#its true what they say you never forget your first ship

[kibbles-bits]

any voxval fics you’d recommend?

Ah, yes, voxval fics... The one ship that finally made me cave and read explicit stuff. I am now numb to everything.

Everything.

I'll only be posting completed fics. Warnings, almost all of these are explicit. A couple also have Angel, you know, suffering.

And please mind the tags.

First off is a couple of favs that I always go back for a reread:

Corrupted Love by DoveFactory (Words: 149,495)

In a moment of blind desperation to one-up Alastor, Vox puts himself in a compromising situation that leaves him worse for wear. His state triggers something in Valentino who decides to change the nature of their relationship.

The title and summary of this is so misleading I thought it was going to be a dark fic but nope. The Vees are a bunch of goobers and Valentino always wins. I would scream about this every time it updated. I love the characterizations and their banter it almost made me forget there's sex in like every chapter. Honestly I wish there was more tags referencing the character/story stuff.

Virtual Reality by passthevoxcord (Words: 7,634)

Vox gets tired of his cybernetic biology being a barrier to his sex life, so he starts a new project to fuck Valentino in VR. Val will try anything once, but he has something else in mind.

This one ends up being so sweet I want to die. passthevoxcord's other fic, Only a Shadow, drives me nuts but its a WIP and hasn't actually gotten to the voxval yet.

choke behind a smile by gloriousmonsters (Words: 19,881)

"I'm not scared by extreme, although I doubt I'll find it interesting. What is it?" Valentino's eyes narrow slyly over his smile. "If you aren't scared, why do you need a warning?" Vox has everything under control in his new business partnership with benefits. His emotions, his unfortunate desires, the little mind games they play. Even Valentino himself. When Val offers an invitation to a special show he's performing, Vox knows it's a dare, and knows he has to take it, show Val that he can't be scared or destabilized. He has no idea of how deep under his skin the show will get.

Everyone's so normal. I love this Valentino. There's another Valvel fic that has the same Valentino I also recommend called bad girls go backstage.

Great Expectations by MarenRose (Words: 11,280)

“It’s his goal. Those three simple words. If he could get to hear them once, could let the reality of their meaning and spoken existence occupy his mind for only a few indiscernible moments, then maybe, Vox could learn to see the appeal of this god forsaken holiday. He might even learn to ‘love’ it too.” Or: Vox hates Valentine’s Days. His prick of a ‘wife’ is just too damn hard to please.

This miiiight have been the fic that made me Lock In on voxval? I'm not sure. It's sweet. Alastor is hilarious.

biting keeps your words at bay by Subedarling (Words: 1,511)

“You can’t hit me,” Valentino says. He’s practically vibrating with rage. “You’re not allowed to—you can’t hit me!” Vox sneers, cruel and mocking and hopefully masking the way his heart is breaking apart inside his chest. “Baby, I can do whatever the hell I want.” A decade into their partnership, Vox and Valentino have their first and last physical fight.

This might be the only non-explicit fic in this list. I am all for Val being the worst just because he's Like That. But I will not say no to an implied tragic backstory. I read this one a lot and want to die. Can I draw this. I want to draw this. Oh my god I have free time I can totally draw this...

And my other recs:

Just For The Record by PeppermintWalrus (Words: 13,795)

Vox is thrilled about his new film enterprise with his business partner, ready to build a lucrative empire for the denizens of hell to experience true cinema, in the only genre their depraved minds desire. There’s just one problem that he finds out too late; Valentino has never filmed porn before. Vox decides that some... hands-on teaching, is necessary to save their production.

Yeah you read that right.

a putrid feeling that i've addressed by spoondrifts (Words: 5,162)

They weren’t a couple because Valentino was pathologically noncommittal and Vox simply knew better. He tried the whole romance thing with a certain radio demon a few decades back, and he’d learned his damn lesson. Hell just wasn’t the place for that sort of cutesy bullshit. Also, he was pretty sure that Valentino was straight up incapable of love, which was both par for the course for Vox’s friendships and amazingly convenient—things couldn’t get complicated if there was nothing to complicate in the first place. Or: Full Moon, Vox/Val edition.

Haha I love pain. I lied, this is the second non-explicit fic.

Little Miss Hellion by DoveFactory (Words: 10,657)

Hell’s worst married couple spends a day of family bonding at a beauty pageant doing whatever it takes to make sure their daughter takes home the crown, because failure is never an option for the Vees. Pilot AU where Vox and Valentino are married and Velvette is their adopted daughter.

It's more Vees than voxval but they're married so.

The Art of Pimping by MarenRose (Words: 9,161)

Desperate to close a deal with one of the most lucrative investors in Pride, Vox does the unthinkable and pimps out Valentino for a one-time date. What could go wrong?

Val's attitude in this one is funny and Vox. Yeah. Vox made a mistake.

You Found Me by passthevoxcord (Words: 4,338)

Long before Velvette came along, it was just them. Vox and Valentino. Valentino and Vox.

Sobbing.

Something Less Than Dishonest by daphnerunning, Galiko (Words: 33,931)

He isn’t expecting the way Valentino walks, for some reason. Maybe it’s the extra limbs. Maybe it’s the wings. Maybe it’s the heels. Vox had skipped briefly through a few of the slut’s movies, for research, and isn’t expecting the way Valentino moves in person to feel so… Different. “…You must be my four o’clock,” he says, standing and offering a hand. Oh, shit, he’s huge. Valentino towers over him, easily would without the stripper heels. Vox is not afraid of heights.

Vox is so offensive in this it loops back around to hilarious.

Red Skies and Valentino by alternatedoom (Words: 86,050)

"Vox and I are special friends, doll. Go give him a kiss," Val says to the boy.

Angel does not have a good time. But the Voxval is nice.

before you go by xoTsundoku (Words: 4,426)

Before Alastor came into their lives, Vox and Valentino were happy. Maybe they still can be.

A Farewell to Ghosts by Accidental_Ducky (Words: 37,149)

"What do you think that is," Vox demands, pointing at the new guy. Valentino turns, eyes raking greedily over the man's body. He's gorgeous, skinny in a heroin chic way with big blue eyes and blond hair that falls just so across his eyes. "Hot." "Don't fucking call the ghost hot!"

The only human AU I've liked so far. Love the character interactions. Vox and Val are hilarious.

God I hope I didn't miss any. There's definitely some good WIP ones out there.

[thelarriefics]

GEORGIAN FIC REC: Below you'll find fics that take place between 1714-1830s aka the Georgian Period of England plus other settings around that time.

📖 Lightning Strikes The Heart by @fournipplesau & @justalarryblog (130k)

Shrewsbury, 1814 Dearest reader, I present to you your new bulletin of news regarding Shrewsbury citizen's activities. My name is Lady Merriweather and I will be in charge of the updates. I will make sure you are to know all the important details of what is to happen this season. You must know that you do not know who I am and you never shall. But be forewarned; I certainly do know you. I advise you to be on your best behaviour, lest you want the whole town to be privy of your business.

📖 Come My Love Again by @softfonds (110k)

Harry Styles is handsome, clever, and rich. At least that’s what his friends say of him. He also thinks of himself as a matchmaker in Highbury, pairing people together when he finds the time. But when the arrival of a certain gentleman flips Harry’s world on its head, he starts to question everything that was once all too familiar to him, including his relationship with his good friend, Mr. Tomlinson. An Emma AU.

📖 For You, I will Fall by @larryislove (81k)

Louis is a cruel and unforgiving pirate who hunts mermaids and kills men who owe him money. He takes what he pleases and doesn't care who he leaves burning behind him. Harry is a boy who is on the run and takes a wrong turn right onto the ruthless pirate's ships, It is clear from the start Harry doesn't belong in this cruel new world, but like everything in life, the path you follow stops and everything changes. Two unlikely souls find each other.

📖 Ace of Spades by @allwaswell16 (78k)

Living as a sheltered omega in a farming village has not prepared Harry for life aboard the most notorious pirate ship to sail the Atlantic. Or Louis is a pirate, Harry is his captive, and no one is who they say they are.

📖 Si Pudiera Volar by @softfonds (69k)

When Harry’s fiancé leaves him for his cousin, he looks the other way for the sake of his happiness. He’ll do anything to forget about him, including joining a monastery. It isn’t until his cousin’s former lover, a pirate, appears that he realizes everything is not as it appears, and an honest pirate might be the only person worthy of his heart. Or, a fic loosely based on Corazón Salvaje.

📖 Lend Me Your Hand by @becomeawendybird (63k)

Society has long since decided that the soulmarks everyone is born with are entirely unfashionable. They're just another way for people of a lower class to scam their way into marrying above their station. Lord Louis Tomlinson, Viscount Loring, on the other hand, has always believed that he will find his soulmate one day. Despite preparing for a match his whole life, he is entirely unprepared for the arrival of Gemma Styles' younger brother. Harry Styles has been traveling and away from society for over a year. Coming back, he intends to spend time with his sister, and slowly reacquaint himself with life in town. He doesn't need to wait around for a soulmark to determine how his life will play out.

📖 The Earl and His Duke by @becomeawendybird (52k)

Lord Tomlinson, the elusive Duke of Leeds, has suddenly emerged in London for the first time in six years. He is believed to have been abroad. He is believed to have been widowed. He is believed to want to withdraw from society. Harry doesn’t know what is true and what isn’t. He only knows that the older brother of one of his best friends is back in town to stay, and that time has taken him from merely the most beautiful man Harry knew, to the most handsome man to ever walk the earth. A man whose gaze probably still skips over Harry like he doesn’t exist the same way it did when they were young.

📖 Graveyard of Bleeding Dreams : The Mourning by HoPotato (42k)

Being in a happy marriage, despite its turbulent start, Harry had not expected the ghoul of his past to come back to slay the dreams he had dared to start thinking about with Louis.

📖 If I Loved You Less by @allwaswell16 (36k)

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm. Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes. Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match.

📖 Our Sweetest Memorial by @softfonds (35k)

Ever since Harry was forced to break off an engagement five years ago, he resolved to never marry for the remainder of his life. Now his family must move out of his beloved Kellynch Hall to recover some of their debts that their father had accumulated. The last thing Harry expected was for the new tenants to be related to his former fiancee. And for that fiancee to come back to Somersetshire a much more wealthy man that still holds resentment for their past. A Persuasion AU.

📖 Lies & Liability by @evilovesyou (34k)

Harry Styles has only three wishes when he leaves River Dane Manor to go to Town for his first season: that his sister has rented a townhouse that will provide him as many of the comforts of the country life he has grown accustomed to as possible, that he will not trip and fall when he is presented to Her Majesty the Queen, and that he will enter matrimony out of true love, no matter how favourable the match with any which alpha may be.

📖 he was sunshine, i was midnight rain by @thelavendrhaze (30k)

or two years ago, Harry left Louis on their wedding day to follow his dreams of becoming an artist. When he returns, in hopes of reconciling, he finds he may be too late.

📖 Manners and Misjudgements by @greenblueish (21k)

or, the one where Harry is the Duke everyone loves, but Louis thinks he's too nice and decides he's going to figure out what the Duke is hiding. Spoiler: nothing, he's just nice and perhaps a bit clumsy.

📖 Howls Like A Beast (You Flower, You Feast) by @indiaalphawhiskey (16k)

France, 1754. Château de Versailles. “You don’t love me,” Louis had said, utterly blasé as he callously fractured the heart of a Harry that was just barely eighteen. “I do,” Harry had insisted pleadingly, green eyes already watering. Louis had rolled his eyes, exasperated and flippant in the way only beautiful, young boys could be when faced with the affections of a baby prince. He had run his finger down Harry’s cheek then, had forced him to look into his eyes as he delivered the final blow. “You’ll change your mind once you’ve seen more of the world,” Louis had teased, pressing a brutally delicate kiss onto Harry’s lovely, pure cheek. “Once you’ve been properly defiled.” He had whispered filthily, delighted by the gasp he heard, the frantic pink blush that had rested high on Harry’s cheeks, the power he had felt at knowing he could make the Crown Prince squirm.

📖 Autumn at Fairbridge Hall by @noellehenry-original (14k)

It is October 1817. Mr Louis Tomlinson hosts an Autumn Ball and a Fox Hunting Party at his estate Fairbridge Hall, intending to find suitable husbands for his younger sisters. A Regency AU where Louis does not want to deal with marriage proposals, a stubborn sister and unwelcome guests. The only things he wants are peace and quiet and…, the handsome Mr Styles.

