#the comparison is not out of the blue. the author has written wx fic prior to this book I know they know lwj

[llycaons]

atogai pt. 3/4(?). matters are progressing as stupidly as you can imagine, but there's a lot more kissing so ig the author considers that worth it. idk if EYE do bc they're still doing to it maintain their foolish disguises!!!

it's gotten to the point where their horny thoughts for each other are interfering in their internal monologues.

kadou is like almost having a breakdown and evemer is like wow he's so beautiful....I wish I could make out with him and solve all his problems

in many ways it IS very like fanfic. the romantic prose is certainly starting to sound familiar

omg they're doing sleepover questions...

virgin evemer not a surprise. bisexual evemer moreso. nice! rowland broke the stereotype of the stoic intense yearning gayboy

ace melek. hello ace melek!

bi tadek and I don't even mind he's a bit of a slut. I like him even tho he's kind of obnoxious

gay kadouuuu

honestly the fact that they're having this conversation at all is kind of hilarious and very ummm fandomy in the sense that this is something only a modern audience would care about or put labels on, but I don't even mind? I think it's fun. EYE like to know anyway. apparently in this universe they construct attraction the same way! sure!

also I love how evemer's first crush was an incandescently angry 16 year old girl with huge muscles. he's the post that's like 'my type is women who could look like they could beat me up and men who wouldn't stand a chance' I actually relate a lot

it helps that this is such a fantastical setting so you don't feel like it's being ahistorical or disrespectful of an actual region's culture or people. like...it's quite silly and fun and that's the point. no homophobia no misogyny no transphobia

unlike mask of mirrors, there are non-binary people (a lot, judging ny pronouns only, and the author is nb too), but also apparently no trans women or men? that can't be right...you'd think they would mention them at least. with such a culture, trans ppl and transitioning must be supported. I imagine

anyway I knew siranos was a shady fucker!!!!! I CALLED IT!!!! he was party to way too many state secrets for just A Guy who the sultan liked to fuck!! and he interfered in the investigation!!! why was HE there that night huh!!!!

their government is so fragile and inefficient...just the sultan and her heir and her brother. and ONE commander. eozena doesn't have a second in command?

honestly kadou insisting on going out when he's easily identifiable and extremely valuable is so stupid, strategically speaking, and there's no good reason that he should be doing this. it's very contrived. like I know he wants to be doing something but like... dude your wants and mental health are not the most important part of this situation sorry. people are literally dead

initially ppl had to argue w him to get him to even ask for stuff and now he's like um I'm Doing This. but it's stupid!! he's literally one of the only people left who could run the government!!!

not that I care about the maintenance of the monarchy, but THEY clearly do

evemer being a bad kisser is great. virgin bisexual king. it would even be great if he was kind of inexperienced and bad at sex too but idk if that would ruin the romance for ppl. it's kind of fun that kadou is the experienced one even tho he's the shy anxious slightly younger one

damn I wonder if there's age ratings on books. the only one I ever saw was on mdzs. you can't really tell if a book has a sex scene in it just by looking...when I was younger I was all shocked and horrified bc that all scared me but now it's just kind of inconvenient if I want to know and it doesn't say

if we even HAVE a sex scene. if mx. rowland cheats me out of one again AGAIN I'm going to be sooo mad. let it be known that's a good chunk of the reason why I'm even reading this. the context is...well ifyyk

oh and look he got captured

anyway this is stupid. like ppl can recognize him by his HAIR and he has the shittiest diguise...

honestly as soon as that incident happened where he didn't run and instead went back to save evemer a few weeks ago, evemer should have been removed from duty for him. bc that's not safe! having a guard you would die for? that kind of undermines the entire point of having a guard!

also them going out when the mastermind knows both of their faces....god damn this is dumb. OH WELL

oh huh evemer is used to ignoring and working through physical pain and kadou is used to working through mental distress. foils?

the dynamic here between a very loyal guard and a prince he swears to follow is expected, but not really my thing. I was lond of hoping for something more nuanced? alas. at least the issue of power imbalance is a huge theme that gets worked on pretty thoroughly

I am not someone who wants a kneeling knight emoji sorry. can you people get a grip

also. the bad guys KNOW WHERE THE SAFE HOUSE IS. WHY DIDN'T YOU IMMEDIATELY LEAVE...

why tf is kadou lying about evemer being a count. just say 'you're not going to kill me bc the sultan would destroy you for it, well if you kill evemer then EYE will destroy you for it.' like kadou is also a member of the royal family and he doesn't need to lie about that...

in the second half of this book it seems like over-cautiousness has given way to utter carelessness and poor judgement. like damn evemer, you're supposed to be the best!!! why is the princess still in a safe house that siranos knows about!! and you KNOW he knows!!!

also their fellow guard was beaten and imprisoned in a manor for hours bc they were like 'ummm we all have to sleep instead of raiding the manor' like you have NOBODY???

well whatever. they're married now ig. it worked

FINALLY they're making out for realsies in this dungeon they're being held in. aw sweet they're about to fuck

NOOOO WHY DID THEY STOP

MX. ROWLAND KEEPS EDGING MEEEEEEEE

swear to god just let them come....I'm so mad

AND I DON'T GET WHY. what's the harm of them having sex? why do they have to divorce vs. annulling? god this is not being explained properly

oh if they consummate then it would have to be a very ugly and public divorce...jfc it's not like anyone would KNOW

head in my hands

anyway in that sense the marriage served a purpose but I don't think it was THAT necessary? man I just wanted to see them fuck. mx. rowland is so cruel...

so the upshot of them being married is that evemer is now technically of an equal rank with kadou so he (evemer) is able to cross that last little gap between them, insist that kadou listens to what he says, and assures kadou that 1. he's okay and he also wants this 2. he's allowed to disobey orders if he wants to (he got that privilege last night from the sultan) and 3. he can physically disengage and leave if he needs to. which is enough to get kadou to relax his terror of abusing his power on someone of a lower rank than him and hurting evemer

and evemer had to be the one to initiate...honestly I know there's been a lot of kissing going on but I feel like kadou didn't make his own position clear enough that evemer would be confident in making that move. like...he's not wrong abt kadou also wanting it but also you two have known each other for less than two months and kadou has been sp careful and repressed so like.. how do you know...

in many ways the mdzs confession was very silly but having someone externally confirm lwj's feelings did solve the gridlock between lwj and wwx. here they did it on their own but I'm not rly sure how?

anyway their dynamic was never unpleasant, I actually always enjoyed it, but now it's really fun. lighthearted and playful and affectionate and horny. it's a good time. I like them together

I was thinking abt the title and how little it has to do with the actual core story and relationship but the bit with the pins was so neat...I like that

kadou being like 'this can't last' WHY NOT!!! for once can romance protags have some confidence in their love stories damn

oh tenzin is so funny

wait im sorry the hypercompetetent guards have just been SITTING there when they heard the prince had been taken? they didn't raid the shop in question? how useless ARE these people???

anyway they're all back, I kind of assumed they'd know they were together, but um...ig not. because...ohh their positions....they can't...he has to get married to a noble....oof...this does get me

like they know they like each other but they're not officially TOGETHER together. okay yeah that makes sense

evemer talks so much abput self-discipline and all but hmm he doesn't have anything on lan wangji sorreeee

very little left now but this is getting long