#to facilitate my answer :p))

[thevalicemultiverse]

Me: Is the natural state of the soul quiet or chaos?

Taco Bell cashier: Look buddy, it’s transient, shifting like water.

Alice: It probably also depends a lot on the particular owner of the soul. In my experience, some souls are more inclined to quiet, and others to chaos. [looks over to where Victor and Smiler are waiting -- Victor calmly reading something on his phone, Smiler using the straws near the drink station to construct a tower] Case in point.

[desireangel]

A Good Girl's Reputation | Aemond Targaryen

Modern!Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

Summary: It was the last place you wanted to be but nonetheless, you found yourself pulled along to a party you hosted by none other than the Targaryen's, only for spilled wine to force you into Aemond's shirt. A sight that had him dragging you to his bed, eager to corrupt the well-behaved girl who had set him ablaze with desire.

Word Count: 6.7k.

Warnings: MDNI 18+ only!! Oral (f receiving), unprotected P in V sex, dirty talk!!, a major cliche on the good girl trope, reader is shy!, slight degradation, mean friends at a party maybe?, Aegon being sneaky, bad language. Unedited. Please let me know if I missed anything!

Author's Note: Okay, I wasn't going to post this one because it was purely self-indulgent and I kinda wasn't happy with my pen game in this but I was feeling bad about the delay in Dark Cherry part 5 so wanted to share something!! I also love the idea of Aemond being totally feral about seeing reader in his clothes. Share your thoughts my loves, I'm more than happy to discuss things, thoughts and feedback with you all - xoxo, kisses!! <3

There was a nonsensical grandeur about everything that Jilly dragged you into. This time was no different and you silently waited for the sound of the elevator ding while listening to your best friend chatter about the ‘world’s best fucking boyfriend–wait, do you think this makes him my boyfriend?’

“I don’t know, Jilly,” you nibbled on your lip, craning your neck to look around the corner of the entrance hallway. For what reason, you weren’t sure but there was a crawling nervousness on your skin and the urge to make sure there were no unexpected surprises was consuming. “It’s Aegon. Only he can answer that question for you.”

The elevator was taking an infuriatingly long time. You wondered if this was the building’s way of telling you to turn around and return to the dorm room that had become your safe haven over the last two years. Jilly had somehow gotten herself involved with none other than Aegon Targaryen, a man notorious for his partying and hedonism.

It was entertaining at first, and you were more than happy to remain a spectator of the ridiculous pairing. Jilly was entirely different to Aegon and tended to carry herself with a lot more modesty than Aegon was known for. She was calculating and calm where he was impulsive and excitable. 

You thought back to the first time they had met. In a tutorial for a statistics class you needed to take to meet course requirements, the three of you paired together to facilitate a useless discussion on probabilities. The bickering between the two of them was amusing and the first greeting that Aegon had graced the two of you with was a grumbled ‘what kind of name is Jilly?’

And weeks later, Aegon had decided to hold another one of his campus-famous house parties. He had obviously invited Jilly–and by extension he had invited you because there was no chance Jilly would go to a party without you. In fact, before she had met Aegon, there was no chance Jilly would go to any party regardless. 

A loud, excited hmph! fell from Jilly’s lips when the elevator doors finally opened. You had hoped it had broken down on its way to pick you up and that there was a rather convenient lack of staircase to climb instead. 

“I don’t think–”

“Don’t say it,” Jilly held a hand in front of your face. She clicked on P with her other hand. For the penthouse, you guessed. “I know you don’t want to be here. But we are going to have a good night.” 

You sighed, tugging the short, black skirt that Jilly had wrestled you into further down your thighs. It looked good paired with the white satin button down you had insisted on wearing for comfort but it was shorter than you were accustomed to. The thought of maintaining it enough so it didn’t ride up past your bum was tiresome but there was no arguing which you could do to wiggle your way into some pants instead. 

Jilly snickered. “Quit fiddling with your skirt, you’ll poke a hole in your tights–Oh!”

The two of you shared a gasp when the doors opened. No wonder people had so much to say about the Targaryen siblings and their parties when their apartment looked like it was straight out of a Forbes magazine. For a moment, it seemed impossible that the apartment housed two students. It was incomparable to the wardrobe sized dorm you had been living in over the semester. 

Distant chatter pulled you out of your thoughts and you followed Jilly further into the apartment, reminding yourself not to let your jaw drop as your eyes adjusted to the dimmed lighting. The party was an hour or so away from starting - Aegon had told everyone to head in after seven but had given Jilly an earlier time so that the two of you could join their pre-game. 

Not that you would. The prospect of getting as drunk as Aegon planned at your (embarrassingly?) first student party was daunting. 

Anxiously, you followed Jilly into the living area where a handful of familiar faces were lounging and drinking. There was a deep bumping of bass, and you could feel the floor vibrating with it, but you couldn’t make out the song that was playing. 

“Jill!” Floris, Aegon’s friend who you had only ever seen on campus, pulled Jilly towards the nearest couch. Hesitantly, you followed, flashing Aegon and Cregan a purse-lipped smile as they made their way to greet you. “We were worried you wouldn’t show up. Is this your friend?”

With a smile, you introduced yourself. Floris only grinned at you before returning her attention to Jilly, who had started up an animated conversation with Helaena. Aegon whistled at Jilly, tipping the neck of his beer in her direction as if to say hello, and threw his other arm around your shoulder. 

He laughed when you cringed, pulling back from him slightly. Aegon smelled like a mixture of beer, red wine and sandalwood cologne. “We placed bets on whether you’d show up. Glad you did. There’s multiple motherfuckers in here who owe me a silver stag each. Not that I need it.”

You spluttered a bit. “What-” 

“Relax,” Cregan teased you from the other side of Aegon. He was clearly drunk. “You’re clearly not much of a party girl but that changes two-” he held up two fingers and then aggressively pointed them down at the floor with a jerk. “-night.” 

Aegon laughed, handing you a glass of wine which suddenly appeared in his hand. You shook your head and he shrugged, downing it himself. He turned away from you, waving someone down. “Aemond!”

Oh gods, no. 

You tried to keep your smile on your face. Aemond fucking Targaryen was leaning against a counter, a beer loosely hanging between his fingers. He was in the middle of a conversation with Criston Cole, a friend of their family who you had heard of only through mindless campus gossip. Aemond glanced toward Aegon in response, an eyebrow raised lazily. 

If there were ever a man you had crushed on, it really had to be him. It was a little bit maddening because you were exactly like your peers in thinking Aemond may be the most attractive man you’d ever see in your lifetime. He was tall, had an air of darkness and mystery to him and his silver hair framed his defined cheekbones and sharp jawline perfectly. But it was the severity in everything about him that had caught your eye–right from the first lecture you had seen him in. 

Aemond, as you understood, had no idea who you were. And while you knew exactly who he was, it wasn’t odd. Everyone knew of him and his family. He had practically been birthed into the public eye. 

“This pretty thing here,” Aegon, much to your protest, had pulled you across the room to introduce you. “Jilly’s best friend. Much like you, dear brother, she hates parties and is not here by her own will. You’d get along.”

Aemond looked at you and you suddenly had no idea what to do with yourself. You met his eye, fiddling with the hem of your skirt and waiting for whatever this moment was to end quickly. Your skin was tingling under his gaze which dropped from your head to your feet and then back to your face. 

When he didn’t say anything, you offered him a tight lipped smile and a timid wave. “Hi?”

He was going to respond. You could see it in the way he had moved but Aegon was quick to cut him off, ever the loud mouthed brat. As subtle as Aegon believed himself to be, he was an incredibly obnoxious drunk.  

“Surely,” Aegon drawled, wrapping his arms around Jilly’s waist when she appeared by your side and pulling her into him tightly. Mockingly, he targeted his question at Jilly but switched his gaze between her and Aemond. “Your little-good-girl friend could use a bit of corrupting, Jills. Seems like Aemond would be entirely capable, from what Floris has–”

“That’s enough, Aegon,” Aemond’s voice was smooth and darker than you’d expected. He gave you a small, reassuring yet tight smile. “Don’t be an ass. Let her be.”

You were a little breathless. Sure, you didn’t quite let go of yourself as much as everyone else did but you were no prude. Right? 

There was no offence intended in Aegon’s teasing but you couldn’t help but feel the sting. He was right–you were relatively good. All of your time and effort went into studying and working. Where you weren’t doing either of those, you preferred the solitude of a good book at a quiet cafe. There were very few bad habits in your life, the worst of which would only be the likes of a dependence on tea or coffee. Parties were a rarity but on the odd occasion you would tag along wherever Jilly would go. And, regardless of that, here you were.

It was embarrassing. You had hoped that if you were to ever introduce yourself to Aemond, things would go slightly better than this and your uptight prudish reputation (which you didn’t realise you had until today) would remain undiscussed. He was different and he didn’t tend to spend his time with people of your tendencies. Aemond was the object of everyone’s desires; if they didn’t want to have him then they certainly wanted to be him. 

You were clearly different from his normal type. If only for the fact that he also had a reputation and that reputation consisted of a string of heartbroken girls who he had never pursued or never shared more than his bed with. Those girls were a lot more like his friends; confident, daring and well accomplished. Aemond was not Aegon; there was a lot more respect in the way people spoke of him and his academic and professional talents were impressive to most people. 

Thankfully, Jilly had pulled you away from that dreadful conversation with a harsh glare pointed at Aegon. The kitchen, which was the closest place for you to hide, was filled with snacks and drinks almost falling off of the countertops. You recognised Helaena, and waved at her.

Helaena had been a friend whenever you had bumped into each other. She was sweet and kind and you actually enjoyed her company. “It’s nice to see you, Helaena. Didn’t think we’d ever run into each other at a house party but hey, it’s been an hour full of surprises.”

She laughed with you. There was an easy flow of conversation between the two of you and when Floris and Jilly had taken to what they called ‘Kitchen Karaoke’, you had even danced together. Jilly, as drunk as she was, pushed the bottle of wine in her hand to you, waiting for you to drink. With some encouragement from Helaena and Floris, you smiled and took a few sips. 

The peace you had found in the kitchen was short lived and when Jilly, joined by Aegon and caught up in her exaggerated Lady Gaga performance, flung her arm out, the bottle of wine in her hand spilling right onto your chest and soaking through the white fabric of your shirt. 

“Shit,” she winced. It was cold and you had a small sense of panic that raised goosebumps on your skin at the thought of wearing a wet, stained shirt all night but at the drunken apologetic look on her face all you could do was force a smile. Jilly giggled nervously. “At least it makes your tits look good.”

“Right,” you mumbled, fingers pulling the wet fabric off of your skin. It was uncomfortably sticking to your skin and the smell of the red wine was beginning to catch. “No problem.”

Aegon tapped your shoulder gently and gave you an animated salute. “Don’t worry, I’ll find you something from the fresh laundry.”

You followed him into the laundry, which was only just around the corner, waiting as he grinned and shuffled through the clothes that were sitting in the dryer. When Aegon turned to you, he had a stupid toothy smile and passed you a grey shirt. “Wear that. It’ll be big but it’ll still look good with the rest of your outfit if you tuck it in or something.”

The t-shirt Aegon handed you was a little long but you weren’t going to complain when you were much happier to be in dry clothing. It was a Slipknot shirt, the graphic on the front slightly worn down with time and washes. You figured it could have been worse–at least Slipknot were good. Aegon had long gone, giving you privacy to change and when you stepped out of the laundry room, you were surprised to see that people had started piling into the apartment. 

Some hip-hop song you could barely recognise played loudly and you were a little thrown off by the crowds of unfamiliar faces. But everyone was having a good time, smiling and dancing among themselves. 

Cigarettes, cologne and coffee filled your senses and you let out a small yelp as you met with a hardened surface, stumbling a little to catch yourself. Aemond’s hands reached out to grab hold of your arms, holding you steady against him so that you wouldn’t fall to the ground. 

