#or dont have a summary

[lookingforhappy]

Any suggestions of fanfic with Five and Claire? Thanks!

oooo! unfortunately i dont have a lot! if anyone wants to chime in with recs pls do! i need more of these two as well!!!!

the ones i can rec for you are

A Break in the Clouds by conch_shell

its essentially 5k words of these two bonding & its great. they nail the kid thing without beating it into the ground or making her too smart for her age.

Lonely Man (i am so lonely too) by Celestialfeathers

this one is awesome. i have no idea how they managed to nail claire so well. shes incredibly complex and believable and its lovely to read a perspective that moves away from her personality being "kid".

tho fair warning, this one is very one sided. it runs alongside s1 so five has no idea what claires thinking ro feeling & they never meet face to face. still an incredible read!

[thatadhdmood]

@nutmegan17 on tiktoks eating tray hack

By keeping a tray full of no prepare necessary food, in the fridge it can be used to aid neurodivergent or fatigued people.

By putting food like, cheese and crackers, or whatever is a safe food for you personally on the tray, it can be taken easily to the couch or bed to be eaten from whenever you are hungry.

This prevents executive dysfunction or fatigue and any reason preventing you from eating. You need to care of yourself because everyone needs food to stay alive including you.

You deserve to eat even when on a bad brain day and are unable to prepare a meal for yourself.

If not having a full meal doesn't satisfy you, a snack may even give you the energy to make a full meal afterwards!

[roxiusagi]

✨Cultivate: Slow Life on a Monster-Infested Mountain✨ by @neonghostcat - fan covers in the design style of seven seas danmei publishing ✿

sooo.. I know it would be more appropriate to post these once the fic is fully finished BUT i got too excited and was waiting too long already to post these hdjfhk and today is cultivate anniversary so appropriate excuse to post lets go!!! anyway theres only one chapter left to go so ppl who have been waiting to read it until its done the time is NOW! hahha

anyway fun fact this was originally going to be just 3 parter. but. at this point cultivate has surpassed svsss in word count if i am not mistaken......so ive decided that adding one more volume would be appropriate lol

oh well and here are the pieces by themselves

also... just to clarify im obviously in no way shape of form comparing myself to the quality of actual seven seas cover artist lmaoo hdjshf i hope thats obvious that this was just fun gimmick passion project

[rockwgooglyeyes]

Really, what CURE highlights is Ivan's sense of self- or lack thereof.

"you can break me apart"

"to quiet my fears, I'll drown in you"

"consume me, yes, me"

Maybe this is why, overall, I think Ivan wrote the lyrics more than I believe Till did. While we know Till to be a producer and lyricist, the content of the lyrics themselves are really what put that final nail in the coffin for me. I don't really believe that Till would have a desire for Mizi to hurt him, even in a romantic way. His affection for her seems far more pure than that, something where violence and injury are absent, something happy and bright where there are no worries. Mizi might be Till's reason to believe in the world and the future, as she shows him a possibility of goodness and happiness, but she doesn't seem to distract him from his own fears. In fact, his admiration of her from afar is a behavior that's an extension of his fears and insecurities, stemming from his superiority complex where people don't like him, it's because he's better than them and they know it. But not only that, adding onto that superiority complex, Till has a fear of vulnerability (or he just doesn't want to be perceived as weak) due to his traumas and I don't think that he would want Mizi to "break him apart." Then again I might be splitting hairs and I might be wrong. These are just my thoughts at the moment

Back to Ivan, though. He's . . . *sighs* his sense of self worth is pretty much nonexistent. He thinks very poorly of himself, he's part of the crowd who call him a freak and a pervert and a monster. He believes himself to be something wretched and broken, in need of fixing and yet, unfixable. He's just as afraid of vulnerability as Till is, ironically, but it's for a different reason- Ivan is afraid of laying it all bare and having someone confirm his suspicions that there's something irrevocably wrong with him. He's not insecure in the same way Till is, because he believes wholeheartedly that he's fucked up and that he's unlovable and that's how he got here. It's not Till who *needs* to love him back, or anything like that, it's Ivan that's the problem.