📖 This Winter's Day by @becomeawendybird (14k)

Louis is Harry's stablemaster, and when he falls ill and his mother turns to Harry to help her try and find someone he can settle down with, it's only natural that Harry suggests himself.

📖 Just You, Me, and the Moon by InkedwithLove (13k)

It was the beginning of the 19th century when Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson fell in love.

📖 One Day You'll Say These Words by @allwaswell16 (11k)

A friends to lovers story set in the Regency era.

📖 Trust Me Tonight by @vintageumbroshirt (10k)

After Harry’s eighteenth birthday, his father calls him into a meeting to say that he is to be married to Prince Louis of France in just over a week. Harry is excited, of course. The arrangement is better than any he could’ve hoped for, with such a young, handsome and kind husband. There is just one issue: Harry doesn’t know what happens on his nuptials, or how to get pregnant to give Louis the heir that he needs.

📖 Ace of Hearts by @allwaswell16 (10k)

Louis Tomlinson, the alpha Duke of Yorkshire, had returned to England to stay now that he’d married and mated. But since his husband was also the omega he’d once held captive aboard his half-brother’s pirate ship, he held back from pushing Harry into parenthood. With the Ace of Spades now docked in London, Harry spent time with his friends from the crew and remained a bit oblivious to his alpha’s deepest desires. What he was aware of was his best friend’s hurt and his mother-in-law’s wish for more than friendship with her oldest friend. A sequel to Ace of Spades

[eternalera]

we need to talk about mel because out of pretty much everyone in arcane ive been seeing the most drama with her and just... god is it all so fucking stupid. so for the next few paragraphs im gonna be talking about haters of mel, 'defenders' of mel, jayvik, meljayce, and just... everything going on with that because god is it a lot and god is so much of it bullshit and just plain old toxicity. so yeah...

dang still here? alright lets begin.

so first off we're starting with with the haters and defenders of mel and honestly this is some of that dumbest fandom shit ive seen in a while? why? alright let's bring up some argument stuff that ive (and youve most likely) seen before. one of which being that her haters define her as 'problematic' and a villain which is not true well at least not more true than jinx being a villain. jinx is a worse character than mel but people hate on her because 'oh shes supposed to be portrayed as good!' when this was never the case.

in s1 mel was portrayed to be a politician and from what ive gathered she was meant to represent the upper class of piltover and the council members in general (with the exception being heimindinger). she was supposed to be a corrupt and morally ambiguous character just like what? politics, politics are not black or white all of the time. mel strived for her own goals and used people to get there. do you have to like her for this? no. you dont. in fact when i first watched s1 i hated this about her and her relationship with jayce gave me the ick (i did not ship jayvik at all during this time). but we'll get more into that later

now the 'defenders' of mel. where to begin? well first off if you dont like her you get called misogynistic, if you ship jayvik well then youre writing her out and therefore are misogynistic, if you criticize mel for any of her actions guess what you are? yeah misogynistic. they really like throwing that term around for no other reason than mel being a woman. what if she was a guy? would there be a problem with it? and what if people are still doing what they are with mel being a guy? is it still problematic? the answer is most likely no. also the problem with calling people misogynistic is that youre not attacking their argument but them as a person.

thats like if you said '1+1=2' and i went 'no youre stupid' or if i said 'the earth is round' and you told me that i was a conspiracy theorist. youre not attacking the argument but the person themselves. youve done nothing to disprove their argument, sure you called them a mean name but whats that going to do? people hardly ever even argue why thats the case and why its wrong, but they throw around the world mindlessly. i would be fine if people were saying that their argument was misogynistic and therefore they would be misogynistic for supporting it but even then just leave it.

not to mention that mel was written to be morally ambiguous in a sense (in s1 and in s2 she gets better but still is... eh on morals imo) and if you bring this up these 'defenders' will go rabid over you. calling you names and saying how youre 'part of the problem' and that you cant handle a strong female character and this is just by you criticizing them keep in mind. maybe you dont agree with their actions but that doesnt matter to them and its horrendous.

now moving onto jayvik and... yeah it has its issues, i will NOT lie and say that there isnt an unreasonable dislike for mel in certain parts of the community because believe me there is and its almost always uncalled for and their reason is lacking to say the least, once again mel is a complicated character and to put her in a box and say that she's the big bad is entirely and fully unreasonable. ive seen large parts of the fandom also hating on mel just because she 'gets in the way' of jayvik and i guess that this is true but also people do forget something really important

THIS IS ALL FANDOM

SHIP WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT CANON OR NOT ITS NOT MEANT FOR THE CREATORS BUT THE CONSUMERS AKA FANS

whether or not she 'gets in the way' of jayvik in canon (which she really does not as she encourages jayce to spend more time with viktor and viktor and jayce still have a bunch of meaningful scenes together DESPITE her) doesn't matter one bit. your fanon does not need to be canon in order for you to enjoy it. and tons of people tend to gloss past that because they just have to have things their way and then they throw a pissy fit over it. HOWEVER this is not the only drama with jayvik, once again if you ship this rabid mel enjoyers will say how youre misogynistic which... yeah it fucking sucks.

tbh everything with mel has got to be some of the most toxic shit ive ever seen in my life (not worse than mha and ochako but hopefully as a fandom we never get there). because mel enjoyers if they dont ship jayvik tend to ship meljay or jaymel or- whatever its called and since its canon to some extent (they did kinda break up) they will use that as a way to discourage jayvik shippers and once again call them names that do not make any sense to the argument that they are giving as they are just spewing out random ass insults to people who disagree with them

good job internet. proud of ya

NOW MELJAY AND OH BOY DO I HAVE SOME WORDS-

... yeah it was meant to be a morally grey thing. sorry to everyone who looked at it and was like 'omg they care for each other so cute!!!' mel manipulating jayce into a relationship to take advantage of him and get what she wanted is meant to be a bad thing and you wanna know why? CAUSE SHES A COMPLICATED CHARACTER. if i had to place her on the alignment chart id say that shes most likely lawful neutral and on a good day lawful good.

now if you still cant see the problem with mel and jayces relationship lemme do smth called the good 'ol gender swap

theres a smart girl inventing stuff and trying to change the world, a man comes along and supports her endeavor fully, throughout the way makes heavy advances towards her in order to trap her and get her to do what he wants. this happens and in order to trap her even further puts her in a position of power which she knows nothing about and therefore relying more and more on him and his knowledge. advances are made and they fuck but to him she is just an investment. of course as the relationship carries on he might start caring more and more about her but the manipulation never truly leaves

see what makes it so bad? me and my friends talked about this for hours thinking about it and finding out what made us not like the ship in s1 (keep in mind we did NOT ship jayvik only started after their divorce). we loved mel's characters, she's a strong woman a strong character with flaws and she's compelling. but she was never written to do morally good decisions 100% of the time and thats what makes arcane so good ignoring all of this is not understanding mels character or her actions

anyways thats all i have to say. if you disagree or have any other news feel free to share lol and thanks for listening to my rambles <3

[scrollonso]

Married Life - Strollini

Lance never thought he would have this.

And he means this. This, right here.

Forget the wedding night. 

He did think he would have one, or multiple ones at that. He thought it would be drunken, and he thought it would lead to a regret-filled morning. Whoever he got married to was supposed to look at him like he was a stranger come the first light of morning. Sometimes he thought it would find him on a ship, other times that he wouldn’t even recognize where he was, sometimes he thought it would happen with the whole world looking at him and smirking. Everyone knew how they felt about him, everyone decided he was undeserving of love the point where Lance had begun to believe it himself.

Once — yeah, just the one time — he thought it could be something like this. Just after Checo married Carola, he dared to think —

And then he told himself not to.

In short, Lance never thought it would come true. Yet, here he is. And here Luca is. And it’s not a ship, and everyone isn't laughing at him; instead, it’s something he can call his. 

Some body he can call his, not that Lance thinks Luca could ever be owned by anybody, or be anything but his own. Luca is strong, he's determined, he's independent, Lance is certain he's perfect.

Still, when the two of them walk into their now shared house, leaving the alcohol and energy of the afterparty at the venue, a wave of joy engulfs Lance to the point where he feels like crying. 

They stand — Lance and Luca — side by side. They nudge their door open and exchange a small smile when it keeps itself steady in its hinges. 

Luca's hand sneaks into Lance's, and God, it’s his right. Their wedding bands might be different, Lance's silver instead of gold, Luca insisted — "We don't need to match, caro." "You're stunning in silver." — but the metal still chills Lance's skin where they meet. It gives Lance a full-body shiver, like that ting of something cold against his warmth is what really drives this home.

Like, wow, fuck, he’s married. To the love of his fucking life, nonetheless. Jesus. Okay. Wow. This is as real as it gets. 

Seconds tick by and they’re still standing there — Luca spooks when they hear Wendy and her babies barking at eachother from the livingroom. 

“Right,” Lance says in reaction like he’s trying to convince himself that the yaps spurred him into action. 

Luca clears his throat. “Did you know, I had to carry Marta back to her table after her heel broke?” Marta? Really? That was the first thing he thought of to spark up a conversation with his new husband.

“That’s funny,” Lance comments dryly, “and I’d love to discuss it later, but maybe don’t talk about your ex five minutes after saying I do .” He considers for a beat. “Unless you were offering?”

Luca turns to him and looks him up and down. “Yeah, I could carry you.”

That makes them both burst into laughter and suddenly it’s easy to take that one extra step. Together, they tumble into their right-now-home. From there, it doesn’t take even take that much to end up on the bed — neither of them is tipsy. Lance didn’t even have a sip of anything, that’s how much he wanted to remember every single little detail of this and burn it into his memory forever, well, just in case, not that he thinks he’ll need it. But they’re married, for fuck’s sake. They’re allowed to tumble and trip and fall on top of each other. 

All of a sudden, Luca's face grows serious. Moonlight being the only source of light, he looks just like he did such a long time ago, with an oxford blur piece of silk in his hand. About to twirl Lance's world and twist it until it’s inside out, upside down. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Luca says reverently, and Lance still can’t believe that somebody should speak to him like this. Like somebody knows that he needs to hear it; like somebody recognizes him for it. 

Giggles die in Lance's mouth, too, and he subconsciously replaces it with a soft, almost unwilling smirk. No idea what to say, though.

Sheepishly, he looks down — his fingers sneak their way onto Luca's thigh. The skin underneath his pants is hot and warms Lance's palm within seconds. “You too,” he says. “You looked beautiful today, Luca. Look beautiful every day, really.”

“Oh, shush,”  Luca urges. “Hey, kiss me instead.”

Lance's smile grows a bit. “Maybe I will if you call me beautiful again.”

“Maybe I will if you kiss me. Mon beau. ”

Palm still on Luca's thigh, Lance leans in. Not like he can help it, anyway. He’s been pulled into Luca's orbit from the moment he heard his name all those years ago, and he’s spent the rest of it leaning in like this, one way or another. And if he’s not the one doing the leaning, it’s Luca chasing it and trying to pull it back, and on and on and on they go like this, always searching for the other’s closeness. 

So, anyway. Wow. First married kiss. 

Tastes like all the others and sparks a very specific hurt down in Lance's stomach just like always, but it’s different all the same.

Don’t get him wrong.

They’ve kissed plenty, and fucked just as much. There’s probably not an inch of the Italian's body that Lance hasn't spent hours worshipping.

But hey, first married kiss. That shit somehow does feel different, anyway.

After a moment of lips on lips, Lance's fingers dig further into Luca's thigh and he deepens the kiss; placing his mouth just so, running his tongue slowly along Luca's bottom lip and then in. 

Luca sighs into it and that’s another full body shiver for Lance. Because yeah, no matter how many times they’ve done this, it takes a touch. It takes a well-placed hand, or their bodies resting against each other, and Lance's there. Lance's ready to go. 

When their tongues finally meet and slide, Lance reciprocates Luca's sigh with a gentle moan. 

“Mhm,” Luca hums in approval and catches Lance's lip between his teeth. And Luxa is so good at this — just exceptional at finding the perfect balance between pleasure and pain, teeth sharp like a jackal, a hint of danger, then retreat before he draws blood. It drives Lance crazy every single fucking time.

