#and I didn't watch relight either...

[stillfightingdragons]

wdym having Light and Ryuk bicker about roommate privileges immediately after a seriously fucked up nightmare sequence is "tonal dissonance"? like who even is that I didn't even read the LA BB case or L change the world....

[rhaena--velaryon]

who: @vlxyrianclaws where: the sept, king's landing context: rhaena just wants some peace and quiet. too bad max exists.

the sept was a welcome quiet versus the business of the rebuilt keep. it was more familiar to rhaena as well, as the new layout and changed halls of the castle clashed with the memories of before the war. she would turn a corner, expecting a stairwell, and nearly kiss the wall that was in its place instead. where a hall once stretched out, now it simply didn't exist. it would have been maddening if the lady did not simply learn to take it in stride, and also ask one of her brother's footmen for a rough sketch of the new changes. at least in the sept it was always the same. same seven walls, same vaulted ceilings and masses of burning beeswax candles. same dead interned below, whether buried in the foundations or in the freshly placed urns. it was consistent, it was quiet, it gave rhaena time to relax her shoulders and stop pretending for a while. she was pretending that she liked the new court fashion, that she didn't still see her prat cousin in the man that wore the crown, that she didn't notice how the stormlanders talked to each other in hushed tones at gatherings and stopped if a crownslander got too close. there, kneeling on a soft pillow before a row of candles, she could mutter a prayer for the too-long list of lost loved ones and sit in silence, no one daring to bother her as she watched the candles' flames dance.

at least, no one with proper breeding or manners. but the man whose mere entrance to a room could bring a chill down her spine had a funny way of having neither in her opinion. another rather funny thing was that her father and his uncle served on rhaenyra's council when the time came to truly pick sides, and the long years before and during the war meant she grew up in the same circles as maximus, for better or worse. he brought out the worst in her, seemed to intuitively know how to have her mirror his casual cruelness, and for a while she indulged in it happily. but then one day she stopped. she stopped indulging those base and cruel instincts, and she most definitely stopped giving maximus the time of day. rhaena liked to believe she grew up and knew better. she tried her best to stay polite afterward for politics, and like with so many others she felt had fallen from her favor, he received nothing more than cool detachment. or so she told herself. he could still manage from time to time to eek out the part of her that still bore the fire and venom despite her attempts to push it aside for the sake of being a lady.

she didn't like how well he knew how deep the dragonfire went in her, as she was sure he didn't like how she had identified him for the cold-hearted snake he was.

"it's quite rude to linger while one prays, lord celtigar. even if it is to the stranger." the velaryon hardly had to turn her head, the modesty veil over her dark curls shielding most of her face from him save for how she watched him out of the corner of one of her byzantium-purple eyes, much like a she-dragon watched an intruder in its lair. her lady's maid knelt behind and to the side of her, her own dull purple eyes flitting between her lady, this lord, and pretending to still pray. "though, i suppose if you are waiting to light candles for someone, it would be cruel of me to deny you." she hardly thought that maximus had ever lit a candle for another, let alone walked into a sept with the purpose of prayer. no doubt his reason for being there either involved gold or power, and neither would warm his icy blood to something palatable. he was a creature of want, unfulfilled by what already was his. to challenge him, she leaned forward enough to relight the thin tapered candle she'd been using to light the others with, holding it out to maximus. "here, my lord. for your departed."

[jenakuns]

Starship Flight 2

This is now just another Starship spam channel that's right woo baby all we talk about is this. I mean I am inherently very excited for Starship because it is just a very interesting launch vehicle, although my interests are more broad in space than just that take notes people. Coping I guess. I mean even people who hate the program find it at least very engaging; even more than the things that they like to extent.

Now the question on everyone's minds is how successful was this flight? How does it compare to the previous flight?

Well at a baseline, the pad isn't totalled, so that's nice. The steel plate worked and minimized damage. That side of the infrastructure will presumably no longer be a bottleneck for future flights. Well, ok there will be scrubs and work continues; but presumably it seems like it won't generate month long pauses.

Booster 9 performed it's job as a first stage well; getting to staging with no apparent major issues with it's 33 engines, which would be good enough for most launch vehicles. As a reusable stage however it failed. It appears that relighting one engine failed in the dynamic situation post stage separation for boostback causing a cascade of failures and overall explosion. I'm pretty happy with how it performed; it's not going to inhibit future launches and restrict future flight tests. Falcon 9 first stage recovery took it's time as well; but didn't inhibit Falcon 9 customers as development was happening. The main concern would be that in future, there's not enough Super Heavy's for launches because those are very large and complicated stages with 33 Raptors. And so the associated delays with the recovery effort because of this failure could have longer term schedule impact.

Though recovering early boosters honestly isn't too valuable either. Well ok, it is valuable because you can look at the hardware and see how it performed and some of the most valuable data you can collect in regards launches and reliability. But like; vehicles are inherently going to become less valuable over time given SpaceX rapid iteration and development. Having a vehicle be initially expendable while you figure what is the optimal design points is something I think is reasonable. Even with Falcon 9 Block 5 the later boosters are a fair bit better than the earlier ones.

Starship 25 however less so. A. SpaceX where were the on board views? We were robbed. More to the point though, it failed during the second stage burn which means they have to repeat this flight. Yes you want to test; but you also do want to continuingly expand what your testing if you want a reasonable schedule. If SN10 had of succeeded in landing, SN11 and maybe even SN15 probably wouldn't have flown. Still it did hot stage which was a risk point and burn for a good portion of time; so it would seem like with fixes they would have reasonable odds of going the full way on next launch. To quote Handsome Jack, "that's the sound of progress baby." Tiles fell off but I maintain that tiles aren't important for the reusable launch system while the launch system part isn't working.

Are SpaceX closer to their goals after this flight? Should they be closer? Is this a close to optimal balance of schedule, budget and hardware? Evaluations that I don't really feel like making.

The thing to watch for and baseline as assessment of program execution as I set out in a previous post is turn around time for the next flight.