That's why "consume me" and "you can break me apart" and "to quiet my fears, I'll drown in you" are so utterly Ivan. Ivan would be happy to be consumed by someone he loved because that way, he's useful. He's sustaining them. He would be happy to be broken apart by someone he loves because that way, they can get their anger out on someone without any consequences, because he doesn't mind, he's happy to be the meat on their chopping block. He will use a person he loves as a distraction from his own doubts and fears because, hey, he already knows what's wrong with him but there are so many wonderful people around him, who he can help support. His problems aren't what's important because he doesn't have problems, not real ones, anyways. He can't compare to any of his friends, he has a guardian who doesn't actively physically abuse him, and he's famous. What more could he ask for?

Also I think the "sick of these nights to come" is in reference to the possibility of Ivan winning and being forced to live in a world without Till, a comparatively quiet universe. Anyayws. starred crossed doomed yaoi my belvoed. if anyone calls them toxic i will have questions because i want to know your reasoning and if i can dispute it because maybe im wrong!

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

ok so. forgive me for a second but i've been abnormal about skizz and ren since the hiatus between third life and last life and holy shit this season is already not helping.

let's talk about skizz, ren, undying loyalty, and golden apples, shall we?

so the thing that you need to understand about skizz is that he is loyal to a fault. impulse literally says this exact thing about him in limited life, and skizz himself says himself: "you know me and my factions, i never turn." the second thing is that the first person their loyalty manifests for in third life is ren. he and ren run into each other on the second night when ren is getting accosted by mobs outside skizz's door and skizz gives him a place to stay the night. ren decides to trade skizz for his leather, for the upcoming enchanting buisness, and gives skizz a golden apple in exchange. skizz thinks this is wildly more than he deserves but is very thankful. skizz doesn't say it here, but this is the moment he swears his loyalty to ren.

throughout third life, he is willing to do or get basically anything for ren. the two of them literally die together to the tnt trap. when ren dies on the alter and everyone thinks martyn betrayed him, skizz is the first person to get there in the morning. he's in half broken gold armor and borrowed tools from bigb and he still tells ren "get behind me", still tries to protect him from martyn. when skizz is on red, he goes a bit crazy, but he channels that bloodlust into protecting ren. he kills jimmy in the red desert, he kills cleo when she tries to attack ren, he chases down impulse when he betrays dogwarts and dies trying to kill him.

when skizz dies in third life, he's got an unused golden apple in his hotbar. after he dies, he remembers the first time he met ren, etho, and martyn, and he spends quite a bit of time on his memory of ren and ren appears in his first memory of etho. after he dies, ren wields a blade named in his honor.

skizz spends third life loyal to ren- he dies for him and he dies with him.

in last life, ren and skizz end up on completely different sides, and it very quickly gets bad because when ren becomes boogey, he kills skizz. he lures him into a trap. he tells skizz he loves him. skizz literally says "i am broken hearted" when ren kills him. ren holds no regard for the relationship they used to have and yet skizz cannot help but compliment ren's skill with the trap, outright says he can't be mad at ren.

and then it only gets worse because skizz tries to storm ren's tower with impulse after they've gone red. and that! doesn't go well! and while skizz is retreating, while he is eating the golden apple in his hot bar, ren shoots him dead.

and that is the last time they've spoken. two years ago.

because skizz isn't in doublt life. and ren isn't in limited life.

and when skizz's time comes in limited life, he ensures he doesn't have a golden apple in his inventory this time. this time, he hands the apples off to his teammates, where he knows they will go to good use. and then he hands etho a diamond fucking axe (red winter is coming) and asks him to execute him for the sake of their alliance. ok! sure! fill ren's role more explicitly, why don't you!

and that first session of secret life genuinely only made it worse. when skizz is talking to tango and cleo about their alliance, skizz says he wants to give leadership over to someone else: "i want to be more of a soldier than a leader this time." cleo says she'll fill the roll of leader- she doesn't take orders well - and then seals their alliance by giving tango and skizz a golden apple each. because of course she does.

and well, we all know that didn't really work out, so that's one person off the list that skizz can fill the dogwarts shaped hole in him with, so then he goes to bdubs. he says he'll lay his sword at bdubs' feet. he says he'll win bdubs with his loyalty. he calls bdubs "my leige", jesus christ dude, you couldn't be less subtle unless you straight up called him ren's name.

skizz has been (whether accidentally or on purpose is up to you) trying to recreate the experience he had with dogwarts, and particularly what he had with ren, since the moment dogwarts fell. he can't have it with ren because he missed his only chance in last life, so he'll fill the void with whoever he can. his fellow soldier. ren's successor. ren's new kingmaker. anyone. and it's never gonna work. i need ren to come back for like, 900 reasons, but i especially need him to come back so skizz can have a shot at making it to spring.

