#anticipation is nine tenths of desire

[floodlight-bridge]

The fact that there is an intensity to eye contact that can change, be changed during, is so crazy and my favorite thing about it. It’s like when you read in a book the eyes fill with desire. A heat. I almost don’t want this…we’lll call it flirting to come to a head w this woman, it’s been so fun, but…the desire.

She made me food. I walked her to her car and finally kissed her. I am v happy.

Having some of the best sex of my life, she made albondigas it was incredible, and the communication is something I’ve never had. Not used to someone wanting to take care of me, just because.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Impatient (S.R.)

Summary: Spencer can’t wait until you get home. Request: Reid’s been gone on a case and reader picks him up & after they have been driving, they pull over because they can’t wait & end up having sex in the back of the car and he finishes fast Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader Category: Smut (NSFW, 18+) Content Warning: Public sex, unprotected sex, penetrative sex, car sex Word Count: 1k

MASTERLIST

There were nineteen traffic lights between the airport and your apartment. This was a fact you and Spencer both knew well, although you’d never discussed it.

The car was eerily quiet. You both stared forward at the tenth light with bated breath, just waiting for it to turn green. The gentle idle of the car was torturous for bodies already riddled with anticipation.

Your thighs tense even though it makes the vibrations feel even more unbearable. The masochist inside you doesn’t take enough pleasure from your teeth bearing down on your tongue, so you make it worse.

You look over at Spencer, who’s in an even worse state than you. He feels your eyes on him and you watch the way his breath catches in his throat. His Adam's apple bobs as he tries to control the desire just a little while longer. But you can see it bubbling under the surface. You can feel his eyes like fire on your skin.

You’re staring at each other, silent, but pleading with the utmost desperation.

You’re so distracted that you barely notice the way the light changes to green.

Spencer makes a decision. You don’t know what it is, but you realize that something has changed when the car veers off to the right rather than continuing through the intersection.

You gasp as he floors it through the mostly abandoned shopping center, but you say nothing. You are too afraid of what will happen if you break the silence. You trust that he wants the same as you.

It’s not until the car pulls crooked into the shady back area of the parking lot that you dare to ask, “What are you doing?”

“I can’t wait another nine lights,” he tries to answer, but he cuts himself off by kissing you. His hands are as greedy as his tongue that immediately slips past your defenses.

You kiss him back without hesitation. But while his fingers press hard against your cheeks, yours are more practical. You struggle to free yourself from the confines of your seat, and he is quick to follow.

All you hear is a chorus of buckles, buttons, and belts coming undone. You hear the loud thud of his chair as it slides as far back as it can go. Then his hands are on you again, guiding you gracelessly over the center console until you land in his lap.

You thank yourself for wearing a skirt, and Spencer thanks you, too. His hands bunch up the fabric and his nails dig into the supple skin of your hips.

In a perfect world, you know that Spencer would’ve gone above and beyond to ensure you were ready for him. Despite his own discomfort, he would take however long it needed until you were begging him to end both of your suffering.

But in this world, you were the one on top, and you got to make the decision.

“Can’t wait,” you whisper against his lips when he tries to slide his hand into your underwear.

You pull back just enough to coat your palm with a healthy amount of spit. With unwavering eye contact, you wrap your hand around his aching cock and cover it the same.

Spencer is already overwhelmed from the mere sight of depravity. He can barely breathe through his groans, and his hips are bucking against you hard enough that your head bumps against the roof. But you can’t find it in yourself to care.

“Please,” he begs you, “Inside, now. Please, I can’t— I can’t wait.”

And while Spencer is no stranger to hyperbole, you believe the desperation in his voice. You end his misery swiftly, pulling your underwear to the side and sinking down on him in one fluid motion.

The car fills with the sounds and smell of sex. You grip the back of his seat and force your hips down harder. You look down at him to find his eyes already struggling to stay open. But he is insistent that he stays looking at you when you start to grind against his lap.

His breath comes out in unsteady and staccato bursts from his dropped jaw. Dispersed among the hot, humid puffs were groans and whimpers that almost sounded like your name.

Spencer holds you harder and tries to help lift you, just enough that he shivers when you drop back down. He’s trying to keep the pace slow, but with each movement, he goes faster. Each time that you separate, he is so eager to bring you down that before you know it, your bodies are barely coming apart at all.

The two of you are helplessly rocking against one another. Your mouths slide against one another to get closer somehow. And although he tries, he can’t stop your hips from moving. You don’t let him.

“Wait, I—" he keens, “I’m going to… fuck.”

“Do it,” you urge, but you see him trying to hold on.

“I haven’t touched myself since I left,” he explains breathlessly.

He tries to continue, but his voice catches in his throat when he feels you react to his words. He feels your body grip him tighter, begging him to let go. But he holds off because he wants you to hear it.

“I wanted… to give it all to you. It’s all for you.”

You feel the love beneath the lust. You can feel your heartbeats trying to synchronize where your bodies meet. You see the way he looks at you as he holds himself back despite the way it hurts.

You hold his face more carefully than you did before. You kiss him, taste the sweetness on his tongue and return it with your own. The hunger had not dissipated, but it had changed. Your movements were just as hurried, your hips still restless and your hands still greedy.

But there is a softness in your voice when you whisper, “Give it to me.”

There is a softness about him when he falls apart. Even when his muscles tense and he holds you so tightly that you can barely breathe.

With the last of your breath, you sing his praise. Your head falls back and Spencer’s mouth latches on to your trembling throat. His tongue coaxes out all the beautiful sounds he can, and your body grips him harder in return.

You feel each twitch of his cock inside you. Time slows down as you feel the warmth flowing through you. Your hips press down harder, demanding that he fulfill his promise to give you everything he has.

And he does. He sobs with pleasure into the crook of your neck and doesn’t stop until he is too exhausted to move at all. Still, he holds you. With soft hands and his lips against your pulse, he finds peace in that simple reverent way.

In that moment of quiet, you both find the energy to laugh about how juvenile you were to fuck in the back of an abandoned shopping center parking lot. But you are still glad that you did it. It didn’t make the ride home any less suspenseful, either, because you were still counting down to when you could hold one another again.

There were only nine lights to go.

(Tell me what you thought of this fic here!)

[kpoptrashlord-007]

Green Light;; BC

Word Count;; .5k

Genre;; Smut

Pairing;; Bang Chan x Fem!Reader

Summary;;

Chan doesn't take back-chat lightly. In fact, he'd sooner have you bent over his knee than allow that sort of behaviour. If you're going to act like a bad girl, you're going to be punished like one too.

Warnings;;

Spanking, daddy kink, pussy slapping

Request;;

“Hiiii👋 could you pls do a Drabble about Chan being a Dom after you talked back to him💕”

Main Masterlist || SKZ Masterlist

   "Count them off."

   Stinging pain ignited your body in a flurry of red. It took the shape of his hand, the outline prominent and clear. When he raised his arm to paint the colour of lust a shade darker onto your sensitive skin, you moaned out, “Nine,” and awaited the tenth.

   Watching both from your peripheral and the mirror overhead, you bit your lip in anticipation. The angle wasn't perfect but you could see the impact of each spanking clear as day through the crisp reflection that substituted for the ceiling over the canopy bed. Every time his palm landed against the plump flesh of your arse, you pressed a little deeper into the sheets. Silk caressed your tear-stained cheeks, the soft material a direct contrast to the harshness of his touch.

   After the twelfth slap, you stopped counting once more, prompting him to halt his punishment.

   "I thought you liked to talk, baby?"

   "I do," you whined, dropping your body flat against the bedding and rolling over. With a wince, you gazed into his dark chocolate eyes. "I do, Daddy, but I can't take anymore."

   "Really?" Worry edged into his voice.

   "Green."

   Christopher shook his head, a smile on his lips that soon turned wicked. "But you have three more to go, baby girl. Should I find"—his fingers traced along your inner thigh before he cupped your cunt in his palm—"somewhere else to punish instead?"

   Your voice was a breathy whisper, the sound almost lost over the pulsating ecstasy pumping through your veins.

   "Green."

   "Count them off."

   The first one took you by surprise. When his hand met your pussy in a firm slap, you jolted. Pleasure electrified every nerve and you fought to keep yourself from cumming then and there. Your body was already sensitive but this took it to another level.

   "One!"

   The second was expected but elicited a response just as strong as the first. Your thighs tensed and your pussy clenched around nothing, desperate to be filled. While much softer than the spanks your raw arse had endured, he maintained a strong hand. Waves of pleasure and delectable pain cascaded outward from your overstimulated heat. Panting, you took a deep breath before attempting to speak.

   "Two," you drawled, excitement elongating the word.

   The third and final slap created a loud squelch. Your pussy was slick with desire and juices soaked your quivering folds. With a mind turned blank from the bombardment of sensation, you focused on how even though your clit had gone numb, your cunt still trembled with need.

   "Three. Good girl," he praised, tenderness abundant in his voice. Christopher speckled kisses against your inner thigh while massaging your cunt, teasing your entrance and occasionally dipping one of his thick fingers inside. "Now does my baby want a reward?"

   "Green."

  – ♡ –  If you enjoyed this, please consider liking, commenting, reblogging, and/or following! Thank you!

[jettingtothemoon]

Count to Twenty

➳ pairing: midoriya izuku x reader ➳ genre: fluff if you squint, smut ➳ warnings: kinks, spanking, oral (male receiving), mentions of sex, dom/sub, midoriya being the little sub he is ➳ word count: 2563 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which midoriya unexpectedly moans when you slap his ass.

You'd been dating Izuku since about halfway through your first year at UA. Now in your third year, the two of you had been together for a good couple of years.

Obviously, your relationship with him had a slow start. Izuku was cute and, before high school, had certainly not gained much attention from any girls. Which is why he was so surprised when you confessed your feelings to him. You'd been good friends with him but as you got to know him more your feelings only grew into something different. Something more.

You only worked up the courage to tell him how you felt because he was once again at the centre of the danger, as always with him, and just thinking that something could happen to him without him knowing how you felt was scary. So, you told him and of course, he was a babbling mess. Face flushing cherry red, mumbling nonsense as he tried to come to terms with what you had told him.

Despite that, he managed to confess that he liked you too and so, you began dating.

Your first kiss wasn't until a good few weeks into the relationship, well, besides the cheek kisses he couldn't escape from.

Your first proper makeout wasn't until your second year. That was when your relationship started progressing and getting a little more physical.

The first time you had sex was a little into your third year and, as expected, Izuku was a lure sub. He needed you to walk him through it so that he knew he was doing it right.

That was just how Izuku was. When it came to girls and relationships he was pretty much clueless. However, it was like teaching a baby to walk and once he got the hang of things, although he was still a little clumsy, he was a fast learner.

Each stage of you physical relationship had taken so long to develop. He was just too innocent, it was adorable. However, once you started having sex it was almost like you couldn't stop. You were the one who initiated it ninety-five percent of the time but Izuku was never not up for it if you were. Despite that, he was still so cute and innocent with it. Blushing like crazy, being a little sweetheart and asking you if you felt good because that was what mattered.

It was always about you, always about how you felt and what you wanted.

