#and so you learn how. and you write and you write

[darlingsblackbook]

Zayne x CrushingNurse!Reader | Part Five

Where has your smile gone? ANGST PT.2

Part One • Part Two • Part Three • Part Four

Love and Deepspace Masterlist

I | Zayne drops his voice a little lower than necessary while standing beside you knowing it will usually make you nervous, murmuring, “You’ve stopped stuttering. I almost miss it.” Your heart skips a beat but you keep your face neutral, “I practiced.”, you reply before walking away.

II | Zayne purposely asks you to help with something simple, things he could easily do himself. He knew it made you nervous, he could always feel the ice around his heart melt everytime he saw your hands shake as you tried to help. What he loved even more was teasing you about it. “Hands shaking today?” he asks lightly- carefully. You don’t even smile. “Not at all." He frowns.

III | “Your notes are unusually thorough, much more than usual. Am I making you nervous again?”

“No.”

He pauses. He pauses in that way that would always make you squirm, eye darting everywhere but his way, fingers twisting in the cloth of your scrubs.Now, you don’t even blush.

IV | During rounds, he lingers at your side a beat too long- long enough that you’d normally turn tomato-red and trip over your words. Now, you just shift away and keep taking notes. He stares at you. Silent.

V | You haven't brought him coffee today, nor did you yesterday - or the day before that actually. A routine you had been stuck to for months, suddenly halted. Zayne tried to recall the few days before you started acting so distant, had he done something? Said something? Where has your smile gone? Zayne thought, just as he saw you walk past his office- cup of coffee in hand.

VI | He bumps your shoulder very lightly while reaching for a chart. “Careful,” he says dryly, “wouldn't want our nurse to fall and get hurt." You reply, “There are things that cause a lot more pain than just a fall." He stops mid-motion, like what?

VII | He starts standing closer when reviewing reports with you—close enough that your elbow brushes his. You used to flinch. Now you don’t even react. You shift your chair away and don't even look his way.

VIII | “Nurse." Zayne calls out one day, "Could I speak to you for a moment?" You hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward before halting again at the faint sound of giggles. "I'm busy, Doctor." “Yeah." Zayne mutters, eyes locked on you, "You seem to be a lot these days.” You could barely keep your bottom lip from trembling, responding with a simple, "Yeah." before you walked away.

IX | Zayne starts correcting your minor errors in a purposely sharp voice, just enough to gurantuee a reaction from you - at least it used to. You only say, “Thanks for pointing it out." and fix it. It feels too calm. Too clinical. Nothing like his nurse.

X | He tries to joke during a lull between patients: “Still not a slightest hint of a smile. Should I be worried?” You just reply, “Probably not,” without even looking up. Zayne’s smile falters just slightly.

XI | He casually mentions, “You haven’t tripped over the IV cart all week.” You respond, “I learned how to walk.” There’s no laughter in your voice. It doesn’t sit right with him at all.

XII | He walks up behind you while you’re writing and says your name. A few weeks ago that would’ve made you jump and stammer. Now, you turn slowly, blink, and wait.

“…Yes, Doctor?”

It irritates him- if only you knew how much.

XV | He's done, he can't take it anymore. He corners you one day, just as you're about to leavs, quietly and not so casually this time, “Did I… do something?”

You give him a polite smile. “Of course not.”

"Then why? Why have you been acting like this? Who hurt you?" He fires one question after another.

You feel the tears pool in your eyes but you don't say a word. Not one. You just push those tears back and smile sadly, breaking the doctor's heart into a millions of pieces and walk past him and out of the door.

All Rights Reserved © DarlingsBlackBook

This is a bit of a filler part but it is needed to fill the gap between the last part and the next one ( a lot of drama will go down )

Taglist : @sylusgirlie7 @jeonjenny @notsurewhattocallthisblog8888 @draftbeerbibi @weebinator01 @satorustorm @asilaydead @ninaandtuna @gremlinartstudio @keyiswatching @dreamlesssleepsaga @eurynam @amerti @neobitch127 @m30wk1ttycat @yuurisfavblog @dysphxriaii @zainaaryam @floofycookie @beesin03 @thatpersonnamedrook @chiikasevennn @ollie-the-fae @dramaticalsachan @babylilxc @minsified @destinysrequiem @xsammijoanneex @hirostrvw @pepperushia @starllight613 @seris-the-amious @moonlight-inthe-sea @luvvhue @gojosballsack69

If I have missed anyone, please let me know! I'll make sure to add you for the next parts♡

[pastryfication]

Plsssss can u write a fic about Lando and reader where meets his family for the first time at a race and they all fall in love with her xx

hope you enjoy <33

It wasn’t often you gave Lando the right to gloat about being right. But if it had to be ever, now would be the right time. Because Cisca Norris was an absolute sweetheart. You learned that very quickly.

From the moment you stepped into the garage, all nervous smile and awkwardly wringing hands, quite literally feeling like you might puke, she had practically pulled you away from the safety of Lando’s warm hand on your back and onto the chair next to hers.

If her welcoming body language came from raising four kids, you didn’t know, but there was something so incredibly warm about her that made your shoulders sink back to normal almost immediately and you almost forgot how panicky you were before entering the paddock that morning.

Lando had reassured you the whole way in that easygoing way of his, as if nothing could go wrong. He’d kept his hand on your thigh the entire ride so he could give it a soft squeeze every time he saw you get a bit too caught up in your head.

“They’re going to love you, I promise.”

You hadn’t been so convinced, but he had just smiled and promised that even, if by some weird unfavourable marvel, they didn’t like you, it wouldn’t change anything. He was down bad for you. So hopelessly in love that not even his mother’s judgment was going to change that.

He was firm in his stance. It didn’t matter. But despite his earlier words, Lando couldn’t deny that seeing you laugh with his mum was a sight that warmed something inside of him. It was as if every single part of his body had gotten the same memo—that the moment called for nothing but warm joy—and the tingling feeling brought a wide smile to his face.

“She’s really lovely, son.” His father’s voice brought him out of his head and he turned to find Adam standing to the side, wearing a grin identical to his own. “Been stealing your mum’s attention all day.”

“Yeah?” Lando wasn’t paying full attention to his father, his eyes were still flickering over to your seat in the hospitality.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t keep the smile of his face. Not when his son was looking like that, so openly happy that it shone from every one of his cells. “Go say hi.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, and in two long strides he was standing behind you, grinning at his mother as he clasped his hands onto your shoulders.

You jumped in surprise for a second, the touch unexpected, but you sat back down as soon as you recognised the familiar sound of laughter that had filled so many fond memories in your head.

“Hi, Lan.” You breathed.

“Hi, baby.” He leaned down press a kiss to your cheek, lingering for a second longer than necessary to inhale the smell of your perfume. The smell that lingered on your skin the same way it lingered on his bedsheets when you spent the night. The smell that had become equivalent with home.

You leaned back to look at him, grinning at the twinkle in his eyes as you found his gaze.

His hand moved to rest on your cheek, his touch feather soft as he caressed the skin, almost like he couldn’t believe that you were there. Supporting him, loving him, being his. It still surprised him every morning when he woke with his hand tangled lovingly with his, your cheek smushed against his bare chest as if his warmth brought you comfort. As if you were as dependent on him as he were on you.