[hella1975]

would you like to talk about how bad the mha ending was hella

as much as i would love to give like. a comprehensive response i genuinely dont think i can get my words together just yet without it being a constant unintelligble stream of 'AND ANOTHER THING-' and bc it's become quite torn in the fandom on if the chapter was good or bad i want like. an actual coherent response here. so i will reblog this if/when i can word it but know IM NOT FUCKING HAPPY

[jamminlocks]

Oikawa x reader summer fling fic where you and oikawa were classmates in aoba josai for three years, not being really close but kinda friendly. Years later, Oikawa meets the second familiar face on another visit in Brazil again and, lo and behold, it's you, who had a lovely glow up since high school. He catches up with you, feeling comfortable speaking japanese to someone again, and reminiscence about the pass, maybe getting a little too cozy with each other. He takes you out to drink and have fun. But a few drinks and dancing in, it becomes very apparent to the both of you that you're really into each other. So oikawa asks if you'd like to hang out until tomorrow. He crashes at the place you're staying, makeout and have the steamiest sex for hours

[xxplastic-cubexx]

I really, really like reading and writing about Charles being an angry top. 🥰 It's extra delicious because he knows Erik could overpower him at any moment, but the fact that he lets Charles sexually vent to him says a lot about their trust and loving dynamic.

ok but liiike……. Do you have a sample 👁

[straycalamities]

heyyy. how was truffula flu supposed to end? who died? were there any planned events?

i dont even know how to accurately answer this anymore because of reasons and things other than: there's an old list of endings a couple of the writers of a few characters gave said character here

beanpole, one-ler, and rocky's are all still accurate and relevant as far as i know, but swag's is severely outdated and not true anymore

well i know rocky's is stlil accurate because we were so set and ready for it. it was supposed to be the very next big plot point before the blogs died. big shame it never happened because it was going to be epic.

last i heard 72 and ted's endings were set to be changed from what i knew them as. audrey's and dave's i won't reveal for my own reasons. and i never planned an ending for entre and that continues to be true.

we had at least (other than rocky's) two more big plot arcs to cover. honestly i think the RV/Stripmall arc was sorta the beginning of a snowball to an ending of sorts, but it never truly got rolling.

[crownbeed]

Spoiler Free Veilguard Critique

Includes negatives and positives

I think my biggest issues are that the person u play as is not allowed to have any personality or opinions and if u do manage to say something ur companions don't like they don't...confront u about it. in other DA games if u pissed off a companion enough they would leave or you could kick them out.

>you don't get to choose ur companions in this game and other than flirting ur relationships aren't really...relevant to anyone else or to their stories.

>I've only played it once so far, but I dont remember there being much fallout from my decisions other than which city I choose and the final battle.

Honestly I feel like they should have replaced Rook with the Inquisitor - it would have made more sense and been more interesting. But its my understanding that the developers wanted to make the game accessible to new players...which is great. but there is already so many small references to the inquisition that is summarized for new players anyway so just...do it (I genuinely look forward to the fanfiction that make this happen)

other grievances i had:

>World building was inconsistent with previous games and there was absolutely no attempt to address it. sure we had mage wars, and race wars as a focus of previous games but its nbd in northern thedas? ok then.

>if a companion wants to speak to me at a specific location plz for the love of God don't make me have to go to them at the lighthouse to find out they want to speak and then make me go to a different country to speak to them. jfc dude.

>Everything was so specifically paced it got boring at times and I felt like I had no control over anything. they lock off areas you might want to explore unless u have a quest there and sometimes u can only go there during the quest. I may have hated the hinterlands but I enjoyed that I could find myself fighting for my life in bear country when my inquistor wasn't ready for it. Or stumble across a dragon 10 levels above me. God forbid u go anywhere in this game without permission.

>The most meaningful and rpg-style change my character could make was to their appearance. And they don't even have a bed.

on a positive note:

>Solas is still a fascinating character and he is delved into a fair bit in this game. i love that stupid bastard, he's such an idiotic asshole. Also he looks badass imo. A little mangy tho, iykyk.

