#spoiler alert: it’s not good bedtime reading

[marvelsmostwanted]

Clearly some of you did not do your pre-election Project 2025 bedtime reading

…because while reading through all of the executive orders Trump issued on Day 1, I was like ah yes, the anti-trans policy from page 331 - just what the Heritage Foundation ordered! It’s not good that this is the plan they’re following, but if we don’t want to be blindsided by the policies they’re about to try to implement, at least we have the ability to anticipate what’s coming next. Keep your enemies closer and all that. And turns out your enemies conveniently outlined their cartoonishly evil plans in one handy PDF!

I honestly do recommend skimming this for a glimpse into the mindset that just entered the White House. (Brace yourself. It’s not great.)

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

[gotta-winwin]

OT13 Reaction -- to you reading fanfic about another member

masterlist | cyana's masterlist

SCOUPS: sulky baby mode x 100 when he finds out you're reading fanfic- and it's not even about him, it's about jeonghan??? he's upset because like he's right here?? why do you even need words on paper?? why are you giggling and kicking your feet when he's right here?? grabs your phone and throws it away from you - complains that you're basically cheating on him with jeonghan. shuts up real fast when you tell him he's basically cheating on you with jeonghan too.

JEONGHAN: very very very flabbergasted and betrayed. makes fun of you for even reading fanfic in the first place - ahhh i didn't know you were dElusiOnal like that (¬`‸´¬) mood switches up real fast when he finds out its literally a fanfic about dino. what the fuck man. dino????? his mind malfunctions at the mere thought of it. asks you what you see in him besides dino being the maknae. will read over your shoulder as you attempt to push him away.

JOSHUA: flushes and does not know what to say. gets all shy and giggly thinking its a fanfic about him and is stunned when you tell him- No! it's about mingyu! whines that he's literally your boyfriend and you're still reading about mingyu?? starts threatening to call mingyu up and expose you.

JUN: blinks in confused cat. asks you to explain why there's a fake story online about joshua and why you liked it?? is still very confused when you explain to him the online culture of fanfiction. will not talk to you when he finds out its a romantic story and you're reading as Y/N. joshua?? really?? i'm right here?? can hold a grudge for a loonngg time, jun stans beware.

HOSHI: finds it absolutely hilarious that there's even fanfiction about vernon existing in this world. finds it even more hilarious how invested you are. pesters you until you send him the link so he can forward it to vernon. will sit next to you and begs you to read it out loud like a bedtime story - cackles whenever Story Vernon does something he knows Real Vernon would die before doing.

WONWOO: judges you HARD until he researches more and finds some fanfics that are actually really well written. sends you ones about him as a poor attempt to distract you from reading ones about other members. will side-eye poor writing and acts like a writing critic. gets fed up if you continue to read fanfics about other members and tries reporting every fanfic not about him so you can't find it. (spoiler alert: he fails)

WOOZI: shrugs. understands everyone has their little quirk. he's a little weirded out that its fanfics about people he knows personally but he doesn't mind. looks at you when you start ranting about a "really good story" and asks you point blank if its another piece of fanfiction. finds it cute that you try to hide it from him. just say it's a really good fanfic plot, love. you're not fooling anyone with the "it's an amazing book i read online."

THE8: asks if you need to start meditating again. does not support the amount of delusion (sorry guys but have you guys seen the the8 anti fan service clips) chides you that he's literally right here and you don't need an online version! will tell you to just go find the member you're reading about if you want them so bad. (¬`‸´¬)

DK: giggles as he reads over your shoulder. gags at mentions of kissing. turns bright red if it's smut. looks at you with wide eyes and asks if you're really into kinky shit like that because he did not know. calls up seungcheol to tell him you're reading naughty things about him and dies at how mortified you look.

MINGYU: ego boosted 100% when you tell him its a seventeen fanfic. starts rolling his shoulders about to show off, telling you of course you're reading abt meeee ik im hot jeez im right here ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ). is offended and perplexed when you tell him you're acc reading about woozi. sighs really loudly everytime he sees you on your phone - even if you're not reading fanfic (╥‸╥) will work extra hard at the gym just to prove to you he's the best one.

SEUNGKWAN: supports your interests 100%. admits to you months later that he acc also sometimes scrolls through their fanfics, just to see what their fans are up to. trades good fanfics with you sometimes - he stays solely with fluff fics though, will throw you the nastiest sideeye if you send him a smutty one.

VERNON: bro does not care! he just kind of nods, telling you that its cool. you can tell he's a little awkward about it though cause he doesn't bring it up ever again. will occasionally ask you for fic updates to see if you found anything funny or weird.

DINO: does not mind the fanfic reading itself but is super super annoyed that you're reading about someone else. WONWOO?? he'll yell, grabbing your phone to take a better look cause he cannot believe his eyes. what does hyung have that i don't?? threatens to expose you to wonwoo if you don't stop and read dino fics instead. tells you to screenshot anything that's remotely embarrassing so he can send it into the svt gc.

BONUS ౨ৎ ───

MINWON: mingyu sees it first - you kicking your feet and giggling over something on your phone. completely speechless when you turn it around and he sees its a mingyu x wonwoo fanfic and you're thoroughly enjoying it. gives you a disgusted look and calls up wonwoo, who looks equally disgusted. the two avoid each other for the next two weeks because everytime they see each other they're reminded that their fans ship them.

VERNON!COLLEGE: confused af when he sees how many fanfics are about him as a college frat boy. rants to you cause he literally didn't even go to high school?? more confused when you explain he just has frat boy energy. ends up taking it as a compliment.

[babymetaldoll]

Are you mine? - Chapter Three: "She's a silver lining"

Word count: 5.253 words   Warnings: This is so fluffy it might be illegal. Reader's discretion is advised. Summary: Baby Reid Nº1 is here, and both Spencer and reader are ready, but not really.  A/N: I know no woman would ever be worthy of making Spencer a father, but that man deserves to be a dad. 

Series' Masterlist - Author's masterlist

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(Y/N)’s point of view

When we found out we were having a little girl, Spencer lost his mind. I know he would have been happy if the doctor had said it was a boy, but a baby girl was just what he had always dreamed about. A little princess to spoil and teach everything.

We decided to name her Raven Marie Reid, and ever since that day, my husband talked to our daughter every second he could. He encouraged us to hear more classical music to help her brain develop, he read her bedtime stories and even asked about her day.

- “I’m telling you, chipmunk, Raven knows I’m talking to her”- Spencer pointed out as we walked into the bullpen- “She kicks and moves when I say her name.”

- “I know, honey bunny. She is still inside me, kicking my ribs and squeezing my bladder most of the time.”- I replied and shook my head, smiling. I couldn’t deal with his proud smile at my words.

- “Reids! you are here! I’ve got news”- Penelope nearly tackled us as soon as she saw us, and didn’t even give us time to reach our desk.

- “We have to take the fit test.”- she announced quickly.

- “We?”- Spencer asked, confused.

- “Me too?”- I questioned, scared of the answer. I was already 38 weeks into the pregnancy and I could barely move. I wasn’t allowed to travel anymore, so I had to help the team from my desk whenever they were out of town.

- “Of course not, munchkin. Just me and your husband.”- Garcia explained tapping on my arm.

- “But why? We have enough case hours to cover a fit test.”- Spencer argued, confused.

- “I just got the mail. So, I guess we should train a little.”- Garcia shrugged and started walking with us to our desk.

- “I can help.”- I suggested - “I was very good at my fit test, and I can give you some tips.”

- “Can we talk with Hotch and get out of this?” - Spencer suggested- “I mean, it’s a fit test. Honestly, we don’t need this.”

- “Well, we are having a baby, and you are gonna have to play with her, so maybe getting some exercise done could be good for you.”- I suggested, but Spencer looked at me like I had cursed him- “What?”

- “You know I’m not good at sports.”

- “You are amazing in the field and you know it.”- I rubbed his shoulder and smiled- “But you have to get used to running now that we are having to have a kid to follow around.”

- “My princess is not gonna make me run around, right Raven?”- Spencer asked and rubbed my tummy. Our daughter moved inside my belly and sat directly on my bladder.

- “Great, I have to pee again. Thank you, honey bunny.”

The following morning, Spencer and I got up extra early to meet Penelope on the training track in Quantico. My husband looked the cutest in his red shorts and mismatched socks. I planned a simple circuit for them to warm up and watched them running as I sat on a bench and ate part of the orange slices I had brought to them. I tried to imagine how it would be when Raven went to school, would she like sports? Would she join the track team? Soccer? softball? my mind wandered to all the amazing things our baby girl would do. Anything she dreamed of, I would encourage her to pursue.

Spoiler alert: Raven is on the swimming team, and she loves it. We go to her competitions with homemade banners and Spencer made sure our house had a pool, so she can practice whenever she wants.

- “Come on honey bunny!!”- I yelled as Spencer made it to the finish line, a few seconds after García, in what I could call a dreadful performance running. I stopped the timer and shook my head as I made my way over. Spencer and Penelope were panting, and trying to elongate their weary muscles.

- “Why does it have to be such a fast mile?”- Garcia argued, trying to catch her breath- “Have you ever even had to run a mile in the field?”

- “No.”- Spencer answered, panting. I handed them a Gatorade and tried to cheer them up.

- “Come on! you are doing better! You’ve got this!”

- “I'm not even in the field.”- Penelope kept arguing - “I sit at a computer on my perfect posterior, like all day.”

- “I know, Pen. But it’s the rule. Apparently, everybody has to take the fit test this year.”- I tried to explain, but my friend decided to keep rambling.

- “Well, at least we didn’t ask Derek.”- Garcia was thinking out loud - “It's bad enough some bureaucrat is making us take this stupid test. The last thing we need is Mr. Universe talking smack the whole time.”

- “But he knows about all this stuff.”- Spencer argued her point of view - “He can probably, like, teach us some tricks, help us train.”

- “Your wife is doing that already, Reid.”- Garcia pointed out the obvious- “Besides, Derek takes it way too seriously. I worked out with him once.”

- “You work out?”- my husband asked surprised, and Pen just nodded, still trying to catch her breath. - “That's cool. I don't.”

- “We can tell, hon.”- I whispered as I rubbed his back.

- “I train in a non-traditional manner and never again with him.”- Garcia explained. - “He was all, "There you go, baby girl. Move it or lose it. This ain't your high-tech room. My grandmama can move better than that."- I chuckled at her impersonation of Morgan as my husband tried to excuse him somehow.

- “He can be enthusiastic at times.”- Spencer was so nice, we all know Derek was a drill sergeant training. I loved training with him, he always forced me to give 110%, but of course, neither my husband nor Garcia enjoyed it.

- “That's a way of saying it.”- I giggled and looked at the clock - “Now come on! Give me a couple more laps.”

- “Do we have to?”- Spence asked me with sweet puppy eyes, looking adorable and exhausted.

- “Yes, you do. Come on! You’ve got this.”

Lucky for Spencer and Penelope, Hotch texted us to tell us we had a case, which only meant training was over.

It also meant I had to stay with Garcia as my husband left the city to catch a serial killer. I knew it was our job and there was nothing I could do about it, but it made me uneasy to think about what would happen to Raven and me if anything went to happen to Spencer on the field. It was a fact: I was afraid of our mortality now that we were about to be parents. That is one fear I haven’t stopped feeling, and it’s one of the main reasons why today we are leaving the BAU.

During that case, Spencer got hit. It wasn’t serious, just a punch on the face, and Morgan teased him saying they might have ruined his pretty face a little. However, I didn’t laugh at all. I wasn’t calm or even rational at that point. You lose it when you get a phone call from your boss saying your husband is at the hospital, and you can’t go ‘cos you are 635 miles away and unable to get on a plane ‘cos you are 38 weeks pregnant. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a punch in the face.

I was beyond furious with him and Hotch. Mad at Spencer for putting himself in danger out there, and with Hotch, for putting him there in the first place.

I yelled so much while the team was on their way back, Garcia was afraid I was going to deliver the baby in her office. But I knew I had to get it off my system before dealing with Hotch, ‘cos I didn’t want to get fired for attempting to murder my boss.