“Easy, missy,” he stepped back slightly, as if he were trying to get a good look at you. As Aemond dragged his gaze over you from head to toe, he smirked and hummed deeply.

The heat that rushed to your cheeks was quick and you wondered if Aemond had always smelled so delicious. Your mind was clouded by him and the way he didn’t remove his hands from you, his fingers still gently squeezing your flesh and keeping you far closer to him than you needed to be. 

Whatever it was, if he continued to look at you with so much intensity and hold you as if he didn’t want to let go of you, there was a high chance you’d do something that would only leave you disappointed and embarrassed. 

“Sorry,” you squeaked, pulling away from him in one movement and rushing into the kitchen. Jilly grinned at you, eyebrows wagging exaggeratedly in her drunken state. 

The rest of the girls had found their way to the kitchen, which had actually quietened down even more in the short moments you were away. You found yourself once again at Helaena’s side, watching as Jilly danced with her bottle of wine in hand, and failing to listen to the conversation that was somehow still in flow. 

If you were being honest, the party was a certain type of boring. There was a lot going on yet nothing at the same time and you chalked it up to the fact that you weren’t that friendly with anyone here. Helaena was only part of the crowd because she lived here and Jilly was becoming a part of Aegon’s group of mates, all of whom you knew of but had no real friendship with. 

Floris, who had been staring at you on and off since you had returned, took a sip of her drink and flashed you an odd look. “Is that Aemond’s shirt?”

Helaena giggled beside you, watching you keenly as you frowned. When you answered, Floris looked at you with narrowed eyes. You cleared your throat, nervously nibbling on your bottom lip. “I assumed it was Aegon’s since he gave it to me.”

“What was wrong with what you came in?”

“Floris, you saw that blouse get ruined,” Jilly rolled her eyes, stepping closer to you when she noticed the gentle alarm on your face. “She couldn’t have stayed in a stained top. It won't dry out until tomorrow.”

Floris only huffed, regarding you with a harsh stare and a forced shrug. There was an odd silence that lingered and you considered offering her an apology. But you quickly realised that you didn’t really have anything to apologise for, even though it is probably Aemond’s t-shirt and it was no secret that Floris was all about Aemond. 

The night was passing slowly and you continued to make small talk with the same few people you knew. But the weight of Floris’ glare never disappeared. And Aemond, with his gentle smirk and quiet confidence, had been lingering the entire night. You were half-certain that it was Floris who was the purpose of his prolonged presence in the kitchen, which had become somewhat of a break room for everyone at this point.

There was a pointed silence from him aside from the few words he had muttered in conversation with Helaena or Daeron yet his gaze was communicating more than his words could. Aemond kept looking towards you, his wanting eye holding yours assertively whenever you’d catch him watching you. You couldn’t help the heat that crept up your neck at the way he looked you up and down at every chance he got. 

It was suffocating when paired with the daggers you could feel from Floris’ stares and Aegon’s vexing grin. 

“I’m going outside for a bit,” you told Helaena, placing your glass down on the counter and flashing a pursed-lip smile at whoever caught your eye on your way towards the terrace. 

The journey to the terrace wasn’t easy and you could feel your throat closing in as you tried to squeeze through crowds of people. It was sweaty and loud, shoulders knocking and elbows bumping as you finally pushed your way through to a secluded part of the terrace, sighing at the fresh air and solitude. 

Once again, your peace didn’t last long before you caught a flash of silver in your peripheral. 

Aemond stood beside you, so close that your shoulder brushed the leather of his jacket. “You alright?” 

His proximity had turned your brain silent and you simply nodded, forcing your eyelids not to flutter shut at his delicious smell. There was a comfortable silence that followed. He rested his elbows on the railing as you were, relaxing against it and watching the street below. 

A tickle on your cheek from a loose strand of Aemond’s hair following the breeze woke you up from the haze you were entering. “Not enjoying the party?”

“I don’t like parties,” he chuckled, reaching into his pocket. 

You snickered, eyes trailing across his hands as he fiddled with a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Taking a moment to admire the way his rings complemented his nimble yet clearly strong fingers, you couldn’t believe how attractive a man’s hands could be.  “You’re not like your brother, then. That’s good–couldn’t handle having two Aegon’s about.”

Aemond shook his head, smiling as he held the box out to you. “Thankfully my brother and I are not alike. Cig?”

“Not for me.”

He hummed, popping a cigarette between his lips and holding the lighter to it. “Good. Do you mind?”

You didn’t have much else to say other than a shrug, letting him know it was alright for him to smoke. It would hardly be anything to complain about with the way Aemond seemed to look ten times sexier with a cigarette between his fingers and hanging from his lips. 

“I guess your reputation isn’t a lie,” Aemond let his eye fall to you, holding a world of darkness and sin as he smirked at you. A cheeky grin played on his lips as he turned to his side, resting on his arm and leaning back a bit to look at you better. 

You swallowed thickly. A wave of heat to your core had you turning away from him, the intensity of how he looked at you like you were tempting all of his urges. “I just try to stay clear of bad habits. It doesn’t really matter.”

“So you are a good girl,” Aemond leaned closer, his fingers gently tipping your head upwards at your chin. He was closer than he was before you had blinked and all of your senses were overwhelmed by him. “I like that. I wonder if Aegon was right about us.”

Because of the way he was holding your chin, firmly and gently at the same time, you had no choice but to meet his gaze. Goosebumps arose on your skin and you shivered despite the burn of his fingers on your skin. 

“Let me take you somewhere more comfortable,” Aemond drawled. The air grew charged when he grazed his lips against yours, so softly it was almost nonexistent. “They all thought I would be the one to corrupt you but I can show you all the ways you’ve corrupted my mind instead.”

The small gasp that fell from your lips made his jaw tick and he let go of your chin, dragging the knuckles of his fingers across your cheek affectionately. 

You nodded and cleared your throat quietly, surprised at your own eagerness. “But I don’t understand.”

“I think you do,” Aemond gently lowered his hand to hold your hip, letting one last puff of smoke out before putting his cigarette out. He guided you inside, keeping you right in front of him and his free arm loosely extended in front of your body to stop people from pushing into you. His lips lingered at your ear all the while. “You were already a pretty little thing, missy. But I never could have guessed that you’d be so fucking delicious in my clothes.” 

You were grateful that you weren’t facing him. He couldn’t see the flush that had crossed your expression and had you shying away gently but only to sink further against his chest as he led you through a quieter hallway. When Aemond pushed open the door to his bedroom, he finally noticed your dishevelled state and let out an affectionate huff. 

Only letting go of you for a moment so that he could close the door behind him, Aemond had turned you to face him and pulled you back to your place against his body. His bedroom was pointedly his; neat and collected, the walls decorated with a few posters of the bands he likes and bookshelves that were almost filled entirely. It smelled like clean linen and his cologne. 

“Wait.” You remembered the girl who had been far more than unhappy to see you in his shirt and stiffened. “I thought you and Floris-”

“Floris and I are nothing,” Aemond was calm when he spoke, still watching you with that fierce desire that you had felt from him when you bumped into him earlier on. You swallowed down your apprehension visibly, avoiding eye contact. “I promise.”

Odd, considering you were well aware he didn’t need to promise you anything. 

Aemond watched your chest heave with your heavy breaths, covered entirely by his favourite t-shirt which draped perfectly from your breasts. A hand returned to your hip, squeezing lightly while the other rested at the crevice of your neck and shoulder, his fingers tickling your warm skin. 

He pursed his lips, hyper aware of how tense you were in his hands. “Tell me to stop and I will. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. We can just chat and get to know each other.” 

“No,” you shook your head.“I don’t want you to stop.”

It was impossible to resist the way that Aemond was pulling you against him, as if you weren’t close enough despite how you were pressed flush against him and the fabric of your clothing was all that could fit between the two of you. Gods, he smelled so good. 

Confident with your reassurance, Aemond dipped his head so close to yours that you were sharing air, his smirk returned when he felt you shiver against him. “Are you nervous?” 

“I don’t usually do this,” you muttered, eyelids fluttering shut when he brushed the tip of his nose against your cheek and pressed a featherlight kiss beside your lips, dragging them to your jaw when you instinctively moved to try catch his lips in the kiss you only now realised you were craving. But you failed and he cheekily worked away from your attempted kiss. His lips felt good on your skin and a soft gasp in his ear had him squeezing your hip harder. It reminded you what you were telling him. “We technically just met.”

He never stopped placing the smallest of kisses along your jaw, moving them towards your neck. “Technically?”

“We have a couple lectures together.”

The thought that it was rather surprising that he had never noticed much of you crossed Aemond’s mind but when you let your hand fall to his chest, fisting the lapel of his jacket and tugging like you needed him more than oxygen, it disappeared into a haze of your perfume and warmth. 

Aemond hummed as you noticed he did often. “Does it count if I take you out the day after?”

“I’m sure it does,” you bit your lip to hide your smile, frowning when he pulled away from your neck. “But only if you really want–”

All your thoughts were lost when Aemond swallowed your words, his lips finding yours eagerly. You moaned against him, stiffening for a moment as your skin flushed under his touch but returning his vigour when he laced his fingers through your hair, holding it in a tight fist. It was a perfectly coordinated mess of tongue and teeth, and Aemond never once faltered in his fervour. 

Blindly, you let him guide you to the bed, pulling him down without breaking the kiss when the edge of the bed hit the back of your legs.

In the soft glow of candlelight, the both of you were enveloped in a world of your own. The air was thick with anticipation as your bodies drew closer, the heat shared between you palpable. You tilted your head back, inviting his lips to trace a path along your neck, each kiss sending your blood rushing to your core.

“Tell me what you want,” he murmured, his breath hot against your skin.

“Everything, Aemond.”

As his hands found their way under his shirt, fingers gliding over your soft skin, you let out a soft gasp, arching into him. His hands roamed freely, seeking out the warmth beneath the soft fabric, craving your skin against his own.

You felt the weight of him above you, powerful and intoxicating. With a careful urgency, Aemond sat back momentarily, pulling you with him so that he could reach to unclasp your bra. When you moved to take the shirt off with a soft smile, he stopped you. 

“Keep it on,” Aemond placed a kiss to your clothed shoulder, running his hand across the side of your leg as he let you get rid of your bra underneath the shirt. He pulled your skirt and tights off with steady hands, humming appreciatively at the way your underwear peaked out from where the t-shirt had bunched at your hips. “I want you in my shirt only.”

You watched him, entranced, as he took in the sight of you and muttered under his breath about how perfect you were for him, his eye dark with longing. Aemond moved downwards, nestling himself comfortably between your legs, pressing soft kisses along your inner thighs, his mouth warm and inviting. 

When you whined impatiently he smiled, a wicked glint in his eye, and returned to his explorations, kissing his way closer to your core. Aemond never took his eye off you and you could see him watching you from where he teasingly licked at the skin where your thigh met your covered womanhood. The tension in your core tightened and you jerked when he wrapped his lips around your clothed clit and sucked hard. 

Strong hands held your hips down as he wrapped his arms around your thighs, fingers pressing into the flesh of your thighs. Again, you whined at him. “You’re not very patient are you? Already so wet for me that I can taste your delicious pussy through the fabric. Tell me what you want.”

You propped yourself on your elbows, your arms quivering under your weight and breath hitching when you noticed his own clothes had been haphazardly taken off. Aemond was ridding you of your mind and he had barely done anything. “More, Aemond. I want more.”

“More what?”

“More of you,” you whined again, mouth watering at the way he gazed at you from where he was nestled. “I want more of you.”

Aemond complied, pulling your panties off as soon as your hips had lifted on his command. He gave you a pointed look, scolding you gently when you gave him a shy whimper, moving to shut your legs so he couldn’t see you spread for him. 

“Spread your legs, pretty girl,” he let out a coarse breath when you wordlessly did as he said, baring yourself to him and gracing him with a sight more tempting than all the gold and jewels the world had to offer. Aemond’s hands guided your thighs apart encouragingly. “That’s it–little bit more.”

