"

"Florida. Miami."

"Damn," you muttered, temporarily panicking about your terrible choice of words before calming back down once you saw your daughter sleeping soundly. "I bet it's nice there this time of year."

"It's Miami. The weather barely changes there all year-round."

"Exactly my point."

"Besides," Spencer added, squeezing your hand once, "it's not a vacation. It doesn't matter where I'm going, I'll only be seeing dead bodies all day long."

"Okay. I really don't need to start seeing corpses in my head right before going to sleep, so thanks for that."

"You started it."

"I most certainly did not." You scoffed. "I'm not liking this conversation. Now, can we please go to sleep?"

Spencer had a retort ready on the tip of his tongue. But once he saw how peaceful you looked with your eyes closed, entangled as one with your daughter, he decided against it.

At last, he opted to shuffle closer on the bed until he could wrap his arm around the two of you, letting the scent of mint from your shampoo and juniper berry from your daughter's body wash to wrap around his whole being.

Spencer was still not a fan of thunderstorms.

But on nights like this, he had to begrudgingly admit that maybe, maybe, they weren't really that bad after all.

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commajade · 2 years

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shinzo abe was the face of japanese fascism and the amount of evil he inherited and proudly continued the legacy of can't be fully expressed in a social media post. a lot of korean ainu ryukyu southeast asian and chinese people (along with jpn people that oppose the state) are celebrating today with their loved ones that an evil man has been made to feel a fraction of the pain he caused and died like so many of us did at his and his ancestors' and political party's hands. it's really unfortunate that more of us could die because of this, that he could become a martyr for japanese fascism as they mobilize in retaliation and a reason for the US empire to tighten its hold in asia. japanese fascists are not subtle about their genocidal goals and have had a special grudge against the entire korean peninsula since the 1500s, when they failed to conquer us during the joseon dynasty. they annexed us with US permission from 1910 to 1945 and that was not enough for them. abe and the nippon kaigi's official platform is that they want a return of the japanese empire, it's genuinely terrifying thinking about what they will be capable of now.

#shinzo abe

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redgoldsparks · 4 months

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January 2024 reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Electric Bones volume 1 by Hazel and Bell

Lucian is the son of a minor nobleman and the CEO of the galaxy's biggest AI company, but he's not so rich that he can't get in trouble. After being fired as a programmer from Echo Station he joined a startup with a couple friends and is now fishing for funding at an elite tech expo on board an expensive and exclusive space vessel. There he sees someone he thinks he recognizes- Ezra, a grey robot, an fully sentient AI who worked on Echo Station as a researcher and partially cost Lucian his job. So why is Ezra now working on the space vessel as an escort? Unless it's not Ezra, but just a look-alike robot model? These questions drag Lucian into the beginnings of tangled web of intrigue which include kidnapping, AI-hacking, and murder. I've been reading this story online as a webcomic for years; you can still read all of volume one here: https://electricbonescomic.com/index.... But last year I also backed the kickstarter, and just sat down to re-read the whole story in print form, including a sexy little bonus comic. I love these characters, I love the rich colors, the lovely sense of flow and design of the pages. I can't wait for volume two!

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha

Action packed and exciting, this family drama is full of unexpected twists and turns. I loved the focus on female characters: passionate Kai, whose love of martial arts and sense of justice cannot be contained by the normal rules of Joseon society; her mother, Meorhu, a fragile woman with a surprising past; Sura, a thief turned mercenary; and the Gumiho herself, the deadly but alluring fox spirit who impacts the lives of all the others with her magic and charisma. The art is rich with historical details, beautiful nature scenes, and fast paced fight scenes. Lovers of ghost stories, kdramas, and queer re-tellings of fairy tales will find much to enjoy here. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of this book! Pre-order it now, or look for it in bookstores in mid-February 2024.

A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles read by Martyn Swain

What a delightful return to Romney marsh! This book picks up 13 years after the dramatic conclusion of the previous installment. Luke Doomsday is now a secretary, looking for a new position in a large house were he can keep books and solve his master's problems. Rufus, the recently minted Earl of Oxney, formerly a major in the army and son of a draper, has problems. For one, he never expected to inherit and his uncle is doing everything he can to prove Rufus illegitimate in court. For another, the previous Earl of Oxney was a selfish old bastard who let the estates fall into terrible disrepair, while Rufus' timid cousin kept poor account of the estate's money in a chicken scratch handwriting. Rufus struggles to read at the best of times, and he can barely make sense of his newly inherited account books. When Luke shows up on his door, it feels like a godsend. The men are immediately attracted to each other, though both have reason to be wary. And Luke, in seems, may have come to Stone Manor looking for more than a job. This series is such a fun mix of spicy romance, action, mystery, and danger. I'm really enjoying the setting and time period, which is just after the end of the Napoleonic wars. I really hope there will be more books to come!

Translation State by Ann Leckie

No one is doing it like Ann Leckie! This sci-fi novel uses six different pronoun sets (actually kind of seven, except one is the same set just used culturally very differently by different groups of people). It’s fantastic. We’ve got they/them, e/em/eir, sie/hir, it/its, he/him, she/her, and she/her again except used as a universal pronoun regardless of gender (which works great inside the Radch Empire and badly outside of it). I'm on the fence about whether this book can be read as a stand alone, or if it would only really make sense after having read at the Imperial Radch trilogy and Providence. I suppose it depends on what level of baffling alien customs and politics you are willing to tolerate. This book opens with Enae attending hir grandmaman's funeral, only to learn that the seemingly wealthy old woman had sold her entire estate to a stranger before her death. For the first time in her life, Enae leaves home with a Foreign Affairs job: to see out a fugitive who left Presger space some 200 years prior. Enae isn't expecting to succeed, but sie gives it hir best shot- and in doing so completely upends the lives of a widening circle of bystanders including Reet, a man of unknown parentage, and Qven, a juvenile Presger. This book finally begins to explain this inhuman and terrifying species, and the reason why the Presger-Radachii Treaty defines the rules of so much of this universe. I deeply enjoyed this installment; it makes me want to go back and re-read the original trilogy.

Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo Duvall

Set in an alternate 1930s, Mississippi, this story follows a group of friends and found family who have to hide their magic from the restrictive and racist government. They survive at the margins, but they don't let the fear of prosecution stop them from doing what they love: racing together as a team. Deep in the woods seers and witches host carnival like events where racers on brooms compete for prize money and glory. Each of them has reasons why they need to win; lives and futures depend on it. This book is deeply queer with a diverse and magical cast. If you're looking for historical fiction where the trans and lesbian brown witches win, this one's for you.

Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky

Sammie is a recently out nonbinary transfemm but their college friend group has not picked up on that fact yet. When Sammie is invited to be the "best man" at their friend Adam's wedding and attend a bachelor weekend at a high-tech, no-laws resort built on top of the Pacific Garbage Patch they decide to go in stealth mode. The resort is a pyramid scheme mutated with a strip club, business conference, all you can drink brunch bar, pro-gamer, most-dangerous-game corporate nightmare. Also, the waters around it are infested with terrifying flesh-eating monsters and someone is trying to raise an eldritch god. It takes every bit of queer resistance Sammie possesses to survive this bleak, hilarious, and surprisingly moving tale. In both their fiction and nonfiction comics, Lubchansky continues to hold up the black mirror to our own dystopian times.

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa

A very queer high school rom-com comic with a satisfying message about growing into yourself and seeing others truly for who they are. It opens with a love triangle, but subverts that form into a more complicated shape by the end of the tale. Strong character designs and very effective limited color palette.