The current metric to watch for Starship progress will be turn around time from flight 2 to flight 3. Sub 2 months is indicating that the program is going really well, 3-4 months is alright, 5+ months is bad.

I'll adjust it to say 3 months is good, 4 months ok to give myself some margin. High flight rate devalues the impact of individual failures. But again, I don't think it's worthwhile to have to repeat tests instead of spending some extra effort to avoid predictable problems. So if the next flight doesn't reach Hawaii (not successful reentry, but just on a trajectory basis), I would consider that a pretty big failure. Whereas I reasonably happy with this launch. You have to fly hardware some time, but you wouldn't fly B4S20.

[hexsreality]

"Well, it's another addition to add to my reputation, as my father is well known. Well, you'll get to meet your father-in-law soon enough." The last part she murmured to herself, but she was fairly certain John had heard what she said. It would be a matter of time before Erik found out about the marriage and demanded to meet his new son-in-law. Her brother as well will not be thrilled at this either and would actually side with their father. Wanda and John have to get through this night in one piece and without any issues between themselves and the other mages. She didn't know how she was going to manage, but John was using his addictions as a crutch to get through the night.

"I'll have to pass on the drinking since I started taking medication." It was something she started, including therapy, after the loss of her children and her previous marriage dissolving. Her mental health hadn't been the same since those back-to-back blows in her life, and the tragedies of her childhood and the generational trauma to top it off. Things were starting to look better for her when her life was in danger at the hands of Chthon and his cult. Wanda just didn't expect to get remarried this soon, and to a stranger no less. So far, she's been able to handle all of this rather well, and she was proud of how well she's doing. Her new husband wasn't handling it well. She nodded softly at his offer of a cigarette, she held out her hand to take a cigarette as she stood beside him now staring out at the night. 

Wanda felt John place a cigarette in the palm of her hand, the sensation of his fingers against her skin was soothing. She turned her head slowly, watching John flick the lighter to life and relight his cigarette. Once it was lighted, she leaned her head forward, so the end of the cigarette was in the flame. She pulled away, turning her head to look forward at the night. John's cigarettes had a different taste than Wanda's usual, but they would do for now. "None taken, they feel I'm more of a liability. To them, I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. For what it's worth, Doctor Strange tried to talk them out of this arranged marriage, but it fell on deaf ears." Wanda finally said as she removed the cigarette between her ruby lips to take a long drag. It was the only comfort she got from her friend and mentor, it was something she hoped could be the same for John. Husband and wife stood in relative silence side-by-side of each other smoking their respective cigarettes before having to face their troubles.  

☽◯☾┄─ @doomedwarlock || ʲᵒʰⁿ (ᶜᵒⁿᵗ.)

John had picked up on the heavy air the hangs between her and the American mages. But he had assumed that whatever history there was between them was none of his business, and that if it really mattered he would find out about it sooner or later. He has personally only ever had problems with that community, not that his reputation is much better among the British mages.

" Seems like a shame to ruin a pretty name with that cursed addition , but I s'pose it can't be helped . " He mutters, more to himself than to her. He shrugs, gesturing around as if welcoming her into his space. " Suit yourself , love . I can't blame ya , it's like there's a bleedin' frost over those wankers . I - for one - am planning to get shit faced and forget all of em exist . I recommend you do the same . Would make me feel less like a tosser for it . "

He puts his cigarette back into his mouth, only to realise it had gone out while he was talking. He fishes in his pocket for his lighter, his hand bumping into his pack of cigarettes. " You want one ? " He asks, pulling both the lighter and the pack from his pocket.

" I mean - Clarice and such have always gotten a kick out of pushing me around . Can't deal with uncontrollable variables or some such . But those cunts seem like they'd rather have you dead , no offense . "

[holdmytesseract]

Secret Pleasures (18+)

Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Summary: You and Daryl are caught up in a secret love affair. Due to the war with Negan and Saviors, you had to put your daily and nightly adventures on hold. It didn't get better after the war ended, with people and eyes being everywhere and the jobs everybody had to tend to. At some point you couldn't take it anymore, so you schemed a plan to relight this burning fire between you and Daryl...

Set in the beginning of Season 9!

Warnings: veeery suggestive smut - like, really suggestive, light smut, swear words, uhh subby Daryl?

This story is rated 18+!

Word Count: 1,7k

a/n: I am so, so sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. 🙈 I don't even know where this came from... I just watched season nine and listened to music - and boom... 😅 I think I never wrote something so 'dirty', either - for my circumstances! 😳 I don't know if it's good or not, but I hope you guys like it! 😊

Inspired by this song:

(Yep, it was this song, no joke... 😅)

Tagging: @lokisgoodgirl @in-this-minute @thefemininemystiquee

If you want to be tagged as well, let me know, 'cause I am currently thinking about making a taglist for my Daryl stories! 😊

It's not like you didn't know that he was one of the last ones. He always was. Every day. It was something you became aware of very fast. So, you sneaked off from the camp and towards the bridge, climbed a nearby tree - unnoticed and hid yourself; waited for the right time.

As soon as the sun was about to set and everybody - except him and a few Saviors had packed their stuff and went back to the camp, you put your risky plan into action - and oh boy, you gladly took the risk. Silently, you left your hiding place and sneaked over to the man, approaching him like a predator its prey. You were sure to be as quiet as somehow possible and to not step on a twig to make any noise. Although, the sound of the rushing water underneath the not entirely finished bridge would've probably covered any wrong step you made.

To your luck had your target his back towards you, facing the large log pile. You couldn't see what he was doing, but that didn't matter. You had almost made it, but the most difficult part was still ahead of you... Getting his attention. You thought about a few options beforehand, went through a few scenarios in your head - and decided to take the probably 'safest' one: Quick and with the right move. You knew you had to take him by surprise.