His gentle commands were both exhilarating and daunting. The weight of his gaze was both thrilling and intimidating, sending heat rushing to your cheeks and your cunt and the chuckle coming from the man between your legs was enough to tell you that he had seen you clench around nothing. 

Trailing his kisses from your knees and down your thighs once again, Aemond groaned, fisting the bottom of the shirt that rested against your raised thigh and licking a long stripe between your folds. It had you sucking in a breath, the sensation of his wet tongue suddenly exploring your cunt taking over every part of your mind and body, your fingers grasping at the sheets when he lapped at your clit and moaned into your wetness.

“Gods, Aemond-” you made the prettiest noises but Aemond’s cock jumped at the way you said his name, giving him a newfound fervour as he ferociously sucked at your clit, flicking it with his tongue. 

Nothing you had experienced with anyone had you trembling from sensitivity and pleasure so easily. His tongue and lips moved against you expertly and he let his arms wrap around your thighs as they rested against his shoulders, using his thumbs to spread you even more for him. 

Spit mixed with your wetness, creating a slick that dripped from your cunt and tainted his chin and his cheeks but Aemond seemed only to revel in it. His cock grew painfully hard at the beautiful sounds you made and the sweet, slightly tart and metallic taste of you on his tongue. 

At a particularly harsh suck on your clit, you jerked, legs clamping shut around Aemond’s head as you felt your orgasm building faster than you had expected. “Aemond. Oh fuck, it’s good-”

“Are you going to come for me, missy?” Aemond asked and the vibrations of his voice while he continued to feast on you had you moaning out an incoherent answer. He was watching you as you nodded, head thrown back so all that he could see over your body and his t-shirt was your chin and glimpses of your blissful expression. 

Shuddering and struggling to even your breathing, a heated pleasure took you with surprising intensity. Aemond continued to suck on you, delving into you with his tongue and teasing you with his fingers as he helped you through your orgasm, groaning at the way your body tensed and your pussy clenched. 

Placing a final kiss on your clit with a cheeky grin, making his way up your body, enjoying the way you continued to tremble and whimper under his touch. He took a nipple into his mouth through the shirt, teasingly only giving it a moment of attention before his lips were back on yours. 

Sharing the taste of you, Aemond kissed you hungrily despite having done the same within your folds only seconds ago. It was unbelievably hot in the room and you became dizzy with how your body gave into his, moulding against him perfectly as his hips found their place between your legs. 

Aemond’s voice was dark and confident, dripping with lust. 

But you salivated at the thought of taking him in your mouth and tried to push him back. “I want you in my mouth too.”

“Not tonight.” His hand found one of your breasts, touching you over the shirt. When you pouted at him, legs still jerking around his hips, Aemond softly moaned. “Aren’t you full of surprises? Good girl like you, so eager to suck me.”

Hot and heavy, Aemond grinded his cock against you, pressing it deliciously to your clit and then taking its place with his fingers. He wondered whether the pout on your lips would disappear when he pushed a digit into you, satisfied to see it fall away and be replaced with a furrow of your eyebrows and a silent gasp. 

Keening at both his words and the way that Aemond slid another finger in and curled them inside you, searching for that spot that had your toes curling, you were increasingly desperate to taste him now that you had felt how hard and ready he was for you. “Please, let me taste you.”

“You’ll have plenty of opportunities for that.” He sighed deeply when you moaned loudly, grasping at his shoulders and pressing your face into his neck. “I would kill to feel your pretty lips on my cock. Do you want to know what I think, missy?”

Aemond was intoxicating, sending your body into overdrive and your mind hazy with need. All you could do was nod, lost in the way he was perfectly bringing you to so much bliss. 

“I think,” he purred. “That I’m going to make you mine. And that I’ll fuck the well-behaved girl right out of you in each and every shirt that I own.”

Gasping for air as he pushed himself into you, replacing his fingers with his cock, you clung to him as he stretched you out. There was a sharp sting from his size but it subsided quickly and you could feel the effects of Aemond’s cock in you all the way down your legs and to your toes. 

Aemond’s breath hitched, his eye holding yours as he gave you time to adjust, jaw clenched and holding you tightly as if he’d fall to the pits of the hells if he were to let go of you. 

For someone he had just met properly only hours ago, Aemond thought he had found his own heaven in you and your body. 

You mewled, pushing your hips forward greedily. “It feels so good-so good, Aemond.”

He slowly moved his hips, hissing and letting his forehead fall to your shoulder where he bit down gently. The way Aemond pushed deeper into you at every thrust forward stole your breath from your lungs each time. He felt like he was a virgin once again, feeling the comfort of a wet, hot cunt for the first time, losing the control he had over the urge to claim you properly and spill into you already.

Aemond was no stranger to the pleasures of the body but never had he fallen victim to weakness by a woman and Aemond was of half a mind to understand that he would do anything you asked of him simply because your bodies were a carnally perfect fit. Right now, he would burn down cities if you asked him to. 

Keeping the steady pace, Aemond’s thrusts became more forceful, driving into you harder and drawing out nonsensical murmurs and whimpers from you. It was white-hot, each thrust sending a barrage of pleasure and sensitivity through your body. 

“If only they could see you now,” Aemond’s tone was deep, laced with lust and somewhat desperate as his hips snapped into you, the sound of skin against skin and his cock pushing lewd sounds from your wetness that couldn’t be drowned out by the distant thump of the party’s music. “The perfect, innocent girl that they all believe you to be, squeezing my cock like a good little slut. Just for me.”

Blissful, incoherent sounds that he pulled from only spurred him on further and you could feel how his cock twitched and moved within you. The way that Aemond’s body fit with yours was perfect and it had that tension return to your stomach, your skin tingling and toes curling as he sped up his movements. It was blinding and deafening at the same time, stealing your breath from you each time he dragged his cock out only to push it back in. 

Shaking and trembling, your legs squeezed around his hips and Aemond grunted, his head falling to your shoulder as he grabbed the flesh of your thigh and pushing it up and holding it beside you. Angling your hips perfectly, Aemond’s rough thrusts found a sensitive spot and you gasped, back arching off the bed as you gripped him tightly in your arms. You were barely of the right mind to notice him hiss when your nails scraped across his skin. 

Aemond was convinced he had found a version of peace in your body, the feeling of your warmth and wetness squeezing him, quieting the loud, painful thoughts that never ceased in his mind. He swore, his voice constrained and his fingers digging further into your flesh. There wouldn’t be a day that could go by in which he wouldn’t be haunted by your perfect cunt and pretty sounds. It was a thought that would have had him scoffing in any other circumstances but he was so lost in you that he couldn’t find it in himself to give a damn. 

“You are so fucking-” he groaned. “Tight. Made to fit my cock perfectly.”

“Aemond-”

He chuckled, enjoying the way his name was the only word you could force out between your moans. Aemond’s hips stuttered as you clamped down around him, your eyes rolling back and falling shut as you turned away from him reflexively, pressing your head into the pillow and whining pathetically. 

“Yes, missy?” Aemond’s voice was constricted but still smooth. 

“Gonna come–I’m gonna come,” you gasped out between whimpers and moans, calling out his name as if he was your salvation.

Aemond let go of your thigh, his fingers clasping around your throat and squeezing the sides enough so that he could force your head out of the pillow. “Look at me when you come, pretty girl.”

When your eyes met his, you were surprised to see that his eyepatch hadn’t been discarded but couldn’t linger on the thought. Not with the way that overwhelming tension had become too much, coiling in your stomach and making you quiver underneath Aemond’s strong body, coming to its peak and snapping with an earth shattering, burning intensity that forced your entire world to go quiet. 

With strained gasps, Aemond’s peak quickly followed yours and he pulled out, surprised to see how swiftly your hand replaced his. You felt the ropes of his hot seed fall onto your stomach, the warmth of his breath against your skin as he buried his face into your neck, heaving as he rode through the strength of his orgasm. 

Strings of curses came from him as he let his body fall to the space beside you. Aemond barely wasted two seconds before pulling you into him so that your head rested against his chest as he held you against him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, letting yourself melt into him, too spent to spare a thought for the mess on your stomach. “But I doubt I’ll be feeling so great tomorrow.”

A deep chuckle vibrated against your ear. “I’d apologise but I’m afraid I wouldn’t mean it.”

“Cheeky.”

Aemond took a hold of your wrist when you slapped his chest gently, bringing your hand up to place a kiss on your knuckles before letting his hand fall to that spot on your hip. “I wasn’t lying you know.”

“About?” You raised an eyebrow, craning your neck so that you could see his face without moving away from him. 

“I will take you out.” Aemond grinned, squeezing your flesh playfully. “And I will fuck you in every single one of my t-shirts.”

[actuallysaiyan]

Will You Love This Part of Me(Femdom!Multifandom)

warnings: smut, handjobs, subspace, submissive and dominant, femdom, cock and ball torture, mentions of bodily fluids, overstimulation, use of the term "mommy", AGED UP CHARACTERS, use of cock ring, bondage

fandoms: JJK, Naruto, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball, Castlevania, DMC

He whimpers as you hover on top of him, his eyes blurred with tears. It feels like it’s been hours since you last touched him, when in reality it’s only been about a minute. You smirk at the mess of a man under you. He’s just begging to be touched more, but you want to see just how desperate he can be.

“Awhh,” you coo softly. You lean in to kiss his swollen lips. “Does my baby need some relief?”

You don’t let him say anything, you just reach down to flick the head of his cock. This causes him to jump and he whines. You flick it a few more times, watching as it dribbles more precum. You love that he has nowhere to go either; he’s all tied up and his cock is secured in the ring you picked out specifically for this moment.

“You gonna answer me, baby?” You ask, nibbling at his earlobe. You hear him let out another breathy huff, clearly so desperate for more stimulation.

He lets out the sweetest moan when you wrap your fingers around him, and you begin stroking him. You alternate between very fast strokes that leave him panting and begging for release and slow, tortuous strokes that make him blink back tears. He’s trying in vain to buck up for just a little more stimulation, but whenever he moves around too much, you decide that he needs to be punished.

Smack! You slap his balls, making him cry out. He whines a soft apology, but it’s just not good enough for you.

“I thought,” Smack! “You were going to be a good boy for me.” Smack!

When you pull away to admire your handiwork, you can see how the head of his cock is red and dribbling precum while his balls are a cute shade of pink from being smacked and they look so heavy with cum. He’s whining and whimpering, soft pleas coming from his lips that are so swollen from being kissed.

“What was that, baby? You gotta speak up.” You tell him, flicking the head and shaft of his engorged cock.

His head falls back, “P-please…’m so sorry, please mommy!”

You smirk again when you hear him call you that name. It was so embarrassing for him to call you that at first, but he soon learned that it’s what gets him rewards. It’s what makes you want to actually get him off. You lean in once more, kissing those pretty lips. Your tongue slides into his mouth as you begin stroking his cock. Precum coats your hand, facilitating your actions.

“You wanna cum, dontcha?” You ask, nipping at his bottom lip. “Tell me how badly you want to cum.”

He grunts softly, “Mommy, please…I need to cum. Needta cum so fuckin’ bad.”

You love how far gone he is. His eyes are glazed over with lust. He’s more than desperate now, and so pathetically begging for his release. You reach down to cup those cum heavy balls and you tug on them lightly. He gasps at the sensation. You begin to jerk him off even faster and harder.

“Cum for me, big boy. Come on, shoot that load for mommy.”

He’s moaning like crazy, and these sweet little pleas and whimpers slip out too. You tug on his balls a bit more, and then alternate between flicking the head of his cock and smacking his balls between strokes. It takes so little to push him off the edge, and he’s moaning and crying out your name as fat globs of cum shoot out of the tip of his tortured cock. Soon, you slow your pace before leaning in to kiss him.

