#analytical convenience

[indefinite-pitch]

Aäg - Droned It

[st-louis]

this is going to kill me. the fact that this is being presented as a novel concept (‘this’ being helping tk improve his game by discussing the analytics directly with him and using danny b’s insight as a former player to talk to him about what he actually needs to do better) WHEN IT’S WHAT ALL MODERN ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE DOING. THAT’S LITERALLY WHY YOU HAVE ANALYTICS. and like danny b says credit to tk for taking it and running with it but OH MY GOD i am once again RENDING MY GARMENTS and GNASHING MY TEETH at how FUCKING BACKWARDS THE FUCKING PHILADELPHIA FLYERS ORGANIZATION IS. IT'S NOT A NOVEL ANALYTICS PROJECT. IT'S ACTUALLY USING THE DATA YOU ARE GETTING. OH MY GOD THEY’RE NOT EVEN GOING TO DO THIS WITH OTHER PLAYERS??????

[maxlearnmicrolearningplatform]

The Rise of Online Learning: Is Microlearning the Future of Employee Training?

In the age of online learning, employee education and development are experiencing significant transformations. Traditional training programs are evolving, giving way to innovative approaches like microlearning. But what does this shift mean for your business? Is microlearning the future of employee training? This question is at the heart of this article, which explores how microlearning can help you enhance and grow your employee training programs.

The Current Landscape of Employee Learning

Your employees are dedicated and passionate about their work. They love their jobs, but their hours are long, their schedules are packed, and they often struggle to find the time to learn new skills or absorb new information. This is a common scenario in many organizations, where the demands of daily tasks leave little room for ongoing professional development.

Traditional training methods, often involving lengthy workshops or day-long seminars, can be impractical in such environments. Employees may find it challenging to dedicate large blocks of time to learning, leading to disengagement and missed opportunities for skill enhancement.

Enter Microlearning

Microlearning is revolutionizing the way employees learn, work, and grow. It involves delivering content in small, focused chunks that can be consumed quickly and conveniently. This method allows employees to learn at their own pace, often in just a few minutes a day, making it an ideal solution for busy professionals.

Key Benefits of Microlearning:

Flexibility and Convenience: Microlearning modules are designed to be accessible anytime, anywhere. Employees can engage with learning materials during breaks, commutes, or any other downtime, without needing to carve out significant periods from their busy schedules.

Improved Retention: Studies have shown that information presented in short, focused segments is easier to remember. Microlearning leverages this by delivering bite-sized content that enhances knowledge retention and recall.

Increased Engagement: By using varied formats such as videos, quizzes, infographics, and interactive modules, microlearning keeps learners engaged. This diversity in content presentation caters to different learning styles and preferences.

Cost-Effective: Developing microlearning content often requires fewer resources compared to traditional training programs. Companies can save on costs associated with travel, venue rental, and instructor fees.

Scalability: Microlearning can be easily scaled across the organization. Whether you have a small team or a global workforce, microlearning modules can be distributed and accessed with minimal logistical challenges.

Microlearning for Busy Professionals

For busy professionals who want to stay connected and productive while meeting deadlines, microlearning offers an invaluable solution. It allows employees to integrate learning into their daily routines seamlessly. Here’s how microlearning addresses the needs of busy professionals:

Learning at Their Own Pace: Employees can progress through microlearning modules at a pace that suits them, reducing the pressure and frustration that often accompany traditional learning schedules.

Work-Life Balance: Microlearning supports a healthy work-life balance by enabling employees to learn from anywhere, including the comfort of their homes. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for remote workers and those with demanding personal commitments.

Continuous Improvement: With microlearning, professional development becomes an ongoing process rather than a sporadic event. Employees can continually upgrade their skills and knowledge, keeping pace with industry changes and advancements.

Microlearning for Remote Workers

The rise of remote work has highlighted the need for flexible and accessible training solutions. Remote workers, in particular, benefit greatly from microlearning:

Accessibility: Microlearning content can be accessed on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This ensures that remote workers can engage with training materials regardless of their location.

Personalized Learning Paths: Microlearning platforms often allow for the creation of personalized learning paths tailored to individual needs and career goals. This customization enhances the relevance and impact of training programs.

Interactive and Engaging Content: Remote workers can sometimes feel isolated. Microlearning modules that incorporate interactive elements, such as discussion forums and collaborative tasks, can help foster a sense of community and engagement.

Implementing Microlearning in Your Organization

To effectively integrate microlearning into your employee training programs, consider the following steps:

Assess Training Needs: Identify the specific skills and knowledge areas that need development within your organization. This will help in creating targeted microlearning content that addresses these gaps.

Choose the Right Platform: Select a microlearning platform that aligns with your organizational goals and technical requirements. Look for features such as mobile compatibility, analytics, and content variety.

Develop Engaging Content: Create microlearning modules that are interactive and visually appealing. Use a mix of videos, infographics, quizzes, and real-life case studies to keep learners engaged.

Promote Continuous Learning: Encourage employees to regularly engage with microlearning content. Incorporate learning into daily routines and recognize achievements to motivate ongoing participation.

Measure Effectiveness: Use analytics tools provided by microlearning platforms to track progress and measure the impact of training programs. Collect feedback from employees to continuously improve the learning experience.

Case Study: A Success Story

Consider a tech company struggling to keep its developers up-to-date with the latest programming languages and tools. Traditional training sessions were lengthy and often disrupted the workflow. By adopting a microlearning approach, the company saw significant improvements:

Customized Modules: The company created short, focused modules on specific programming languages and tools. Each module could be completed in 10-15 minutes, making it easy for developers to fit learning into their schedules.

Increased Engagement: The use of interactive quizzes and coding challenges kept developers engaged and motivated to learn.

Improved Knowledge Retention: Developers reported better retention of new information, as the bite-sized content was easier to absorb and recall.

Higher Productivity: With less time spent away from their core tasks, developers were able to maintain high levels of productivity while still enhancing their skills.

Conclusion

In the age of online learning, microlearning stands out as a transformative approach to employee training. By offering flexibility, improved retention, increased engagement, and cost-effectiveness, microlearning addresses the challenges faced by busy professionals and remote workers. As businesses continue to evolve, integrating microlearning into your training programs can ensure that employees stay connected, productive, and continuously improving their skills. The future of employee training is here, and it’s microlearning.

[foodcourt-billing-software]

Prepaid Cards Revolutionize Cashless Dining in Food Courts

Introduction to Prepaid Cards

In today's fast-paced world, convenience is paramount, especially when it comes to dining out. Prepaid cards have emerged as a revolutionary solution, offering a seamless and efficient way to enjoy cashless dining experiences. The concept of prepaid cards is not new, but their integration into food courts has sparked a significant shift in consumer behavior.

Cashless Dining Trends

The global trend towards cashless transactions has gained momentum in recent years, driven by advancements in technology and changing consumer preferences. In food courts, where speed and convenience are key, the adoption of cashless payment methods has become increasingly prevalent.

Challenges in Traditional Payment Methods

Traditional payment methods, such as cash or credit/debit cards, pose several challenges in food court settings. Cash transactions can lead to long queues and delays, while credit/debit card payments may be inconvenient for both consumers and vendors due to processing fees and minimum purchase requirements.

The Emergence of Prepaid Cards in Food Courts

To address these challenges, food courts are embracing prepaid card systems, revolutionizing the way customers pay for their meals. By preloading funds onto a card, customers can enjoy quick and hassle-free transactions, eliminating the need for cash or physical cards.

How Prepaid Cards Work

Prepaid cards operate on a simple premise: customers load funds onto their cards either online or at designated kiosks within the food court. They can then use these funds to make purchases at any participating vendor within the food court.

Advantages of Prepaid Cards in Food Courts

The benefits of prepaid cards in food courts are manifold. For consumers, they offer unmatched convenience and speed, allowing them to make purchases with a simple tap or swipe. Additionally, prepaid cards provide consumers with greater control over their spending, helping them stick to their budgets more effectively.

For food court operators, prepaid cards streamline transaction processing, reducing wait times and enhancing overall efficiency. By centralizing payments through a single platform, vendors can also gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences, enabling them to tailor their offerings accordingly.

Enhanced Customer Experience

One of the key advantages of prepaid cards in food courts is the enhanced customer experience they provide. By minimizing wait times and offering seamless transactions, prepaid cards ensure that customers spend less time queuing and more time enjoying their meals.

Moreover, prepaid cards enable food court operators to implement customized loyalty programs, rewarding customers for their continued patronage. By offering incentives such as discounts or freebies, operators can further enhance the overall dining experience and foster customer loyalty.

Security and Safety Measures

Security is a top priority in any payment system, and prepaid cards are no exception. With robust encryption protocols and built-in fraud detection mechanisms, prepaid card systems offer consumers peace of mind knowing that their financial information is safe and secure.

Additionally, prepaid cards eliminate the need for consumers to carry large amounts of cash, reducing the risk of theft or loss. In the event that a card is lost or stolen, most prepaid card providers offer 24/7 customer support and the ability to freeze or deactivate the card remotely.

Adoption and Acceptance

The adoption of prepaid cards in food courts is steadily increasing, driven by the growing demand for cashless payment options. As more consumers become accustomed to the convenience and benefits of prepaid cards, food court vendors are increasingly recognizing the need to offer these payment methods to remain competitive.

Impact on Business Operations

From a business perspective, the integration of prepaid card systems can have a transformative impact on operations. By automating transaction processing and streamlining administrative tasks, vendors can reduce overhead costs and improve overall efficiency.

Moreover, prepaid card systems provide vendors with valuable data insights, allowing them to track sales trends, identify popular menu items, and target specific customer demographics more effectively. This data-driven approach enables vendors to make informed decisions that drive business growth and profitability.

Future Trends and Innovations

Looking ahead, the future of prepaid cards in food courts looks promising, with continued advancements in technology driving innovation and customization. From mobile payment solutions to personalized loyalty programs, vendors are constantly seeking new ways to enhance the customer experience and stay ahead of the competition.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the many benefits of prepaid cards, there are also challenges and concerns that must be addressed. Chief among these is the need to ensure consumer privacy and data security. As prepaid card systems become more sophisticated, it is essential for vendors to implement robust privacy policies and security measures to protect customer information.

Additionally, accessibility remains a concern for some consumers, particularly those who may not have access to smartphones or digital payment methods. To address this issue, food courts must ensure that alternative payment options are available to accommodate all customers.

Case Studies and Success Stories

Numerous food courts around the world have already embraced prepaid card systems with great success. From small-scale vendors to large multinational chains, businesses of all sizes have reported significant improvements in transaction processing times, customer satisfaction, and overall revenue.

For example, a recent case study conducted by a major food court operator found that the implementation of prepaid card systems resulted in a 30% increase in sales and a 20% reduction in wait times. These impressive results demonstrate the tangible benefits that prepaid cards can

offer to both consumers and businesses alike.