- “What the fuck was Spencer thinking?!”- I yelled as I paced in Penelope’s office, trying to breathe. - “He never gets in any physical fight with an unsub! Ever! When was the last time he got hurt during a case? Tell me, Pen!?”- and my friend stared at me, not knowing the answer.

- “I’m… well…”

- “It was over five years ago, we weren’t even dating yet. He got fucking anthrax!! and he almost died! I can’t go through that again, we are gonna have a baby. Do you think I could raise a baby alone? I fucking can’t! There is no way on earth I can do this alone! Spencer can’t do this to me!”

- “(Y/N), please breathe. He just got punched on the face, that’s it.”- Garcia tried to reason with me, and failed.

- “Just punched on the face? Do you know how dangerous that is? It means he was fighting the unsub! One false movement and things south!”

- “But it didn’t happen, please, munchkin, calm down, you are gonna give me a stroke.”

- “I’m not gonna calm down until my husband is here, safe and sound!”

My wishes came true later that evening after I had made a major effort to calm myself down and not look like the hormonal and slightly crazy woman I was that day.

- “I’m ok, I swear”- Spencer said as soon as he stepped out of the elevator and found me waiting for him.- “I’m sorry, ma cherie.”

I sighed, taking in his perfume, the smell of his neck, and the warmth of his arms around me. Spencer kissed the top of my head and didn’t move for a few minutes until he was sure I was calmed. Somehow, having him there made me forget about how mad I had been earlier that day.

- “Are you sure you are ok?”- I whispered and looked at his face, he had a cut on the eyebrow and a bruise on the cheekbone.

- “Nothing that some kisses can’t fix.”- he said with a sweet smile.

- “You would have been proud, pretty girl.”- Derek pointed out, walking past us along with the rest of the team. - “Reid tacked the unsub like a pro.”

- “I did.”- my husband nodded. - “Working out is paying off.”

- “So, do you think you could stay here until the baby is born?”- I asked and Spencer just smiled.

- “Hotch and I already talked. I won’t move from my desk until Raven is here.”- I beamed, relieved, and let out a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding.

- “Thank you, honey bunny.”

- “Anything for you, ma cherie.”

- “I’m glad I don’t have to yell at Hotch anymore.”- my husband frowned, confused.

- “Why would you…”

- “Never mind, honey bunny.”

Spencer’s point of view

There are so many things I will never forget, and not just because I have an eidetic memory. One of my favorites is the day Raven was born. That was the day I became a father, and by far, one of the happiest moments of my life.

(Y/N) had started feeling contractions after dinner. We were on the couch watching Dr. Who and eating ice cream when they began. They were soft and irregular, so we didn’t move, and instead, we did what the doctor had instructed, and started timing the contractions.

After a while, (Y/N) decided a bath was a good idea ‘cos it might help her relax before bed, so I filled the tub and helped her in. We didn’t call anyone but our midwife, who told us we were doing the right thing and suggested we get as much sleep as possible. So we went to bed. I held my wife and placed a hand on his belly.

I felt like I hadn’t slept for more than five minutes when my wife’s voice woke me up at five thirty am.

- “Honey.”- she whispered, shaking my arm carefully.

- “Everything ok?! Are you in pain?! Do you need the doctor?”- I nearly jumped and stared at her, she seemed scared, though she tried to remain calm.

- “My water broke.”

And that was when my brain turned off.

I stared at (Y/N), slowly panicking, and stood by her side, analyzing everything. Yes, our mattress was probably ruined but that wasn’t the biggest issue at that minute.

- “Spencer?”- my wife called out my name, probably reading how I was losing it at that minute.

- “Yes, cherie, I’m here. I just… need a second.”

- “We have to go to the hospital.”- her voice was a whisper, and she didn’t say another word. A contraction hit her and I could read the pain all over her face. That was when it clicked me, there was no time to overthink, I had to be there for her. In a second I was fully dressed and helping her walk to the door.

- “The bag is in the car, I’ve got my cell… and yours.”- she kept panting as she enumerated everything we needed.

- “We’ll call your parents from the car”- I said as I grabbed the keys and opened the front door.

- “Wait!”- (Y/N) stayed still and held her belly with both hands. I saw her doing her breathing exercises, going through what looked like a very painful contraction. I placed my hand on hers and stared at her, doing her best to do everything we were taught we had to do.

- “I am so proud of you.”- I whispered and kissed her temple. - “You are doing so well, ma cherie.”

- “In case later I yell and say things I don’t mean, I love you.”- she replied and I chuckled. - “You know I might do that if it gets too painful.”

- “I know you will.”- I replied and kissed her lips - “Ready to walk to the car?”- (Y/N) nodded and started moving slowly. I closed the door and held her arm, helping her all the way over.

I rushed into the hospital with my wife, who was trying her best to hide her pain from me, so I wouldn’t freak out. But I was freaking out anyway. Of course, I was. I was running in my head all the possible scenarios that could go wrong in the following hours and I was terrified.

- “My wife is having our baby, her water broke.”- that was all I could say as soon as we reached the front desk. A nurse put (Y/N) in a wheelchair and guided her to a room in less than a minute to examine her. I gave our info and followed her, trying to remain calm.

- “How are you feeling, Mrs. Reid?”- she asked (Y/N).

- “I’m ok, I guess. I keep trying to think this isn’t the most painful thing ever ‘cos I know it’s gonna get worse.”- and my wife even joked, she is a champ.

- “We’ll make sure you feel the least pain possible. Now, let’s put you in bed and see how long until we meet your baby. Do you know what you are having?”

- “A girl.”- (Y/N) replied as I helped her move into the bed. I felt like there was nothing I could do at that minute, so I just stared at her being the most amazing woman ever.

- “Did you pick a name yet?”

- “Yes, Raven Marie.”-

- “That’s a lovely name! Now, let’s see how you are doing.”

The nurse was very nice. She asked my wife a million questions I heard (Y/N) answer patiently, checked her vitals, assessed her contractions, and checked her cervical dilatation. During that entire time, I couldn’t say a word, I was shocked. It was happening, my wife was going to make me a dad, and I was terrified. Not that I didn’t want to be a father, I was just scared anything might go wrong. And if everything went well, and the baby ended up hating me ‘cos I was the worst father on earth? I didn’t know how to be a good dad, I didn’t have one most of my life.

- “Honey, honey”- (Y/N) held my hand and took me from my thoughts.

- “Are you ok?”- I asked right away and she smiled.- “What can I get you?”

- “Nothing, but are you ok? You are pale and I can see you are losing it, and this hasn’t even started yet.”- I nodded and felt her squeezing my hand. - “It’s gonna be ok, so please don’t overthink it, ok?”- I nodded and leaned in to kiss her forehead, but she moved and crushed her lips against mine, making me smile.

- “Come on! She is still pregnant! Wait a little before knocking her up again.”- Frank said as he walked in absolutely unannounced, holding a paper bag filled with snacks, books, and magazines.

- “How the fuck did you know we were here?”- that was the first thing my wife questioned, and then the nurse showed up to take him out.

- “Your mom called us all, everybody is on their way, I just got here early.”

- “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to wait outside.”- the nurse said and pointed to the door.

- “Don’t worry, guys. I’m gonna be camping out there, I’m on the welcome committee. Anything you need, I’m here.”- Frank moved quickly, kissed (Y/N)’s forehead, and smiled. - “You are gonna kick ass, nugget!”

We are lucky to have the best friends on earth.

(Y/N)’s parents, Lu, and Mikey were in the waiting room with Frank in less than half an hour. They all had stopped by to see my wife and wish her luck. Hotch and Garcia got there next and hugged me tight.

- “How is my munchkin? Can I see her?”- Pen asked right away.

- “She is with the doctor, everything is fine. She is still a few hours away from pushing, but everything is going well. They are evaluating if they are giving her the epidural now.”- I explained and Pen nodded.

- “JJ said she won’t come ‘cos she has a cold and it could be dangerous for (Y/N) and the baby, but asked me to send pictures later.”- I just nodded and looked around the room. Everyone I loved was there to support us.

- “Did you bring her ice?”- Hotch asked and I showed him the cup I was holding.

- “On my way to get more ice right now.”

- “And how are you?”- my unit chief asked the million-dollar question, so I just sighed.

- “I can’t stand hospitals, there’s something about the lighting…”- Hotch raised an eyebrow and stared at me knowing that was not what bothered me. - “I’m just worried, I can’t stop thinking anything might go wrong.”- it was easiest to confess my darkest fear at that moment because I needed some sort of contention.

- “It’s normal, Reid. You want to be sure she and the baby are going to be ok.”- Hotch put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. - “You are doing a great job here.”

- “Thank you.”- it was somehow reassuring to hear Hotch saying that. I felt silly but it somehow took a weight from my chest.

- “Son.”- Chief (Y/L/N) walked towards, shook Hotch’s hand, and welcomed Garcia. - “Have you eaten anything?”- he didn’t actually wait for my reply, my father-in-law handed me a sandwich and a coffee. - “Eat this, I’ll bring my princess the ice. You need a little break.”- he tapped on my back and Sofia patted on an empty chair next to her and I moved towards her slowly.

- “Did you call your mom yet, honey?”- she asked me as I chewed the sandwich and shook my head. - “Do you want me to call her?”

- “It’s still too early in Las Vegas. And I don’t want her to get anxious. I’ll call her when Raven is here with us.”- I explained and sipped my coffee. Extra cream and extra sugar. I hummed happily and Sofia smiled.

- “Did I get your order right?”- she asked me and I nodded, surprised. - “I’m glad. I made you the sandwich you said you liked last time we had brunch. A bacon omelet goat cheese sandwich.”- she pointed out proudly.- “I remembered how much you liked it.”

- “Thank you, Sofia.” - she leaned over and kissed my forehead.

- “I love you, son. I am so excited you and my baby are about to be parents.”

I blushed as I heard her words, feeling my heart filled with love. Around us, Frank, Lu, Garcia, and Mikey talked about all the plans they had for my baby girl. Hotch was talking with Derek, who had just walked in with Alex.

- “Now eat your food,"- Sofia added.- "I’ll put an eye on my baby.”

I am still amazed by the warm feeling that having a family gives me. Not just my wife and kids, but our entire extended family, in-laws, and friends. I never thought I could ever have this. I know I say it a lot, but it’s very hard for me to believe this is my life.

(Y/N)’s point of view

Things I couldn’t stop thinking about the first time I had a baby: how Spencer always said studies showed women forgot about pain as soon as they held their babies. I needed to get to that point as fast as possible because no matter how many drugs they gave me, I felt like I was tearing apart.

- “Come on Mrs. Reid!”- the doctor said, from between my legs. - “I can see her head! just a few more pushes!!”

- “I can’t, I’m too tired!”- I argued and felt like breaking into tears, ‘cos I was moody and tired and most of all, scared ‘till the death of what was going on. A human was coming out of my body, I wasn’t ready to be a mom. I was terrified of messing it up.

- “Come on, ma cherie.”- Spencer had held my hand through the whole process, and though he had delivered a baby himself, for the first time ever, he didn’t give directions or corrected anyone. I guessed he was too scared to mess up and trusted the medical staff.

- “I’m sorry hon, I can’t do this.”- I mumbled and felt my baby punching her way out of my body. I had a strong contraction and instead of talking, all I could do was scream in pain.

- “Yes, you can do this, (Y/N). Come on! Just push, our baby is almost here. Just push, ok?”- Spencer begged as I did as told and gave my biggest effort.

- “Almost!! Just one more!!!”- the doctor said. Spencer held my hand tighter and nodded, in support. I don’t know how I did it, but somehow, I managed to push one more time and suddenly, I heard a baby cry.

- “Oh my god”- Spencer gasped and stayed still, staring at the baby with tears in his eyes. The doctor stood up and placed a red crying baby on my chest, and suddenly, Spencer was right. I felt no pain whatsoever. Nothing. All I could do was stare in awe and, of course, cry, how that little baby on my chest was in fact, my little baby.