That was why you hadn't expected him to let a moan slip past his lips when you cheekily slapped his ass. He was used to this kind of thing from you because you had always been more direct than him. Kissing him, cheekily placing a hand on his thigh under the table like that time he came for dinner with you and for parents. It was always you teasing him but this, this reaction was new.

Usually, Izuku would just blush, mumble and stutter like an idiot. Which really was so cute and exactly what he began to do as soon as he realised what he had just done.

The thing was, you weren't alone. You were in the common area of the dorm, a shared space between all students in your class. Although, thankfully, there were only a couple of other people here besides the two of you. However, from the sly glance you received from Todoroki and the almost flustered expression Iida was sporting, you had assumed they'd heard him.

"I- I, um- I'm going to go take a shower." Izuku stumbled over his words before rushing off towards his room.

After the initial shock had passed, you sighed and giggled quietly. This was going to be fun.

And so, you began to follow after your flustered boyfriend.

When you reached his room, you didn't bother to knock and just slipped in past the door to find him lying face down on his bed.

"Izuku?" You called out from where you stood, watching as he simply pushed his face further into his pillow.

You stepped forwards, slowly making your way over to the bed, "Did you just... moan when I slapped your ass?"

He huffed and rolled onto his side as if his soul had just left his body. He pulled his pillow along with him, tugging it to his chest as he curled himself up into a ball.

"N-No."

You raised an eyebrow, "Do you want me to do it again?"

The top half of his face, which wasn't quite covered by his pillow, only flushed more as he shook his head and stuttered again, "N-no. D-don't be ri-ridiculous."

You sighed and sat down on the side of the bed, combing your fingers through his broccoli coloured hair, "Izuku."

Although you had simply expected him to deny it again, he surprised you once again by slowly nodded his head.

"I-It felt kind of... good." He finally admitted, embracing the idea that just maybe it was okay to have liked the feeling of your smaller hand slapping his ass.

You leaned down, kissing his cheek reassuringly, "It's okay to like something like that you know. I'm not judging you. A spanking kink is actually way more common than you think."

Izuku sprung up, back as straight as a pencil, still tightly holding his pillow to his chest, "K-kink? I- I don't have anything like that!"

The tone of his voice alone betrayed him, not to mention the way his face only grew a darker shade of red. 

"Maybe it's just a pain kink but I can't imagine that little slap actually hurt all that much." You pondered, only flustering him more.

"P-Pain?"

"Well yeah, you do get beat up a lot. Maybe you've come to like it?" You giggled, teasing him admittedly a little more than necessary.

He finally pulled the pillow away from his face and instead opted for pushing it into his lap, "I don't like it! At least, not when I'm fighting."

As he spoke it was clear that even he was questioning things and trying to figure things out for himself, although you knew he was already most likely aware of how he felt about it all. He was always good at piecing things together.

"So?" You asked, leaning a head on his shoulder as he came to his decision.

That was how you ended up with him lying down over the edge of the bed with his naked ass in the air.

Before you could begin, he turned his head to you and tried to look for any sign that you were uncomfortable, "Are you sure about this?"

You simply nodded in reassurance, "This is the first time we've actually gone into kinks properly. If you want to try it then I do too."

"O-Okay then." His face flushed again before he hid it into the mattress as he awaited your start.

After Izuku admitted that he wanted to give it a go, you locked the door and told him what to do. When it came to kinks and things, you had your knowledge but it was all very much as new to you as it was him. Especially this particular kink, although you were not particularly surprised to find out that your boyfriend might actually have a spanking kink. It just seemed to fit with his personality.

Izuku lied there almost still except for the way he continued to shuffle ever so slightly in anticipation. He had told you that it was okay for you to do it in your time and that you don't have to if you're not comfortable with it. You had told him that this wasn't about you, this was about him and that he could tell you to stop at any point for whatever reason.

You could tell he was growing agitated waiting and so, you raised your hand before swinging it back down and hitting him. His whole body jolted even though you were sure to be careful because you wanted to start off soft and then slowly raise the intensity of each hit. You would have stopped there and then to ask if he was alright had he not moaned once again, this time much louder than in the common area.

And so, with a newfound rush of adrenaline coursing through your body, you raised your hand again before it came flying back down against Izuku's ass once more.

He groaned, fingers curling into the bedsheets as he waited for the next one and before long it came. This went on for a good few slaps before you started to understand what his preferences were. He seemed to like harder spanks but it still seemed that there was something missing. And so, you decided to try something.

"Izuku."

He groaned again when you said his name, pushing his ass higher as if begging you to hit it again.

"I want you to start counting each one, okay? If you can count twenty spanks I'll give you a treat, deal?"

Although you were somewhat unsure what his reaction would be, your boyfriend nodded and let out a somewhat shaky okay.

And so, your hand came back once again before crashing into his bare ass at its hardest pressure yet. Thankfully, Izuku moaned which only showed that you had not gone too far.

"O-One." He stuttered, hands gripping tighter onto the bedsheets as your hand pulled back again.

You made sure that each hit was harder than the last and watched as his cute little bum began to turn a light shade of red.

"Six."

He was enjoying it, that much you could tell.

"N-Nine."

It made you happy, seeing him enjoying something like this was nice. He always focused his attention on you and, although your sexual endeavours always wound up with both of you feeling good, it was nice to focus on him for once.

By the time you hit your tenth spank, Izuku was talking through gritted teeth. His knuckles had grown white from his tightly his fingers were holding onto the bedsheets.

"We're halfway, do you think you can get through the rest?" Izuku had grown much more comfortable with this as he grew to enjoy it even more and whatever doubt you thought you had about doing this was gone.

Although you were not sure if it was a good thing, it felt really good to be dominating over him like this. To watch him squirm on the bed in front of you, his cock clearly rubbing against the bed every time your hand collided with his ass. It felt good to see him feeling soon good because of you. Despite your growing desire to push this further, you decided to leave that for another day and ew work him up to it. For today, you would leave him with a sore ass and maybe even a little treat if he behaves and gets to the end of all twenty.

He nodded, "I- I can do it."

"Are you sure? Your little ass is looking like it hurts, we can stop if you want."

"N-no. I can make it to the end, y/n. Please."

It pleasantly surprised you that you didn't need to bring up the reward you had offered him. Maybe he still remembers the promise of it or maybe he simply wanted you to hit him more, to hit him harder, to make him beg for you to stop.

"Okay then." You kept your voice harsh but silky as your hand came slamming back down again.

"E-eleven."

By fifteen, he was short of breath and began trying to rut against the bed for release. Until your hand hit him again that is.

"You were behaving so well. If you can survive the last five without doing that again, you'll still get your reward. If you can't, then you'll be sleeping on your own tonight." You tutted, threatening him with not only the loss of his reward but also you for the night.

More often than not, you slept in his room or he slept in yours. Of course, you were not supposed to and had you not been in your last year maybe Eraserhead would have done something about it. He certainly knew that the two of you often shared a bed but he had been your teacher for three years now and he trusted that the two of you were old enough to be responsible with what you did behind closed doors. Although, if he saw what you were doing right now he'd probably split the two of you up for the rest of the year and put you in detention until you graduate.

"T-Twenty."

When his final, shaky count left his lips, Izuku collapsed onto the bed. This was quite possibly too much for him, or maybe not quite enough.

"Good boy. As promised, you get your treat now. Go on, lie down."

He did as you instructed and turned himself over to lie on the bed, seemingly noticing the way his ass hurt just as he put pressure on it. He watched you eagerly as you walked over to him, eyes locked with his as you climbed onto the bed. When your eyes finally broke apart, you grabbed his rock hard cock and slowly began pumping him.

Izuku moaned and threw his head back, only for his eyes to snap back to you when you took him in your mouth.

"y/n..." He groaned, fingers instinctively going into your hair.

You relished in the feeling of his fingers lightly tugging at your hair, know that was a sign he was enjoying it. As you continued to bob your head, your tongue slipping over the tip every time before you sunk back down, you gently took a hold of his balls and began to massage them in your hand.

When your boyfriend groaned through gritted teeth, you knew you were doing a good job. You knew exactly what he liked and had become quite skilled in providing him with the pleasure he so desperately sought. This time around, however, you knew he was getting closer to his release much faster than usual.

Maybe it was because he had been hard for so long. Maybe it was the friction he received from the bed. But you knew what it really was. He was so close already because he enjoyed the little spanking you gave him. It probably wouldn't be too bold to say that he loved it, definitely by the way he was reacting down here.

"y/n, I- I'm going to- I'm going to cum."

He gave you a warning, as he always did, so that you could pull off if you wanted to but you didn't. You held his dick between your lips as he came and quickly swallowed his release before coming off with a pop.

As soon as you were done, although Izuku was clearly exhausted, he grabbed a hold of your arm to pull you onto him. Before you had a chance to blink you were lying on his chest encased in his arms and he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you."

He smiled into your hair and gave you a little, affectionate squeeze.

[dwellordream]

“Almost at once, Eleanor set out for Poitiers with some members of her household, and Poitevin nobles who had attended the council formed an escort to accompany their duchess. She was in danger of being abducted and forced into a new marriage by some nobleman eager to acquire her inheritance. The former queen knew that she could not remain single for long and that unless she acted quickly to take a husband of her own choosing, she would soon find herself married against her will to a stranger. 

She had two narrow escapes during her flight from Beaugency: first from the count of Blois and Chartres, Theobald V, later to become her younger daughter’s husband, who tried to take her as she traveled past Blois; then she had to evade another attempted abduction by Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry’s sixteen-year-old younger brother. He planned to capture her at Port-de-Piles on the border of Touraine and Poitou, but “warned by her angels” at Tours she took a different road into her own county. As soon as Eleanor was safely at Poitiers, she wrote to Henry that she was free to marry. 

Modern writers explain her hasty marriage almost entirely in emotional terms, as due either to her falling in love or to her quest for a younger man more vigorous than her former husband. They ignore her vulnerability once she left her former husband’s court: a woman alone and in need of a protector—both of her person and of her duchy. She had little choice but to find a new husband capable of defending her and her lands as quickly as possible. As heir to the largest of the French duchies and as a former queen, Eleanor had few options in marriage partners, but she had to take the initiative in making a new marriage before being forced into wedding someone not of her own choosing. 

In an act almost unheard of in her time, Eleanor acted independently without consulting her kin or other counselors. Of all available princes, Henry Plantagenet, although nine years her junior, “came nearest to being a worthy partner for a discarded queen.” Everything points toward first plans for their marriage having been laid during his August 1151 visit to the French court. Her true feelings toward the Angevin heir cannot be known, but she must have found his youth and ardor appealing. Something definitely happened between the French queen and Henry during the August visit, and it had a dual effect: it resolved Louis on a separation, and Henry, aware of the political advantage a marriage to Eleanor would bring him, determined to have her as his wife.

…Barely two months after the annulment of Eleanor’s first marriage, she had a second husband, the future Henry II of England. Eleanor and Henry’s marriage took place in the cathedral at Poitiers in a hastily organized ceremony on 18 May 1152. Preparations for the wedding had been made in secret for fear of attempts to stop it, and the simple service with only a few intimates present hardly matched the couple’s lofty status. No doubt the advantage that the marriage would bring Henry was the dominant consideration in his desire to wed Eleanor. It was more than the prestige of the title of duke of Aquitaine that made Eleanor an appealing bride for the young count-duke. 