Consumer Education and Awareness

Despite the growing popularity of prepaid cards, there is still a need for consumer education and awareness. Many consumers may be unfamiliar with how prepaid cards work or may have misconceptions about their usage and benefits. As such, food courts must invest in educational campaigns to inform consumers about the advantages of prepaid cards and how to use them effectively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, prepaid cards are revolutionizing the way consumers pay for their meals in food courts. By offering unmatched convenience, speed, and security, prepaid cards are transforming the dining experience for both customers and vendors alike. As the adoption of prepaid cards continues to grow, food courts are poised to reap the benefits of improved efficiency, increased revenue, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

We hope you enjoyed reading our blog posts about food court billing solutions. If you want to learn more about how we can help you manage your food court business, please visit our website here. We are always happy to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.

You can reach us by phone at +91 9810078010 or by email at ats.fnb@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest in our services.

FAQs

1. Are prepaid cards accepted at all vendors in the food court?

Yes, prepaid cards can typically be used at any participating vendor within the food court.

2. Can I reload funds onto my prepaid card?

Yes, most prepaid card systems allow users to reload funds either online or at designated kiosks within the food court.

3. Is my personal information secure when using a prepaid card?

Yes, prepaid card systems employ robust security measures to protect customer information and prevent unauthorized access.

4. Are there any fees associated with using a prepaid card?

Some prepaid card providers may charge nominal fees for certain services, such as reloading funds or replacing lost or stolen cards.

5. Can I earn rewards or loyalty points with a prepaid card?

Yes, many prepaid card systems offer rewards or loyalty programs that allow users to earn points or discounts on their purchases.

[3rdeyeinsights]

there's a new trend of people using lemon juice instead of dishsoap

[unidentifiedfuckingthing]

plugging my headphones with a giant metal screw jack for 6.5mm or whatever audio gear into my slim little phone feels so size kinky

[venmondiese]

Anxiety Relieving Purposes

✧ part 1: stress relieving purposes ✧

Summary: Exam week has arrived so you have a another brilliant idea for you and Aemond. Seeing him full of dread and anxiety, you think of the best way of calming him.

✧Pairing: Modern!Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Reader ✧Warnings: MDNI 18+, p in v sex, free use, public sex, oral sex (m receiving), no protection, creampie, slight breeding kink, slight (not so slight) size kink, fingering, aemond being a tease. ✧Word Count: 6.7k ✧Note: so..... aemond's exam is fully here!! and all the things he studied are things that I AM studying at the moment so yeah #studying and writing. I have weeks FULL of things, and may seems (at the moment) very empty, so I will try to work on my wips there!!

The day of the famous exam, Aemond was outside the classroom, as he waited for his name to be called. His turn was near at 16:15 pm, so he came with anticipation, as the professor asked for them to wait in case a space was available for whatever reason. 

14:01, his expensive watch said. It was his grandfather’s, and he asked his father to give it to him, ignoring the fact that he conveniently asked when his father was high on medications, but that was another thing. He even wore that seven pointed star necklace his mum gave to him, so the Gods may be with him. 

This class was brutal, and he knew it. He knew very well when he enrolled with this particular professor. It was hard, but you learnt everything. And he, the pretentious ambitious little shit that he was, did it willingly. 

He should have listened to you. Your exam? To start, it wasn’t even oral like this one, and you could take your notes to the exams, because it was mostly rational and analytical thinking. Have you learned much? No, but you were passing.

And it wasn’t like he got bad grades, in fact he was one of the brilliant few people in the class. The thing is that this particular exam was valued at 40% whereas the rest of papers and exams were barely over 15%. If someone failed this one it was the end. 

He took a drag of his cigarette, leaning over the open window of the hallway, so the smell of cigarette wasn’t so evident. He wanted to do this oral exam as quickly as possible, so he was waiting like a vulture around the classroom.

When a single hand covers his only functioning eye, he sighs as he smokes, rolling his eye under your hand.

“Guess who!” It is your animated voice, and even without saying anything, he’d know it was you.

“You little shit” He says, taking your hand off. “You really just covered one of my eyes?”

As he turns, he sees you holding a bucket of fried chicken, and he has to smirk. 

“Well, I had to hold your lunch with the other hand, duh.” You say smugly, almost proud of this little surprise for him. “You know that five cigarettes do not count as lunch?”

“It does when you are anxious. And about to throw up” He adds, as he looks a bit at the closed door of the auditory, and he sighs. 

Your smug smile softens, and you leave the bucket of food on the near table, and you wrap your arms around him, as he decides to kill his cigarette on the ashtray, to wrap his arms around you as well.

“You’ll do fine” You whisper, assuring him of it. “And the professor will be so surprised that he’ll stand up and do a public ovation for you” You add teasingly. 

“That’s so…” He says giggling at the idea, his tight stomach feels more at ease at your silly jokes. “Stupid”

“It is in the future.” You say, convinced “And he’ll immediately give you a doctorate, and then you’ll work and maintain me, of course.” 

He chuckles amused, rubbing you back as he looks where your chin rests against his chest, looking up to him. “And I’ll do that willingly? Oh gods, maybe I’ll fail the exam, then”

You laugh as you hit the side of his left rib, and he tightens his embrace slightly.

“I’ll pay you well” You say nodding.

“How so?”

“I’ll clean the house, and I’ll be your pretty maid which from occasion to occasion sucks your dick”

“I think I'll be better if you become my personal sex slave” he whispers with a smug smirk, and he feels your hand slapping the side of his rib again. “Because you are already my slut, no?”

“Imbecile. And look at me, buying you lunch. Fried chicken, the spicy one that you like.” You add the last thing, separating from his hug as you cross your arms. “Men are disgusting, they want only one thing” You dramatise as he laughs at your words.

“Fine, fine… we’ll eat the fried chicken. You’ll feed me yourself?”

“You are insane if you think…” Your voice trails off as you see how his smile fades and he tilts his head to watch the students leaving the auditory.

You turn to watch the scene, a girl clearly crying as she makes her way to the bathroom. Baela comes out of the classroom, slightly defeated, with another student. One of the assistants of the professor closes the door, so they discuss the answers immediately. 

Aemond walks hushedly next to Baela, as you grab the bucket to follow him. You can see how his body is tense, walking hushedly and full of anxiety.

“How did it go?” Aemond joins the conversation as Baela is the first of the group to get out, and you see Cregan and Jace get close too, along with other fellow students.

“It fucked me” Baela admits shaking her head.

You can feel the anxiety along the group, and you stand next to Aemond, looking at him as he places a hand on his mouth as if to think what the hell and how the fuck he will get over this.

“What did they ask you?” You dare to ask.

“ How biopower by Foucault could relationate with Deleuze and Guattari’s… notion of desiring-production, how the concepts contribute to the understanding of modern forms of governance and subjectivity as seen in class.” She says and everyone looked extremely horrified by the question itself. 

“Holy fuck” Jace mutters.

“And Moeria? What about her? She left crying..” Cregan says as he looks at Baela.

 “ How Foucault’s disciplinary power intersects with Judith Butler’s performativity? With examples from each perspective and respective works… and how they work together, something like that”

“That was easy!” Aemond says, frustrated, because he wasn’t the one to get that question. You see how his own hand starts picking on his cuticles, and breaking his nails in anxiousness.

“Fucking Foucault…” Jace murmurs as he sighs horrified. 

You can see how Aemond’s hand trembled slightly, he was as well horrified. He’d told you, there were only 40 questions, randomly selected. He had to study hard, read like five books just to get asked one question. And when the easiest left, only the hard ones left for the ones at the very end.

“Let’s eat” You say, taking his hand, and he looks at you, with uncertainty in his eyes, as he nods slightly. He was anxious, you could see. “Destroying your hands won’t leave you at ease… Food might” You add with a gentle smile.

He nodded, sighing as he was tired. You exchanged slight awkward looks with Cregan as he waved his hand to you and you smiled politely, before walking away with Aemond. 

“I could have answered that one…” He whines as you two walk downstairs to eat. “It was far too easy. You wanna know why?”

“Why?” You ask just to leave him let all out. 

“If you add Foucault's insights into disciplinary power with Butler's theory of performativity, you get this more… full understanding of how social control operates through the regulation of bodies and identities! Together you can see the…the complex interplay that there is always is between power, discourse, and subjectivity in… shaping the understanding of self and society.” He says frustrated, as he follows you.

“Well, do not worry. Maybe you’ll get Foucault as you so adore him.”

“I swear that if someone else gets something about the panopticon… I will kill myself” 

“You won’t kill yourself over that”

“I’ll get the easiest top mark ever” He says very seriously about it. “It’s so easy I learned it when I was like two years old”

“You are over exaggerating, Aemond” You say as you both walk to the outside of the building, as you find a bench for you two to sit. “Relax”

“It is not in my nature”

“Believe me when I say that I know that” You say as you pat your side for him to sit. “That’s why I brought the best fried chicken ever.” As you open the bucket, he leans slightly as he puts some alcohol gel on his hands, ready to eat. He was starving, between the ball of anxiousness stuck on his stomach. “It is not as warm, but…”

“It could be cold, but I’d love it anyway because you brought them for me.” He says looking at you “You don’t even have classes today”

“No, I do not. That’s the thing when you are just the best student in class, you tend to approve earlier than the rest…”

“Oh, shush” He says as he grabs one and he makes a delighted moan as he eats it. “It’s so good. I needed this”

“The food or me?”

He rolls his eye, but lowkey, he knows that the answer is you. 

You two enjoy the food together, as you try to lighten up his mood. He is still very tense, his shoulders do not seem slightly as ease, and he was still trying to destroy his cuticles.

You look at his face. He looks slightly off. Aemond, who was very much perfectionist on his appearance, seems not to have cared enough these days. It felt like that, you knew. Studying hard so that you pass the appropriate time to bath, eat or sleep. 

The thing with Aemond is that he is utterly obsessive. A perfectionist at heart, and he likes things to do as he planned. Gives him security and confidence, and he always gave his whole soul to something so important for him. You sigh with a smile, as you feel bad for him as he seems so unease.

You lean to kiss his cheek, and he turns his head to look at you, getting out of his dissociated state. “Huh?”

Your eyebrows go up as if to ask him what he meant, as you smile. 

“What was that for?”

“I think you needed it” You say as he rolls his eye amused, leaving the empty bucket away. He looks at you, the university mostly empty, since most of the people already passed their classes and did not attend further, like you. He surely was lucky to have you, if it weren’t for you he’d surely still miss Alys. He does miss her sometimes, but after a long talk with you, he realises that she is not that worth it. But feelings don’t go away that easily, but it is clearly not love 

“Huh. What I need is a divine illumination right now” He says looking at his clock. 14:37.

“You need to calm your anxiety” You state, taking his hand on yours, and smiling at him. “Look at me.” He sighs, rolling his eyes, but he turns his body a bit to face you properly. “You know this. You read the whole books, and you knew all of it. You will nail this. There is no one here who knows the answer as you do.”

“You are far too kind” He says, his lips slightly curving. “And too good for my ego” he adds.

“Idiot. You see, you’ll end up like the assistants of the professor.”

“ I wish” he says dramatically. “The blonde one passed the exam with a hundred. Maybe she was asked about the panopticon. I swear it is so easy, I made an essay about 1984 and the whole theory of it.” he murmurs, still grumpy as he crosses his arms. “You know, there is a theory that she fucked the professor for it.”