The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill

In a desert village, a group of folks choose to live a nocturnal life to keep the moon company, and to care for a small group of magical moths, the only creatures who can pollinate a magical tree which helps sustain the whole ecosystem. One youngster, Anya, volunteers for the important but lonely job of Moth Keeper. She yearns to be of service to others, and feels she must earn her place in the village. In reality, help and friendship are only an ask away, and in this space everyone is cared for. This is a very beautifully illustrated and brief tale of responsibility, community, and resilience.

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls

What an accomplishment! I savored every page of Feeding Ghosts, absolutely floored by the labor and courage that went into the writing of this book. The inking is gorgeous, the history is clear, digestible, and devastating. This book threads the line between honesty and compassion in a way that I appreciate so much in any memoir, but especially one dealing with family. Hulls lays out the story of three generations of women starting with her grandmother, Sun Yi, a Shanghai journalist who faced intense persecution during the rise of Communism in China, who penned a popular and scandalous memoir and then suffered a mental breakdown. This left her only daughter, Rose, a student at an elite boarding school with no parental figures and no other family to lean on. Eventually Rose earned a scholarship to an American university and in the end moved her mother into her California home. Sun Yi haunted that home during the author's own childhood. The unexamined trauma and codependency of Sun Yi and Rose drove the author to the extreme edges of the Earth, seeking freedom from their ghosts. But in the end, she stopped running from her family history and turned, instead, to face it. Shelve this book with Maus, Fun Home, Persepolis and The Best We Could Do.

I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself by Marisa Crane read by Bailey Carr

I really struggled with this book. I almost DNFed at 25%. Ultimately, I did finish it, and I am glad I did because I think the final act was my favorite part of the story. However, I think the title and cover set me up with expectations of what this book would be which were very different than what the book actually delivered. This is not science fiction- despite the fact it was nominated in the science fiction category in the Goodreads Choice Awards. It is only barely speculative. This is a book about grief, depression, and parenting a baby and then a young child as a single mom struggling with loss and borderline alcoholism. There were passages of the book which struck hard, individual observations and lines which rang like bells. There is also nearly no plot and I was frustrated by the lack of world building. I wanted to know more about the laws governing extra shadows- were Shadesters allowed to vote, hold passports, travel across state lines? Had anyone experimented with the removal of Shadows? When and how did cameras get installed in apparently every home in American, and how did the government hire and pay for a workforce of seemingly 1:1 surveillance agents to citizens? Also, how on earth did Kris manage to pay for a whole apartment on a single salary working a call center job, especially when as a Shadester she had to pay extra taxes? I understand that this is literary fiction, and these questions are obviously not the ones the book was interested in answering. But it felt strange to me that a book so focused on parenting would not include a single passage about struggling to pay for or arrange childcare. The "pop quizzes" that break up the text did not work well in audio, and did not add anything to my experience of this book. Ultimately, I would only recommend this novel to a vary narrow audience of readers who enjoy lit fic, and are willing to spend a lot of time in the POV of a character teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown through much of the story.

Atana and The Firebird by Vivian Zhou

Atana is a mermaid, but she was banished from her home to live alone on island for a reason she doesn't understand. One night a curious young firebird leaves her flock in space to come down and visit Earth, and she convinces Atana to go an adventure. They are soon pursed by magic hunters, but they also make friends, and end up as invited guests in the Witch Queen's palace. She makes them welcome in her massive library and gardens, but she also has ulterior motives. This is a fast paced story of magic, friendship, and young people slowly learning about the forces larger than themselves that shape their world and their lives. I really enjoyed the art, it has a very active, energetic line which serves the action scenes particularly well. I can tell the author came from an animation background! I am glad that the ending set up potential future installments in this world.

Portrait of a Body by Julie Delporte

I really loved the colored pencil illustrations of this book, especially the botanical drawings, and the kind of abstract relation of the text and images. I thought the drawings paired extremely well with the hand lettering even if at times I struggled with some of the cursive capitals. This is a candid memoir of recovering from sexual assault and a dysfunctional relationship to ones body and sexuality, of stepping into queerness and self-acceptance. I couldn't really relate to the author's journey, but I appreciated the honestly and thoughtfulness with which the more challenging themes were handled.

Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb read by Nick Taylor

This book, and this series, has earned Robin Hobb a permanent place in my list of favorite authors. This story goes so hard, weaving together threads that are 9 volumes and 30 plus years of in-story history in the making. The final confrontations, reunions, and farewells at the end of this story were hard earned and so well written. This very much felt like it could have been a final volume of the Realm of Elderlings series, but I know that there are 7 more books to come and I can't wait to see what else this series has in store for me!

System Collapse by Martha Wells read by Kevin R Free

This book picks up right after the end of the previous volume and I had, unfortunately, completely forgotten most of the previous plot. Once I got myself oriented I still had a great time with it. Wow, I just love watching Murderbot learn and grow and solve problems in unique and interesting ways! I kind of want to go back and re-listen to the whole series.

The Chromatic Fantasy by H.A.

This comic blew me away. One of the most beautiful, strange, artistically ambitious and deeply trans books I've read in a while. Aesthetically, its as rich as a stained glass window or illuminated manuscript. Its narrative is psychedelic but emotionally it rings so tender and true. The story opens with Jules, a transman trapped in a nunnery who accepts a deal with a devil who promises to help him live as a man. Possessed and impervious to physical harm, Jules turns to a life of debauchery and crime. Then he meets another trans criminal, the poetic thief and thespian Casper, and they begin to fall for each other. They see each other as no one else ever has, they validate and treasure one another, but Jules' devil is a jealous master. The devil would rather see Jules burn than thrive. This is one of those books that made me want to draw, made me want to write, made me want to be bolder, weirder, freer, wilder in my story telling. An instant favorite, I expect I'll return to this over and over.

Mall Goth by Kate Leth

Liv's parents are on the verge of divorce; they've just moved to a new town and Liv will be starting at a new high school. At her last school, Liv was bullied for being openly queer and an unapologetic mall goth, and she is understandably hesitant to accept friendship overtures at the new school. However, a supportive male English teacher and a fellow goth gamer boy start to make Liv feel welcome. The goth introduces her to an MMORPG and the English teacher praises her essays and gives her Lolita. Both of them start regularly DMing Liv late into the night, more than is appropriate for the relationships they have. This book is in large part about a teen navigating confusing advances and how and when to disclose things that make her uncomfortable but feel hard to speak about or define. I thought that aspect of the story was handled very well. Some of the pacing in the friendship plot lines surrounding it felt a bit rushed, a few sections underdeveloped, but ultimately I think this book tackled an important issue not often seen in YA comics. It is also steeped in early 2000s Hot Topic/emo music/pop culture references- if you were there, you'll know.

What’s Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine by Erin Williams

Williams illuminates, through memoir, interviews, and mixed media illustrations the extreme failures of the US healthcare system to address chronic pain. These failures are especially common for patients of color, patients who struggle with addictions, patients who are queer or survivors of assault and trauma. If you had any illusions that the systems of medical care are working in this country, shed them now. This book is half cathartic, half infuriating to read. I really appreciated the honesty and vulnerability of the interviewees and the trans and nonbinary inclusiveness of the language surrounding pain tied to the reproductive system.

#maia kobabe #reading #books #book reviews #comic book reviews

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wuxiaphoenix · 3 months

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Worldbuilding: Collapsing Empires

One of our classic stories is the band of Plucky Rebels against the Evil Empire. I will boldly go on record as saying I love these stories. Who doesn’t want to cheer on the rag-tag determined heroes fighting against overwhelming odds? (See Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, The Magnificent Seven, and so many others.)

On the other hand I also read history, and so there’s something I’ve noticed. While the urge to create an empire seems to be a human constant, individual empires always fall. Eventually.

I’m sure there are many reasons for this. I’ll give you a few I’ve noticed; you can probably suggest more. The three I’ve got are environmental shifts, out of context problems, and the elite desire to stay in power at all costs.

