ITL 176

[SilverMoon28]

It's up!!!  Yay!!!!

And whoa... the trial is over... I can't believe it was that fast.  HOW DARE HE STRIKE ANOSANIM?!  He certainly deserves another trial *nod*.  A lifetime in jail... ouch... but maybe he can counsel prisoners once he gets his head back on his shoulders.

... LMAO!!!!!!!!

Sighing, Anikira gave him a wistful smile.  “I’ve always said, the only way I could love you any more, is if you had a-”

            “Yes, I know,” Kudorin said, kissing her.  “And I’m very sorry, but I really do like my dick.”

Oh, Matthew... lmao.

And I'm very happy that Remin gets to relax now.

Oooohhh I can't wait to see this:

To make Heir Voe submit to him, of all people?  In bed, of all places?  He wanted to enjoy the fantasy of it, the anticipation, a little while more.

That should be entertaining, to say the least.

And... how on Earth is that possible?!

Kudorin blessed people as they passed, but most people were too busy staring at Xio Voe to notice him.

I don't care what happens, when you see the pharaoh walking by, you don't just ignore him!!

*rages at Matthew* Stop stopping the chapters like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ^_^

Okay, okay, very well done.

Oh, I resent what ctizens are thinking about Anikira.  They ought to be severely punished by the gods for saying that about Anosukinom's wife and their queen.

V.

[Mountie]

A really good chapter I agree Vani.  I am glad Matthew has moved us forward quickly cause I was worried that we would take forever to get too the wedding.  But if we have a couple like this one, in no time we can all watch Xoe Voe perform the Anorian marriage ceremony.  If that doesn't prove to the world that he loves Kudorin I don't know what will.

I had some big smiles today while reading it.  Of course the places that you pointed out all had me smiling.  I also really enjoyed Talin's responses to the Xoe Voe collection.  I can see why the Gods chose him for the Royal Artist and Anosanim for the Royal Architect.  If Xoe Voe had been done in any other style then it could have been dismissed as a flight of fancy by the Royal Artist.  No one can dismiss Talin's talent that way, eventhough they tried.

I am going to have to declare myself now firmly in Camp Ritek.  To not only choose directly to not profit from his inside knowledge, though it could have make House Parike even more powerful just proves his integrity and his respect for Anosadim and the Seven Siblings.  Seeing how Hitari reacted and seeing how Ritek reacted showed me the vast differeces i the way that these men treat our boys and made me glad once agaain Anosanim has Ritek in his life.  Stepping in and taking the blows for Anosanim that Hitari dealt were icing on the cake.  I don't know if Anosanim and Ritek will marry BUT if they do I will not be unhappy at all.  I enjoyed, as always, spending time with Anosanim and Talin.

I delighted in Bades delight with having King Mindo being invited to the wedding.  I awwwww'ed when Desin slept on the grass so he could be close to his land after a day in meetings.  I miss Desin    And then the conversation between Xoe Voe and Selorin?  I can see the way the diplomatic relationship beween the countries are going to fare from here.  orinakin will be kept busy...

            “Thirty-seven Jacacean scholars arrived within the last hour, and we have already given them access to royal collections,” Selorin said.

            Xio Voe glanced at him without interest.  “Do you seek to blame me for your naïve decisions?”

            “Will you ever be a decent human being first, and Jacacean second?” Selorin demanded.

            “Yes,” Xio Voe replied.  “On a limited basis.”

I was incensed on Anikra's behalf.  The section with Anikira, thne Anikira and Kudorin was too cute at the end but she will have a battle of it.  I am sure she will stamp herself into history but it will be more difficult with her.  Since Kudorin and Xoe Voee are restricted to the palaces I am sure she will find a way.  Xoe Voe certainly will need to be translated to Anorians and her work will be cut out for her.  Brood Mare   just you wait!  And though I liked Kudorins response I liked Anikira's better when she suggested Kudorin change his genitals to get a rise out of Xoe Voe 

I also  when Remin and his bottle of oil were mentioned.  I suggest Remin just start to tell his assistants he is going to go meditate with Ilanosa.   It is good to see him relaxed and well adjusted.  He is going to be so much fun when we get to The Gold Book.