The Angevin counts had a long record of trying to expand their power into Poitou, and in the tenth and eleventh centuries they had occupied portions of northern Poitou and the Saintonge stretching along the Atlantic coast and the Charente river. Indeed, the counts of Anjou still held two castles, Loudun and Mirebeau, that lay within Poitou’s borders with the counts of Poitou technically as their lords. It has been pointed out that “The union of Anjou and Aquitaine was not only workable, but the culmination of two centuries of Angevin pressure.” Furthermore, Henry saw that Poitou in some other powerful lord’s possession would threaten Anjou and all his Loire valley lands. He could see more immediate practical advantages too, for possessing Poitou would enable him to deal more effectively with plots by his younger brother Geoffrey, who was count of Nantes.

The young duke of Normandy should have anticipated trouble with his putative lord over his lands, his new wife’s ex-husband, Louis VII; as an English chronicler noted, his marriage to Eleanor “was the cause and origin of great hatred and discord between the French king and the duke.” It cannot be known whether or not Louis was surprised at Eleanor’s quick remarriage but he was certainly enraged when he heard the news, and he never gave up his conviction that her new marriage was somehow displeasing to God.

He had good reason for bitter resentment and remorse at losing his wife and her great duchy to such a powerful enemy as the young duke of Normandy, and he must have pondered the possibility of Henry ruling not only both the county of Anjou and Normandy, but one day making good his mother’s claim to the kingdom of England. Even without a royal title, Henry Plantagenet had become the largest landholder in France, surpassing Louis in possessions, and his control over all western France seemed to block any expansion of Capetian domains in that direction.

…One chronicler stated the issue succinctly: “When King Louis heard of [the marriage], he was greatly incensed against Duke Henry, for he had two daughters by the aforesaid Eleanor, who would be disinherited if she should bear a son by any other husband.” Louis seems to have believed that Eleanor had no right to marry without first taking counsel with him and that Henry, her chosen spouse, had no right to take her as his wife without consulting him, his lord. Already in England and Normandy, lords’ prerogative of controlling their vassals’ marriages was customary, but this was not yet accepted in other regions as one of the privileges of lordship. 

…In marrying Eleanor, Henry Plantagenet apparently felt concern neither for his bride’s questionable fertility during her first marriage nor for her age; as she was approaching thirty, she seemed to her contemporaries to be bordering on middle age. After undergoing no more than three pregnancies as the French king’s wife, Eleanor’s second marriage would prove remarkably fruitful in sons, a fact that infuriated Louis, but must have pleased her greatly. She would produce eight or nine children by Henry within thirteen years: five sons—and possibly a sixth who died in early infancy—three of whom lived to be crowned kings of England, and three daughters, all of whom married important foreign princes. Eleanor gave birth to her last two children, Joanne and John, when she was over forty. She was a remarkably healthy woman to have survived numerous childbirths in an age when giving birth was a major cause of women’s deaths. 

Eleanor could be assured of her new husband’s virility, for Henry already had illegitimate offspring by the time of his marriage, as was not uncommon among scions of aristocratic families. He acknowledged a bastard son, Geoffrey Plantagenet, whose mother, according to the gossip Walter Map, was a harlot named Ykenai or Hikenai who had duped the young king into admitting that he was her child’s father. Whatever Henry’s reason, he was willing to acknowledge young Geoffrey and to welcome him into the royal household soon after winning the English Crown.

Henry had another illegitimate child born before wedding Eleanor, a daughter named Matilda, whom he would install in the late 1170s as head of Barking Abbey, a convent in Essex. Matilda’s predecessor as abbess of this rich and aristocratic house was Thomas Becket’s, appointed in 1173 as part of the king’s restitution to the martyred archbishop’s family. Henry’s bride, brought up in the sophisticated atmosphere of the Poitevin court, would not have found it shocking that her new husband had fathered illegitimate sons in his youth. 

Toleration for the offspring of aristocratic youths sired while “sowing their wild oats” was greater than for children resulting from a married man’s adulterous affair. Nor would a bastard’s presence in his household have upset her unduly, for she knew that such illegitimate sons frequently found places in their father’s household. Indeed, young Henry’s bastard son sent an encouraging signal to Eleanor that he might give her sons. Despite Eleanor’s need for a protector after her divorce, her speedy remarriage two months later to Henry Plantagenet added fodder for rumors of serial adulteries, and talk spread of the former French queen’s scandalous conduct. 

…Still others labelled the marriage felonious because Henry had entered into it for the purpose of opposing his lord, King Louis. Two monastic writers, William of Newburgh and Gervase of Canterbury, depicted Eleanor as taking the initiative in her marriage to Henry. Both were surprised by a woman arranging her own marriage alliance, a rare occurrence in the twelfth century, although their impression was none too favorable. Both presumed to know Eleanor’s mind, although they were writing a generation after the events. Newburgh, profoundly anti-woman like other clerics and believing that a woman’s libido was stronger than a man’s, ascribes Eleanor’s quick remarriage to her wish for a new, more virile partner. 

He writes that after Louis and Eleanor’s return from the East, “the former love between them gradually grew cold,” and he reports rumors that Eleanor “even during her marriage to the king of France . . . longed to be wed to the duke of Normandy as one more congenial to her character,” and that she “eventually obtained the marriage which she desired.” Gervase of Canterbury comments that after the divorce Eleanor returned to Poitou, “disdaining [Louis’s] decrepit Gallic embraces.” Gervase also portrays Eleanor as the initiator of her marriage so soon after Louis VII’s repudiation of her; according to him, “by means of a messenger sent secretly to the duke, she announced that she was free and dissolved [from her marriage] and stimulated the duke’s mind to contract matrimony.” Yet Gervase also admits that Henry “had long desired” the marriage, “above all driven by the desire to possess all the honors that belonged to her.”

These chroniclers, following conventional thinking, attribute personal, emotional, or sexual motives to Eleanor’s quick marriage to Henry. As one commentator notes, “It is striking that chroniclers consistently avoid any suggestion that Eleanor could have been driven to divorce Louis and marry Henry by any other motivation than sexual desire. [They] consistently sexualize women’s power to depict it as a disorderly, uncontrollable force and to discredit it.” They take no note of Eleanor’s vulnerability as a woman alone and without a protector in a masculine society where single women were expected to be under a male’s guardianship. 

Romantically inclined biographers see her marriage to Henry as a love match, or at least find strong sexual attraction motivating them. No doubt Eleanor did find Henry, aged nineteen, more attractive than Louis, whom she considered insufficiently virile, more monk than monarch, but physical attraction—or lust, in contemporary churchmen’s opinion—was certainly not the chief factor in their marrying. The marriage resembled closely that of Henry’s parents: the much younger Geoffrey le Bel taking as his wife the older, previously married Empress Matilda, and no one could suspect their marriage of being a love match. It had been the work of Matilda’s father, guided by dynastic concerns.”

- Ralph V. Turner, “A Husband Lost, a Husband Gained, 1149–1154.” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England

[tobiasdrake]

Mortal Komparison: Goro

We've made it up the ladder and it's time to face off with the bosses! Here we go.

The Original Source Material

Goro and Shang Tsung invented the Mortal Kombat tradition of featuring a big, scary boss man before moving up the final run and fighting the real boss of the game.

In the franchise's history, there have been many variants of the big scary boss man. Kintaro. Motaro. Moloch. Some games even cut out the big scary boss man entirely and only feature a real boss. But Goro is where it all began.

Prince Goro, the half-dragon four-armed Shokan warrior who rips people's spines out like it's no big deal, had been Champion of Mortal Kombat for 500 years running when this tournament came up. Writers take note: when we're warned that Outworld has won nine consecutive victories and are on the verge of an apocalyptic tenth, this guy is the reason.

Outworld's hopes to seize control of Earthrealm had previously been shattered when the Great Kung Lao defeated Shang Tsung. Goro put everything back on track, breaking Kung Lao in the tournament arena and winning the first of many championship titles.

Despite seeming insurmountable, Goro's string of victories ultimately came to an end. In the arena of Mortal Kombat, he met his match and was defeated by Earthrealm's greatest fighter Liu Kang. Kang ascended to the championship title, but as his Shaolin beliefs forbid ever taking a life for any reason, Goro was spared.

That was the last we saw of Goro in the Shao Kahn trilogy. He wouldn't emerge again until Mortal Kombat 4, where he briefly toyed with a desire to avenge his humiliation in a rematch with Kang, but swiftly pushed that aside in favor of a political role as the Shokan leader.

In terms of personality, Goro is a brick wall. He competes out of loyalty to the Empire, but also for himself; Goro is proud of his strength and his skill. He takes Liu Kang's victory as a black mark on his record; when he goes after Kang for his rematch, nobody's making him do that. He's not trying to atone to Shao Kahn or anything. It's something he feels he needs to do for himself, and that one bit of information tells you a lot about his character.

Characters like Reptile or Mileena were literally raised by Shao Kahn to love and obey him. Others like Shang Tsung are kept on a leash and forced to serve. Goro is simply a proud warrior prince from a proud warrior race, and he is honored to stand in that ring as Outworld's Champion.

The 1995 Film

Goro doesn't get much opportunity to emote in this film, but we do see a bit of personality from him before the fight starts. He's pretty much your typical arrogant kung fu guy. He derides humans as weak and is disgusted by Kano's eating habits.

The film builds up Goro's presence by having the protagonists spy on a dinner between him, Kano, and later Shang Tsung. This allows them to stare in awe at this terrifying beast of a man while he and Kano awkwardly exposit about who Goro's supposed to be. Far from the best writing, but the impression is clear: Goro is a big f'ing deal and shit's going to get bad when he steps onstage.

This anticipation is realized when Goro finally does step up to fight and the tournament abruptly shifts to Cell Games rules: everyone versus Goro in a set of 1v1 fights. Again, not the best writing, but we get to see exactly how strong he is by watching him slaughter his way through all of Earthrealm's extras like they're nothing. He even kills Art Lean, an OC that Johnny became friends with who isn't from the games so you know he's just here to die.

The filmmakers took his defeat at Liu Kang's hands and moved it to Johnny Cage for the sake of giving another protagonist something to do.

The fight is short and serves as a key triumph of Johnny's character. Frankly, it's kind of amazing that they were willing to do this to Goro after building him up so much, and yet it works. The moment the fight starts, Johnny immediately drops into the splits and punches Goro in the nuts.

Johnny Cage's nut punch is played completely straight, used as part of the big epic final fight of his character, and that's amazing. After racking the invulnerable titan, he then promptly flees for his life while commenting that Goro's ballsack bruised his fist.

See, this was his master plan at work! A lot of guys have faced down Goro with honor and been torn to pieces, but now the ball's in Johnny's court. Goro could not have anticipated his adversary decking him in the nuts and then fleeing like a coward! In a tournament match! It's brilliant! And Johnny's fight with Scorpion did teach him that changing venues mid-fight is totally within the rules.

The only thing missing is Johnny making a "WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP" sound as he goes.