Almost on its own, his hand slowly snakes up Luca's thigh until it reaches the warm spot by his crotch. He squeezes and Luca squirms, moves into Lance like he’s a tidal wave. 

“Yeah?” Lance whispers, briefly breaking the kiss.

“Oh, yeah.” Luca's fingers curl behind Lance's neck and roughly bring him back in. His tongue goes into Lance's mouth in one smooth and languid motion and God, if they weren’t sitting. Lance's knees would fucking buckle. 

And then, well, fuck — Luca's right hand, the wedding band now warm from the friction, moves. From the nape of Lance's neck, it finds its way towards the front until it covers Lance's throat, and rests there. Doesn’t squeeze, doesn’t put any pressure. But when Luca breaks the kiss on purpose and Lance chases it, that hand stays there still, and Lance feels it now when he gulps. The wave of pleasure richochets down his body and makes his cock twitch. 

“Luca,” he says pleadingly and the hand disappears; runs down his chest instead.

“Yes, piccolo?” Luca asks innocently. 

Lance gulps again. He realizes that his entire body is tense like a bowstring and it’s throbbing with it, begging to be snapped.

“Undress for me, please,” Luca asks.

Luca stands up and starts discarding his clothes item by item. In the end, all he’s left with is his own silver ring, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel like he was dressed enough. The band is, like, somehow the only thing he needs. 

When he sits back down, the linen of their bedding brushing against his skin ever so slightly and making him even hotter and hornier, Luca takes his turn. 

It’s then, as Lance's eyes rake down his freshly naked body, lingering around his stomach, that it truly sets in that this is his, Luca is his forever.

Lance doesn’t need to be told anything now. He leans back and spreads his legs. It’s a desperate invitation and he throws his head back when Luca takes it and his body slides between Lance's thighs. Presses down. Cock against cock, Lance bites back a whimper. 

Luca's mouth is everywhere. 

He leaves a trail of kisses, each one saying mine , starting on Lance's jaw and travelling down. He focuses on his left ribs for a moment, kissing each letter of his tattoo. המזל מעדיף את האמיצים. If it's true, if fortune truly favours the bold then Lance was convinced he had to have been a war hero in his past life because he wasn't getting any richer than this. He then sucks on his hip, leaving a glistening red flower in bloom, and then without warning, he takes Lance in his mouth. 

Just the tip, as if to make Lance see double.

“Fuck,” Lance breathes and his hand is in his own hair, tugging. When Luca's tongue runs the length of the shaft up and down, it’s enough to send Lance writhing. “ Fuck, Luca.”

Luca… leaves. He abandons the Canadians throbbing cock and goes back up, widening the garden with more lovebites on his way. Circling Lance's nipple with his tongue and pinching the other with his now-experienced fingers. With a start, Luca realizes that Lance knows his body inside and out. He knows exactly what to do and which places to tease to drive Lance mad. 

Actually, he knows what will get him a moan, and what will get him a nice onslought of begging, and what will get an orgasm out of Lance, and what will hurt and what will send him into pleasure like he’d never experienced before. Lance's just another book in Luca's library and he can read him any time he pleases. He can do it with his fingers, with his perfect dick, fuck , sometimes just with a well-aimed look. 

Because damn if Lance's not the only one who can say a million things with his eyes. 

“Please ,” Lance huffs out when he can’t take the teasing anymore. He knows, anyway, that this is what Luca's been waiting for. Waiting for Lance to be polite, to use his manners and ask nicely.

Luca's mouth is wet and swollen from kissing and biting, and when he smiles he looks pretty like the devil. 

Maybe to prove a point, or maybe because Lance can read him just as well, Luxa does as Luca said he would.

In one swift motion, no whiff of awkward, he turns them around and positions Lance like he’s just a lightweight until he’s straddling Luca's hips. 

Oh , Lance thinks. Okay. 

Lance slicks his palm with his saliva and closes it around Luca's cock. He pumps it experimentally, mere inches from his own, and he has to lean forward on his free hand when he imagines that that dick’s going to slide into him any moment now and fill him up so good — so good at this angle that he just might scream.

“You do things to me, amour,” he whispers and Luca moans, hips bucking. “Drive me crazy.”

“Have I said,” Luca breathes out in between Lance's pumps, “that you look beautiful?”

Oh, you bastard, you know exactly what to say, don’t you, but - “Just wait until I have you inside me,” he says without remorse, without shame, “I always look my best on your cock, mon beau.”

Luca throws his head back into the pillow and swallows dry. No argument there from his side. 

“Can I?”

“Five minutes ago was too late, Lance,” Luca tells him. “Yes.”

Slowly, carefully, Lance lowers himself onto Luca's slick cock. He gasps as he does every time but it’s a sigh of relief, too. 

Luca's fingers dig into Lance's hips. “So perfect for me, Lancino.”

Lance's breathing never evens as he sits down fully, both palms splayed over Luca's chest. “You for me,” he insists with his eyes closed.

They kiss again, but it’s awkward and sloppy because Luca is dying to move and Lance is taking his sweet fucking time. But then, oh God, it’s worth it, because when he finally rolls his hips, the moan that escapes Luca is heavenly. It is genuinely the best sound Lance has ever heard. 

“Do that again,” Luca pleads and somehow, his fingers dig even deeper — enough to leave bruises. 

Lance doesn’t say anything to that — just does as he’s told, because he’s good at that, but only when it’s Luca doing the asking. Except this time he sits up and then he rolls back and forward again, and again, and again, and again. With every movement, the tip of Luca's cock hits his belly and fuck , if he could — He starts moving faster. 

Their moans create their own orchestra, layered over each other like some sort of weird operatic piece of genius, and Lance loses himself in it.

Luca feels perfect inside of him, somehow always better than he imagines it will be, even though he’s been fucked by him time and time again; fucked tenderly and fucked roughly and fucked over and over again until he was laying in his own come, and, yeah. You get the fucking gist. This is not his first rodeo, but it might as well be.

“Come here,” Luca commands now and Lance goes, he'd go anywhere for Luca. “Touch yourself for me.”

Lance stills on his knees, closing his eyes and wrapping his fingers around his cock. Luca holds him, yeah, there will definitely be bruises on Lance's hips, no doubt about it, and as he has Lance suspended, he starts thrusting. He drives into Lance and shit, Lance's muscles are already starting to spasm and protest. 

“Luca,” he says to his husband. It’s a curse, a plea, a question. 

“Yes,” Lance responds softly, lips littering the Canadians skin with kisses, never letting them get too far. Just being inside Lance wasn't enough. “You can come,” he confirms, “for me.”

“Fuck, yes , Luca,” Lance cries and spurts all over Luca's stomach, body clenching; dizzy, spent. He knows Luca is watching and he gives him a show as much as he can, jerking himself through it and letting himself be fucked through it — skin sweaty, small tattoos stretching over his muscles, the whole circus. But when he’s done, his body furls down on top of Luca's.

“Hold on, I’m - hold on, please -”

If Luca wasn’t holding him, Lance wouldn't be able to. But Luca does — his arms wrap around Lance's middle like vines and he pulls him close, fucking him still; erratic, fast, so good .

Lance is biting into Luca's shoulder when Luca grunts, low and deep, and comes. He’s buried so deep inside Lance it’s almost impossible and yet Lance is proud , and happy, and if Luca turned him around and decided to go again without ever pulling out, he would fucking take it.

Take it like a champ. Like the good boy he is for Luca.

But Luca doesn’t do that — instead, they hold each other and they both shiver in the aftermath. Calm settles over the dark room, and the moon seems to have gone behind a cloud. There’s nothing but their rapid breathing, and even that is slowly calming down. 

Eventually, Luca pulls out — drawing a sharp inhale out of Lance who’s still sensitive. They settle back, though, legs entwined, holding on.

“Good?” Luca asks eventually. 

Lance nuzzles Luca's neck with the tip of his nose. “Mhm,” he laughs. “Really good.”

“So this is married life, huh?”

“It’s not that different from yesterday,” Lance replies, fingers rubbing circles into Luca's skin. He’s not even pretending to not be chuffed about it.

Lucq only gives a small laugh in return. 

Lance quiets. He wonders, secretly, if Luca's thinking of his previous engagement. There’s stil a part of him — and some days, he feels real guilty about it — that fears comparison. Even now, after what they just did, Lance finds himself thinking about whether it feels in any way the same as it had with Marta. His brain says no, but his heart pumps just a bit faster for it, anyway.

“I can hear you thinking,” Luca murmurs. “Care to share?”

Lance bites his lip. He’s been better about this, he knows, but… Fuck.

“I guess I just always thought my wedding night would be… different. In a bad way,” he adds quickly. “Like it would be a drunk night kinda thing and in the morning, they’d just look at me like… like they didn’t really mean it.”

Lance sighs. “When I proposed to Marta — okay if I mention my ex fianceè? Now that you're my husband.” Lance nods against Luca's shoulder. “Okay. Well. When I was engaged to Marta, it felt like I was a balloon. And somebody tied me to a chair. It was a lovely chair! But it’s no life when you’re tied to a chair, is it?”

“Suppose not. Maybe if you were tied to a bird, or a boat.”

“Right,” Luca chuckles, “but this doesn’t feel that way, Lancino. I love this. I love us . Listen.” Luca's forefinger nudges Lance's chin up until they’re looking at each other. “I am never, ever going to look at you like that.”

“Good. Cause neither am I.” Another beat in Lance's chest, but steadier, calmer. “So come the first light of morning and you see me here with a wedding ring and all, what will you think?”

There’s a glint in Luca's eyes that’s almost mischievous. “That we should go to sleep,” he says easily.

“Oh? I’m about ready to take a nap now , mate. That was a workout.”

“Nope.” Luca sits up on the bed and tugs at Lance's arm. “Let’s go skinny dipping. And jump over fires. Aaaand have sex again. And let’s do something stupid. It’s our wedding night. ”

Well, okay, it doesn’t take a lot to get Lance hyped for doing something stupid. “I could have Marco's weird friends pierce my nipples or something! Or we could get matching tattoos.”

“Yes,” Luca agrees, huffing out another laugh. He presses a sloppy, smacky kiss on Lance's mouth. “But whatever stupid thing we do, Lance. Come the first light of morning? I’m just going to think that this is it. And we’re just going to be us.”

Yeah. 

Lance never thought he would have this. 

But he does, and will, for the rest of their lives, until death do them apart or whatever the fuck else. 

[not-goldy]

Letter lyrics hitting me hard in the face right now & make even more sense now. "Don't worry, just stay by my side. We don’t know what the future holds. And that’s scary and makes us afraid, But don’t forget that we’re always together." Jikook have probably had this enlistment together thought out for a long time. They're scared, but they know they have each other, even in their darkest days. My blood pressure cannot handle this.

Jikook would rather serve together, endure all the challenges & all the risks, then to be without EO. I don't have words, honestly. The first few weeks of training are the hardest. The training & adjustment to military life/schedule. It takes a toll on you mentally & Jikook chose EO to go through it with. They had options to do alone or even do with Tae, both of them did, but they chose EO. They did it to rely on EO for comfort And shippers who are mad, wanna downplay their decision & make excuses cause its not your ship that you were begging to enlist together. Sorry You can't. No excuses this time. If this is true & it really does happen I think a lot of people will slowly open their eyes to Jikook. This isn't something small, its a big life decision they made together, to be together, to serve together, even if its only for the first few weeks in the beginning (which are the hardest). They wanna get through the hard time together. Its either gonna break them having to watch each other go through all that horrendous stuff both mentally and physically or its gonna make them stronger or both. Jk's biggest challenge will be trying to not intervene. We see how Jk flinches if JM jumps up and sometimes jumps up with him on instinct. Resisting the urge to take over for JM if something is too hard, something Jk has done for years, but they'll get through it. They're professionals & knows the other can handle themselves.

Also, saying Jkk are making this out to be a honeymoon. FUCK YOU. This is what y'all were doing for months about your own ship and wanting them to enlist. Vmin shippers, minimoni shippers, Tkk & YM shippers. Wanna see the receipts, cause I got them. Actually, we crying, throwing up and fucking terrified for Jikook, even if they do go together. Unlike you all, we support two queer men who are going into an extremely homophobic environment with an already target on their back. Shame on you for not even mustering up enough love in your heart to support them the way deserve. You will be the ones to burn and rot and hell, not us. Your souls will never see heaven. I promise you. Just know Jikook's love, whatever type of love it is, outweighs your hate and there is nothing you can do about it.