When you made it to sneak up to the man, without him noticing, what was a feat itself - usually nobody... absolutely nobody was able to sneak up on him - you put the last part of your sinful plan into action. With a quick move, you grabbed his arm with both hands and spun the usually way too strong and bulky man around to face you, before you quickly slapped your hand over his mouth and pressed him against the log pile. You were right. You really caught him by surprise. His eyes were wide, almost at the size of plates and his breathing was laboured. This, in return saved your ass, 'cause if your plan would've gone the wrong way, it was more than likely that you would lay on the cold, hard ground now with a knife stuck in your head or chest. The man had a murderous glint in his eyes, ready to kill, whoever 'attacked' him from behind - but when he realised that it was you, the look faded. It was the sign for you to remove your hand from his mouth, but not before signalling him to be quiet; putting your pointer finger on your lips.

"What the hell, Y/N!" Daryl whisper-shouted. "What ya doin' here?! Approachin' me from behind! What were ya thinkin'?! I could've killed-" You had already enough of the archer's talking. You weren't here to talk. After all, you could talk to him all day long, but what was on your mind couldn't be done all day long. So, you grabbed him by the lapels of his black shirt and yanked him forwards, letting your lips crash into his. He was clearly taken aback by your sudden assault at first, but quickly melted into the sinful kiss you had pulled him into. Daryl's hands flew up to grab your hips, while you placed your palms on his chest and pushed him backwards again, so that you had him pinned against the log pile once more. A soft grunt left his mouth when his back hit the wood, driving you even wilder. You let your tongue trace his kiss swollen lips, begging for entrance. The archer was, of course already putty in your hands, granting your wish.

It had been ages since you were able to kiss him like that and to share an intimate moment with your secret lover. Eyes and ears were everywhere. This wasn't just Alexandria now anymore, oh no. Of course, you were happy and relieved that Rick ended the war and that everybody worked hand in hand now, but that also meant a lot more work and things to do. Especially, it meant more people. The time of sneaking out at nights or meeting him secretly at days for a quick... adventure had clearly run out. You tried to just get along with this and ignore the raging, longing fire in your body, whenever you laid eyes upon him, but it was no use. Seeing him work on that damn bridge, doing all those manly things, with the sweat on his strong, muscular forearms glistening in the summer sun, looking sexier than ever, sent the sheer untamable lust within your body skyrocketing. It was simple... You were an addict - and Daryl was your drug. You needed him, like you needed oxygen to breath. You needed to feel his skin underneath your fingertips. His lips on your lips. You wanted to drown yourself in his intoxicating scent - a mix of cigarettes, gasoline and something earthy.

Without breaking the intimate kiss you shared with Daryl, you decided to bring your hands - which were still resting on his chest, into action and started to undo the first buttons of his shirt. That caused him to freeze in his movements. He reluctantly retreated his tongue from your welcoming mouth and pulled his lips from your lips with a soft pop. "W-What ya doin'?" Daryl panted, completely out of breath from the intense makeout session you had indulged him into. You gave him a smug smile and bit your lip, "What does it look like?" all the while continuing to undo the buttons, slightly scratching your nails over the exposed skin. This caused a low grunt to escape his lips. Putty in your hands. But then the archer quickly shook his head, as to clear his mind and bring him back down to earth. He was visibly fighting with himself to keep a cool head. You didn't plan to let that happen, though. "Nah, Y/N..." Daryl once again shook his head and quickly grasped your hands, stopping them in their action to get him undressed. "Ain't doin' this here. We can't." He literally hissed, looking around. "We ain't alone here… There are still a few of the Saviors around. They will notice!" You raised an eyebrow at him. "So, you don't want this? Me? Haven't you missed our little flings? Seemingly not." You had to tease him a bit, didn't you? "Bloody 'ell, Y/N... 'Course I missed this - you... But don't ya see? It's too risky to do this here!" It was so utterly cute how he tried to be reasonable. A small giggle escaped your lips. Prudence... You had thrown your prudence out of the window a long time ago. You wanted this - and you knew he wanted it too. Did he really think you wouldn't notice the secret longing looks he gave you? Or the way he eyed your curves, practically undressing and eye fucking you? Hell no. Daryl was just as desperate as you were.

Once again you smirked, licking your lips and freeing your hands from his. "Not if you can keep quiet." You whispered seductively in his ear with a wink and ran your fingertips over his strong pecs and abdomen. The archer furrowed his brows at your words. "What do ya- Oh f-fuckin' hell, Y-Y/N..." Daryl had to cut off his own sentence, when one of your hands unbuckled his belt and found its way inside his baggy, black jeans. You noticed how his breath quickened once again. How his Adam's apple bopped, as he threw his head in his neck and swallowed hard. And you noticed how he tried to grip onto the wooden surface behind him, in desperate search for something to hold onto. He looked absolutely beautiful in this state of lust, with his luscious brown hair - which had grown so long over the years, framing his pleasure-streaked face. You smirked to yourself in victory. You had him. You knew it. "I knew you need this, baby... Just as much as I do." He just whimpered in response, still overwhelmed by the sudden pleasure you were giving him. Your smirk even widened. How quickly you had him at your mercy… You couldn't help but lean forward and suck a bruise into the appealing skin of his neck, grazing his stubble with your lips, causing another, but much louder groan to leave his throat. "Shhh, baby." The warning came too late.