His hand stayed on your skin, thump moving up and down your neck, and as you leaned into his touch, he met his mum’s gaze over your shoulder.

She was smiling softly, eyes tenderly observing the scene in front of her. When she caught him looking her way, she gave the slightest nod in his direction eyebrows raised in a way that didn’t need words.

It was a small reassurance he definitely didn’t need—not when it came to you—but it meant the world either way. That she saw the same as him. That she would appreciate you the same way he had sworn he would spent the rest of his life doing. That she knew the same as him: that loving you would be as easy as breathing.

[marionettesgarden]

THE MANAGER DESERVES A RAISE! | saja boys x reader

SYNOPSIS. through some stroke of luck, you ended up being the manager of a demon boy band. from teaching them about phones and social media to managing their idol activities. did you sign up for more than you bargained for?

CONTENT. crackfic, fluff, lighthearted, gn!reader, one use of (y/n), ambiguous reader, mystery centric (for now), brief mention of needles and piercings, saja boys being saja boys

WORD COUNT. 922

AUTHOR'S NOTE. i've been so obsessed with this show and the songs lol i just HAD to write something (also bc i literally didn't see a single xreader fic on ao3 when i wrote this)! i also want to write more and kinda make this a compilation of minifics bc i also do have an overarching plot for this as well and theyre so fun to write!

“Abs, just sit still.”

The manchild blatantly ignores you, too focused on spinning the chair around and twisting and turning just to see how his stomach flexes in response.

Your eye twitches and you contemplate whether this plan really needed all five of them. Surely a four member boy group would do? 

A hand pats your shoulder and you glance over at Mystery furiously pointing at himself.

“You want to go first?” you ask unsurely.

“Mmh, mmh!” he responds.

Your face drops, unamused. “I know you can speak, Mystery.”

His lips pull up into a shit eating smirk as he raises a hand, twisting it so the back faced you, and. . .

. . . flips you off.

You short circuit, mouth agape before whirling around to the rest of the group who were busily tapping away at their phone (you don’t want to remember how many tears were shed and how many lives–phones–were lost just trying to teach them).

“Which one of you taught him that?!”

Tap, tap, tap.

Some chronically online, brainrot, AI generated meme blasted from Baby’s phone, giggles erupting from the couch he and Romance lounged on as they scrolled through whatever inane app they were on. Jinu wasn’t any better as he wrestled with his bird and Abs was. . . Abs.

Breathe in. Count to five. Breathe out.

You turned back to Mystery, gesturing to the set of chairs–spinnable, of course, Gwi-Ma was paying for it after all–as you pulled a cart over. 

As he sat down, content from showing you just how much of human culture he was learning about, you tugged his chair closer to yours as you plucked up a hollow needle with a gloved hand.

“I hope you know that I’m not letting that slide.” You smile cheerfully, the needle glinting threateningly in your grasp. He nervously gulps and you could feel his gaze fix on the instrument. You laugh, shaking your head. “Oh, no, I’m not going to do anything to you right now. But I hope this haunts you every day, even in your dreams, that I could be enacting some plan to get back at you. You won’t know when, you won’t know where, it might be in the bathhouse, or it might not. But know that I will be getting my revenge.”

Mystery’s lips grew still. Behind his bangs, his eyes furiously darted around, to his members, the needle, you, the chairs–wow, they were really nice chairs–then to your face. Oh, nevermind, you were still looking scary. He instead focuses on his bandmates, the people he’s suffered with, bled with, for one last glance at something that would calm his distressed heart before he died in the very near future. 

The sound of random and, quite frankly, unfunny videos blasting from the couch as Baby and Romance cackled, several clicks and flashes of light as Abs took photos of his abs, and Jinu cursing as his bird pecked him again for daring to touch his hat were the last things he witnessed before he closed his eyes. 

Mentally sending two giant middle fingers to each and every one of his members, he shed a silent tear as he began planning his funeral. Hydrangeas, he wanted hydrangeas at his funeral.

“. . . aaand there! All done. How d’ya like your new piercings?” You handed him a mirror and discarded your gloves, eyeing the other boys for your next target.

“It’s nice.” he answered, tilting and turning his head to observe the new jewelry dangling about.

“And?” you pressed.

“And what?”

You let out a sigh, shaking your head as you waved a dismissive hand despite the pang of disappointment welling in your chest. They were demons and soon-to-be idols on top of that, you really didn’t know what you were expecting. You just had to see this plan through, help Jinu manage the team, and, once they defeated Huntrix, you’d be free. Forming any relationship with them outside of ‘convenient helper’ was unnecessary, no matter how desperately you missed inane conversations, inside jokes, and late nights spent trying whatever oddly flavored ramen all of you found.

“Hey, I’m next, right?” 

You blinked, pushing those thoughts back as Romance plopped down on the chair in front of you. A little confused, you glanced over to the couch to see Mystery sitting by Baby now.

Did he. . . ?

No, Mystery was definitely not being nice. It was just a coincidence. He wasn’t being nice and just shooed Romance over so that he could lounge on the couch that they all had an odd obsession with. 

“Yup. Here’re the piercings I have. Since you all heal so fast, you can get pierced with the prettier ones.” you explained, tugging the cart closer as you handed him a mirror.

He flicked his hair, an annoying action he’s picked up from all the idol videos you’ve been showing them, and casually leaned back in the chair. “Obviously, the fans would eat up anything I wore. Just pick whichever you like, cutie.”

You swore you could hear Mystery laughing to himself as you held back a barely restrained scream of frustration. Yeah, definitely not just being nice.

Your phone buzzed beside you as you laid in bed, tucked in and just about to go to sleep.

Mystery

Your good sat You’re good at piercing They look nice That you Thank you

(y/n)

no problem!! ur welcome :)

Suddenly, simple conversations don’t seem all that impossible anymore. Smiling to yourself, you fall asleep with your phone clutched tight to your chest and pleasant dreams of a life you had given up.

divider by @huraxy

[bitteriekitten]

kisses for the mama.

synopsis — the l&ds finding out and meeting your baby for the first time.

content — fem!reader, singlemom!reader, fluff, angst, babies, you have a daughter (twin daughters in sylus's) in all fics and she has no set age (i have no concept of how old babies can begin speaking in full sentences and express themselves authentically. so.), mentions and implications of the ff: death, weapons, toxic relationships, toxic baby-daddies, emotional abuse, abandonment, illnesses, hospital visits, and probably so many more that i've overlooked. lmk if i missed anything !!!

featuring — xavier, zayne, rafayel, sylus, & caleb (separate fics)

notes — that poll i made was def interesting... everyone has baby fever huh.. yknow what me too 😔 but IMO writing this in jus one sitting is honestly better than going out and actually getting a baby. this was unproofread bcs i'm tired and in this house we rawdog everything. and yes, the baby names came from katseye members SUE ME their recent single slaps so good idgaf

Xavier didn't question it when you would be so eager to get home by 6 P.M. everyday. he felt that he was the same exact way, speeding through the work day like he was going to be late for his bed.

but he was surprised to find you waiting near a popular daycare center in linkon. he happened to be passing by the street to get to jeremiah's shop when he noticed you. still in full uniform, you kneeled by the door and waved to someone inside the building with a tired but excited smile.

xavier froze on his spot when a little girl speeds out of the door and into your arms. the girl looked like a smaller version of you, with the addition of small dimples and hair in short pig-tails. she squealed excitedly as you stood up with her in your embrace, her little arms wrapped around your neck, refusing to let go.

it was then the little girl's eyes spotted xavier that he realized he was blatantly staring. before he could move away from you undetected, you had already turned around and locked eyes with your co-worker. two similar-looking faces stared at him, one in shock and one in confusion.