Listen.... you are talking bout Jimin's lyrics.

This is Jungkook:

we'll survive the test of time

They can't deny our love

They can't divide us, we'll survive the test of time

I promise I'll be right here

Standing next to you

Standing in the fire next to you, oh

You know it's deeper than the rain

It's deeper than the pain

When it's deep like DNA

Something they can't take away, ayy

Take-take-take-take-take-take off

golden like the sun and the moon (you already know)

YES JUNGKOOK WE KNOW KILL US WITH THE SHIP STREET PARLANCE 💜 FINISH US MORTAL KOMBAT STYLE

HOLD MY WIG ANON

You don started something

Now I gotta cook. Hold on

[fcb4]

Yesterday I had the delight of weaving together a sermon on a few passages out of the first chapter of John and The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” -John 1:5,9

The depth of analysis in this portion of the story is profound when looked at through an apologetics lens regarding living in a culture that argues this way. If you wrestle with the faith and are familiar with the lines of reasoning from "new Atheists", deconstructionists and their arguments this dialogue will not sound new. 

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

We've been there, too," snapped Jill. She was very angry because she could feel enchantment getting hold of her every moment. But of course the very fact that she could still feel it, showed that it had not yet fully worked.

"And thou art Queen of Narnia too, I doubt not, pretty one," said the Witch in the same coaxing, half-mocking tone.

"I'm nothing of the sort," said Jill, stamping her foot. "We come from another world."

"Why, this is a prettier game than the other," said the Witch. "Tell us, little maid, where is this other world? What ships and chariots go between it and ours?"

Of course a lot of things darted into Jill's head at once: Experiment House, Adela Pennyfather, her own home, radio-sets, cinemas, cars, aeroplanes, ration-books, queues. But they seemed dim and far away. (Thrum—thrum—thrum—went the strings of the Witch's instrument.) Jill couldn't remember the names of the things in our world. And this time it didn't come into her head that she was being enchanted, for now the magic was in its full strength; and of course, the more enchanted you get, the more certain you feel that you are not enchanted at all. She found herself saying (and at the moment it was a relief to say):

"No. I suppose that other world must be all a dream."

"Yes. It is all a dream," said the Witch, always thrumming.

"Yes, all a dream," said Jill.

"There never was such a world," said the Witch.

"No," said Jill and Scrubb, "never was such a world."

"There never was any world but mine," said the Witch.

"There never was any world but yours," said they.

Puddleglum was still fighting hard. "I don't know rightly what you all mean by a world," he said, talking like a man who hasn't enough air. "But you can play that fiddle till your fingers drop off, and still you won't make me forget Narnia; and the whole Overworld too. We'll never see it again, I shouldn't wonder. You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this, for all I know. Nothing more likely. But I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness."

Puddleglum's words had a very rousing effect. The other three all breathed again and looked at one another like people newly awaked.

"Why, there it is!" cried the Prince. "Of course! The blessing of Aslan upon this honest marsh-wiggle. We have all been dreaming, these last few minutes. How could we have forgotten it? Of course we've all seen the sun."

"By Jove, so we have!" said Scrubb. "Good for you, Puddleglum! You're the only one of us with any sense, I do believe."

Then came the Witch's voice, cooing softly like the voice of a wood-pigeon from the high elms in an old garden at three o'clock in the middle of a sleepy, summer afternoon; and it said:

"What is this sun that you all speak of? Do you mean anything by the word?"

"Yes, we jolly well do," said Scrubb.

"Can you tell me what it's like?" asked the Witch (thrum, thrum, thrum, went the strings).

"Please it your Grace," said the Prince, very coldly and politely. "You see that lamp. It is round and yellow and gives light to the whole room; and hangeth moreover from the roof. Now that thing which we call the sun is like the lamp, only far greater and brighter. It giveth light to the whole Overworld and hangeth in the sky."

"Hangeth from what, my lord?" asked the Witch; and then, while they were all still thinking how to answer her, she added, with another of her soft, silver laughs: "You see? When you try to think out clearly what this sun must be, you cannot tell me. You can only tell me it is like the lamp. Your sun is a dream; and there is nothing in that dream that was not copied from the lamp. The lamp is the real thing; the sun is but a tale, a children's story."

"Yes, I see now," said Jill in a heavy, hopeless tone. "It must be so." And while she said this, it seemed to her to be very good sense.

Slowly and gravely the Witch repeated, "There is no sun." And they all said nothing. She repeated, in a softer and deeper voice. "There is no sun." After a pause, and after a struggle in their minds, all four of them said together. "You are right. There is no sun." It was such a relief to give in and say it.

"There never was a sun," said the Witch.

"No. There never was a sun," said the Prince, and the Marsh-wiggle, and the children.

For the last few minutes Jill had been feeling that there was something she must remember at all costs. And now she did. But it was dreadfully hard to say it. She felt as if huge weights were laid on her lips. At last, with an effort that seemed to take all the good out of her, she said:

"There's Aslan."

"Aslan?" said the Witch, quickening ever so slightly the pace of her thrumming. "What a pretty name! What does it mean?"

"He is the great Lion who called us out of our own world," said Scrubb, "and sent us into this to find Prince Rilian."

"What is a lion?" asked the Witch.

"Oh, hang it all!" said Scrubb. "Don't you know? How can we describe it to her? Have you ever seen a cat?"

"Surely," said the Queen. "I love cats."

"Well, a lion is a little bit—only a little bit, mind you—like a huge cat—with a mane. At least, it's not like a horse's mane, you know, it's more like a judge's wig. And it's yellow. And terrifically strong."

The Witch shook her head. "I see," she said, "that we should do no better with your lion, as you call it, than we did with your sun. You have seen lamps, and so you imagined a bigger and better lamp and called it the sun. You've seen cats, and now you want a bigger and better cat, and it's to be called a lion. Well, 'tis a pretty make-believe, though, to say truth, it would suit you all better if you were younger. And look how you can put nothing into your make-believe without copying it from the real world, this world of mine, which is the only world. But even you children are too old for such play. As for you, my lord Prince, that art a man full grown, fie upon you! Are you not ashamed of such toys? Come, all of you. Put away these childish tricks. I have work for you all in the real world. There is no Narnia, no Overworld, no sky, no sun, no Aslan. And now, to bed all. And let us begin a wiser life to-morrow. But first, to bed; to sleep; deep sleep, soft pillows, sleep without foolish dreams."

[altschmerzes]

@jamiesfootball because you asked, here's a random assortment of clips of prose that are stuck in my brain, from the highlights sections of various books i've read on my kindle, some short, some longer, some profound, some that just got stuck in the gears:

Everyone's judgement was impaired. Nothing said or done now could be trusted. But somehow it wouldn't be forgotten or forgiven.

the ritual, adam neville

"Real magic can never be made by offering up someone else's liver. You must tear out your own, and not expect to get it back. The true witches know that."

the last unicorn, peter s beagle

The unicorn was weary of human beings. Watching her companions as they slept, seeing the shadows of their dreams scurry over their faces, she would feel herself bending under the heaviness of knowing their names.

the last unicorn, peter s beagle

But at the same moment, Prince Lír said, "No." The word escaped him as suddenly as a sneeze, emerging in a questioning squeak - the voice of a silly young man mortally embarrassed by a rich and terrible gift. "No," he repeated, and this time the word tolled in another voice, a king's voice; not Haggard, but a king whose grief was not for what he did not have, but for what he could not give.

the last unicorn, peter s beagle (cutting myself off here or i'd just include half the book) (some more under the cut)

"You're a knight now, Kay. You're one of them. They can't touch you, and they'll listen to you. I want you to be my go-between. You're my consiliarius, man. I trust you." Arthur leans over, grasps Kay's arm. Pulls him to himself, until their foreheads touch. "I love you, Kay. You know that, right?" "I love you too, Arthur." "We're brothers, Kay!" "Yes," Kay says. "Brothers." Arthur smiles. And Kay knows, at that moment, that he's lost him. That the Arthur he knew is gone forever, had perhaps never existed in the first place. This new Arthur is nobody's friend, and nobody's brother. He is alone.

by force alone, lavie tidhar

“This isn’t how the story’s written. There’s no happy ending for kings. They become by beating or killing the competition, then they rule, then…” He makes a chopping motion. “Another upstart comes along. And he’s young, and he’s hungry, and he’s just a little bit more vicious and he’s not scared to die. The king is dead. Long live the king.”

by force alone, lavie tidhar

The astonishing thing was how little appreciation existed for what all this meant; for what Tomahawk could do. As if it had not penetrated human understanding that each of them could transport a 200-kiloton nuclear warhead and that ships carried them by the score; the circumstance scarcely realized that Tomahawk embodied a revolution not just in seapower but in warfare itself, to the extent one could fairly state that it made little difference any longer what happened to land weapons, whether they were banned or not. It is a hard thing to say but the fact was this: All of the talk concerning the restriction or elimination of lad-based missiles constituted a historic charade, terrible in its meaning, its illusion. If the last one of these had been removed by such negotiations, nothing would have changed. It was almost as though people were being lulled into forgetting that there existed something called the sea: and that there are many seas, indeed that they occupy seven-tenths of the planet, and that there is no spot of land that cannot be reached by an object launched from some sea by a ship. People either did not know or could not grasp the fact that a single ship, such as ours, could fairly well exterminate a continent. And there were many ships.

the last ship, william brinkley

I read the letters the ship's blinker sent back in white bickerings across the water BOATS UNDERWAY SILVA BACK WITH FINE CATCH ENOUGH FOR ALL HANDS SILVA SAYS FISH AS GOOD AS CAPE COD SO MUST BE SOMETHING SINCE SILVA SAYS THAT'S WHERE GOD WAS BORN

the last ship, william brinkley

All witches are selfish, the Queen had said. But Tiffany's Third Thoughts said: Then turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours! Make other lives and dreams and hopes yours! Protect Them! Save Them! Bring them into the sheepfold! Walk the gale for them! Keep away the wolf! My dreams! My brother! My family! My land! My world! How dare you try to take these things, because they are mine! I have a duty!

the wee free men, terry pratchett

[haecien]

I found this cool prompt generator for ships! If ya want the link its here ;D

8/13

Angst, hurt comfort, tiniest of fluff (FUCK YOU GENERATOR.) , Non-idol AU, happy ending (i promise )

Warnings: Cursing, attempted kidnapping, mentions of hitting & blood, reader was kinda being a bitch HELP

Link to the masterlist

So maybe I DID go overboard with hao, its hao what you'd expect

Chapter playlist (to set the mood:D )

Word count- Estimated 2k-3k (read more under the cut)

Xu Minghao/Seo Myungho ; Everlasting promises

(LMAO IGNORE THAT IT SAYS "you has" I forgot to change it to y/n)

" Happy Birthday my love! " Minghao said as he gave you a cake that was beautifully decorated, " Haooo! You've really outdone yourself with this cake, It's absolutely amazing! "

He got a bit flustered from the complement " Only the best for My Love. But I did get a little bit of help from the guys... but I did majority of the work! "

You pecked his cheek " Non the less you did a perfect job, what would I do without my amazing boyfriend. " Minghao couldn't help but smile like an idiot, he loves you dearly. You both had a rough first meeting, who would have known you both would be whipped for each other?

" C'mon, go blow out your candles. And make a wish~ " He said as he placed down the cake on the table and stood behind you, you blew out the candles. " I know I'm not suppose to tell you this but, Hao can you make my wish come true? "

" How exactly? " you looked at him deeply in the eyes " Promise me you'll never forget me, and I'll never forget you. No matter where we may go I'll always be with you. " he was struck by your words, " And i'll always be with you. Promise. " he cupped your cheeks as he kissed you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even after all of that, after everything he said, you still felt empty. Sure sometimes he'd say I love you but, he felt very distant after a while.

You were talking to Dino, Jun and Seungkwan. You guys were just catching up, maybe you just slipped a few things of minghao, but it really didn't escalate much. You had this weird feeling like they were uneasy with you when you mentioned him.