- “Hi Raven.”- I whispered and touched her back carefully, with shaky hands. - “Hi, I’m your mom, and me and your dad love you very much.”- I chuckled and sniffed as Spencer moved closer and kissed my forehead.

- “She is perfect.”- he whispered and stared at her in admiration and pure love. The nurse gave him a pair of scissors and instructed him how to cut the umbilical cord. I tried to stop crying, but it was nearly impossible. I was a mom. My husband was a dad. We were parents.

Spencer and I had a kid. That was the thought I couldn’t process. The guy I had a crush on for what seemed to be my entire life, my best friend, the smartest guy on earth, and I, had made a baby. I managed to look away from Raven for a second and watched him staring at us, sobbing.

- “I love you so much.”- I whispered and he smiled at me. He leaned in and kissed my lips carefully, and then kissed our baby girl.

- “I love you too, so much. I am so proud of you, ma cherie.”

It was all sweet and fun until that point. But no one ever prepared me for what happened when we took Raven home. Yes, we were ready (or so we thought), but let me tell you this: dealing with a newborn after a week of no sleep is way worse than any unsub's interrogation I had ever dealt with. Way worse.

I felt I was losing my sanity after the first eight days with Raven at home. She didn’t sleep for longer than an hour, which meant neither did we. Breastfeeding wasn’t magical, it was uncomfortable and sometimes even painful, which made me feel like the worst mother on earth. During that first week, I did my best to remain calm and rational. But after eight days of no sleeping, pain due to delivery, swollen breasts, and the irrevocable agony of thinking I was the worst mother on earth, I locked myself in the kitchen and cried my eyes out as I waited for the pot to boil.

Spencer was with Raven in our room, walking around 'cause it was the best way to keep her asleep for more than half an hour. I didn’t want him to know I was crying 'cause I felt useless and pathetic. A voice inside my head kept telling me any other woman would do better than me. Any other woman would be a better mother for Raven and a better wife for Spencer.

I’m not proud to tell you how I felt, I swear. But at that moment, I was overwhelmed.

So I waited for the water to boil and cried as much as I could. Then I put myself together, grabbed a cup, and prepared a cup of hot lavender tea for myself. I also grabbed a bag of marshmallows and ate half of it in less than a minute. Then, I took a deep breath and headed back to our bedroom, where Spencer was still walking our baby. He looked exhausted but kept staring at Raven with the sweetest look in his eyes. It made me feel guilty because he was doing just great and I was a failure. And what was worse: I couldn’t stop thinking JJ was a better BAU mom than I was. She was my only comparison, and as far as I was concerned, she kicked ass. And there I was, failing.

- “She is asleep.”- Spencer whispered and I walked to him, to make sure Raven was well. - “Why don’t you get some rest? I’ve got her.”

- “No, I don’t wanna leave you alone with all the work.” - I argued, knowing it was useless to resist.

- “Every book says that when the baby is asleep, the mother should try to get some rest. Now please, get in bed and nap a little. I’ll be right here with Raven, ok?”

- “But…”

- “Chipmunk, I have to return to work in a few days, please get as much rest as you can while I am still here. I don’t wanna be at work feeling guilty I didn’t do enough to help you.”

- “You’ve done everything, honey.”- I whispered and looked down at my shaking hands. I was still filled with sadness and regret. Feelings I didn’t know how to handle.

- “What are you talking about? You brought her to this world, you feed her, you take care of her. You’ve done more than enough.”- he kissed the top of my head and I just sighed, defeated. - “Get some sleep, ma cherie.”

I was lucky enough to have a large support group. My mom would visit us daily and help us with Raven while we did house chores and napped. Lu, Frank, and Mikey brought us groceries during the first couple of weeks, so we didn’t have to leave the house. Hotch gave us all the free days he could get. But eventually, after a month and a half, my husband had to return to work, and I was all alone at our apartment with Raven.

- “How is my beautiful granddaughter?”- Diana asked as soon as I opened the door. She was visiting after her trip to the Grand Canyon, and my mom had invited her to stay over with her. My mother-in-law was doing so well with her new medication, and she wanted to enjoy as much time with Raven as possible.

- “And Spencer?”- Diana asked, looking around the apartment.

- “He is back to work, starting today.”- I explained and tried not to show how much I hated the idea of him chasing psychopaths and traveling all over the states. Spencer said he would ask Hotch to stay in town, at least for a few weeks, and help the team from headquarters. I wanted him to take a sabbatical from the BAU and teach in Georgetown for a semester. We could live like that, get used to having a baby, and watch her grow. But Hotch needed Spencer, and he said he also needed me back as soon as I was ready.

- “And how many weeks do you have left before going back to work?”- Mrs. Reid asked the dreadful questions as she walked around the apartment holding Raven in her arms.

- “Three more weeks.”

- “And do you want to go back to the FBI?”- Diana was on fire that day, asking everything I didn’t want to think about.

- “I miss my work, but I don’t want to be apart from Raven. I know mom will take care of her when I’m at work, and I don’t wanna travel for the next couple of months. But still, I’m not that excited about coming back to work.”- I explained. However, I left out the most important part: I was terrified of anything happening to us. Getting injured and being in danger was the biggest issue working at the BAU, but before having a kid, I had never felt as afraid as I was then.

- “Why don’t you relax honey?”- my mom asked, probably reading the pain on my face. - “Leave this little princess with us, and have a nice warm bath. How does that sound?”

- “And a nap”- Mrs Reid suggested - “Sleep as much as you want, darling. None of us will feel bad if you need to rest. God knows I needed naps when Spencer was a baby. He was adorable, but the first couple of weeks I was exhausted the entire time. Once I fell asleep sitting at the table, having breakfast.”- I smiled at them and nodded. They were both right. I needed a break before pumping, feeding, and changing diapers again. 

Series' Masterlist - Author's masterlist

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[incorrectbatfam]

Can Bruce read his gremlins a bedtime story?

Once upon a time—

Ugh, no. Go back and try again.

Jason, let the man read.

Not when it sounds like that. It's Sleeping Beauty. A fucking five-year-old can do it.

Alright, starting over. Once upon a time, there lived a princess in a castle.

Where else would she live?

I get what you're saying. Where was I? Right. When she was born—

Can we go back for a second? What kind of castle are we talking about?

Not again.

A good story has detail, Cass. Now give me the layout. Is it more mid-century or a little earlier? What fortifications do they have? Do the floor plans allow for guards to covertly sneak around? Are they prioritizing enemy intimidation or civilian—

Mid-to-late-century, reinforced walls with hidden cannons and watchtowers, they have underground tunnels, and civilian trust because their only enemy is Maleficent. As I was saying—

What's their contingency plan?

Tim!

The story is the contingency plan, you wet sack of hamburger meat.

Wow, spoiler alert.

Someone called?

I thought you went home?

And miss this trainwreck? As if. Too bad Tumblr doesn't have more colors because Duke would love this.

Huh?

It's a fourth wall thing. Don't worry, I've been working on my impression of him.

Let's see it.

Please don't.

"My name is Duke. I cry at Lord of the Rings."

In his defense, Frodo and Sam have a beautiful friendship.

Back to the story. When she was born, her parents threw a grand jubilee where all the kingdom and its fairies was invited. The fairies all arrived with presents—

You think they would have a baby shower before the baby is born, right? What, the first few days they're just going without diapers?

This was the Middle Ages. They believed in leeching the humors out for a common cold.

Also, you can throw showers after the kid arrives. Our own dad did it.

At least you weren't the guinea pig. Try explaining to a bunch of important rich people who brought gifts that actually, there is no baby, it's me and I don't need diapers or footie pajamas.

Says the guy wearing a Kid Flash onesie.

Says the one in a Superboy shirt and conspiracy theory pants. Pick a side.

I have two hands and I'm not ashamed.

Okay, there's a lot to unpack there—

Jason married Roy!

What?!?

It's for tax benefits. Not all of us can own a multi-billion-dollar corporation.

Your name's on the will.

Yeah but I'm never gonna get it 'cause Bruce isn't gonna die long enough for me to use it.

What do you mean?

He's talking about the retcons. You should ask Duke, he can see into other dimensions.

Ooh.

Ahem, I believe Father was telling us a story. I speed-read it so I know they all die at the end, but I'd like to hear your delivery.

Damian, you're reading this morning's obituaries.

Same thing.

Truelove'skissbrokethespellandtheylivedhappilyeveraftertheend. Terrible job everyone, now lights out.

[hellothere-generalangsty]

It's way past my bedtime ans my cat is sleeping-purring next to me but I thought I'd post the process of the @ailani-reillata Ailaniversary art I made today just to talk a bit more about it

Disclaimer: doing traditional art is cool until you need to scan it or post a picture of it 😂 also kinda long post below so ofc no obligation at all to read it!

Phase one: Sketching the Idea

My inspiration for the posture was a Yara Flor comic strip I found on Pinterest. Yara looks over her shoulder and her hair falls on the side of her face, and I loved the way it framed her face and thought it would look great with Ailani's hair.

I drew a little doodle on the page to help me visualize how the hair would be divided, and focused on 3 main parts (the lines, the bubbles, the empty space) which would - supposedly- help me during the lineart stage. Below are images of the final sketch.

I was hesitant on adding details to her arms, such as the folds of a dress, but I was so anxious about ruining the drawing I abandonzd that idea. I was considering adding her tattoos and was still not decided at this stage of the drawing.

Phase 2: Line-ing the Art

Is that even a real word? Idk, I'm too tired to English properly so we will say it is. Following the sketching phase was naturalle the lineart phase, which is one of my favorite stage when drawing. I bought new inking pens too so I was able to test them out, and it went quite well!

As you can see, the ribbons, outline of the skin and facial features have been done with my new pens, and i was quite happy with the result! It gives a more natural look to the whole drawing in my opinion.

At this stage I decided not to add her arm tattoos and consider this version of Ailani as the one you would find in the early chapters of Begged and Borrowed Time, so before she would get her tattoos.

Phase 2.5: Line-ing the Hair

This stage has it's own part because it was really fun to do! The inspiration for the way I draw hair comes from @/ssavaart (aka Scott Christian Sava on Youtube). I've been following him for a while now and I'm trying to push my art beyond my comfort zone and try new stuff thanks to him, and having fun with drawing hair is one of these things!

Look how beautiful these curls are. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm really proud of the drawing at this stage 😂 it's the perfect moment where the inking went well and I have not yet ridked myself with the watercolours - so I always take a long sight (and tons of pictures) to celebrate reaching this stage without incidents.

Phase 3: Watercolours

Here comes the difficult part. It always makes me nervous because I always fear ruining my drawing and all the efforts I put into it by doing the watercolours. But I love the medium too much and if I want to get better I need to practice. So, testing the waters, I finally dive head first into this crucial stage.

The watercolouring goes well, I'm overall satisfied enough to take some pictures and even try to scan it, with the hope that the scanned rendering will be better than the usual "photographing and editing" I do with my phone.

Spoiler alert: the scan was NOT better than the pictures, and no amount of editing could change that. (Or maybe I am just very bad at editing.) So, back to my "photographing and editing" habits, I somehow managed to get a good enough result:

I still feel unsatisfied as I find these digital versions do not properly render the visuals I have on paper, IRL. With the digital versionsw the hair is either so dark we don't see the details, or too bright, the colours are too warm and light... And while Ailani looks light-skinned, the paper version has these visible brown tones that I struggled to find on the digital version, even when editing the pictures. The closest I got is the tone you see on the first picture, but the image is not lighted enough so the overall quality of the picture is a bit lessened by that.

Still, I won't complain too much, because overall it was a very fun drawing to do, I enjoyed every stage of it and I would love to do another piece like this! But for now I will go to sleep because it is Way Past My Bedtime 😂

If you've made it this far, thank you for your attention, feel free to let me know which stage is your favorite and what you liked most (or disliked most) about this drawing!

I for one really had fun doing Ailani's lips, as well as filling her hair, and colouring her eyes! 😊

[study-coffee-chicago]

Hi! I hope you're doing well!