"oh- xavier, hey-" you stammered as the hairs on the back of your neck began to stand.

"hi." xavier replied, unsure of what to say. the little girl's eyes, unblinking, turned to you. at such a young age, she already knew how to raise her eyebrow.

"mama, who that?" she whispered, loud enough for xavier to hear.

you kissed her temple, "a friend from work, my love." you replied simply. much to his surprise, you walked towards xavier, to which the little girl tightened her arms around you in caution.

"xavier, this is lara." you said, running your free hand over her head and back. "my... daughter."

xavier smiled and bent down to meet lara's eyes. "hi, lara," he said. "i'm xavier, i'm your mom's friend from work."

lara stuck out her little arm at him, and it took him a second to realize she wanted to shake his hand. xavier chuckled, but complied anyway, her hand barely wrapping around his finger as he shook it once.

"you fight wanderrrrs like mama?" she asked pointedly.

"yes, i do." xavier replied with a grin.

xavier abandoned all his plans with jeremiah that afternoon, sticking by your side - or really, lara's side. the train ride home was quiet, save for lara's hundreds of questions for xavier, who answered her with utmost sincerity.

xavier learned that lara liked to speak in incomplete sentences and disregarded syllables altogether, creating her own unique vocabulary just because she could. she also liked to cling to your uniform like a tiny koala, but smied at anybody who she thinks would smile back.

in just a matter of minutes, she somehow already had xavier wrapped around her stubby fingers.

"mr. shaver, i wanna hunter-rer like you and mama."

you giggled as lara finally managed to pick up xavier's name, albeit a bit wonkily with her current speaking skill. but xavier didn't mind - he likes it. he loves it.

"yeah? you wanna be big and strong like your mama and i?" he asked.

"mhm. but i don't want boom-boom." lara sighed dramatically. she covered her ears with her tiny palms and quickly took them off, "hurt ears."

xavier didn't miss the way your smile faltered, and how your arms cradled the back of her head. his lips pursed together, his chest tightening at the sight - at the thought of you struggling with a baby under your wing.

"it's okay, my love. you don't have to use boom-boom." you replied, trying to keep your voice leveled. lara, adorably unaware, leaned further into your affection.

"mama sleepy." she declared with a big yawn. you began patting her back comfortingly. "okay, just sleep, love. i'll wake you up when you get home." you said.

lara quickly dozed off with her head smushed against your chest, your heartbeat lulling her to sleep. xavier glanced up at you, eyes softening at your expression.

"are you alright?" he asked cautiously, scooting closer to you on the train seat.

"...yes." you replied after a moment, running a hand over your mouth. "it's just... i wasn't expecting her to say that."

it was clear that there was something underneath your tone, behind the eyes that held only love and protection over your daughter. xavier remained silent, because maybe that's what you needed from him.

"i caught her dad at our old house with my gun." you said quietly. xavier's jaw clenched and his heart skipped a beat, eyes looking over your daughter with alert and distraught. you sighed to yourself and pulled lara impossibly close.

"she was asleep inside her bed, and he just... i dunno, he came home from the bar that night completely drunk. he was right outside her door and i just- i lost it." you whimpered.

xavier did not hesitate to wrap an arm around your shoulder, pulling you and lara into his chest. "you're here now." he told you firmly, finality lacing his voice and spreading onto his hold over the both of you. "he's not here anymore, and i'll make sure of it."

the walk back to the apartment was easier, where lara's laughter resounded the halls of the building as she rode on xavier's shoulders up to your floor. xavier, with his iron grip over your daughter's legs, mimicked the sounds of a rocket ship flying over space as he took her on a galactic adventure.

they walked on before you, with you following behind them with a fond smile and a fond heart.

Zayne, like any other person, didn't prefer to work late. but it was getting impossible to finish his workload by the end of the work day, so he's been chained to his desk inside his office at ungodly hours.

it was 3 in the morning when he'd gone out of his office to get himself a cup of hot cocoa, when he spotted you by the vending machines. he rushed over to you, surprised to see you at akso hospital at this hour. hearing his hurried footsteps, you turned around just as you picked up your snacks.

your eyes widened as he quickly approached you. "y/n? what're you doing here? are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes poring over your figure, frantically searching for any injuries.

"dr. zayne! uh-" you gulped. zayne's heart pounded - he couldn't find what was wrong. you were in your pajamas, your eyes bleary and hair in disarray, but you didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort.

"what're you here for? did something happen?"

"i-i'm fine, but..." you cleared your throat, scratching the back of your neck. "um, m-my daughter caught that stomach bug that's been plaguing over the schools this season."

zayne must've heard wrong, "daughter?"

"yes. my daughter, manon." you awkwardly replied, the snacks in your hands crumpling. "she's been vomiting non-stop at home and she just got that fever hours ago - i was just overwhelmed, i didn't know what else to do." you said, your voice becoming watery by the second.

"no, no - you did the right thing by bringing her here." zayne quickly reassured you, pulling you into his arms for a tight embrace. you took a moment to hug him back, your arms wrapping around his waist tightly. you let out a long shaky sigh against his chest as he patted your back gently.

you were the first to pull back from his embrace, wiping away the stray tears that clouded your vision. "w-would you like to meet her?" you asked, "i promised to get her some snacks - she was complaining about the fish you served here."

zayne chuckled, "of course. lead the way."

after a short trip down an empty hallway and into one of the private rooms, zayne watched as you gently woke manon up from her sleep. the little girl, with eyes and smile shaped the same way as her mother's, instantly spotted zayne standing by the doorway. she looked at him in confusion, then back at you, "mama, who's that?" she asked, voice weak.

you smiled at zayne and turned back to your daughter, "that's dr. zayne, love. he's my friend at the hospital."

zayne closed the door behind him and walked over to manon's bed with a small smile. "hello, manon. i'm dr. zayne. how are you feeling?"

"my tummy doesn't hurt anymore." she deadpanned, pointing to her stomach hidden underneath the bedsheets. zayne nodded, "that's impressive. you should eat right now, though - you must be starving."

manon nodded and you moved to give her the snacks you got from the vending machines.

your daughter was dozing off again in a few minutes, thankfully without any other complications. you took the granola bar from her grip and carefully adjusted her head onto her pillow, cleaning off the crumbs from the corner of her lip. you moved to stand by the window with a heavy sigh, zayne following beside you.

for a while, it was silent between the both of you, watching manon sleep without fussing or being in pain for once. zayne awkwardly cleared his throat, "if you don't mind me asking, where is manon's father?"

you smiled, albeit bitterly, "probably high in some casino right now." you replied. zayne's frown deepened as he crossed his arms, "i know - it was stupid. he was an old classmate that i happened to catch at a bar, and one thing led to another..."

you rubbed a hand over your face, "i tried to make it work with that bastard, i really did. but he just left and -" you cut yourself off with a deep sigh. you breathed out slowly, to which zayne stepped closer to you with his arms wrapping around your figure once again.