Johnny leads Goro to a cliffside and then ambushes him when he emerges from the cave. After a quick altercation, Johnny kicks Goro off the ledge and lets gravity do the job for him.

In the source material, Goro was the insurmountable foe guaranteed to break Earthrealm's hopes in the tournament up until Liu Kang managed to surmount him. In the 1995 film, Johnny recognizes Goro as insurmountable and comes up with a pragmatic way to cheap-shot him into oblivion instead of trying to surmount him. These are very different approaches, but they're both interesting in their own way.

Also, Johnny hurting his hand from punching Goro in the dick is arguably among the best things ever to happen in any Mortal Kombat property and I will fight you on that.

The 2021 Film

2021 also makes a big deal about Goro's introduction. We see Shang Tsung debriefing his rag-tag team of throwaway C-listers that the producers were willing to let appear in this movie plus Mileena. Then Goro arrives and Shang Tsung promptly starts screaming about how cool it is that a Shokan is here.

It's a weird intro because it implies that Goro being on Team Outworld isn't a typical thing for these tournaments. One wonders if the producers are planning on using a different boss such as Kintaro or Motaro for the actual tournament proper.

In fact, I hope they are, given what this film does with Goro.

About midway through the film, Goro is tasked with assassinating the powerless Cole Young five seconds after he quits his training and goes home.

It's such a bizarre setup because Cole left his family in the first place to avoid having them be targeted as collateral damage, but abruptly stops caring about that because training is hard. He goes home and then Goro emerges from his shed because the bad guys targeting him didn't get the memo that he resigned from being murdered. Whoops!

Goro effortlessly overpowers Cole and, when Cole's Wife intervenes with an axe to save his life, decides he'd rather kill her instead. Cole is left devastated at his powerlessness in the face of this completely avoidable threat to his family that he'd been successfully avoiding until five minutes ago. He is so distraught at his powerlessness that his superpowers unlock and he transforms, acquiring powerful armor that absorbs kinetic damage and converts it into power.

Now that he has superpowers, Cole matters as a person and is able to swiftly overpower and kill Goro, saving his family. Though the film ends with Shang Tsung reclaiming his dead villains while talking ominously about death being potentially meaningless, so maybe he'll be back.

Who Did It Best?

What's interesting about the two films is that both undercut Goro's menace in the climactic moment of his character, but they do it in very different ways.

While graphically awesome, the rationale for 2021's fight is pitiful. Goro is reduced to a big dumb thug who's gonna stuff Cole's lamps in a fridge if Cole doesn't power up and stop him. In this film that lays so much emphasis on the importance of superpowers, the mystique and menace of this insurmountable force winds up wasted as he beats on an unpowered Cole.

And then that's it. Cole powers up and Goro can't win a real fight; he's just good for bullying mundane humans and their Woman-Shaped Objects. He goes down like a chump the moment his opponent can actually fight back. Menace gone.

I said before that I hope they're planning to break out a different boss for the tournament. I said that because they've ruined this one. You only get one shot at a hero conquering the Terrifying Insurmountable Force. Once he's surmounted, he's not the Terrifying Insurmountable Force anymore. If Goro does get resurrected and shows up to the tenth Mortal Kombat Tournament, he's not doing so as the unbeatable champion; he's just another fighter now, nobody special. Someone else needs to be the unbeatable champion now.

And given that so much of Goro's character in regards to the tournament revolves around that championship title, there's no reason to even have him resurrect and show up now. If Shokan politics ever become relevant, that can still be his time to shine, but for this film's continuity, the ability to use Goro as the Champion of Mortal Kombat is pretty much over. He can still wear the belt, but it's not going to be the same. They need to pick a different boss now.

By contrast, 1995 undercuts Goro's menace by turning his big epic fight into a Daffy Duck cartoon. However, it does so in service of presenting him as an unbeatable warrior in a straight fight. This abrupt shift in tone comes straight out of left field, but it perfectly fits the character who causes it and serves as a pragmatic way to overcome this impossible threat at the height of his menace.

Johnny Cage robs Goro of his dignity as a fighter, but Cole Young robs Goro of his dignity as a character.

The winner for Best Goro is Mortal Kombat (1995).

[lirlovesfic]

The Choice

Summary: After GitF, the TARDIS brings the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey back to the Powell Estate to solve a problem involving the TARDIS herself. But when they see a familiar face, the face of someone who should not exist, they realize the problem is deeper than they thought and could endanger the Doctor’s very existence. Primary characters: Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler. Genres: Romance, mystery, adventure, drama, character study, HN AU, fobbed!Nine, sick TARDIS. Pairings: Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose Rating: Adult

Warning: definitely NSFW

Author’s note: A short epilogue will follow in a few days.

Catch up: on AO3, on TSP, on ffnet

 Chapter Fifty-One—London, 7 October, 2007

Rose stared at him, her heart thrilling to his words while her brain valiantly tried to play catch up. He remembered. He'd said he remembered everything that had happened between them, that it hadn't just been his previous regeneration that had been John, he himself had been as well. And by quoting John's words to her, he was not only acknowledging what had happened between them but claiming John's feelings and experiences as his own.

Feeling a sudden wave of shyness due to the rapid, and completely unexpected, turn in the conversation, she slowly smiled at him, her teeth sinking into her lower lip, and the Doctor grinned back, his smile widening further and further as each second passed. They sat there, beaming at each other like idiots for so long that Rose's face began to ache.

Then his smile faded. His eyes flickered down to her mouth. When he looked up again, his eyes darkened, her breath caught. His face might be different and his eyes brown rather than blue, but she knew that expression, had seen it countless times over the course of the last few months. Her heart pounded—in nervousness and anticipation and desire—and the butterflies that had taken up long-term residence in her stomach from the moment they'd first met in Henrik's began to do cartwheels.

She didn't know who made the first move. One moment they were sitting side by side on the jump seat, the next she was in his arms, his mouth on hers. The kiss completely lacked finesse: it was a hard, awkward press of lips on lips, of noses smushed and teeth clashing. For a moment she wasn't sure what to do with her hands. His arms were wrapped around her, pressing her to himself so tightly she could barely move, so she settled on clutching his lapel with one hand and threading her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck with the other. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted that his hair was softer than she remembered (from those brief half-remembered glimpses she had from her time being possessed by Cassandra) and was surprised that it was remarkably free of product. Considering the care he took with his appearance in this body she'd assumed he used wax or whatever the 53rd century equivalent was, but then the thought left as quickly as it had come because the Doctor was kissing her; it was his lips against hers, his arms encircling her and crushing her to his chest.

The Doctor, fully aware of himself, of who he was and who she was, of their entire history and what they had been to each other, and still was kissing her.

Read more: on AO3, on TSP, on ffnet

[bountyofbeads]

Treasury Department designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war

https://wapo.st/2yCQlaj

Treasury Department designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war

By David J. Lynch, Gerry Shih, Jeff Stein and Damian Paletta | Published August 05 at 7:56 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 5, 2019 |

The United States and China traded blows in an unrestrained economic conflict Monday that sent stock markets plunging and threatened to inflict significant damage on a weakening global economy.

Late in the day, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin formally labeled China a “currency manipulator,” a largely symbolic slap at Beijing that is likely to deepen the growing animosity between the two trading partners.

The move, which President Trump had promised to take on his first day in office, only requires Treasury to initiate consultations with China. Beijing has long denied U.S. accusations that it keeps its currency undervalued to make its products more competitive on world markets.

Treasury’s announcement shortly before 6 pm capped an unnerving 24 hours that began with China allowing its tightly controlled currency to slide to an 11-year low against the dollar and continued through a near-1,000 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

“This is a big policy mistake. We get recession because of policy mistakes like this,” said Allen Sinai, chief economist and strategist at Decision Economics. “China did not actively drive its currency down. It was a market-driven move. Secretary Mnuchin’s comments are totally political.”

On Wall Street, the Dow fell more than 767 points or nearly 3 percent , and Treasury yields plunged to their lowest mark in almost three years as investors anticipated trouble ahead.

The financial meltdown followed China’s decision to answer Trump’s latest tariffs by allowing its currency to fall past a key benchmark of 7 yuan-per-dollar level for the first time since 2008.

The central bank, the People’s Bank of China, downplayed the significance of the milestone but linked the drop to the dispute with Washington.

In Washington, the president accused the Chinese government of “currency manipulation” and said incorrectly that the yuan was near a “historic low.”

The currency move came after Trump announced new tariffs Thursday on an additional $300 billion in Chinese goods,

The latest maneuvers in Washington and Beijing underscored the stunning deterioration in relations since Trump said this spring that the two sides were on the verge of an “epic” trade deal.

“This puts us into a new phase and it’s not a good phase,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist for Bannockburn Global Forex. “It’s hard to see how there won’t be a lot of collateral damage.”

Trump’s push to label China a manipulator has been thwarted in the past by Mnuchin and former aides such as Gary Cohn, while being supported by Peter Navarro, a White House trade advisor.

Now, Trump thinks continuing to punish China will spur them to negotiate. But some aides fear his hardline stance will backfire, said one senior advisor who requested anonymity to discuss confidential discussions.

Aides have brought Trump charts to convince him that the currency charge is untrue, but the president remains firm in his beliefs, the official said.

“It’s a good step and long overdue, because China has been guilty of massive currency manipulation for 20 years, and they certainly deserve to be called out,” said Robert Scott, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think-tank.

China did routinely intervene in currency markets for about a decade until roughly 2013, but in recent years has not done so, several economists said. Its once sizeable global trade surplus is roughly one-tenth its 2007 size.

“It’s not accurate to call China a currency manipulator because market forces are driving their currency down. They are not intervening to push it down,” said David Dollar, a former Treasury Department official now at the Brookings Institution.

The administration’s plans were not clear, though some analysts suggested the president could use the designation to justify additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Mnuchin also plans to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund “to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions,” Treasury said in a statement.

But the U.S. is unlikely to get much support. Just last month, the fund found in its latest annual assessment that China’s financial position “was broadly in line with the level consistent with medium-term fundamentals and desirable policies.”

A weaker Chinese currency will make products from the United States more expensive while making made-in-China merchandise more attractive. That will offset some of the effects of Trump’s planned 10 percent tariff, which is scheduled to go into force September 1.

The currency shift also will effectively counter the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut by leading to tighter financial conditions in the United States, said Robin Brooks, chief economist of the Institute of International Finance.

For corporate executives, the latest developments in the U.S.-China dispute only make the global picture more unclear. The president’s tariffs on products from China and several other countries have made it difficult to predict future prices for key industrial components and ensure access to individual markets, said David Loevinger, managing director of Los Angeles-based TCW Group.

“The big risk is it adds another element of uncertainty into the global economy,” said Loevinger, a former Treasury Department official. “Right now, when business thinks about making a big investment, they look around the world and see uncertainty everywhere.”

Consumers watching the stock market sink will likely respond by cutting discretionary spending, removing another key prop from the slowing economy. “Consumption is in many ways the bedrock of our economy,” said Brooks.

Dollar,who was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2009 to 2013, said: “This is clearly bad for the U.S. economy . . . You’re throwing a lot of sand in the wheels of commerce. You’d expect things to slow down globally and it’ll certainly be felt by Americans.”

