ITL 179

[Mountie]

to XV “I want you to wear them while I’m going down on you, so I can come on them.”

 

Night All

[anaskee]

Het sex. 

[vicxn]

 Rini spent his day seeing everyone and doing everything.

I totally read this as; Rini spend his day seeing everything and doing everyone  xx

[Shanghi]

Hmm I wonder if Anosanim's dream was a message from the gods or merely normal anxioty over trying to get something important done right & on time? And don't you just love Ritik for showing up in time for the festival? And Talin's hello?

“There you are,” Talin said sleepily.  “Here’s  the oil.”

Now this made me laugh:

Turning to the back of the book, Xio Voe pulled out a sheet of loose paper.  Closing the book, he spread the paper over it.  Taking the upper left corner, he folded it towards the center.  Then he did the same with the upper right.

            “Fuck me,” Talin said.

            “He’s not,” Anikira said.

            “My magnificent shiefa,” Kudorin said.  “Ah, ata, you will forever continue to surprise me.”

All that and he makes a paper airplane!

[Mountie]

Tried tested and true why bother with anything else? 

[Shanghi]

WORD

[mc_cart_ny]

I love Festival chapters!  They're so much fun!

When Xio Voe just sat down and started reading,  I was like....He is not going to make a paper airplane, is he???  And then he did lol

And I realize that this has happened oh so many times so far, but sometimes I just have a hard time wrapping the fact that they have sex in front of their brothers around my head.  I cannot tell you how drunk I would have to be to just make-out with my boyfriend in front of my sisters! lol  But, Reitek coming home was great.  Made me happy for them.

~McCartny~

[CourtneyLee]

Paper airplane!  And Xio Voe had the crowd laughing once during his talk!  And I LOVE that Kudorin spend the day telling children's stories during one of the festivals. It's so him.

The het sex did absolutely nothing for me. I still read het romance and enjoy it, but in this context it was really out of place.

Festivals! The passage of time was great (we're that much closer to the wedding!) but I love festival chapters, too. I especially loved this:

Anikira convinced Anosanim and his brothers to play, Remin and Orinakin and Rini with the sheep, Selorin and Desin and Talin with the pigs, Kudorin and Anosanim with the hens.  While they were noticeably better at catching and corralling the animals, they completely failed to make any of the weights balance out, much to the delight of their audience.

While the only one I can actually picture doing that is Desin, the thought was great. (though I'm wondering if the inclusion of Orinakin's name was an oopsie because there was no mention of him and Bade except to say "Vade returned to Nosupolis, leaving the palace a little quieter, a little emptier.  Orinakin and Bade left, returned, left again, and it was easier to see them go, knowing that wherever they were, they had each other.")

You know what I want? I want Xio Voe to move a little bit toward the man we saw in Xio Kei's dream. He laughed, refered to his brothers in law informally, and leaned casually against his sister's desk. I know it will take a while for him to get there, but I want to see some sign that he's on the way. Or maybe what he really needs is to be able to touch Kudorin so they can actually fuck like bunnies. Maybe then, he'll finally relax enough to think that physical affection and emotional closeness can play off each other and that the occaisional hug from Anosanim is a good thing. Because to be completely honest, the whole frigidity thing is getting old.

This made me think:

“Xio Voe tends to have an unexpected, largely unintended effect on the people around him,” Selorin said.

            “So we’re marrying him to Kudorin, and uniting them as the most powerful men in the world,” Remin said.  “Because compounding Kudorin’s unpredictability with the unintended consequences of Xio Voe’s effect on people sounds like a good idea to whom, precisely?”

Trust Remin to condense the world's main concern into so few words. And the answer to his question is the gods. I think that being married to a deity will influence Xio Voe's views on war and expanding the Empire, even on things like the death penalty: once he sees Kudorin's reaction to things like that, could he in good conscience continue? Or will he put it aside as the whims of a foreign deity and that what he does is the will of his own gods? Soracism has a god of war, after all.