"it's alright. i'm here now." he whispered into your ear. surrounded by his endless warmth, you crumpled into tears, digging your face into his shoulder as you cried. zayne hummed, looking up onto the white ceiling, willing to do whatever it takes to take away your pain. to take away the suffering you endured to keep manon happy.

Rafayel was astonished to find out that, even after months of you working for him as his bodyguard, he still had a lot of things to learn about you.

save for instance, the tiny girl standing in front of him in his studio that looks a little too much like you. she had on a bright pink beret on her head and her hands tightly gripped an octopus plushie, the one that he remembered winning for you at the arcade. she shyly smiled up at rafayel, a smile that had him second-guessing himself. was he dreaming, and has finally met his daughter that looked exactly like you?

you stood beside her, your smile mimicking hers. you nudged the girl gently, "say hi, baby." you told her.

"hello, mr. rafayel! i'm megan. i really like your paintings." the girl greeted cheerily and outstretched her arm to rafayel for him to shake. despite how stunned he was, he managed to pull himself together and shook megan's hand.

"hello megan, i appreciate it. why do you look like miss bodyguard?" he deadpanned.

megan's smile dropped and turned into a pout that looked exactly like yours, which ran a bolt of electricity down his spine. she turned to you with confusion, and you chuckled as you bent down to pick her up in your arms.

"rafayel, this is my daughter, megan. i wanted you to meet your biggest fan." you replied. megan smiled once again, "mama is right - i am your biggest fan! i really like your paintings." she said sweetly.

rafayel was frozen solid to the ground, barely able to process what you just told him.

"i'm sorry - daughter? you have a daughter?" he asked incredulously.

"yes, raf - she's right here in front of you." you replied exasperatedly, laughing at his disbelief. "can i show her around the studio? she can't shut up about you at all."

in just a few minutes, rafayel shooed you away from your own daughter, instead making a grand tour of his art studio just for megan. "you stay right there on the couch, and watch TV or something. that's an order." rafayel demanded.

you snorted; it was hard to take him seriously when he just basically snatched megan from your arms into his. but it seemed like you really had no choice in the matter. after making sure your daughter was okay with being left alone with your boss, you complied to his wishes.

it was a sight unlike any other. it was a good thing thomas never shows up at the studio unannounced.

rafayel, for once, was doing what he was supposed to be doing at his art exhibitions - showing off his artistry, explaining his techniques, and poring over the decisions he made in every brushstroke. all while megan, even as she was struggling to comprehend everything, took it all in, absorbing the memory into her brain like a sponge.

"now this, ah..." rafayel grinned widely at the unfinished painting situated on his easel. he bent down to place megan back on the ground and picked up the canvas from the easel. it was a painting of a sunset by a beach where he had spent several nights with you after another one of his spontaneous inspiration trips.

he paused. that trip lasted over three days, and you had traveled over seven hours just to sit and chat with him while he sketched. and to think you did all that while your daughter was probably at home, barely able to check up on her because of the terrible cellphone service at that resort.

looking down at megan, he forced himself to smile, "megan, when your mama's away on a trip - where do you stay?"

the little girl hummed as she hugged the octo-plushie to her chest. "i stay at my dad and step-mama's house, but i don't like it there. it's so messy and loud all the time - and i miss my mama too much." she replied simply, honesty dripping out of her voice.

rafayel bit his lip, indescribable guilt building up in his chest and up to his neck. he reluctantly set the painting back down on his easel and turned to megan with a half-smile. "megan, how about you and your mama come with me to an inspiration trip right now?" he asked.

megan tilted her head. "insporasho- what?"

rafayel chuckled and kneeled down to her height. "we're gonna go to a beach, or an island, or somewhere - and you'll help me pick the colors for my next painting." he told her matter-of-factly, "isn't that great?" he grinned widely when megan's entire face lit up in excitement.

"oh my gosh, really?! i gotta tell mama!" megan shrieked and ran back to where they left you in the living room. rafayel laughed as he followed behind her, hands in his pockets as megan rushed to tell you.

climbing up your lap with great effort, megan repeats rafayel's words through her limited vocabulary. "mr. rafayel wants to go on a beach trip with us, mama! i wanna go! let's go, mama!" she exclaimed.

you grinned at her as you held her in your arms, "of course we can go, baby. as long as it's alright with rafayel." you said.

you glanced up at rafayel, who was smiling fondly at the both of you. he nodded at you and sat down on the couch next to you. "you both deserve it." he muttered, grabbing your hand and kissing your knuckles gently.

Sylus had noticed from the beginning just how close you were with the twins, but he never really knew why. the two seemed to hang onto every word you were saying, and they also somehow knew the right thing to do to have you instantly give into their whims. you seemed to be able to communicate with the two in a way that he couldn't.

but sylus just chalked it all up to you being a kid at heart, and the twins were still young and wanted something to do other than be his henchmen 24/7. maybe the twins just liked having somebody else to be with at the base other than their boss or some random business partner.

it was at a linkon mall event that it finally clicked for sylus. you asked him a few days before that you were holding a little dinner party at your place, just because. sylus, though confused, obliged with the invitation, speeding down the streets with luke and kieran in the backseat to get to your apartment building on time.

luke knocked on your door and adjusted his jacket like it was a suit. kieran nudged him and they both burst into giggles. sylus, even more confused, raised an eyebrow at their antics - it was probably a twin thing.

"i'll get it!" two little voices sounded from behind the door. sylus held his breath as the door opened, where two twin girls stood behind it. his heart launched up his throat, staring down at the girls whose faces look a little to familiar.

luke and kieran bore the same shock as their boss, "wh- what?" kieran trailed off.

you emerged from the kitchen in a simple sundress and an apron around your waist. you grinned at your visitors. "oh good, you're here." you said, walking over to the entryway. resting each of your hands on the twin girls, you moved them out of the way for the three men to enter into your apartment. "come on in, you guys."

sylus's brain short-circuited - it finally dawned on him why the twin girls looked familiar. as he and the twins entered your apartment, he took a good look at the girls; they looked exactly like you.

"y/n... what is the meaning of this?" sylus spoke carefully.

you chuckled and crouched down to the girls' height. "these are my daughters, sophia and daniela." you replied simply, as if you were just simply replying to a text on the phone. "sophia, daniela, these are our friends - that's sylus, luke, and kieran."

sophia, the twin who's dressed in pink, smiled widely up at luke and raised her arms, "wook!" she exclaimed happily, to which luke immediately scooped her up in his arms, his face crumpling.

daniela, the shier twin who's dressed in white, hid behind your leg when kieran kneeled down to her height and tried to do the same. kieran, though dejected, clutched at his chest dramatically, muttering about how cute this whole thing was.

"it was about time you got to meet the most important people of my life, you know?" you said with a chuckle.

sylus scoffed again - all the times you and the twins wreaked havoc at the base finally made sense. he walked over to you and pulled you in for a hug, his head dipping down to kiss the top of your head.