“My good boy…”

He breathes a sigh of relief, but it’s soon replaced with a whine as you start jerking him off faster and harder than before. You tug on his balls again, making him squeak.

“I never said we were done.”

YUTA, Yuji, Trunks, Goten, GOHAN, RICHTER, Alucard, TENZO, Naruto, NERO, Dante, ZENITSU, Tanjiro, Kyojuro...and all your faves!

[fiber-optic-alligator]

(Not a request dw)

Re: Removable armor w/ sticky climbing abilities

I feel like Knock Out giving his Lil' Squishy removable armor that can stick to things would be a decent step in the right direction for the two of them to get along.

A. They can't get handprints on everything if they wearing gauntlets.

B. They look like a Deployer Minicon of his, so they're less likely to get messed with by other Decepticons. (Soundwave's gonna know regardless, but we knew that.) And the Decepticons screw with each other all the time, so it's not That much of an improvement.

C. A tough outer shell would help with making them feel safer around him. Maybe eventually helping facilitate an actual friendship? (Unlikely, but you know.) Not to mention the fact that the armor matches their collar perfectly. Fashion is important too, you know.

D. If his Lil' Squishy doesn't want to get eaten, they can use their armor's sticky qualities to make swallowing them a hassle. (He's gonna regret this later, but it Will give his Lil' Squishy some control in the situation. And with control comes confidence. They won't be so depressed anymore. Though, giving them the claws was a Bad Idea.)

(Expanding on D because I enjoy being a nuisance to him >:3c )

"Well my little Morsel, it seems you've lost our game once again. You know what that means~." Smugness radiates from Knock Out as he plucks his Lil' Squishy treat from their hiding spot, and holds them aloft over his helm. "Ugh, can't we skip out on the 'swallowing as punishment for losing' thing? You won't let me bring anything in there with me and there's nothing to do!" The human tries to reason with the giant robot, but only succeeds in mildly annoying him.

Knock Out scoffs, and rolls his optics before responding. "It might not be any fun for you, but I find a certain enjoyment in how much you Squirm. So, you'll have to endure it for now. Besides, you don't want me to grow bored of you, do you?" Knock Out asks, but doesn't wait for an answer as he tilts his helm back, and opens his intake. The human kicks futilely at the air, the claws on their gauntlets scraping fruitlessly at Knock Out's own as they try to get a decent grip on his digits.

Knock Out releases his hold on them, and they fall helplessly into his gaping maw. Solvent soaks them immediately, and the shock of going splat on his glossa only stuns them for a moment, but they recover and use their armor to latch onto his glossa. The tiny claws digging into the rubbery muscle don't do him any favors when he attempts to go about tasting them anyways. And he's not giving up without a fight either, as he presses his glossa to the roof of his intake (gently) smooshing them in the hopes that they'll release their hold on his glossa so he can swallow them, and gloat about it.

But that only results in his Lil' Squishy deciding to cling to the roof of his intake instead. Which leads to them crawling over to his dentae, and knocking on them. "Hey, you done yet?" The discomfort caused by their antics makes him growl in displeasure before removing them from his intake altogether. "Mmrrrrrggghhh-Fine. You win for now, Squishy, but you will be doing double time in my tanks later for this."

The human's honest reaction: >:P

-Not a Request Anon

KNOCKOUT CALLING HIS HUMAN LIL’ SQUISHY!!!! Idk if I would enjoy being reminded of how fragile I am but it’s definitely a nickname Knockout would give to one of us LOL! He’d definitely regret giving his human armor that can stick to anything because now he actually has to ask for permission when eating you? What kind of sick world is this? Ugh, the nerve!

[satansapostle6]

The Crush | Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson is a cool, simple guy who is also the famous son of Poseidon who helped save the world. But, talking to the pretty girl in his English class still seems impossible.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter One

Chapter Two: Study Date

The English project was coming along slowly. Percy would often get sidetracked bickering with Clarisse, so Chloé usually ended up having to contain her rage toward Clarisse and facilitate like a single mother with two children. That day, after Clarisse had stormed out of class and left Percy and Chloé to deal, the two of them looked to each other awkwardly.

“We still have a lot to do,” Chloé said, slowly looking at her laptop to realize just how behind schedule they were.

“Yeah,” Percy nodded in agreement, sighing exhaustedly.

“My place?” she questioned.

Percy stopped for a moment, having to recalibrate as he took a moment to think about what she had actually meant.

“To finish up,” Chloé added. “If we just cram for a couple hours, we could probably get close to finishing.”

Aggressively shutting off the large part of his brain that was still a twelve year-old boy, Percy shook off his thoughts, trying to communicate like a normal person. She looked at him strangely, waiting for an answer.

“Uh, yeah,” he nodded quickly, “Sure.”

“Okay,” she agreed as he followed her out of the classroom.

He silently left the college campus with her, as she made her way onto the neatly paved roads of New Rome to where she lived. Percy had assumed that, like many of the other adult-aged demigods who attended college, she lived in one of the barrack-style apartments built after the camp was added onto to suit more demigods.

He quietly trailed behind Chloé, following her home to her condo not too far from the school campus.

“Here,” she said softly, pulling a small ring of keys from her pocket as she unlocked the door for him.

“Thanks,” Percy said graciously, walking in after her.

As soon he stepped over the threshold, he felt the energy change. It wasn’t necessarily in a bad way, but Percy had a difficult time placing the thoughts and feelings he experienced as he entered Chloé’s sanctuary. Although the place looked relatively normal and didn’t seem sinister at all, he felt almost as if his stomach had dropped when she closed the door behind him.

He didn’t feel trapped, but he felt intensely aware. There was a darker ambience to the room. All of the windows were covered with dark curtains that seemed black with a bluish hue, and the only lights in use didn’t light up more than half the room.

Percy made his way to her living room, nearly jumping as a small, dark animal jumped in front of him along the top of the couch. He breathed softly, calming himself as he realized it was just a black cat.

“Don’t mind Jet. He’s friendly,” Chloé assured him, setting her bag down on a leather armchair. “Once he gets to know you, anyway.”

“Yeah. Sure,” Percy nodded, slowly stroking along the cat’s soft black fur as it sat down on the couch.

It didn’t seem particularly thrilled that he was in its space, disregarding him with narrowed eyes the way it would a fly as he continued petting it in long, repetitive strokes, trying to earn its favor.

“Jet. That’s a cool name,” Percy remarked as he tried to bond with the animal.

Chloé just shook her head, disappearing upstairs as Percy was left to sit alone on the couch, with the cat jumping down into the arm rest to watch him.

“Hey, buddy,” Percy cooed, trying to earn the cat’s trust. “You’re a cute little guy, aren’t you?”

Somehow, he felt the cat was unamused as he continued to look forward while he pet him. Looking around the room, Percy began to think more and more that Chloé was the most mysterious human being he had ever met. Her house wasn’t exactly decorated like a witch’s house, but it wasn’t far off.

There were intricate, beautifully woven tapestries that hung on the walls, depicting dark but beautiful scenes like a pale moon shining on the ocean in the dark of night. There were dark-colored, jagged rocks displayed on the tables that looked as though they had been pulled from the depths of Hades, or somewhere equally sinister. There were dead flower arrangements mostly consisting of thin, prickly branches still sitting in vases.

“Cats like fish, right?” Percy wondered aloud, thinking that his father was the god of the sea. “If you want, I could put in a good word for you with my dad. But you’ll have to be nice to me, though.”

The cat looked up at him for a moment, seemingly a look of consideration in his yellow cat eyes before he looked towards the stairs at who Percy had assumed was his owner, continuing to allow Percy to pet him. Percy turned, looking for Chloé as someone else ended up coming down the stairs.

He saw a tall brown-haired girl, who completely ignored him as she disappeared into the kitchen. A family member or a roommate, Percy figured. He waited patiently for Chloé, who came back downstairs, looking toward the kitchen as she heard the sounds of the other girl cooking.

“Oh. That’s my sister, Max,” Chloé informed him, walking toward the record played on a stand between her small couches.

He nodded, watching as she looked through her extensive collection of records, putting on what he recognized to be some sort of indie rock, something more soft and agreeable.

“Who’s older?” Percy asked curiously.

“I am,” she responded coolly.

Chloé finally sat down beside him, pulling out her laptop and other materials from her black school bag with the nice silver buckle on it, looking over to him once she was settled in.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” she asked.

Percy had forgotten that people typically asked their guests this question.

“Uh, maybe a water?”

Chloé looked at him as he suddenly realized how on the nose the response was, before nodding and disappearing into the kitchen. He pointedly looked back at Jet, the sleek black cat, with a pointed expression on his face.

“Is she always like this?” he remarked.

The cat naturally said nothing as he continued giving it the attention it seemed to want, as something else small came running down the stairs, the sound of a tiny, twinkling bell filling the air, somewhat startling to Percy. He saw a little grey cat jumping from the floor up onto the couch, settling into his lap as it nuzzled him with its entire body.

Percy chuckled at the little Siamese cat, petting its head affectionately.

“Hey there,” he murmured, entertaining the playful animal. “Hi.”

“That’s Ash. She’s my sister’s,” Chloé said, handing him a full glass of water. “Sorry. I forgot to ask if you wanted ice,�� she sat down beside him.

“No, it’s cool, this is perfect,” he promised, “Thank you.”

She nodded as she opened up her laptop. Percy reached into his backpack, pulling out his as he watched her for what to do, feeling that she was better at being a college student and an adult than he was. Even after defeating monsters and Titans as a demigod, Percy still felt awkward around his crush.

He and Chloé spent the next couple of hours or so working on the parts of the project Clarisse had been too fussy about, leaving only the parts she would have to work on herself. Throughout the whole thing, Chloé only had to explain a couple of things to him, which he felt decidedly proud about.

Percy only realized the time once they had finally finished working. As Chloé sighed and shut her laptop, he looked around the room anxiously, making a point of it as he stretched both of his arms out behind her, yawning as he tried to find a way to fill the silence between them.

He sat there beside her as she finally looked back to him, not saying anything yet. She only looked at him with no discernible expression on her face, as if taking him in for the first time.

“You, uh, have a really nice place here,” Percy Jackson remarked, looking around her and her sister’s shared condo.

“Thanks,” Chloé said as she turned to face him.

Percy waited nervously for her to speak, wondering if she was about to kick him out. He checked his phone; it was 5:16, and she was sure to have been annoyed at him by now.

“It’s five,” she pointed out eventually, not having anything else to say.

Percy frantically looked between all of her various features, trying to deduce the hidden meaning behind her words she had assumed he’d pick up on.

“Max is gonna be home in a few minutes,” she added. “You wanna stay for dinner?”

Percy’s eyes lit up anxiously as he realized what she was asking him. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Chloé nodded. “My sister made mac and cheese.”

This was more than enough for Percy to decide.

“Yeah. That sounds awesome,” he agreed, mouth watering at the mention of mac and cheese.

“You wanna come help me set the table and stuff?” she invited him.

“Yeah! Sure!”

Percy followed as Chloé led him into the kitchen, where the oven was already in use.

“Can you heat up the chicken?” she asked. “I’ll do the broccoli.”

“Sure,” he offered, seeing the pot sitting on the counter by the stove.

He looked between the pot and the stove, figuring Chloé had most likely meant for him to put it back on the burner and heat it up.

“This is a lot of food,” Percy realized as he heated up the large pot of chicken.

“Well, we have to make enough for all of us,” she pointed out.

“‘All of us’? Who else is coming?” he wondered.

“Our other siblings,” Chloé replied.

As if on cue, Percy heard the front door open as multiple sets of footsteps sounded.

“Chloé! We’re home!” Max yelled. “Go wash your hands! It’s dinner time!”

Percy panicked as he automatically went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

“Not you,” she rolled her eyes, “You’re cooking.”

Chloé pulled the mac and cheese from the oven, making sure the stove was off as she moved everything to the dinner table as he helped set the five places she’d put out plates for. Max, Chloé’s sister, sat at her place next to Chloé by the head of the table.