I just wanted to say I LOVE your fanfics and MISS your writing! I reread them all the time (not going to lie sometimes they are bedtime stories I read before conking out for the night)

I understand if you're done writing cause all the good characters have left the shows and the shows have gone downhill, but if you ever decide to pick up the pen again just know you will have someone who will read it right away! (I've got both alerts for your tumbler and I have so many of your stories on Wattpad saved)

Okay, that's all! Hope grad school life is treating you well and Go Red Wings

Thank you so much for the kind words! Grad school is going well, but obviously that and working are my main priorities right now.

However, I have been working on a Pirate AU (since July, but have really started getting into it again in January) and hope to have it posted sometime in the next month, so in March. (I’ve only been working on it for five minutes in the morning as I’m trying to make writing a part of my morning routine bc I have no energy to do so after school, hw, and work.) I’ve also been writing it for so long and am in the murky middle part of it, so I’m getting sort of annoyed with it. But, I know it will all turn out fine and I just have to keep writing bc the questions will answer themselves as I continue to write the imagine.

But, I don’t plan to stop writing. I have also have five other ideas for fics sitting in my notes rn…I just have yet to get to them.

So, yes, I am still writing. I just haven’t had a good chunk of time to get a lot of it done and have been writing in about 5 min long spurts for the past two months. Hopefully you’ll get this AU soon. (It’s currently over 11k words, so hopefully it makes up for not posting so in so long.)

LGRW! (Currently watching the wings vs isles rn…so no spoilers for this game lol)

[breezypunk]

13, 32, and 42 for the bbs!! 💜

Thamk youu! <3

-

13. Who’s the bigger tease?

This may or may not come as a surprise, but it's Goro. Vaughn has a very high drive, and Goro uses this to his advantage. Vaughn knows in certain cases he's being used really good and absolutely loves it, he enjoys being teased. Cos Vaughn will tease back ten times harder! Sometimes they play "who can tease the most without taking their clothes off first", spoiler alert: they both lose beautifully.

32. Who's the better story teller?

Unless it's stories about their lives before meeting each other, they are both pretty terrible at coming up with stories on the spot. Vaughn will sometimes tease Goro about reading him bedtime stories to help him fall asleep. As soon as Goro starts off with "once upon a time", Vaughn puts a stop to it in a fit of laughter.

42. What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

Rainy evenings. Not hard rain, not thunderstorms, but soft rain. Rain that you can still hear on the roof of your car, but not terribly loud and obnoxious. Really calm and soothing, where the wind is also blowing just right. When they decide to go stay with the Aldecaldos for a few weeks at a time they purposely stay outdoors where they can feel the rain, it's even better when the sun is setting. Kisses in the rain you say? Count them in.

[confessions-of-a-mum]

Confessions of a Mum, Fitness Pro, Partner, and Friend: A Weekly Blog Journey

Hey there, lovely readers! Strap in because we’re about to embark on a wild, witty, and refreshingly real rollercoaster—the kind where you laugh till you cry, cry till you laugh, and maybe even spill your coffee (don’t worry, I do it all the time). Welcome to my weekly blog, where we’ll unpack life’s challenges, curveballs, and those epic “mic drop” moments that make us want to fist-bump ourselves.

This space is for everyone—parents, guardians, professionals, couples, friends, or anyone who just loves a good read. So get comfy, grab a cuppa (or a cheeky glass of wine—we don’t judge here), and join the conversation. Drop your comments and let’s talk about the beautiful chaos that is life.

Meet Kirsty: Mum, Career Woman, and Serial Juggler of Chaos

Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Kirsty, proud maker of three gorgeous girls who have redefined what “busy” means. They make my days feel five minutes long, my sleep feel like pure gold dust, and my peace and quiet... well, I don’t even know what that is anymore.

I have an incredible partner who is the glue of our little family (I call him the “CEO of Sanity”), and I recently stepped into a new full-time gig in recruitment. Spoiler alert: this deserves its own novel. And friends? Hmm, friends... they’re out there somewhere, right?

But enough about me! Let’s talk about something close to my heart: mental health—because, boy oh boy, have I been through it.

The Young Mum Diaries: Stigma, Struggles, and Surviving

Here’s the tea: I became a mum at 18. While most people my age were drowning in coursework or dancing on sticky nightclub floors, I was up at 2 a.m. doing night feeds and fighting over which baby bottle worked best.

My eldest daughter, Macie, came into my life and flipped my world upside-down in the best way possible. But being a young mum wasn’t all cuddles and coos—it came with a hefty side of stigma. Suddenly, I didn’t fit in with my age group anymore. My friends were out living their best lives, and I was here wondering if anyone else was losing their minds over teething babies and mushed peas.

I struggled with my identity. Who even was Kirsty anymore? The carefree teen me had said goodbye, and in her place stood Kirsty 2.0—a young mum trying to figure it all out.

But here’s the plot twist: I thrived.

Macie and I became the ultimate team. It was just the two of us, learning and growing together. Sure, it wasn’t a “typical” young adult experience, but it was ours.

Career Curveballs: From Support Worker to Nursery Life

Fast-forward a few years, and I made the leap back into the working world. I’d been out of the loop for so long, I thought, “Who’s going to hire me?!” But I gave it a go and started as a support worker for young autistic adults. It was tough but rewarding, and I LOVED learning something new every day.

Two years in, an injury forced me to part ways with that career. So, naturally, I pivoted to a new chapter: early years education. I found myself working in the cutest nursery in Silsoe alongside my bestie.

But here’s the thing about working with people your own age: it can feel like high school all over again. I constantly compared myself to the younger women around me—their bodies, their talk, their ease with the world.

Meanwhile, I was over here fluent in “mum language,” struggling to connect. I didn’t know the latest slang or trends—I knew bedtime routines and CBeebies theme songs. Talk about a recipe for peak isolation.

To All the Young Mums Out There: You’re Not Alone

Here’s the message I wish someone had told me back then: It’s okay to feel out of place. It’s okay to struggle. And more importantly, you’re not alone.

Being a young mum means you’ve already achieved something extraordinary. You’re raising a human! You’re doing the night feeds, the tantrum negotiations, the endless laundry cycles—and still finding time to question your existence over cold coffee. (Gold star for you.)

Isolation can sneak up on you, even when you love your role as a mum. It’s the weirdest paradox—feeling fulfilled yet lonely, confident yet out of place. But trust me, those feelings don’t define you. They’re just a chapter of your story.

Let’s Keep It Real

So, that’s chapter one of this blog: a little messy, brutally honest, and straight from the heart (with a side of sarcasm, because why not?).

To all the parents, professionals, couples, and friends tuning in—thank you for reading. Let’s keep this dialogue going! Share your stories, your wins, your struggles, or just say hi in the comments.

Until next time, remember: life’s too short to sweat the small stuff. And if all else fails, there’s always chocolate.

Love, Kirsty x

[fitnessreview]

10-Minute Trick That Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep (Maybe Not, But Here's What Actually Works!)

Hey weight loss warriors! Sarah here, your go-to gal for ditching the fad diets and building sustainable habits that actually help you reach your goals.

Let's talk about belly fat. We've all seen those headlines promising a magic "10-minute trick" that melts it away while you sleep. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it probably is. But that doesn't mean there aren't some powerful things you can do before bed to support your weight loss journey!

My Struggle & The Big "Aha" Moment:

Like many of you, I used to fall for those quick fixes. I spent countless nights picturing myself with a flat stomach after trying some crazy sleep hack. Spoiler alert: none of them worked. It wasn't until I started focusing on sustainable lifestyle changes that I finally saw results.

"Thousands Already Ditched Boring Coffee! Watch the FREE Java Burn Video & See Their Success Stories!"

Science Says Sleep Matters for Weight Loss:

Here's the good news: getting enough quality sleep can play a role in weight management. Sleep deprivation disrupts hormones that regulate hunger and metabolism. When you're sleep-deprived, your body produces more ghrelin (the "hunger hormone") and less leptin (the "fullness hormone"), making you crave more food and feel less satisfied after eating.

Actionable Steps for a Sleep-Supportive Night Routine (The Real 10-Minute Trick):

Power Down Early: Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Set a consistent sleep schedule and stick to it, even on weekends.

Dim the Lights: Exposure to blue light from screens before bed can suppress melatonin production, the sleep hormone. Dim the lights or wear blue light-blocking glasses in the evening to create a sleep-conducive environment.

Wind Down & Relax: Develop a calming bedtime routine. Take a warm bath, read a book, or practice gentle yoga to unwind your mind and body.

Optimize Your Sleep Space: Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet. Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows to promote better sleep.

Bonus Tip: Manage Stress for Better Sleep:

Chronic stress can wreak havoc on your sleep and your weight loss goals. Implement stress-management techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises into your routine.

" Limited Time! Watch the FREE Java Burn Video & Discover the Secret to Fat-Burning Coffee!"

Remember:

While a good night's sleep is important, it's not a magic bullet for belly fat loss. However, by prioritizing sleep hygiene alongside a healthy diet and regular exercise, you'll be setting yourself up for success.

What are your bedtime routines for better sleep? Share your tips in the comments below!

By incorporating these tips and focusing on building healthy habits, you'll be well on your way to achieving your weight loss goals!

[mccarthyplumbinggroup]

Binge-Learning; 7 business lessons I’ve learnt from the couch watching Netflix

I love watching TV. I love talking to friends and workmates about what ‘show’ they’re currently watching and get their advice on what I need to watch next. My husband and I always watch TV together at night, with a cup of tea. That means a). We have to agree on what to watch (he’s currently suffering through season 6 of Outlander) and b). If either of us are out for the night, we can’t watch that show without the other (that’s cheating). 

The kids don’t go to bed until 8.30pm now so we watch a family friendly show from 7.30pm-8.30pm, reducing our couples binge-watching show time from 8.30pm-9.30pm. After 9.30pm its Come Dine With Me or Anthony Bourdain for 10 mins wind down (yes, after TV wind down is a thing, especially after watching something like The Handmaids Tale).

All of the business books and life coaches say TV is bad and life-wasting and we should be reading a book or doing meditation or writing in a journal or Wim Hof-fing or something else to develop oneself. And that’s all great advice of course. But after a big day of client woes, late payers and HR headaches a TV show can be just what’s needed to desensitize you for an hour, and soothe your day before bedtime.

Some of that mind-numbing stuff will not only pacify you, but teach you some lessons in business when you least expect it, while you’re nestled under your hygge rug munching on a square of Cadbury fruit and nut. Here are some business tips I’ve learned from some of my favourite TV shows recently (spoiler alert!).

Formula 1: Drive to Survive – You’re Only As Good As Your Last Race

Drive to Survive is now in its 5th season and is a documentary series based on the behind-the-scenes happenings of the Formula One World Championship. The show has been so popular its driven Grand Prix attendance numbers and viewership of Formula 1 to new heights; pumping an extra US$1billion into the motorsport annually. The series highlights exactly how dispensable the drivers are; there are only a limited amount of ‘seats’ (20 per season, 2 per team). And whilst I stop short of feeling sorry for these pampered and famous multi-millionaires with homes in Monte Carlo, I do feel for how consumable they are by their teams.

Fan favourite, and one of the shining stars from the series is Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo. A fellow sandgroper, Daniel is the class clown of the program, a loveable larrikin and genuinely talented race car driver having won 8 Grand Prix victories. In his Formula 1 career he drove for Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Renault and McLaren. His history of changing teams and progressive decline has reduced him to now becoming the backup driver for Red Bull Racing (ironic, as he left Red Bull previously because he didn’t want to be driver number 2). Daniel hasn’t had a win since September 2021, and was replaced in 2022 by fellow Aussie up and comer Oscar Piastri. 

Not unlike in business, Daniel was only ever as good as his last race, which weren’t great in 2022. In business, we are only ever as good as our last client interaction. We could have 99 wonderful interactions with a client, but they will remember the last one, over everything, as it is freshest in mind. This is what we try and convey to our team, particularly honing in on the importance of the client experience and ensuring we give them a positive journey with our company. They’ll remember if they’ve had a good experience with our company, but if they’ve had a bad experience, they won’t just remember it, they’ll tell their friends about it. We’re currently reviewing our Client Experience Process to ensure its on point for 2023 as we’re only as good as our last race job.     