Each of these can, of course, feed into the others. Here’s a few examples.

Environmental shifts are nasty. Some are from human land use - deforestation and gold or lead mining do numbers on large areas - but others are just the solar system giving you a Bad Era. To be very general, our climate tends to alternate between periods of warmer and more predictable weather, and cooler, less predictable weather patterns. (You can in fact have a scorching drought or a dozen in an Ice Age. It’s just on average cooler.)

Empires tend to get started and grow during the good times, to the point they’re right on the edges of their ecological limits as to how many people can make a living without starving. And then a bad spot hits. And things go sideways. As they say of bankruptcies, first slowly, then all at once. Famines usually start in some spots, and the empire handles it, getting ever more stressed - and then worse weather sparks floods and mudslides, and out of that ecological havoc you tend to get plagues, and between plague and famine you can’t feed or levy enough troops.... And then law and empires collapse as everyone scrambles madly to survive and people who were on the empire’s borders try to make out like a bandit. Pun fully intentional.

A “sudden” (usually over decades) climate change might be considered an out of context problem... but I had more direct and weirder things in mind. At one point, for example, we had archaeological evidence that the Luwian Kingdom might have been wiped out by a comet strike. Current archaeology thinks not, but the scenario still remains possible for fiction. Not to mention the scholarly wrangling over what really happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. It looks like the real-life cities were on a very oil-rich plain. So theoretically, if a meteor shower came down and punched a few holes....

But you don’t have to look to outer space. Cortez and other conquistadores showed up from across the Atlantic with a deep history of warfare that was an extremely out of context problem for the Aztecs, Incas, and many more. (Yes, diseases played a big role. But historically the conquistadores legit beat local armed forces high, wide, and handsome.) Joseon Korea and Tokugawa Japan had similar problems with the rest of the world. Anna and the King is a fictionalized version of the King of Siam trying to ease his kingdom into a soft landing in the modern world. I can only imagine the battles he must have had with his court over that.

Which leads to the third reason I see empires fall. If a ruler wants to keep ruling, and doesn’t trust his people, he has to make sure no one else is strong enough to oppose him. But keeping everyone too weak to fight you means that sooner or later, they’re too weak and corrupt to fight someone else.

And on the edges of an empire, there is always Someone Else.

Side note: This is one of many reasons I think a republic is the best government to create and maintain a nation. Ideally we have people in power getting overthrown all the time. We just do it on an agreed-upon regular basis. Unfortunately that was also supposed to apply to all bureaucracy....

Anyway. If you’re writing Plucky Rebels against the Evil Empire, go for it! But you might want to also poke some history and see if any of these real-world factors apply. Smart rebels take advantage of an existing crisis! Just ask Li Zicheng.

Though note what happened to him....

#creative writing #worldbuilding

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nepenthean-sleep · 1 year

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Historical Fashion in The Priory of the Orange Tree

I'm not a historian, but I've spent a significant amount of time over the past decade researching historical fashions from across the world. Naturally, this colored my reading of The Priory of the Orange Tree when I first read it in 2019. I started rereading Priory this month in anticipation for the release of the sequel, and I thought it would be fun to share my ideas for the clothing styles of the various countries in the book, based on real-world historical fashion. I also wanted to use this as a moment to compare some of the fashions of Priory with those in the forthcoming A Day of Fallen Night. These are by no means definitive; they're just my personal headcanons for the book, but I thought some fans and artists would appreciate this as a reference.

To begin, Inys and Queen Sabran's court reminded me heavily of Elizabethan England, so while reading Priory, I mostly thought of the book taking place in an analogue to Earth of the mid-to-late 1500s. This colors my perception of the various clothing styles, so you will notice that most of the countries will have clothing from the same century or thereabout. This extends to Fallen Night, which takes place 500 years earlier, but only for the countries that I was able to find enough reference information on. (Trying to find fashion references for eleventh and twelfth century Europe and Africa on the internet is very difficult!) I've made (terrible; I am not a graphic designer) collages to lower the photo count in this post, but please keep in mind that this post is still image-heavy.

SEIIKI

Seiiki is based off of Edo-era Japan. In keeping with the 1500s theme, I have imagined fashions similar to those of the very early Edo period and the late Azuchi-Momoyama period. With how they are described in the text, I believe the wealthy and fashionable in Ginura would likely dress more like the fashions from the early 1700s with elaborate nihongami and extensive sea-themed accessories.

For A Day of Fallen Night, this would land us squarely in the Heian era, my personal favorite of the Japanese historical eras in terms of fashion. Now I can only imagine Princess Dumai with extremely long hair lmao.

SEPUL

Sepul is based off of Korea. We don't know much about Sepul, but for Korea, the 1500s would have been towards the beginning of the Joseon dynasty. 16th century hanbok looked more similar to the hanbok of Goryeo, as opposed to the more "classical" 18th century style of Joseon hanbok that is used today in film and re-enactments.

For Fallen Night, that puts Sepul in the middle of the Goryeo dynasty, when it followed Song dynasty fashion. However, Sepul is a queendom, and during the Silla period, Korea had three regnant queens. Because of this, I imagine that the queens of Sepul would likely dress more similar to the royalty of Silla, with their elaborate crowns and gold chains.

EMPIRE OF THE TWELVE LAKES

The Lacustrine are based off of China, and the 1500s lands us in the later half of my favorite Chinese dynasty: the Ming. We don't get to see much of the Empire, but what we do see is very lavish and grand, much like Ming dynasty hanfu itself.

500 years back lands us in the Song dynasty. One of the interesting trends of the Song dynasty was pearl makeup, something that would likely be popular in the Twelve Lakes due to the continent's general aquatic theme.

INYS

Inys is based off of England, and while reading I imagined something similar to the fashions of the 1560s and 1570s during Queen Elizabeth I's reign. I'd also imagine that Inys would be "behind" in terms of fashion compared to Mentendon, due to how Inysh society and fashion is described as more conservative.

MENTENDON

Mentendon is based off of the Netherlands, and I particularly imagined it similar to the Dutch Republic, especially in regards to the country's relationship with Seiiki. The Dutch began trading with Japan in the early 1600s, so much of my headcanon for Mentendon is based off of the Baroque era, particularly the 1630s and 1640s. Mentendon seems to be the most liberal nation of the West, so I'd imagine their fashions to be more forward-facing while still retaining a lot of the similarities to the Elizabethan era, such as the usage of lace ruffs, doublets, and kirtles. Aubrecht and Truyde are described as having long, loose, curling hair, which fits perfectly with the popular hairstyles of these decades.

YSCALIN

Spain was the inspiration for Yscalin, and I imagined something similar to the 1540s and 1550s, particularly modeled after renaissance Italy as opposed to the Tudor stylings of the English and French.

LASIA

Lasia is based off of the Kingdom of Kongo, a state that existed in present day Angola, Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1390 until 1857, when it was colonized by Portugal and made a vassal state of the Portuguese Empire. As such, it is difficult to find references for Kongolese fashion without the influence of Portuguese-style clothing. As far as I am aware, the references below are from the 1500s and 1600s and represent Kongolese clothing without European influence.

THE ERSYR

The Ersyr is based off of Iran. We don't get to see much of the Ersyr in Priory, but Chassar would likely wear Ersyri fashions even when away from home. For Iran, the 1500s puts us at the beginning of the Safavid Empire. The reference images below are from the 1570s to the 1650s.

For Fallen Night, the eleventh century would be the Abbasid Caliphate. Below are images of artwork from that era to give a general sense of the styles during that period.