Unlike some currencies whose values are freely dictated by supply and demand, China’s central bank sets a daily target price around which the renminbi, also known as the yuan, can fluctuate. The bank steps in when the price strays too far. For a decade, it has not allowed the renminbi to fall past 7 to the dollar, which financial markets consider a psychologically important threshold.

China’s central bank blamed “unilateralism, trade protectionism and tariff expectations imposed on China” for the change in exchange rate.

China’s central bank said it was confident it could keep the currency at a “reasonable and balanced level.”

Trump has long complained that the renminbi is too weak and the dollar too strong. He has lobbied the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to help U.S. exporters and boost the U.S. stock market.

Setser said the president has limited tools to bring about a lasting dollar decline. But even an unsuccessful currency market intervention could rattle the global economy.

“It would signal that the U.S. is not willing to be a global locomotive in a world that still needs a global locomotive,” he said. “The risk is the world economy would end up with no locomotive.

China, for its part, has argued that it has kept its currency at a reasonably high level to assuage U.S. concerns. It also fears that a tumbling currency could spark panic about its slowing economy and trigger an outflow of capital.

Beijing is expected to try to prevent an unrestrained plunge by the yuan, fearing it would encourage Chinese citizens to take their wealth out of the country, economists said.

Currency markets this year have broad dollar strength. The greenback, reflecting the U.S. economy’s relative strength and nine Fed interest rate increases, has risen against the euro, the British pound and other major currencies .

The yuan has actually held up better against the surging dollar. Its year-to-date decline against the dollar of 2.4 percent is much less than the currencies of two U.S. allies, the Taiwan dollar at 3.4 percent and the South Korean won at 8.6 percent.

“The Chinese have been resisting the pressure,” said Chandler. “Trump’s tweets last week and his insistence on talking the dollar down made them just give up. They surrendered to market forces.”

Trump’s latest tariff escalation, which the president announced Thursday on Twitter, sparked a rush of Chinese state media commentary suggesting that the Chinese government was caught flat-footed. State media lashed out at the United States on Sunday, accusing it of negotiating in bad faith and suggesting that Beijing may hold out from negotiating further with the Trump administration.

Beijing appeared to mount other forms of retaliation on Monday. The government has asked state-owned firms to stop their U.S. agricultural purchases, according to a Bloomberg report Monday that was widely cited by Chinese media. The crop purchases, which would benefit states that comprise Trump��s political base, were to be a sign of Chinese goodwill as trade talks progressed.

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau, called the Chinese move “a body blow to thousands of farmers and ranchers who are already struggling to get by.”

Agricultural exports to China fell $1.3 billion during the first half of the year, he said, adding that the organization fears it will lose access to a market that was worth almost $20 billion to farmers in 2017.

“It isn’t clear right now that either side has a plan for de-escalation,” said Setser. “What makes this different is how quickly both sides are ratcheting up the threats.”

 Joshua Dawsey, Taylor Telford and Heather Long contributed reporting

[bpoole500]

Delayed

Are comic book release delays inevitable?

With a steady flow of delay announcements in the industry in recent months, especially from the Big Two, it certainly can feel that way. Over at Marvel, in addition to the frequent problem of the concluding issues of its event series coming out late, several high profile ongoings have experienced delays, some more than once. Titles such as Iron Man, Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther and Fantastic Four have all fallen victim recently.

Over at DC, a few much-publicized series launches had to be pushed back at least a couple months, including Justice League Odyssey, Batman and the Outsiders and Shazam. The first two were due to editorial issues that mandated scrapping already produced material and starting over, while Shazam has already seen multiple additional issue release delays in its short lifespan. An even bigger problem for DC are delays for its limited and event series. The capper to Dark Nights: Metal was pushed back several weeks and Heroes in Crisis saw one issue be a couple weeks tardy (though quickly got back on track), while the concluding issue of the much-discussed Batman: Damned is facing setbacks that keep piling up.

And then there’s Doomsday Clock. The 12-part series, part Watchmen homage/sequel and part capper to the mega-story begun with Rebirth, has become the poster child for release delays. Launching in November 2017, it was supposed to roll out over the course of 14 months, with two scheduled “skip” months, before concluding in December 2018. But only a couple of issues in, the creative team was already falling behind and DC announced the book would release on a revised bi-monthly schedule. Except that even that proved unworkable. Nine issues have made it out to date, with the tenth notoriously pushed back multiple times. Previously slated to hit stores in March 2019, per the revised bi-monthly release plan, issue #10 is now tentatively penciled in for early July, with the 11th issue (once expected in May 2019), now solicited for the end of August, with the series capper not on the calendar at the moment. DC has announced two collections for the book. Volume 1, covering the first six issues, should hit its October 2019 release date. As for the January 2020 date for Volume 2? That very much depends on issue #12 seeing the light of day before year’s end, a scenario that’s by no means guaranteed.

Release delays seem to be a vicious circle for the industry, especially for the big two. There will be a phase, like now, where delays seem to run rampant, causing unrest for fans and retailers that risks alienating them. So eventually the companies will crack down and commit to getting their books out on time. Often that requires the use of substitute or supplemental creators to produce pages that allow an issue to make deadline. But if that happens often enough, while a book may release on time, fans then grow restless that anticipated creative teams aren’t around for an entire arc. And then publishers over-correct back the other way, starting the whole cycle again.

Ask fans if they’d rather have issues come out late but with the preferred creative team or come out on time, but with additional/different writers and/or artists and you’d probably get a different answer every time. But do delays have to happen at all? Can’t companies remedy the issue?

To an extent they can. Look at Image. After its splashy early ‘90s debut, the company became ground zero for egregious release delays, especially outside the books published by the founding partners. Image would strike a deal with whomever the hot talent of the moment was and make a big announcement about their creator-owned project. But as happened frequently, those series were lucky to produce an issue or two before lengthy delays set in. Many never produced more installments.

Whereas Image had previously prided itself on not being like a traditional comic book company, within a decade, the publisher put more structure in place to help mitigate many of the issues that had plagued it. Especially when it came to books not produced by one of the owner/partner studios, Image would expect a certain percentage of a series or arc to be completed before announcing it and soliciting orders.

In part, that desire to announce projects from high profile creators is a big part of the eventual delay problem. Publishers want the headlines that come from trumpeting that a blue chip creative team is doing a project for them, but often those announcements are unworkably premature, as sometimes not a single page has actually been produced. That’s a big risk, especially with creators who are either heavily scheduled or not known for their speed.

Both of those issues seem to be part of DC’s recent problems. Geoff Johns, writer of both Doomsday Clock and Shazam, has a lot of demands on his time, especially given his involvement with various movie and television productions. Both series also feature fan-favorite artists who are particular “go to” collaborators for Johns (Gary Frank for Clock, Dale Eaglesham for Shazam), but who aren’t noted for their speed. For a series like Doomsday Clock, which is packed with characters and also uses a throwback nine-panel grid outline for most of its pages (as part of the Watchmen homage), that can further bog down the process.

The question then is, can DC really find allowing a series to come in nearly a year late to be preferable to tagging in additional help to finish it sooner? After all, Doomsday Clock is expected to have a significant impact on DC’s entire line. The longer the finale is delayed, the further DC has to punt that down the line, affecting any number of other books in the process.

The dirty little secret of the industry these days is that no matter how often senior execs talk about the importance of the monthly periodical business, that segment has become a low priority for most companies. Collected editions have become a bigger driver of profits, especially in the age of multimedia content deals. DC would rather Gary Frank draw the entirety of Doomsday Clock, however long it takes, because they have every reason to expect the collected edition to be a perennial strong seller. The kind of series that remains in print, in one format or another, indefinitely and moves units reliably each year. Whatever short term losses the company may experience from disaffected fans drifting away from the release of individual issues they expect to make up with long-term trade sales. And long-term trade sales benefit from having a single, superstar artist on the book.

Publishers can and should do more to address delays. Whether that’s being realistic about whether star talent can deliver on the schedule they hope or holding back on announcing/soliciting projects until they’re done, or nearly so, or dealing with the disappointment of a certain fan favorite creator not working on the entirety of an arc, there are options. But for series or arcs that a publisher expects to be long-term players in the collected edition arena, don’t be shocked if delays remain an unavoidable part of the industry.

[managementcertificationarti-blog]

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Project management certifications have claimed a location in every major IT certification listing for years. That's mainly because challenge supervisors are crucial to IT functions of every kind. Regardless if you are considering getting an IT undertaking supervisor or simply just would like to add project management in your list of soft competencies, these five main certifications can help you incorporate to or boost those abilities and, subsequently, raise your value. Reference: Top 40 Project Management certifications

If there is a one established of sentimental techniques which is been set over the IT radar with the past 10 years or so, to the point where by It can be turn out to be Practically as desired and each bit as useful as top rated-stage credentials, it must be job administration. Many thanks in large part into the immensely well known and commonly pursued Job Administration Experienced (PMP) certification from your Challenge Management Institute (PMI), this place is now an incredibly beneficial benefit badge for IT experts of all stripes. Which is since it boosts and expands on the worth of almost every other type of complex credential. Source: Best Project Management Certifications for 2020

Undertaking administration has every little thing to complete with preparing, scheduling, budgeting for, and after that executing and reporting on assignments of all shapes and sizes. In fact, something and everything that IT does can be understood or managed to be a job of some kind. It applies to 1-of-a-type functions that come about only once or extremely seldom (Feel hardware or OS updates or migrating from more mature to more recent platforms or infrastructures). Ditto for just a recurring number of pursuits that repeat regularly (Believe security patches, software program updates or other standard maintenance jobs). Consequently, task management is unbelievably important and beneficial to IT operations throughout the board.

In line with PMI's Earning Energy: Challenge Management Income Survey, tenth Version, IT experts who hold a PMP report median foundation once-a-year salaries from the U.S. of almost $116,000. The very best 25 % of survey scrumtime.org/top-project-management-certifications/ respondents report foundation salaries of at least $139,000. According to these variables as complexity and measurement of projects, spot, fields of experience (e.g., IT, construction or healthcare), and knowledge, salaries for some PMP credential holders may be A lot higher continue to.

Robert 50 percent's Technological know-how & IT 2019 Wage Tutorial lists undertaking management being a incredibly hot certification, with salaries varying a little by technologies space. It cites a income selection of $ninety three,000 to $157,500 for job supervisors in application enhancement environments. Challenge supervisors engaged in consulting and program integration roles can anticipate to make $96,250 to $163,five hundred nationwide. This describes properly why PMP appears in virtually every single prime 10 listing of well-known, specific or most appealing certifications since the early 2000s. It can be no shock that Robert 50 % also lists the PMP credential, in addition to Agile and Scrum certifications, as "remarkably valued technological know-how certifications" trending up from the IT field.

The exact same Firm behind the more senior Undertaking Management Professional (PMP) credential also backs the Certified Affiliate in Task Management (CAPM). In reality, the CAPM is properly deemed a steppingstone credential for those who wish to achieve PMP status by phases, instead of in one big leap. This is exactly why PMI describes the CAPM for a "beneficial entry-stage certification for venture practitioners" that's "suitable for These with little if any undertaking knowledge."