"you're the bravest woman i know." he whispered, his voice wavering slightly. you returned his hug gratefully, sighing into his chest.

the dinner went by quite eventfully. sophia laughed at everything luke and kieran did at the dinner table. even sylus joined in on the fun by trying to balance his spoon on his nose, to which it clattered onto the table that sent sophia into a fit of giggles. meanwhile, daniela observed the whole table quietly, cautious at the amount of new people that had entered the little world you built for the three of you.

but the twins made sure to give her just as much attention as they did with sophia, albeit through a reasonable distance. the whole table cheered when daniela finally managed to bring out a little laugh when kieran pretended to be defeated by a spoonful of mashed potato straight into the face.

after dinner, both sets of twins sat in the middle of your living room, your tv playing an old kids movie. luke held daniela in his arms both already half-asleep, while kieran fully laid down on the couch bleary-eyed with sophia already dozing off on his stomach.

you smiled fondly at the sight just as sylus walked up behind you after doing the dishes. he wiped his hands on his pants and snaked a hand around your waist, pulling you close to him.

"when i said you're full of surprises, i didn't think it was this, kitten." he whispered into your ear. you giggled and moved to face him just as he was about to land a kiss onto your ear. "there's a lot you still don't know about me, then." you teased.

"what, that you have other children with dumbasses who don't know what they had?" sylus joked. you threw your head back with a laugh and sylus took this to kiss down your neck and collarbones.

"no - you'll be more surprised that they talk a big game but leave anyway." you replied, and sylus doesn't miss the way you still sound bitter, still angry that you had to do it all alone. he hummed as he nuzzled into your skin.

"surprises or not, i'm here now." he told you firmly. "i'll keep all three of you safe. luke, kieran and i will make sure of it." he promised, hoping the sincerity was present in his eyes and voice.

you landed a kiss onto his shoulder, breathing in his scent, his warmth, his security.

"thank you."

Caleb was on high alert by the time you sent him an can you help me out with something through the phone. he immediately dialed your number, listening to the other line ring twice before you finally picked up the call.

"what's wrong?" he asked.

"woah, hey - not even a hello, caleb?" you joked.

"you sounded pretty serious over text. is something bothering you?" he asked. you hummed, and caleb briefly wondered if someone was bothering you. it had been a month since he returned after faking his own death, and he swore that he'd make it up to you in any way you allow him to. if it meant getting rid of something that made you uneasy, or someone, he'll do it. no questions asked.

"well, kind of - but not in a way you think." you said.

caleb's eyebrow raised. "explain."

you were silent again, and worry gnawed at caleb's system - "how about you just come over? it's better if i show you than to talk about it." you said instead. before caleb could ask more questions, you cut him off with a "bring snacks!" before hanging up the phone.

in an hour or so, caleb had arrived outside your apartment, carrying an armload of snacks he stopped to get along the way. he knocked on your door, anxiously biting his bottom lip as he waited for you to answer.

when you opened the door, you quickly gestured for him to be quiet just as he was about to nag you. he clamped his mouth shut and gave you one of the bags he had when you gestured for him to give it to you, entering your apartment after you.

"why are we being quiet?" he whispered.

you gestured to your kitchen, where a brightly colored bassinet stood near the sink. "yoonchae's sleeping, and unless you want to go deaf from her crying her eyes out, you don't wanna wake her up." you replied just as quietly.

nothing was registering into caleb's brain - who was yoonchae? why was there a baby in your apartment? "whose baby is that?"

you set down the bag onto your coffee table, hesitating for a moment. you turned to caleb with a sad smile, "mine." you said. "yoonchae's my daughter."

caleb's knees wobbled, as if the news was suddenly weighing him down by his shoulders. he dropped the bags he was holding and sped over to your side, gripping your arms tightly. "y/n, say it isn't true..." he gasped.

you grinned at him, "i'm being serious, caleb."

"oh my god." caleb rubbed his face. he cautiously walked over to the bassinet, his entire heart in his throat. inside the bassinet was indeed a baby, your baby in fact - she looked exactly like you, her mouth pouting in her sleep the same way you do. yoonchae's baby mitten graze against her puffy cheek, and she shifts in her spot for a moment before going back to motionless again.

"pipsqueak..." caleb gasped again.

"i know," you sighed, walking up behind him and wrapping an arm around his waist. "i was supposed to introduce you to her a while back, but you were always busy at the fleet." you muttered.

"h-how? when?" he asked.

moments later, caleb, with his evol, successfully managed to move the bassinet to the living room without waking yoonchae up. he also figured out how to turn on the bassinet's feature where it rocks side to side to keep her soothed while she slept. he sat on the floor facing yoonchae, with you situated between his legs.

"it happened a month after you and grandma passed." you admitted quietly. "i ran into one of my classmates at university, and we ended up talking for more than just 3 hours at a bar. then... well - one thing led to another." you chuckled humorlessly, then sighed, leaning back to caleb's sturdy chest. "people make decisions on a whim when life seems to fall apart around you." you mumbled.

caleb's arms tightened around you, pressing a kiss to your temple, his heart aching. the thought of you barely able to keep yourself alive after he had passed, and then finding out that you were pregnant and about to become a parent on top of that - it punches something in his chest.

"he was helpful when i told him about the pregnancy." you said with a bittersweet smile. "he referred me to the best pediatricians he knew, helped me baby-proof the entire apartment, ordered a bunch of things for my overnight bag for when i go into labor, all that stuff. he made sure he was going to be there for us, for me, up until when yoonchae was the size of a blueberry."

"he left?" caleb asked, struggling to keep his voice leveled. he'd hate to cause a scene and run the risk of waking yoonchae up. and that's not what you needed right now.

"no, no. he-" you cut yourself off with a sharp breath. caleb turned you around in his hold and quickly wiped away the tears brimming in your eyes. "he p-passed away just after we found out the gender."

"oh pips, i'm so sorry." caleb sighed, cradling your head into the crook of his neck.

"we... we got into separate cars because he still had to work after the appointment. and- and a truck basically just bulldozed over him on the highway-" you sobbed into his skin. caleb shushed you gently, stroking your hair out of your face as he wiped away your tears with his thumb. his heart ached further with each soft sniffle you made; things should've been different.

"i did what i could for yoonchae, even if it meant that he wasn't with us anymore." you whispered.

"and i'm proud of you, pipsqueak." caleb said firmly, holding your face in both of his hands, your cheeks smushing together. "i may have not been here for when you were growing yoonchae in your belly, but i'm going to be here for you from now on."

you gave him a watery smile and wrapped your arms around his neck for a tight hug. caleb hugged you back just as fiercely, tears of his own springing up in his eyes. that was a promise, made from deep inside the tendrils of his heart.

after a while caleb pulled back from you and tucked your hair behind your ear with a smile, "did you call me here just so you could have a babysitter?" he teased.

despite the tears and the snot dripping down your face, you laughed. "you caught me..." you mumbled, still giggling.

caleb couldn't even be angry, he couldn't be as he kissed the palm that rested against his cheek.

"i'll be here for the both of you, pipsqueak. no matter what." he whispered.

taglist 𓂃۶ৎ jus tagging random users <3 hope u enjoy!!!