Now Xoe Voe and Kudorin together at the temple looking over the painting?  That was fun.  *melts*

            “You look beautiful when you’re in love with me,” Kudorin said, gazing at him affectionately.

            “I look strikingly handsome at all times, and under all conditions,” Xio Vo pointed out.  “But you’re welcome to have me painted with that goofy, besotted expression as many time as you’d like, should it please you.”

            Smiling, Kudorin ran his fingers along Xio Voe’s jaw.  “It does please me, ata.  Of all of the expressions you show to me, I like this one the best, because I can see your beauty and I can feel your love and I know, in my heart, that you love me.  And now my people know it, too.”

            A fond mutter: “Cialex.”

.....

            “It’s an endearment,” Kudorin explained, laughing.  “Heir Voe loves my generous, affectionate, easy nature.  Don’t you, shiefa?”

            “Yes,” Xio Voe said grimly.  “I am in love with you and your cialex ways.”

It was a really really good chapter.

[CourtneyLee]

I'm seriously pissed at how people are thinking of Anikira, too. But I have a feeling that Xio Voe will be the one to drop a few well-placed comments to help rectify that. And am I the only one who is squicked out by the thought of Kudorin with girl parts? Because I really like his dick, too.

Ah, closure. It's a beautiful thing.

Taking a slow look around, Anosanim saw a complicated past and a future that would never come to pass.  The world’s best artist and the world’s best model hadn’t been intended for each other.  “It’s really over,” he said, turning his gaze to Talin’s back.  “Isn’t it?”

            “Yeah,” Talin said, quietly, turning in the doorway to face him.  “It’s really over.”

And oh, to be a fly on Remin's bedroom wall...

No matter how much stress piled up, no matter how many people demanded his attention, no matter how many genuine problems he encountered, everything seemed a little easier to deal with, a little more manageable, once he’d spent half an hour alone with a bottle of oil.

And I loved how Kudorin and Xio Voe interacted in Ilanosa's temple when they went to look at one of the portraits.

“You look beautiful when you’re in love with me,” Kudorin said, gazing at him affectionately.

            “I look strikingly handsome at all times, and under all conditions,” Xio Vo pointed out.  “But you’re welcome to have me painted with that goofy, besotted expression as many time as you’d like, should it please you.”

            Smiling, Kudorin ran his fingers along Xio Voe’s jaw.  “It does please me, ata.  Of all of the expressions you show to me, I like this one the best, because I can see your beauty and I can feel your love and I know, in my heart, that you love me.  And now my people know it, too.”

            A fond mutter: “Cialex.”

            Adoring him for that, Kudorin smiled at him, beginning to float upwards from the floor.  And there it was.  Breaking through Xio Voe’s infamous control, a hint of a smile.  Subtle as it was, it was honest, and Kudorin felt a quick wave of recognition from their audience as Xio Voe gazed at him with fondness.  It wasn’t the exact same expression as the painting, but it was a hint of Xio Voe’s humanity, a sign that beneath the icy exterior lurked a beating heart.

            “Anosukinom,” Anosanim said softly, touching his arm.  “You might want to explain.  When we hear that particular word, we, well, everyone thinks that Heir Voe’s insulting you and you’re allowing him to do it.”

            “If it were truly an insult,” Xio Voe said coolly, “I would not use the word so lightly, nor would I apply it to Anosukinom.  Whoever dares to enter his home and insult him before his face deserves punishment, not the reward of marriage.”

            “It’s an endearment,” Kudorin explained, laughing.  “Heir Voe loves my generous, affectionate, easy nature.  Don’t you, shiefa?”

            “Yes,” Xio Voe said grimly.  “I am in love with you and your cialex ways.”

            It was such an icy and unconvincing response, Kudorin burst into laughter.  No one else was sure how to react, but Anosanim was chuckling, too.  So happy to be with Xio Voe, to be engaged, to be sharing Xio Voe with his people, Kudorin spread love through the room, into every corner.  And with that, his people sensed his love, his happiness, the warmth in his heart.  He was laughing, and he was happy, and that seemed to center around Xio Voe.

            Xio Voe made him happy.

