#queue themselves so beautifully

[radioconstructed]

// I wish the tumblr search function worked because Al definitely adopted the phrase "bimbo ops" at least once and she's gonna keep using it and y'all are welcome to share.

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN 14 Bonus SS (Shosen / Horindo)

Series: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Source: Light novel volume 14, Bonus paper Store: Shosen / Horindo Synopsis: Alan's POV of Prince Mary's rescue in Chapter 1 of LN14. Translation: maboroshi-no

Translation below ⮟

I, Alan Stuart, was greatly troubled at the moment.

Today was the Sorcier Foundation Anniversary party and many foreign visitors had come for the occasion.

Because of this, the greetings queue was enormous and I was considerably exhausted by the end of it.

Even so, it was still nice while I was greeting people. Even if I was approached to some extent, there would still be a next person, so they would leave me for the time being.

The truly difficult part was after the greetings.

When the greetings ended and my family all split up, they came to me.

Foreign Noble Lady: Prince Alan, let's talk.

Foreign Noble Lady: Prince Alan, I am…

The ones who said this and snuggled up to me all at once were foreign noble ladies.

The foreign noble ladies were beautifully dressed up in their countries' dresses, and their eyes were full of confidence.

"I will make the prince mine". Strong women like them who gave off that kind of aura were hard for me to deal with.

Though, it was not like I hated strong women themselves. I had a fondness for very strong ones who worked hard towards their goals.

But women who snuggled up and appealed their charms to the other person even if they didn't want it were a no-go for me.

Even when I clearly gave off signals that their advances weren't welcome, they completely ignored me and still pushed on. I couldn't understand their nerve.

But in times like this, I had no ability to gracefully handle the situation and chase away the ladies.

"In times like this, if it were like always…".  When I unconsciously wandered my gaze, reddish brown hair caught my eyes and I stopped on it.

There, I saw my fiancée Mary Hunt, a marquis's daughter, happily engaged in a conversation.

Mary was my fiancée in name only and a reliable friend. At a time like this, she would always promptly save me.

I was well aware that I would normally need to shake a leg and somehow handle them myself but I was exhausted from the greetings, so I ended up asking her for help with my eyes.  

Our eyes met with a snap and Mary frowned. She was probably thinking, "What a bother".

I knew that much about her. Even so, Mary was good at looking after people, so she gallantly headed my way.

Mary: How do you do, Prince Alan?

Mary came in front of me and said this to me. Then, she turned her gaze to the ladies swarming around me.

Mary: Pleased to meet you, ladies. I am Prince Alan's fiancée, Mary Hunt.

After saying this and smiling, she made a very beautiful curtsy.

Mary was praised as the Belle of High Society and the Model Noble Lady. Her beauty and beautiful gestures made some noble ladies flinch, and they awkwardly greeted her and left. 

But there was a strong one in the lot.

Foreign Noble Lady: Oh, my. So you are his politically arranged fiancée. In my country, it is now considered good to fall in love and marry your true love. Don't you think so, Prince Alan?

After saying this, she gave Mary a provocative smile, then made eyes at me.

While thinking that she really was a no-go type and pondering how to reject her, 

Mary: Fufufu. Marrying your true love is indeed wonderful. 

Mary smiled and replied this.

Foreign Noble Lady: Oh, so Miss fiancée thinks so too. In that case…

As the noble lady happily smiled after receiving Mary's approval, Mary promptly moved next to me, entwined her arm around mine, and moved her body close.

Mary: Yes, and that's why we are not betrothed for political reasons but because we truly love each other. If you consider it wonderful, then I would ask you not to get in our way.

After Mary had said this with a wide smile and a pressure that wouldn't allow any objection, even the strong noble lady was agape and lost for words.

Mary seemed intent on acting like we were fiancés in love to chase away the noble ladies.

In times like this, I could only leave things to Mary. I emptied my mind so I could just follow her lead.

Foreign Noble Lady: What, but, according to the rumor…

With her face red, the obstinate noble lady tried to voice out some more words, but then, Mary moved her body even closer to mine. It completely was lovers' proximity at this point.

Then, while completely leaning against me, Mary made a bewitching smile.

I did my very best to keep my mind blank so I wouldn't think of the soft things pressing against my body.

Mary: Can I ask you not to get in our way?

When Mary asked this one more time, even the stubbornly remaining ones left red-faced.

Once we couldn't see the noble ladies anymore, Mary quickly pulled away from me.

Mary: You will owe me one more favor.

She puffed out her cheek a little and said this.

Alan: Sure. I'm sorry, it's always like this.

When I dejectedly apologized for my weak spirit, Mary let out a little sigh.

Mary: It would be troublesome if such a bunch came again, so I will stay with you for a while.

She said this. At the end of the day, Mary really was good at looking after people.

Alan: I'm in your debt.

I really was no match for her.