“Max, this is Percy. Percy, this is Max,” she said formally.

“Hey,” Percy waved in a friendly manner.

“Hey,” Max said coolly.

Suddenly, two children came running to the table, taking their seats as Percy looked to them in surprise.

“Guys, this is Percy,” Chloé announced in an authoritative voice.

“Hi, Percy,” a boy and girl chorused before they dug in, with Max occasionally helping them scoop.

As she helped put food on their plates, the two children stared at Percy blankly.

“What are your names?” he asked with a smile.

“I’m Laney,” the girl told him.

“My name’s Hunter,” the boy responded.

“Nice to meet you guys,” Percy said warmly. “How old are you?”

“I’m six,” Hunter told him excitedly. “My birthday was Sunday.”

“Well, happy late birthday,” Percy smiled. “How old are you, Laney?”

“Eleven,” she said promptly.

“Are you both Half-Bloods?”

“Yeah,” Laney nodded.

“They’re both going to school until they’re ready for the full camp,” Chloé explained.

“Are you all Nox kids?” Percy asked them.

“No,” Max said quickly. “Chloé’s Nox, I’m Mars, Laney’s Venus, and Hunter’s Hephaestus.”

“Is that even possible?” he wondered.

“Apparently,” Max shrugged. “Our dad’s a slut.”

Percy looked over at the kids in shock, slowly seeing that they were used to the way their older sisters talked and knew better than to repeat any of it in front of them.

“Do you guys take care of them?” Percy asked Chloé and Max, not seeing any parents around.

“Yeah,” Max nodded, not talking much at all as she ate.

“Why?” he looked to Chloé.

“Our dad ran out,” she explained bluntly.

“Oh,” Percy said softly, frowning.

“It’s fine,” she consoled him as she put food on her plate, “We’re better off without him. Trust me.”

“Why, uh… Why’d he leave?” he asked thoughtfully.

“He’s an alcoholic. I don’t even think it’s that he left, he honestly probably forgot how to find his way back,” Chloé scoffed.

Percy was thrown by the way she spoke about things even in front of the kids. He sat through the dinner with a different appreciation for Chloé and her sister, not that he hadn’t appreciated Chloé before. He watched as she and her sister spent the evening talking to the kids about their days at school and the after school program.

He couldn’t help but smile at the way Chloé handled the kids, speaking a little more pleasantly to them and taking the time to make sure they all finished their homework. Percy watched her as she sent them upstairs to wash up before bed, admiring her responsibility.

“You wanna go for a walk?” Chloé asked as she finished up.

“Hmm?” Percy perked up, not expecting her to say anything to him.

“For a smoke,” she stated.

“Yeah! Sure,” he accepted excitedly, standing up.

Chloé nodded and grabbed her jacket, leading him out the door. Percy dutifully trailed behind her, lips pursed together as he waited for her speak as she lit up a cigarette.

“You want one?” she asked, offering him the open pack.

“Uh…” Percy was lost as he tried to come up with an answer.

He knew he didn’t smoke, of course, but he also couldn’t come up with a great reason as to why. He didn’t smoke, but he’d also never smoked a cigarette before.

“Yeah! Sure,” he smiled, hesitantly pulling a cigarette from the pack.

He took it and just held it in his hand as she handed him her lighter, which he took, holding both in each hand in confusion.

“Uh,” Chloé stared.

Percy looked at her awkwardly, still holding the cigarette.

“Here,” she said, taking the cigarette out of his hand.

He made a sound as she stuck the cigarette into his mouth, chuckling as she lit it for him, hand shielding it from the wind. Percy silently nodded his thanks as she pulled away, lighting her own cigarette.

“You’ve never had a cigarette before, have you?” she figured.

Percy looked down in defeat. “No, I haven’t,” he confessed. “But I’ve done everything else before,” he tried to save it.

“Everything?” Chloé raised an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” he groaned.

“You’re more of a drinker, huh?” she deduced.

“I get high too,” he shrugged awkwardly.

“And you can’t light a cigarette?” she questioned in confusion.

“Hey, I, like, never do the lighting!” Percy protested. “I always have people do the rolling and the lighting for me! Because I don’t know how,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I can roll one for you,” she offered softly.

“What, right now?” he looked at her in surprise.

“Yeah. Sure,” she agreed. “We can split some in my room.”

Percy nearly fainted at those words.

-

Chapter Three

[dandyshucks]

hi dandy ! a ship question : what pkmn does juno have ? have guzma and juno ever traded / gifted pkmn to each other ? what does guzma's pkmn think abt juno, and vice versa? dont feel pressured to answer all of these if u dont want to , just a bunch of questions out of interest ^^ - @dmclr

AWAUUHH HI CLARA !! thank u so much for the questions omg :O !!

i gotta put it under a cut because OUGH AUGH THE RAMBLER'S CURSE GOT ME,,, IT'S SO LONG IM SO SORRY OH MY GOD HELP FSDJKL

my s/i's main team is piplup (Henry), houndoom (Greer), psyduck (Huey), greavard (Grimsby), and a still unnamed chatot and banette (im slooowly playing through platinum so i'm waiting til i catch them in-game to decide on names), buuuut i might swap someone out of there because I've grown to really love my mareep named Mung Bean in pkmn sleep !! :3

I'VE NEVER RLY THOUGHT ABT THE SECOND QUESTION OMG.... guz would absolutely gift juno a wimpod at some point though,, I like to think they go hunt for wimpods sometimes as a shared interest activity :D guzma would also definitely gift juno a cutiefly early on maybe before they start dating because... how could he not HFSDJKL, he is fluent in bug-types and would want to flirt through bug-types hehe :3 also somewhat related, once he finds out about juno's interest in cataloguing the differences in plants in the different regions, he'd probably look into the alolan variants of pkmn (like vulpix and meowth and rattata etc) and then try to impress juno w his (newly acquired) knowledge JFSJKL

juno would absolutely eagerly help him fill out his bug collection with some sinnoh bug-types that alola doesn't have !! (i need to make a list of bug-types that each region has tbh...) they'd gift him some they had in their storage box, and then help him catch any others when they go to sinnoh together :D

ooh okay i have thought abt this third question a bit fdsjkl it's so fun thinking abt the different personalities of their pkmn :3

golisopod puts on a tough act for like. a day at most. and then immediately crumbles and is actually just a big ol' softie so he warms up to juno pretty much immediately fdsjkl. ariados doesn't like juno very much just because juno's a little afraid of him dsgjkl but eventually the two of them come to some sort of mutual understanding where they get along in a vaguely strained manner (guzma never rly understands why the two of them don't get along well and tries to facilitate some bonding moments that go disastrously sideways somehow every time LMAO). scizor is kind of stand-offish and unsure about juno but once juno hangs around for a while and he sees more of them, then he accepts them as one of the squad! pinsir is a little mean (he's just mischievous tbh) and likes messing with juno but they eventually catch onto his pranks and antics, and turns it back on him one day and that earns his respect LMAO. masquerain is just happy that there's more people in the house and gets along really well with Greer to everyone's surprise, so he's a happy camper :] (at some point i want to create a proper team list for guz and maybe come up w names for them hehe)

Henry is a shy but proud lil guy and doesn't really trust Guz at first but trusts Juno's judgement so he warms up to the big boss man soon enough (plus Guz works hard to get on Henry's good side considering Henry never goes into a pokeball so he's around almost all the time LOL). Greer HATES Guz at first 😭 it takes her a long time to tolerate him - she finally starts turning around on her opinion of him when he helps Juno through a flashback/panic attack that she couldn't calm them down from on her own. Huey is super chill, so there's no issues there fdsjkl, I think he'd get along especially well with the grunts tbh LOL they'd probably try giving him a painkiller one day just to see what would happen and he'd be forever indebted to them (Juno finds out later and loses their mind because painkillers aren't made for pokemon and they have to rush him to a pokecenter to get him checked over JFDSKL). and Grimsby loves everyone, if you give him any bit of attention he'll love you forever, so Guzma gets on his good side pretty much right off the bat :3

THANK YOU AGAIN AND I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE NOVEL-LENGTH ANSWER OMFG 😭😭 these were just such good questions and I could not make my answers any shorter than this HDSGJKL

[arttheory2024]

Activity 1.5 Shock in Contemporary Art

In my opinion, the most important question raised throughout this week’s textbook reading and documentary is in regard to the necessity of shock and controversy for popularity of art. Is contemporary art so oversaturated that to truly forge a name, an artist must rely on shock value or controversy? Two examples of artists that give an affirmative answer to this unanswerable question include Jeff Koons and Andres Serrano. 

As discussed in the Hughes documentary, “The New Shock of the New” (2017), some artists are leaning into controversy and shock for monetary gain or the commodification of their art. In particular, artist Jeff Koons has relied on shock and controversy to facilitate traction and attention surrounding his art. In conversation with Robert Hughes, Koons addresses his statue of Michael Jackson and his pet monkey; this conversation makes it clear that Koons is fully aware of popular culture and societal treatment of popular things/beings (Hughes, 2017). The deliberate choice to allude to Christ in a statue of Michael Jackson illustrates a choice of controversy. Koons is aware that in order for his work to be popular, there must be an element of shock. In the same conversation, Koons likens his design to that of the Old Masters, admittedly seeking the same level of appreciation and reputation (Hughes, 2017). 

Another artist who was discussed in our textbook (Freeland 2003, p. 13), Andres Serrano, created an incredibly controversial work by utilizing the same reference to the Old Masters as Koons. In his photograph Piss Christ, Serrano submerged a crucifix in his own urine, creating the need for a defense for his choice in materials. In defense of Serrano, his work was likened to that of Francisco Goya, who also created shocking images related to religion and politics (Freeland 2003, p. 16). In order to stand out amongst the names of the Old Masters, perhaps Koons and Serrano believed that controversy was their only option. 

Additionally, these artists prove that though they may invoke the traditions of the past Old Masters, there is an inherent element to their modern works that may remove them from the aesthetic theories of taste and beauty as outlined by Humes and Kant (Freeland 2003, p. 14). This begs the further question of whether or not  contemporary art may continue to stray from beauty in favor of notoriety. Koons’ shocking comparison of Christ and Michael Jackson as well as Serrano’s alleged desecration of the crucifix through urine make audiences so uncomfortable to the point of being unable to address the works properly to assess them for beauty according to Kant (Freeland 2003, p. 14); there cannot be disinterest for such controversial or shocking works which is fundamental for judging beauty. 

References

Freeland, C. (2003). Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 

Hughes, R. (2017). The New Shock of the New (Documentary about contemporary art by Robert Hughes). [Video]. Art and Documentary. (54:39).

[the-demon-prodigy]

Goodbye to the Attempt on Eternity - Lyrical Analysis

TW: Su1c1de

this is a lyric-by-lyric breakdown of dazai's character song! it might sound more formal than my others analyses tho :p proving that i can employ proper grammar fr!!

please let me know ur own thoughts on dazai's character song in the notes if you have any :>/nf

(analysis and themes breakdown under cut!

Main themes: 

Meaninglessness of time, 

Fleetingness of existence, 

An unattainable wish (finding something to live for by understanding the deepest meaning of life), 

A person who makes him want to live, 

His own self-hatred and resentment for himself and his past, 

The afterlife as an ‘escape’, 

Dazai’s overanalysis of existence (the ‘eternity’ of his mind), 

His deep loneliness and isolation

A deep desire to find something more than death.

Analysis:

“As I walk in this fleeting world, the town that has thrown away yesterday changes its face. If that is so, then why do I keep breathing in this unchanging feeling?”

Introduces the theme of night/day (and/or two-sidedness), which represents two things: one, how Dazai views time as being meaninglessly fleeting, and two, the side of light (with the agency) and the side of darkness (with the Port Mafia). This song first chronologically begins when Dazai is in the PM, and so this represents when nightfall comes and the PM reigns. May also represent how Dazai initially views all others to be putting up a facade similar to how he is when he is younger and therefore less mature.