The PMP calls for three to 5 years of documented on-the-career job management expertise, with regards to the educational qualifications of each and every applicant. Alternatively, the CAPM necessitates only a high school diploma and both one,500 hrs of documented on-the-occupation knowledge (about nine months of full-time get the job done) or 23 hours of project administration classroom schooling ahead of taking the Test. The instruction prerequisite is usually achieved by completing PMI's Undertaking Management Fundamentals online class which expenses $350 for PMI customers and $four hundred for non-users.

Quite a few specialists and venture administration masters have gathered this report of Best Job Management online schooling courses for 2020. It brings together both paid out and absolutely free instruction programs To help you in Discovering Project Management, and those courses are suitable for novices, intermediate students in addition to masters.

It's also possible to have a look at their collections and skim the articles for getting more essential and valuable supplemental facts. Selecting a class and instruction is not easy and you will normally have uncertainties, but we hope that we have provided you with worthwhile and helpful substance. We’d really like to listen to from you. We are going to answer every one of the thoughts.

[mrsbenedictbridgerton]

Hi there, do you accept prompts? If you do how about a captain swan co-workers who are secretly dating because it is against the rules to date a co-worker?

I went the smut route... with some feels. 1k

On FF.NET and AO3

There was always an elicit little thrill when they found a moment to be alone during the hours of nine and five. An empty conference room. A cleaning closet. Or, as in this case, a disused office on the tenth floor.

Emma sighed happily as Killian Jones placed soft, teasing kisses down her neck. Her leg was hitched up around his waist, his erection pressing against her as she mentally congratulated herself on choosing a flared skirt that morning. The desk dug into the back of her thighs as he pressed harder against her, his urgent kisses and touches almost unbearably hot.

There was a thrill in what they were doing. Sure, it was their lunch hour, but employees were not expected to fuck on the premises. Actually, employees were not allowed to fuck off the premises. Mills media had a strict non fraternisation policy that Emma Swan had tried really hard to stick too when Killian Jones has joined from the London office. Handsome and gregarious, she’d berated herself for wanting more from him, until a mutual late night led to an offer of a drink and, well, here they were.

Insatiable, that is.

It was still early, the first few heady months where the need for each other outweighed other basic needs. They dialled back their hormones as much as possible during office hours, settling for lustful stares when no one was looking or covert text conversations using their personal phones. But sometimes - like now - things would spill over.

~earlier~

Swan…

Yes Jones?

That blouse, fuck, I can see your bra. Bad form, love.

And the problem is…?

Tease

You love it

You love me fucking you

Jones…

Are you wet?

Are you imagining me fucking you?

Bent over that little desk of yours, arse on display for the whole office to see-

-

Swan?

Tenth floor. Meet me in five.

~

So here they were, perfectly aware that being caught would be career suicide, half listening for sounds on the otherwise deserted floor, her blouse undone, his tie askew.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she moaned as he sucked on her pulse point. His hands slid up her thighs and began to toy with the lace of her underwear.

“I believe this was your idea,” he chuckled, pulling back to give her a searing kiss as his fingers found their way beneath the lace.

“Details,” she mumbled into his mouth, her own hand working on his pants, undoing the zipper, desperate to feel his heat.

His fingers worked their magic, spreading her arousal, sliding inside her and making her squirm in anticipation of the best sex she had ever had. Would she ever tire of it? (She hoped not.)

Her panties were discarded and she was hoisted up onto the desk as he fumbled in his back pocket, pulling out the familiar foil square.

“You were pretty optimistic,” she panted as he raised a brow.

“I prefer hopeful,” he purred as he pulled on the condom and fixed her with a look that made her stomach drop and the wetness between her legs intensify. “Hold on, love,” he whispered, as he lined himself up, pressing into her with quick little motions, before with a final push he was fully seated. And everything was right with the world, the stars alined, world peace had been achieved-

She clutched onto him, as he rocked into her, both careful to stifle their groans, the forbidden nature of what they were doing making it that much hotter. It was so wrong - hell, she’d never have even considered something like this before him and now she was suggesting work hours sex in their building. He was intoxicating her. His mind. His wit. His body…

Oh, his body.

There was no preamble on this occasion. They both needed quick and dirty. A release from the tension of wanting each other and their stressful jobs. Her hands found his ass and her fingers pressed into the perfect muscle as he found his rhythm, a hand slipping between them to help her on her way, his cock hitting her in just the right place to make a twin effort to help her reach an orgasm. A release that rocketed through her within minutes, every muscle in her body alive, her toes cramping, her teeth biting onto his neck, holding back the urge to moan his name.

Fuck.

She was dizzy as he found his own high, the gentle slide back into full consciousness peppered with heavy breathing and the expression on his face as he came - pure bliss lighting up his features.

Satisfied, Emma felt a comfortably looseness take over her body, that giddy post-orgasm sensation where for at least a little while, everything is right with the world. He kissed her as he pulled away, dealing with the condom and then straightening his clothes as she did the same.

She watched as he pulled his fingers though his hair and fasted his belt. A feeling surged through her. 

“I love you,” she sighed, before slapping a hand to her mouth.

She hadn’t meant to say that. She hadn’t even really allowed herself to think that-

She felt her face begin to turn crimson, she clawed at the buttons of her blouse, wanting the floor to open up and swallow her. They hadn’t had this conversation yet, anything close to it - in fact she’d been avoiding the discussion of deeper feelings more than want and desire. Fuck.

But then he was smiling, walking back to her, cupping her face and kissing her. Sweetly. Tenderly. Lovingly.

“I love you too, Emma,” he whispered, staring into her eyes for a moment until she opened her lips to protest. He placed a single fingertip on her mouth. “Hush, don’t spoil it. We can talk about this later.”

Then with a brief kiss to her forehead, and a knowing smile, he quietly left the office- and her to her new found understanding.

She loved him.

[cul-en-blog]

 ignis | alternative ; modern |

@magisterivm

Cullen Stanton Rutherford was a man of many virtues, though even for someone as well-versed in life’s indulgent ways as he was, there was still one vice he simply could not conquer — impatience. since a very early age, Cullen had despised the notion of waiting; he was sharp and keen to make things happen there and then, rather than wait for everything to fall into place naturally, as one should. still, the better part of his life was spent doing just that...waiting. 

first, he waited for his parents to notice that, at nine years of age, he was still a child and not a scholar. instead of allowing the boy to spend some free time with his friends, they made him study a variety of subjects not covered by the fragmentary curriculum — a rather slothful attempt at education on the behalf of the school; and Cullen studied. he studied until his father would discover him asleep upon the pile of books & wake him up and scold him some for wasting precious daytime. such transpired on multiple occasions throughout his childhood, more often than either of them could count. soon enough, the fervid desire to please began to writhe and metamorphose into a heartfelt aversion and by the time his teenage years dawned upon the little blonde boy, he couldn’t wait to pack his bags and leave for college. 

in high school he waited to take his then girlfriend of two years to prom, though such did not go to plan once, one evening ahead of the event, she let him know over a text message that she was now with another. even worse, the so-called other was a childhood friend of his. still, just as before, Cullen had found solace in his books and, thankfully, his dedication and fervent desire to make something of himself had paid off in the end. 

getting into the law school of his choice was the first good thing to happen to the boy and eagerly did he pack his bags, said goodbye to his family and left to explore the world that span from the Rutherford doorstep, past the mountains, and into Denerim where his life had truly begun. over the numerous years he’d spent studying law, Cullen had made more friends than he could count, some better than others. bad influences came and went, but one did stick — though if he recalls correctly, this particular man was serving in the army now, oddly enough. it was he who got Cullen his first job as a lawyer...and it was the very same man who first introduced the hopeful Rutherford offspring to lyrium. undeniably the biggest mistake of his life, but he will never breathe a word of it to another, thus continuing to entertain his want to keep that part of his life safely locked away from both himself and others. as if it had never once existed; a clean slate with no consequences to mar it so — a rather naïve way of thinking, especially for someone who had previously suffered the aftermath of swiping problems under the metaphorical floorcloths firsthand. 

over a decade has passed since then and he is truly a changed man now. no longer a lawyer, Cullen instead chose a simpler yet more respectable profession and, through a friend’s recommendation, began his training as a firefighter. in addition to reconciling with his health, he also took the time to catch up with his family and build a semblance of a relationship with his elder sister Mia. the other two siblings were not as keen to rekindle an old friendship, though he figured such will pass in due time. and Mia...she was a professor now and taught young mages Spirit magic, however, that was all he could recall about her profession from their numerous phone conversations as he was an absolutely stellar example of a doting brother. he was proud of her though, truly — she was always uncertain about the nature of her abilities and seeing her finally find the happiness that she more than deserved was not only an incredibly soul-stirring experience but also served as a personal source of motivation for himself to strive for a better future. 

the fact that Mia, despite her affinity for scalding honesty, was quite the forgiving type, had made the process of rebuilding that long-burned bridge all that much easier, making Cullen appreciate her presence in his life that much more. after all, it was always good to have someone around who wasn’t afraid to deliver a superbly aimed punch to the gut if they felt such a draconian measure to be necessary. and, most of the time, it really was, for Cullen had quite the penchant for getting into all kinds of trouble; a gift that, much to her surprise, still hasn’t gotten her little brother killed. if that is what you call a gift, then you should certainly return it and complain — she would always jest and he would laugh every time but it was the hushed, haunted kind of laughter; the kind that always told her more about her brother than he could ever bring himself to voice aloud. natheless she would never pry too much and he could never bring himself to tell, and so on they waltzed in deafening silence, as his misery slowly reached a crescendo. 

however, now was not the time to dwell on the minutiae and so he rises from the bench he previously perched upon, the poorly veiled displeasure tugging the corners of his lips downwards as yet again he notices two very same templars pass by him for the tenth time, their gazes fixated upon him as if he were circling the university stark naked with a high dragon on a leash. Cullen had never liked the attention, much less when it was directed at him for all the wrong reasons. he was no mage and perhaps he should start counting his blessings now, for neither of their rather bullish miens looked particularly gregarious nor altruistic, their predisposition to shank first and ask questions later illuminating upon both foreheads with the intensity of a bright neon sign of a disreputable dive bar and Cullen wasn’t about to stick around and wait while either of them strained to conjure up a somewhat decent conversation starter. instead, he turned on his heels and made his way towards the first building in sight, eager to be anywhere but the courtyard. Mia was going to be a while anyway, for her lessons always span longer than she anticipated, so the dutiful brother had figured that exploring the campus a little wouldn’t hurt his absolutely spotless time-keeping record and at least give him something meaningful to do while he waited for her to wrap up the study session. though Cullen had no idea that the first building that fell victim to his desire to explore was, in fact, the necromancy wing. a subject that Cullen, despite not being well-versed in anything magical, knew quite a bit about — or at least enough to make his skin crawl with unease. 

the tower itself was a rather lovely sight. its minimalistic decor a refreshing breath of air as Cullen simply could not stand the heavy, ages-old drapery that practically dripped with anticipation for prompt retirement as kindling, the once exquisite fabric now serving as nothing more than a gathering place for dust and nesting spiders, which was a rather sad sight to behold. besides, this particular Rutherford had quite the phobia of spiders, so the aesthetic was not his first concern, though he would rather eat his own toes than actually admit experiencing the fervid want to set his flat on fire each time it is graced by yet another eight-legged beast. sadly, as a trainee firefighter, the irony of it all eludes him still. 