            Smiles appeared around the room.  Tension eased.  Hope rose.  And Orina Anoris moved one step closer to accepting its future king.

I'm glad that a good amount of time seemed to pass in this chapter, at least a week or two. I feel like there aren't any more major hurdles to get over before the wedding. Hitari's trial is over, the stadium is almost done, Anorians are becoming more confident with the idea of Anosukinom marrying Xio Voe, and it seems that all that's left is the logistics of the wedding. How much time will they need? Do you think that Orinakin and Bade will go on a trip before the wedding? We're not going to have to wait twenty more chapters (five months!) before Xio Voe and Kudorin finally get to touch, will we, Matthew? You wouldn't do that to us, would you? 

[Mountie]

We're not going to have to wait twenty more chapters (five months!) before Xio Voe and Kudorin finally get to touch, will we, Matthew? You wouldn't do that tp us, would you?  

Yah! 

[anaskee]

Whew!  This chapter covered A LOT! And I absolutely love it. 

The trial was real quick and for a second there I would have wished for it to drag on, but only for a second.  I realize it would be so horribly unpleasant for me to read if the trial went on, chapter after chapter.  This way the knife cuts quickly and deeply, then it's over. 

Taking a slow look around, Anosanim saw a complicated past and a future that would never come to pass.  The world’s best artist and the world’s best model hadn’t been intended for each other.  “It’s really over,” he said, turning his gaze to Talin’s back.  “Isn’t it?”
 “Yeah,” Talin said, quietly, turning in the doorway to face him.  “It’s really over.”

This is a closure for me as well.  I was an avid supporter of the Talin/Hitari relationship and wouldn't believe that Hitari is capable of such selfish, malicious crimes until the evidence was right in front of me.  I guess this relationship is not meant to be.  Hitari just threw it all away and Talin paid the price.

I am so proud of Talin.    I can't say that enough!  It gives me the shivers to realize that this IS the reason why Talin is the Royal Artist and not Anosanim.  I look back on the doubts before the twins' ascension and finally, here's the answer.  Totally agree with Mountie on this.

Also this:

I am going to have to declare myself now firmly in Camp Ritek.  To not only choose directly to not profit from his inside knowledge, though it could have make House Parike even more powerful just proves his integrity and his respect for Anosadim and the Seven Siblings.  Seeing how Hitari reacted and seeing how Ritek reacted showed me the vast differeces i the way that these men treat our boys and made me glad once agaain Anosanim has Ritek in his life.  Stepping in and taking the blows for Anosanim that Hitari dealt were icing on the cake.  I don't know if Anosanim and Ritek will marry BUT if they do I will not be unhappy at all. 

This chapter gave us a brief glimpse of Ritek's POV and that's what's really convinced me.  He's good people. 

I'm not quite sure why but this made me laugh.

The general consensus was that Anosukinom deserved someone so shockingly handsome, and that even if he were as strict and evil as they’d heard, at least he was good to look at.

Do Anorians usually look at their glass as half full?

I was also focused on Kudorin and Xio Voe that until it was mentioned in this chapter, I haven't realized how easy it  will be for people to totally overlook Anikira.  But she's got spunk, she'll show them all.

Overall, this is such an amazing chapter, all wrapped up fabulously. 

[Mountie]

CL & anaskee, the closure was wonderful really.  I am so glad Selorin got it over and done with quickly. 

We polled readers of M/M fiction over in the BDB and well over 60% prefered alpha/alpha pairings, like Kudorin and Xoe Voe.  Much fewer liked alpha/beta and less alpha/twinks.  So I can understand the meh feeling over Anosanim and Ritek.  However if we are going to get a twink/alpha or even a twink/beta pairing I don't mind Anosanim as a twink.  I find I don't mind twinks BUT it all depends on the character himself.  Since I like Anosanim, he just doesn't grate me wrong.  So I can get behind Ritek being his HEA and him just gradually falling in love.  It happens in RL why not in fiction?

[CourtneyLee]

I don't see Anosanim as a "twink", really. Rini, absolutely, but not Anosanim. Anosanim is too flamboyant and in touch with his feminine side to be a twink in my eyes. It's kind of hard to explain. 