If anyone has any additional information or corrections about the fashions from these time periods in this countries that they would like me to add to this post, feel free to send me an ask or a DM. Thanks for reading! Looking forward to reading A Day of Fallen Night later this week. :)

#priory of the orange tree #day of fallen night #the roots of chaos #historical fashion #historical clothing #neph.txt #neph analysis

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leoneliterary · 9 months

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I don't know if this has been asked, but is there a specific culture, country, and/or time in history that inspired "Honor Amongst Thieves"?

It was touched on a bit in this ask here, but its been awhile so it's probably time for a refresher!

I would say my love of history as a whole inspired the world building of Honor Amongst Thieves, and specifically the Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire, Egypt, and Ancient Greece. I would also say the historical clashes between nomadic people and the settlement of tribes is another key focus.

One of the things I love about history is the interconnectedness of people. Water moves trade, trade moves people, ideas, and customs. Soon we're all intertwined for better or for worst. HAT is influenced by the human beings become a family, a tribe, and sometimes even an empire. (Also the wild story of Johnathan Wild. He's where the thieves thing comes in.)

We all know that the fantasy genre has been caught in a western European stranglehold for centuries now. I love those stories, but I really wished for something different. People of color often experience being robbed of past and present. We're oddly absent in historical literature, fantasy or otherwise, and we also aren't in sci fi much. These are genres I love and the ommition of other people and cultures always felt so odd to me!

Timbuktu used to be a hub for scholars from the world over. One of the early Ottoman Emperors had beef with Vlad the Impaler. Ancient China was in contact with kingdoms in Africa. Although our tellings of history are pretty isolated, we've always had our arms outstretched to each other. I wanted to write a multicultural, magical world, packed with drama, romance, court intrigue, and all the other stuff I like.

So to get back on track to your question, Honor Amongst Thieves is inspired by multiple cultures and time periods.

You might see Silla era and Joseon era influences in Nari, while also seeing Tuareg and Egyptian influences in Sutek. Timbuktu scholars might be really similar to the mages cloistered away somewhere on the outskirts of Hashind. I know I went on a whole paragraph about history, but Honor Amongst Thieves isn't an attempt to rewrite history. It's a world like ours, with people like us, with only a smidge more magic, and jacked up rivers because I'm not a geologist/cartographer.

#worldbuilding #interactive fiction #if wip #game development #interactive novel #writing #writing inspiration #fantasy #high fantasy #HAT Lore #honor amongst thieves #world history #culture #hat if

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bunnyrhe · 2 years

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Demon's Head: Mafia Boss CG Yoongi x Little Space Reader

"Where are you? I'm here in the market where you told me to come find you." You spoke into the static receiver of your cheap disposable phone. When you got no response, you had to hang up, you were already low on credit.

The traditional red and cream coloured paper lanterns strung across rope connecting different stalls, loomed on the moon soaked horizon . The sky was an oily black, few stars pockmarked the endless expanse, the light pollution of the night market drowning their iridescence.

The market was busy with throngs of people weaving in and out of stalls, their chatter competing with the music on the radios that few people had. A cold south westerly wheezed a terrible chilling wind, the lanterns must have been affronted by it and leaned back to get out of the way. The night air brought the smells of saline and a distinct, crisp, fishy smell of salmon and squid. Then the warm hearty aroma of the ramyun stalls and oriental cuisine stalls followed on its heels, they were delicious smells to your rumbling stomach. The steam and sizzling smoke from cooktops billowing into the winds.

You saw him sitting on his car, a sleek and shiny black S-class, brooding against the bonnet. You laid eyes on the King.

He wore his face the way a thousand of his ancestors did since the Joseon dynasty, with a single cut through his right eye. It was symbolic. It made his eyes similar to the cross hair of a gun, it made him look like he was scratched by the wild cat of his family crest. The intensity in his eyes took my breath away. He was tall, handsome and radiating wealth, prestige and honour.

And danger. He was a dangerous man above all else, only 29 but was the head of the Korean crime empire-The Demon’s Head Clan. This was the oldest living clan in Korea, rivalling the age of even the 6Eye clan run by the Jeon Family.

Min Yoongi was the only living successor of his Clan. He was revered in the streets as the King, less commonly known as silverfish. He was a ruthless, sadistic murderer, hidden under his deceptively unbothered, bored even plucky exterior.

It was his reputation that made him a walking contradiction.

His predecessors knew little and cared less about the new breed of technological men who came to dominate the crime syndicates. They grew to be creatures of habit, skin pallid and dusty from their environment, clinging to their glory days limpet-like to whatever toe-hold of wealth they could get. They were used to the comfort of illegal gambling and local arms trades and for that their family name was losing the prestige it once commanded. The Min name was quickly fading from tapestries and great annals of history.

That was before Min Yoongi.

Min Yoongi represented a new blood for Korean crime-expansion into the international arenas of gun and drug cartels, and military level technological warfare, uranium trades to countries of the highest bidders. All with casinos, bars, hotels,restaurants and tech companies to launder all the bills. His plan was laughed out of the Min palatial estate for being to ambitious for his weak stature.Min Yoongi became a fine new school, built and skilled at denigrating the old ways, rejecting the past and arousing in new recruits the lust for golden dreams in the industrial millennium.

For that he became the black sheep.

He ascended to the pinnacle of leadership of the Clan by erasing all dissenters. Within one night he had single handedly slaughtered his relatives, effectively eradicating all competing interests for the throne. Then his enemies’ blood spilled afterwards.

It was an impossible task. A job no one could have pulled off. The bodies he eviscerated that day laid the foundation of what he is now. Min Yoongi was focused, angry beyond measure and he had a burning desire to prove himself. The folklore around the event arose, fanned out like an uncontrollable flame. It's alleged that he compiled the corpses, stacked up to the ceiling. When all the ones he spared found the gorey sight in the familial palace, he was sitting picking his nails. He gave himself the mark of the King-the eye cut- and never looked back.

He was only 19.

From the most lordly government officials to the littlest children in the playgrounds knew him now, knew his strength. The children made a story about him- the whale and the silverfish. The moral of the story was not to be a bully as all children's stories and songs go. The whale, Yoongi’s family ,was the master of the world until it espied a stranger in their domain: a big gleaming silverfish. Yoongi was the silverfish that refused to acknowledge the whale’s mastery. The whale grew angry and slapped the interloper with his tail. That was the whale’s fatal error because the silverfish was actually a torpedo. Yoongi's family made the mistake of not acknowledging or appointing him, now they would suffer from the grave.

You gasped when Yoongi's eyes flicked up, noticing you standing in the middle of the crowd looking terribly out of place.You were playing with the hem of your lavender sweater, keeping your eyes on your grey boots. His face was bright with the light of his cellphone. He released the breath of smoke, letting the grey whisps curl around his nose before stomping out the cig. If he wasn't mafia, his lineage should have been dragon. He held eye contact with you, feline eyes watching how you bristled. Everything he did held this mystique and a level of awe and fear inspiring brilliance.

You almost missed all the cars flanking it in the dark for how clearly they reflected the night sky. Yoongi wore an all black custom tailored suit with a matching trench coat. It seemed very cloak-and-dagger. There were similarly dressed men flanking him, some smoking, the red embers of cigarette lighting up like a half-dozen tiny red rat eyes in the dark, a few reloading handguns, one carving an apple into wedges with an absurdly large hunting knife.

He rapped twice on the hood of the car, and you watched the men assemble with precise, practised efficiency.They walked over keeping instep with Yoongi, shrouding him like a horde. They crossed the lot with graceful, careful steps like it was a scene right out of a movie. Yoongi was so casually sexy. The cronies spread out among the market crowd like black scaly tentacles fanning out around the Demon's Head. But Yoon wasn't a demon, at least not to you. Around you he could finally relax, break the staccato tone and his grim reaper appearance. He could smile and be warm with you.