Below Deck – Safety First

We occasionally like a bit of trashy reality TV in our house, and there is no trashier than Below Deck. Based around ‘yachties’ working on superyachts in the Caribbean or Mediterranean, the series (there’s also been lots of spinoffs) showcases how the boat’s team members impress their wealthy clientele on charter by creating flawless experiences.  

There are a LOT of messages, and lessons learned from mistakes, around customer service. The end game for the yachties is to earn a tonne of cash from tips. The tips are based around the experience had by the clients. There are also loads of examples on teamwork, and how being a supportive team member can benefit everyone else, and how a toxic person/weak member can really let down a team if not managed correctly.

The biggest message I learnt from the show however was about safety. And not just safety, but the impact being unsafe can have on yourself and on others. In one episode, a deckhand stepped on a tow line which wrapped around his ankle, dragging him into the water. He could’ve lost his life, or at the very least his foot, from being towed by the yacht, had a cameraman not untangled the lines quickly giving him time to swim free of the ropes he was tangled in.

When my husband and I watched this scene we froze, I think I even started crying. Not over the happenings of a reality TV show, but the reality of workplace accidents and how one split decision could be so hazardous and lifechanging, or life ending. The Captain spoke and choked up about how lucky the deckhand was, and the importance of safety on boats. I had trouble sleeping that night, thinking about being in the Captain’s shoes and how devastated I’d be if one of our plumbers got seriously hurt or had a terrifying near miss, or worse. We ended up showing our team the clip at the following toolbox talk, in the hope that a bunch of good looking, tanned reality TV stars could convey such an important message that perhaps my monthly drone at a toolbox talk couldn’t.

Ted Lasso – Encouragement

I didn’t think I’d be a fan of this show as I thought it would have to much American slapstick humour, but it didn’t disappoint. The relegated British Premier League team plot appealed to me as I had worked for a Premier League Club in my previous pre-plumbing life, and that team was also relegated.

Ted is an American football coach, employed to manage the fictional AFC Richmond. Initially employed out of spite by the owner’s ex-wife in the hope he’d fail, Ted wins the hearts of the players, staff, fans and media with his ever-positive attitude, and thoughtfulness.

It’s not just me who took notes on Ted’s powerful management messages, his leadership advice has been written about by Forbes magazine and the Financial Review, because it’s so damn good. Ted is a great leader because he embodies empathy, positivity, and humility. He listens to his team members and genuinely cares about their well-being, both on and off the field. He also leads by example, showing his team how to treat each other with respect and kindness. Ted doesn't focus solely on winning but rather on the process and the growth of his team. He acknowledges his own mistakes and encourages his team to do the same, creating a culture of accountability and learning. Ultimately, Ted's leadership style fosters a strong sense of community and inspires his team to believe in themselves and each other.

I love how he encourages his players, and respects their opinions even if he doesn’t necessarily agree with them - “I appreciate you for saying that”. Ever gracious, and conscious of his team’s mental health, even if his own is failing.

Vikings – Grit

I could keep watching this show forever but unfortunately my husband zones out of everything after 3 seasons. Vikings loosely follows the old Norse legendary sagas, however instead of hundreds of different characters, the sagas tend to be depicted in one small community; Kattegat.

Vikings portrays the value of grit and determination through its depiction of the Viking warriors and their way of life. The characters face numerous obstacles and challenges, from battles and raids to harsh weather and difficult living conditions. Yet, they persist and push through these difficulties, relying on their strength, endurance, and resilience to overcome them. The show emphasizes the importance of mental and physical toughness, perseverance, and the willingness to sacrifice for a greater cause. The characters' determination to survive and thrive in a harsh and unforgiving environment underscores the value of grit and the rewards that come from enduring through adversity.

The trials and tribulations main character Ragnar Lothbrok and his family (wife Lagertha, best mate Floki and sons Bjorn, Ubbe and Ivar) have to endure is brutal. But they never, ever give up and through sheer grit and determination keep soldering on for the betterment of their community.

Running a small business relies on grit more than anything, especially in a post-pandemic, inflation rising, recession looming World. It’s a core value business owners require to get past that 1st, 5th, 10th year in business.

Clarkson’s Farm – Red tape

This show is a new favourite in our household, with one side of our family being dairy farmers from Colac, Victoria. Jeremy Clarkson, of Top Gear fame, lives on a property in the idyllic English farming village of Chipping Norton. Rather than continuing to subcontract his farm work out, he decided to learn to be a farmer himself. The show spans over three seasons of hilarity, showing Clarkson learning how to farm from scratch including how to drive farm machinery, grow crops, shear sheep, feed calves and pick vegetables.

What begins as a humorous journey, morphs into a serious message of the adversity farmers face in modern Britain. Firstly, Covid strikes, and every business owner knows what that means for businesses (everyone except Kleenex that is). Next, Brexit impacted the farm and local community of farmers; why buy a £10 pork roast when you could buy a £5 pork roast imported from Europe? Most consumers don’t care for supporting loyal when they’re struggling to support their families.

The cost of imported foods was discussed in later episodes; UK produce was taxed higher, and the farm businesses had to cut through more red tape and regulations than their European counterparts. There were various green taxes (eating into profits), pesticide bans (meaning crops were eaten by insects) and various levels of legislation and council regulations making it nearly impossible to grow and innovate.

It was refreshing to see that Clarkson had chosen to show the warts and all side of farming, and small business ownership, and his frank account of showing the viewer how almost impossible it would’ve been for him to proceed had he not been a millionaire. The show has done wonders for farmers in Britain, showcasing the local produce lifecycle to viewers, and also highlighting what regulations and red tape do to hinder growth and prosperity in small business.    

Peaky Blinders – Loyalty Isn’t Enough

If my entire family of sisters, cousins, aunties and uncles could choose a show we’d all watch together happily, we’d all choose Peaky Blinders. I don’t know if it’s the working class grimy British setting that reminds us of our grandparents’ humble beginnings, or the fact that its just a brilliant show.  

If you haven’t watched the show (where have you been?!) It tells the tale of the infamous Peaky Blinders gang in Birmingham, who hide razor blades in their peaked caps, ready to ‘blind’ their enemies with.

We should hate the peaky blinders; they are a band of violent brothers and their mates, bullying others and making their fortune from drugs and illegal betting. But for some reason we, the viewers, seem to turn a blind eye to the misdemeanors of Tommy Shelby and his brothers. Perhaps it’s because Tommy can be charming, intelligent and strategic; with the charisma of a Hollywood star. Or perhaps it’s because we feel sorry for Arthur, the perpetually downtrodden, traumatized underdog. For a good 4 seasons, the Peaky Blinders strength is their loyalty, to the cause (whatever that may be at the time) and to the family. But things change in the final few seasons, when loyalty is all but gone and their end up warring with former Chief Accountant, and cousin, Michael Gray.

For the Peaky Blinders, loyalty was EVERYTHING. But they relied on it too much and in the end it meant nothing as the post-war world was changing. I think of it akin to today’s current ‘employee market’; we as employers can’t just assume our employees will stay due to ‘loyalty’. We need to create a positive team culture, communicate regularly, reward and recognize, provide training and pay appropriately to begin to foster employee loyalty. Easier said than done, getting the mix right is challenging and we as business owners don’t always get it right, I put my hand up now saying my husband and I are no experts, we’re continuously learning and hopefully improving.   

The Founder – Systems and Processes

The final addition to my binge-learning favourites list was the movie The Founder. The Founder is the story of Ray Kroc, who turned the McDonald’s chain of restaurants into the goliath it is today. The movie shows Ray as an unremarkable milkshake maker salesman who chances upon a restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers.

After watching the brothers serving at their restaurant (with some genuine unique selling propositions over their local competitors), Ray gets the idea to franchise the restaurant, one that sends him on a trajectory of uber-wealth, amassing nearly $600M by the time of his death in 1984.

The movie shows how McDonald’s came to be the titan of systems and processes it is today, through having a standardized menu, robust staff training on how to follow specific procedures, using technology to streamline operations, and focusing on customers’ needs and preferences. Love or hate McDonald’s, they continue to dominate due to their dedication to the process. I may employ plumbers not hospitality workers, but if two near identical resumes come in and one has worked for McDonald’s previously, that one normally gets the phone call first. Why? Because the ability to follow systems and processes is a highly sought after, transferable skill.

The Netflix Effect: How Binge-Watching Can Teach You Business Lessons

So next time you feel a pang of guilt when you’re slouched over your hot chocolate on the couch, just think; binge-watching Netflix can provide practical lessons for business. By observing successful companies/people (such as Red Bull) and avoiding their mistakes, viewers can learn about leadership, teamwork, and innovation. The diverse range of characters from programs can also inspire creativity (Jeremy Clarkson) and empathy (Ted Lasso). It may never be as info-laden or insightful as a Stephen Covey or Robert Kiyosaki book, but it’s a fun and engaging way to gain practical lessons for success. I’ll still listen to my business books and podcasts on my commute to the office, but its Netflix & Chill during me time. Or is it more HBO & Merlot when you’re married?...

[lemon-sweety]

Awwww your hinakoma family au is so sweet! I think that the personalities of both of their personalities fit Makoto's so much, I mean, he has kind of a bad self steem because he's normal? He's lucky, he also gets angry, tho its not showed much because he's actually pretty mature to see that the one doing the wrong is the mastermind and the rest was just in a difficult situation. Anyway, could you tell us more about it please? Headcannons or ideas, whatever you want.

thank you sm anon, I'm glad someone actually likes it. And you're totally right when it comes to makoto's personality I did thought it would be fit so well.

also, i'm sorry if it took a while for me to responds ^^; i would totally like to share more of course.

to be honest, i'm too afraid to say it before, but makoto is like their biological son. I'm aware not everyone is comfortable with this one, so i'm not gonna explain it in details, and it's up to you how you want to think of it.

i really like the idea how Nagito would rather be the one that stays home so he could spend his time with Makoto and it just shows how much he loves him

traumatized by his childhood, Nagito is actually scared his luck would effect his son, he doesn't want Makoto to be alone just like him

Hajime having too much fun teasing little Makoto until he cries <\3

Nagito could drive, but he would rather let Hajime do it instead cuz he doesn't want anything bad to happen

due to his luck, sometimes Nagito could actually burn the kitchen but for some reason the food that he made is still good

there's no way Nagito did not read a bedtime story for Makoto

for physical, Hajime's shoulder got wider and bigger titties, ever since they had Makoto, Nagito grew his hair and Hajime thought it looks pretty for him

Nagito is so good at being a housewife(husband?) so good, that Makoto starts to call him mama when he was a baby

Hajime likes bought some pairs of t-shirt couple for Nagito and Makoto cuz he thought it looks so cute

The parents realized Makoto has ultimate luck when he was like 2 years old

And it gave Nagito a war flashback and cried at 3 AM because he thought Makoto might have the same luck cycle as him (spoiler alert: no he don't)

Hajime would take some workout in his workout room, and Makoto with his little feet will came to see him

besides curry Makoto also likes green apples (i know this one is random-)

Chiaki best aunt!!

yeah she would totally play babybus games with him while babysitting

[subspencer]

imagine teasing little baby spence in the car. Like the teams SUV bro. maybe you wore a top that did your body some favors, and maybe it’s a v-neck or a scoop neck. maybe you wore pants that make your ass look . and the way you’re driving,,, the focus you have, the confidence you display, the way your hand grips the wheel, it just has him unable to keep his eyes off you. he tries, of course, but his eyes keep drifting back over to you and your body. you see this out of the corner of your eye and see him shuffling and shifting and squirming, but you try to ignore it. you two have been sent to the precinct to start a geographical profile. you have things to do. but he just keeps staring and squirming so you finally hit him with “everything okay, pretty boy?” and he was so preoccupied with how you look and your demeanor that he didn’t even think about the fact that you might be able to see him or that he wasn’t being subtle. and so suddenly he’s just sputtering trying to come up with a good reason to have been staring like he was. He can’t even come up with something before the two of you have arrived at the precinct. however, by the way he was staring and squirming, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it is he wants.