Steps approached you - clearly audibly, because of the grass and wooden ground. "Daryl?" A male voice called out from the other side of the log pile. "You alright, man?" You froze in your movements, but kept your hand inside his jeans and placed again a finger on your lips. He swallowed hard, tried desperately to keep himself together. "Y-Yes!" Daryl answered, immediately clearing his throat. "I just stubbed my toe! It's gettin' too dark, ain't seein' a shit!" "Yeah, you're right! We should probably pack our stuff and head back to the camp!" "Yeah!" Another smirk grazed your lips, when you realised that the other men were about to head back. Needless to say, you picked up, where you left, making Daryl suppress a moan. "You coming, too?" You could tell that your lover was getting annoyed by the endless questioning of the Savior. "Later!" Unfortunately, the man was seemingly too curious for his own good. "What?" He stated with a chuckle. "Do you want to keep on working or what?" Daryl rolled his eyes, hands clenching to fists - both from pleasure and anger. "Ain't your damn business what I do and don't do! Jus' piss off! Or are ya afraid to walk home alone?!" You could hear the other man huff out a breath. "Calm down, pitbull!" With those words he walked away again, his footsteps fading. "See you later!" A giggle left your lips, when you saw Daryl letting out a relieved breath. You moved to peek carefully around the log pile. You weren't alone yet – it was somehow thrilling. "What's so fun- Ohh..." You didn't want to hear another word leaving his beautiful lips tonight, so you brought the other hand into the game as well. "You are not learning, are you? Seems like I need to teach you a lesson." Daryl's dilated eyes, blown wide with lust met yours. "You need to learn how to stay quiet. We are still not alone. If not, I am afraid this is our last little adventure, out here on the bridge - and we both don't want that, right?" He nodded quickly, unable to form words. "Good..." You gave him another smirk, "Now be a good boy and keep quiet." before you sunk to your knees in front of him, pulling his pants and underwear with you on the way.

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

ᴅᴀʏ ɴɪɴᴇ: Day Out w/ Aaron Hotchner

a/n: this one is a bit suggestive, but it's nothing more than playful banter, still a cute little found family fic that i whipped up just for my hotch girlies!!

masterlist | comfortember masterlist | AO3

Dates with Aaron felt like a dream, especially when Jack was allowed to come along. You had never expected yourself to become a stepmom, let alone get remarried to a man that solves crimes almost every single day.

You were walking down the dock of the beach, little Jack Hotchner holding your hand as Aaron held the cooler, the bags filled with towels, and a beach chair. The boy held an ice cream cone in his hand as you kept him steady on the textured sand.

"Aaron, baby, this place looks good." You said, stopping at a spot that wasn't too close to the water, but also not right in the sun's direction, even though avoiding it would be futile. "Alright." He agreed quickly, setting down the chair and the cooler. You sat down, tugging the little boy into your lap and getting out the sunscreen. "Don't want you turning into a tomato, because if you did I'm going to have to eat you!" You teased, rubbing the cream on his face, neck, and chest.

He squealed in your lap. "No, don't eat me!" You smiled at him sweetly, reaching around him so that you could lather his back as well. Aaron watched the sight with hearts in his eyes, his own soaring in his chest as he continued to set up your little spot. It was as if the universe knew that Jack needed you, needed someone besides his aunt to take care of him after Haley's death. He also needed you too, he wasn't going to lie and say he didn't, it was as if when his soul was beginning to grow dull, you appeared, ready to relight it with your untameable spirit.

"Okay buddy, stay close to the shore, you hear me?" You said sternly, even though your voice was soft. "Okay mom!" He said happily, finishing off his ice cream before grabbing the toy dinosaur the Aaron had handed him.

You could never get used to being called mom.

When he had first called you that, you consoled in Aaron, asking him if it was okay, that you were okay with telling him to not call you that if it made your husband uncomfortable. Of course it didn't make him uncomfortable, if anything, it made him proud, proud that Jack loved and trusted you enough to consider you like a mother to him.

As the little boy ran to the water, you let out a sigh, slumping in your chair. "I can never get used to him calling me that." You said with a smile on your face. Aaron cracked a grin himself, taking off of his shirt to let the breeze caress his sweaty skin. "You get over here too mister." You said with playful seduction, curling your finger in a come hither motion.

There was a big fat smirk on your face as you watched him look down at you. "Oh, and what do you need me for?" He asked teasingly. "I have to make sure that you don't turn into a tomato either." He let out an airy laugh before getting on his knees in front of you.

"Oh you know how much I love when you're on your knees." You were feeling quite flirtatious as you smeared the sunscreen under his eyes, on the bridge of his nose, and down his neck. "I could say the same." He said. You smacked him on his chest, continuing to rub the cream into his skin as you finally reached his chest.

"Alright, Mr. Hotchner, I'd go see what Jack's doing." You said with a smile. He got up, not before bending down to place a passionate kiss on your lips.

"I better see you out there too, Mrs. Hotchner." He spoke against your lips.

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback

[souichieatr]

caught in the rain | w/ shinichiro sano

warnings!! 18+ , drug usage , both reader and shinichiro are in college , cursing

a/n: kinda went ia so heres my first attempt at smut omggg pls enjoy <3

wc: 1539 , fem!reader

running from the library entrance to your car with shinichiro behind you. getting in the passenger seat and tossing your keys to shinichiro who jumped in the drivers. catching them as he sits down, sitting as you both sit there and watch the droplets bang on the windshield. starting up the car, laughing as he shakes his head.

“i don't wanna hear it, you didn't know it was going to rain either” you say crossing your arms.

“i'm not laughing at you baby don't feel targeted but it was your idea to study at 9 at night” he says looking back as he reverses the car. grumbling at him you turn to the window.

after driving for a couple minutes you realize he's not driving to yours or his house. “now where are we going?” you ask after being silent.

“oh you wanna talk to me?” he says teasingly, smacking your lips at him he continues. “just driving if that's cool with you” he finishes, picking your bag up.

“mind if ismoke?” you ask looking his way to see his response.

“nah go ahead” he says shrugging his shoulders focused on the road. hearing this you grab a tray and pull out a smaller bag.

“still can't believe you've never had a blunt” you say shaking your head, pulling the substance out then adding it to a container, turning it as it grinds together.

“think i'm lying? the only thing close is a pen though i prefer cigarettes” he says smiling at you. “i'm not opposed if you're the one rolling them.”

“you're in good hands babe, i'm the best roller out of the group” you say confidently, taking a wrap out and laying it on the tray as you still hold the small container. taking the substance out and spreading it in a line of the paper, picking it up carefully then starting to roll licking the sides as you do.

“want me to pull over? there's the entrance to the park” he asks looking over.

“yeah i don't wanna go home” you say holding the now finished blunt. turning into the park's parking lot and into the first spot in the back. “can i use your lighter shin?” you ask.