But it has to be the former, because why else would the gods unite a brutally pragmatic Jacacean and a frivolous Anorian cialex?

[berryblu]

  I'm hoping that the empire's drive to dominate the world will change to economic and scientific domination and not military rule of the world.

[SilverMoon28]

I loved having all these festivals rolled into one chapter!  It was positively awesome!  The paper airplane sequence made me laugh so much I cried.

Awe... Rini's missing T'rin .

Vani

[Dena]

Rini's missing T'rin made me want to squish him.  God I love Rini.

Also, while my meh affair with Ritek continues - I completely loved the pre-sex part of his arriving.  With Desin in the door "I'll get the bags" and then Anosanim starting to strip him or whatnot and Desin being all "Right.  Night."  Desin, ILU.  He's such a guy.  In a fantastic way.  Talin being all "here's he oil, zzzzz" was funny too.

And the airplane scene was love, but I think my favorite part was Anosanim being all "It wouldn't be fair for me to compete" and Xio Voe's eyebrow twitching and Kudorin forbidding direct competition before he could ask.

And Talin and Rini were sweet. 

[Shanghi]

CL I think your right about Orinakins name being included is a Oops!  

Yeah I wanted to hug Rini....to be missing the one you love...

And Talin hugging Rini, like he knew Rini needed a hug. 

[Mountie]

I am back.  I started writing this about 12 hrs ago and just finally got back to it.  How dare people visit me when it is chapter day. 

IIRC doesn't Anosanim have a bit of the ability of preminition?  I was concerned with how the chapter opened and there were problems with the stadium.  Sure it could be a plot ploy to get Anosanim into Riteks arms but it could also be a sign that someone coud be trying to sabotage the stadium.  Mind you anyone thinking of doing that will run into Anosukinom's omnipotence and that isn't going to go over well.

I think this is a good observation for on Ritek's part:

            “Then don’t supervise and observe,” Ritek said.  “Work.”

We have been talking about timelines today and I took advantage of a bit of down time to update the calender posted HERE.  This comment by came first after dream so we know it will be months before Xoe Voe and marry. 

            He was glad that the wedding was so far away, because it meant that he’d have months of this!

We also know that time has already passed during the last chapter.  We have some more chapters like this then hopefully we won't have to wait too to long for the wedding.  I want to point out that an Anorian year is 14 mos and from the time   and XV became engaged to when the Festival of Love happens it will be just over half an Anorian year, 8 mos to be exact.  We have come 5, there is only 3 more mos to go till the festival of Love.  This discription of time was so perfect:

            Time kicked and rolled, swaying and lurching like a drunkard navigating stairs.

I also like how Matthew made us know exactly how missed T'rin:

             Like he was having the time of his life at a wild party, but one little toe still ached slightly from where he’d stubbed it earlier.

I have felt that way, it was perfect; a gentle ache in the corner of your heart.

            Vade returned to Nosupolis.

 

Now, Matthew said over in his LJ

So. Xio Voe. Festivals. Anosanim missing Ritek. And man-woman missionary position sex.

Since Desin and Rini are bi, it seems unfair to them as characters if I don't make an occasional acknowledgement of their personal/sexual interactions with women. On the other hand, ITL is a guy-on-guy zone, and I don't want it overrun with male-female scenes. So it all comes down to striking a balance.

I don't mind some het sex BUT it doesn't do anything for me.  I can understand Matthews point that he needs to strike a balance.  I like how we know Anikira and Kudorin engage in sex, we see Desin chasing women and alluding to capturing them.  Can there be a balance with Rini's exploits without looking too closely at the actual fact? 

I love how  & express thier love for each other.  They are too cute togther.

            Wow.  Rini stared at Talin, squinting a little.  “Maybe we should take you to the clinic.  Do you remember when you hit your head?  How dizzy do you-”

            Talin glared at him.  “Shut up and hug me again.”