" Y/n, we need to tell you something. " Dino spoke up, his tone was serious and very stern. " You know, In highschool. Hao he, he just got with you to prove to us he could actually get a partner... We also betted money that it could last for a year. "

suddenly, it felt like a part of you just left. Is this why he's so distant now a days?

you excused yourself that you had to go saying shit like " Oh I left my iron on " something like that, you rushed back to your house opening the door and collapsing on your bed. You couldn't help but just cry.

It was the best relationship I've ever had. why did you leave so suddenly? It also made you fucking sick how he pretended to care, why was he doing this, this was all an attempt to make him look cool.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" My love why so sulky? " Minghao said as he hugged you from behind, " Please cut the act Minghao. "

Minghao let go of you and backed up a bit. " What do you mean? " he said he sounded confused.

" I know about the bet you made in highschool, you know the one that happend when we started dating. " you said looking at him dead in the eyes, you were hurt just seeing him now knowing the truth

He stumbled over his words " What? Oh. Love, that was a long time ago ple- "

" I used to like you a lot back then, but now knowing what you did it seems like everything was fake. You've been distant lately, did I ask too much from you? Huh, fuck foolish of me thinking you've actually liked me. " tears started to swell your eyes, this is painful. You took your stuff and stormed out of his house

I had made so many plans for our future, what happend to all of that? That love was something I never felt something like that, I wonder if ill ever find a love like that again.

Whenever I would be down, I'd go back to him. No, don't you fucking dare. I am not okay, I thought we were suppose to be together.

....

This ringing in my head, it hurts. I feel dizzy, I want to close my eyes. But I feel like I'm in danger, who was this?

Who was this taking me away?

I'm too weak to move, everything hurts.

The person is hitting my head with something heavy, my head feels very dizzy, I could feel the blood dripping down from my head.

I'll just rest for a bit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minghaos pov:

I stood there, shit I messed up big time. They felt unhappy, why didn't I listen?

Please, I did love you a lot. I promise, I tried to let go of what I did in the past.

I've changed I swear. I love you too much that my heart aches for you, this "bet" wasn't ment to last long, but you've taken my heart. And now I can't let you go.

My heart aches for you, please come back.

I walked out trying to find you. Shit, why is it raining? Why is it only my face that is getting hit, I can't stop it.

I'm I crying?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I searched for you, hours had passed by. Where was my love?

" Shit. " I whispered under my breath as I ran towards your body.

" Fuck, no. No, I can not loose you. " I placed your head into my arms, no. Please I can live with you being separated from me but, I can not handle being separated from you for more than an eternity.

I rushed you to the nearest hospital, luckly it was not that far away from us. Please stay with me my love.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minghao waited paitently by your side, " please I'm so sorry. I don't care if you decide not to forgive me, ill still love you endlessly. " He repeated these words in his head, he fucked up big time.

" Oh y/n, please be okay, please. " he grabbed your hand and squeezed it, you lost a lot of blood. You hated him but he still loved you.

The doctor entered your room, " Hello, I'm here to tell you Y/n L/n's results. Are you... Xu Minghao? I need to know your relationship with the patient. "

" I'm... - " he hesitated for a bit " I'm there boyfriend. " the doctor nodded and got closer to your bed.

" So, the paitent did loose a lot of blood. But luckly they'll still be fine, but I think you'll be needing to stay here for, around a week. "

" A week? Oh. I should go and get my things prepared... " Minghao stood up " Very well, ill take my leave. " the doctor exited the room.

" Oh what I'm I going to do with you my love. " he pecked your cheek. " I'll be back. "

Minghao was willing to wait for you until you woke up, but. He still didn't know how to properly apologize to you, he knew that he loved you. He knew that

He just didn't know how to express that into words.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minghao stayed by your side, just as he promised on your birthday.

Endless hours have turned into days, and those days turned into weeks. Minghao was getting worried, whenever you would ever so slightly twitch your fingers, or moved the slightest bit he'd get excited thinking you were awake.

But, you never did. Minghao would write little journal entries in a small notebook he recently bought, you know just to keep track.

Slowly but surely, minghao was starting to doubt if you'd even wake up. He took out his phone and started to look at his gallery.

All his photos of you and him, those random pictures of you doing the most stupid shit. Fuck, he missed you a lot. Looking back on these memories made him teary eyed.

Suddenly minghao heart a sound from you, a slight grunt. Oh shit, were you waking up?

Its been approximately 3 months since the accident. Minghao couldn't help but run over to you as fast as he can, " Love? Are you there. I know you're upset, but please just let me ex- "

" Who, are you? " you said looking confused. Shit, who was this man? Why was he here.

" ... What? " Minghao's heart sank. So deep, this was just painful, but. Atleast you don't remember how much you hurted because of him, but all your memories together. They were all gone?

" Y/n it's me, come on. Stop playing with me, its me. Minghao! " he stood there for a bit, trying his best to hold back his tears. " I'm, I'm terribly sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. "

Minghao sighed in defeat, how was he going to make you fall in love with him again? He didn't want to loose you again, Minghao called in the doctor in for help

Unfortunately they couldn't do much, the damage that happend to the brain couldn't be fix. But the plus side was you could be discharged in a few days... yay?

" So.. " you looked at minghao " What, were you to me? " Minghao looked at the ground and took a deep sigh, " Well. You were my partner and I was your lovely boyfriend " he said laughing a bit.

" Wow, well aren't you so lovely? " Hearing that again for the first time in awhile made his heart flutter, " Pft, ofcourse I am. You chose me to be your boyfriend anyways... " Minghaos tone was, sad. Who wouldn't be in a situation like this?

" .... How was our relationship? How long were we a thing? " you asked curiously.

" It was the most amazing relationship I've ever had, Haha. You fell for my charm and I fell for your beautiful personality, I'm sorry that I wasn't there to protect you. " you reassured him that it was okay, " Please, I'm sure it wasn't your fault anyways! "

You said as you gave a bright smile to him, you'd always smile for him whenever he was upset. Made him even more happier.

He couldn't help but smile at you.

" Here, you can't remember all of this happening but. We took these on the day of your birthday. "

Minghao took out a picture of you too both eating cake, minghao had placed frosting on your face as a joke but you ofcourse had to hit him back.

At the end both of your faces were covered in frosting. Those were good times, " We look funny here. " you said giggling a bit at yourself.

" We do, hehe. Look at you, you're face is covered entirely with frosting. "

" Yours too! " you lightly hitted him while laughing. " Can you show me more pictures? We look like we're having so much fun hehe. "

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minghao was trying his best to help you remember him, he was hesitant with you a bit. Usually he'd call you pet names but he wasn't so sure if you were okay with it.

You'd look at old pictures on your phone, trying your very best to remember everything. You don't even remember how much he hurted you,

You forgotten what type of person minghao was, sure he was attractive but. Was he worth just getting back into a relationship with?

You knew deep down he was still hurting that his love had forgotten everything about him.

You tried your best to be attentive to whenever he'd randomly go on and ramble about how your relationship was.

He looked so excited whenever you asked questions, his eyes practically lit up due to his excitement.

Surprisingly, you remember majority of your childhood but your highschool days were blurry. Sure you remembered your friends, and some of the guys too but. Suprisngly minghao never appeared in your memories.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were chilling in your room, minghao wasn't around since he was out with his friends for a little get together. So you were left alone in your house

You felt as if, there was something in your room that was important. But, what was it? You got up and fucking destroyed your room, items were everywhere.

You had to find this "thing" , maybe it could help you with your memory who knows.

After minutes and minutes of searching, you found a box that was hidden at a secret compartment under your bed. It felt heavy, you slightly shook the box, jeez. There was a lot of stuff in the box.

You sat down on your bed with the box on your lap, on the lid it said " Everlasting promises. " , weird name.

You opened the box.

(This video contains glitches)

I was filled with both rage and sorrow. Where was minghao? You wanted to beat him up and apologize for everything.

Hes been so sweet to you for the past few weeks. Was his feelings actually real?.. was I in the wrong.. ?

You began to cry, looking at the pictures that were already wet due to your tears. God, you were such a bitch to him. You didn't even let him explain, yet he still blamed himself after all of this.

Minghao knocked on your door indicating he was there as he opened your door. You quickly tried to whipe your tears away, not wanting him to see you.

" Y/n? - " he looked around to see the box still on your lap with all the items outside spread out. He realized that you've been crying and he quickly went close to you.

He got down on one knee infront of you looking at you, " Y/n, are you alright?.. Oh y/n, you're beautiful face is all puffy. Why are you so upset? Can you tell me. "

Hearing his words made you cry even more, you struggled to form a sentence. " I'm sorry. " you mumbled out " Everything was my fault " you blurted out.

" Wait, you remember?.. "

" Yes! " you said, tears started to form again. Minghao went close to you and took you in his arms for a hug.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You and minghao started to explain both sides and you both went in a mutual agreement.

It actually took you awhile to start dating again, but eventually. You both started dating again

Happier than ever.

" Hao! Oh my god its our anniversary... where are we going? "

" Secret love, but you'll love it. "

(May or may not have connected it to this post, look i fucking love it HAHA )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General tag list: @woozvc

Cien rambles

AAAAA THIS TOOK ME 3 DAYS TO WRITE.

[baguantte]

HELLOHELLO!!!

I JUST SAW UR AMAZING HANAMAKI AMD ISSEI BABY ART AND IM DYINGGGG

tbh I thought it was sakusa at first lmao

SOOO I WAS WONDERING IF U COULD DO SAKUSA AND ATSUMU WITH THEIR PRECIOUS BABY???

PLEASE ANS THANK YOU

ITS ALWAYS AN HONOR TO REQUEST YOUR DUTIES HEHE

this will be very long and just my brief opinion on sakuatsu. if you disagree or don't want to read thats fine.

first off i'd like to say neither my requests or commissions are open so sorry about that. but more over this response is really just an excuse to air out my opinions on sakuatsu as a ship.

i dont think sakuatsu would ever have a baby. even though I know its popular for people to draw them with a baby i personally would never draw them having one and see it as out of character. i drew matsuhana with a baby because i find it believable as they both have ordinary jobs (or lack of one).

tbh i very much dislike how most sakuatsu is portrayed in the fandom. i think it works as a ship, but i find my opinions of how they operate much different than the common sakuatsu fanworks. i don't see much sakuatsu works, in fact i actually i avoid most, so maybe its a little skewed to say its different then common depictions as i don't see them enough to decide whats common. what im trying to get at is that i find most sakuatsu works i come across as ooc, such as sakuatsu having a baby.

they both are professional athletes who spend all their time thinking or practicing volleyball. they would not have time to tend to a baby nor would whoever you want to mpreg (if thats the route you chose for them having a baby) have time to be pregnant. i also think its a bit of a misread of atsumu as his entire character is loving volleyball more than anything. for him to give that up wouldn't make sense without it having to be ooc. when it comes to sakuatsu as a whole i feel as though people forget that sometimes someones true love doesnt have to be a person nor do peoples romantic relationships have to be the sappy lovey-dovey kind. sakuatsu to me would be a relationship rooted in understanding that both of them come second in each other life, with volleyball coming first. (well in atsumus case, sakusa just does things to feel satisfied and in this instance its to be good in volleyball.)

if you enjoy ooc works and creatations i wont stop you nor am i going to say its inherently wrong to enjoy yourself. but for me its hard for me to really appreciate those kinds of works because to me it's sort of erasing what made a character so charming in the first place.

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

House of the dragon short read a summery for all those who have forgotten for season 2 and totally true to the facts and how it happened.

This might be the most chaotic shitpost recap I've ever seen.

Viserys: Nah I want a son.

Rhaenyra: Noo father I'm just as goooood.

Daemon: You have meeeee.

Viserys: No I want a son. Gimme one.

Aemma: nooo now I must dieeee. Here's your son tho.

Viserys; Aemma my uwu nooo

Baelon: FATHER I AM UR SON

viserys: yes u are uwu u are so cute lets make photos.

Maester: sire u should back off and let the kid breath Sire, no do not bring out the tide pods. Sire...SIRE!!!!

viserys: I'm off now that I have my photos for my dragongran with him and his first tidepod! This will bring in the likes and defeat Daemons unholy post.

Maester:*kills child* I hate targaryens I hate them I hate them I hate them. Stupid ugly white haired ppl

Baelon: well fuck you too you cunt. You think I want to be in this family? Ha. Jokes on you.