Facilitates how hopeless Dazai feels in the midst of a stagnant world that either does not move or only decays.

“I reach out repeatedly. Once again, I chase my ‘wish’ that slips through.”

Dazai continually seeks to find the meaning of life and therefore what it means to want to live/live in a world like that, but the answer evades him.

“As I roam this never-ending today, I wait impatiently for the dawn that exists somewhere.”

Dazai’s sense of time is skewed, as he is able to view a larger picture than others around him. He sees the time that he is living in as never-ending. As the story is told from his perspective, ‘today’ does not mean a literal ‘single day’, and also means this specific era of Dazai’s existence which he believes will go on forever.

Dazai is still young at this time and is impatient to find the meaning in life so that he can finally be happy.

“If I can’t even grasp the meaning of life, then I’ll say to this worthless night, goodbye.”

Dazai finds the search too repetitive and wishes to leave the world(/kill himself) so that he can quit his fruitless search.

However, the use of ‘night’ here also implies that Dazai doesn’t truly wish to leave the world; he just wishes to escape the mafia so that he can see the wider world that he knows exists someplace. In SB, Dazai has already judged the mafia as a place where he will not find what he seeks, and yet he lacks the ambition to pull himself out. The truth of Dazai is that he doesn’t have real will or intent, and that makes him stagnant in states that he is aware he can get out of and partially wishes to escape from.

“But even though I think so... I’m still here.”

As mentioned prior, Dazai lacks the intent to escape the states in which he exists although he feels like nothing will happen if he fails to move forward.

“I wish for a magnificent and bright end, but the curtain hasn’t dropped yet.”

Similar to his line in the “Wan!” anime, Dazai wishes to die spectacularly and in a way that doesn’t inconvenience others but still leaves an impression, as Dazai does not want to die without true purpose.

“Honestly, it’s alright, isn't it?”

Again, Dazai doesn’t truly wish to die; he wishes to finally understand life so that he can finally see value in it. And so, when death doesn’t come to him, he will simply continue to only wait for it as he wishes for something more than death: true understanding of life.

“I’m sick of this repeating melancholy inside my head. It’s just inevitable that I wish for the end.”

In the 15 arc, it’s implied that Dazai doesn’t believe that other people can so naturally see point in life. In the world Dazai lives in and initially might have assumed that others lived in as well, everything is tedious and oxidizing and there is no enjoyment to be found in it. He views suicidality as an inevitable conclusion due to the way he sees the world.

“The tainted past, too, begone!”

Likely a reference to Chuuya Nakahara’s ability and real-life counterpart’s poem, “For the Tainted Sorrow”. 

Displays Dazai’s hatred for the life he has lived priorly in which he hurts others aimlessly and is exploited in the mafia.

“I want to tell everyone it is I, I that have failed.”

A further display of Dazai’s self-hatred.

“Isn’t there anyone to take my hand and cease existing together? I hold the feeling that an attempt isn’t enough.”

Reflects his desire to not die alone in order to fill his eternal loneliness in the moments of his death.

Shows that Dazai deep down knows that the motivation/willpower with which he is attempting suicide will not give him death as he wishes for something beyond that.

“Days darkening in the setting sun are endless.”

Likely a reference to the real-life Dazai’s novel, The Setting Sun.

Displays how Dazai pessimistically/nihilistically views existence in that every good time will eventually come to an end, always. 

“In a world like that, I found you.”

Refers to his turning point.

Likely refers to meeting Odasaku.

“Suddenly, that hand pulls and stops the cuff of my reckless heart.”

Displays how Odasaku causes Dazai to slow down in recklessly sacrificing himself and attempting out of hopelessness and self-hatred.

Shows that after meeting Odasaku and being affected by him, Dazai finds his previous behavior “reckless”.

“I want to try living like this a little bit more. It’s not like me to think so.”

Dazai begins to wish to live. (Initially, in a world with Odasaku. After the latter’s death, to fulfill his wishes and finally take action.)

“As I roam this never-ending today, I wait impatiently for the dawn that exists somewhere.”

Repeated line from earlier. Displays how Dazai still impatiently/immaturely wishes to find the true meaning of life and therefore find hope.

“Even though I still haven’t grasped the meaning of life, for now I say to eternity, goodbye.”

Dazai comes to terms with the fact that it may be a while yet until his true wish is granted.

Dazai bids farewell to a time of attempting suicide out of despair. (And possibly eternally contemplating life, instead choosing to live out in the light and reveling in the smaller things.)

“Maybe, I can enjoy this fleeting world.”

Dazai wishes to now enjoy the world for what it has, although still finding it more fleeting than he wishes.

[mister-misogynybot]

Ive been playing COD since day 1. (yes im old) so it is painful to walk away now. i uninstalled the game today. no your kd wont go up..i sucked.

After what happened to Nick Mercs, i can't continue to support the game. Now that we all know ACTIVISION is part of an agenda that validates child mental and sexual abuse, how can i bring their product into my house?

If you believe children shouldnt be taught about or deal with social pressure over their biological gender, then you shouldnt play COD. not until they apologize at minimum to Nick Mercs and write a retraction. im not holding my breath. im just going back to PUB G. its just as much fun for me. i know its not nearly as polished as COD but i dont care. and yea i know COD isnt sweating the fact that i uninstalled, doesnt matter. im hoping theres another bud lite level boycott but i dont think so. the gamer demographic is probably 75% Gen-Zers and 10% Gen-Alpha's..i dont think they care. but their parents might.

if you disagree with this of course thats ok. but maybe you dont see whats happening to kids, you probably are a kid. if you are, COD just told you that your health and your life have less value than the feelings of a group of people (LGBTQCFP)

Think about it, all he did was voice his opinion ..but his opinion hurt their feelings. what was his opinion? glad you asked! "leave the little children alone, thats the issue" thats it...thats the opinion he shared and got canceled. If his tweet was a lie that could hurt people then sure punish him, if thats your thing. But he didnt lie, or push anti gay propaganda.. he referred to actual documented abuse happening everywhere. We live in a sick country.

There was a kerfuffle over the alleged plan of the LGBTQ community to include pedophiles in the group and add the letter P at the end of the LGBTQ acronym. That is false, it was a troll or a psyop meant to de-legitamize the lgbtq community. So they are on alert for people who try to correlate pedos and lgbtq. Thats why when someone like Nick Mercs says "leave the children alone" they lose their shit and immediately call it "debunked rhetoric, or anti-gay propaganda. The problem is very few think that lgbqt are child predators (at least i dont) but they are something just as bad or maybe worse.

first, todays gay community is coercing, applying social pressure and facilitating gender denying (its not gender affirming, but what a lovely distortion..nice try) care to children. they tell them they can choose to be a boy or girl, have a gender reveal party yayyy! even if the child can look down and see their genitals. Mommy why am i having a party? i can see my wee wee, im a boy...right?" His mom, horrified that everthing is falling apart answers "Now Now dear, dont jump to conclusions, all the invitations have been sent, you have until the weekend to decide if you want to keep your disgusting penis...and heaven forbid, live your entire life as a straight white man. And honey? when you refer to you your penis, say my "filthy meat"...dont say wee wee, that implies you take pride in it. ugh, that kind of toxic masculinity reminds me of Donald Trump. you dont want to be ANYTHING like him ok sweetie? Hes super rich, has a gorgeous wife, beautiful family and he's a former US president.. ugh! he's bad, orange man bad!"

"um mom? he sounds awesome" mom replies "youre not my son!!! Topple the patriarchy!!"

"mom, are you ok?

telling a kid with a penis hes not a boy, hes neither gender or both...is confusing and downright insane. and if the child chooses to be the opposite sex theyre immediately put on the path to denying their gender and they made their psycho left wing parents very happy. how often do the "gender affirmimg pediatricians" recommend therapy before the child is treated? id love to know, if its not 100% of the time then we have an issue. which reminds me, if we catch a doc who mutilates children without requiring a year of therapy as the first stage of treatment, they should bury him under the jail.

Second they are pushing sexually explicit and adult themed materials in grade schools all over the country to children who might not be fully potty trained yet. yea its sick

if youre part of the lgbtq community and youre angry about my "hateful rhetoric" then youre part of the problem. if you think its wrong to pressure children into changing their gender and/ or showing them how to suck dick in 1st or 2nd grade, then speak out against the people in your community that do. POLICE yourselves. If i met ONE person from that community who opposed some of the things going on, i'd have hope that we could come to an agreement and peacefully cohabitate. but as long as lgbqt takes the position that they do no wrong, do no harm, make no mistakes..ever...(and if you suggest anything negative about them, theyll have you canceled, punch you in the face or scream like a lunatic.) then ill be on the right calling them pedos. lastly, im in my 40's and i was never interested in politics in my life...not until i met a woke leftist.

my god, this is an epic rant. sorry about that. thanks for skimming.

[lexyrosestylist]

🌈Freedom Facilitating 🕊️ ✨Breathwork & Reiki offer huge transformations, it helps people connect to their inner peace & power quite quickly. Through this new lens a deeper sense of self love and trust in life emerges. I always say that through this practice you remember who you are and what you are capable of. ✨One session can have a huge impact, in fact my first session changed my life and now I share this healing combination of Breathwork & Reiki with others. ✨So you may be thinking.. what is Breathwork? Breathwork is an active 3 part breathing pattern done through the mouth. You lay down for the entire practice, through this active meditation you escape the busy mind & connect to your heart. New neural pathways are created through this breathing process inspiring new ideas, more creativity & focus. ✨What is Reiki? Universal life force energy. The practitioner directs their palms towards the recipient and they are able to receive this pure healing energy of unconditional love. It heals mentally, physically emotionally & spiritually ✨Breathwork and Reiki clear the body of trauma and stuck energy. We hold a lot in our body, things we are not even aware of and through this practice so much is released and revealed. A new found sense of freedom and liberation emerges. The more one does the work the more shifts I see take place. It is truly remarkable! 💫 ✨Often after session people feel light, connected confident and clear. They often have strong intuitive nudges & the ability to connect to strong answers & hear the voice of their inner guidance. ✨Breathwork & Reiki help you trust yourself and your life. They release you of limiting beliefs & patterns and connect you with your strength & authentic self. ✨I am eternally grateful for finding these modalities it is the greatest honor to share this work with others. ✨I want you to know that there are options, that there are tools to support you, that often in the darkest moments you find the LIGHT & that light is YOU. ✨🌈Inner Peace is the greatest luxury accessible to all of us, especially those of us who are READY & WILLING to set ourselves 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮. ✨From my heart to yours💌 ✨LOVE YOU https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLiGuWOgtY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cmenvs3000w23]

Nature Interpretation Through Art

This week’s topic of interpretation through art really expanded my perception of nature interpretation, and the ways in which the methods and strategies for interpreting both subjects mirror one another. Prior to this week, I wouldn’t have typically considered myself an arts person. I tend to power through art galleries, was always frustrated with my lack of drawing skills growing up, and never really got “it” when looking at fine art. And although these examples are specific to the traditional fine arts such as painting, sketching and sculpting, my brain is guilty of defaulting to imagining those mediums first when thinking of the word "art". But after engaging with this week’s reading material, I’m left thinking maybe I am an arts person after all. 

A line from the text that really started to initiate a reflection on the ways in which my roles so far as a nature interpreter have intersected with art interpretation was: "Many interpreters who are not professional actors don costumes to get across their messages " (Beck et. al, 2018, p.219). I realized that I had literally done this exact thing while working during the maple syrup season at a conservation authority. I dressed in early settler clothing to teach about one of the methods used in the past to make maple syrup, walking around my sap filled cauldrons heating up over individual campfires. And although this is a seemingly obvious and direct example of using the arts in nature interpretation, I realized that most of the general production overview list in Box 10.2 (Beck et. al, 2018, p.219) from the text were planning strategies that could essentially be applied to all of the nature interpretation programs I’ve designed or facilitated. Some of the more directly relevant ones being: audience needs and expectations, program outline, facilities and equipment, and evaluation. Additionally, I’ve also included similar elements to visual art within programming, having students engage with their senses to find patterns in texture, sound, and smell. 