“why do you wanna use mine? you got your own” he says rolling his eyes as he turns to you.

“i know yours is in your pocket, you want me, your beloved girlfriend, to potentially hurt her back from bending down to get it from my bag? wow i see how you are but it's okay i'll hurt myself for you” you say dramatically slowly bending over to get your back.

“whatever you're lucky i love my girlfriend or i would've left her to suffer” he says, digging into his pocket to retrieve the item.

“your girlfriend really appreciates it” you say taking it from him with a fake smile, setting the tray aside and picking up the blunt. burning the sides so it doesn't then lighting up the butt. looking at him as you hold it up, “since i also love you, i'll let you hit it first”

chuckling at your comment he takes it, “don't laugh if i cough” he says taking a inhale of the drug, coughing as he exhales. turning away to hide your snicker as he tries to catch his breath. “i told you not to laugh” handing it back to you.

“sorry sorry i just didn't expect you to be that weak” you say, taking it back as you take a puff then blowing it out as you lean back.

passing it back and forth as the music from your phone plays softly, occasional giggles as shinichiro gets the hang of it.

“so you usually finish this?” he asks passing it to you.

“eh” you say shrugging your shoulders “most times i just let it burn out then relight it later” you say taking it back suddenly an idea popped in you head. “wanna try something?” you ask sitting up.

“depends” he says, turning his head towards you.

“you just gotta get closer to me and inhale” you say leaning over the armrest, shrugging st you he leans forward hesitantly. turning your head to take a hit then turning to him and getting closer, feeling your lips together you blow as he opens his mouth to inhale. slowly exhaling the smoke and making eye contact with him. “how'd that feel?” you ask, leaning back with a smile.

“it made me wanna finger you” he says seriously.

“pardon me?” you say as your eyes widen as your jaw opens forming an ‘o’

“i want to finger you” he says again with the same serious tone.

“how can you say that so seriously” you say looking down and seeing the tent in his pants, “besides i think you should focus on the little problem you have in your pants.”

“so you're telling me if i dip my hand in your pants you won't be soaking wet, hm?” he says leaning closer, kissing your cheek gently.

“i never said anything” you say turning to face him, you can't deny how hot he is when being serious and the way his droopy eyes are watching you are nothing less to talk about.

“can i kiss you?” he whispers looking at your lips then quickly to your eyes.

“you don't have to ask” you say gently pecking his lips.

“always wanna hear that pretty voice of your s’all” he says, closing his eyes and leaning forward.

kissing shinichiro was far more addicting than some silly drug, he was gentle but passionate he kissed you like it was his job. cupping your face with one hand as the other drags down your body resting on your thigh, feeling like it's burning through your close you grab it moving it to your clothed middle.

“needy baby?” he says against your lips, smirking against your skin when you pull your pants down slightly. kissing down your jaw to your neck as he plays with your folds. “you're so wet sweetie why didn't you tell me, i would've helped you out way sooner” he says into your neck as he slowly adds his middle finger in your entrance, his pointer finger circling around your clit. jumping at the sudden feeling you let out a sigh.

“you would've laughed i don't wanna hear it” you say spreading your legs apart.

“you're right, i love messing with you” he says, kissing your cheek, curling his middle finger, then laughing at your reaction. “relax baby i got you” he says moving his body closer to you then adding another finger, kissing you as you moan to swallow it up. “so pretty jus wanna mess you up” he says, biting your bottom lip. quicken his pace, adding his thumb to circle your clit.

“fuck don't stop baby right there” you say wrapping your arm around his neck as you lean your head back. moving your hips as you grind down on his fingers.

“i don't know when you say that it makes me wanna stop more” he says darkly with a crooked smile, whining at his comment you tug him closer.

“please make me cum shinichiro” you say in his ear, gulping as he hears you use his full name.

“your wish my command” he says, adding pressure to your clit and moving his fingers rhythmically to your hips. feeling the tightness in your stomach you let out another moan thus further motivating shinichiro. as you feel the tightness burst and your hole quivers around his fingers, smiling to himself as he slows his pace letting you ride your high. slowly removing his hands as he pulls his damp shiny hand and you remove your arms from him. turning to the window you laugh at how foggy it got, lifting your arm up and drawing a heart on the glass. turning to shinichiro to show him as he sucks his middle finger cleaning it off.

“shin that's dirty” you say trying to pry it away from his mouth, embarrassed at how wet his hand was.

“you didn't want to offer me a napkin so this is the next best thing and it's not dirty. i like how you taste” he says, popping his finger out, handing him a napkin from the glove box quickly. rolling his eyes as he wipes his hand after he's finished he turns to you. “kiss me” his lips turning into a pout “it's been too long since you've kissed me” he says again.

“we literally just made out as you fingered me. what do you mean ‘it's been too long’?” you say laughing at him but still leaning closer gently kissing him. “i love you” you say against his lips kissing him again.

“and i love you” he says, pulling away not before kissing your nose. “wanna go to mine?” he asks, buckling his seatbelt as he gets ready to drive.

“yeah i call showering first” you say copying him, rolling his eyes at your comment.

“it doesn't matter who goes in first because i'm going to jump in” he says, laughing as you hit him. grabbing your closest hand as you interlace your fingers as you drive off.

not proofread

[raspberryconverse]

I live in the near west Chicago suburbs. On July 2nd, we got 8.5" of rain in 6 hours. This was recorded a bit north of where I live.

We got a new sump pump a little over a year ago and a new drain tile system last September (ours originally was put in backwards 🙄), but we still got about 8" of rain in our basement. It came up from the floor drain because the sewer backed up. We didn't get as much flooding as some people (there was a guy on the news in his fishing waders with water almost up to his waist) and we keep a lot of things in plastic tubs, but our washer and dryer are shot and it took several days before we could get our water heater to relight.

Apparently there is a valve you can get to prevent these kind of backups, but hell if we knew anything about that.