@zuhaeri @almondtofuus @syxlx @berrryparfait @usertala @c9tnoos @sylusslittlekitten @sylusbigapples @dollyswishingwell @museuranae @multisstuff @atlasbreaks @daddyslittlecrow @dysphxriaii @vesearlee @zephilyr @kunipoka @serendididy @thearynn @qiyukiss @celestialforce @sixeyedgodswife

[hoe4hotchner]

Hi!! I hope you're doing well! I've been watching wildlife rescue shelters videos all day and that led me to have this idea for a small fic and I immediately thought of you! Okay so imagine reader is dating Hotch and she's working at one of those shelters and so she always sends him cute videos of all the tigers/leopards/lions etc. she's taking care of! And like he'd be so proud of her for doing that job but also low-key scared because she's literally cuddling a giant tiger there (you can also include the other BAU members' reactions!!)

No worries if you don't feel like writing this I just thought it could be fun/cute!

Okay have a nice day/night bye!!!

Wild at heart | [A.H]

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!reader | WC: 0.5k | CW: Mentions of potential danger.

Hotch's phone buzzed on the table with a new message, and despite the never-ending paperwork in front of him, he reached for it immediately.

🐅 From: Y/N

“Look at my new cuddle buddy!! 🥰”

Attached was a video of you lying on the ground, absolutely dwarfed by the massive Siberian tiger curled up beside you. The big cat let out a slow, contented huff as you scratched behind its ears, your laughter ringing out softly. Hotch exhaled sharply, torn between admiration and sheer terror.

Morgan, sitting across from him, raised an eyebrow. “You okay, man? You just made a face.”

Hotch turned the screen toward him. “She sent me another one.”

Morgan leaned in, then burst out laughing. “Oh, hell no. She’s basically using a tiger as a pillow? That’s insane.”

Emily, overhearing, walked over with her coffee. “Wait, let me see.” As soon as she caught a glimpse, her jaw dropped. “That’s either the coolest thing I’ve ever seen or the most reckless. How are you not having a heart attack every time she sends you these?”

“I am,” Hotch admitted, rubbing his temple. “Every single time.” He sighed

JJ peered over his shoulder, shaking her head with a smile. “You have to admit, it’s adorable. She looks so happy.”

“I know.” He did. That was the problem. He couldn't take that away from you.

Rossi strolled by, glancing at the phone. “You do realize that’s a predator, right?”

“Yes, Dave, I’m aware,” Hotch sighed. “But she loves what she does.” And as much as it terrified him, he loved how passionate you were about your job.

Another buzz.

🐅 From: Y/N

“Also, here’s my baby leopard learning how to pounce!!”

The next video showed a clumsy little leopard cub attempting to pounce onto your lap but misjudging the distance, tumbling forward into your arms instead. Your giggles were audible as you scooped it up.

Hotch’s heart clenched.

Penelope appeared out of nowhere. “Oh! Oh! Are we looking at Y/N’s daily ‘How To Give Hotch a Heart Attack’ update?” She squealed.

“Apparently,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Reid, curious at what everyone was watching, peeked at the screen. “Statistically speaking, working closely with large wild cats poses significant risks, even in controlled environments.”

Hotch shot him a flat look. “Thank you, Reid. That helps.”

Morgan chuckled. “What’s the over-under on him showing up at her work in full-on protective detail one of these days?”

“Very funny,” Hotch muttered, but they weren’t entirely wrong. He had considered visiting just to see the safety protocols himself.

Another message.

🐅 From: Y/N

“Love you! Don’t worry, the tigers love me too!! ❤️”

Hotch sighed, shaking his head fondly. He typed out a quick response:

To: Y/N

“I love you too. Please be careful. And tell the tigers they need to share.”

Morgan saw the text and grinned. “Man, you’re whipped.” Hotch didn’t even deny it, cause it was no use trying to pretend not to be in a room full of profilers.

[redvexillum]

"EPISODE 5 ISN'T A RAGATHA EPISO--"

So I just finished watching Episodes 4 and 5 of The Amazing Digital Circus for the third time because I’ve clearly given my life to this show and Gooseworx owns my soul. Genuinely, what phenomenal writing. I've seen mixed reception for episode five but I’m thrilled that the majority of the fandom can agree this episode was amazing. Because that means I can scream with all you FunnyBunny shippers and dedicated emotional wrecks alike.

Now. Let me get into why Episode 5 wasn’t just a Jax episode (though it very much was)—but why it was, at its core, Ragatha’s episode. This is gonna be long and laced with “am I overthinking this?” moments. Buckle up.

WHO IS RAGATHA?

When we first meet her in Episode One, she’s nice. Incredibly kind. Super peppy. But there's this teeny-tiny crack in that candy coating. She spirals, just a little, and we see a nervous, anxious edge slipping through her “positive vibes only” persona.

And that spiral? It’s not a one-time thing. It gets worse. The deeper you go into the series, the more you notice how her overbearing positivity feels less like optimism and more like a coping mechanism. A weaponized smile. She’s not just trying to cheer everyone up, she’s gaslighting herself into believing she has to be happy. She has to be likable. That it’s the only way she’ll be accepted.

And in the Digital Circus, where identity is shredded (like you forget your name for fuck's sakes) and everything’s performative? That’s not just sad...it’s devastating.

EPISODE 4: THE CRACKS BEGIN TO SHOW

Episode Four set the entire foundation. When Ragatha gets “stupid sauce” in her eyes and all her emotional filters drop, you finally see her. She stops curating how she’s perceived and just exists...and what comes out? She reminisces of her life (which gets confirmed in Episode 5). Gangle tries to warn her she might get hurt, and her response is almost eerie in how casually she brushes it off.

Sure, it could be a nod to Raggedy Ann and all that doll-abuse lore, but when you learn about Ragatha’s real past: abusive, narcissistic mother, high-society pressure cooker upbringing...that “hurt” starts feeling very literal. Maybe this line wasn’t just random doll humor. Maybe it’s a whisper of childhood trauma, manifesting through a false smile.

And then comes the Gloink Queen. The way Ragatha lights up at the idea of a mother who genuinely cherishes every single one of her hundreds of children? I fucking felt that. It wasn’t just admiration; it was longing. Desperation. Like she never got that kind of love growing up, so the concept itself is intoxicating. It’s this quiet heartbreak that adds a whole new layer to her need for approval.

She hates Jax. Let’s be real. He antagonizes her constantly, pushes every one of her buttons (he literally threw her in a goddamn vat of boiling oil for fucks sakes). But the part that wrecks me? She doesn’t want him to hate her. Not because she likes him, but because anyone disliking her is unbearable. Being disliked means she failed. Means she’s unworthy. Means she’s alone.

That’s why her facade, this grinning, chipper armour? It's everything. And the more we see of her, the more we understand that it’s crumbling.

I NEED YOU ALL TO LOCK THIS SCENE INTO YOUR BRAINS, OKAY? Because this exact emotional thread gets replayed like a broken record all throughout Episode Five. It’s not just a one-off moment, it’s the theme. The cast knows Ragatha’s cheer is fake. And honestly? It makes sense. They’ve been stuck together for who-knows-how-long, and you learn a lot about someone in that kind of nightmare.

But here’s the thing: when someone keeps pushing toxic positivity, constantly trying to “cheer you up” without actually listening, it doesn’t help. It hurts. It makes the person reaching out feel like they’re talking to a wall. Ragatha so badly wants people to open up to her, but she’s terrified of doing the same in return, and that’s where the entire disconnect lies. She’s hyper-aware of how she’s perceived. Her self-image is a prison. And at the core of it all?