you make an effort throughout the day to create unnecessary contact. asking him to pass you a pen and sliding your hand over his fingers before taking it. resting your hand on his shoulder to look at the map from behind him. maybe you even tell him he’s got an eyelash on his cheek and “wipe it off” for him (spoiler alert, no eyelash). you spend the whole time getting him all pent up and frustrated. when the night rolls around hotch calls you two from the field and tells you two to head to the hotel for the night.

the drive is silent for the first few minutes but you feel his eyes on you. you decide the two of you have time so you’re gonna put on a show for him. you stretch your body out and let out a little sigh that conveniently could be a moan in a different context. you shift your hips around a little bit. you stretch your neck and let out something maybe a little closer to a real moan. you hear spence let out an involuntary whimper and when you look over his head is in his hands. you look down and see a pretty prominent bulge in his pants, so you decide to take matters into your hands and turn off to find some abandoned back road. he notices and asks why you turned there, but you just stay silent until you find a spot to pull over and turn on the emergency lights and maybe even the police lights, just to make sure nobody bugs you or the car. you look over at him and tell him to be honest with you and tell you what he wants. obvious answers scream through his head but all he can do is blush and avoid eye contact. you can see you won’t get anywhere like this so you take his chin and gently tilt his head so he’s looking into your eyes. you tell him if he wants you to take care of that little problem he’s got for him, he needs to get out of the car and into the backseat, or if he’d prefer to pretend none of this ever happened, he can sit right there and they’ll drive off and never breathe another word of it.

his eyes go wide, and he hesitates because he’s not sure if you’re being genuine or if this is just to mess with him, but as he looks into your eyes he realizes this is for real. as soon as he confirms that he’s not getting played he rushes to undo his seatbelt and scrambles into the back. you follow his actions, far calmer than him, ofc, and you make sure to lock the car once you’re both inside in the back together. you go to touch his neck, and he leans into your touch with a soft sigh. you move to straddle him and press soft kisses on his face, and ask him if everything you’re doing is okay, and all he can do is nod vigorously. you tell him that if at any point he wants to stop he just needs to say it. he breathes out a soft “I won’t” and looks into your eyes, and something about that just makes you go feral. you start to kiss his lips with a hunger and lust, starting to tour his body with your hands as you feel him submit to you. he kisses back like the sweet touch starved boy he is, running his hands up and down your sides. you pull off your clothes from the waist up and tell him he can touch you however he’d like before you dive back in to kiss him. his hands are immediately on your chest. you arch your back and lean into his touch, feeling his thumbs rubbing back and forth over your nipples, and your lips are forced to disconnect from his by the moan that leaves your body. he begins to beg, “please, more” and you’re more than happy to oblige.

you slip your hands between your bodies to undo a few buttons on his shirt before you let them travel to his pants, which you unbutton and unzip so you can palm him through just his underwear. the way he moans and ruts into your hand is such a turn on, and you know you have to have him inside you. you stop touching him to start to wrestle your pants and underwear down and he hooks his fingers into the waistband to help push them down and off your legs as you lean into him for support to get them off completely. he stares at your body as you shift his pants down just enough so that you can push his underwear off and free his dick from the straining fabric. you take one of his hands off of you and guide it between the two of you and tell him to push his middle and ring finger inside of you. he’s a good boy and does as told, and it feels phenomenal, those long fingers exploring the warm, wet cavern, but that’s not their final destination. you pull his fingers out and help him drag that wetness to your clit, and tell him to rub little circles into that spot. ever eager to please, he does so, and you have to brace your hands on his chest to support yourself after the immediate jolt of pleasure, but once you’ve gotten into the groove of it, you’re on a mission. you guide his length to your entrance and sink down on him slowly, and he has to stop for a second to take in the sheer pleasure he’s experiencing in this moment. once he’s returned to his actions and you can tell he’s ready for more, you slowly begin to ride him, bouncing up and down and getting lost in the mix of it all; the sheer pleasure is overwhelming, and it is only aided by the sounds of both of your moans filling the hot air inside the car. the sound of skin slapping skin and the feeling of spencer moaning and whimpering into your neck as he feels your walls clench around him has your insides tying a knot that will soon come undone. you start to ride faster, come down harder, slipping your fingers into his hair and pulling so he’s looking at you before you lean down to leave a dark hickey right below his collarbone. you feel him twitch inside of you and know you’re both close. you tell him to rub your clit faster as you chase not just yours, but his orgasm as well. he’s dangerously good at following instructions, and you can feel yourself teetering on the edge. he feels your walls begin to flutter and wraps his lips around your pebbled nipples and that throws you all the way off the cliff. your sudden orgasm triggers his, and you two ride out your highs together in absolute bliss. as you slow down to a stop, you’re both breathing heavy and leaning into one another for support. you peel yourself off and collect your underwear and pants and begin to redress yourself. as you reach for your bra and top he mutters a quick “uh.. thank you for that” as he fixes his shirt, pants, and underwear. you hit him with “anytime” as you finish putting yourself back together and exit the back of the vehicle. as you hop back in the front you back at him and ask if he plans to ride back to the hotel back there. as he exits and re-enters the SUV, you cut off the emergency lights and both of you buckle up. you drive back to the hotel in silence, and you head straight for your room with a nonchalant “goodnight spence.” he has no idea what just happened, but is thankful that it did, and even more so thankful for the eidetic memory that would allow him to remember this in perfection.

LMAO i did not mean to write a whole ass fic in your ask box i’m just Irreparably Horny™️ and once I started it just kept flowing. you are not at all obligated to post this 😂 ❤️ luh you bestie

-🍭

bestie i read this right before passing out last night so thank you for the bedtime story <3 this masterpiece must be shared i can’t believe you just got on a roll and popped the hell off like this 😩 i wish fjjxkdjsjs it take me eons to think of a single word

[ahkaahshi]

sleeping over at their s/o’s house for the first time [scenarios]

pairings: sakusa kiyoomi; hirugami sachirou; kuroo tetsurou x fem reader

genre: fluff and humor, as per usual

warning(s): n/a

notes: kinda popped off on hirugami’s part. couldn't help myself. not sorry bout it either. can’t wait til we get to see more of his cute lil face in the anime.

he is so painfully awkward I love him

will just stand in the entryway with his duffle slung over his shoulder, staring straight at you until you tell him when he can put his stuff

this literally isn’t his first time over at your house but he acts like it???

poor baby’s obviously nervous about ~ spending the night ~

immediately washes his hands

brings his own pillow

asks if you’ve sanitized all your surfaces recently/if anyone in your household has been sick lately

does he wanna play video games? not until he’s wiped down all the controllers.

does he wanna watch real housewives? no, but you put it on anyway because you know he secretly loves the drama

does he want a snack? possibly? but refuses to eat on your bed because lying on crumbs is nasty

all he does is get under the covers and hang out

only moves to brush his teeth and, of course, wash his hands

will do a face mask with you but only after thoroughly reading the contents of the bottle/package

wears his hoodie and sweats to bed

is asleep before 10pm

2/10. total party pooper who only gets points because he’s hot and dislikes the same housewives as you do

Moments after releasing a rather loud guffaw at a funny scene from the television show you have playing on your laptop, you hear a small groan echo from beside you. Turning your head to the source of the noise brings your attention to your boyfriend, whose tall form rested on the bed beside you, ensconced in your blankets. His eyelids flutter open and his eyes the color of charcoal fasten on you before narrowing in a small glare of annoyance from underneath the sea of black waves atop his head.

Maybe you would’ve felt even the slightest bit intimidated if his face wasn’t close to being absorbed by the yellow fabric of his hoodie--and if he hadn’t flattened his hair against his forehead by closing the drawstrings to secure his hood around his head.

“Kiyo!” you whine, crossing your arms in front of you chest, “Were you really asleep just now?”

His dark eyebrows furrow as he answers matter-of-factly, “Yes. You know I go to bed at ten o’clock, (f/n). It’s ten thirty.”

You roll your (e/c) eyes at him and protest, “But this is a sleepover! Would it kill you to stay awake a little longer so you can spend some precious time with your beloved girlfriend?”

“Lack of sleep can lead to sickness. Sickness can lead to death. So, yes, staying awake longer to spend precious time with my beloved girlfriend could kill me.”

“I hate you.”

He lets out a long sigh and reaches over towards your laptop to close it, putting an end to your Real Housewives marathon. Once he’s moved it off of your bed, one of his arms snakes around your waist and pulls your body down towards the mattress. His midnight gaze doesn’t falter as he says, “If you get sick, I won’t be able to spend time with you like this, so sleep with me.”

Your heart skips a beat at his tenderly spoken words, and you crawl underneath the covers so you can place your head on his muscular chest and curl up beside him. The feeling of his warmth surrounding you is enough to make you melt into his arms and forgive him for completely ditching you in favor of sleep.

���(F/n).”

“Yes, baby?”

“If you kick me off the bed, this will be our last sleepover.”

sweet boy who is very excited to spend the night at his girlfriend’s house!!

brings snacks and movies

he enjoys doing any activity with you, whether it’s watching movies, playing video/board games, or just cuddling on the couch and talking

not hard to please at all!!!

watches rom coms with you. secretly a hopeless romantic

you’ll probably spend at least ten minutes of your night trying to catch pieces of popcorn in your mouths

and another ten doing the same thing with m&ms

poor boy is too tall to fit under your blankets, so you have to give him an extra one for his legs and feet

bedtime attire consists of boxers with corgis on them, a sweater, and crew socks to keep his tootsies warm 🥺

brings you a pair of matching, corgi-patterned sleeping shorts bc he wants to twin with you

your parents are gone, meaning you can do chaotic activities...

... like baking at 2am!!

he loves to bake (and you can’t convince me otherwise). pls bake with him

wants to stay up all night with you but ends up passing out around 3am after y'all eat all the cookies you made together

11/10, best sleepover ever

Few things were more romantic than spending an evening with your boyfriend on your hands and knees, against the cold, tile floor of the kitchen, cleaning up the aftermath of the mess you’d created.

Lifting your gaze from the white goop coating the flooring, you glance over at Hirugami, who looks completely unfazed and unbothered despite his face still being decorated with dollops of whipped cream. Beholding this sight once more sends you into another fit of laughter that makes it hard for you to keep yourself steady.

“What?” he asks, a small smile creeping onto his lips at seeing you so amused.

In between breaths, you manage to ask, “Why’ve you still got whipped cream on your face?”

With a roll of his chestnut brown eyes, he uses his fingers to swipe some of it off so he can help himself to another serving. “Obviously,” he scoffs sassily, “I’m saving it for later.” His smart comment makes you snort rather unattractively, which, in turn, causes chuckles to pour out from his mouth. “I’m assuming that’s what you’re doing too, right?”

Your (e/c) eyes widen, since you thought you’d done a good job of clearing up the results of your whipped cream battle from your face. A glance at your reflection in the glass of the oven where the cookies were slowly baking soon proved you wrong. Instead of being irritated by this discovery, however, you let out another, wheezing laugh and fell onto your side.

To any outsider, the situation would’ve looked rather strange--an incredibly tall volleyball player dressed only in corgi-patterned boxers, a sweater, and socks, face covered in whipped cream as he fell about laughing with his girlfriend who wore a similar ensemble and was sporting the same whipped cream situation. However, in your defense, it was two o’clock am, and you were high on sugar.

"Come over here and I’ll get the rest off your face, then,” Hirugami suggests, extending his long arms towards you that beckon you closer to him. After you scoot closer to him, he pulls you into his embrace and starts peppering your skin reddened from laughing so heartily with kisses. With each press of his lips against your face, your heart flutters in your chest.

He only pulls away from you when the oven beeps, alerting you that the cookies you’ve been awaiting are finally ready. But he does so with hesitation, seeing as he’d been caught up in savoring the sweet taste of your lips instead.