Little did I know that afterward, my older brother's fiancée Katarina would show up, reveal my embarrassing facts to Mary, and make an even more shocking proposal.

[gofancyninjaworld]

The OPM Manga in 2023

By the numbers:

23 updates (most 14 days apart, shortest interval: 9 days, longest: 33 days).

662 pages (range 12 - 41 pages, mean page count: 29 pages).

Volumes published: 2 (Volumes 28 and 29). 1 bonus chapter included in Volume 28 -- Olfaction.

By the story:

Psychics and Temper Tantrums (chapters 176 - 184)

Well, the Monster Association is behind us but the fallout from it is slowly beginning to settle. Most of the heroes are now back at work and some of the consequences of a world that's increasingly scared of monster attacks are beginning to show up. The first quarter of the year was taken up with Tatsumaki's temper tantrum -- and Saitama once again daring a strong person to do their worst -- it's like he didn't learn his lesson with Garou, which disappoints me. [I love Saitama, but when brains were being handed out, he was not at the front of the queue.]

That said, even though I did not care one whit for Tatsumaki throwing Saitama around (it wasn't terrible, but really it could have been condensed into 1-2 chapters), the start of the Psychic Sisters arc was fantastic, and its ending was very interesting. I made a nuisance of myself at the start of it, pestering everyone in earshot with my excitement that Tatsumaki was taking Fubuki into her confidence to try getting Psykos out rather than trying to do everything herself.

Her complex feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and the sense that she'd made a mistake were some of the most complex and nuanced we'd seen in the story. She may be paranoid and misanthropic, but she's not crazy: there's a basis for her actions, and being knocked back just when she'd taken the risk of opening up was harsh. Unfortunately, Tatsumaki's default response is rage.. and I'm not going to waste time on recounting what happened then.

I felt pain for her here.

The end as well, expanding as it did on Tatsumaki's thoughts about how she'd accidentally woken Fubuki's psychic powers by scaring her so badly and the guilt she felt at having made her sister a target, was great. Her feelings about Blast are great, as this is the first time we get what she actually thinks of him. I still want her to learn that Blast doesn't work alone -- it'll blow her mind. The session ending with her giving the Fubuki group a chance to grow stronger and prove themselves is a fantastic development.

Even when she's giving someone a chance she still has to be scary.

Schemes (chapters 184, 187 - 191)

I really love how seamlessly the Psychic Sister arc flows into the next big theme: that of schemes and threats to the Hero Association's future. ONE has done a lot of work reworking the webcomic story so that the storyline is a coherent whole rather than two-three apparently unrelated storylines. Fubuki taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath to extract Psykos while securing immunity for her sister, and Tatsumaki brazenly using the HA's need to keep the rich clients sweet to scupper an investigation into Psykos's whereabouts was all clever. However, they're just amateurs and their antics played beautifully into McCoy's hands, who leveraged the crisis to make himself appear indispensible to the HA, thus making it very hard for him to be removed, even as he works to implicate the Hero Association in scandals (many of which he's running).

You can't call McCoy hasty: this guy has played a good long game.

The Hero Association is already having issues recruiting new heroes as they're going to Neo Heroes, which is also pinching existing heroes. However, it's not 100% going McCoy's way. Something I started praising in my review of chapter 173 is the greater self-efficacy of the characters in the manga. Sekingar and Sicchi haven't just been sitting on their hands watching McCoy sell the HA down the river. They've teamed up with Child Emperor to find out what he's really up to.

I think that this is the best cover of 2023: a collection of individuals who embody heroism, whether or not they're recognised as such or work in 'regular' ways. Well, there's one impostor…

Critically, they're not assuming that the Neo Heroes are necessarily evil: they want to understand what this outfit is actually doing. After all, heroism is heroism, no matter what guise it takes. To see that Sekingar has so earned Metal Bat's respect that the latter follows him into the heart of danger did my heart good [1].

Please, my poor heart, it'll burst if things get much more awesome.

Ninjas, Ninnies, Nintendos (193 - 199, ongoing)

That Blast has some connection to the ninjas from Sonic's Ninja Village has been clear for a long time in the webcomic. [2] However, it is only here in the manga that we're getting a full explanation of what that connection is.

Yes, yes, my partner may be a monster but he's a useful monster.

The intertwined story of Blast and his attempts to reach his former partner, Empty Void, who was also running a horrifying 'school' for grooming boys into assassins, and that of Flashy Flash and Speed o' Sound Sonic isn't done yet, but it looks to be reaching at least one turning point. It's a pity that the fan translators stopped translating the cover text because that for chapter 199 was incredibly pertinent: 'Staring at the back of a friend you used to stand shoulder to shoulder with.' Sonic has so much to process.

And like that, Sonic's world has been turned upside down.