Yoongi was your boyfriend with you.

"H-Hello," you waved to him, curling into yourself to keep warm and make yourself shrink under his gaze. Yoongi looked over your posture with disdain, thinking about starting posture training with you to make you stand confidently af his side.

"Jagi. You're gorgeous tonight, kitten.”

You felt a wave of colour rise to your cheeks but quickly recovered, giving him a slightly ironic look as though rejecting the sincerity of his words. For all your lauded beauty, you had painfully thin skin. Yoongi however was suave with unmatched confidence and charm, he doled out compliments to you in spades because it didn't diminish him. He called you beautiful like it was your name. Care and confidence sparkled in his eyes and radiated from the chiselled contours of coiling muscles visibly straining the Hérmes silk as he bent his arms behind his back.

"Here, I brought you gifts. You can have the one in my right hand or the one in my left."

"Awww Yoonie, I feel bad now! I don't have anything for you, I can't accept this."

Yoongi nodded. Fuck.

He instantly felt awful and guilty for saying that. It was his job to spoil his kitten, and your reaction made him feel ashamed for even refusing you gifts. Real men spoil their women, he reprimanded himself. "I was joking, they're both yours. Don't worry about Daddy,"

He gave you the Shooky plushy with the sassy mouth and strong eyebrow."I know you love these, I bought the company that manufactures-"

Your eyes widened filling up with stars, jaw dropping. He remembered! You had said off handedly once that you loved these plush toys but the originals were ridiculously expensive. It was so precious to you that he would remember, even going through all this trouble for you. You felt impossibly softer when he cupped your cheek,stroking it softly.

"There's that smile, do you like your gift?"

"SHOOKY!"you grinned, scooping him into your arms to cradle him to your cheek. "Thank you daddy, I love him."

"I got you a necklace too, " he flicked the Tiffany box open, showing off the opulent jewellery- a gold Cuban link chain encrusted with white diamonds." I thought we should start simple for you first time. May I?"

He chuckled watching you talking animatedly to the pillow sized Shooky, throwing him up in the air and catching him, kissing him all over his face. You were so absolutely enamoured with the plushie you were in another world. He smiled at how soft you looked, voice getting higher and more garbled and childish. You were having a conversation with him, wiping any fuzz from his eyes so he could see.

He tucked the necklace away. It wasn't very age friendly right now. It was a pocket full of promise with the jewellery put away for later. It would mean there would be a place you could go that was safer than the night market to put it on you. Yoongi smiled internally, he knew the perfect spot.

"Come hold my hand, little one. Let me protect you, don't wander off." He held your hand to lead you around, to the various stalls. His hands were rife with veins, cold like rivers in the night, calluses on his palm like stones. These hands had spilled blood, but I trusted them completely. You held his hand, wrapping around his arm. He kissed your knuckes softly, watching your blush creep north to your hairline, goosebumps on your flesh. While your Shooky held your attention, he was subtly accepting his monthly installation of protection money or kickbacks from vendors.

You shivered and he gave you his trench coat, retaining his suit jacket. The sleeves cascaded far past your fingertips to make sweater paws. You giggled, paddling them to make them dance and dangle in the wind.

"Kitty, kitty rawr." You pointed. You could see the large tattoo on his hand- a tiger tattoo wrapped around a sword- the insignia of the Demon's Head Clan. His people were revered there, treated royally and loyally. The clan moved en masse, avoiding and spewing out other rival clans like a selective plasma membrane.

It subsumed abandoned orphans and adults alike. The children lived in the dormitories or apartments for free, receiving a high quality of education, eating and being clothed for free, some ran errands to earn pocket money, others ran their own block by the time they were 18. The clan gave you the opportunity to leave or stay without repercussions but many stayed for familial ties and a sense of belonging. Afterall, children who weren't given love on a silver spoon learned to lick it off knives. That's when they took the black and tattooed the tiger and sword onto their hands. They belonged to the Demon's Head forever.

At least that was what your parents told you about Yoongi's world, the dark underbelly of the Korea that Yoongi ran like monopoly. He was the zenith of power. A God walking among mortals.

" I like your necklace, daddy, it's pretty ,"there were a simple blue and purple beads that was a gift from Jung Hoseok,the other was a thick gold chain. Jung Hoseok wasn't so much mafia as an independent contractor, he was more of a human resource manager within Yoongi's world. He was a one man team, supplying people to do anything from waste management to prostitution.

Gold Rings and bracelets jingled on Daddy's wrist,he looked so gorgeous and well adorned. One ring caught my attention,it was gold with a panther's open maw, holding a bright red gem with green veins. Something was so fascinating about it, all the other stones in his jewelry were diamonds or tiny clear crystalline blues.

"It's called bloodstone. It protects from excessive bleeding."

"It's beautiful,"

"Yeah? " Yoongi smiled subtly, covering it up with a lip bite. He'd seen dozens of reactions to his ring: morbid fascination, hatred, his men thought it was logical but never this. Never just pure appreciation, almost an infantile sense of love for it. He felt so proud of you, so accepted by you. "Maybe it's time to get this kitten some more jewellery of her own, maybe a collar…definitely a new wardrobe. "

He noticed the way your dress rode up because you'd outgrown it and the tiny hole in the wrist. It was so thin that he gave her his trench, aside from wanting her to smell like his outer layer of his natural aroma and cologne, keeping his suit jacket imbibed with the everlasting scent of Iron and death. He wanted to wrap her up in his embrace and take you away from this world. Or alternatively, burn the world down just to keep you warm.

"I'd get you draped in silks and the best brands in this world if you wanted me to, I can make the call right now."

"Yoon," you called to him sweetly, blushing furiously, your head laid on his stomach. He chuckled breathily a tiny purr escaping his throat as you two snuggled tightly a the lonely corner of the market.

“When was the last time you went shopping?Just to treat yourself?”He asked, his face leaning into yours, nose nudging the pulse point below your ear.

“I dunno, people don't remember that type of stuff.When was the last time you went shopping, huh?”

“A month ago, I bought an airline.”

You visibly wilted, your sweet cherry smile turning acidic. You were hurt.

"Shhh kitten, let Daddy take care of your expenses yeah?"

"Uh uh I'm a big girl now, I can do it,"

"No you're not, stop pretending to know things. Daddy will take care of expenses, kitten. Welcome to my world, baby." He kissed behind my ear, making me blush and giggle loudly.

He bought you hotteok and banana milk, then split a tuna sushi tray in one of the stalls in the night market that he owned. You watched wordlessly when the two customers that were eating rose from their seats mid-meal when you arrived and left after bowing to him. He kept your face pressed into his suit chest, arm over your shoulders. Yoongi was very secretive about you, going to lengths to secure your personal safety. The owner himself retreating outside once he prepared your food.

"Why are the people being weird, daddy? Are we in danger?"

"No baby, daddy's the danger baby. If you'd have let me, I would have brought you to a nice restaurant, spoiled you rotten." He hummed watching you eat, head resting on his palm.

"I can't afford that right now,"

"I know losing your job can be difficult, but maybe it's just for the best? Some people aren't meant to work. "

You were about to ask him how he knew about that when he plucked you up, letting you sit in his lap at the table, feeding sushi to you. He kept stuffing your face full of foods- peeled shrimp in perilla leaves, rice, sushi pieces. You welcomed it all with an open mouth, hardly being able to chew and swallow your chubby full cheeks worth of food. He enjoyed seeing you eating and maintaining a healthy appetite. He liked to know you were keeping on top of your eating schedule and taking care of your health. You swivelled to feed him, "choo choo daddy ,"

"Min-ssi. Your phone sir, from the Mayor Kim." One of his men interrupted, not making eye contact, holding an old fashioned telephone with a rotation dial. I knew that it was the business line, not a social call on his cell. Not that there were social visits in his world.