Our neighborhood was built after WWII, so I'm not sure how much went into planning based on flooding or anything back then. We did know we bought in a bit of a flood zone, but were reassure that the drain tile system would protect us. Obviously not. Even the company that put it in was like, "Well yeah, your sump pump and drain tile system aren't going to protect against that." That would have been nice to know before we spent $10,000...

I guess my point is there needs to be better education for first time home buyers and even just home buyers in general who are moving to an area they've never lived before. Sure, there are YouTubers like Javier Vidana who make a lot of videos with information on things to consider when buying a home, but I really feel like there need to be more public programs. There needs to be a way to educate people about things like sump pumps and backwater valves. And flood insurance shouldn't be such an afterthought either. Like when you're purchasing home or renters insurance, it should be suggested based on where you live, if not just included. Our insurance will buy us a new washer and dryer (and a water heater, but ours ended up being fine), but that's all ours will cover. We didn't lose a lot of things, but there were still some things that would have been nice to get replaced (like the discontinued Ikea bathroom light fixture we've been meaning to have our electrician install, my OttLite I haven't found the cord for and my new LED Christmas lights I bought last year that I said, "Yeah, these are more expensive but they'll last me a long time!").

I agree, it's important not to build in places where flooding can wreak a lot of havoc, but we also have to consider older neighborhoods that were built 50+ years ago with a lot of houses that are subject to flooding. We can't just say, "Oh well, it's a flood zone. You shouldn't live there," and just abandon whole neighborhoods. We have to educate the people who live there and help them prevent major damage from flooding. A lot of people I've commiserated to didn't know about that valve that could have saved us a lot of damage and cleanup. There needs to be more readily available information about these things. I mean, I married a research librarian FFS, and we still came across things we just plain didn't know to look into. Not everyone is going to watch a million YouTube videos (like my spouse 🙄) and even if they do, if they don't know what to look into, how TF are they going to find out? Real estate agents will guide you through the home buying process, but in the end, they just want you to buy a house. They should be required to provide you with more resources so you can make a better decision. Landlords should be required to tell you if flooding is something to worry about and give you resources so you can figure out how to best protect your belongings if/when flooding happens. Insurance companies should push flood insurance if you live in an area where flooding is an issue.

Maybe I'm just spicy about what happened, but I really feel like more education could have saved us and the entire town of Cicero and city of Berwyn (they got 9" of rain in 6 hours that Sunday) a lot of headache. Some of it was definitely the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's fault, but I think a lot of damage could have been avoided if residents were more aware of things they can do to prevent flood damage.

Excerpt from this story from the New York Times:

This week’s flooding in Vermont, in which heavy rainfall caused destruction even miles from any river, is evidence of an especially dangerous climate threat: Catastrophic flooding can increasingly happen anywhere, with almost no warning.

And the United States, experts warn, is nowhere close to ready for that threat.

The idea that anywhere it can rain, it can flood, is not new. But rising temperatures make the problem worse: They allow the air to hold more moisture, leading to more intense and sudden rainfall, seemingly out of nowhere. And the implications of that shift are enormous.

“It’s getting harder and harder to adapt to these changing conditions,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s just everywhere, all the time.”

The federal government is already struggling to prepare American communities for severe flooding, by funding better storm drains and pumps, building levees and sea walls and elevating roads and other basic infrastructure. As seas rise and storms get worse, the most flood-prone parts of the country — places like New Orleans, Miami, Houston, Charleston or even areas of New York City — could easily consume the government’s entire budget for climate resilience, without solving the problem for any of them.

Federal flood maps, which governments use as a guide to determine where to build housing and infrastructure, are supposed to be updated regularly. But they often fail to capture the full risk — the result of a lack of resources, but also sometimes pushback from local officials who don’t want new limits on development.

And as the flooding in Vermont demonstrates, the government can’t focus its resilience efforts only on the obvious areas, near coasts or rivers.

But the country lacks a comprehensive, current, national precipitation database that could help inform homeowners, communities and the government about the rising risks from heavy rains.

[lazarettta]

Misthios V

Pairing (Mother Miranda x Spartan!Reader)

Rating (T)

Word Count (1.9k)

Warning (Language)

You spend your morning with Alcina and her daughters while Miranda deals with Karl and Village business.

By the time the sun had begun to peak over the mountains you'd already made yourself at home on one of the balconies of the castle with a woven basket full of croissants and mason jar full of freshly squeezed orange juice. You'd been snooping in the kitchen looking for a snack when you found the partially hidden side door. It was shielded by produce crates and bags of potatoes—you guessed it was an old service door or something, and it was probably what the help around the castle used to sneak around the castle grounds while their Mistress sleeps.

You certainly did. You took a trip to town on a whim and you were bored. You didn't have anything on you in terms of currency but you weren't one to rely on some currency to get you by as there was always a favor or two to be traded. New era, same tricks and it never failed you once. Most of the village was still asleep when you strolled through but the few farmers you saw tending to their stocks gave you less than friendly looks but you didn't take any offense. You were new and places like this didn't take too kindly to a new face, especially a young new face.

Hell, the woman in the bakery shop by the church wasn't very fond of you either until you revealed that you understood every word that she said. She turned into a different person and suddenly you weren't much of a stranger anymore, by her standards anyway.

By the time you found your way back to castle Dimitrescu, you had bruised knuckles, a basket full of goodies you probably shouldn't be eating and a decent knife now warming the holster in your boot. It wasn't tactical or as balanced as you liked but you felt a hell of a lot better with it than you did a few hours ago without it.

You had no idea who's bedroom you'd invaded to get to the balcony though you didn't really care, you saw a plush chair that was only just covered in ice and the cushions were only just a little wet, shockingly.

And that is exactly how Alcina found you, and she wasn't alone. Trailing behind her bundled up even more than you with the hood pulled up over her blonde head was a young woman with eyes that matched Alcina's. Curious that she didn't get her mother's height though—she was probably around your height, give or take.

“You missed breakfast, dear.”