Since Blast has an ongoing relationship with Empty Void, we get troubling questions as to how long Blast had known about the Village and whether he disapproved, or had been content to ignore it as long as he had his partner by his side and found his talents indispensible. It's going to be interesting when those two meet! Also, if Blast is hoping to reverse Empty Void's monsterization, he'd better hope that the guy isn't like most people who became monsters. Most ex-human monsters *want* to be that way and there doesn't seem to be a good way to undo it. Well, maybe if you chop them up, have Phoenixman (oops, he seems to have lost his powers) resurrect them, then shock them incredibly hard, that might work. It's unlikely that anyone present can deduce what happened to Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame, much less put all the working parts of that together.

Still, they're going to try. This *is* going to be interesting. Also, potentially heartbreaking.

Reappearances

Genos: the disciple returns to his duty

Unlike the webcomic, Genos has not been completely absent. He's been quite busy: helping Saitama recover their apartment, meeting the Hero Association to discuss important matters, and also, hanging out with Saitama as a friend rather than as a disciple. It's been fun to see that he's finally ditched his flip phone for a smart one, heheh.

Nevertheless, it's not until Dr Kuseno finishes his new upgrade that Genos sets foot in Saitama's house, formally reporting for duty, so to speak. I praise Saitama's self-discipline and good sense in not breaking eye contact and in politely ignoring his disciple's new-found exhibitionism until he had the sense to put a shirt on [3].

Less positive, it's been painful to see that Genos is frustrated at how he doesn't seem to have grasped the kind of growth he's looking for and is unsure whether Saitama truly sees him. It's not been helped by Saitama trying to reassure him, pulling his best 'Reigen' face and instead made everything worse. There are two interesting shames, which will surely be built on at some point. 1: We see Saitama seeing Genos's strength but he doesn't say anything. 2: Genos is right that the strength that comes from within is different from that granted to one by upgrades. We see in another chapter from Nichirin, that having artificial parts is no hindrance to pulling out that great inner strength. The funny thing is that Genos has shown that kind of strength before, when he was fighting Elder Centipede, but he doesn't know it.

Ah, despite everything, those fools are no better at speaking to each other than they were before! It'd be hilarious if it weren't so tragic.

Rarely have the words 'open your mouth and solve your problems' been more apposite. Sadly, that's exactly what they don't do.

Garou: the other disciple tries to learn duty

Now this really threw a lot of fans for a loop -- ONE making clear that he's aware of how young Garou actually is. It was very easy to read Garou as a guy in his early twenties, but strip away the pretensions and he's really young. His over-simple understanding of what was wrong with the world and his over-large sense of responsibility to fix it are thoughts of a teen. It's just a good thing that teenagers don't have world-shattering power, and so can be extreme and wrong without hurting anyone. But it has really jarred with a lot of fans.

I may be giving Bang the side eye as he implements his idea of reformation (apparently, it involves hitting Garou over the head often), but the sense of lightness Garou feels at having a reliable mentor, the relief he undoubtedly feels at having a way to work his crimes off -- being a social outcast may seem cool in a 'reject-the-corrupt-world' way but it gets old fast -- and being able to contribute meaningfully to the dojo's re-establishment is palpable.

His life is sure to start sucking again soon, but for now, it's a joy to see him.

Let him gambol for now. Go Garou!

King: ugh

Sorry, King just irritates me some days and this was one of them. Not because he was running around trying to find someone who could help him: that was fine. But because, unlike the webcomic, once Saitama told him to work out, he's continuing to stick around and play videogames. In a world where everyone is trying their best to make sense of their world and help themselves in some way, however imperfect, the sight of this poster child for mediocre white men overpromoted for looking the part continuing to laze about just pisses me off.

Let him start helping himself and I will praise him.

He's been told what to do but he's not doing it.

GAY!

This year, ONE said: here, my children, I have brought you a pint of homo milk. Drink. What else are we to make of Fubuki triumphantly cradling Psykos as she makes a clean getaway?

This has to be the smuggest 'got the girl' face I've ever seen.

Or Blast continuing to call Empty Void his partner, despite everything that the guy has done, including turning into a monster? He wants him back so badly, and though he says it's strictly professional interest, we think the man doth protest too much.

And then whatever's going on with these two:

Flashy Flash, you ain't got no business calling Blast soft when you're handing Sonic tissues and smiling at him.

Fandom Follies

Do we need to do this? Yup! This year, we discovered that a lot of dudebros who have been against the idea of romance in OPM have just been shippers afraid to come out and own it. The sheer number of Saitama x Tatsumaki fans has been incredible. Nothing wrong with SaiTatsu but the obnoxiousness of fans new to shipping has been hard to tolerate. Learn some manners, folks!

Asides

[1] I think this is great foreshadowing of something Forte says later in the webcomic to paraphrase, risking your life for another hero is something you do as a favour for a friend, not because someone's declared themselves the boss of you and ordered it. It's nice to see Sekingar embodying that ideal.