>Some people found it wasn't very dark? I found it to be very very dark. maybe the fact that the Lighthouse was very unaffected by most things outside of the fade misled ppl? the horrors are many. the blight pustules are disgusting. Idk man I felt the dark fantasy of the whole thing and think it holds up to other games. (although admittedly its effect on characters could have been explored a bit more but I think that's typical of DA games lbr)

>I like the companions, I like the glimpses we get of their relationships with each other. I like the character annotated codex pages. Idk I think they're neat.

>I only played the once and I did it on easy but the skill tree seems pretty cool and expansive? I didnt get to explore it much as my brain can only handle figuring out so much at once. there's a lot of options.

>its goddamned beautiful. all the scenery is top notch. I wish I had a high end gaming pc so I could get the pinnacle of its beauty. but alas I am but a wee ps5 owner.

[ratatatastic]

favourite paul outtakes but finland edition! (there arent many but they do bring me joy)

also yeah deboer did go on a whole monologue about paul that is so long its comical (3 whole minutes) and for brevity sakes i didnt include it but its something alright

2024 nhl global series finland postpractise interview | 10.31.24 (x)

[fruityumbrella]

the things you don't see (M ; 12K): maybe good sex cant substitute healthy communication and lots of talking and being vulnerable and all that soft shit. but maybe making love can...you'll never know til you try!

[krasytoonz]

I love how Howdys entire thing with Barnaby in the joke au is just that Miles Edgeworth meme of "Thanks to you I'm saddled with... Unnecessary feelings."

It’s gonna be the same in royal au except it’s not technically in the romantic way (or is it)

[3-aem]

reading im courting you now i guess by solarbishop and its so cute i love the characterization its like warm milk for my exhausted brain

[tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land]

Figured I'd give that art-through-the-last-decade thing on twitter a try, even if it gives me a laugh and a tear :0

Here's the template!!

[scionshtola]

ardor

pairing: Corisande Ymir/Y'shtola Rhul word count: 2.1k | rated: Explicit | read on ao3 notes: another fic in the rodeo au verse, where Y'shtola is a geologist come to survey the land of the ranch that Cori works on [divider credit]

Seated in the passenger seat of Corisande’s pickup, Y’shtola was growing increasingly desperate. 

Only a few steps outside the truck’s door was the spot where she and Corisande had first kissed beneath the starlit sky. A long way off the main road, it was the perfect place for both privacy and a picturesque view, the green and flowered countryside stretching in all directions. 

Kisses had come easily since then. Chaste brushes of their lips when Y’shtola left the ranch for the day; sweet, smiling kisses an hour or two later, their legs dangling from the bed of the truck; featherlight against her knuckles when they helped her out of the truck; deep and lingering against the door of her motel room when they saw her to her door at night. 

To Y’shtola’s dismay, they had yet to progress beyond that. It wasn’t for a lack of desire on her part, and didn’t seem to be for Corisande either—she felt their hands warm on her sides, pulling her closer, and she saw the reluctance when they pulled away from her, their hesitancy when they parted for the night. 

But they did pull away every time, their hands staying sweetly on Y’shtola’s waist or the back of her neck, leaving them both wanting. More and more Y’shtola found herself distracted by the prospect of sleeping with them. Her mind drifted to the ways they might touch her, with competent hands used to hard work, and the ways she might return the favor, with the kind of zeal she typically reserved for mapping the ground she worked on. 

She’d had a moment of shining hope earlier in the evening: she and Corisande on the picnic blanket after sharing the meal they’d packed, her legs thrown over theirs as they traded kisses, Corisande’s hand on her bare knee below the hem of her dress. Until Corisande pulled away, their cheeks warm, muttering about getting Y’shtola back to her motel before it grew too late. 

But even now, as she waited for Corisande to get in the truck, Y’shtola wasn’t completely without hope. She would simply have to be more direct. 

Corisande slid gracefully into the truck and, just as Y’shtola had hoped, leaned down to kiss her. Slow, lingering, all the time in the world in this space between the end of their date and dropping Y’shtola off at her room. 

Y’shtola seized her opportunity. She slipped her hand lightly up the back of Corisande’s neck until she could tangle her fingers in the thick curls of their hair. They responded in kind, cupping her neck gently, their thumb gliding across her jaw and, encouraged, Y’shtola pressed forward. She rose slowly to her knees on the bench seat, kissing Corisande deeply as she moved closer.

She half expected Corisande to pull back—this was already more intimate than they had yet been. Instead, she grinned into the kiss when Corisande’s hands found her waist, pulling her closer.