Pictured below is some fun looking patterned moss I observed while on a coastal trail on Vancouver Island.

My goal of nature interpretation: to facilitate a connection and care for the natural world in order to spark environmental stewardship, is achieved by creating programs that audiences can connect with both physically, emotionally and socially. And essentially that’s exactly what art is trying to achieve, an emotional connection and response (Boeckel, 2014). People aren’t going to care about something that they don’t understand, and I’ve always found that to be a major gap in achieving positive strides towards meaningful environmental change. If a majority of the population doesn’t understand the significance of why certain aspects of nature need to be protected, then we will continue the dance of 2 steps forward 2 steps back, depending on which political party is in power. This is where I believe the role of environmental education and nature interpretation is critical for the upcoming generations. 

After all this, my point is that maybe I just never got “it” when it came to the traditional visual arts because no one ever taught me how to interpret them. I don’t recall experiencing a program where a passionate individual intentionally created an art experience for an audience to engage with in a meaningful way. The same strategies that are applied to creating meaningful environmental education programs, where learners can hopefully leave with a greater sense of understanding and appreciation for something, are used across all subjects, but seemingly especially for art. "Though perhaps unintentionally, art became an exclusive thing—if one lacked the “proper background” to appreciate art, then one need not expect answers to uncouth questions" (Beck et. al, 2018, p.228). I want my learners to question the decisions being made regarding their present environment, and their relationship with the environment of the future, and in order to do that, the foundation of a "proper background" must be developed.

Although I’ve never (yet!) connected with traditional visual arts, I’ve always loved and appreciated nature photography. A cool reflective shot I took of Tlakwa Mountain at dawn, during a camping trip on Vancouver Island. I enjoy flipping the photo upside down to really appreciate and remember the glassy stillness of the water that morning.

Citations:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.

Boeckel, J. (2014). At the heart of art and earth: An exploration of practices in arts-based Environmental Education. Environmental Education Research, 21(5), 801–802. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2014.959474

[isen4mlp]

The Situation as of March, 2024

This post is from March, 2024, when I decided to run to become a member of the Falmouth Broadband MLP. Since then, Boundless withdrew its offer and we're back to Square One.

-----

A small company called Boundless is offering - right now - to build a town-wide fiber optic Internet access network. It would be the state-of-the-art network that I, and several other Falmouth citizens, have envisioned since 2019.

The new network would make Falmouth one of the most connected places on Earth! It would mean:

Faster, affordable, reliable Internet for Falmouth customers.

No more Internet outages, slowdowns, and glitches.

Stronger work-at-home connections.

Better connected students and schools.

Better telemedicine.

Clean industry and high-paying jobs for year-round economy.

Better experience for seasonal residents and visitors.

Resilience in storms, pandemics and public emergencies.

Boundless proposes to build this network entirely with its own money - $46 million dollars! It says it will build the network to serve all 25,795 of Falmouth's potential customers. It says it can build the whole thing in 18 months. It says it will charge $55 a month for a 1000/1000 connection. It proposes to start in July, 2024.

If Boundless does what it promises, Falmouth will be one of the most connected places on Earth by December 2025!

But that's a big IF!

Will Boundless do what it promises?

What does Boundless need from our town to do it?

Would Boundless be a good corporate citizen of Falmouth?

The Falmouth Select Board has directed the Falmouth Broadband MLP to sit down with Boundless to get answers to these questions.

I whole-heartedly endorse having these discussions. My goal would be for them to lead to a memorandum of understanding, contract or other legally enforceable agreement that facilitates the Boundless offer while protecting the interests of the Town of Falmouth.

[Note: The following two paragraphs were modified on 4/4/24 and 4/25/24 to clarifications from the two MLP candidates referenced below.]

Two of the other candidates for MLP believe that discussions with Boundless are premature. They believe that Falmouth should first consider a network that is fully or partially town-owned. They emphasize strong town oversight and long term commitments with the goal of ensuring universal, affordable, high-quality Internet service. These are worthy goals, to be sure, but fully-private network providers like Google Fiber and Ting Internet also provide universal, affordable, high-quality service for the communities they serve. Conversely, in a few rare cases, municipally-owned networks have fallen short.

Two proposals before the MLP do, in fact, involve town ownership. Practically speaking, these two proposals would require many tens of millions in town financing, via revenue bonds or general obligation bonds, plus the delay until financing is in place, and other risks. The up-side would be an eventual revenue stream (once financing is in place, and about 5 to 7 years after construction begins) for our town . . . but - honest non-rhetorical question - are the certain delays and likely pitfalls worth the risk?

One key fact: the vast majority of municipally-owned broadband networks in Massachusetts - and nation-wide - are run by towns that also have public electric companies.

A second key fact is that bond financing will increase the price of our network to $70 million dollars or more. If Falmouth floats a general obligation bond, it would have to borrow all the interest up front. If it seeks a revenue bond with no network revenues, that would mean borrowing at a very high interest rate and purchasing expensive bond insurance.

A third key fact: the MLP's two town-ownership proposals would introduce risks that the Boundless proposal doesn't have. These include the selection of a construction partner, the creation of a new town department, and the selection and subsequent performance of one or more retail Internet service providers who would connect the network to Falmouth's homes and businesses.

I'm not proposing that Falmouth swallow the Boundless proposal hook-line-and-sinker. I support the Select Board's decision to let the discussions between Boundless and the Falmouth Broadband MLP begin. If the voters elect me, it would be my honor and responsibility to participate in those discussions.

#muni networks#fiber optics#internet#Falmouth_MA

[drmaqazi]

SALATUL ISTIKHARAH (Prayer For Seeking Guidance)

The Istikharah prayer is a very simple prayer of seeking guidance.

One prays two Raka’ats at any time that is not disliked, after which one recites the supplication of istikhara.

It is best to recite it before sleeping, though in no way necessary.

Like other duas, it is recommended that one face the Qiblah.

It is recommended to open the dua of Istikharah, with praise of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) and sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ and to close it in this manner, too.

It is disliked to ‘hasten’ in seeking the answer to one’s Istikharah like other Du’as, because the Prophet ﷺ said, “Your prayers are answered, unless you hasten, saying, ‘I prayed, but no answer came.’”

The Prayer in Arabic

اللَّهُمَّإِنِّيأَسْتَخِيرُكَبِعِلْمِكَوَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَبِقُدْرَتِكَوَأَسْأَلُكَمِنْفَضْلِكَالْعَظِيمِفَإِنَّكَتَقْدِرُوَلَاأَقْدِرُوَتَعْلَمُوَلَاأَعْلَمُوَأَنْتَعَلَّامُالْغُيُوبِاللَّهُمَّإِنْكُنْتَتَعْلَمُأَنَّهَذَاالْأَمْرَخَيْرٌلِيفِيدِينِيوَمَعَاشِيوَعَاقِبَةِأَمْرِيفَاقْدُرْهُلِيوَيَسِّرْهُلِيثُمَّبَارِكْلِيفِيهِوَإِنْكُنْتَتَعْلَمُأَنَّهَذَاالْأَمْرَشَرٌّلِيفِيدِينِيوَمَعَاشِيوَعَاقِبَةِأَمْرِيفَاصْرِفْهُعَنِّيوَاصْرِفْنِيعَنْهُوَاقْدُرْلِيالْخَيْرَحَيْثُكَانَثُمَّأَرْضِنِي

Transliteration

Allâhumma inni astakhiruka bi ‘ilmika wa astaqdiruka biqudratika wa as’aluka min fadlikal-‘azimi, fa innaka taqdiru walâ aqdiru wa ta’lamu walâ a’lamu wa anta ‘allaamul ghuyubi. Allâhumma in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra khayrun li fi dini wa ma-‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri faqdir-hu li wa yassir-hu li thumma baarik li fihi wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra sharrun li fi dini wa ma’âshi wa ‘aqibati amri fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anhu waqdir liyal-khayra haythu kâna thumma ardini.

Translation

“O Allah, verily I seek the better [of either choice] from You, by Your knowledge, and I seek ability from You, by Your power, and I ask You from Your immense bounty. For indeed You have power, and I am powerless; You have knowledge, and I know not; You are the Knower of the unseen realms. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair, then decree it for me, facilitate it for me, and grant me blessing in it. And if You know that this matter is not good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair, then turn it away from me and me from it; and decree for me better than it, wherever it may be, and make me content with it.”

Looking for Signs

One should suspend one’s own judgment or inclination about a particular matter and wait for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to show one a sign or to make things happen in a way that indicates what to do. When one is unclear about the result of the (Istikharah) the Fuqahaa mention that it is recommended to repeat it up to 7 times if necessary (usually done on separate occasions). [cf: Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Shaykh Nuh Keller mentions that the more one prays the Istikharah prayer, the clearer its answers become to oneself. He prays it for all matters, even things one would not imagine doing Istikharah for.

It is not necessary that you get a dream or even a “feeling.” Rather, the is Istikharah is a prayer that Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) guides you towards that which is best (Khayr) for you. If you do the prayer of guidance (Istikharah) with the proper manners, the most important of which is to truly consign the matter to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)  and suspend your own inclinations, then Allah will make events unfold in the direction that is best for your worldly and next-worldly affairs.

When Unable to Offer Salah

In general, when it is not possible to perform the (Istikharah) prayer itself (such as when one is out on the road or in one’s menstrual period), it is recommended to simply read the dua itself. [Radd al-Muhtar]

For Even the Smallest Things

The great Hanafi scholar and hadith expert from Aleppo, Shaykh Abdullah Siraj al-Din, mentions in his book on the virtues of prayer that it is the way of many Sufis, including Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (may Allah sanctify his secret), to pray the (Istikharah) prayer at the beginning of their day, after sunrise, asking Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to guide them in general to all good and to keep away all evil from them.

Istikhara gives the best answer for one’s worldly and religious life (not worldly life alone) when coupled with another essential sunna: (Istikharah) (seeking sound counsel) of those worthy of being consulted and taking the sound means of assessing the situation at hand.

Imam al-Nawawi mentioned that before the (Istikharah) prayer, one should seek advice from those whose knowledge, wisdom, and concern one is confident. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and others mentioned that one of the benefits of this is to further distance oneself from the desires of one’s own egotistic inclinations.

The (Istikharah) prayer may be made for a specific matter or be made for a general seeking of all that is best. Some scholars, including Imam ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha‘rani and Ibn ‘Arafa before him, saw this kind of (Istikharah) prayer as being superior. 

Others, including Shaykh Ibn ‘Arabi, recommended performing a general (Istikharah) prayer for all that is good every day, ideally at the time of the Duha prayer (after sunrise).

One should be pleased with what Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)  chooses for one and not seek to follow one’s whims after the answer to one’s supplication becomes clear.

We ask Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to give us beneficial knowledge and the success to act upon it in the way most beloved to Him, in the footsteps of His beloved Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam).

[asexualinasexualworld]

Have you ever been accused of being judgemental because you're ace, not over slutshaming but over not understanding how real "dating" works. I'm aro/ace and my sister once told me that myself and another asexual she knows are the most judgemental people she knows when she gets hung up on her ex's. I try to be supportive but am out of my comfort zone when it comes to this so my advice is usually to ignore him and the fight was started when she texted him after hating him all week.

okay, first of all, this Q is from years ago now and we would like to apologize for that. we haven't actually been on tumblr in a long time. OP, if ur still on here, so sorry for the extreme delay.

to answer the question tho, b/c we do think it's a good one, no, we've never been accused of being judgmental for being aro/ace, but we do absolutely understand feeling out of your depth when friends ask for relationship advice. and sometimes, even tho no one's ever called us either thing, we do worry that we must come off sounding either judgmental or else very sort of 'cold fish' in those situations, b/c our advice p much also always boils down to either 'u need to ignore ur ex til ur over them' or 'well if this bothers u this much and u aren't willing to talk ur SO about it/already did and they aren't willing to work on fixing it with u, then u just need to dump them.'

which, to be clear, we do actually think is probably technically the correct advice most of the time; relationship problems don't generally solve themselves, u do actually need to communicate w ur partner or partners and work together to solve them. and then, if the issues aren't solvable, or if ur partner/partners aren't willing to do that for whatever reason, then u really are basically just left w the question of whether the issue is a deal-breaker for u or not.