[2] It's hard to believe it, but to this day (chapter 149), Blast is not yet seen in the webcomic. At this rate, he'll show up at the very end to get jobbed by God (no ID), but not before giving an over-long exposition about what he's been up to. That is, if he's not already dead, only nobody knows yet.

[3] I can see SaiGenos shippers worried that my saying that it's good that Saitama isn't taking Genos up on his obvious attraction means that I might be disapproving of the ship. That is not the case. I'm going to assume that most of us here are old enough to vote, enter into contracts, and pay taxes and so can think of things with nuance and context. A fandom that needs the reassurance of canon to decide what's permissible is a weak, timid, and pallid imitation of one, and one I want no part of. For certain, we're here to discuss the story as it exists, but please, we're also here to consider and explore scenarios and make works that cannot and often should not exist in the canon because they are FUN. Even more pertinent, ONE is on record as LOVING that fans spend their time and creativity doing things with his stories. So please, don't allow any in-universe discussions on what is helpful or unhelpful in the story affect what you draw and write! PLEASE SHIP! Gimme!

[whencyclopedia]

Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado (c. 1485-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who became the first governor of Guatemala in 1527. Living an extraordinary life of adventure, Alvarado participated in separate expeditions to Mexico, Central America, South America, and finally, North America. He is best known today for leading the conquistadors who defeated the Quiché and Cakchiquel Maya.

Alvarado was Hernán Cortés' second-in-command during the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1520. He then moved on to attack Guatemala and other parts of Central America before launching an expedition to Ecuador. Still fighting indigenous peoples into his 50s, Alvarado died in Mexico in 1541, having gained a life-long reputation for being one of the most ruthless and cruellest of all conquistadors, a highly competitive field for such a dishonour.

Early Life

Pedro de Alvarado y Mesía was born around 1485 in Badajoz, Spain. Alvarado first came to prominence when he voyaged to Spain's first colony in the Americas, Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic/Haiti) in the Caribbean in 1510. In 1518, he was part of the expedition sent by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465-1524), the Governor of Cuba, to explore the Yucatán Peninsula. The group of conquistadors ('conquerors') was led by Juan de Grijalva (1489-1527), who Alvaredo did not get on with and whom he denounced to Velázquez.

Alvarado is given the following physical description by the celebrated Spanish chronicler Bernal Diáz (b. 1492) in his The Conquest of New Spain:

In every sense beautifully proportioned in body, noble in his gait…very pleasing features, and an amiable manner of expressing himself, so that there always appeared a smile on his countenance.

(Sheppard, 23)

In contrast to his pleasant physique, historians have been queueing up ever since to describe Alvarado's approach to conquest in far less flattering terms. The historian S. Sheppard gives a typical description of Alvarado as "impetuous, cruel, and utterly amoral" (ibid). Even his own men, largely ruthless cutthroats themselves, denounced Alvarado for his brutality.

Continue reading...

[khihi]

In regards to the messiness of yesterday;

First and foremost, it's one thing to have a different perspective on an event, but it's another entirely to send hate messeges when you do not comprehend the other perspective. Anyone who did should be embarassed and ashamed of themselves. Also, anyone who directly messeged Bojan any vitirol should also be embarassed and ashamed of themselves too.

That being said, please realise that no one has been saying that Bojan wasn't right in what he was saying. It's so good of him to care and he is absolutely correct; queuing has gotten ridiculous during this tour and it needs to calm down. The issue was that his timing was poor and caused chaos in the morning that set the panicked tone for the rest of the day and made fun and friendly queue practices practically redundant. Please understand that you can critique how someone handled a situation clumsily - however kind-hearted their intentions were - and still love and respect them.

Again, this is not saying the issue of queuing getting out of hand shouldn't be brought up. It should. It's good it's now been brought up. It's just a shame it happened the way it did.

I only hope Bojan, unlike some fans, didn't recieve too many hateful messeges and that he's already moving on. He seemed in a good mood before, at, and after the gig (they all did), which was wonderful and a relief to see. The show was fantastic; everything going wrong was so funny and the boys took it in their stride beautifully.

I also haven't seen anyone mention the fact that the venue is absolutely to blame for aggravating the queuing chaos and I really think it needs to be said; handing out wristbands - especially a limited number of writstbands - as early as 9am pushes back regular queue arrival time by HOURS and clearly makes people panic. Wristbands have caused such a mess and I hope other venues don't start thinking this is in any way a good idea.

I just hope this gig can be a learning experience and everyone chills the fuck out from now on. Please no more queuing the day before. And endangering other people by pushing and shoving is fucked up to say the least. It's not the end of the world if you're not barricade.

If anyone wants to talk further about anything, maybe consider discussing it in DMs - politely, like adults - and not hatefully on anon. The whole two-queue problem was solved yesterday because people discussed it respectfully with each other and listened to each other's perspective with a little empathy. Maybe let's have a little of that energy here too.