She wriggled her way into Corisande’s lap, uncomfortably caught between the hard leather of the steering wheel and their chest. Perhaps she could maneuver them to the other side of the cab, or onto their back—or onto her back, Corisande’s lean muscle on top—

“Y’shtola.” Corisande pulled back slightly, her fingers curling into the fabric at Y’shtola’s waist. Y’shtola paused, biting back a desperate sigh at the touch—how she longed to feel it beneath her dress, her deft hands against her skin. She waited, forehead pressed to Corisande’s, giving her time—if not space— to voice her thoughts.

But hardly a second passed before Corisande leaned forward again, chasing Y’shtola’s lips with her own. She kissed her deeply, clutching at Y’shtola’s hips until she was flush against her. 

Delighted by the turn of events, Y’shtola slipped a hand between them, plucking at the buttons of Corisande’s plaid shirt. She had undone half of them and slipped her hand inside their shirt, cupping their breast through the tank top they wore beneath, before they pulled away again.

Y’shtola sat back, ignoring the way the steering wheel pressed into her back. The setting sun cast a golden light through the partially rolled down windows, falling warmly across Corisande’s face. She pulled her hand away from their chest and cupped their cheek instead, an ache in her chest forming under their open, searching look. 

“What is it?” she asked gently, not wanting to startle her. Despite the hesitancy, there was a longing in Corisande’s expression that she did not wish to extinguish. Whatever was holding her back, they could only work through it if Corisande shared.

Corisande swallowed, and seemed to change her mind. “Nothing,” she said, her eyes darting to Y’shtola’s lips. “It’s nothing.”

Y’shtola would not let them away so easily. She curled a finger under Corisande’s chin, lifting their face to hers, a hairsbreadth of space between their lips, but did not close the gap. “Corisande,” she said, gently but firmly, and a tiny thrill trilled down her spine at the way their eyelids briefly fluttered closed, their breath quickening against her lips. “Tell me.”

“I like you,” Corisande said in a rush of breath. Her grip on Y’shtola’s waist tightened reflexively, and Y’shtola’s pulse thrummed in her body at the pressure. Every place their bodies touched was a beacon of heat against her skin, and she had to hold herself still against the urge to press closer.  “A lot.”

“I gathered that much.” An obvious admission, but it pleased her to hear it anyway. A small bloom of warmth unfurled inside her and she leaned down, rewarding them with a kiss. “I feel the same.”

“I know,” Corisande said, their tone so perfectly pleased and sincere that Y’shtola could not help but smile. She felt their own grin when she kissed them again. “I just thought—I wanted the first time we—”

Corisande cut herself off, heat blooming in her cheeks. “I was just waiting for the right moment, is all.”

Y’shtola brushed a wayward curl out of Corisande’s face. “That’s very sweet.” Romantic. A complicated tangle of emotions knotted itself in her stomach. She’d never had much time or use for romance before, not when casual sexual relationships could get the job done without any distractions from her studies. She was still growing used to the way Corisande did things—the dates after work, the walking her to her door, the slow dances under the light of the moon. Things she hadn’t even known she would enjoy until it was Corisande doing them for her. Doing them with her. 

Maybe she could return the favor. 

“I suppose I was holding out for somewhere nicer than my truck,” Corisande said, still sounding a bit sheepish, though she kept her gaze on Y’shtola. 

Y’shtola leaned forward again, not quite brushing her lips against theirs. “Do you want to kiss me, Corisande?”

Their eyes dropped to her lips as they answered. “Yes.”

The corners of Y’shtola’s lips lifted into a satisfied smile. She lowered herself into their lap, her chest flush against theirs when she pressed a kiss to the side of their neck. “Do you want to touch me?”

She couldn’t see Corisande’s expression now, but her breathily exhaled “Yes” was more than enough encouragement. Y’shtola traced the buckle of Corisande’s belt with one finger, tapping the center, and asked, “Do you want me to touch you?”

Corisande’s chest hitched before she answered. “I do.”

“Then I would say now is the right moment, wouldn’t you?” Y’shtola pressed another kiss to their neck, just to drive home her reasoning. 

She had just enough time to glimpse Corisande’s growing grin before they kissed her. The urgency that had driven Y’shtola to this moment returned, twice over, echoed back to her in the way their mouth met hers—hot and open and seeking. She resumed her earlier task, undoing the remaining buttons of Corisande’s shirt and sliding her hand beneath their tank top. She felt the quiver of their belly beneath her touch as she glided her hand over their skin, felt their gasp against her lips when she took the slight weight of their breast in her hand, rolling her palm across their nipple.