"Choo choo!" You insisted. Your daddy had created a spoiled brat that demanded attention.

As private as Yoongi was, a part of him was loving the attention once it was from you. He loved feeling needed. He hadn't known this much of your true nature, that you were this soft and gentle and receptive of his care that you would melt into him. He wouldn't know where he ended and you began without his tattoo. You were a pleasant plot twist.

"Tell Namjoon I will return his call later tonight." He accepted the rice, watching as your mouth opened and closed mimicking him chewing. You always thought he ate very prettily. All he could think about while watching you was how much he had changed since meeting his precious little kitten.

He usually only thought of family, his duty and honour code that were enshrined in his mind's temple. He was the leader of this family business that was the lifeblood of a nation, he upheld any moral that came along to facilitate the family business like a malevolent shrine.

He was a soldier, a warrior but here you were a goddess when you smiled. Emperors would have fallen across the ages for such a smile. A smile that could destroy worlds and rebuild them. A smile Yoongi would lay down his life for. He'd worship at your altar if you let him.

He gave you eat more of the food and stone pot rice. He offered a sip of his plum juice then you fell in love with it, leaving your orange juice untouched. He chuckled, watching you struggle to hold the bottle in your little space. He reached inside his coat for a small black leather bag with a sippy cup for you. "There now my princess can eat and drink in peace without accidents. "

He held you across his lap,your head tucked into the crook of his arm while he fed you juice from your sippy. You stared up into his eyes blinking softly at him, your hand pressed under the top buttons of his shirt to feel close to him. You raised your hand to his head. Yoongi pulled away, giving you his chin the way all big cats do to reject touch.

“Please?”

Never would you have believed that Min Yoongi, the King the silverfish could ever purr. If the world could see him now, enjoying head scratches eyes shut in pleasure, a tiny smile on his face. He shut his eyes tipping his head to you to let you scratch behind his ears, nuzzling the palm of your hand when you pulled away. He was pink in the cheeks when he smiled after his scratching.

"Can we get icey cream?"

"Course we can cub,"

His men brought Ice cream to you, hands trembling and set it down in front of you. Bowed and left the room. He left you eating ice cream happily while he washed out your sippy cup. You cooed at him, trying to get his attention.

"Do you want your paci?''

You thought hard, wiggling your hips,"Uh uh....wait yes yes please."

You were quite content dipping paci in your ice cream then sucking on it, leaving Yoongi to deal with the runny strawberry in the cup. He ate his coffee flavour, accepting your ice cream covered paci when you offered it to him.You dipped it in the ice cream, holding it up to daddy. You pressed it to his lips, letting him enjoy it. He didn't dare eat it, wiping it off when you weren't looking.

"Mm thank you cub, but it's your paci okay? Daddy has his spoon. You're sucna good girl for sharing. " He watched you turn rosey from all the praise, giggling and buzzing with excitement. "Nobody else should get to see you smile like that. Nobody else. Only ever with me."

Yoongi came out of the tent with his coat folded neatly over his arm. And an old pocket knife he found in your shoes, on his person. (It was tiny, almost adorable, were you trying to flirt with him?) And his kitten snuggled deeply into his pectoral, perched on his hip snoring and content and drowsy from what he put in her ice cream.

"Bring the car around, Hyojong I'm bringing my baby home,"

Hyojong reached for his piece on his hip, seeing an unknown woman under his leader, immediately assuming the worst and not recognising you. His teeth bared at the unusual scent. "Go on bare your teeth, I'll pull them out one by one."

He barreled through his men, pulling you closer to him. He meant it when he said nobody else deserved to see you smile.

Taglist for this post:

@thelazylemur @lachimolala22019 @lemonpeppersteppersworld @thebangtanvip2021 @myhobari @btsiguess-kpop

@drinkingbloodinthe-darkness @yoongisgirl69 @datfridaygurl69 @y2tae @mrcarrots @yoshileamiyey @idontknowdawg @adventureswithrae @thisishardtothinkof @ukittyu @hotanimeboyssimp @minminsgummysmile @lovelyintattoos @cinnamonspicedreader

@foreignersgodlullaby @anintpnerd42 @34jt @gia-van-van

@ladybuglola @moonchillededits @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest

@28-moonlight @jinniecupcake @gueynomanches @zzkke @veronicamalo01

@kiaraisashipname @scenesroland @exochanyeoltao @snowyydayys @sophiayoongi-hyung @sweetwolfcupcake @chubbycheekschub @rootbear-wg @0t7lover @guktiddiess @geometricdork @yoongsmoonlight @sp1derm4nluver @mila-elie @artsxpe @jungkooksleftnipple @rkivesbby

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staydandy · 1 year

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Stealer: The Treasure Keeper (2023) - 스틸러: 일곱 개의 조선통보 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Throughout history, the treasures of an old empire have always been the best items for thievery. A professional thief named 'Skunk' forms an unofficial heritage redemption team called 'Team Karma' with a group of police officials to pull off an informal and illegal, yet in one sense righteous heist to retrieve the stolen heritages. In front of them is an all-time-scale mission. Somewhere in Korea, a large amount of cultural heritage that is worth 30 trillion won and spiritual beads that provide eternal life are buried. Against a group with a conscienceless purpose, Team Karma's thrill-filled retribution starts. (MDL) AKA : Karma: Seven Joseon Notices | Stealer: Seven Joseon Notices

Whumpee : Hwang Dae Myung / "Skunk" played by Joo Won • Shin Chang Hoon played by Kim Jae Won

Country : 🇰🇷 South Korea Genres : Action, Adventure, Mystery, Comedy

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • Someone likened him to Deadpool, and honestly, not a bad comparison. Not as brash as Deadpool, but style & comedy wise, I can see the connection.

Episodes on List : 11 Total Episodes : 12

*Spoilers below*

02 : Hwang Dae Myung falls down a burning hot rebar ladder, hitting his side on the way

03 : Passes out from knock-out gas (comedic)

04 : In a fight; hit several times with poles/boards.. shot several times while wearing a bulletproof suit, collapses.. in a fight in a van; chokehold, bitten … (@ 26:24, Korea is getting real sarcastic with their product ads these days 😂) … cuffed upside the back of the head … tied up; cuffed on a chair

05 : Thunderstorm causes traumatic flashbacks, unsteady .. (@ 21:13, seriously, these product ads are so off-the-wall funny) … in a fight, hit over the head with a brick, beat up, knocked out

06 : … continued from previous ep. ... Unconscious, unsteady … icing his bruises

07 : Shot (wearing bulletproof suit) … Shin Chang Hoon is in a fight, beat up; hit in the head several times, knocked out … bandaged

08 : Dae Myung PTSD from thunderstorm … [flashback] tied up, electrocuted, passes out (more on the comedic side), tied up again, electrocuted again

09 : Trapped in a room filling with poisonous gas … passes out … falls several times … trapped in a room with walls closing in … Chang Hoon is in a fight; head bleeding, cut … stabbed … crawling, passes out

10 : Limping … Dae Myung attending to the wounds on his arm … PTSD from thunderstorm; unsteady, heavy breathing … in a fight

11 : … continued from previous ep. ... Fight; neck scratched, strangled … passes out

12 : Car crash, knocked out, head bleeding … head pain, ear ringing

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flagwars · 9 months

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Historical Flag Wars Round 1

The first round of the Historical Flag Wars starts today! Which flag are you rooting for?