You love good gossip, and you raise your eyebrows as your smirk is very much amused.

“Oh, is that so?”

“I mean, probably comes from envy and misogyny” he adds, rolling his eyes. “But If you get asked the easiest question…”

“Maybe you should fuck the professor as well.” you tease as he laughs a bit, less tense as his whole body moves at the amusement. 

You look at him for a brief moment, as the thought lingers in your mind for a moment. You look at him, and a very bad idea forms in your mind. Bad, but… fruitful.

You look at him, he was still tense, but less than before. His right left bounced slightly, and you looked at how huge his thigh looked against yours, even sitting on the same bench. 

You knew Aemond went to the gym almost daily, and he was very much into it, it was just his (other) way to relieve stress. He always talked about it, and you remember the occasion at Jacaerys’ sevenmas party when he and Jason Lannister had the brilliant idea to compete about who could do more pull ups without dying.

You have to press your thighs together at the memory of it. He was sweaty, and you remembered him gruting, and exhaling profoundly as he kept going. Because if Aemond was one thing, it was competitive. 

And he was more than willing to keep going with anyone who dared to challenge him. He went round after round, and you were like his personal spotter as he tried to win everyone. Sure, after going on several rounds with different people he had to back away.

You remember you and him laying on the couch as he expressed his body and arms burning from the sting. Back then, it wasn’t as arousing as it is now.

“I have just the right idea to help you” you say looking at him, as you already feel aroused. God, he was unaware of the lustful feelings he provoked in you.

“Oh gods.” Aemond says, turning to look at you. “How long will this bad idea take? I have like hour and a half”

 “It depends. Not much, I think. Well, this time, at least” You say with a giggle, and he looks at you puzzled. And you lean slightly closer. “I think you’ll like it”

Aemond blinks, as he is not sure what this idea entails.

“you have such bad ideas” he groans and you slap his arm as you chuckle.

“Hey! I have great ideas” 

“The last idea you had to help me was… were two actually. The first one being setting me up with Floris Baratheon and you with Cregan to use sex to destress”

“And? Did it go wrong??” You say.

“Your idea, yes. My idea, no. Which I remind you, was us sleeping together. Because it was my idea and I want the credit” he says smirking smugly. 

“But it was thanks to my idea”

“And the second one” he ignores your weak attempt to recover credit. “Were you cockwarming me as I read Foucault” he states amused. 

“Foucault would have loved that idea.” You say crossing your arms.

“it was a bad idea, admit it” he says amused looking at you. 

“Oh, so you aren’t in for cockwarming?” 

“No, I didn't say that” he says amused at how you turn the table on him. “I meant studying while you look so delightful, and your pussy warms my cock” he whispers slowly to you with a smirk “and you expect me to be okay with that and just read Foucault?” 

“Okay. But this one is good” you say smiling “Hear me out” 

Aemond rolls his eyes amused, but he sits back as he hears you, with an endearing smile as he does so. 

“You and I could… you know, we could relieve stress again” 

Aemond blinks slightly put off, and he looks at you.

“Like right now?”

“When else you’d be this stressed?” You ask as if he was stupid.

“Well, apologies for being rational and full of moments of stress” Aemond says “Besides, there are no places…”

“The bathroom, an empty class-”

“No places” He insists again, as if turning away your proposal. “And they’ll kick us out. And reading those books will be worthless.”

“They practically sucked your family dick for you to get in, Aemond. They won’t kick you out. Aegon probably did it…”

“Don’t compare us to Aegon-” 

“And he is still here, after changing like three times his career and failing all the classes.” you add nodding.

“I am not the one who won’t enter anywhere else”

“HEY!” you say slapping his arm as he laughs, and he passes an arm in your waist to scoop you closer as you cross your arms and look away in pride. “and the fool just wants to help you”

Aemond chuckles, as his face kisses your cheek, but you still look away, stubbornly. 

“I am joking, love” Aemond says softly, and he leans to kiss you neck softly. “We could do that”

“No, now I don’t want to” 

“You are being a brat…” he says mockingly, still smiling, and his arm around you keeps you pressed against him, as his hand rubs slightly your waist. “Come on. Don’t you wanna help me destress? Don’t you want my cock in your pretty pussy?” He whispers in your ear, placing his left hand on your thigh.

Sincerely, fuck him, because you immediately turn to look at him, and he knows how to push your buttons. He looks at you with the corners of his lips slightly turned up, as he nods softly. 

He is a little shit, persuading you to follow him to the bathroom. It was merely an idea, you knew he’d make fun from it, but not after that, he would take it to heart. 

You walk across the campus, almost empty from people that simply finished their courses or they were in class right now. And he holds your hand firmly as you head to the bathroom.

On campus, there were multiple bathrooms, but only one gender neutral bathroom. You two used to joke that this is were one came to fuck or get high. And no one really used them, as weird as it was. They weren’t always functional, and the doors tend to get stuck. But the mayor plus, is that they weren’t really dirty, nor people would come in.

Aemond leaves his backpack on the hanger inside the cubicle and you frown slightly. He didn’t bring his usual leather bag, and you point it out.

“I will go to the gym after this. I have my towel and my clothes” He explains softly, closing the door behind you and you hand your little purse too. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t as luxurious to have a bed.

“Okay. How do we…” you move your hands trying to see how the fuck you’ll do it. “I mean, I didn’t think how…”

“I don’t think anyone thinks before having sex, darling.” He says looking at the clean bathroom, it was better than anything. The floor was clean, and Aemond could see their reflections on the black shiny tiles. “Hm.” Aemond says, looking at you. “I have a few ideas…”

“You are still tense” you say looking at how his shoulder tense up. You move your hands to caress his shoulders, and look at him “Don’t be”

“It’s like telling a sad person just not to be”

You roll your eyes, and shake your head with annoyance. “Shut up.” 

You two remain silent, as if thinking how. You had a toilet, a sink and lots of hope. 

“It feels like… too dirty” you look up to him.

“Yes.” He agrees, as you two look at eachother. “We certainly don’t have to. I’ll be fine, you know. I appreciate…”

“No” you cut him immediately. “I’ll do it.” You insist, shaking your head at his proposals. “You look… honestly, terrible”

“Ah, thanks for the support” he says rolling his eyes as he crosses his arms. 

“It’s hot” you insist, as you grab his forehand to uncross his arms. You move his arms to place them around your waist, as you walk closer to him, looking up to him. “Seeing you all stressed and tense…” 

Aemond arches his left eyebrow, as his hand finds its way to your waist, holding you. He had no idea how you could lust him as you spoke how emaciated he was, but it was working.  

He smelled like coffee and cigarettes, and you smiled at him. Your hands caressed his chest, his pectorals were something else, as he looked at you, intrigued.

“I have to do something about it” you insist, looking up to him, your hands caressing his abdomen softly. “So… tell me what to do”

Aemond looks at you. His cock was already stirring, he could feel how he was growing on his pants, hard and needy. It is a slow torture, to be sure.

“Surprise me..” he says without really thinking. 

“No..” you shake your head. “You are very stressed, and it is a very important moment for you. You need to… relieve that stress. And I… allow you to use my body how you see fit. However you see fit. ” 

Aemond blinks, a bit baffled by such a proposal. Sure, the bathrooms weren't the ideal place for this, but his cock didn't think the same now, not when you were willing to please his tastes completely, and let him use your body to his liking. 

You move your hands to unbelt his pants, slowly as his hand loosen its grip on your waist, and look at your face as you seem so eager to see once again his cock.  

“Are you hard?” You ask softly, a rhetorical question as you feel his cock against his underwear, and you look up to him as you palm him a bit.

“Yeah” he murmurs, his voice like a grunt. 

“Want me to suck your dick?” 

Aemond takes a deep breath, as the corners of his mouth seem to go slightly up. He is getting annoyed at your teasing, but not the bad type of annoyed. The type of annoyed when you “behave like a brat” as he puts it, and he enjoys keeping you in line.

Whenever you insist on skipping class, he has to keep a close eye on you. If you insist on trying to get with someone which is no good for you, he has to keep you by his side. When you want to do something reckless, he stops you, a hand steady on your waist. 

“You know the answer” he says softly.

“Yes” your smile is cheeky as you move your shoulders “so?” 

Aemond sighs, his hands rubbing your arms and shoulder. “Yes. I want you to suck my dick” he says simply, and you smile a bit. “But I am sure you want to have my cock as well. Badly” he adds. 

You smile at him, and nod, feigning innocence.

“Then kneel”

“Floor is dirty” you remind him with a smirk. “Not the best-”

“Kneel on my feet.” he does not hesitate. “Won’t be dirty at all. You like being at my feet, don’t you?”

Your cheeks slightly burn from the remark. You look at him, and he looks nothing but smug.  You sometimes really hate him.

His boots are perfectly clean, you can picture him cleaning every little detail of his outfit so he looks presentable and even more perfect for his exam. It is both endearing and hot.

Your knees go to rest on his shoes. A bit uncomfortable, a bit too close. Forced proximity to his crotch, as he pulled his boxers down. 

You look up to him as your mouth salivates at the sight, his cock fat, big and swollen, getting harder by the second. It hits his own abdomen, tall and proud. 

You accommodate a bit your knees on his shoes, making sure it doesn’t hurt him for you to place your weight on his feet. Yet he doesn’t seem even fazed by that.

“Go on” he murmurs, moving some hairs out of your face, as he leans for his back to rest against the cold ceramic wall. He looks at you, his arousal growing as you press your lips to the base of his cock to kiss it, and you basically are taking your time for it, his face pressed against his cock as you leave little kisses on his base, going all up to his tip.

The weight of your knees on his feet is slightly uncomfortable, but he is too aroused, that it only fuels his lust for you. 

“We don’t have all the time” he murmurs, taking your hair to guide you.

“You don’t rush art-”

“Come on” he grunts as his fist is more tight to your hair. “You said I could use you as I wish. So shut up and take it” 

God damn you if it didn’t turn you on.

His grip on your hair was firm, as his other hand went to rest at the top of your neck, holding your jaw. You are forced to have his dick on your mouth and the plus was that you could see his face perfectly.

At first, he lets you accommodate his cock on your mouth. He holds you, as if guiding you to it. You don’t have to do anything but be pretty, and open your mouth. And of course, taking his massive cock on your throat. 

You look at him with glossy eyes as he has his way in your throat, gently, holding you softly and soothing you, making you more receptive to all. 

“Shhhh, there, you are doing so good” His soothing voice comes in a low voice, as he has that pleased expression on his face, biting his lower lip as you swallow more and more of his cock. “So pretty”

It comes as a praise, as his hand gently caresses softly your throat as you take him well , making you maintain your head tilted up so his cock can slide perfectly down your throat, little by little, forcing you to keep it wide and open all for him.  

He lets a low groan, his grip hesitates, between becoming more firm or looser. He guides your  movements as you take him deeper. His cheeks are slightly red, his own mouth is open, panting to suppress the moans and grunts; his brows furrowed in pleasure as his eye is transfixed by the sight of you; his cock disappearing into your mouth, your lips wrapping around his mouth. 