the impeccable cleanliness and dimly lit hallways of the building drew Cullen further inside, faster than a fully stocked pantry would a starved mabari hound. making his way to the top of the tower was a simple task, though he could have sworn that the winding staircase had prolonged his journey by at least five minutes and cursed its impracticality under his breath. it was a little strange that, in the whole building, there was only one classroom and made a quick mental note to enquire of the purpose of the tower once he saw Mia. the entrance to the room was open wide and he could hear a hushed hum of voices from halfway up the stairs, one a little louder than others and figured that the class was still underway, the revelation prompting him to a halt. perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to come and potentially disturb the teaching, however, curiosity is anything but a noble creature and so he resumes his pace, however, his footsteps now fall a little quieter onto the marble steps. 

without making a noise Cullen finally reaches his desired destination and politely waits for the speaker to resume the disquisition before slowly peering from behind the doorframe and into the poorly illuminated classroom. what he saw next has made the man’s eyes widen in astonishment, mouth falling slightly agape, albeit only for a mere moment. Cullen is silent, transfixed by the bewitching, shimmering glow that engulfed the palms of the beguiling man who stood before the class of at least a dozen, explaining a concept he only half-caught in the end. it took considerable effort for Cullen to finally peel his gaze away from the lecturer to quickly study the rest of the room, the rather eerie atmosphere that dwelled comfortably within the centuries-old stone walls finally making itself known. incertitude settles upon blond brows, the crease between them becoming more and more evident with every passing minute as an uneasy feeling finds solitude inside his gut — just what was this guy teaching?

[olympictickets]

Olympic Swimming: Indian swimmers eye on Tokyo Olympic medals

The tenth Asian Age Group Swimming Championships, which gets in progress at the Padukone-Dravid Center for Sports Excellence, exhibits the best open door for Indian swimmers to go for the A-cut for Olympic 2020.

Olympic devotees from all over the world are invited to book Olympic 2020 tickets from our online platforms for Olympic Tickets. Olympic Swimming supporters can book Olympic Swimming Tickets from our ticketing marketplace exclusively on discounted prices.

The nine-day rivalry, considered as the biggest amphibian titles in Asia, will see more than 1000 members partaking in four trains to be specific swimming, plunging, water polo, and masterful Olympic Swimming.

The 44-part India swimming club will be driven by ace swimmer Sajan Prakash partaking in the 100m, 200m butterfly and 200m individual mixture while his countryman Virdhawal Khade will remember the 'A' cut-off of 22.01 seconds in the 50m free-form occasion.

He will likewise be partaking in the 100m free-form and 50m butterfly occasion. Anything quicker than Senior [Nationals] is a sensible desire, Khade said on Monday. That will likewise get me closer to the Olympic 2020 cut.

Both Srihari and Sajan have accomplished the B-mark, in 100m backstroke and 200m butterfly separately. Srihari, truth be told, has been in a record-separating structure prompting the challenge. Be that as it may, his own best of 54.69, timed at the World Junior Swimming Championships a month ago is a critical 0.84 seconds behind the A-mark. However, the 18-year-old was sure of overcoming any issues. Srihari will likewise take part in the 50m and 200m backstroke just as 100m free-form occasion.

I am certain that the golds will occur yet it's the quicker timings that I am seeing, he said. Breaking national records reliably implies I am in structure. I am sure of getting the A-cut, he included. Among ladies, sprinter Rujuta Khade, backstroker Maana Patel and center separation swimmer Shivani Kataria are relied upon to grow India's award count.

"We should win an attractive number of awards, said National Coach S. Pradeep, Kumar. [At least] equivalent to what we won in the past version. Likewise, it's a significant level challenge. So they will get pushed and odds of getting the A-capability are there."

Center and long-separation free-form swimmer Kushagra Rawat is another swimmer to look out for in the open class. The Indian group has been chosen premise national preliminaries and the cut-off time set by Asia Swimming Federation.

These 44 swimmers are the best in the nation and this release of Asian Age Group Championships occurring at home gives them an incredible chance to make an imprint at the global level, said Virendra Nanavati, official executive, Swimming Federation of India.

“We have all been enthusiastically anticipating the beginning of this Championships and our energy is discernable as we are contending in an International meet in Bengaluru just because. The home bit of leeway will definitely be a main impetus and we have kept the 'A' cut time at the top of the priority list during our preparation ahead of the pack up to this occasion, Khade said.”

A large number of us were not completely decreased during the Senior Nationals held in August. This was to guarantee we top at the opportune time and I am certain huge numbers of us will improve our own bests during this meet. It's imperative to not feel the weight of making the 'A' cut, Srihari Nataraj said.

The occasion will have members in open classification (18 years or more), just as Age Groups I (15-17 years) and II (14 years and beneath). In the past release, India won an aggregate of 40 awards in Swimming with 5 Gold, 13 Silver and 22 bronze decorations while in jumping, the nation won three gold, two silver, and three bronze awards.

Olympic 2020 devotees can get Olympic Tickets through our trusted online ticketing market place. OlympicTickets2020.com is the most reliable source to book Olympic Packages.

[caidenjbme811-blog]

Methods To Get Bigger Than 4% Curiosity As Part Of Your Cost Financial Savings Account?

The Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI) a brief even though in the past declared a hike throughout the desire premiums on own cost savings banking account. That must have created lender customers joyful as Many of them go away enormous sum of money lying in price savings accounts.

Favourable, they will obtain 50 %-a-% supplemental on savings lender accounts now. Nonetheless, the moot level is: Does which make the Value personal savings account crescent bank and trust auto loan the very best spot to retain the dollars, which will be idle till They are often utilised or invested?

Economical personal savings banking account

Your salary goes straight for the discounts examining account. Your housing EMI devours a substantial Section of it. Then the cheques you've got issued for your individual bank card payments, utility rates, SIP etc consume a great deal more into it. The harmony amount gets amassed whilst from the Price tag savings account month instantly after thirty day period of time.

That is the story of a standard rate savings checking account, which presents four% as interest to the savers. The curiosity is calculated with regards to the every day stability within just your account. Earlier, the curiosity was calculated on the bottom amount in the bank account amongst the tenth of each month and the final Business Doing the job working day While using the 30 working day interval. The need is compensated to suit your needs at the conclusion of the quarter or fifty percent calendar year. Which suggests you receive extra money now in your monetary price savings account than What ever you obtained a calendar calendar year in the past. But does that also make discounts account the easiest spot to park your idle hard cash?

Liquid and liquid as well as resources

Definitely considered one of the greatest benefits of a rate cost savings account is liquidity. You will get the amount after you want. But you can find avenues that give improved returns than price savings accounts, without the need of impacting liquidity An excellent deal. They may be identified as liquid funds.

Liquid revenue are open-completed dollars industry mutual fund methods that spend money on get in contact with income sector and a variety of preset gains securities by utilizing a maturity duration of less than ninety just one times. Liquid Furthermore cash, frequently called ultra shorter-time frame bond funds, are individual personal debt mutual money where ever the fund supervisor invests in securities which could contain gadgets with greater than 91 moments' residual maturity. The yield is mostly improved for gadgets with extended phrase. The natural way, inclusion of products with in excess of 91 days to experienced boosts the return of liquid Moreover resources.

The fund manager spots liquidity and safety as the basic tenets although developing the portfolios of these kinds of hard cash. This may make these funds a safer location to park your hard-earned income. The liquidity demands of buyers are under no circumstances compromised. For, all redemption requests submitted and time-stamped forward of the Decrease-off time, the payouts are designed the really up coming working day - This can be also referred to as redemption on T+a person basis.

How they stack up?

It is possible to Analyze the place up-tax returns of equally these alternate options - own price savings banking account and liquid and liquid On top of that mutual methods.

"The need cost of a fiscal institution's particular personal savings deposit account is four%. Ultra constrained-phrase money provide you with a better returns," claims Joydeep Sen, senior vice-president, advisory desk-established gains, BNP Paribas Prosperity Administration.

"If we look at it on the publish-tax foundation, returns from ultra transient-expression means are quite a bit far better. The dividend distribution tax for extremely confined-expression cash stands at 13.5% for man or woman investors, While the want payable on price tag personal savings bank deposits is taxed in the marginal rate of tax - for the folks in the most effective slab, it is definitely thirty.nine%," he indicates.

In accordance with Value Investigation, a mutual fund monitoring company, liquid cash produced available six.seventy five% and liquid On top of that funds returned six.eighty two% over a person distinct twelve months. If we look at 1-7 days returns, each the fund forms readily available 0.16% returns. In The prevailing motivation cost circumstance, liquid money rating higher than particular discounts bank accounts. But for simply how much time will this be the situation?

A brief while back, the Reserve Bank of India came out getting a discussion paper on deregulation of interest amount payable that has a economic savings banking account. A chart whilst from the discussion paper throws Light on how discount rates banking account interest amount as well as other critical costs are In the the most recent earlier. It is obvious that The cash Market offers a lot better returns for incredibly brief-phrase investments when compared with returns designed available from the financial discounts banking account.

Barring for a short duration of A few quarters in 2009, curiosity cost more than a personalized financial savings checking account has remained reduce in comparison on the weighted regular get in touch with amount. "The small money industry returns had been currently being an result of surplus liquidity Within the approach as RBI, in reaction to the global disaster, seasoned Decrease vital premiums in the 2nd fifty % of 2008," aspects out a credit score historical past analyst by utilizing a fund property.

The money market place costs are envisioned to stay higher as being the financial system carries on on The growth route. But what is brief-expression scenario likely to be like?

Crude oil charges are actually Business in the last a few months. Presented the unstable geopolitical condition of affairs in the crude oil-building nations, The prices are not going to return down. The under recoveries of oil internet marketing and promotion businesses have already been climbing, forcing them to hike the costs of petrol by Rs 5 For each and every litre. Diesel charges have, Nevertheless, not been touched, but the industry expects diesel providing costs also to go up when within the quick-term. This could push up inflation.

The RBI could keep on with its fee hike spree for your couple a lot more time. "We anticipate a fifty basis factors Enhance in important fascination costs in extra of the following three to six months, that could go on to keep the short-period of time interest fees company," suggests Ramanathan K, CIO-one manager investments - ING expense choice administration. These days, terrific credit score-rated economical instruments maturing in 90 times provide an annualised deliver within the array of 8.seventy five% to nine.25%.

Operational problems

Liquid and liquid plus dollars rating a lot more than monetary personal savings banking account in returns, but You must check out various other aspects of the parking features to select the one that satisfies your needs.

A discount rates banking account helps you to problem cheques, which can be not possible with mutual cash. To pay for household retain the services of toward the landlady, You should redeem your liquid cash products, Permit the proceeds arrive at the rate savings checking account and afterwards issue a cheque.

The second problem is concerning the operational factors of buying these dollars. You will get resources In the savings banking account possibly as income or from A couple of other transaction. Due to this fact, the cost price savings bank account might be the parking Area for your hard earned money by default.