[Mountie]

I always think of "flaming" when I think of Anosanim

Who knew when I started reading M/M that I would need so many different words to describe a "pretty" young gay man.

[CourtneyLee]

What I'm finding difficult is applying certain terms to Anorian men. With how sexually liberated their society is, a guy can be feminine like Anosanim but be mostly heterosexual; it's like the two aren't even related. So from my personal cultural standpoint, Anosanim is so flaming he needs a fire department, but by Anorian standards, it's not that simple.

Even using terms like "alpha male" is tricky because these characters display such a variety of personality traits. I can't even peg down Kudorin as alpha because he's alpha and beta and twink and everything in between. Except Xio Voe--he is totally alpha. And T'rin. But then, neither are Anorian. I think the only Anorian I'd be comfortable labeling as alpha is Selorin by virtue of him liking the power trip. Talin, too, I guess.  Maybe. 

[Shanghi]

*reads above posts*

Uhuh, yes, yes, right, I agree, yes, yes, Yes!

Ya'll took the words right out of my mouth.

[SilverMoon28]

 

I  you guys.

And what about Desin?  You guys don't see him as an alpha male?

Anikira will indeed show the world that she's not just a baby machine.  She is strong, beautiful, willing, very capable, smart and loving.  She will love her people and the gods have already given her every tool to go out there and show everyone what she can do.  I can't wait to see it!

And I can't wait to see XV as a father.  Oh, that will just be awesome.

The only reason I would want the trial to have gone on  alittle longer would be to see how Selorin works.  He intrigues me (did I even spell that right?).  I wanna know how his mind works.  And if I could pick his brains, I'd do it and talk to him for hours.

Ritek.  I appreciate what he did.  It's great.  I think that he's a good person and that he really does care about Anosanim.  But I get an 'off' vibe from him.  Not because I don't like him, but because I don't think he and Anosanim are soulmates.  You know what I mean?  But I do think that he and Anosanim will remain friends forever if they don't get married.

Speaking of Anosanim... y'all calling him flaming had me so thinking about JC in 'Living' it had me burst out into laughter.

What?  I'm weird!

Vani

[Shanghi]

Ritik & Anosanim may not be destined for each other, but I do believe Ritik is what Anosanim needs at this stage in his life and see them remaining good friends no matter where their paths take them.

[CourtneyLee]

I'm with you guys re: Ritek. Not soulmates, but no negative vibes at all. I can see Anosanim making a huge effort to remain close friends with Ritek after they split, but I don't think it would happen until Ritek meets the man/woman he will eventually marry because he's too much in love with Anosanim to remain friends. Especially since I strongly suspect their relationship will end when Ritek starts talking about marriage and Anosanim realizes he doesn't love Ritek in that forever way. But I can see them rekindling their friendship once Ritek emotionally moves on.

Desin as an alpha male? Well..kinda. He doesn't have the intensity I usually see in alphas, but I'm so used to intense, overbearing alphas that Desin being so laid back throws me off the scent a bit. He does have the killer protectiveness, though, like when he went all  when Xio Voe made Kudorin cry.

I'm so glad that the alpha males we have seen so far have not crossed the line into asshole males (Xio Voe's asshole actions pre-admittance of love don't count because he was so blocked off) because when that happens, I tend to  in the opposite direction.

[Rebel]

Ok, I have been immersed in boy bands so havent been up for air  This was a really good, really informative chapter. In a sense, I felt like it was a "catch up" chapter, ie bringing alot of stuff to a close and moving the story forward. Nothing wrong with any of that, though I will admit to missing the intensity of the more sexual chapters. I'm such a voyeur   

As to the alpha male question, I see Selorin, Talin and Desin as alphas.  Orinakin has shades of it, but he's too damn nice to be totally alpha.  Desin is laid back, yes, but he has all the right protective instincts when it comes to his brothers. And Talin and Selorin, well, there is no doubt with either of them in my mind.

Since I've been reading Living all week...........anyone else see the similarity between Nick and Rini?    I heart them both, lol!

[Mountie]

I will have to Living and let you know Rebel.  But if you think so I will believe you.

*runs like the wind to read Living*