Corisande’s own hands were busy, gliding over Y’shtola’s arms, chest, waist, heat trailing in their wake that left her craving their touch on bare skin. Their fingers traced the neckline of her dress, skimming the top of her breasts. They moved down her body, cupping and kneading through her dress, lower and lower until their hands rested on her knees, thumbs running soothing circles over her skin. 

And then finally, finally, Corisande’s hands found their way beneath her skirt, moving decisively up her thighs to the join between Y’shtola’s legs. She brushed against her lightly, but before Y’shtola could admonish her for teasing, Corisande pushed her underwear aside with a touch that brought a whimper from her lips. She canted her hips, seeking more of their touch—warm, deft, sure, just as she had imagined it would be.

Corisande broke away from her mouth, trailing kisses down the side of her neck. She followed her fingers' earlier path across the neckline of Y’shtola’s dress and Y’shtola, impatient and desperate, reached down and tugged at the ties until the front of her dress fell open. She cupped her own breast, lifting it, pleased when Corisande’s head dipped lower to meet the gesture with her lips. 

A knot formed once more, the threads of Y’shtola’s pleasure coalescing into a bright, hot, point low inside her. She gripped tightly at the seat behind Corisande, holding herself up while they kissed her, touched her, the rhythm of their fingers growing faster, more urgent. A well timed flick of their tongue across Y’shtola’s nipple coincided with a brush of their palm against her clit, and the threads of her pleasure pulled taut. 

She moaned, her back arching, her fingers grasping at the leather beneath them. Corisande wrapped an arm around her waist and Y’shtola sagged against her, letting her do the work of holding her up, her hands and lips still moving against Y’shtola as she rode her climax out. 

Corisande seemed intent on building her to her peak once more—and, Y’shtola suspected, likely beyond once more. But Y’shtola’s thoughts in the previous days had involved much more reciprocal scenarios.

Y’shtola made quick work of Corisande’s belt and the button on her jeans. A soft sound escaped Corisande when Y’shtola’s fingers pressed against her center, already slick with her desire. Y’shtola fixated on the sound with a greedy desire, desperate to draw it out of her as she dipped inside her, to capture the sound with her lips as they kissed. Corisande’s head tipped against the  window behind her, eyes closed, and this was better than anything Y’shtola’s imagination had conjured—Corisande under her, soft and warm around her fingers, breath hitching in her chest, one hand clutching desperately at Y’shtola’s waist, the other creating an erratic rhythm between Y’shtola’s legs.

It was not long before Corisande came with a soft, quiet cry. Y’shtola kissed her through it, savoring the slight pain of Corisande’s fingers digging into her waist, a delicious heat pulsing within her. She kept kissing her even as she steadied, as Corisande’s hands picked up its pace—not quite as gentle or as clever as before, but just as sure, just as capable of bringing Y’shtola gasping over the edge.

After, Y’shtola rested her head on their shoulder, and a strange contentment fell over her. Not just with having sated her desire, or theirs, but also with the way they held each other, with Corisande’s lips brushing a featherlight kiss to her forehead. If they had not been cramped in the driver's seat of Corisande’s pickup, she might’ve wanted to stay in the circle of their arms a while longer. 

Y’shtola pushed herself up and leaned back as far as the steering wheel would allow. With another touch to their chin, she lifted Corisande’s face until she could meet their gaze. She had only meant to kiss them before shifting back into her own seat, but the sun had not quite finished setting, and she was caught once more by the way the light fell across them. Gold limned the curve of their cheek, their parted lips, the disarrayed splay of the hair that framed their face.

“What is it?” Corisande asked, amusement evident beneath her curiosity.

“You’re beautiful,” Y’shtola answered, a simple declaration of fact. A feeling she did not yet want to name welled in her then, more than affection or that strange contentment, more than simple want or need. 

And then Corisande smiled at her, her green eyes bright, and Y’shtola’s stomach swooped in a way she had long thought herself inured against, and it didn’t matter that she would not name the feeling, because there was no denying its presence. 

But she didn’t have to think on it for long, because Corisande leaned forward to kiss her. Y’shtola, allowing herself back in the warm circle of Corisande’s arms, met her in the middle.