“You ready to eat some cookies?” he asks with a grin.

Your reply makes him snicker: “Always.”

is fully prepared to stay up the entire night (spoiler alert: doesn't)

made an entire party playlist for y'all to listen to throughout the evening

expect lots of dancing, vibing, singing, and buzzfeed unsolved episodes

brings dance dance revolution over to your house and then proceeds to challenge you to a dance off

was not prepared for what you brought to the table

tries twerking to distract you but still fails

will go on a midnight mcdonalds run with you

is the kinda person to share deep, late night thoughts with

only with him can your conversations go from discussing the questions of human existence to debating which form of potatoes is the most elite

will 100% do face masks with you to keep his complexion lookin godly

INSISTS on watching scary movies

expectation: “don’t worry, babe; I got you!!”

reality: is visibly shaking underneath the covers, questioning all the shadows in your house

wears only a pair of shorts to bed even tho it’s cold af (he runs hot, if ya know what I mean heheh)

8/10. would’ve scored the last 2 points if he hadn’t stolen the blankets and made you wonder if your house was haunted

"(F/n).”

The familiar and gentle voice of your boyfriend rouses you from your semi-conscious state, and you hear the sheets of your bed rustle.

“I’m so tired, Tetsu... what is it?” you wonder groggily, not even bothering to open your eyes to see what’s upset him.

“I think your house is haunted,” is his response. Though he speaks calmly and coherently, his hazel eyes are wide with fear and darting around the dark bedroom.

“Oh, stop. I knew it was a bad idea to watch those supernatural Buzzfeed Unsolved episodes before bed.”

The bed sinks behind you, and you feel the warmth of the blanket he’d stolen from you earlier around your body as he pulls you towards him so your back is flush against his chest. While you appreciate his closeness to you, you can tell he’s far from relaxed. The grip his fingers have around one of your shoulders is tight, as if he’s using it as a stress ball.

You murmur his name with indignation and pry his cold hand off your shoulder, but press a gentle kiss against the back of it. “Baby, go to sleep.”

He noticeably stiffens when a quiet whoosh sounds from another part of your house. “What the heck was that?” he asks from where his face is buried in the back of your neck, too afraid to look around and risk finding something he might not want to see.

“The dishwasher.”

“Y-Yeah,” he stammers, “the dishwasher... of course...” 

With a gentle groan, you lift your head so you can turn and press a gentle kiss against his forehead in an attempt to soothe him. As soon as you plop back down onto your pillow, Kuroo takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, desperate to get a wink of sleep.

The sound of a creak brings both of you to attention moments later, however, and your heart begins to race.

“That was the house settling... right?” you whisper.

He pulls the blanket over both of your heads, fully cloaking your bodies beneath it and says, “Yeah. Yeah. Let’s go with that.”

At this point, you realize it’s going to be a long night for reasons other than those you’d expected.

[myboipracticallyimagines]

Parents - Din Djarin x Reader

Spoilers for about all of season 2. Don’t read if you haven’t finished season 2 of the Mandalorian. 

Prompt: In order for Grogu to train to the best of his ability, he is allowed to return to Din and you for short breaks. Basically co-parenting with Luke.

You never expected to be co-parenting with a Jedi. Parenting with Din alone had brought challenges you never would have expected, throw a space wizard into the mix and it was almost comical. 

“How far away are we now?” you ask from the passenger seat in the Razor Crest. Even after being rebuilt, Din kept the original name.  “Only fifteen parsecs now. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”  “This time felt so much longer than the last. I don’t know if I can do it if he needs to keep him any longer.” Grogu had been going to Luke’s training facility for months now and the time away from him was beginning to take a toll on both you and your partner. 

Din had already put on his armor, but left off his helmet. It was a gradual change, with him slowly becoming more comfortable with you. The early days of your love were far behind, along with the blindfolds you had to wear to hide the Mandalorian’s face from your sight. While not onboard the ship Din still wore his full armor, helmet included. Grogu and you were the only two he exposed himself to. One of the child’s favorite places to rest was cuddled into his father’s chest, only fabric now separating the two. 

“We’re here,” the Mandalorian said, parking the ship. You pressed your lips gently onto his forehead before lowering his helmet.  “Let’s get our kid.” 

Luke stood outside, holding Grogu in his arms. He was alert and excitedly watching the two of you.  “He trained well,” the Jedi said, a smile clearly present on his face.  “Good. What would you say his status is?” you asked as Din reached out for the child, who happily went into his arms.  “He’s progressing quicker than I imagined, but still has a lot of work done to be able to fully control his powers.”  “When do we need to bring him back,” Din asked.  “Two weeks.”  What? “It’s always been at least a month,” the Mandalorian protested.  “I know, but he’s progressing exceptionally fast and I fear prolonged periods not using his abilities will only weaken him. He needs to be with you for stability, but a shortened length is crucial to his training.”  Din sighed, pulling Grogu closer to his chest. “I understand. We’ll return in two weeks time.” 

Once the Razor Crest was safe and parked in a secure location, Din joined you and Grogu in the back of the ship where you tossed the child’s ball back and forth. Grogu, of course, did so with Force. Din sat across from you, placing the child comfortably in his lap. “You two having fun?” You smiled at your partner, who was now without his armor. “We always do.”  Grogu yawned before slumped into Din’s arms, a telltale sign that bedtime was not far away. “I think someone’s sleepy,” Din said, smiling down at his child. You yawned, causing him to laugh gently. “Maybe a few someones.” 

Tucking Grogu into his bed had become one of your favorite things. You knew that he was safe and loved and in your care again. Din would do anything to protect the two of you and you knew that aboard the Razor Crest was about the safest place a child could be. Thankfully, the other safest place was with Luke. Your heart warmed knowing that Grogu was protected by the two strongest people in the galaxy.  “Goodnight, baby,” you said, kissing Grogu on the forehead.  “Goodnight, kid,” Din joined, gently scratching the child’s ears. 

After crawling into bed, you were fast to voice your feelings. “I don’t want to give him back.”  “I don’t either. But that’s what we agreed to do. If we ever want him to be completely safe, we must continue his training. I can’t protect him from himself.”  You cuddled closer into Din’s chest, aching for the comfort you knew only he could give you. “I understand. I just miss him.”  “I do, too.” 

Two weeks went by quick. Once again, the three of you took the trip back to the Jedi training facility. You held Grogu tightly on your lap as Din manned the controls. The child clung to you. Luke once said that the first few days after returning were the worst. Grogu’s sadness would prevent him from training to his fullest capabilities. It got better as time passed, which was the main reason for the lengthened stays at his facility. 

As the three of you got off the ship you noticed that Luke was grinning larger than normal. “I have news.”  “What is it?” Din asked.  “We’ve recently updated the facilities and found room for you to stay with us.” “Safely,” he added.  “You want us to stay here?” you asked in disbelief.  “I do. It’s safe enough for you both to stay on site. I also believe that it will be beneficial for Grogu to have both of his parents with him.” 

After a brief chat, Din and you agreed to stay at the facility. Upon entering the gates you saw that Luke had been quite humble on his description of the base. Luke led you to your hut, which held two bedrooms alongside other necessary spaces. “Thank you,” the Mandalorian spoke.  “Grogu should be done with training by nightfall,” Luke said before leaving you and the Mandalorian alone in your temporary home.  Upon his leave, Din removed his helmet and pulled you to his chest in a tight embrace. You hugged him back, your emotion finally spilling over. 

When nightfall came, Luke appeared, holding a very worn-out Grogu in his hands. “He did well today. I’ll return for him at sunrise.”   “Thank you, Luke,” Din said, taking his half-asleep child from the Jedi’s arms.  The three of you ate together. Grogu wanted nothing more than to sleep but you fed him as he sat comfortable on Din’s lap. Once he started snoring you gave up, accepting defeat.  After quickly cleaning up, you put the child to sleep together, adoring the small smile present on his sleeping face. 

As you crawled into bed in your new home, you felt a contentment you hadn’t felt in many years. This is what it felt like to be a family. While it wasn’t a normal family, you got to spend your days with the two you loved most. “Din?” you asked, hoping the Mandalorian was still awake.  He rolled over to look at you. “Hmm?” “I love you.”  Din gave you a tired kiss, a small smile present on his lips. “I love you, too.” 

[inawickedlittletown]

Can I Be Close To You

Summary: Buck doesn't have a "covid crush", which doesn't mean he isn't hiding something. A look inside Buck's head during 4.01 and 4.02. 

Words: 3,249

Notes: Cannot escape writing fic, apparently. So here we are. Obviously there be spoilers here for the aired episodes. This fic is pre-relationship/pre-buddie. Title from Bloom by The Paper Kites. Enjoy. 

Read on Ao3

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The one thing that Buck was grateful for was that Chimney wasn’t teasing him about his “covid crush” outside of the apartment. It was something he only ever brought up when Maddie called or whenever Buck made the mistake of being too loud or using his phone or laptop outside of his bedroom when Chim was around. Chimney of course also noticed whenever Buck got alerts or calls on his phone that had him rushing away. Buck didn’t really care about the teasing. He did care that no one find out why he was being so secretive. It was just easier to be teased about something that wasn’t true, than to be teased for what was true. 

The problem was that they were in the middle of a global crisis. A pandemic the likes of which hadn’t been seen for about a hundred years. It was a lot. In March when everything started to go wrong it had been easy to convince himself and everyone else that it would be over fast. That lockdown would work and in a few weeks or a few months everything would go back to normal. Hen and Bobby had been the firsts to question that logic because they only expected things to get worse. Buck really hated when they were right. Of course, nothing was normal anymore. 

Hen was the one to bring up concerns about them doing their jobs during the pandemic and bringing the virus home to their families. Between all her work to put her in the path of becoming a doctor, and being an amazing paramedic to boot, Hen was the first to start pushing them on the road to taking extra caution. Her concern for her family and for the families of the others was real and unfortunately necessary. 

“I don’t want to stop working. I want to help people and we are more important than ever right now,” Hen had put it into words back then. It was everything they were all feeling. 

Buck had lost count of the number of calls that made them practically just collectors of the dead or dying. Not just that but they all knew first responders that had been personally affected by Covid-19 and it wasn’t just them but their families too. Buck was the only one with no one back at his apartment waiting for him. That’s what gave him the idea. 

“You can come stay with me if that makes you feel better,” he offered. 

Hen hadn’t hesitated for long. She and Karen had had a long conversation about it and before Buck knew it he had Hen and then Chimney living with him. It was nice. It made it easier to bury all the anxiety and worry that had been clawing at him with every article or video or news report that he consumed. His living room had been taken over by an aerobed for Hen while Chim took the sofa. 

Eddie showed up a week after Hen and Chim with a sleeping bag under his arm. 

“I have Carla staying with Christopher. It seemed — it’s for the better, you know? Can I — is there room for one more?” 

In reality, Buck’s apartment wasn’t all that big, but Buck wasn’t going to turn away his best friend. So, Buck just welcomed him in. And for a while, despite everything going on in the world, things were okay. Buck wasn’t freaking out with every new report on the rise in cases and the rise in the dead and how the curve wasn’t flattening and yet the intrusive thoughts nevertheless showed up in his head and late at night when everyone else was sleeping his phone was right there with more information and facts and figures that made it hard to imagine that the world would ever be set to rights. 

Eddie was the first to notice that Buck wasn’t getting a lot of sleep. It became a whole thing with Eddie and Hen and Chim feeling like they were being imposing and Buck not being able to voice that it wasn’t them, but everything else. Somehow, he managed to convince them that they weren’t in his way. 

Buck had tried to reach out to Frank, but he was overwhelmed with clients and all of them of the first responder persuasion. Buck had felt weird asking the department to help him find someone else to talk to and it was only partially to do with the time he slept with his therapist and certainly more to do with how Buck knew other first responders probably needed the help more than he did. In other firehouses, some firefighters and paramedics had succumbed to the virus. Catching it was the newest hazard of the job. Frank did him the favor of sending him a few names. At first, Buck figured it wasn’t that important. So, he put it off. 