“Fuck…” He barely can form the sentence, more like a pant, and he still tries to be quiet, his hips start thrusting in your mouth, keeping your head still for him to use however he pleases. However he wants. Utterly at his mercy.

Once his cock hits the back of your throat, he starts bucking his hips up roughly. He holds your head, a tight and firm grip as he pumps his dick in and out. 

“So hot” He breathes out, “Taking my dick like this” He says, as if the mere thought aroused him more. 

You gurgle on his cock, the head of it hitting your throat, and you try to remain quiet. The gagging sounds are nothing but obscene, and they resonate in the bathroom halls. 

You look up to him, and you let him use you. Even if you can’t breathe, even if your throat will be sore- gods, even if they catch you. Why? Easy.

Aemond seems more relaxed. He seems at ease, as his chest rises and falls as he pants, his face in a contorned expression full of pleasure, as his hand presses against your throat; the other still on your hair. He grips slightly your throat and can even feel the small bulge his cock makes on its way down. 

And you’d give anything to always see him this at ease. He is not relaxed; by nature. He tends to obsess, he tends to think and rethink things. He is hardly a person who goes by hedonistic ways, that enjoys leisure. 

But this? You might always be on your knees, fully open and available for him. And you have the faintest impression that you both know it. 

“Fuck” He pants again, trying to keep his voice no louder than a mer murmur. “You feel me here? I’m all the way down, baby” He says, his hand gripping at the end of your jaw and beginning of your throat. He stops his thrust, and you swallow a bit, squeezing him. He moans, shamelessly. 

You look up to him, and nod softly; as you can do so. He smirks and nods, his lips open as the hand on your hair moves to move some hairs out of your forehead.

“It does… It does help” He says, grinning a bit, out of breath. “I don’t want to… cum, but neither to pull away.”

Your hands move to his thighs, and you look up to him. He loves the sight of you. You begged for him to use you, and that thought drives him feral insane. 

“I’ll fuck you” He says as he pulls out, and he leans to take you by your armpits to keep you on foot. He moves your long skirt all the way up, and his smirk lets you know that he has no plans of stopping. 

“Yeah, yeah” You say without breath.

“I was not asking” he says as he grabs you, and he presses your back against the door, moving his hips closer, so you don’t have another option but to wrap your legs around his waist.

As his hands move to try to move your panties to the side, you look at him, and almost in a moment of clarity you murmur. 

“Against the door is a bad idea, it will creak” You complain, but Aemond roll his eye at annoyance.

“Shut up” he murmurs “You say that I could use you, so you don’t get a say in this. If I want to fuck you like this, you’ll take it”

You blink, and he looks up to face you. He is so enjoying this, his grin is smug, and his eyebrows are slightly frowning as if asking you to defy him.

“Yes, sir” You murmur, slightly playfully, and slightly not playfully.

He hums, and nods. He is pleased with your answer. 

“Soaked wet” he smirks as his fingers trace your panties. “It could be freezing cold, and you’ll still use these damn skirts, hm?”

“Always in hopes you’ll bend me over” You say softly, and he chuckles a bit. He moves to kiss your lips, as his fingers move your panties to the side, and moves his fingers slowly inside. 

His scent is driving you more feral, cigarettes and coffee, he is pested on it. Maybe he had like three coffees to keep himself up, and cigarettes to calm himself down. His perfume is strong, and you knew he liked to have those masculine scents, but the ones who smelt good, and you loved his perfume. 

He pushes his fingers in and out, and you gasp on his mouth, your hips trying to move as he keeps you pressed against the door. It is utterly naughty, you know it.

“You ruined me” he murmurs against your neck, placing kisses there. “When I’ll be answering that question, that I studied so hard for… I’ll be imagining you sucking my dick.”

You whimper slightly, feeling full of him. Being full of him, of his fingers. He fucks you, preparing you for his cock.

“I missed this pretty pussy, this tiny hole of yours.” He says, his other hand wrapping around your waist to keep you still, and helping you not fall. “So wet for me. Are you always wet when you are around me? Wearing your most provocative outfits for me?”

“Yes” You admit as you blush a bit. He reads you like an open book.

“Fool of me to ask that. In my eyes, all your outfits are provocative. All your outfits make me wanna stuff you on my cock, and have you crying of pleasure” He murmurs against your neck, and he decides that a hickey will decorate your neck just fine. 

You whimper, squeezing his fingers as his hot mouth sucks against the skin of your neck, and you squirm slightly on his arms. You drive him insane, and after a while he is satisfied, moving away to inspect his art.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard” He says, breathless as his thumb move over then hickey. 

His promises are never empty, as you feel his cock entering your cunt in a swift motion. It is not your first time taking him, but every time feels better than the last. 

You squirm trying to get in a better position against the door, but he keeps you still in the position he wants. You wrap an arm around his neck for better stability, as his hips start to buck against you, using his grip on your waist to move you up and down on his cock. 

Gods, he is so strong, you know it. He is holding all your weight as he fucks you, each thrust, your back hits the door, making it creak and grate, every thrust hitting it softly. It is so obscene, yet it arouses you more. His strong arms around you, his muscles against your body. It arouses you more than it should, feeling your body against his firm chest, as he fucks you.

His head moves back to your neck, to the other side, barely over your clavicle to make another hickey. He is full hands-on, hitting your ass softly as he uses you, as his cock pounds your cunt over and over. 

“You like when I use you? When I fuck you how I want?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I love it…” You whimper as you feel the little kiss he leaves over your hickey. 

“You love it, I know, baby” He says, his other arm going to your waist, now wrapped up and holding you close against his chest, moving you up and down on his cock.

You mewl at the change of position, you don’t care how much your shoulders accidentally hit the door, you just want for him to…

It hits you like a cold bucket of water.

“We are not using a condom” you murmur, and his thrusts stop a bit, his head looking up to face you. He didn’t realise the fact either.

You two blink at each other, and he waits for you to continue. 

“You should cum inside and we’ll try our luck” you say softly, and his hands grip on your waist tighter.

“Fuck yes…” He breathes out, the thought drives insane, and by how he is fucking you harder, you know it.

You lean softly, your breasts against his neck as you lean your head closer to his ear. “You’ll give that exam while I am leaking your cum” 

Up and down, he moves you, the filthy sound of your ass against his flesh, and he moans, more desperate to cum. Your cunt squeezes a bit, his cock is sliding against your walls in a delicious way, and you are becoming too overwhelmed by the size of him too, how the head manages to grind your sweet spot and how he is grunting against your ear.

His thumb rubs back and forth against your clit. Your jaw drops, as you feel yourself cumming from how much he is doing to you, how he magically knows all secrets to make you melt on his cock. It is almost as magical as you know his secrets too.

You milking his cock has to be one of his favourite newfound discoveries. Maybe his new favourite hobby. Your cunt squeezing his cock, as if making sure his balls go empty, releasing himself in you with such determination, that maybe it’ll get you pregnant. And that thought, to his horny head, does not bother him. 

He holds you still, impaled on his cock as he cums inside you, nuzzling his head on the curve of your neck to drunk himself on your scent. It calms him, to be sure. And he loves it. Familiar, sweet and cosy. As if it was home for him.

You two share lazy kisses, as he has no problem holding you still. You smile, your hands resting against his strong shoulders, and he eventually pulls out and leaves you safely on your foot again. 

“I have another idea” You say smiling to him.

“Gotta give it to you, this idea wasn’t bad. So I am hearing you out” He says as he takes a small towel from his bag, wiping some of the sweat on his neck and you smirk mischievously.

Your hand goes to your panties, taking them out and presenting them to him. They are still soaked wet, and you smile proudly at your idea.

“What?” He asks frowning, but slightly amused.

“Like a lucky charm” 

He looks at you in disbelief before he starts laughing a bit. 

“What?” It is your turn to ask him.

“That is such a… silly idea” 

“Think about it! You can keep it with you when you answer the questions.”

“Darling, that is… Your bad ideas made a comeback, eh?” He teases you, saving the towel on his bag and you take the opportunity to hit his chest again.

“Fine.” You say “Don’t take them”

“I didn’t say I was not gonna take them as my lucky charm. I just said it was silly” he says, taking your panties from your hands, and putting them in his pocket. 

“Pervert” you murmur amused, turning around to unlock the door of the bathroom, which he totally uses to slap your ass, in which you whine “Aemond!”

You two get out as quickly as you can, no one seems at sight. You look at yourself in the mirror and scrunch your face at seeing your state.

“Look at what you-” you start but you both turn to look at the person who just walked in.

As they move to take some of the toilet paper, with a stuffy nose, Aemond moves closer to you, clearing his throat a bit awkwardly as you feel them side-eye you both. No words were spoken, but it was awkward. 

Once they go away, you and Aemond share a look.

“Pff, that was close” You try to break the tension.

“It wasn’t close. You look absolutely fucked.” His hand moves to comb your hair, as some crazy locks were out of place. He? Looked divine and perfect as always. “And the hickeys don’t help your case”

“How am I supposed to go out with those things in my neck? Gods” you say, a hand rubbing the hickey as if they would disappear with that. “And I have to buy the pill-”

“Yeah” he says, pressing his lips together as he tries to suppress a smile. “Well, to be fair it was your idea.”

“I totally forced you to it” You roll your eyes as you two walk out of the bathroom and back to the waiting hall.

“Hm” He says amused. “I am innocent”

You both wait seated, with other of his classmates around. He does not engage, he is obviously tense and anxious, but at the same time, it is not eating him alive as before. 

You feel proud of that. He was an anxious mess, and thanks to you he was well fed and got to release all his worries on you, and your cunt. And for that, you smile. 

You can see Cregan wandering around with Jace, and you don’t care about him anymore. Sure, he was still hot as hell, but with Aemond near, you just lean your head on his shoulder and he rubs his nervous hand on your waist.

“Aemond Targaryen” His name is called out, and you stand along with him, taking his hand along yours. 

Before he goes in, with his other two classmates, you stop him, to kiss him sweetly. Your hands cup his face, and you have to be on your tiptoes to reach his lips properly. 

“They’ll ask you about Foucault” You murmur on his lips, as he looks at you, nervous but dumbfounded. “And you’ll nail this” 

That reassurance makes him smile, leaving a small peck on your lips before going in. Being asked about the Panopticon, being the top of his class and being assistant seem second hand worries as he knows that you’ll be waiting for him once he comes out from the exam. You’ll always be his lucky charm. 

[raggedytiger]

ragatha/agatha and pomni/penny human hcs!