But if you wish to set a few of that amount in mutual money, You will need to possibly get it done all on your own or establish an agent who will do it with your case.

Given that cash flow in liquid In addition income is parked only for brief disorders, there may very well be a ideal series of transactions taking place routinely. It could be challenging for you personally personally find out the time or regulate this type of transactions. And no institutional or specific individual agent operating inside an offline arrange will support you to Given that this business will not be remunerative. The only real serious way out for you personally will likely be to potentially Remedy a web based fund distributor which include fundsupermart, investonline.in or make investments from on the net platforms of massive institutional distributors.

But ahead of choosing to transact working with on the web platforms, It may be intelligent to confirm if there are literally any rates appropriate. You may additionally commit to open up an internet based account which has a fund dwelling and map your mutual fund portfolio on that account. This assures seamless transfer of hard cash.

Liquid and liquid Additionally methods could possibly be even more applied to boost your returns on investments. "Should you have a considerable corpus of cash to have a place in fairness, then in lieu of a scientific financial investment method, select a scientific transfer system, which offers you both equally the good thing about averaging in fairness fund and in addition enhanced returns from the liquid fund vis a vis a fiscal savings account," states Rajesh Krishnamoorthy, handling director, fundsupermart.com, an online dependent mutual fund distribution entity.

[ouatxxxxx]

What’s Missing?

Alright @favoritefandoms, I’m your CSSV! I’m so sorry I’m posting this late! I really liked talking to you and getting to know you! It was great to make a new friend! I hope it’s worth the wait!

You mentioned you like AU’s so here’s a Coffee Shop AU. You also said you like friends/enemies to lovers, so I did a frenemies to lovers story! I hope you like it and I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day! xx :D 

Every Saturday morning for the last year, Emma comes to the quaint coffee shop a few blocks away from her apartment building. Her days as a deputy keep her busy, but Saturday mornings are reserved for her chance to wind down and take a break. Enjoy her one hour of solitude away from work.

That is until the black-haired, blue-eyed nuisance started to show up.

Every time.

She still doesn’t know his name, hasn’t even spoken to him. The only form of acknowledgment is a nod and small smile when he walks through the door and sits at the table across from hers. (And the hint of mischief in his smile when it meets hers at the little game they’re playing).

All she knows is he came sweeping in one day, with his cocky nature and flirty attitude (he hasn’t flirted with her, but she’s seen the way he acts with the other women fawning over him), disturbing her peace. He deliberately chooses to come at the same time and day she’s there. She has thought about coming in at a different day to avoid him all together, but Emma Swan is not one step down, she was here first. This was her routine.

Plus, she found their little game too fun to stop.

She doesn’t even know how, but somehow he managed to learn what she orders.

And that’s when it begins.

The first time he walked in, she paid him no mind. Didn’t even look at him. The second time, their eyes met when he sat at the table across from hers, but then she looked back down at the book she was reading.

The third time, she couldn’t help it. Her eyes wandered up from her phone to sneak a glance at him. Then another. And another. She’d noticed how attractive he was the first moment he’d swaggered in, but this was the first time she allowed herself to really look at him.

Damn.

That disheveled black hair and those tight black pants. She could tell he had a strong, lean body by the way his shirt stretched between his shoulders.

Suddenly, Emma is aware she isn’t just glancing  anymore when he looks up at her with those piercing blue eyes rimmed with eyeliner (that only makes him look hotter), a quirked eyebrow, and smug smirk on his face.

She looks down immediately and feels herself blush. Quickly, she grabs her things and makes a dash toward the exit.

The fourth time, Emma is making her way to her usual table when she’s confused to find a cup already waiting for her. She looks up to find Mr. Smug Face had arrived before her, looking at her with an expectant look and a smile that makes her feel wary. She sits down and takes the cup, uncovering the lid. It’s hot cocoa alright, the drink she orders every time, but it’s missing something.

The whipped cream and cinnamon.

How he knows her order is a mystery, but he knows about the whipped cream because he’d made a show of pointing out she had some on the side of her mouth last time before he’d caught her sneaking glances at him. (She doesn’t know he only caught it because he was doing the same).

Her face must have shown all sorts of offended for not having the perfect addition to her drink because she can hear snickering. Looking up, she finds that he’s trying (and failing) to hold back his laughter.

Emma narrows her eyes at him. Two can play at this game. Emma was never one to back down from a challenge.

And that’s how this back and forth started between them.

After his little stunt with her hot chocolate, the next time Emma makes sure to get there before him. She goes to the barista she always orders from and asks her if she remembers his order. She gives her a knowing smile, she doesn’t know why, and tells her he usually orders a coffee with cream and sugar.

Perfect.

Emma orders a black coffee and after checking to see he was nowhere in sight, she goes to place it in his spot. Smiling triumphantly, Emma sits back and waits for him to show up.

He walks in a few minutes later and she can’t help but admire his wind swept hair, the urge to brush it away from his eyes too strong.

As he takes a seat he spots her, then looks down at the cup in front of him. He raises an eyebrow in question, but she simply shrugs nonchalantly while smiling innocently. She can tell he doesn’t believe her act, picking up his drink anyway and tentatively takes a sip.

His face scrunches up in distaste immediately from the bitter taste and she can’t help the quiet giggles she isn’t even trying to hide.

And this continues on for the next few weeks. There’s always something missing from her drink, and she responds in kind. Once he really took her by surprise and managed to hide in the kitchen until she came. She was a bit disappointed to find her table empty, but waved the feeling away. He wasn’t important to her. She should be happy, now her Saturdays could go back to being peaceful.

She decided to order something other than her hot cocoa that day. She asked for a Frappuccino with caramel. The kind barista who always serves her hands her the drink and for some odd reason she looks like she’s trying to hold back a laugh. Unfazed, Emma takes a sip and notices that something is missing. Her caramel. She hears a chuckle and turns around to find him standing behind his chair. All she can do is gape at him. How could he have known her order? And it was different this time!

Both of them know what to expect when they come into the shop, but both continue to show up.

Every time. 

It’s another Saturday morning and Emma walks with a light in her step, knowing she’s going to see her… friend… enemy… frenemy? She doesn’t even know what he is and suddenly she stops as she realizes something. She no longer sees him as the annoyance he once was. She now looks forward to their “meetings.” She doesn’t know what to think about it. He’s handsome, she can’t deny it. It’s the first thing she noticed about him. But she doesn’t know him. Should she ask him out? Simply talk to him and get to know him? Change the whole dynamic of how things are between them?

Emma bites her lip, contemplating her next move. She runs when she’s scared, it’s what she’s always done. It’s what she’s had to learn to do after growing up with no one to love her and the one time she thought someone did, he sent her to prison for his crimes.

It’s what’s protected her. But it’s also what’s kept out love and pushed any potential friendships away. This is the first real “friend” she’s made and although she’s scared to break whatever it is they have going on here…

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, making a decision. For once in her life she’s going to be brave and not let her fear rule her. She’s not going to ask him out, she doesn’t want to seem too forward or eager. But she does want to talk to him, to have an actual conversation in hopes of becoming friends at the very least.

She continues walking, making her way toward the shop in anticipation. It’s packed with more people than usual. As Emma makes her way to her table she notices that although it’s empty, no one is sitting there because there are no chairs. She furrows her brows in confusion and looks around to find there are no other available spots, when a cough catches her attention. She meets the amused stare of her “friend.”

Of course, the only other available chair is at his table. This time instead of a missing ingredient, it’s a missing chair. She rolls her eyes, but takes a seat.

Well this is convenient, she thinks since she wanted to sit down with him anyway and he’s just given her the perfect opportunity.

He perks up once she’s seated since he probably thought she would decline his invitation. She smiles at him shyly and looks down, finding a hot cocoa waiting for her. When she looks at him, he just nods encouragingly and she tastes it, finding that it’s perfect and just the way she likes it. After giving him a questioning look, she takes another sip enjoying her drink.

He clears his throat, “I couldn’t give you a drink you don’t like on our tenth date. It’s quite the milestone.”

Emma chokes on her hot cocoa for a moment. Once she can breathe she asks, “Tenth date? Did I miss the first nine?”

“Aye, your hot cocoa with no whipped cream and cinnamon’s the first, my greatly distasteful black coffee’s the second, and well I’m sure you remember the rest, lass,” he jokes.

His accent. It makes her want to swoon. Hold yourself together, Emma.

All humor disappears when he continues, “In all seriousness, love, I was hoping to ask you out. To dinner, or something,” he mumbles shyly.  

It’s so different to see the man that oozed confidence, suddenly become this shy person whose cheeks have reddened. He’s rubbing his finger behind his ear, a nervous tick she’s sure.

“Oh,” is all she says.

Honestly he caught her off guard. She came in here, finally brave enough to speak to him, hoping he’d at least be her friend. He must think she’s not interested by the way his face falls so she quickly continues.

“It’s just you surprised me. I finally found the confidence to talk to you today, but you beat me to it,” she says with a reassuring smile.

Her words and smile have the desired effect. His face quickly changes from disappointed to relieved and a bright smile that reaches his eyes spreads across his face and she can’t help it when her smile widens just the same.

“Killian Jones, at your service,” he says as he reaches his hand out.

“Emma. Emma Swan,” she replies, placing her hand in his. He surprises her when he brings it closer, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, only giving her a cheeky wink when she shakes her head, but her smile never wavers.

It turns out Killian’s brother, Liam, owns the coffee shop which is how he knew her orders. The friendly barista is his sister-in-law, Elsa, who knew of Killian’s interest in her and the little game he started in the hopes of getting her attention, which explains those looks she’d give her.

She learns he works at the docks, he is good with ships, and moved to Boston a few months ago to be closer to his brother and sister-in-law as they are the only family he has. His mother died in childbirth and his father abandoned them when he was a child.

They sat talking for hours, getting to know one another. When Emma finally had to go home, reluctantly they said goodbye to each other and Killian told her he’d text her so they can set up a time for their first actual date.

She didn’t have to wait long since he texted her only ten minutes after she left and she laughed at how adorable he is.

Their first date is wonderful, both expected and unexpected. When they talked in the coffee shop, he seemed to be a gentleman and that’s how he acted on their date. When they played their game however, he was a different person. He was a mix of both on their date and she was happy to see that, see all of him. She also saw how easily she could fall for this man. And for once, the thought of falling in love didn’t scare her.

Many more dates follow and soon they find themselves celebrating their two year anniversary. Emma’s come a long way in the past two years. Not only did she find a man she loves and who loves her in return, she also found a family and friends.

Liam and Elsa were very welcoming, she and Elsa hitting it off straight away. When she didn’t have plans with Killian, she was with Elsa.

Since it’s their anniversary, Killian has a special surprise to mark the occasion. 

He proposes that night. With an empty box.

“Seriously?”

He gives her a mischievous grin, then pulls out the ring from his pocket and places it on her finger.

She sighs exasperatedly, but he just kisses her while pulling her close. She can’t help but wrap her arms around his neck, eventually smiling into the kiss. 

If you asked Emma what’s missing from her life, she’d say nothing at all.

She has everything and so much more. 

[racheleugm94786-blog]

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