Rejection.

Her biggest, ugliest, most soul-deep fear. Because rejection leads to isolation. And isolation? Leads straight back to the kind of loneliness she probably drowned in as a child.

Now, you're probably wondering: why am I still going off about Episode Four when I promised this was a breakdown of Episode Five?

Because Episode Four is the breadcrumb trail. It's the soft warning. The writer’s subtle little “hey, pay attention to her” moment. It’s the appetizer. It preps us, emotionally and narratively, for the main course of Episode Five, where Ragatha's carefully-constructed image begins to crack and we finally, finally, start to understand the full scope of her trauma.

Let’s address the big criticism real quick: a lot of people think this was a Jax-centric episode. And I get it. Jax got depth, growth, actual backstory. But here’s my take: Jax and Ragatha are each other’s foils.

One is warm, soft-spoken, always smiling, but secretly repressing everything real.

The other is brash, rude, antagonistic—but when he opens up? He’s real. He’s genuine.

They’ve been clashing since Episode One, and their dynamic works because they’re mirrors: distorted, but parallel.

Why was using Jax as Ragatha’s foil so brilliant? Because it does two huge things. First, it finally shows us Jax as a person instead of just telling us he’s a dick with a smile. But more importantly?

It amplifies Ragatha.

A foil, by definition, is a character who highlights the traits of another character by contrasting with them. And what better way to show Ragatha’s entire internal collapse than by placing her beside someone who, while difficult and abrasive, actually manages to connect with someone else?

Because as Jax grows closer to Pomni, the very connection Ragatha has been chasing since Day One, it throws Ragatha’s failures into painful high-def. She’s tried everything. She’s been kind, supportive, the “good friend.” And yet, it’s not her Pomni opens up to. It’s not her Pomni laughs with.

And that is why Episode Five is a Ragatha episode. Maybe not in the obvious, center-stage way. But in the subtle, devastating unraveling that plays out just beneath the surface.

Now, let’s talk receipts. I’ve got observations, breakdowns, and repeat viewings of Episodes Four and Five loaded and ready.

I don’t know if it was a deliberate artistic choice or just an organic part of the scene composition, but I can’t not point out how telling it is that the characters are all paired off: Jax and Pomni, Kinger with Zooble and Gangle, and yet Ragatha? She’s standing off in the distance. Alone. Isolated. Visibly excluded from every natural dynamic.

And I really want to believe that was purposeful. A quiet visual cue for us, the audience, to understand not just the social dynamics of the group, but how deeply disconnected Ragatha truly is from the others.

Honestly, I think this was the moment her carefully held-together mask started to split. The start of the spiral. Go back to the earlier episodes and you’ll start noticing it: Ragatha drops a lot of sharp, snarky comments. Some subtle. Some cutting. Whether intentional or not, those little moments are emotional leaks. She drops her filter more often around Jax, which makes sense, she hates him. She doesn’t bother hiding it. But the fact that her snark surfaces at all tells us something: the mask is slipping.

Think about Episode One, when Ragatha spirals, it’s visceral. It’s raw and disturbing in a way the others’ breakdowns just… aren’t. Why? Because for Ragatha, cracking isn’t just about stress or fear. It’s about exposing something she’s worked so hard to hide: her real, “ugly,” human feelings. She’s repressed them for so long, forced herself to smile through it all, because she believes that if she isn’t likable, if she isn’t “good,” she’ll be abandoned.

And now? That bottle’s starting to shake.

I'll circle back to this moment when I dive into the bar scene later (because oof—there’s so much there), but let’s keep things chronological for now.

Right after Ragatha leaves, Jax drops a line on Pomni: “[She] is taking advantage of you.” And it hits especially hard because just before that, Gangle told Pomni she didn’t think Ragatha was genuine. That? That’s when the discomfort surrounding Ragatha starts to really take shape.

Here’s why I think that hit a nerve with the rest of the cast.

They are all constantly fighting for their sanity. For their identities. They’re trapped in this surreal, terrifying digital purgatory where reality is questionable at best and all they’ve got are each other. That’s it. Just a bunch of strangers trying not to fall apart or, worse, abstract.

And when you're in that space? Vulnerability becomes everything. And it’s risky.

Being vulnerable to the wrong person, someone who doesn’t reciprocate, or worse, uses your openness against you is traumatic. It teaches you to close up. To withdraw.

To stop trying.

Now imagine reaching out to someone like Ragatha, who seems supportive on the surface, who says the right things, but there’s a disconnect. You don’t feel like you’re being seen. You don’t feel safe. You don’t feel like you’re talking to someone who’s willing to meet you in the mess.

And when that happens? Of course they gravitate elsewhere. Of course they pair off, find comfort in each other, and leave her on the fringes.

What hurts the most, though, is this: Ragatha wants connection. She’s starving for it. But she doesn’t know how to give it back in a way that feels real. She’s so wrapped up in being “the nice one,” the peacemaker, the cheerful glue of the group, that she can’t drop the act—even when it’s pushing people away. Even when it’s exactly what’s isolating her.

She wants to be close. She just doesn’t know how to be vulnerable.

Now, the biggest lore drop of Ragatha's past, let's break this down:

Throughout the entire series so far, Ragatha always speaks with this carefully curated tone: gentle, friendly, overly polite. But every time she gets a moment alone to monologue? It always derails. Every time. Her words unravel, her tone falters, and what starts as “everything’s fine” ends with something much darker, much sadder.

And this scene? God. This one hurt. Because when she starts talking about her mother, it stops feeling like just another breakdown. It feels like the core of her trauma is being yanked out into the open. She’s clearly an adult. Had a life. A career. Probably responsibilities and routines. And yet, that wound from her mother is still festering: deep, raw, and most importantly?

Completely unresolved.

This is where you see her coping mechanisms in full force. Ragatha has this heartbreaking tendency to downplay her own pain. She’ll smile through it, make a light comment, move on like it doesn’t ache. But it does. And that habit? It sabotages her ability to connect with people in a real, vulnerable way. Because how can someone share mutual pain with you if you never admit to having any? If you can’t even be real with yourself?

Remember when she confessed she hates Jax, but she doesn’t want Jax to hate her? That moment says everything. That desperate need to be liked, even by someone who openly antagonizes her, speaks volumes about her internal wiring. She’s terrified of rejection. Of being disliked. Of being seen as not enough.

And this scene, to me, is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the show. Ragatha is caught in this awful limbo: she wants connection, deeply. She wants friendship, understanding, belonging. But the second she senses discomfort, awkwardness, even the slightest ripple of tension, she backpedals. She shrinks. She brushes it off with a laugh or a sugar-coated phrase. And that’s exactly why the others can’t reach her.

She’s surrounded by people and still completely alone.

This scene also confirms what we’ve suspected all along: her mother had impossibly high standards. That nothing Ragatha did was ever good enough. That she had to perform perfection just to maybe receive love. It was a transaction. "Be the perfect little girl, the perfect daughter, the perfect doll, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll earn affection."