Speaking of which, in spite of how messy it all was there were still so many lovely people that I'm glad I met - it was so nice meeting more mutuals at this gig too, I'm glad you guys got to enjoy yourselves at the show and I hope you're all able to relax and unwind today! Look after yourselves <3

[kind-of-naughty]

Buckle up, part 1

Her favourite sort of arousal took hours to build. Hints, teases, a shared understanding and a slowly building tension could leave her tingling all over and embarrassingly messy down below before she’d even been touched. She wasn’t averse to being grabbed and fondled by a partner in preparation for a quickie, but being massively turned on in an instant was rare for her.

Rare is not never, though.

Of all places, she was in the airport security queue. Trying to avoid being coughed on by fellow passengers or yelled at by security staff, she was waiting for the large family ahead of her to herd themselves through the scanner and, to stop herself worrying if her handbag looked cheap in the grey plastic tray, she forced herself to look up. 

In the mirror-image queue opposite, there was a man standing like her in front of the belt wearing a beautifully fitting suit, his face framed in a three-quarters view as he looked into the middle distance. Then without looking down, he brought his elegant hands to his belt buckle and undid it smoothly, unhurriedly pulling it through the loops and winding it around his hand. Time stopped. She knew rationally she couldn’t smell the leather but she knew exactly how it would smell, how the leather would sound sliding against fabric in a silent room, how she’d shiver in anticipation and how her bare ass would burn after the belt whipped against it.

Fuck, she thought helplessly as her skin tingled, her vulva throbbed and her face flushed. Much as she hated cliché, she was biting her lip. 

Had time actually stopped or had he been holding that belt wrapped around his fist for several seconds rather than putting it in the tray? She looked up and he was looking right at her, his eyes sardonic and his mouth twitching with amusement. Fuckity fuck, she thought as her face went from red to crimson.

A male friend of hers had once said that one way the female body was clearly superior to the male was that “at least you don’t spend your adolescence terrified of someone spotting your erection.” Well, her flushed face felt pretty close to a trouser bulge, giving away her risqué thoughts.

She turned away to find herself next in line to go through the scanner. Oh. The scanner with the grim-faced uniformed security staff waiting behind it, one man and one woman. Waiting for the judgement of the red lamp, selecting her for special treatment. Told to assume the position and stand with arms and legs out. Scanned with a wand, patted down. Fingers inside her waistband, between her breasts, on her ass. Stern authority figures exercising their power over her. A horrible intrusion that she was scared she actually craved right now. What was wrong with her?

The light flashed green and they waved her on. OK. Now she could pull herself together and try to behave like the professional woman she was. She found her tray and started putting her belongings away. 

It was somehow a surprise when she looked up and was face-to-face again with him. They had been at the same point in the queue before the scanner so of course he had arrived at this point at the same time too. He was closer now and she searched desperately for a reason to find him unattractive but his nails were manicured, his shave clean and the accessories he was packing away tastefully understated. He didn’t look away when she met his gaze. Instead, he reached into his tray and took out his belt.

part 2 part 3

[youfeltthegolux]

Reading recap, November 2022 (Part 2)

OK, it's time for Part 2 of my November book notes. No belabored introductions! Let's get right to it!

Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells

As the blurb on the front of the book from the esteemed Ann Leckie says, "I love Murderbot!"

This is the second in the Murderbot Diaries series of novellas, about an android built for "security" (i.e., murder) who manages to hack their own operating system and acquire free will, a conscience, and a sense of altruism all their own. That description makes the series seem very boring, but I promise you it is very fun. The books are really fast reads and this one kept my interest as we learn more about a strange incident in Murderbot's - that's how our protagonist identifies themself - past that set them on the course to where they are now, a rogue bot trying to figure out what they want to do with themselves. When not defending hapless humans, Murderbot usually wants to be left alone to watch its favorite streaming content, which I relate to on a deep level. I'm looking forward to reading book #3 soon.

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

I put this book on my queue after hearing the author give a fantastic talk on the Franklin expedition, collective memory, and retellings at Terror Camp this year. It's a beautifully-told story of a relationship that develops between Sol, an archivist at a historical society in San Francisco, and Elsie, the widow of a TV writer and author who has donated her late partner's papers to the archive. Sol is trans and suffers from an illness called vampirism, which heavily circumscribes how he can live out his daily life. Sol and Elsie must navigate their feelings for each other as they deal with the stigmas and challenges thrown at them by the rest of the world and the long shadow of Elsie's late partner.

This novel weaves together questions of empathy, of figuring out how to be at home in one's body, fandom, and what it means to preserve things for the future. I've worked in archives and museums and I especially loved Sol's descriptions of caring for the materials at his archive: what they represent and how to keep them "alive" (especially once mysterious things start to happen in the archive). This novel is moving, unique, and well worth a read.

And for our final book, it's time for...

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

I have been waiting for literally five months for this book to come off of the waitlist at my local library and it was worth.the.wait.