BUT, we also think that is usually probably really hard for people to hear.

we remember talking about romance movies w another ace friend of ours once and laughing about how we both felt like we just didn't understand them b/c it was just so unrelatable to us. as aro/ace folks, it just doesn't seem like it should be that hard to just... not make the choices that always got the drama going in them. like to us, it was just felt like 'is it really that hard to just not sleep w X person? or to stay away from ur ex?' and what we decided was that, while obvs movie and show characters exist specifically to make bad choices in order to facilitate story/drama, that the fact that the genre works for so many people probably means that actually yes, it must be much harder for non aro/ace folks. it must actually be a fundamentally different experience that we're just never going to fully understand.

which is fine, ofc, but it absolutely does make it hard to figure out what to say when a friend is complaining or freaking out about relationship stuff. or how to frame it in a way where it won't accidentally make them feel like u think they're an idiot for having feelings or whatever. we're still figuring it out ourself tbh, and sometimes we actually just straight up ask a friend whether they actually want advice on how to solve/deal w the situation, or whether they just need us to listen and commiserate and maybe join them in bashing their ex for a bit or something, because we can do either thing, but they are very different things for us and it helps us to know which friend-purpose we're currently serving.

so we think the TL;DR here is basically that, no we think ur probably not actually being judgmental, but we do think that since the aro/ace experience (or lack there of) of things like sexual desire and deep romantic attachment is fundamentally different from the non-aro/ace experience, it is often much easier for us to hear a friend talking about a relationship issue their having and ignore the emotional struggle of it in order to see the options for solving/dealing with it, which is probably jarring at best for the other person. like they were looking for mom-friend to listen to them and make them tea and tell them they'll be okay and instead they got dad-friend handing them a toolbox and a trouble-shooting manual. both roles are important, but it's definitely hard to do both at once lol

anyway, we hope u and ur sister managed to work it out!

[smqazi]

SALATUL ISTIKHARAH (Prayer For Seeking Guidance)

The Istikharah prayer is a very simple prayer of seeking guidance.

One prays two Raka’ats at any time that is not disliked, after which one recites the supplication of istikhara.

It is best to recite it before sleeping, though in no way necessary.

Like other duas, it is recommended that one face the Qiblah.

It is recommended to open the dua of Istikharah, with praise of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) and sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ and to close it in this manner, too.

It is disliked to ‘hasten’ in seeking the answer to one’s Istikharah like other Du’as, because the Prophet ﷺ said, “Your prayers are answered, unless you hasten, saying, ‘I prayed, but no answer came.’”

The Prayer in Arabic

اللَّهُمَّإِنِّيأَسْتَخِيرُكَبِعِلْمِكَوَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَبِقُدْرَتِكَوَأَسْأَلُكَمِنْفَضْلِكَالْعَظِيمِفَإِنَّكَتَقْدِرُوَلَاأَقْدِرُوَتَعْلَمُوَلَاأَعْلَمُوَأَنْتَعَلَّامُالْغُيُوبِاللَّهُمَّإِنْكُنْتَتَعْلَمُأَنَّهَذَاالْأَمْرَخَيْرٌلِيفِيدِينِيوَمَعَاشِيوَعَاقِبَةِأَمْرِيفَاقْدُرْهُلِيوَيَسِّرْهُلِيثُمَّبَارِكْلِيفِيهِوَإِنْكُنْتَتَعْلَمُأَنَّهَذَاالْأَمْرَشَرٌّلِيفِيدِينِيوَمَعَاشِيوَعَاقِبَةِأَمْرِيفَاصْرِفْهُعَنِّيوَاصْرِفْنِيعَنْهُوَاقْدُرْلِيالْخَيْرَحَيْثُكَانَثُمَّأَرْضِنِي

Transliteration

Allâhumma inni astakhiruka bi ‘ilmika wa astaqdiruka biqudratika wa as’aluka min fadlikal-‘azimi, fa innaka taqdiru walâ aqdiru wa ta’lamu walâ a’lamu wa anta ‘allaamul ghuyubi. Allâhumma in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra khayrun li fi dini wa ma-‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri faqdir-hu li wa yassir-hu li thumma baarik li fihi wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hâdhal amra sharrun li fi dini wa ma’âshi wa ‘aqibati amri fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anhu waqdir liyal-khayra haythu kâna thumma ardini.

Translation

“O Allah, verily I seek the better [of either choice] from You, by Your knowledge, and I seek ability from You, by Your power, and I ask You from Your immense bounty. For indeed You have power, and I am powerless; You have knowledge, and I know not; You are the Knower of the unseen realms. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair, then decree it for me, facilitate it for me, and grant me blessing in it. And if You know that this matter is not good for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair, then turn it away from me and me from it; and decree for me better than it, wherever it may be, and make me content with it.”

Looking for Signs

One should suspend one’s own judgment or inclination about a particular matter and wait for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to show one a sign or to make things happen in a way that indicates what to do. When one is unclear about the result of the (Istikharah) the Fuqahaa mention that it is recommended to repeat it up to 7 times if necessary (usually done on separate occasions). [cf: Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Shaykh Nuh Keller mentions that the more one prays the Istikharah prayer, the clearer its answers become to oneself. He prays it for all matters, even things one would not imagine doing Istikharah for.

It is not necessary that you get a dream or even a “feeling.” Rather, the is Istikharah is a prayer that Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) guides you towards that which is best (Khayr) for you. If you do the prayer of guidance (Istikharah) with the proper manners, the most important of which is to truly consign the matter to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)  and suspend your own inclinations, then Allah will make events unfold in the direction that is best for your worldly and next-worldly affairs.

When Unable to Offer Salah

In general, when it is not possible to perform the (Istikharah) prayer itself (such as when one is out on the road or in one’s menstrual period), it is recommended to simply read the dua itself. [Radd al-Muhtar]

For Even the Smallest Things

The great Hanafi scholar and hadith expert from Aleppo, Shaykh Abdullah Siraj al-Din, mentions in his book on the virtues of prayer that it is the way of many Sufis, including Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (may Allah sanctify his secret), to pray the (Istikharah) prayer at the beginning of their day, after sunrise, asking Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to guide them in general to all good and to keep away all evil from them.

Istikhara gives the best answer for one’s worldly and religious life (not worldly life alone) when coupled with another essential sunna: (Istikharah) (seeking sound counsel) of those worthy of being consulted and taking the sound means of assessing the situation at hand.

Imam al-Nawawi mentioned that before the (Istikharah) prayer, one should seek advice from those whose knowledge, wisdom, and concern one is confident. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and others mentioned that one of the benefits of this is to further distance oneself from the desires of one’s own egotistic inclinations.

The (Istikharah) prayer may be made for a specific matter or be made for a general seeking of all that is best. Some scholars, including Imam ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha‘rani and Ibn ‘Arafa before him, saw this kind of (Istikharah) prayer as being superior. 

Others, including Shaykh Ibn ‘Arabi, recommended performing a general (Istikharah) prayer for all that is good every day, ideally at the time of the Duha prayer (after sunrise).

One should be pleased with what Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)  chooses for one and not seek to follow one’s whims after the answer to one’s supplication becomes clear.

We ask Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to give us beneficial knowledge and the success to act upon it in the way most beloved to Him, in the footsteps of His beloved Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam).

[sunghoosn]

Spending Time With Myself.

cr. WeTheDepok, answered by Damelio.

★ Kabar baik! Aku gak tau sudah bahagia atau belum, tapi ya mungkin ada di tengah-tengah? Aku bahagia tapi belum sepenuhnya. Semoga habis ini aku bisa rasain kebahagiaan yang penuh ya.

★ Jujur, belum ada pikiran di otakku buat mencapai 'sesuatu' di tahun ini. Aku cuma berharap aku bisa lebih baik dari tahun kemarin.

★ Berbincang dengan orang yang aku sayang, itu cukup bikin aku tersenyum dan bahagia. Hal sederhana lainnya adalah makan atau minum sesuatu yang manis!

★ Aku bersyukur di bulan ini aku masih diberi kesempatan untuk memperbaiki hubunganku dengan pacarku. Mungkin terkesan berlebihan, tapi rasanya aku bersyukur sekali untuk itu.

★ Banyak, gak ada lagu favorite yang spesifik sebenernya. Tapi aku lagi suka denger lagu Blossom by ENHYPEN, gak perlu ditanya lagi alasannya kan? Proud of my muse :p selain itu, artinya juga deep banget.

★ Penguin? Ah, atau puppy? Aku punya dua! Awalnya aku direpresentasikan sebagai penguin tapi sekarang aku adalah puppy woof woof.

★ Ah kalau yang ini banyak, sifat positif orang lain cenderung bikin aku jadi punya semangat? Apa ya istilahnya, aku jadi ngerasa punya tenaga untuk lebih banyak melakukan sesuatu. Itu juga bakal bangkitin moodku banget.

★ Mmm, mungkin sifatku yang mudah menempatkan diri dalam situasi dan juga aku yang bisa menahan diri untuk memberi energi negatif ke orang di sekitarku.

★ *Take a deep breath* thank you!

★ Apresiasi mendalam untuk Einwohner dan Residents. Terimakasih banyak sudah mengukir banyak memori bersama, sudah menjadi teman terbaik yang selalu ada dan menjadi alasanku untuk tersenyum. Juga untuk rekanku para Players termasuk Facilitators, EN-SLOT dan tidak lupa pacarku yang tersayang hihi. You guys did a good job, thanks for existing and please smile more because the world will be more beautiful when you smile.

★ I know, aku orang yang hebat karena seberat apapun masalahku aku tetap sanggup bertahan.

★ Hello myself? Pasti berat ya jadi kamu, pasti berat jadi people pleaser yang selalu mentingin orang lain diatas diri sendiri. Tapi kamu hebat, gak semua orang bisa lakuin itu. Semua hal yang kamu lakuin patut diapresiasi, mungkin seringkali kamu ngerasa gagal, tapi yakin deh dibalik itu pasti ada jalan lain yang bisa kamu tempuh. Yaa.. mungkin bakal lebih panjang dan lebih banyak hambatan, tapi itu bukan berarti kamu gak bisa kan? Terimakasih sudah lahir.

★ Aku mau jadi Boboiboy! Pengen membelah diri dan bantu banyak orang. Kayanya keren gak sih jadi Boboiboy?

★ Ada! Aku pengen diriku lebih mentingin diri sendiri. Perasaan orang lain bukan tanggung jawabku, jadi aku mau stop mentingin orang lain dan menganggap enteng perasaanku sendiri. Sesekali aku mau revenge, aku mau memberontak tanpa ada perasaan takut.

★ Cut off, itu satu-satunya cara menurutku. Gak ada cara lain buat hubungan toxic kecuali kedua belah pihak yakin dan sanggup untuk mengubah diri lebih baik.

★ Ada.. jujur aku masih belum berdamai dengan itu, jadi aku gak tau cara mengatasinya. Lebih tepatnya belum tau, jadi semoga aja aku cepat berdamai.

★ Senyuman tanpa beban, itu yang paling aku rindukan. Gimana ya, semakin lama kita semakin dewasa dan pasti kita rindu sama moment dimana kita bisa ketawa lepas tanpa mikirin hal-hal yang bisa terjadi kedepannya, kan?

★ I did it, thank you for making me talk about things that were previously difficult for me to express!