(r)agatha:

is an english teacher!

yes she still loves horses. she used to ride them, & she loves old western movies.

owns cowboy hat and boots.

analytical and loves long & winding conversations.

has a very happy cat named sandwich.

patches her own clothes, doesn't have kids but if she did she would embroider their names into their belongings.

she still plays cello, she loves music in general, probably sings like an angel.

can't do any mathematics.

can drive, but like a lunatic. somehow has never had an accident though, so it's fine.

probably has a cute little baby blue/yellow car now, but definitely had a beat up offroader truck at some point that got put to good use. or maybe she still does, i'm not the boss.

total lesbian, a bit of a heartbreaker but not intentionally (women just keep falling for her)

goes to town/neighbourhood/community meetings. likely is/was in a knitting circle

absurd number of quilts in her home

pomni/penny:

is an accountant as we know, and cannot cook for shit as we know.

no pets she can barely take herself for walks. is more similar to a cat, but had a dog growing up. would love a collie or a dalmatian probably.

would name the dog something stupid like Thermometer Johnson.

she can drive, but nervously.

really quick thinker, like impressively, unless she's under HUGE amounts of stress. is literally always thinking at 100mph.

no sense of interior decor or personal style. all practical, kind of butch. really does kill a suit.

very much lesbian but not fully to terms with it. probably had short-lived relationships with men in which she was 'content' but didn't really care for it. seeing agatha as agatha for the first time was probably a crazy punch to her little gay heart. not to mention the cowboy gear.

autistic

watches 90s anime to wind down

listens to every single genre of music. passes a lot of time with headphones in, slowly making her way thru the entire world's discography

owns no band merch or anything though she just listens

can't sleep without a fan on, thunderstorm 12hr audio, blackout curtains, weighted blanket, water nearby

does not sleep a lot

both of them (going to call them pomni and ragatha for convenience):

didn't immediately recognise one another. i havent got an exact idea of how they reunited after getting out, but there were tears.

bonded in a very rare and unique way - they got to revel in the newfound joys of real life again. they got to eat delicious food, go on long, unobstructed walks in the real sun, be warmed by it, chew on ice cubes and shiver at the pain, listen to each other's heartbeats, listen to real music, read real books, smell soaps and flowers and sauces. they went to the supermarket together and read all the labels, and bought one of each type of fruit to try between them, and smelled all the candles, and touched all the blankets. spent a lot of time holding hands and kissing and i'm sorry to say, probably having sex, because holy shit, i'm real, you're real, we're real

now live together in ragatha's apartment, after pomni moved out of her small and confusingly-furnished flat.

both of them feel inadequate from time to time. this is resolved by a stern-but-loving talking-to.

sandwich likes pomni very much. pomni doesn't really get cats, but loves sandwich a great deal, and enjoys letting her sleep on her lap.

ragatha is very pleased to see her girls getting along.

ragatha cooks, pomni chops the veg. she often doesn't fuck it up

pomni cleans a lot as a 'thank you for letting me live here, i love you'. she's very much acts of service, ragatha is words & physical touch <3

they watch a lot of movies together. depending on how long they've been stuck, they might have culture to catch up on

ragatha wants to have a house with a garden one day. pomni starts germinating seeds from their fruit & veg like a weird science experiment. ragatha is delighted when she is presented with a baby tomato plant.

clothes are shared. ragatha's are bigger, but most of pomni's are ill-fitting anyway so it can go both ways. ragatha likes to dress pomni up in different outfits and have her do a little fashion show. pomni pretends not to savour the confidence boost.

pomni starts sleeping more

[indefinite-pitch]

Aäg - They Are Here

Buy & Support: V/A - ANLTCL 01 VA

[mortalfaerie]

hi here's a little series on what i think the gravity falls kids grew up to do since they're 25 now

Pacifica "Paz" Northwest

after weirdmagedden, she became increasingly disenchanted with her parent's and their worldview, which led her to start questioning the structures around her

though they sold the mansion, her parents had a lot of money in real estate and they live in a condo building they own in town

she took a job at greasy's diner initially as an act of rebellion but stuck around throughout high school because it gave her a refreshing taste of the real world

she got really into politics, also initially as an act of rebellion, but did eventually become a really staunch take-no-shit feminist and went to protests in portland

she reconnected with the twins one summer during their teen years once she had "been cured of her rich girl mentality" (-mabel) and she and mabel became pretty close. things remained a little awkward with dipper when they were teens, but they relaxed once he realized she did actually care about mabel and wasn't going to hurt her

she's actually very analytical and level headed, which makes her a good foil to dipper - who continues seeking out mysteries to solve in gravity falls

she continued competitive golf and even won some local and regional titles in the women's junior division, which gets her an offer to go play golf at UCLA (conveniently, also where dipper goes)

she got access to her trust fund when she turned eighteen, and relies a lot less on her parents after that. she continues to try to have a relationship with them but it very aware of the toll they take on her, leading her to go low-contact with them in university.

she joins a sorority (i think kkg, she feels like a kappa) and probably ends up as treasurer or some other leadership position

she majors in political science, makes the dean's list, and gets an honors degree. she considers becoming a lawyer, but decides she's more interested in public policy & decides to go into policy analysis & international relations

she and dipper have a prolonged will-they-won't-they throughout college, finally getting together in the summer before their senior year. this borrowed from rockslide on ao3 but hilariously, she doesn't realize he's trans until she sees his too surgery scars for the first time because 1) she only ever knew him as a guy and 2) she only saw him in the summers growing up.

her parents disapprove of their relationship and generally the pines family, which is the straw that breaks the camel's back for her to go fully no contact. after that point, she's embraced by the pines family as one of their own.

she graduates magnum cum laude and dipper is her biggest supporter. he gets an offer to do his doctorate in archeology at king's college london, which ends up working perfectly because she gets a job at the us embassy in london.

they move to england together and rent a flat in a new building because even though the historic ones are beautiful, she can't deal with more ghosts.

i think by this point they've been there for two and a half years and they've gotten a cat (named tyrone, or ty for short) and dipper's just made the transition from phd student to phd candidate and started his dissertation.

[moonsaver]

Sumeru roses, House of Daena, Sticky notes.

-------

Being an asisstant for the scribe isn't so bad. Just ignore the persistent overtimes, the scent of your perfume everywhere, and the new ink bottles that keep running out on his desk. You didn't anticipate red being his favorite ink to work with.

A/n: more than 2.5k words. I didnt bother counting. I hsed google translate for arabic whoops sorry not sorry <3 also its been a while since i wrote.

Warnings/tags: reader is g/n, yandere Alhaitham, Alhaitham x reader, stalking, paranoia, obsessive themes, very very subtle mentions of blood (if you squint), kind of drawn out? Horrible arabic google translate quote. Probably OOC but you can ignore that

------

You admit, being an asisstant isn't so bad.

Of course, at first when you broke the announcement to your parents you wanted to further your studies at the Akademiya, your parents werent approving. They wanted you to get a cushy job and earn as soon as possible; you don't blame them. Having that life sounds peaceful, however, you think delaying it a bit won't hurt. You haven't had the proper chance to really scour the library at your own leisure, at least, not as a student.

So, while job-hunting, (which was wonderfully disrupted by the huge Archon-Overthrow-play-god plan for a good few weeks,) you got an offer as the Asisstant of the Grand Sage; which was suspicious from how good of a title it was. The Akademiya was desperate to get back on it's feet, and who were you to deny the offer?

Of course, it didn't quite occur to you until the first day of your job you'd be working alongside Alhaitham, the scribe of the Akademiya (and perhaps his infamous title as the one who curated a plan to foil Azar's shenanigans).

Which was fine. He was generally alright,if not great to work with. Straightforward, clear, brief, analytical and most of all – he wasn't pushy. Which was a relief, of course. You managed to make small talk from time to time (if you could really call it that,) and came to a consensus with him on many things, mostly that both of you were not pleased with overtime. The moment the clock hit 5:00 PM, both of you were out of your offices and posts. You were mutually respectful, and generally tolerated each other well.

Of course, things at your job got shaken up when your schedule was thrown off balance. Your favorite drink always ran out, your mornings were crowded and somehow you started showing up later than usual, which meant you went home later aswell (much to your dismay).

Another strange series of events started taking place, if you could even call it that. You swear you haven't been watering the plants in front of your home, and the soil is dry enough, so how are they so.. vibrant? And recently, you swear one of the plants is growing a little too much, basically covering one of the windows, threatening to break it. Sticky notes scattered around the front of your house which you originally thought of as littering from those raucous kids your neighbours can't keep in control – you only realised they were for you when you caught a glimpse of your name on it, and you can only agree with the suspicious look on your friends’ faces when you show them the notes – bright Canary yellow and the striking red colour across the notes (although, you've only shown them the more milder ones. You can't imagine the panic you'll be forced to acknowledge if they see some of the other.. strange ones.)

And you suppose your paranoia has caught up to you. Your sleep-deprived mind swears that new red coloured bottle of ink on Alhaitham's desk wasn't there. You swear he never used that bright Canary Yellow colour of post-its. Did he really like that drink he always seemed to get for both of you? It conveniently ran out when you wanted it, and even more so, he conveniently just brought an extra since it was on discount? Of course it all just seems like a coincidence. You're a fool to even think otherwise.

And well, you're fine. Your life has always been a long series of fine, even with the occasional weird mishaps. That's how it's always been, and you don't intend to change it; rather, you really do find change almost repulsive (save for the panic you felt deep down in your stomach at all the things you couldn't control). And that “fine” comes to a halt when you find your door absolutely mauled with sticky notes. There's a bouquet of Sumeru Roses at the bottom, as if to try and apologise sheepishly for the terrifying collage on your door. The terrifying numbness in your fingers, face, your brows furrowed as you can't decide just how to react, the elevated heartbeat – you swear you can feel the blood threaten to burst through your chest. 

You opted to stay with a friend that night. You don't know what you were expecting when you came back in the morning, and all of those notes were gone, except a singular one in the middle, “الهوس والحب مترادفان، لكنهما لا يقارنان بارتباط روحي بروحك” (which you had to reread almost 30 times with your broken arabic, checked with someone from the Haravatat Darshan, to really confirm – obsession and love are synonyms, but they are nothing compared to the connection of my soul to yours – is what it said, and it's echoed in your head for weeks). You can't remember the last time you wore your rose perfume after that.

Scouring in the House Of Daena didn't seem to alleviate your troubles that well, either. The books you read one day, and opted to continue the next – vanished. Someone else always had the upper hand. And when they returned, they were scribbled and annotated with many pockets of information. Sometimes they overshadow the information on the page itself. And on the rare occasion you put your head on the books as a makeshift pillow for a power nap, you jolted up from just a sniff. Sumeru roses hit your nose.

And of course, when you find notes with all different handwritings on your desk in the office, you think someone's playing a cruel prank on you. But your office was locked. No one saw anyone enter your office. You did your usual check up before you locked it last night, and assorted everything in place. None of these notes were here. And of course, your only clue is the fact they're all Canary Yellow post-its, and that striking scarlet red ink on it. Hasn't the bottle on Alhaitham's desk been running out? He mentioned it off-handedly. You remember saying blue ink was cheaper. He didn't respond.

–

overtime was disdainful, for the lack of a better word. However, that implies only to the masses – it is no problem for him to come up with better synonyms to describe the situation at hand. “Distasteful”, “loathsome”, “detestable”, and so on. However, complaining will not solve the stacks of files on his desk that he wishes to do away with as soon as possible.