Don't let the cover art fool you - this is not your typical Heyer or Bridgerton-style Regency romance. Our MCs are Viola Carroll and Justin de Vere (a duke, natch). Best friends since childhood, they were as close as could be, right up until the Battle of Waterloo separated them. Presumed dead, Viola takes it as an opportunity to truly live her life as herself. Justin, meanwhile, succumbs to despair without his dearest friend. When events bring them back together two years later...DOT DOT DOT

This was my first Alexis Hall book but it definitely won't be my last. The way that Viola and Justin navigate their changing feelings for each other, while coming to terms with what the separation of two years has meant for both of them, and how they both wrestle with how to truly live as they were meant to is so beautifully described and at times gut-wrenching. And the dialogue between them! The love scenes!

If you are looking for a queer historical romance I recommend you get your hands on this one stat. Definitely one of my favorite fictionals I read this year.

Until next month-

[herchaostheorist]

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[dukeoftheblackstar]

@eloquentmoon OKAY. Bebbiii, are you ready?

I have read this before and each time I do I'm just absolutely spent. I feel so immersed that this is one of those fics labeled Kit Fisto/reader and it just screams absolute truth. The only sad thing about this is that it cannot happen in the real world and it's upsetting me LOL.

Four times. I have read this four times now and on the fifth (this) am I only able to actually write down the words in my head that scream and pine so much for how exceptionally life-changing (yes, I mean it xD) this fic is.

This is love. This is not carnal desire gone wild — well, maybe, but this is like a proper tribute of sorts because you've captured him so well in this. Him not talking much, him knowing, him letting reader make the first move, him keeping true to being a Jedi and how he cannot say anything even though he feels it.

Which also resonates to my love and wips for Plo because he's a fucking stickler and I just... hnngg... I love this. All of this. Not just the smut part because maker knows that I would be yeeted so far from heaven at the things I intend to partake with Kit and Plo and PloKit at the same time xD.

But yes, back to this glorious Kit Fisto tribute. I accept this as him just being like this to all the damsel in distress out there and one could only hope and pray to be next. LOL

This is absolutely charming and delightful. I smiled the whole time the confession thing happened and the smut, I screamed — but hey, come on. That was might fine hot and I take it I'll be reading this again as it is bookmarked ♥

You're an amazing, talented, kind-sweet writer and I am so blessed we get to interact and sakjdlkdjajdla over our dead boys and be blessed to be in the same lifetime to be able to read this ethereally sweet and sinful fic of my favorite Jedi whore ♥

Much love and adoration ♥ Next up should be Savage's when I'm done with my queue. ~Duchess ♥

you have also experienced something else ~ I, too, in the face of tribulation will experience something else if Kit was around. You know he just radiates 'I'll make your dreams come true while we make love, but you'll never see me again" and baby, you know we're not about the life of passing up opportunities, specially with a face like that — I mean, opportunities that present themselves.

For you find yourself somewhat infatuated with your protector. - Same bestie, same.

Jedi Master Kit Fisto is like no one you have ever met before. He is a sight to behold – a Nautolan of a towering height, with skin the most beautiful shade of green. He boasts a strong brow (which due to his cheerful nature, is seldom furrowed), and his chiselled face houses deep black eyes, a small sharp nose and a gleaming smile which he loves to flash in your direction. His tendrils fall effortlessly graceful behind his head, though two of them usually drape over the front of his shoulders. You have caught yourself (on more than one occasion) dreamily watching as they sway with each of his movements. It is no surprise you have developed a crush on him, you try and justify to yourself. He is a very handsome man – and who wouldn’t be seduced by someone with such charming wit?

Short bands of leather adorn each his long tentacle-tresses, which flow so elegantly from his head. His traditional Jedi robes suit him, a slightly high neck tunic beneath them, and armour that plates his lower arms. You smile. He is a good person – he is loyal, determined and optimistic. He is laid-back, with deep running compassion and virtue. His sense of humour never fails to get you smiling and laughing. He comforts you and makes you feel safe.

- This description of Kit is so on point!! Where is the iie??? Crafted so beautifully to capture Fit's bubbly aura, the grace of his tendrils, the captivating smile that makes my heart just drop 6ft down the ground, and his massive height is such a power move *dreamy sigh*.

About how you wanted him to touch you again.

The most brief of moments, for he immediately hides any evidence of such longing behind a daring smile. He shoots you a witty comment or two, changes the subject. But you swear to the Maker that you see it. Even if it is so brief that you have often wondered if you just imagine it. If you are just seeing what you wish to see. - This is my kink tbh. Very repressed and seasoned Jedis that are probably at around 100+ years. Yes, I'm looking at you too Plo Koon and I draw the line there because Yoda is just biohazard zone. So no, no, no. Let my PloKit obsession shine ♥

“We have been blessed enough to exist at the same time as one another. That alone is a gift. But to have formed a connection in this way, to have…whatever it is that we have. That in a universe of trillions and trillions of lives across thousands and millions of years, across the vastness of our galaxy…here we are.”