Viserys: NOOO MY SOON SOB SOB WHO DID THISSS

daemon: LETS FUCKING GOO IM THE TRUE HEIR YALL BETTER REMEMBER THIS. DRINKS ON THE TAP OF THE CROWN. THATS ME ANYWAY HAHA FUCK U BAELON U LOSER FOR ONE DAY.

Daemon when appearing for vizzy: Look we all make goofs & errors what's most important is where our hearts are at.

Viz: I'm convinced you have no heart!

Daemon: NAAAAAAH U CANT. IM UR HEIR

Viz: I already have a child. U are a child daemon. U are just not mine

Guards: OOOOOOHHHH

Viz: daemon you know where the trash goes. Follow it.

Viserys: I still want my boii

Aegon: I AM HERE FATHER. LOVE ME.

VISERYS: what the fuck are you. You can't be my son why ur hair like that.

Alicent: husband I'm like 17 and I got u a son. Ur other wifey failed to do that. Us hightowers have curls. Its a curse and a blessing.

Otto: maybe it's magic, maybe it's Hightower genetics.

Rhae: rude ass bitch all of you. Look at how cute he is. He's my baby brother I will protect him. SAY RHAERHAE

alicent: rhae he came out me a moment ago he can't talk yet.

Aegon: (as a baby to his sister) I am the superior one and u should fetch me a snack in the kitchen, you white haired wench.

Rhae:*handing back Aegon* nah u can have this shit back. Do us all a favour next time just go the targaryen way and let it die.

(We light the way)

Vizzy: I wanna fuck u (to alicent)

Alicent:( alright its my duty.

The most unpassionate scene:

Aemond, happily making his entrance in the show as a sperm: WIEEEEEE! Hahaha thank you gods, I won't let you down. I will bring chaos into this family!!!!

The gods; good, our little apprentice. Good.

Rhaenyra: I'm so sneaky hehe

Daemon and rhae rhae: *almost fuck each other*

Daemon: wait I can't I suddenly decided I have morals and standards. Also u just a child tf.

Rhaerhae: no what is this? Fuck you I'm nailing that dornish snack as if he's a lose screw in a IKEA shelf

Daemon: No not Crispin! Get baaaack

Rhaerha: Too late

Crispin: Ah yes. My fantasy is finally coming true!!!!

Crispin: My queen forget ur pathetic kingdom full of incest and forget that old fuck that is your father. Let us depart on a ship and start a life that will not raise questions at all with your hair and our new found riches.

Rhae: I am listening.

Crispin: We can sell...oranges

Rhae; Nah fuck this shit where are the bananas. I love bananas. U should go with your oranges if that makes you happy. Pathetic fruit picker. This is why my uncle bested u. If you relied on bananas none of this would have happened.

Crispin: Rhae rhae..

Rhae: NAH have u even tried defeating a yiga clan member with a orange? You never played zelda did you? And you call yourself a warrior? Out of my sight.

Crispin: but I love u. Why would you sit a comfortable throne instead of working your ass off with me in the fields?:(

Rhae: Honey I never worked a day in my life and I intend to keep that tradition.

Helaena at some point: MHEEWWWWHH

Alicent: he said he wanted a son, so zip it.

Helaena:*cries*

Rhae rhae: Kidnap me, make me your wife and slay my father's guards.

Viserys who can read their lips and understand Valyrian: What kind of wattpad fanfic is this shit. What's next Harry styles flying in on dragonback?

Harry styles: HELLO WESTEROS. THIS IS FOR OUR PRINCESS. ALL OF YOU; WATERMALEON SUGAR. HIGGGGGH.

Crowd: HIIGGGGGH.

Aemond in Alicents belly: Grgg *DEMONIC NOISES*

Alicent: why does rhaenyra get Harry styles and I all I get is traumas and struggles. Also why is prince daemon and her acting out duncon fics when I INTRODUCED RHAE RHAE TO WATTPAD AND HE GAVE ME HIS FAVOUR I HATE THIS AHHH.

Alicent; why am i so angry... I don't understand.

Aemond in her belly: MOAHAHAHA IT WORKS.

Ser Harwin strong; I really should not. It is against the rules.

Rhae rhae: *breathes*

Harwin: If they cut off my cock I still got my fingers-

---

Time skip

Aegon: I don't know what happened but suddenly I'm borderline rapist and I'm also a drunk and like long legged people because it reminded me of dinosaurs and I got that phase when my father still loved me.

Aemond: I'm kind of cute and sympathetic but you will hate me later. It's OK. I will get over it ;)

Helaena: I am the mighty seer. I know all. OOH SPIDERS.

---

Vhagar: (dreaming) a big strong dragon approaches vhagar and courts her with a beheaded child corpse. She takes it and they mate.

Vhagar, waking up: WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY DREAMS?!

aemond; shit she's so big

Vhagar:*pulling a knife* WANT TO REPEAT THAT.

Aemond: uhm no ma'am! May I...May I ride you

Vhagar; NO :) *goes to sleep*

Aemond: shit shit...

Aemond: OBEY.

vhagar; WHAT IS WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALWAYS WAKING ME UP. FIRST LAENA NOW YOU. LAENA HAS NOT EVEN MET SEBASTIAN YET UNDER THE SEA. DO YOU MIND IM MOURING HERE.

Aemond: I understand..

Aemond;...its just...

Aemond: the seaweed is always greener.

Vhagar: (sigh): in somebody else's lake

/

Don't ask.

I Don't know what the hell happend either.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Never Mind the Bollocks, This One's About the Robot

Does...does Bonney just make everything a named attack? You can guess from the title what we'll be focusing on the most here from Chapter 1092. I could start by pointing out a lot of things as this quiet thread weaves ever more and more into the foreground. Seeing more of a known scene through Akainu/Bonney. Kizaru and his forlorn attitude towards duty demanding the elimination of those he has a bond with. Here's one that'll waggle your eyes, isn't Kuma right now quite reminiscent of Cindry?

At this point, we've seen enough to know at least one thing is true. One of One Piece's little tricks is every arc has a thread that's more about setting up the next. Okiku is Wano's. You know what I say; the conspicuous absence from the Ryokugyu fight and ending on Rakugo Rocky's unreliable narration after the type of story we told with her opens the door to more than that. But forget about that...Robonosuke.

So that was the original pitch right? We didn't see closure on Kiku and a lot of things because she is still on the ship this whole time and has been quietly coordinating with the Grand Fleet, a sensible niche for a new quartermaster. One it's not time to write off yet, a lot of things could still happen. The ship getting tossed is a good chance to play with that. We did lose our stated plan which was a necessary step, and I'll remind you now how easily that came about very recently. Vegaforce-01 went down. But something else happened. Luckily, we have a spare though I don't think this one can fly. This...this is where we now have to heavily consider another idea. One we've poked at before.

This shouldn't be too hard of a thread to follow. We've already raised the idea that we've seen Egghead Island before. It has the right placement to have been where Oden met Toki, which would be pre-lab. Let's assume that's true for a moment. Why was Toki there in the first place? According to Vegapunk, that robot has been here for 200 years since its assault on Mariejois. It isn't crazy to think that's why VP wanted to set up his lab here, but that was post-Toki.

One of the most consistent thoughts we've always had about Okiku's peculiarities is how well they could go hand-in-hand with the potential her actual idol was the 800-year-old woman. Toki was a huge card to put on the table and never really utilize, even moreso when you have a cryptic but major new face in the present who can carry on a separate will and keeps hanging out in the background doing a whole lot of typical "new recruit" type things.

We certainly imply Robonosuke here awoke due to the drums of liberation...but that doesn't jive. This is the third time Luffy's gone G5. At least second if you don't count the quick bit with Bonney. Egghead just did the misleading stinger. We've already floated the idea that maybe instead of the ship our newbie who quietly slipped away has been solo questing on an island that could have tangential personal significance. Putting us back at another moment where you could actually pull the trigger very easily from here, assuming you deal with a couple of logistical problems. The plan to fly away being so spur of the moment and instantly dashed works better with "oh yeah, we forgot..." at least. Remember the cloud cover skipping over the night gives us for justifying almost anything.

What if Luffy had the right idea with Robonosuke? You just needed to know his name. That relationship with Toki would make Kiku one of the absolute best candidates to believably know exactly what she found and how to use it. A scrap heap sounds like the exact right place thematically for her to do so.

Weird thing about factoring in Toki is that she could really pop up a lot of places in history. We don't really know much about her past, she took to the life of a Daimyo's wife quite well. There's also the idea Oden's journal is our main source about her. Toki just flat-out could have been a part of why Robonosuke ended up on this island or any number of things.

[mythandlaur]

Code: July Day 6 - Mistakes

A lot of people get on Jeremie's case for not apologizing for this one, so...here's that. It's a messy, imperfect apology--but it is one.

...And also some banter because I'm ship trash now apparently

...

They don't have too much longer until light's-out sends them back to their separate floors, not that Jeremie thinks he's going to sleep tonight with this new lead. That's just real egg on his face, isn't it--all of this trouble, only to find out Franz Hopper really is alive, somehow. XANA's probably really annoyed about seemingly being totally unable to kill him, but it works out for them.

Though, speaking of egg on his face...

His keystrokes slow down. There's still a loose end.

"Um...Aelita?"

"Yes, Jeremie?" She's leaning close to him to watch his screen, but turns to look at him, the sparkle of triumph still in her eyes. Their faces are almost too close, forcing Jeremie to push his chair to the side just to be able to focus on what had been running through his head most of the day.

Jeremie clears his throat, making a great deal of effort to look Aelita directly in the eye. She's now giving him a puzzled look, but he launches into it anyway.

"I, uh, I wanted to apologize, for what I said earlier about your dad, it's true I didn't think it was possible but I got upset and said something uncalled for--"

Aelita crosses her arms, interrupting him. "Jeremie, how long have you been practicing that?"

Jeremie sputters. "I--most of today..." he relents, breaking his forced eye contact to stare at his hands in his lap. He starts rolling the sleeve of his nightgown between his fingers. "B-but I do mean it! I just...I've been trying to figure out what to say so I didn't say it wrong."

Aelita sighs, and out of the corner of his eye, he catches her shaking her head. "Jeremie." It's a reprimand, but not a harsh one. When he doesn't immediately look back up at her, she reaches out and tilts his chin up herself. "I don't care if you say it wrong. I just care if it's honest. Besides, it's not as if it would be the first time."

Jeremie whines. "H-hey! You don't have to kick me while I'm already down!"

Aelita giggles, releasing his chin. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. So, do you want to try that again?"

Jeremie glances over to his computer screen. Through the remote supercomputer connection, he's attempting to search for any other matches on the DNA string code. "...I'm sorry," he manages, resting his cheek on a hand. "I knew I messed up as soon as it came out. I'm not saying you should forget where you came from, especially since it took so long to find it, but..."

"...but you think it can wait."

Jeremie finally looks her in the face again, pained. "I still can't say I get why it can't. But--that's...not really something I can say for you, or anything..."

"I don't want to put my whole life on hold. That includes my past."

"I know..."

Aelita's posture softens. She moves over to stand parallel to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. She'd been a very touchy person ever since arriving on Earth, and it had gotten them in trouble relating to the school's PDA policy a couple of times--Jeremie had asked about it once, and she'd said something about touch not existing on Lyoko, and he'd never complained about it again. Now that her memories are back, though, he's pretty sure she's just like that. Not that he's complaining.

"Thank you for apologizing," Aelita says, frankly. "And for double-checking."

"If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have bothered trying..."

"And I'm sorry for leaving." She leans over to rest her head against his. "I don't regret it, but I should've at least told Yumi or Ulrich, too. The Scyphozoa..."

She lets the implication remain unfinished. Jeremie scoots himself up higher in his chair like a cat trying to push its head into a pet.

"I gotta ask," Jeremie muses, "Were you getting back at me when you went along with that whole 'oh, Jeremie said he was gonna kiss you both' thing Ulrich had to bring up?"

Aelita suddenly bursts out laughing, standing up properly. "Why can't I just want a kiss, huh? You're the one who said it."

Jeremie groans. "But I also had to kiss Odd."

"And that was an issue?"

"Well--no, but--you all know I was being facetious!"

"But Odd would've been so disappointed~..."

"You aren't answering my question!"

"Maybe I wasn't." Aelita puts a finger to her lips. "Maaaaybe I was."

"Stones!"