“Didn't think you'd send a hunting party for me,” you smiled but in truth you hadn't realized how much time had passed since you got back to the castle. Between stuffing your face full of bread you hadn't really had in years and well, yeah, you definitely lost track of time. Thankfully there were still a few pastries left in the basket for you to offer to Alcina and who you assumed to be one of her daughters.

The girl's eyes hadn't left you since she first saw you—you knew when you were being studied but for the moment, you were too tired to actually care but not tired enough to drop your guard with these people.

Alcina waved away your offering as she took a seat in the other chair, obviously as unbothered by it's less than ideal conditions as you were but her daughter graciously scooped up a buttered croissant before leaning against the rail, her back to the gorgeous view behind her. She was probably used to seeing it and you certainly weren't a stranger to such joys either but you never really grew bored of them.

“(Y/n), this is Bela, my eldest daughter. Also my successor should anything ever happen to me.”

“Mother, stop it. Nothing will ever happen to you.” You watched as Bela ducked her head, but she wasn't blushing, she turned to you, pushing the hood back from her face slightly but she didn't say anything.

Alcina pulled her cigar holder from somewhere on her dress she was currently wearing, and pointed down at the basket sitting on the small table between you three, “It's not safe to roam around on these roads at night.”

You shrugged, “I can take care of myself, Lady Dimitrescu. A few wolves don't really scare me.”

“There are far worse things out there than death, (Y/n).”

You scoffed, laughing a bit much to the dismay and surprise of the Lady and her daughter, “I've been around long enough to know how true and wise that statement is, but I'm far too old to be scared by it anymore.”

Bela looked at you curiously, “But you don't look a day over thirty, (Y/n).”

You bit back another laugh, picking at the pastry still sitting on the napkin on your thigh. Well. You weren't going to be getting any answers if you didn't give any yourself. “Who do you think Miranda got her skin care treatment from?”

You looked up when the other two balcony occupants were quiet for too long and you realized that they were both staring at you with equally unreadable but different expressions. Though Alcina's hat always made it impossible for you, or anyone else, to gauge her moods and reactions.

“What?”

“You're being serious?” Bela asked, both of her eyebrows disappearing beneath her loose hair.

“Yeah, seriously. I met Miranda back when she was ruling her first kingdom. She thought I was a fucking Viking for the longest time.” Miranda is going to murder you and find a way to make it permanent.

“You're joking. Mother, the mortal is joking...isn't she?”

“Mortal?” you finished your breakfast and wiped away the crumbs, “I haven't been called mortal for a very long time, but now that we've all established that no one on this balcony is of average stock...”

“We can really talk.” Alcina finished as you trailed off, taking a very long and heavy drag while giving you another once over, slower this time as if she was going to find the answers to whatever she was wanting to know. She glanced at her daughter and sighed when she saw her starting to tremble a bit.

“Bela go inside and get your sisters.” Alcina said softly but her tone still held no room for argument and you could tell that Bela wanted to protest against her mothers wishes, “Have tea prepared and brought to the study.”

“For everyone?”

Alcina smiled a bit, “Yes, dear, for everyone.”

When Bela was around the corner and well out of earshot, Alcina brought her attention back to you. And you looked back, waiting for her to ask or say what was on her mind.

“What era?”

“The Peloponnesian war. I'm the last living Spartan on Earth.”

Miranda neatly folded away the paper the moment she heard the ceremony doors opening. Miranda sighed heavily when she heard Karl’s mouth down the corridor—the man's need to chatter (and argue) never ceased and Miranda was positive she would be leaving this meeting with a migraine. She'd rather be doing something more productive with her time…working on her own research, cracking you like an egg or maybe even trying a new recipe for a change.

It wasn't long before Karl burst through the doors, his prized hammer resting on his shoulders and a cigar between his teeth and in his other hand was a satchel that was holding something it wasn't designed to carry. The grin he wore grew when his eyes landed on her and Miranda sighed inaudibly behind her mask.

“Well,” he purred, sitting on the bench he normally claimed and set his hammer down next to it, “If it isn't the woman of the hour! How kind of you to meet with me today.”

Miranda didn't care too much for his charming tone—his charisma was impressive but Miranda had never been a true fan of it, and Alcina outright hated him forcing Miranda to often play the role of a mediator every time there was a faction meeting which almost always ended in chaos and bloodshed. Thankfully it was only once or twice out of the month unless it was an emergency.

“Your message said that you have something of importance to show me, Lord Heisenberg, get on with it.”

“Oh, someone's testy today,” he mumbled under his breath but just loud enough for her to catch his words and Miranda's jaw clenched, “As requested, one head of a troublesome villager only searching for his beloved little girl. Maybe do your job and tell that supersized bitch to keep her brats on a leash next time.”

The satchel landed on the floor at Miranda's feet. Miranda's eyes narrowed in his direction, barely glancing at the satchel that narrowly missed touching her, and Karl felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise alarmingly fast, “Do not forget your place here, Heisenberg.”

Karl snarled but he quickly conceded—he's proved himself to be the biggest Alpha in the region time and time again but he wasn't stupid enough to think that he could challenge Miranda evenly. Miranda relented, accepting his surrender but she didn't buy it, she never did.

“All I'm sayin' is that we don't hunt in the village for this very reason—”

“I understand that, Heisenberg. And it's been taken care of. Lady Dimitrescu will see that it never happens again.”

Karl grumbled but thankfully he didn't push, this time, “There's something else too that I think you should know. There's a stranger in the village, probably owns that cute little camp my lycans tore apart a few miles outside of town.”

That caught Miranda's interest though she did not let it show—it wouldn't do to have a man like Karl have even the slightest bit of leverage over her. He was still too useful for her to kill.

“A stranger?”

“Yeah,” he smirked, relighting his cigar and taking a long pull, “Tall, real tall and quite a looker too...I'm here to officially claim her. If she's as tough as she looks, I'll—”

Miranda's wings fluttered when those words left his hairy lips, he didn't have to go into detail for her to know who he was talking about and Miranda felt the edges of her claws trying to grow beneath the veil of her dark wings.