“The fact that we are standing here together, and have been every day for the past few weeks – it is indeed a great stroke of fortune. Our…flirtation.”

“It has been the only sweetness in a sea of sorrow.”

Ah, yes. The prerequisite to all the hot shit about to happen. I am a sucker for poetry. You know he about to break you in half while making you feel like the only queen of his life ♥

“If we are having this conversation,” he says with a smile, “then please, call me Kit.” He slips your hand beneath his.

“I can give you tonight,” - Bet. Say when? Now?

His cock, big and hard – it strains against the material of his pants, and he rubs it into your aching cunt.

You want to see it, need to see it, hold it, taste it. Take it. Stars, you want to take all of him.

He smirks down at you, and you can sense from that smile alone that there are many sweet, filthy things he wants to do to you

WELL FUCK, Moonie. I've read this for like the 4th time now and with me now only having a chance to actually write a review, feeling is still the same.

“I have often wondered what you taste like. “I would like to find out. - I swear, these Jedis, babe. They be making me want to do unspeakably filthy things to them.

You instinctively try to close your legs around him, to grind down onto him, but he is strong and keeps them parted. He wants full access. He wants you bare, raw, aching. ~ Babe. You just went so hard on this, I can't ;///////////////////////////////;

“Darling, I know, I know you want me to take you now,” he says sympathetically, crooning his finger inside of you. “But I need to prepare you,” he smirks, “trust me.

AND THEN, AFTER I DIED READING THE ACTUAL EVENTS, IT STOPS HERE:

“W-Where?” he asks, and knowing exactly what he is asking, you smirk. You reply weakly. “Inside.”

“Goodnight,” he says wistfully, planting a soft kiss on your temple. Your eyes flicker shut, your tiredness finally betraying you.

“And goodbye,” you reply, before you fall asleep in his arms.

Goodnight, and Goodbye - Kit Fisto x Reader

Summary: After weeks of assisting you with your planet’s involvement in the Clone Wars, he has made a success of his mission, and Kit Fisto must now return to Coruscant. But you cannot possibly let him go without confessing the truth of your affection for him.

Pairing: Kit Fisto x AFAB!Reader

Word Count: 7.8k

Rating: Explicit - this work is 18+ due to sexual content. Minors, DO NOT INTERACT.

CW/TW: AFAB!reader, brief references to canon-typical violence, alien sex/alien penis, nipple/breast play, vaginal fingering, f!receiving oral sex, unprotected PiV sex.

Notes: I am just head over heels for this gorgeous green man. This is my first time writing for him! You can also read this fic on AO3 ♡

Keep reading

[cervidaedalus]

I don't really give care about MOST multi home owners, personally. I think the Mateus Ascian ward and Alice's ward are beautifully decorated. A lot of the pre-lottery MHO's were also pretty awesome about giving away free houses or relo upgrades. Some of them use the sub farm Gil to fund larger FCs, events, etc. There is a special breed of newer MHO's, though, that are largely in it for themselves. They'll buy up entire wards or close to it in current crisistimes, springing for meds and larges immediately. They are well aware of the current housing shortage and simply Do Not Care. "Well Squeenix should just demolish excess plots!" "Why not just nerf subs!" Nope. The amount of both MHO's and career FC house flippers is way more than people are aware of, and even a mid-sized FC really needs that current Gil income from a 4-sub fleet. You could demo all those excess houses. But, not only will this impact people who -aren't- even remotely malicious (my member-capped very active FC has 4 plots on Crystal, and that submarine money is used for our events and buying FC rooms), but it won't actually solve the problem, and committed MHO's and flippers will find a way around it like they always do. I saw someone suggest raising the cap on how many subs a single FC can run, and yeah, nail on the head. They've introduced those gold mounts as a Gil sink, but here's a better idea since most of that Gil is being minted in shell FC sub farms anyway: allow people to add more sub with a gradually, steeply increasing Gil price, and I'm sure people like this will opt for that instead. I'm close friends with one of those pre-crisis MHO's, and they spend HOURS per day resetting subs. Between the menu's, having to cancel out of the deployment cutscene, relogging all the way back to the start screen and having to go through login queues every time... Submarines themselves take weeks to level up and crafting enough repair kits for that number of subs (again, 4 per house) takes an equally ridiculous amount of time as it is. I'm pretty sure none of these MHO's enjoy that whole loooooong tedious process, so you could pretty much kill off most of the Gil Minting market by just... removing sub cap but making it more and more expensive to add them. You're not going to stop MHO's anyway, and in this case most of the common suggestions will just hurt large FCs, so just give them what they want but in a way that doesn't screw over others...