Both of them turn to see Jim in the doorway, an expectant look on his face. Aelita shakes her head, working out the last of her giggles. "I guess that's my cue. Please get some sleep, Jeremie."

"Well...!" Jeremie looks between Aelita, Jim (who's raised an eyebrow in an unspoken warning), and his computer. Surrounded on all sides. "...Apparently I am actually going to be doing that, now."

"You're welcome," Aelita tells Jim with a smirk, scooting past him to get out into the hallway. "We'll work on it more tomorrow."

"Understood. Goodnight, Aelita."

"Goodnight, Jeremie."

[krastbannert]

Tagged by @noexoozes

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 69 (nice) on my main account, with 5 on another account. And then there's a few here and there I've deleted over the years.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 188,387 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Tron: Legacy, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Dragon Prince, Mass Effect, Destiny, and Horizon (as in Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West). At one point I had a Halo fic but that's been deleted. And then I've got a few original works.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

to that loyal heart (you're forever sixteen) - Zuko and the 41st Division, and what it means to those who will never forget what Zuko did.

Twin Flames - Azula-centric, post redemption, where she meets her niece, Izumi, for the first time, and finds that they have something in common.

those stories written in your skin - Zuko and his various tattoos, and the story of a journey around the world.

Lonely - Fire Hazard Siblings-centric, a small, quiet moment on Ember Island where both, for the first time, feel safe.

Wash These Stones - sequel to to that loyal heart (you're forever sixteen), about Chit Sang, the 41st Division, the loss of a child, and the healing that comes years later.

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to respond to all of them, but I kinda...lost track and stopped around 8 or 9 months ago. I recently responded to a lot of them, finally.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The multishipping discord kinda hated for Hey, Pretty Boy, my modern AU Yuekka oneshot told from Yue's perspective. They thought that was really angsty. And the Taangst Week pieces I did were, to the other Taang fans, pretty scaring (still waiting for Taangst Week II: Electric Boogaloo). But I think the angstiest fic I've ever written is either The Abyss or Escaping the Shells - both have no happiness, no comfort, no catharsis. They're just about what's left when the battle is over, and the hollow shells of people that the fighting leaves behind.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Across That Glimmering Sea, the story I wrote for the Fire Nation Recovery Zine - about the world letting out its breath after the war, and learning to live again - or maybe Go For Broke, the true story of a real-life hero. If planned endings are counted, probably either Brave Soldier Girl or not with a whimper (but a roar like thunder).

8. Do you get hate on fics? Ehhhh depends on your definition of hate. I haven't gotten any of the classic hate comments that a lot of my friends have gotten, but Brave Soldier Girl has gotten some pretty heated negative comments on the last two chapters.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have, but I've written so little that I don't really think I have a type, per say. I have written any in a while.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have not written a crossover. Thought about it, years ago, but haven't.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I've been a beta reader, but that's it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh honestly, I have no idea. I love a lot of ships for a lot of reasons, so it's really hard to pick.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? At this point? All of them. Realistically, tamehegane (my swordsmith!Azula AU) and hold you like a hand grenade (Azula & Ursa, companion to Brave Soldier Girl).

16. What are your writing strengths? Recurring motifs to represent characters and the story, and digging into the thoughts and feelings of characters so they feel real.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? The act of writing. Not kidding. I suck at actually sitting down and writing. Also, general confidence in my writing (hard to feel like you're actually a good writer when almost no one reads the majority of what you've written in the last two years). Those are probably linked together in a way I don't really feel like examining too closely.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've tried it; something about it doesn't feel right, probably because I only speak English fluently.

19. First fandom you wrote for? The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Oh, man. Neither are finished, but probably Brave Soldier Girl or not with a whimper (but a roar like thunder). So much I have planned for both, so much research for both, so much work and emotion that I'm trying to put into each one. It's hard to say which one is realistically my favorite.

Tagging @authorjoydragon @thiscryptidischronicallyyours @mycomfortblanket @nyamadermont and whoever else wants to consider themselves tagged!

[shoko-komi]

This Special Edition of The Komi Report is split into multiple posts. This is Part Two. Click here for Part One

5. It's Emoyama, Continued

I'm only listing the final chapter, but the whole little arc about Emoyama is basically the 5th pick. It added a new word to my vocabulary – Emoi. I'd say that on its own warrants a place here. But that's far from the only reason. 

With Najimi tagging along for the ride, these chapters feel like old times again. Komi's got a problem communicating with a classmate, the three stooges (Komi, Tadano, and Najimi) put their heads together to reach an understanding, and goofs ensue. It's fun, it's funny, it's light, and it's sweet. And it's well set up, with Emoyama's reason for crisis (peeling the unripe fruit of Emoi) having occurred quite a while beforehand. 

Add onto that how long Emoyama has been around - she even appears as a teaser in the (current) final scene of the anime... 

...along with Lily Sukida. Now that's what I call venerable. Anytime a character like her finally gets some serious attention it's a surprise, a delight, and a treat. Komi's world is full of sleeper agents waiting for their moment. (Just btw, I super ship Sukida and Emoyama now. Maybe I should write a fic....) 

Plus... 

...it gave us this. Sledgehammer Komi...... 

I love you, Emoyama. And your mother

Honourable Mentions 407 – Interview  409 - Can't Say Sorry  416 – The Rest  417/418 - Ogiya/Super Awesome  427 – Cool  429/430 - Fuki's Story  433 – A Date with Rumiko 

Funniest Joke

Comedy is extremely subjective, so take this category with a grain of salt. But given how much I've had to say about Kawai, I doubt you'll be too surprised: 

When tf did she have time to make this??????? It's all of the buildup that makes this so memorable to me; how Kawai is so serious and intimidating until she bonds with komi. Then it's like a switch flips in her head. She's such a dork. 

The whole of 393 is one joke – Kawai made a DVD about how they'd benefit from marrying her – so I'm saying the whole chapter gets the funniest joke award and calling it day. There's no better way to explain why this one's a winner than to show you some screenshots, so enjoy: 

I love you, Kawai (it bears repeating) 

Most Emoi Moment

This award would have gone to the kiss, but there's an underdog who I think has worked harder for it. She's captain of the track team; an aspiring restaurateur; an old friend, a bitter rival, and a true hero; and she's never won a damn thing in her life. She needs this. 

She's Makeru Yadano at the year three sports carnival!!! I bet you were surprised this chapter wasn't mentioned among my top picks; not even the honourable mentions!! That's what we in the biz call a fake out. I could never forget my girl Makeru. 

Something I noticed while writing this - Yadano probably would have won... 

...except that Komi got a head start. You can see that Yadano starts a moment behind (because her teammates are Sarutahiko and Inui, RIP). A relay race is a team effort, so can you really say that Yadano lost? Maybe I'm undermining her personal growth moment. Whoops. 

emoi...............................

I would also like to pay my respects to Benujit Spopo, a walk-of-fame KCC gag in my opinion. It appeared this year! 

(From Ch. 404 – Tales from the Summer Festival, Part 2) 

I love you, Yadano

Reader's Choice

Now is the time. This is the moment. The most coveted and prestigious award of all – the Reader's Choice Award. (It's the most coveted and prestigious because it's determined by democracy 🫡) 

For this category, the Komi Report received a record-shattering four votes - that's right!! Four votes!!! From you, the readers. 

The votes were extremely varied, and it turned out to be very useful that most people named multiple chapters in their submission. I used a sort of preferential voting system – I tallied everyone's first choice and there was no winner, so I added everyone's second choice, then third etc etc. 

Thus we find our victor. With a landside two votes, the 2023 Reader's Choice Award goes to: 

*drum roll* 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Paam pa du paam!! Chapters 417 & 418 – Ogiya & Super Awesome!!!! 

Well deserved!!!!!!!! Ogiya's story is heartbreaking; he was driven to become a literal man baby to escape the terrible price of popularity. Then Komi becomes the most assertive we've ever seen her as she keeps pushing him to accept her friendship. In the end, barriers are broken down!! Emoi!!!

I'm looking at this now... and Komi saying "It's alright. I'm super strong so I'll make sure you're alright" and the look on Ogiya's face.... that's making me tear up...

I love how Tadano and Ogiya are said to have been hanging out at other times before this event. It creates the feeling that these characters have lives when we aren't looking at them – very cool! It also demonstrates that Tadano attracts socially maladjusted people like a magnet. I'd say it's his gentle nature. 

My warmest thanks to everyone for their submissions. 

Conclusion

Phew... I'm knackered. I've been typing this in a document and the word count has passed 4,000... wowzers! 

If you've come this far, I extend to you my sincerest gratitude. I would have prepared and posted this even if I didn't expect anyone to see it, so to have someone read it all the way to the end is very cool. Maybe you even... enjoyed it?????? 

Here's my resolution for 2024 – I will strive to write every Komi Report as thoughtfully and conscientiously as I wrote this one. The weekly editions will be way shorter, of course. And I won't spend a whole week writing them, but each and every one will have the same love put into it 💪 

I hope this 2023 Annual Edition of The Komi Report got you excited about Komi Can't Communicate; whether that excitement is from being reminded of all the good times we've had, or from being annoyed by my opinions. Either way, you're thinking about Komi. 

I win. 

------------------------

Now that your appetite for Komi Can't Communicate has been whet:

Check out my Komitano AMV on youtube

Or my live action Komi-san compilation video

Thank you very much! Komi returns on January 5th, 2024. I'll see you then!!

[acourtofthought]

You say Reddits and Tiktok are war-zones and its a bad place to be a Elucien and Gwynriel shipper. I've never been on those websites and I'm not planing to but I made mistake of searching "Gwynriel" on twitter and MY GOD it's bad!! Like if twitter its like that and a small part of SJM fandom are there then I don't know what is happening on Tiktok and Reddits!?

You know I always say that Sarah's books reached the wrong audience because of Tiktok for advertising it as a smut books, which they're way more than that. Why do you think when you ask everyone their fav bat boy they say Azriel? Because he has "the biggest wing-span" but what about his character? Nothing. when I first read the books I was ready for Az to be my fav too but all I got was this confusion over what people has been crazy about?

Or why do you think Nesta is now everyone's fav sister and they starts hating on Feyre? Because she's badass and been mean and cruel to every living thing and people find this hot and Feyre decided to have a child with her mate (which I've come to realize so many people hate it when the character has child which I don't understand it at all. Shaming a woman for wanting a baby of her own wasn't supposed to be a thing in 2023 but here we are) and have a little art studio like she always wanted.

What people tend to forget is that these books are so much more that some some sex scenes and supposedly badass female characters.

Don't get me wrong I've grown to love Nesta in her book (and that's because I saw myself in Nesta in so many ways that it even shocked myself) and I'm hundred percent sure I would love Az's or literally any other character who are going to have their story shared but honestly its a shame that these books are reduced to this and a ship war we have no control over because Sarah will write whatever is best for her characters and won't listen to you little idea of 3 brothers x 3 sisters you've been obsessed with like your life depends on it.

And I'm so scared for Sarah and glad that she's not in social media anymore. I can only imagine the death threats these people will send her when the books don't turn out the way they want.

You know, you draw attention to a sad fact.

I do think too many people rely on what others tell them about the books on social media rather than making sure it matches with what is in the books.

It's fine to read all the theories but you have to fact check and make sure what's being said is true rather than blindly spreading them around the fandom as genius takes even though there are glaringly obvious holes that can be poked in them.

Even the rumor that Az has the biggest wingspan, a rumor that will not die.

It was a joke Feyre made to Rhys because she could tell he was stressed about heading to the CON. Can you really imagine her telling the guy she's starting to feel something for that he's got a smaller dick than his friend? 🤣

And just because of that worry, just to get that tightness off his face, even for these few minutes before we faced his unholy realm beneath that mountain, I said over the wind, “Amren and Mor told me that the span of an Illyrian male’s wings says a lot about the size of … other parts.” His eyes shot to mine, then to pine-tree-coated slopes below. “Did they now.” I shrugged in his arms, trying not to think about the naked body that night all those weeks ago—though I hadn’t glimpsed much. “They also said Azriel’s wings are the biggest.” Mischief danced in those violet eyes, washing away the cold distance, the strain. The spymaster was a black blur against the pale blue sky. “When we return home, let’s get out the measuring stick, shall we?”

Rhys has seen Azriel's dick and he doesn't seem all that threatened.