He focused on being present. In sitting with Chim while they video called Maddie and in jumping in to say hello to Denny, Nia, and Karen and in reading a bedtime story here or there to Christopher when Eddie wasn’t available and even when he was, the two of them sitting in the kitchen or up in Buck’s room, shoulders pressed together. He tried not to watch the news, and he tried not to keep looking at the numbers. 

Pretending wasn’t easy, but after two nights of Eddie catching him up at 3am eyes glued to his phone, Eddie made a point of taking his phone away at night. And then, instead of sleeping down on the first floor, Eddie moved up to the loft on the small camping mat and sleeping bag. 

He and Eddie talked until they drifted off, and sometimes it felt better to not be able to see Eddie and to stare out in the shadowed ceiling. Talking to Eddie made it easier to let go of the day, to not let his mind wander and come up with more of the world’s problems to worry about. 

So, Buck didn’t think about therapy. Not while he had Eddie near him at night keeping him distracted and willing to stay up until late discussing nothing at all. Buck couldn’t imagine Chim or Hen bothering to do that for him. Rarely, it did happen that Eddie was the one wrung out and needing a conversation. He missed Christopher too much or something they’d seen at work had been just a little too close to home. They were there for each other and all of it just worked. 

Of course, that was when Hen decided that it was time she go back home. She missed her kids too much. She missed her wife too much. Eddie didn’t last more than a few days after Hen’s decision as if Hen making that first move made it okay. Buck didn’t blame him, not with the way that Buck missed Christopher which just meant that it was twice as bad for Eddie. And once they were gone and there was just he and Chimney left, Buck found himself falling into old habits. Chimney wasn’t as much of a distraction especially when he spent so much of his time talking to Maddie or reading parenting books, and because Chimney didn’t turn off the news like Eddie or Hen would. 

Being in his room alone at night without anything to keep his mind occupied and missing Eddie’s voice and the way that Buck could calm himself to the sound of his breathing brought Buck to a breaking point. He needed help. 

Dr. Copeland was the second therapist he had a video call with. She was calm and friendly and she didn’t push him to talk. It felt okay to share his concerns with her in a way that he couldn’t say out loud to everyone in his life. Buck didn’t know if it was somehow easier because she was someone that didn’t know him in real life, or if it had something to do with how Buck could tell that she cared and wanted to help, but he found himself opening up. Dr. Copeland didn’t push, but she did give him insight. She made him aware of the ways that he was being unhealthy about the pandemic. 

Chimney picked up at once that Buck was keeping a secret. It took him a little longer to figure out that Buck was talking to someone through a screen and in the same breath to assume that it was some woman that Buck started dating. It did make Buck wonder if people were actually doing that — the whole dating through skype or zoom or facetime. Buck didn’t try to correct him or to be too bothered by Chim teasing him. He didn’t even worry too much once Maddie found out because Maddie wasn’t there in front of him to get the whole thing out of him. So the “covid crush” gave him an excuse to not tell them the truth. Dr. Copeland kept telling him he should tell them how he felt, but Buck didn’t want that burden on his friends and family when the world itself seemed to want to crush them. And either way, he’d been feeling a lot better about everything. He wore his mask and he followed protocols, and he didn’t allow himself to think in “what ifs”. 

Emergencies were his job. He better than most knew the quick turn that things could take for the worse. But as Dr. Copeland reminded him, fear couldn’t rule his life even if there was a lot to be afraid of. And it wasn’t the virus that Buck feared, it was loss. Losing his friends and losing his family and being incapable of changing anything. He was, thus, hyper alert. About the pandemic, and about anything else that might prompt worry. Dr. Copeland thought that too much information could be harmful to his mental health, but for Buck knowing facts and doing research kept him from spiralling. 

It was Dr. Copeland that made the connection to Buck’s past trauma and realized how likely it was that his worry stemmed from that — from the truck falling on his leg and the tsunami and perhaps even more than that, other parts of his life that he retained and that still bothered him on a deep level. She asked him how much he hid away and didn’t deal with — how much he coped with by researching and by using facts against worry. It made Buck think. 

Then, the micro-quakes happened. And Buck got all the alerts, he read up on the dam and he pictured all that could go wrong. 

Worrying didn’t mean panicking for him. Buck was cool under pressure, he was good at his job. Most of the problems came after when he considered what might have happened and also how many hadn’t made it out alive. Not because of the virus. But because of a disaster. But by the end of the day, Chimney had finally moved out and Buck had a new roommate in Albert, and after everything that happened in the day, Buck figured that he maybe needed to take his own advice and realize that he couldn’t let fear hold him back. 

So when his next therapy session came up, he admitted it to Dr. Copeland. Confirmed what she’d been telling him about himself. He hid his true feelings. He hid away behind platitudes and facts and letting things go because it was easier to move forward than to linger and make things weird with his friends and with his family. Examining that fully meant talking about the past and Dr. Copeland, as gentle as she was in letting him lead the conversation, asked the kind of questions that weren’t easy to answer. 

She pressed him about why he feared sharing his feelings and why he felt he had a need to keep so much to himself and Buck was cognizant enough to realize it was his fear of being alone. 

“I just...I don’t think they get it,” Buck said. “I don’t think they see it. At the beginning of this whole thing — the pandemic — they all had someone. My sister is pregnant and she had just moved in with her boyfriend and his brother. Hen has her wife and kids. Bobby has Athena and their kids. Eddie, he has Christopher. And the reason I even have Albert here right now is that he rather not be around my sister and her boyfriend now they’re finally together again. I’m alone. I’m always alone.”

“But you aren’t,” Dr. Copeland insisted. “You have people. Your team, your sister. Evan, you are not alone. It may feel like you are, but that just isn’t true. I haven’t known you very long, but the way you talk about your team and your sister it is clear you have a support team. That is why I’m encouraging you to speak with them and share your worry and share even this — that you are getting help and looking at things with a new perspective.” 

It was easier to hear it told to him that to do something like admit to Maddie that he was so full of issues that he actually needed therapy. Of course, Maddie herself had gone through a long bout of therapy after Doug and yet compared to that, Buck didn’t feel like he was all that messed up. 

“I get what you’re saying. I do. I just...it doesn’t feel like it. And I don’t want to burden them with more just because I’m feeling left behind or just…”

“And that brings us back to you hiding your true feelings,” Dr. Copeland said. “Is there even one person you feel comfortable talking to about this. Your sister perhaps.”

Buck shook his head at once. “No. No. I couldn’t bother Maddie. She has enough on her plate.” 

But his mind went to Eddie. Eddie had noticed he wasn’t doing well. Eddie had moved to sleep on Buck’s floor and then talked to him until he fell asleep. And since going back home to Christopher it wasn’t like Eddie had forgotten about Buck, because when he had the time sometimes he would call Buck and they would talk over the phone and it had brought him back to those nights. At work neither of them brought that up, they just worked as seamlessly as ever. 

“I don’t want to pressure you, Evan. You’re doing so well and admitting and realizing that you’re holding yourself back is an amazing place to be. I just know that you’ll feel even better once you start sharing your feelings or working through them.” 

Dr. Copeland always gave him plenty to think about. And he considered the notion of coming clean to someone — to Eddie — and maybe getting other things off his chest. His fears about the pandemic, the things about his parents that had made them horrible parents to him and Maddie both, how Buck had so many things about himself that he left unacknowledged, and the loneliness. Eddie wasn’t exactly good with emotions either, but he would at least understand the therapy aspect. Eddie had stopped seeing Frank a while ago, but Buck knew that Frank had done what he could to help Eddie and that Eddie had come out the other side lighter and less jaded. 

“I’ll think about it,” Buck said. 

“Good.”

They talked about other things for the rest of the session and then Buck went back down to join Albert. He’d let Maddie and Chim go, so instead he was busy on his phone. 

“Seriously, dude, how did you meet someone? Now that I’m here, I need to know.” 

Buck rolled his eyes. At times Albert reminded Buck of his younger self, the guy that had been interested in nothing but chasing tail and hoping that that would fill the parts of him that were broken. It hadn’t ever worked, at least not for long. Vividly, he could recall wanting to make connections with those girls and the way that they’d all looked at him like he was asking for far too much. 

“For one thing, I’m not seeing anyone. For another, dating apps are still a thing even if completely inadvisable because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. It might even be good for you to not be hooking up with random girls.”

Albert just pouted at him and groaned. “I just want this to be over.” 

“So does everyone,” Buck pointed out. 

Albert would probably have made a good choice in finding someone to tell about the therapy. He was a good kid and if Buck asked him to, he wouldn’t go blabbing to everyone else. Not to mention that Albert was a bit removed from it all too in his own way. Still, when Buck opened his mouth to say something, the words didn’t want to come out. 

The next time he was at work and Eddie was walking at his side, Buck turned towards him, and Eddie’s gaze met his. They shared a quick smile. It was easy, a habit. 

“How’s Christopher?” Buck asked.

“Misses Carla. Misses everyone, really, but after all that time with Carla he got used to having her around all the time.” 

“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t want you around, man,” Buck said. 

Eddie nudged him. “You know, Buck, I didn’t even think about it that way.”

Buck shrugged at him. Being around Eddie made most of everything else fade away. And when later that day, they were walking from the ladder truck onto a call, Buck just threw a grin his way and Eddie returned it. 

At the end of their shift, Buck walked with Eddie to their cars. 

“Do you remember, before all this, we’d just head over to mine or yours with Christopher. I miss those nights,” Eddie said. 

Buck hadn’t thought about it. He tried not to think about before — about how different life had been back then and how similar because even then he’d done that thing where he pretended that everything was alright. He’d kept it to himself how alone he felt and he’d kept it to himself that sometimes when he and Eddie were sitting in his living room side by side, he wished that it was permanent. It wasn’t about Eddie — or even about Christopher — it was about how Buck longed to have people. Family. 

That had been a thing for a long time. Long before Abby and before he’d moved to California when he’d gone from place to place trying to find himself and trying desperately to belong. The 118 had been one of the first places where he began to feel like he’d found a place, but he’d soon found that it wasn’t enough. It was one thing to love a job and to make it all that he was, but if his time recovering from the ladder truck incident had taught him anything, it was that he needed more outside of the job. It was just that he had no luck finding it. 

“Me too,” Buck said and then before they had reached their cars. “Hey, Eddie, can we talk tonight?” 

Eddie’s face showed some of his surprise. They had never acknowledged it before, not out loud outside of the phone calls or outside of Buck’s bedroom. 

“Sure we can,” Eddie said, crinkles around his eyes forming as he smiled. 

Buck nodded and then he climbed into his Jeep. 

[sambergscott]

his boy loves books!! mac + 📚 hcs based on andy’s live because my head is Spinning:

- amy taking mac to the library from when he was very young and she was bored on ml, showing him all her favourite books and those sweet sweet organization systems

- both of them love reading him stories together (at anytime really) but ESPECIALLY before bed. the only thing better is when they catch the other one reading to him in quiet voices on early sunday mornings and being like 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- jake is ofc renowned for his silly voices and sound effects, mac especially loves the fire engine siren noises (he starts doing them whenever they see a fire engine in public and it’s Very cute)

- in typical santiago fashion, he learns to read super early and loves showing off his new skills to camila & victor

- when his little sister is born, he loves reading to her, too. he puts a blanket over the two of them and points at the words as he reads them and even lets her turn the page “because i’m such a good big brother, right, mama?” “the best,” she says, amused. if he inherited her love of books, he definitely inherited jake’s lack of modesty

- the first time he reads harry potter is a very Big day in the peralta household (spoiler alert: he loves all of them and definitely cries on the toilet when cedric dies) (also once he learns how to say all the spells he does them on everyone especially his LEAST favourite cousin mason when he steals his football 😾)

- amy often catches him way past his bedtime with the shouldernova on and even though he has school in the morning she squeezes onto his bed and asks him to read to her for 10 mins

- jake gets home from work to find them both asleep with the book still in his hands. he loves his 2 book nerds