Here are the brackets for Round 1:

1. Republic of Rotuma vs. Sultanate of Sulu

2. Peru (May 1822) vs. Kingdom of Amber

3. Green Mountain Boys vs. Taipei, Taiwan (1981-2010)

4. Kingdom of Laos vs. Kingdom of Abemama

5. State of Deseret vs. Guilford Courthouse Flag

6. Mohanpur State vs. Attributed flag of Blackbeard

7. Nepal (1856-1930) vs. Empire of Brazil

8. Burma (1943-1945) vs. Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

9. Wiphala of Tupac Katari vs. Mamluk Sultunate (attributed)

10. Islands of Refreshment vs. Imperial State of Iran

11. Union Mark of Norway and Sweden vs. Kingdom of Prussia (1892-1918)

12. Jewish Combat Organization vs. Kingdom of Kandy

13. Kingdom of Manipur (1891–1907) vs. International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces

14. Venice (1922-1977, de facto) vs. International Brigades

15. Sultanate of Zanzibar (1963–1964) vs. State of Muskogee

16. Maine (1901-1909) vs. Taymyr Autonomous Okrug

17. Tibet vs. Dutchy of Brittany

18. Ryukyu Kingdom vs. Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

19. Duchy of Milan vs. Republic of Yucatán

20. People’s Republic of Korea vs. Halliste Parish, Estonia

21. Jeju Province (1969–2009) vs. Republic of China (1912–1928)

22. House flag of Nedlloyd vs. Historical Mapuche Flag

23. Kingdom of Ireland vs. Starry Plough Flag

24. Royal standard of the Joseon Dynasty vs. Flag of David IV the Builder

25. Army of the Three Guarantees vs. Raven Banner

26. Iraq (1959–1963) vs. Republic of Formosa

27. Principality of Moldavia vs. Eureka Flag

28. Kingdom of Sikkim vs. Republic of Anguilla

29. Republic of the Rif vs. West Indies Federation

30. Bedford Flag vs. Ethiopian Empire

31. Rägavere Parish, Estonia vs. Unidentified Flag of the Kingdom of Benin

32. Comecon vs. Naval flag of the Duchy of Courland

#polls #flags #vexillology #history #historical flag wars #eyestrain #eye strain

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rinbowaman · 1 year

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Mermaids Tale - Chapter 4

This was a fun chapter to revise, no smut, just pure details of Heeseung's ancestry. hehehehe. it's getting good.

So because tumblr is still being a pain, this isnt' really proof read. I couldn't copy and paste the chapter in, so i had just retype the whole thing while staring at the original draft to keep the flow of the storyline accurate, but there might be some grammar errors. I'll fix that whenever Tumblr stops being mean to me.

Pairings: Heeseung and you

Warnings: So while there is no smut, there is mentioning and implying of slave breeding, coerce sex, rape (not mentioned directly, just implied) being used for DNA, capture and imprisonment, and i think that's it. some of it is directly stated, while majority of it is heavily implied.

Begin read below line :)

8th Century BC

In the northern sphere of the southwestern district, an area where the Balkan Peninsula would eventually run through in the Mediterranean region, an ancient kingdom currently occupies a large part of the European continent, bearing as the most notorious empire in the world.

Named after its line of successors during the age of its victorious period, the kingdom had become the most significant empire during the Byzantine Dynasty. It’s last known ruler, history’s triumphant conqueror, Alexander III of Macedon, son of Philip II, became greatly known for his enhanced strategic command and leadership, and the greatest King during the Macedon Dynasty.

Today, he is commonly known as Alexander the Great.

Following the events that took place within the Asia Minor, the great king feared of the dangers that lurked and threatened his line of succession. Establishing a hidden order and made up entirely of his secret sons to carry out his legacy, a clan, called the “Sons of Adam”, named after the First Man, was created. Carrying the bloodline of his ruling essence, through ages of descendants produced by his own offspring, Alexanders will, unaware by the myriad of enemies he made during his conquer, thrived through the proposed non-existence of his male heirs.

Knowing the dangers of corruption that remained prevalent in his kingdom, Alexander could not afford to put his bloodline at risk of elimination at the hands of his enemies, thus all records of his sons were destroyed, as they were removed from the kingdom and tucked away within the great monasteries of the continent.

By forming the clan, members, simply known as an “Adam”, were highly trained and skilled in the art of using sword and shield. They learned the battle techniques that were both domestic and foreign to them, developing advanced flexibility, stamina, and strength. Under secrecy, they were assigned to the temples that worshipped the ancient Gods of their time, serving as the guardians that protected the old religion, becoming just as forgettable as the priests and nuns who lived amongst, and cared for them.

When Alexanders untimely death came about, many throughout Persia and the Asia Minor displayed their corruptions as countless formations that the former king left behind, were eradicated. Many agreements became broken, all leading to the division of the Macedon Kingdom, ceasing its existence.

To avoid the risk of exposing their identities, the Sons of Adam were eventually migrated to Hellenistic Sicily, to further keep their lineage a secret as the last known warriors of Macedonia.

Through the natural and manmade disasters that occurred through every period of the world’s age, the sons of Alexander the Great had no choice but to spread, furthering the promotion of their procreation as the prestige lineage of a dying breed.

In the early 19th century, a young Merchant Marine by the name of Ethan Alexandros, travels and participates in the Russo-Japanese War during the Joseon Dynasty. In the aftermath, Ethan retires and remained in the conquered country of Korea, marrying a local woman, and carrying out his deed as a descendant of his great relative and wife, Alexander and Roxana, as well as carrying out the sworn duty as an Adam.

Much like his relatives, the fellow Adams immigrated throughout the world, spreading their legacy, and secretly merged with humanity. Through their great traits, some of which displayed longevity in their lifespan and youth, or inhuman strength, the Adams were careful to remain unidentified, Ethan was no different.

Continuing the bestowal of his ancestor’s birthright in the oriental region, Ethan and his wife produced three sons, all of which continued the lineage of male born offspring to continue. Just as his relatives had done to him, he blesses them with a surname that is not of his own, to carefully maintain the discretion of the clan’s formation. Allowing his children to inherit the name of their mother’s family, Ethan’s sons were all christened with the surname, Lee.

Today, a young man, unaware of his superior lineage, migrates through the city. With the intelligence equivalent to that of the most respected educators in the world, and the abnormally high aptitude of mastering abilities, both in combat and various skillsets, Lee Heeseung is bidding farewell to his peers and employment, as a member of the elite SWAT force of the Provisional Government in his division. Along with his elder brothers, the boys displayed impressive records of their abilities in their military background, earning them an expedited transfer into the force upon completing their time in service, as the eldest became the lead security chief of staff for the nation’s government, while the middle brother was contracted as a general for the nation’s largest military force. The youngest, with his high modest and humble value, opted for a contract to better serve the public, and signed with the police organization, accepting the role of supervising team leader and chief of his division.

For the youngest son, that was always the case, he differed greatly from his elder brothers. He was smarter, stronger, the highest skilled and talented among the three. It was widely known how abnormally attractive each brother was, however, Heeseung always won the majority of popular votes when it came to being the best looking out of the three. It wasn’t just limited to his appearance either, the man had a gift of song as he would often, while unintentionally, serenade every woman, or even men, whenever his team would let off some steam and partake in a night of drinking and karaoke. Bewildered by the trait of capturing the hearts of everyone around him, it was eerie for his friends and co-workers to note how the people around him, as he sung sweetly to the tunes of the song of choice, entranced all around him.

How was this possible?...

‘The ancestor Ethan was a descendant of Alexander and his youngest wife, Roxana, well after the order was established, many Adam’s caught the eye of kings and rulers during the period of when mortals were at war with the Sirens. Noting their enhanced combat abilities and vast knowledge in foreign weaponry and techniques, the Adam’s were all bid and hired by the kings of the land to aid in humanity’s conquest in defeating the Sirens.