There is an interview SJM did, I have it posted somewhere on my blog, but she was asked who actually had the biggest wingspan and she said that while she has her own thoughts about it (my guess is Rhys considering she said he'd be the ojey thing she'd take to a deserted island) she leaves it open ended for the reader to decide for themselves.

So people getting super obsessed over Az because they think SJM confirmed he's the biggest makes me shake my head.

And shaming Feyre for her choices is someone saying, "Hey! You can't do important things once you have kids!" which is the mentality women have been dealing with in the workplace for decades.

Feyre is a warrior sure.... but there's only going to be so many battles. These characters will eventually have lives that aren't full of war and rallying forces and it's logical for SJM to create a storyline that gives her purpose and a reason to step back and let the other characters shine.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 26: Whitebridge

All right people who haven't read the entire Wheel of Time series, it's time for you to make a choice. You can escape downriver in a nice boat and stay away from all the nasty spoilers, or you can cross this bridge and get hit upside the head with whatever bullshit I randomly throw in here. It could be from any point in the series, so if you're avoiding that kind of nonsense, make your aquatic escape now.

This chapter has Thom's harp yet again. As before, it's about the influence he'll have on the boys. This chapter it also refers to his supposed sacrifice to save them. Regardless, just like last time, he's the only thing keeping them alive.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Thom Merrilin muttered finally, “for teaching me how true the old saying is. Teach him how you will, a pig will never play the flute.” The sailor burst out laughing, and Mat raised the flute as if to throw it at him.

Of course, just because he's the thin barricade between them and death doesn't mean he likes them or that they're remotely grateful. Even Rand doesn't really want to learn, he's just doing this for their cover story, though he will have more of an appreciation for these skills as the story goes on.

Mat looked up, still frowning. “What if they are dead?” he said softly. “We have to accept facts, right?”

There's a sad parallel in Perrin awkwardly trying to assure Egwene that the others aren't dead and Mat here trying to pull Rand into the doubt and despair that the dagger generates.

So it will all turn out like one of Thom’s stories? The heroes find the treasure and defeat the villain and live happily ever after? Some of his stories don’t end that way. Sometimes even heroes die. Are you a hero, Rand al’Thor? Are you a hero, sheepherder?

All of this does end up happening. Y'all find the various plot coupons and get rich in the process, the Dark One is sealed away, and despite the looming Seanchan Outriggers it does seem like when that drama is over you all will retire happily, except Egwene who dies.

The White Bridge arched high over the wide waters, twice as high as the Spray’s mast and more, and from end to end it gleamed milky white in the sunlight, gathering the light until it seemed to glow. Spidery piers of the same stuff plunged into the strong currents, appearing too frail to support the weight and width of the bridge. It looked all of one piece, as if it had been carved from a single stone or molded by a giant’s hand, broad and tall, leaping the river with an airy grace that almost made the eye forget its size.

Thom thinks that the bridge is from the Age of Legends, but I personally think it's marginally newer; one of the first major structures assembled in the immediate aftermath. It seems very unlikely to me that two major rivers would have survived the totality of the Breaking intact, and we already know that the Erinin's northern half didn't change significantly after Lews's suicide. Thus, the odds of this river not having moved seem significantly lower - especially since the Two Rivers were recently part of an ocean! The White Bridge, to me, represents the last gasp of a dying art, an Aes Sedai work possible to perform without mixed-gender circles but too difficult to keep up all the same.

“We made it, Thom,” he said, then forced a laugh. “And no mutiny.”

I wouldn't say that until I was off the ship myself, but what do I know?

“You’ve slept on watch for the last time on my vessel! Or on any vessel, if I have my way of it. Choose your own side—the dock or the river—but off my vessel now!”

I wonder if Domon and Egeanin will ever discuss how one of the things they have in common is a complete disdain for Gelb.

“Aye, well, as to that. . . .” The captain produced a leather purse from his coat pocket and tossed it to Thom. It clinked when Thom caught it. “Your fares back, and a bit more besides. The damage was no so bad as I thought, and you’ve worked your way and more with your tales and your harp.

So that's Rand's ta'veren, I expect. Or Mat's, since it's kind of lucky. Like Domon's a good guy and all, and this is definitely the kind of thing he'd at least consider for other gleemen, but not go so far as to return their fares and extra. Definitely offer it to sweeten the pot to stay, but not just toss it upfront.

So much for not being noticed, Rand thought, dismayed. By sundown it would be all over Whitebridge that there was a gleeman in town.

I'm a wee bit surprised that gleemen are big deals in Whitebridge, but I guess that for quite a lot of people it's the effective end of the road. And with the winter not ending properly, he's probably the first one of the season. Just another little way all the details of the world add up to ensure that Rand is constantly fucked at any given moment.

“An innkeeper will be able to tell us if they’re here, or if they’ve passed through. The right innkeeper. Innkeepers have all the news and gossip. If they aren’t here. . . .”He looked back and forth from Rand to Mat. “We have to talk, we three.”

It's like Thom wants to be forced to fake his death at an inopportune time! Be more genre savvy, gleeman!

Rand wondered idly if all innkeepers were fat and losing their hair.

Only the good ones. I'll have to go into the hospitality business if I ever start losing my hair.

“Straight on from the bridge,” Thom said, “is the road to Caemlyn. Anyone passing through Whitebridge comes through this square, unless they’re going by river, and we know your friends aren’t doing that. If there is no word of them here, it doesn’t exist. Let me do the talking. This has to be done carefully.”

More good mentor points for Thom for continuing to explain why he does what he does so that the boys can learn.

Aes Sedai had been involved in taking Logain, of course. Bartim spat on the floor when he said that, and again when he said they were taking the false Dragon north to Tar Valon. Bartim was a decent man, he said, a respectable man, and Aes Sedai could all go back to the Blight where they came from and take Tar Valon with them, as far as he was concerned.

It's incredible how even the Red Ajah, whose purpose should be the most popular thing on the planet, manage to have PR this terrible. "Yeah they saved humanity from a madman who was going to plunge our society into a war the scale of which hasn't been seen for a thousand years, but fuck those witches amirite? Hope they all die miserably."

“They’ll be taking him there to show to Queen Morgase.” The innkeeper touched his forehead respectfully. “I’ve never seen the Queen. Man ought to see his own Queen, don’t you think?”

Queen oughta tour her queendom on occasion! (Funny foreshadowing though.)

“Why, the hunt for the Horn, of course,” Bartim exclaimed. “Didn’t I say that? The Illianers are calling on everybody as will swear their lives to the hunt to gather in Illian. Can you imagine that? Swearing your life to a legend? I suppose they’ll find some fools. There’s always fools around. This fellow claimed the end of the world is coming. The last battle with the Dark One.”

It's a rare thing when a guy proclaiming the end of the world is right, but that dude was. The Hunt is another thing that seemed to fall to the wayside; we meet many people that joined this hunt, but Illian's association with the Horn is never important. The Horn itself obviously matters though.

Thom still seemed to be a thousand miles away, so Rand said, “We’re looking for some friends who were coming this way. From the west. Have there been many strangers passing through in the last week or two?”

Rand loses points for being a bad student and ignoring instructions. This directly sets off the sequence of events that leads to Thom having to ditch them, so it's a triple penalty.

About a week ago, as near as I can say, a weaselly fellow came over the bridge. Crazy, everybody thought. Always talking to himself, never stopped moving even when he was standing still. Asked about the same people . . . some of them.

Hi, Padan Fain! Shame you don't think about him, Rand.

“He was crazy, but the other one. . . .” Bartim’s eyes shifted uneasily, and his tongue ran over his lips as if he could not find enough spit to moisten them. “Next day . . . next day the other one came for the first time.” He fell silent.

And this foreshadows that Fain's got off the Darkfriend script. If he was still working for Ba'alzamon, they wouldn't have sent a Fade afterward - and frankly, he would have been kept sane enough to ask discretely and in a way that wouldn't stand out. Luckily for everyone in Whitebridge, I don't think Fain was radioactive evil yet, so hopefully no one got any bad doses of Shadar Logoth.

“I think I’d remember if I ever met anyone like that,” Thom said after a minute.

"I hate Aes Sedai," says man who knows how to dissemble better than most Aes Sedai.

“And he’ll be back,” Thom said, leaning across the table and lowering his voice. “I say we sneak back to the boat and take Captain Domon up on his offer. The hunt will center on the road to Caemlyn while we’re on our way to Illian, a thousand miles from where the Myrddraal expect us.”

Really, the thing that makes the Hunt's fading into obscurity and Illian's connection being so irrelevant so surprising to me is the sheer number of people who try to convince Rand to go there early: Bayle, Thom, Moiraine. Maybe Lanfear? It feels like it should be a way bigger deal than it ends up being.

Thom seemed to understand. The gleeman’s face softened. “Even those dreams, lad. They are still just dreams, aren’t they? For the Light’s sake, Mat, talk to him. I know you don’t want to go to Tar Valon, at least.”

Another good Thom quality is how he understands Rand's emotions better and validates them. Way too many of his mentors don't understand him at all, or do understand what he's feeling and antagonize him for it.

Domon isn’t sailing until tomorrow morning. At best he’ll have Trollocs chasing him all the way to Illian. Well, he’s half expecting it for some reason, but that won’t do us any good.

Shame they didn't think to pull at that thread a little more. It's good set-up for the next book though.

Mat shrugged. He eyed each of them, then shrugged again. “I’m just on edge. I can’t seem to get rid of it. Every time we stop for a breath, they’re there, hunting us. I feel like somebody’s staring at the back of my head all the time. What are we going to do?”

I wonder if somebody who was just an idiot treasure hunter without numerous enemies would have taken a little longer to fall under the dagger's spell. Or if Shadar Logoth only tried to pull on Mat in the first place because he was already feeling that paranoia when they entered the city.

“My brother’s only son, my only living kin. He got in trouble with the Aes Sedai, but I was too busy with . . . other things. I don’t know what I could have done, but when I finally tried, it was too late. Owyn died a few years later. You could say Aes Sedai killed him.”

What could you have done Thom, except either kill him yourself or enable him to kill everyone he loved? Dude lasted three years without getting gentled; it was really only a matter of time. Oh well, at least Thom's hatred of the Aes Sedai has more justification than the vast majority of the setting's.

“We’ll walk out of here one at a time, just close enough to keep each other in sight. Shouldn’t be remembered especially, that way. Can’t you slouch?” he added to Rand. “That height of yours is as bad as a banner.”

So in this chapter, our heroes have discussed:

The Horn of Valere

Bayle Domon's mysterious motivations AKA one of the seven seals

Ways Rand stand out, like banners

Guess what three things they find in the Eye of the World!

The Fade was just as startled. Its leisurely pace faltered in mid-stride. Its hand swept toward the hilt of the black sword hanging at its waist, but the gleeman’s long legs covered the distance quickly. Thom crashed into the Myrddraal before the black blade was half drawn, and both went down in a thrashing heap. The few people still in the square fled. “RUN!” The air in the square flashed an eye-searing blue, and Thom began to scream, but even in the middle of the scream he managed a word. “RUN!” Rand obeyed. The gleeman’s screams pursued him.

Thom's such a badass. Goodbye for this book, Thom. It's rare when I'm glad that there's a fake-out death, but I'm glad here. For now. When we get to the mustache pulling I reserve the right to change my mind. Anyway though, Thom is too good a mentor for Rand which is why the narrative works double and triple time to ensure that he never gets a chance to benefit from the man's full attention. Dude would have found a way to off Cadsuane mid-slapping Rand in the face, which would have made Rand laugh and saved the world six books early, saving us the readers from quite a lot of misery along the way.

“You think Egwene and Moiraine and the rest are dead, too. If they’re dead, why are the Myrddraal still hunting them? Answer me that?” Mat dropped to his knees in the dust beside him. “All right. Maybe they are alive. But Thom—You saw! Blood and ashes, Rand, the same thing can happen to us.”

Rand and Mat are very lucky to have confirmation of their friends' survival, really. The hope will certainly help Rand keep going as things rapidly go to shit on the road. And Mat clearly learned nothing from Thom since he's not genre savvy enough to understand that if you don't see a body, they're probably still alive.

And that's another chapter! Next time, we're back with Perrin and Egwene. Sadly, Perrin will neither learn from his mentor nor will Elyas be dramatically faking his death.