If anything pleases him more than his usual combination of abstruse books, isolation from the general public, and extreme individuality, it is that as the Grand Sage's assistant – you are expected to stay back for the extended hours as much as he is, if not more. For once, working overtime (or being forced to) has brought him progress. Will a few more hours of scribbling away and reviewing files change anything huge? He will return to his post again tomorrow as he has today, and the work will continue. Although, this time, it is you who stays working overtime. So for once, if it manages to quiet down the poking and prodding of other nosy scholars, reprimanding him for never working even a minute after the allocated time, he does so for the exchange of working with you.

And he doesn't intend to burden you, but he knows the desperation you work with, trying your best to cram in any minute, second into trying to get ahold of those books at the House Of Daena. So, if at least to make you stay for longer, he assigns you the more dragged out, tedious work. And to make it better – you just got locked out of your office. He has an extra pair, which he diligently uses for his own interest. As for you; perhaps being so frantic and scrambling to gather all books you might have read the day before may have caused you to drop your keys somewhere along the way. Would he know? Of course – he's diligently collected and added it to his inventory. Would he tell you? It would be like stepping on his own tail. The lack of certainty in a schedule makes for more freedom – he thinks. It's for your own good; he almost says. And to have you work in the same proximity as him? It's a bonus. 

Many consider him to be talented and extraordinarily intelligent, so just take his advice as literally as you can. Or maybe he just needs to tell you directly while making small talk between you two more frequent. To his dismay (and your absolute horror), the sticky notes seem to be working counterproductively. Perhaps he should just show up at your house with a bouquet of Sumeru roses and a small journal filled with his advice? He jests, it's only an entertaining idea. The bewildered look on your face makes him adore you – even if only imaginative.

The lift stops at the top floor. He sees your figure standing beside his desk, an expanse of books behind you. The sharp yellow lights contrast your figure to the dim blue light sphere in the middle. He feels the corners of his mouth perk up into a smile,and stops himself.

Another overtime shift for the both of you.

—

Overtime was not easy. You wouldn't have minded it – the job pays you well, and its quite comfortably tucked into the Akademiya, where no one bothers you, and you can easily access the House of Daena. However, the stress and paranoia has absolutely drained you. 

You've visited the matra recently. Frantically scraping together whatever evidence you can, everytime your “admirer” decided to gift you something new, leaving almost no time in your schedule. Daily visits to the library turned into constant visits to the matra, detailing your issues. You would have opted to stay silent, brushing it off as someone who was.. weirdly shy. But shy people don't stalk you, shy people don't leave obsessive notes for you, shy people don't visit your house at unholy hours of the night. And who knows what else this stalker of yours has been up to recently?

Revenge bedtime procrastination turned into sleepless nights, flinching at every sound, hiding under the covers until there was no oxygen and your entire face was covered in sweat. Workload seemed to increase, from how often you kept messing up, many things clouding your mind. Alhaitham's prickly eyes took notice, and he suggested drinking another beverage aside from coffee in the morning, and offered to get you something else – which you generously refused and turned down. (the last thing you would want to be is in someone else's debt at this time. Even if it's just a drink, who knows what else it could add up to in the future?)

So, here you were; irritated, on edge and in the dimly lit office which was viciously devoid of any natural light. You wonder why someone would want such a stuffy office, with books probably growing mold inside. Sure, it's spacious, but it's utter lack of life in it repulses you. It has the comfort level of a hospital waiting room, and it's just enough to add onto the little things that bother you, on top of everything else.

If that wasn't any better – Alhaitham seemed particularly chatty this evening. Perhaps his parasitic roommate (whom he has lovingly mentioned, multiple times,) has been ignoring him as of late? Maybe a commission in the desert, or a commission that requires a huge amount of unnecessary labour? And the (Acting) Grand Scribe has mentioned several times how the blonde architect works himself almost half to death just to get a smile out of his customers. You painstakingly understand him in silence, and don't comment on it.

The rest of the night continues – the benignity of it isn't lost on you. Occasionally perking up from your own scribbling upon Alhaitham's call, searching for a specific book on the vast (dusty, if you may add) shelves, and commenting on a few meeting topics and research projects he grazes, assigning you a few. He doesn't miss the comical dragging of your feet as you walk back over to your desk, befuddled with more work. He wants to tease you, he wants you to ask him for help, for an extra bottle of ink, for an extra post it note, whatever way in which you ask for his help.

He theorises you don't remember much of your and his student days.

—

“shit, I forgot them.”

You searched the familiar pockets and zips of your bag, scrunched eyebrows in frustration.

“Seriously? I'm not lending you any of mine~”

Your friend laughed. You sigh.

“I let you hog all my lunch and this is what I get as a thank you?”

“Too bad. You don't like the blue coloured ones anyway.”

“I'm desperate for a sticky note. Does it look like I'm in a state to be picky?”

Your friend laughs again, and throws their little compact stack of post-its on your book.

“Fine. But you've already annotated so much, what are you gonna write about?”

“Hmm? Wouldn't you like to know?”

You playfully ignore them, as they chitter behind you; carefully sticking it into your textbook and scribbling down the information before you forget. You sigh and look up. You make eye contact.

Right. It's him.

The grey-haired Haravatat boy that rarely showed up. Everyone knew him for his quiet attitude, and his tendency to make your professor's blood boil due to his absence in every lecture. Your friends had a few inside jokes about him. You would dare say this is your first encounter, or really the only one, with him. A stoic look and a judgmental one at the same time, behind curiously multicoloured eyes. 

Nearing the end of the semester – usually the smart ones would avoid the house of Daena, as it would overflow with study groups of caffeine-run seniors and freshman alike. Some of the other clever ones chose spots that weren't easy to find in the first place, and some chose to simply come early.

The thing is, you didn't come early. You were here from midnight. The librarian and all the security checks probably missed you, since you were neatly tucked away into the corner, taking a well-needed nap on one of your reference materials. You only woke up when one of your friends, and that boy poked and prodded you. Your friend laughed until they were out of breath when you looked up – drool slipping down past your chin, eyes swollen from the lack of sleep (and the incessant crying of an academic student), handwriting illegible from just how drowsy you were. The boy only stood quietly, probably judging your.. mannerisms. You weren't sure how, or why, he sat down at the same table as you and your friend. 

—-

Every once in a while - Alhaitham does use the sticky notes.

He didn't buy them. He wanted to borrow them for a short second, but in your hurry, you gave him the compact stack and left, never looking back. After that, you never got them back. Neither of you had the time, and your fate simply intertwined for a brief moment. Things like these happen.

But you keep appearing in the crowd.

He sees you in a flurry of students, or alone at a desolate desk. On a high-up ladder reaching an impossibly reachable book, crouching down to pick up the several you dropped in the process. Passing by the dull lecture halls as he slipped into the library, following the reference materials his father recommended, picked out neatly from private journals and books. The yellow sticky notes never served him much purpose after a single use. He debated simply keeping them on your desk the next time he saw you, but never quite worked up the courage. He swore the sumeru rose scent gave him a headache.

So, when he heard you were continuing your studies at the Akademiya, he was pleased. Working as a Scribe was a simple job, and his chances of seeing you just increased. And he may have been too ambitious, but it worked greatly in his favour – as he opened up another Assistant role for you. 

He hums, content with his decision to keep the sticky notes. Now - how would he utilise them? He wonders if you remember that friend's handwriting. Simple notes turned into obsessive confessions.

Once in a while turned into almost everyday, the more he observed you.

His obsession alone could become the subject of his own studies – but for now you are his sole interest.

And the next overtime, his first after returning to his post as the Scribe – he decides to finally close the chapter.

Has your perfume always been this sweet? That headache's been catching up to you. All that worrying and panic.. when was the last time you slept?

He opens the door to his office. You stand under the warm light, horrified. Piles of sticky notes crowd your feet. The wall barely peeks through behind you from the sticky notes. He closes the door, and a flurry of them fall from the movement. Both of you stare at each other.

“Alhaitham?”

You remember looking at the collection of sticky notes you'd received over a period of time. Is the red ink turning brown? You swore the color changed. Is it supposed to smell? You don't think you want to know.

“Congratulations. You've made it this far. Ive been waiting to talk to you in private."

Your arms go limp, dropping the stack of files onto the floor. The clock ticks silently. You should have gone home. Your bad habit of staying past closing time and evading the security seemed to have not worked in your favour this time.

----

[mothhball]

omg drabble request for jonathan crane pls 🤭🤭 reader is sick and he takes care of her because he’s a doctorrrrr and he’s all doting and loving with her at home pls !!!

Those Little Things

Pairing | Jonathan Crane x Reader

Warnings | none. This is just pure fluff. Jonathan is still sassy because it’s him.

Summary | Feeling under the weather? Luckily, you’re in the hands of a doctor.

Words | 1k

Notes | thanks so much for the request!! <3

It started off deceptively slow. A soreness in your throat that you tried to explain away by having slept with an open mouth. An ache in your bones that must've been because you ran to catch the subway a few too many times. A fatigue that... just comes from living in Gotham in general, you suppose. But with each passing day, those little symptoms seem to multiply, and unbeknownst to you, someone has been keeping track. When you finally start to sniffle, that someone has enough.

Jonathan sets down the book he's been reading, fixing you with a worried yet annoyed frown from his side of the couch that makes you feel like a deer in the headlights. A deer with a stuffy nose, that is.

"You're infuriating," he states, placing a bookmark between the pages of his literature so he can fold his arms over his chest.

"Huh?" you rasp, trying to swallow the feeling of sandpaper in your throat. God, you even sound sick. Your boyfriend narrows his eyes at you, tapping his fingers on his arm in an unhappy little rhythm.

"Alright, enough of this. You're going to bed," he declares, not leaving any room for debate. With a gentle touch, he pulls you off of the couch and up to your feet, pausing to check your temperature with the back of his hand. His frown deepens.

"You're hot."

"Now isn't the time to flirt, Jon." You chuckle, cringing at the rough sound.

"Not like - ugh. You're impossible." Jonathan tries to fight against the smile that pulls at the corners of his lips, but it's a futile effort, and you both share a chuckle as he maneuvers you into the bedroom. His hand on the small of your back is warm, and you lean your head on his shoulder for comfort. The slowly rising fever makes you shiver, and if you had your way, you'd turn up the heater to the highest setting. But Jonathan has different plans.

"We need to lower your temperature, love," he says, helping you to sit down on the bed. "Get under the covers, I'll open the window."

You barely have time to shield yourself with the blanket before the cool, fresh air wafts into the room, accompanied by the smell of petrichor and the ever-present sounds of the rainy city. Jonathan stays next to the window for a moment, peering outside. You have the privilege of living in the universe district - a leftover perk from his days as a professor. But more importantly: where there are students, there are conveniently placed stores. With conveniently placed items that might aid your recovery.

Jonathan turns, and his lips part to say something when he stops himself at the sight of you. You're completely wrapped in the down comforter, covered right up to the tip of your nose. There’s something so precious to this moment. You definitely look sick, yes. But it’s you. The person he treasures, completely authentic and real. If he wasn't already whipped for you, he'd be now.

"Someone's getting comfortable," he teases, and steps over to your side of the bed to sit down on the mattress. Jonathan's eyes soften, and he gently pushes some hair out of your forehead.