I know you are a meh about Ritek and Dena but I remain in the Ritek/Anosanim camp as each chapter goes by I think that we will end up with a very short Orange Book:  They met, they became freinds, they had sex, Ritek fell in love with Anosanim, they became best freinds, Anosanim fell in love with Ritek, they got engaged, they got married, they adopted some children to parent, they lived happily ever after.  The End. 

I loved all the festivals and all the activities, the siblings playing balance the pigs, hens and sheep.  I think why Matthew put in there cause they were playing with sheep.  Anytime there is sheep then should be involved right?   I liked the airplane competition more for how it showed Xoe Voe to Anorians as being someone with great knowledge, whom is willing to compete fairly and who is willing to educate and participate with Anorians.  I think it was a great challenge, well met by both competitors.  I still howl with the comment about cumming on the shoes.    The end of the 4 festivals with telling stories to the children made my heart warm. 

I do not think anyone could have predicted the reaction to Xoe Voe reading "On War"

            “The last thing Emperor Xio Sei wants is a bunch of letters from peace-loving Anorians,” Desin said.

            “Xio Voe tends to have an unexpected, largely unintended effect on the people around him,” Selorin said.

            “So we’re marrying him to Kudorin, and uniting them as the most powerful men in the world,” Remin said.  “Because compounding Kudorin’s unpredictability with the unintended consequences of Xio Voe’s effect on people sounds like a good idea to whom, precisely?”

I agree CL, it is the gods because they I am sure see that Jacacea needs tempering a bit with some Anorian sensibities about sharing on an international level and Orina Anoris needs to move forward in their understanding of the sciences, medicine and education.  The perceived weaknesses and strengths in each culture need to be fostered through international interaction.

I am pleased.  I think we will see XV unbend some after the wedding when he can be sexually satisfied and all his needs met.  I am sure that all that keeps him functioning at times are his ability to hand onto his rigidity.  Until he can be with , he will hang onto his old self with an intensity that will be hard to shake.

Can we have the wedding tommow please?

[Shanghi]

I'll go with a wedding tomorrow.

[mc_cart_ny]

Now, Matthew said over in his LJ


Quote from: Matthew
So. Xio Voe. Festivals. Anosanim missing Ritek. And man-woman missionary position sex.

Since Desin and Rini are bi, it seems unfair to them as characters if I don't make an occasional acknowledgement of their personal/sexual interactions with women. On the other hand, ITL is a guy-on-guy zone, and I don't want it overrun with male-female scenes. So it all comes down to striking a balance.

I don't mind some het sex BUT it doesn't do anything for me.  I can understand Matthews point that he needs to strike a balance.  I like how we know Anikira and Kudorin engage in sex, we see Desin chasing women and alluding to capturing them.  Can there be a balance with Rini's exploits without looking too closely at the actual fact? 

I always like it when there's a little het sex in a chapter.  I feel like it's a part of their lives and we see them with men often enough, so why not with a woman sometimes?  When it's between Anikira and Kudorin I always get excited because it's cute and sexy at the same time, any scene with Desin in it is hot as all hell, and Rini's interactions with people are always fun.  I didn't think it was unnecessary at all because it was just Rini being Rini, and Rini would definitely hook-up with a model after a fashion show.

~McCartny~

[Dena]

I always like it when there's a little het sex in a chapter.  I feel like it's a part of their lives and we see them with men often enough, so why not with a woman sometimes?  When it's between Anikira and Kudorin I always get excited because it's cute and sexy at the same time, any scene with Desin in it is hot as all hell, and Rini's interactions with people are always fun.  I didn't think it was unnecessary at all because it was just Rini being Rini, and Rini would definitely hook-up with a model after a fashion show.

~McCartny~

I'm the same way.  I might favor slash most of the time in my reading, but I can and do read and write het often too, and never mind seeing it.  I read femme as well now and then.  I don't mind it being kept to a minimum, since this is a slashy story with the majority of characters leaning toward the boyfolk solely - but I like seeing the girls sneak in too!