“No.”

“No!?” he sat up quickly, setting both of his feet down on the ground, “What do you mean no?! Aren't those your laws for fresh meat?!”

“Yes, and that woman is off limits. Defy my word, it will not end well for you. If that is all Lord Heisenberg, I will see you this Friday at the faction meeting.”

“You gave her to that zombie in the castle didn't you!” he called after her when Miranda transformed into a flock of birds and left through the rafters.

Karl pulled his hammer to him as he jumped to his feet and he destroyed the bench he was previously sitting on but Miranda was already gone by the time the splinters where she had once stood, “I never get anything nice around here! Always scraps this and scraps that ever since that bitch took over!” he turned and threw his hammer, nearly slicing a pillar in half and he was half transformed before he caught himself.

Karl dusted himself off with one hand while the other brought another cigar from an inside pocket of his oil stained coat and picked up his hammer on the way out of the ceremony room, his temper simmering down. He took one last look at the damage he caused, and smirked.

“Have fun cleaning this up, mother. ” He didn't care what she said, the woman in the village he saw this morning was his game.

[thenewfuture]

(part 3)

Well, you could try to watch some TV, or play some video games, or even read a book to-

I did that already! I'm still bored!

Perhaps you could try blowing up a city or two. You do love to watch the people desperately trying to escape a decided fate by-

I did that too! And I'm still bored!

Well...what exactly are you bored of?

I.....I don't know....everything?

I'm not sure I understand-

This! This! Everything! Th-The whole thing! Th-The whole ruling the world thing!

Are you perhaps feeling Despair at-

No, no, no, no, no! No Despair! No hope! I'm sick of that! I'm not despaired! I'm not hopeful either, I'm just....

.....Bored....

......

Do you want to talk about it?

...*Sigh* I truly must be at the end of my rope is I'm even considering it. Sure. Why not? *Monaca sits down*

So you stated to me that you were, "bored of everything"? Why is that?

I don't know! If I had an answer, I wouldn't be here, would I?

I know. Try to understand I didn't mean to upset you. Just looking to see if you had an idea of the cause.

Not that I know of immediate, no.

I mean, when I first took over the world. It was great! What a rush!I was high as high could get and I never felt better.

But now.....Now I just don't care....

Don't care?

Yeah, it's pretty much all the same things now. It's boring.

It's all, "fire and death", and, "tragedies and horribleness and bleh".

But it's not supposed to be, right? I-It's supposed to be fucking great! Pure, unadulterated despair is supposed to be unpredictable, ever changing and growing and uncalculable, but it's not! It's the same thing, day in and day out.

And I've tried doing other things to see if I can relight that spark I had initially when I started, but nothing's working. I've even tried hoping for despair and that didn't make me feel good either...

But what I can't shake the feeling of is, why?! Why do I feel this way?! I wanted this, right?! So why do I feel so empty?! So unfulfilled?! So unpurposeful! So.....BORED AND TIRED OF ALL THIS?!

.......

....Why did you want to be the Successor?

Well, I didn't. I wanted Komaru Naegi to be the Successor. It was Servant who wanted me to be the Successor, and I just went with it.

So why did you go with it?

RUNNING SIMULATION#MT4UDG915AE

(What if Monaca Towa won?)

Simulation starting in 3...

2....

1....

(part 1)

.....

........

.............

???: Heeheheheheee.....Hahahahaha......!

Ahahahahahahaaaaaa....!

I did it...! I really did it...! I'VE WON!

Komaru Naegi and Touko Fukawa, dead! Their puny little raiding castle pals, dead! Those has-been lame-o Remnant traitors dead, dead! Now no one can stop me!

And this killing game is nearing completion! I've got tons of juicy footage, puhuhuhu!~

Monaca: Future Foundation will fall! Hope will finally die!

Monaca: Today marks a new chapter for the world! The renaissance of despair begins now!

With ME leading the charge! Monaca Towa, the Second Coming of Junko Enoshima! The Overwheleming, Resilient, and Supreme Empress of Despair!

Ahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!

......Monaca Towa...had won...

True to her word, she uploaded the video of the Future Foundation Killing Game online. To which spread around like wildfire...

From there, any small remains and backing of Future Foundation shriveled up, and crumbled away into nothing. Dismantling the organization as a whole almost overnight...

Monaca also made sure to destroy any other worthwhile threat to her new empire, so that there could be no one and nothing in her way.

Thus, the world fell right back into the state it was when the Tragedy first started. Just when it seemed like they were getting out of that era.

The Earth into a sea of overwhelming and never-ending despair. It was a new Tragedy. A sad, awful, horrific tragedy. Yes, it is such a tragedy...

....A tragedy that Monaca didn't enjoy it for nearly a month....

And that's why I think we should abolish Day-Light Savings Time.

I mean it makes sense, right? More time for beauty sleep and to enjoy the day, do some errands, walk around, and more sun for golf. I know Despair is all the rage, but this is one Despair no likes, right?

Grace: And these are just some small examples of what it could give us. Like possibly rearranging the clocks to have more time and hours and-

....Am I bothering you?

Huh? No, no, no. You're fine.

I'll definitely uh....put a pin in that...

Oh thank you, my liege! You are far too kind!

All hail Monaca Towa! The Supreme Empress of Despair! Successor to our beloved Junko Enoshima! Our Guiding Light of Shadows! All Living Beings Quiver in-

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know how it goes.

Thank you, thank you. One of my associates will escort you out now. Come again and....all that stuff... B-bye.

*A Monokuma kid takes the woman and leaves...*

....*Siiiiiiiiigh*....

------------------------------------------------

"AAAAHHH!!! AAAAAIIIIE! NO PLEASE, NO-"

--------------------------------------------------

TV: "AAAAHHHH! OH GOD, WHY?! AAAHHHHHH!"

*Monoca is at her desk watching live footage from her Monokumas ruthlessly and brutally killing civilians....*