"I'll go out to get a few things, okay? I won't be long, I promise. Just try to rest until then."

You nod in response, already feeling how heavy your eyelids have become. Your boyfriend caresses your cheek with his knuckles before he forces himself to stand. If he could, he'd jump right into bed with you, but that wouldn't be helpful for your recovery. No, he has to be the analytical one right now. And as much as he hates to see you under the weather, he enjoys the chance to fuss over you in his own way.

You don't even know how long he's been gone, but you awake to the sound of the window being closed and the crinkling of plastic bags. Multiple plastic bags. It takes a moment until you're able to crack your eyes open, but you're rewarded with the sight of Jonathan loading up your bedside table with various items.

"Okay, let's see," he starts, vaguely reminding you of a coach before the big game. You watch in silent awe as he unpacks the bags, revealing the items he got for you one by one.

"Take some ibuprofen first. I also got you those tissues with the eucalyptus balm to clear your sinuses a little faster. You said your nose doesn't get as raw from that brand, right?"

"Yeah." A smile grows on your face, and as you try to sit up, Jonathan momentarily pauses his unpacking to help you before he gets right back to it.

"Perfect. I also got you some chicken noodle soup from that Vietnamese place you like. I wish I could cook that up from scratch, but you'd still like theirs better, so why even compete."

He carefully places the container of soup in your lap along with a spoon, and the warm, comforting smell of Pho hits you right in the face as soon as you open the lid. Jonathan went all out, and when you look up at him, you find him staring back expectantly.

"Thank you, Jon. Truly. You're so sweet..." He waves off your gratitude, carefully sitting down next to you.

"No need to thank me," is what he says, but you can see how his eyes light up. A task well done. He scoots a little closer to press a tender kiss to your brow. "But you should've told me sooner," he scolds, making your cheeks turn a little pink.

"You have a lot on your plate already. I didn't want to add to it," you murmur, looking down at the soup in your lap with hungry eyes.

"Oh, I'll gladly add you to my plate any day, love. And you should trust me a little more to take care of you. I'm a doctor." He reaches out to take the plastic cover off of your spoon.

"Yeah, but only of psychology, Jon." His eyebrows raise for a moment and his hands freeze, but then he spots that tiny upwards twitch of your lips that shows him you're just teasing him. Oh, you’re infuriating. And it’s the best thing in the world.

"... I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

tags: @ellebelleshelby @cilliansprincess @mcumorningstar @x0xomady @mandies24 @detroitbecomevenom @pretty-bluebird @ink5ouls (couldn't tag) @flwrs4aust @vampmary1411 @ashdrinksoatmilk @luvizuku @nnattu @ptolemaniac @kiss-me-cill-me @celebrities-imagines @hanawrites404

[maxlearnmicrolearningplatform]

10 Reasons to Opt for Microlearning for Employee Training

In today's fast-paced business environment, organizations are constantly seeking effective methods to train their employees while minimizing disruption to productivity. Traditional training programs, often lengthy and time-consuming, are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by microlearning. This modern approach delivers training content in small, focused bursts that are easy to digest and apply. Here are ten compelling reasons to opt for microlearning for employee training.

1. Enhanced Retention and Recall

One of the primary benefits of microlearning is its ability to improve retention and recall. Research suggests that breaking down information into smaller, manageable chunks helps learners process and remember content more effectively. Microlearning leverages this by presenting key concepts in bite-sized pieces, often reinforced with interactive elements like quizzes and practice exercises. This method aligns with the brain’s natural learning processes, making it easier for employees to retain and recall information when needed.

2. Flexibility and Convenience

Microlearning offers unparalleled flexibility and convenience, which is crucial for today’s diverse and often remote workforce. Employees can access microlearning modules anytime, anywhere, using various devices such as smartphones, tablets, or computers. This accessibility allows learners to fit training into their schedules, whether it’s during a commute, lunch break, or any other downtime. The convenience of microlearning ensures that employees can engage with training materials without significant disruptions to their workday.

3. Higher Engagement Levels

Keeping employees engaged in training can be challenging, especially with traditional long-form content. Microlearning addresses this issue by delivering content in engaging, interactive formats. Short videos, infographics, and gamified elements capture learners’ attention and maintain their interest. By making training content more appealing and enjoyable, microlearning increases engagement levels, leading to better learning outcomes.

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Implementing microlearning can be more cost-effective compared to traditional training methods. Producing short, focused training modules typically requires fewer resources and less time. Additionally, microlearning reduces the need for extensive classroom training sessions, travel expenses, and printed materials. The scalability of digital microlearning content means it can be easily updated and reused, providing ongoing value without significant additional costs.

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In the fast-moving business world, organizations need to be agile and responsive to changing training needs. Microlearning allows for rapid development and deployment of training content. Creating short modules focused on specific topics can be done quickly, enabling organizations to address immediate training needs promptly. This agility ensures that employees receive up-to-date information and skills training relevant to their current roles and responsibilities.

6. Personalized Learning Experience

Microlearning supports a personalized learning experience by allowing employees to select modules that are relevant to their individual needs and career goals. This learner-centric approach ensures that employees engage with content that is directly applicable to their roles, enhancing motivation and effectiveness. Personalized learning paths can be created based on job functions, skill levels, or professional development plans, providing a tailored training experience for each employee.

7. Improved Performance and Productivity

By delivering training in a focused and concise manner, microlearning enables employees to quickly apply what they’ve learned to their jobs. This immediate application of knowledge leads to improved performance and productivity. Employees can swiftly close skill gaps and enhance their competencies, contributing to better overall organizational performance. The just-in-time nature of microlearning ensures that employees have access to relevant training precisely when they need it, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

8. Easier Measurement and Analytics

Measuring the effectiveness of traditional training programs can be challenging. Microlearning, on the other hand, offers easier measurement and analytics. Digital platforms used for microlearning can track various metrics such as module completion rates, quiz scores, and learner feedback. These analytics provide valuable insights into how employees are engaging with the content and the impact of the training on their performance. Organizations can use this data to refine and improve their training strategies continuously.

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Microlearning modules can be easily scaled across the organization, ensuring consistent training experiences for all employees, regardless of location. This scalability is particularly beneficial for large organizations with a geographically dispersed workforce. Consistent training content helps maintain uniform standards and practices across the organization, promoting a cohesive corporate culture and ensuring that all employees receive the same quality of training.

10. Adaptability to Various Learning Styles

Employees have diverse learning preferences and styles, and microlearning caters to this diversity. The variety of formats available in microlearning—such as videos, interactive simulations, audio clips, and text-based content—allows learners to engage with the material in a way that suits them best. This adaptability ensures that all employees, regardless of their preferred learning style, can benefit from the training. By accommodating different learning preferences, microlearning enhances the overall effectiveness of employee training programs.

Conclusion

Microlearning represents a powerful approach to employee training, offering numerous advantages over traditional methods. Its ability to enhance retention and recall, provide flexibility and convenience, and maintain high engagement levels makes it an attractive option for modern organizations. The cost-effectiveness, rapid development, and deployment capabilities further underscore its value. Moreover, microlearning’s personalized learning experience, improved performance outcomes, ease of measurement, scalability, and adaptability to various learning styles make it a comprehensive solution for addressing the diverse training needs of today’s workforce.

Incorporating microlearning into your employee training strategy can lead to more effective and efficient training programs, ultimately driving better performance and success for your organization. By embracing the benefits of microlearning, organizations can ensure that their employees are well-equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a competitive business environment.

[spdrvyn]

7 days until valentines

as compensation for my lack of posts, here's a short blurb of miguel with an autistic reader! i'm projecting really hard though

Miguel didn't know where the transition from his to 'our' workspace had begun. It was the little things, you'd leave a small cup with pens in it at his desk without bothering to pick it up after you leave his office. Eventually, that cup became a real pencil holder now you had journals, notebooks, and basically everything that wasn't work related neatly cornered into one part of his desk home with the scattered papers and unfinished gadgets Miguel has.

You also make home at his desk, efficiency was one of your strengths, but your productivity reached maximum capacity whenever you were with him. No words were spoken while the two of you worked, Miguel greatly appreciated it.

Not that he'd mind a little bit of small talk, but he enjoyed silence without feeling like the loneliness was clawing at his insides.

Though normally you (almost inhumanely) finished your work way earlier than he did, but you didn't leave. No, you didn't.

This habit of maintaining his presence while you're off doing something kept even when you were pursuing your own personal interests, Miguel would catch you on your laptop chatting to your friends whenever he had to check something on one of his monitors.

Other times, you'd have headphones on. Listening to music or catching up on one of your shows, your reactions are as muddled as they can be to not disturb. But one moment, he'll look away with you completely deadpan then look back to see your jaw widely agape and pupils blown wide from devastation.

Tonight was no different, if anything more convenient for you because a new episode of this unnamed media just dropped. Admittedly, your expressions and small noises entertained him as he worked. You did try to be discreet, but that super hearing of his could pick up on your small gasps and 'aww's on opposite sides of a workspace.

His concentration is broken when you practically slam your laptop shut, packing your earbuds into their case with an audible snap. You hop off of your place and solemnly walk over to where Miguel is standing, he quirks a brow at you.

Uncharacteristically, you slump your head against his shoulder with the biggest frown he's ever seen you in. "They're not getting back together, Miguel."

"Oh?" maybe feeding into your theatrics wasn't a smart decisions, but analytics dulled in comparison to whatever was going on inside your head. "Who?" he continued to interrogate.

"My only reason for light and happiness, my true inspiration for spreading love and joy across every corner of the multiverse." Miguel rolls his eyes. "Do not give me sass right now, I am so upset."

He genuinely can't tell if you're joking or not, perhaps a mix of both. "I don't get how I'm supposed to sympathize with this ex-couple when I don't even know the title of their story?"

"It's a cartoon. You'll laugh."

"Cartoon or animated?"

You quirk your eyebrow this time. "Huh?"

"I'm asking you, cartoon or animated? There's a difference, animated features aren't always classified as cartoons. Cartoon is more of a term for animated medias directed towards children. Aren't you the one more adept at this topic?"

He looks at you with an almost-smirk. It's teasing at his lips, full and plump. There are many sensations that you hold resentment for, but one you've always wanted experience is Miguel's lips against yours. The ultimate sensory triumph, all you've been waiting for.

God, you want to kiss him.

"Yeah, I- uh, animated. I mean, animated."

"Tell me about it when I'm not trying to keep the world from ending, please?" he grumbles, and you raise your head off of his shoulder. Damn right you'll tell him about it, and probably kiss him after too.

[youryurigoddess]

A. Z. Fell & Co. bookshop and its statues

To start off, you have to be warned that the former set was almost completely destroyed in the S1 bookshop fire and whatever wasn’t important enough to be salvaged before the shooting had to be replaced afterwards. Which means that a few memorable and already identified pieces aren’t there anymore, for better or worse.

This is going to be another long analysis, and certainly not a full one — I’ll describe only the big picture and the most important props. A continuation focusing on the decorations in the less prominent parts of the bookshop will follow here.