[CourtneyLee]

I'll go with a wedding tomorrow.

I second this. 

[Shanghi]

Now to find something to wear....

[CourtneyLee]

  can help you with that. 

[Shanghi]

Just the man to consult!

[anarcHy]

Rini spent his day seeing everyone and doing everything.

I totally read this as; Rini spend his day seeing everything and doing everyone  xx

me too

[anarcHy]

ok guys, so you gotta help me out here, iam  having problems 

I have just read 179 and I know iam late reading it 

So I think Iam suffering from whiplash, I know we have to have time jumps and speed to get the story to move on, but how many festivals in one chapter ?, but on the plus side I suppose we are getting closer to the wedding 

Iam also having problems with Xio  Voe , I really enjoyed the paper areoplane scene, i was like a bet he is gonna make a plane and then he did , made me laugh, but apart from that his character is coming across to me as somewhat conceited, maybe this will rectify itself when the wedding finally happens and he can get his frustrations out with , but at the moment he is annoying me.

I loved the fact that MHT put some het action in with  , I know the story is mainly guy on guy but it is normally only  we see with the ladies. Also I wonder if  is going for the ladies so not as to feel like he is cheating on Trin? (excluding action he may see from the belas).

[CourtneyLee]

I get you with being annoyed by Xio Voe. Hopefully marrying a deity will help him get over himself a little. I think I figured out why I'm having trouble staying warmed up to him: he's way not approchable. Not just to citizens in general, but to everyone. The only people who can stand him are Kudorin and some of his brothers. If only gods and their children can get close to this guy, it's next to impossible for me to relate to him. But he does have genuine friendships with Bade and Vade, which says a lot. This is nothing new, of course, but every time I'm soft toward him, it's temporary. There are moments when I adore him, and I'm always glad that he's a good match for Kudorin, but I have a hard time connecting with him as a character for any length of time.

I don't think Rini is going for the ladies for any reason other than he's attracted to them; he was just as likely to fool around with a male model after the party. He and T'rin have something special between them, but committment never entered into it. As Orinakin (I think it was him) said, they have a "pure relationship," one of love without real life trappings. Neither of them thinks in terms of "cheating."   

[Dena]

Honestly I think arrogance is a fairly defining trait of Xio Voe's.  He's the most extraordinary human alive in the universe.  The only ones who are his better are the children of gods - and then only in their specific area - or an actual god.  And even they tend to marvel at his mind.  He's the most beloved son of the most powerful nation in the world, with one exception, the most beloved of his gods, and the beloved of the god-who-walks-on-earth.  Humility isn't among his traits.

I think he's softening, and he's seeing the value in things that he formerly dismissed as unnecessary, which while it won't HUMBLE him, it will make him acknowledge the value of opinions that are not necessarily his intellectual equal.  But I think he's always gonna be a cocky son of a bitch.    And I think Kudorin loves that about him.

[anarcHy]

Thanks, CL and Dena Iam glad its not only me having problems warming to Xio Voe's character, well roll on saturday morning for the next installment 

[CourtneyLee]

I'm fine with him being a cocky SOB; you're absolutely right about his arrogance being well-founded and an essential part of him. I just want...something. Something that indicates he knows that he's not the only person who's all that and a bag of chips. Even the children of the gods don't think they're worlds better than everyone else.

Maybe it's that in his world, he's singular. Until he got to Orina Anoris, no one came close to him in terms of intelligence, dedication, loyalty, etc. So when he got to Orina Anoris, and discovered that there were other exceptionally intelligent, exceptionally dedicate, exceptionally loyal rulers, it was jarring. I don't think he's recovered from that and internalized it yet. The Siblings, on the other hand, were birthed by gods and raised by them, and grew up in the company of Anosukinom and her siblings. They were never singular in terms of being gifted.