Just as expected of them, the Adam’s were able to not only fend off the maidens of the sea, somehow, though still unexplainable, the Adam’s were immune to the whims of the oceanic goddesses as many of them were defeated and brutally killed off by the prowess of the clan, though, had they not been masked and blinded by the steel guard of their head pieces, inhibiting the clear view of the other worldly beauty of each maiden slaughtered, the clan would have committed to more humane death.

After realizing the beauty of these maidens, which appeared to be the only factor that had any effect on the clan, the eldest Adam, Philippe, commanded his brethren to capture and detain whatever maiden was left. Upon learning that the maidens had the ability to develop legs, the captured Sirens were imprisoned on land, within the grand estates of the clan, all awarded by the kings that hired the young men.

Unbeknownst to the royal family, the Adam’s brought back the remaining Sirens, trapped them within their mansions as they turned them into wives, and produced future sons with them. It was both out of endearment and love for their beauty and to enhance their bloodline as they discovered that offspring between an Adam and a Siren, contained the capabilities of both worlds. Their lifespan increased, immunities against disease and poison was enhanced, their strengths and ability in the water also evolved. Though it wasn’t apparent with every single offspring, some, the rare types, were born with all the above traits, along with the ability to hypnotize their opponents with their voice, a trait that solely came from the lineage of their maternal side.

An uncommon ability, yet widely desired amongst the descendants, the Adam’s strived to produce the strongest of heirs, as they kept the Siren’s to themselves, forcing them to live and adapt to live among mortals, something that Celine, the youngest siren, did out of her own accord.

Aware of what had happened with her captured sisters, Celine was careful to avoid crossing paths with the male descendants. However, the dying number of sirens that managed to avoid getting captured, were all forced to hide in the deep trenches of the ocean, remaining out of sight as they feared the clan. Realizing that she did not desire to lurk in darkness forever, Celine migrated to the land, where she portrayed herself as a mere mortal survivor from shipwreck, met and married a kind sailor who became enamored by her beauty and sweet voice.

Within due time, Celine learned to love and care for her husband, wanting nothing more than to be by his side forever. Even though her tolerance for mortals was more temperamental and gentler compared to the ruthless behavior of her sisters, Celine never thought it possible to love one. Yet, as fate would have it, her immortality inhibited her from continuing her happiness with him in the afterlife, thus was left with no choice but to disappear and go back to the sea once her husband aged but noticed that his wife’s appearance remained the same. It was heart breaking; however, she knew it had to be done for the safety of herself and her daughters. Making a pact and telling them of their bloodline, the daughters bid farewell to their mother, and continued their lives, promising that the story of their ancestry is passed down to each generation, and if the moment comes where a daughter falls in love and marries a mortal, she too, at some point in her life, will have to disappear and live her life roaming in the sea…’

Earlier in the year, the elders of the Lee family established an agreement for the three brothers to take over the major corporation as the President, CEO and Executive Director of the affluential company that monopolized the world, establishing an impressive family background and insurmountable wealth to their name. It was always the family’s wish, contracting an agreement with the boys since childhood that they were free to choose their path up until the time would come, where each one must set aside whatever career or background they marked on their own, and take in the responsibility of continuing the direction of the family’s economical creation, to maintain the superior status of the Lee family line. It was an act to keep the business strictly within the family, avoiding the risks of outsiders in corrupting and ruining what the Lee family had created and entitled in their name.

Each day, adorning dashing suits and expensive accessories, Heeseung slowly acclimates to a lifestyle that lacked the thrill and adventure he was accustomed to by joining the Navy Seals, transferring into the SWAT force, and overseeing the division of the districts most promising officers.

Soon after he inherited his new billet of becoming the executive director of his family’s company, under the mentorship of his grandfather, the feeling of complacency coated his mood as he found himself succumbing to boredom. Taking note of his lack of enthusiasm, the senior member of the company’s presidential board did his best to enthrall his grandson in a myriad of ways; hiring the prettiest applicants to fulfill the roles of his personal secretary or filling the entire upper floor of the headquarters building with the loveliest staff members to accompany his business trips at his choosing.

Appreciating his grandfather’s efforts, Heeseung put up a front, but never exposed that his grandfather’s method didn’t work. It only provided temporary aid in relieving the mental frustrations he developed from his administrative duties as he chose one lovely woman or another each week, bedding and spoiling them rotten until they too became dull and boorish to his desire.

Day by day, Heeseung managed to acclimate to his new duties by balancing his time in the prestige gym facility at the company’s headquarters building, or by frequenting the luxury spots in town with a different beautiful woman by his side. The thrill of seeking, tracking, and capturing criminals or terrorists was hard to replace, but he somehow was able to manage. Long before he knew it, the yearning sense of that active career didn’t bug him as much, largely thanks to the amount of martial art sessions he did throughout the day, at least his senior position at the company allotted him his own schedule to do nearly whatever he wanted. It was good to be king. Within due time, he mastered the arts of Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, hell, he ever learned to dance extravagant choreographies, hiring the best in the business as tutors.

Getting by, he grew more content, putting his elder family members at peace of mind as they were overly concerned the boy would stray from his diligent duties, due to the austerity of adapting to his new environment. It all became a lot easier once he was able to fill his days with the most challenging and physical demanding hobbies, and developing friends whose families became connected to his family through contracted partnerships, expanding influence and wealth, yet remained just as humble as he did. Friends such as Jake, and Jay.

Yes, all was seemingly going well and finally he was beginning to feel content…

Until he met you…

Not only did the urge and the thrill of ‘hunting’ came back to his senses, but it was also stronger. Much stronger than it ever had been. Unsure as to why, it was clear that you weren’t a criminal or posed as a threat to anyone, if anything, you were dignified and classy, it was remarkable. Yet your physical traits, whistling voice, and royal posture went unnoticed as he couldn’t help but watched you the entire event that night. His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, some sordid, while others were genuinely romantic. It was hard to make sense of the feeling, he’s never felt it before, something just stirred inside him, and it was so powerful that he swore he stopped breathing for a moment.

Aside from being trapped in a world of your wonderous beauty, there was another matter that was left unexplained. In the parameters of your presence, there was a feeling, a sensation that ripped through his body, it was neither painful nor pleasant. Almost as if something about you was calling to him, it was a phenomenon that only could be felt whenever you were nearby, yet the moment he noticed and watched you sneak out, under the pretense that you did so undetected, he allowed you to ‘escape’ as his theory turned into a fact when he watched you exit out of the ballroom, and along with you, that odd sensation disappeared.

However, even after you departed, it did nothing to inhibit the image of your face, the swaying of your body and feminine essence as you walk, and the flowing of your hair, it all permanently remained in his mind. When he took Kourtney to his bed that night, fucking her was hard to focus on, which wasn’t an issue with all of the women he’s had in the past. Fact is, the dashing playboy became desired not just for his handsome looks and soothing voice, the rumors that spiraled from one woman to the next built his reputation of how talented he was in bed. By morning, each woman lucky enough to be plunged by the Asian Casanova became a pool of a submitted mess as they became dazed and begging for more, in which he gladly obliged, all thanks to his high stamina, yet after weeks, perhaps even months, he left a trail of broken hearts as he expressed his lack of enthusiasm with whatever beauty he had been courting at the time.

Somehow, there was something inside that gave a sense, that when it comes to you, things would be different. Much different. Almost as if his gut was telling him that you both were meant to be, that you were his soulmate, it was crazy, yet it only made sense to him as the voice in his head beading his mind, repeatedly chanting…

‘Take her.’

Writer's note: Chapter 5 is going to be posted really soon ;)

#heeseung smut #heeseung scenarios #heeseung x reader #heeseung hard thoughts #heeseung hard hours #enha x reader #enha heeseung #heeseung fanfic #yandere heeseung #yandere enhypen

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