Right at the entrance we can see twin tables with the Marly Horses by Guillaume Coustou the Elder. The sculptures showing two rearing horses with their groom were originally commissioned by Louis XV of France for the entrance to château de Marly, a royal residence near Versailles.

In S2 Crowley is shown consistently using one of the horses, partially out of convenience, partially in line with a returning throughout the season dark horse theme. Ironically, the symbolic harnessing of a wild animal mirrors the supposed domestication of the demon by his angel, as seen in the transformation of the statue to the right from the entrance into an altar of his submission.

After all, there’s nothing more vulnerable to Crowley than losing the usual protection of his shades, and using a horse sculpture as a stand for his sunglasses speaks volumes about his natural aptitude towards uncertain and liminal states. He thrives in stress situations, dangles his feet while hopping onto a curb, and assumes the form of a non-Euclidean fluid when asked to sit down in a chair. Stability isn’t exactly what he’s most comfortable with. So what for Aziraphale signifies the power over his (theirs?) own domain and ultimate safe space, for Crowley means a challenge.

It makes sense that this particular spot near the exit is where the demon feels most secure in the bookshop, his favorite place in the world. That’s where he stood after crossing its threshold in 1941 too.

The statue in the middle, right on top of the central bookstand, was replaced after the S1 fire. It’s still clearly a Cupid, but in a different pose and without his weapons — instead of shooting an arrow, now he’s holding his left hand over his head, pointing up towards Heaven or God. Quite a change. This is the most similar copy made after Ernest Rancoulet. The butterfly-like wings (similar to the ones Rancoulet used in his La Nuit Tout Repose, At Night Everything Rests) on the copy in the bookshop have visible screws, so they were probably added either by the previous owner or the Good Omens art department.

What’s especially important from the analytic point of view is that similarly to S1, the Cupid in question still appears in the frame facing Crowley, but not targeting him anymore, like it used to, but rather mirroring. The most memorable example appears during the Final Fifteen™ when the demon points up with left hand to highlight his “No nightingales” line.

This one will be fun! Everyone, meet George Maxim’s bronze allegory of Music in her full glory. Angels like music in general, right? And Aziraphale is a known audiophile, which was asserted in the very first episode of the new season. But there’s another link to music in his angelic roots. A rather apocalyptic one — the Archangel Raphael is believed to blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Second Coming (the Day of Resurrection), and Israfil, its Islamic counterpart, Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment).

Staying in the very same context, let’s read the ballad Israfel by Edgar Allen Poe, which was obviously inspired by the titular Archangel.

Nothing on Earth lasts forever — but that’s exactly the reason why we should use it for inspiration, savor this momentary bliss, and hold it in our hearts. The ballad shares the same sentiment about all creation being temporary and only the passions of angels (i.e., Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s feelings) staying eternally unchanging as Aziraphale’s “Nothing lasts forever”. His line was intended as an affirmation of his feelings, similar to “You go too fast for me, Crowley”.

And just like the Cupid is mirroring Crowley in the “No nightingales” line, Music is targeting Aziraphale with her harp in the following frame.

On the counter there’s a smaller bronze statue, which original unfortunately remains unidentified, but I was able to track some similar designs. A woman coming back from the harvest with crops — either a representation of Autumn or the Greek goddess Demeter bringing a blessing of a plentiful harvest. In the Bible, the harvest is a metaphor for both spiritual fruitfulness and judgment. Our productivity in God’s kingdom is supposedly tied to our faith and obedience. And the most popular verses repeat an even older saying, how one reaps what they sow:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” (Revelation 14:15)

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)

If you read The summer that was never supposed to end meta, you’ll interpret the figure itself as a rather ominous sign. Now let’s add to it positioning right next to the gigantic Victorian cash register one cannot possibly overlook and the recurring theme of payment. And the fact that it conveniently disappears at some point in The Ball (S02E05) episode, never to be seen again. Is the payment reminder not needed anymore, because its day just came?

For some reason ever since S1 this one was often interpreted as a bust of Alexander the Great by the fandom. The proper name is the Head of a Victorious Athlete, also known as Benevento Head. As this suggests, the originally bronze sculpture represents a victorious athlete wearing an olive crown and was found near Benevento in Italy, in the remnants of the ancient town Herculaneum, wiped off from the face of the earth together with Pompeii in a tragic volcanic eruption (which was conveniently used later on as a more modern example of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah). It’s an obviously Roman copy of a Greek sculpture and dates back to 50 AD, less than a decade after Aziraphale and Crowley met in Rome in 41 AD— who knows, maybe they were still around at the time? This would make an interesting connection to the statue Crowley brought back to his apartment in 1941.

And no, in the HD quality and especially en face it doesn’t appear similar to Crowley. In fact, there seems to be a very good reason why most photographers choose another, more flattering angle for this particular artwork. But aesthetics aside, the white bust seems more like a mirror for Aziraphale and his self-constructed (and self-imposed) idealized image, based on a specific set of virtues. The presented athlete is victorious because he’s the epitome of the Platonic Triad of higher Forms: Truth, Beauty, and Excellence, understood in the wider context of the Greek Aretē.

To highlight this point, in S1 the head was literally used as a designated display place of the medal Aziraphale got as a commendation for his 6000 years on Earth in the 1800 cut scene. As a free agent not affiliated with Heaven in S2 he doesn’t hang it there anymore, but the medal is still in the bookshop, visible on his desk. You can see it in detail and read the description of its provenance in the last bookshop meta.

Daedalus and Icarus are a very popular motif in the history of art, but certainly not in this overtly masculine, military style. Icarus was too ambitious for his own good and ignored explicit instructions, which constitutes both the sin of pride and that of disobedience to one's parents (or one’s Creator?).

Interestingly, there’s also a version of the myth in which Icarus fashioned himself greater than Helios, the Sun himself, and the god himself punished him for it with the fall — which resonates very strongly with my vision of Crowley both in relation to his Fall and potential S3 development.

But back to Aziraphale. If the medal in question was given to him as a commendation he from the Supreme Archangel himself, it also serves as a warning for him to not get too arrogant or comfortable with his accomplishment (i.e., life on Earth) or it might lead to his fall (or, in this case, Fall).

Foreshadowing much?

[leth-writes]

yandere CEO x reader

Summary: Your boss has never been anything like the rumours suggested. Maybe you should've listened sooner.

Warnings: My blog is 18+, though this piece is not explicit. As well, usual yandere content warnings apply.

So this is actually an original character I'm workshopping, and I wrote this piece to get the character down. If you'd like more, just let me know!

“Shh, shh, it’s going to be okay, my love…” he said, running a hand down your face gently, cooing quietly. You struggled, shifted, trying your hardest to break free, but you were stuck, locked in place by the soft leather straps keeping you tied to the bed. You were gagged with a silky slip of fabric, cushioning your teeth and preventing your cries from reaching even into the rest of the ornate room. You were trapped, completely unable to so much as shift, kept in place without the ability to set yourself free.

You hadn’t ever expected it to end this way, working for one of the best companies in the world. All you wanted was to be safe, to be able to pay your bills and finally enjoy some stability; working as his secretary was supposed to be a well-paying gig. Turns out that his behavior with you was unlike that of the myriad of people who had once held the position.

He had a reputation for being harsh and cold, incredibly analytical, with high standards and higher expectations. When you first met him, however, you’d seen a man with kind brown eyes and a bright, soft smile, staring at you as though you’d lit the room up just by walking in. Your work had been unexpectedly easy, and he’d paid you incredibly well. Now you suspected he’d done all of it just to prevent you from trying to leave.

He’d lulled you into a sense of false security, after all, building up a relationship and getting you to trust him. He’d been so kind, so loving, and you’d fallen for it. It started with the small things. First, he’d always brought you coffee in the morning, then breakfast, then he was always taking you out for lunch. Then he’d started taking you out to dinner, until every meal of every day was spent with him, including the times you weren’t even working. He started invited you over to his house, you were more of a personal assistant than a secretary at that point, and you started spending more and more time there. He loved cooking for you, making you delicious dinners you knew you wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise, ingredients costing more than a month’s rent for you. Then you started staying over in a guest bedroom, more and more, until you were barely ever even going home. You couldn’t help it, being around him was just so relaxing; the stress seemed to melt away in his presence until you couldn’t picture your life without him.

That’s when he first kissed you. It was soft and sweet and it made your heart pound, your feelings swelling until it felt they couldn’t fit in your chest anymore, until all you wanted was to be with him.

So, the two of you started dating, and the true gift giving began. The gifts grew more and more extravagent, clothing and jewellry costing more than a house being dropped in your lap, and something started to seem… off. But he made you so happy, and he was so nice! So, you buried your worries under layers of tulle and started enjoying the luxury of it all. After a lifetime of barely scraping by it was nice to be able to sample some of the finer things.

After only a month, he asked you to move in. At first, you refused, but soon you found your lease abruptly ended with your landlord; with no where to go, you had no choice but to stay with your gracefully accepting host. You should’ve guessed that was all his planning, it was too convenient, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have the money to make your landlord kick you out. Hell, even a threat would be enough to justify serving you up to him on a silver platter.

But then, the dynamic started to change. You felt bad, not contributing, and you started trying to insist on paying him rent or contributing in some way. He refused, you’d barely make a dent and he had more than enough, but you still felt off-balance. Eventually, he started giving you less and less work, until you mainly spent your days just reading in his office as he came in and out. It didn’t feel fair, not doing anything, and the two of you had plenty of fights just about work.

It all came to a head when you decided to move out. You wanted to be independent, to be able to support yourself, and you couldn’t justify leeching off of him anymore. of course, he didn’t see it that way, and the two of you got into a little spat. It worsened and worsened until suddenly, without even thinking, you blurted out that you wanted to see other people. Maybe you should’ve considered your words better.

Like a switch went off, gone was the bright, cheerful man you were used to, the analytical businessman emerging from the dust with a graceful smirk. He’d warned you, told you not to continue the sentence. You wouldn’t want him to think you were cheating, would you?

So, you doubled down. You insisted on a break-up. You couldn’t be around someone who could switch so drastically, who wouldn’t let you work, who was so… controlling! You felt it deep in your gut that this was a bad situation, and that you needed to leave. And just like that, the analytical version of himself was gone in a snap, and the gentle gleam was back, though it didn’t quite fit, like was wearing a too-big mask.

He’d agreed, smiling brightly, that you needed some space to think. You didn’t bother correcting his assumption. He implored you to at least stay for dinner, he wouldn’t feel right letting you walk out into the cold night after such a big fight… So you agreed. Maybe this way the break-up would be amicable, and you wouldn’t have to constantly look over one shoulder.

Halfway through dinner, he’d fired you. His face had been a facade of pity, lips slightly pouty as if to mock your shocked tears. Then, you’d started to feel a wave of exhaustion, and before you knew it, you were out.

It all led to this moment, him sitting beside your prone form as he smiled down at you. It was then you saw that crazed gleam, the one everyone had always described but that you’d never seen before. He’d informed you that you would be staying with him, that you could finally just be together without the pretense of work, and that you didn’t have to so much as lift a finger. He’d do everything for you.

You were starting to worry he was being literal.