[louisamaymarch]

This may be trivial but the D.A.’s blatent misuse of Levicorpus in the OOTP film is crazy given that they already had the HBP book as a reference

[whencyclopedia]

Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado (c. 1485-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who became the first governor of Guatemala in 1527. Living an extraordinary life of adventure, Alvarado participated in separate expeditions to Mexico, Central America, South America, and finally, North America. He is best known today for leading the conquistadors who defeated the Quiché and Cakchiquel Maya.

Alvarado was Hernán Cortés' second-in-command during the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1520. He then moved on to attack Guatemala and other parts of Central America before launching an expedition to Ecuador. Still fighting indigenous peoples into his 50s, Alvarado died in Mexico in 1541, having gained a life-long reputation for being one of the most ruthless and cruellest of all conquistadors, a highly competitive field for such a dishonour.

Early Life

Pedro de Alvarado y Mesía was born around 1485 in Badajoz, Spain. Alvarado first came to prominence when he voyaged to Spain's first colony in the Americas, Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic/Haiti) in the Caribbean in 1510. In 1518, he was part of the expedition sent by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465-1524), the Governor of Cuba, to explore the Yucatán Peninsula. The group of conquistadors ('conquerors') was led by Juan de Grijalva (1489-1527), who Alvaredo did not get on with and whom he denounced to Velázquez.

Alvarado is given the following physical description by the celebrated Spanish chronicler Bernal Diáz (b. 1492) in his The Conquest of New Spain:

In every sense beautifully proportioned in body, noble in his gait…very pleasing features, and an amiable manner of expressing himself, so that there always appeared a smile on his countenance.

(Sheppard, 23)

In contrast to his pleasant physique, historians have been queueing up ever since to describe Alvarado's approach to conquest in far less flattering terms. The historian S. Sheppard gives a typical description of Alvarado as "impetuous, cruel, and utterly amoral" (ibid). Even his own men, largely ruthless cutthroats themselves, denounced Alvarado for his brutality.

Continue reading...

[louisamaymarch]

Well, I’m consumed everywhere else by my love for Little Women, so why not here too, where I can be utterly submerged in it?

Icon credit @astraleditions

Mobile header credit @kissyzoe

New theme @minutatheme

[lhrry]

Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you put into the rainbow projects for both harry and louis. They both turned out so amazing and I know they both appreciate it so much. The copy rainbow project looked SO GOOD I’m still in awe. I know it was a lot of work, so, thank you!

Nothing to thank me for, I can’t believe what we all did together this summer!! I couldn’t have done it without other people and if people in Prague didn’t come together the way they did, didn’t buy and print and paint flags and didn’t bring so much excitement, it never would have happened. I talked about this before and I’ll always say it - the things people did for the Prague project are probably something I’ll never see again.

And for AFHF, there was a big team of people this couldn’t have happened without: @noshipisship @alloutshirt @walkinginsunflowers @aimh210 and three other people from instagram/twitter were absolutely integral to it, preparing the papers etc. And then of course there were about 10 volunteers handing out the papers for the stands and the entire pit situation? That was all people themselves. We provided the papers in bags, we gave them to people in different parts of the queue and asked them to pass them on and have them circulate and had no idea whether people would actually do it. We did provide 18k papers like that but we had no idea whether people would do this and without it the project in the pit wouldn’t happen, BUT they did! Lisa messaged me when they were inside that people were still passing the bags around in the crowd, I got people taking pictures of the bag they kept as a memory after the show etc., so this was an incredibly collective effort, which is why is worked out so beautifully. Thousands and thousands of people did they part!

[mlmay-event]

✨MLMAY: Writing + drawing prompts!✨

Hello again self shippers! I hope that everyone had a great fo takeover, because now we're onto the next phase of MLMAY! From the 10th thru the 23rd, participants are encouraged to create artwork centered around their self ships! These can be drawings, writing, playlists, edits, gifs, quizzes, positivity posts, etc etc! Let your creativity run wild!

We will be posting prompts all throughout these next two weeks to give you ideas, as well as our own creations and imagines that self shippers can enjoy even if they are not artists themselves! Anything you create, tag with #mlmay2021 !

On another important note, the intention of this event is to bring attention and love to all MLM shippers in this community. Of course just participating in these events is always fun, but we really want to bring more support and attention to MLM shippers, boost their voices! So we are calling both MLM and supporters alike to action! Search through blogs we have boosted, or in the tag! Reblog their self promos! Reblog and like their art or posts! Leave nice tags! Send them asks! Follow if you like their stuff! Assure them they are just as welcome and appreciated as any other shipper. Even if it's not what you'd usually reblog, even if you don't follow, even if you don't send long or "beautifully worded" asks, we encourage any active support. A little effort goes a long way in making someone feel loved and seen.

Please help us find people to boost! if you or an MLM shipper you know has done something creative for this event, or in the past that they'd like attention on, @ us in that post, and we will queue it!

✨As always, excluding boosting and support, we ask that you only participate if you somehow identify with the MLM label✨

[louisamaymarch]

these are all so good

Christopher Plummer as Captain von Trapp THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)