So of course she acts like this now. Of course she wraps herself in forced smiles and gentle words. Because somewhere deep down, she still believes that if she slips, if she messes up, if she shows anything “ugly”...then no one will love her.

Jax was a grade A asshole for this one. No sugarcoating it. He knew how badly Ragatha wanted to be Pomni’s friend. He’s not clueless. So when he swooped in and started getting close to her? Of course it triggered Ragatha. You could practically see her flinch.

And that sting? It echoes through the rest of the episode five from that point onwards. Especially when they get to the ball game scene.

That was the moment Ragatha finally let some of that bottled-up frustration out. She flat-out called Jax out, asking why he was trying to influence Pomni into acting like some careless, insensitive jerk. And yeah, on the surface it seems like just another clash between the two of them, but if you look a little closer (and maybe I’m reaching this), there’s something deeper going on.

From earlier episodes, we’ve seen Ragatha has this habit of telling Pomni how she should feel. She does it in this oddly motherly tone, like she’s trying to guide her, but in a way that almost infantilizes her. In Episode Two, in the candy kingdom bit, Ragatha starts talking to Pomni like she’s a child and Pomni immediately shuts it down: “I’m not a kid.”

That wasn’t just sass.

That was a boundary.

And it clicked for me: Ragatha might be echoing her mother’s behavior here. That condescending tone disguised as “help.” The “cheer up, it’s not that bad” mindset. The insistence that things should be okay, instead of just lettingpeople feel. Maybe that’s all she ever knew. And now, she’s unknowingly replicating it.

So when she follows Pomni’s advice to “try being a jerk sometimes,” and it backfires, when Pomni looks at her, clearly uncomfortable, it hits Ragatha like a rock. That same feeling of rejection, all over again.

And did anyone else notice the glitch when she apologized? Because I sure as hell did. It was subtle, but holy fuck, please don't be the next abstraction!

Then came the "Pomni Saves the Day (Almost)" scene, when it’s her turn to bat. She asks Ragatha if she wants to take her place, to "redeem" herself from her earlier miss. And for just a second, Ragatha lights up. It’s this tiny flicker of hope. Maybe this is her chance. Maybe she can fix things.

Maybe she’s needed.

But then… the game was already over and they won before she had a chance to bat because their evil version is basically KO'd. She turns to Pomni and sees them.

Pomni and Jax. Laughing. Close. Connected.

And suddenly that hope? It deflates.

Just like in the stargazing scene, we get this physical distance motif again. Ragatha is always just far enough to see the connection—but never be part of it. And in that moment, you can see it on her face, this quiet, confused heartbreak. The kind of grief that doesn’t explode...it just sinks in. Like she’s trying to understand why her kindness, her effort, her presence was never enough. Why being “nice” only pushed Pomni further away.

That expression she gives, caught somewhere between confusion, disappointment, and slowly-processed loss? God, that got me. It wrecked me. Because in that moment, she’s not angry. She’s not dramatic.

She’s just... alone.

And then finally… the nail in the coffin. The moment where the silent divide between Pomni and Ragatha becomes undeniable. The moment the entire show has been quietly building toward since Episode One.

Ragatha, who has tried so hard to make Pomni smile. To be her rock. To forge a connection. She wants that closeness. She craves that intimacy. But instead, she watches as Pomni laughs, genuinely, mind you, and effortlessly at Jax’s antics. And the second Pomni notices Ragatha looking? Her smile drops. Instantly. That joy disappears, replaced by awkwardness, tension, that same guarded expression we’ve seen before.

And it says everything.

Pomni can’t be herself around Ragatha. She doesn’t feel safe doing so. She might think Ragatha is a “nice enough” person… but that’s it. That’s where the connection ends. She doesn’t let her guard down. Doesn’t let Ragatha in. Because Ragatha, in all her curated cheer, never really opens up either.

And then the show drives it home with brutal elegance: the group starts to drift off, one by one, naturally falling into their new little dynamics. And Ragatha? Left standing in the middle. Alone. Forgotten. No one turns to her. No one invites her. She’s just there.

For all the time she’s spent in the Digital Circus, Pomni managed to connect with everyone else. Even Jax. And that, right there, is pure devastation for me.

Because all Ragatha has ever known is people-pleasing. That’s how she survives. That’s what she was taught. Be the sunshine, be the good girl, be agreeable and comforting and helpful then you’ll be loved. Then you’ll be safe. But what happens when that mask doesn’t work? When it actually pushes people away instead of bringing them in?

She doesn’t know how to express her loneliness. She doesn’t know how to say, “I’m hurting too.” Because that’s not what was modeled for her. That’s not what her mother taught her.

And this...this right fucking here is why Gooseworx was so right when they said this was a Ragatha episode.

Because Ragatha’s character flaws, the heart of her tragedy, are brought into the light not by spotlighting her, but by quietly contrasting her with a pair of characters we never expected to bond: Jax and Pomni.

From the start, we’re fed this narrative: Jax is an asshole. He teases Pomni. He’s rude, smug, abrasive. And yet… Pomni starts to soften around him. She connects. She even laughs. And you start to wonder...why is he getting through to her when Ragatha can’t?

Because Jax, in his own messed-up way, gets real. He opens up. He admits things. He’s emotionally messy, but it’s genuine. And that rawness, that honesty, is something Ragatha can’t allow herself to show. So while Jax slowly reveals the depth beneath his snark, Ragatha clings to her role: the always-smiling, ever-positive comfort character.

And that contrast? It’s heartbreaking.

You see it at the very end. How alone she is. And the cruel twist? She’s probably the one who needs connection the most. But she’s so stuck in her pattern, so locked in that internalized belief that she has to perform to be loved, that she ends up isolating herself even further.

I can’t stop thinking about this: Ragatha feels like someone who’s spent her entire life just close enough to be seen, but never close enough to be reached. She’s the background character in her own life: present, smiling, helpful… and utterly alone.

And maybe the reason so many people felt like this episode was more about Jax than Ragatha is because we’re supposed to feel her slipping into the background. Just like the cast is starting to overlook her, we as the audience are starting to, too.

That slow fade?

It’s intentional.

Thank you for coming to my rant. I never done a character analysis before, but I just fucking love this series so much.

[yukioos]

hii may you write katsuki taking care of sick fem!reader?? like she gets the cold after being too long under the rain or something like that 🥹

katsuki takes care of you when you’re sick

you should’ve listened to katsuki.

last night, you were in the rain for a couple of hours doing god knows what, and you came back to the heights alliance soaked, shivering and sniffling with red cheeks and a red nose. even after taking a shower, you headed to bed with a runny nose and an uncomfortable feeling in your throat. after sneezing multiple times and not being able to sleep, you hear a knock at your door.

reluctantly, you stand up from your bed, feeling the cold air hit your bare legs and arms. a small whimper comes from your mouth, and you open the door, standing behind it just to see katsuki glaring down at you tiredly.

“i thought i told you not to go out,” he scolds, “you clearly didn’t listen to me.”

you frown and roll your eyes, then ask, “did i wake you up?” he hesitantly nods, not wanting you to feel guilty, then you mumble, “i think i’m gonna ask if i can skip class today, i don’t wanna get any of the others sick.”

katsuki stares at you for a moment, tapping his slippered foot against the ground before sticking his tongue to his cheek. he finished all of his projects early, and there are no upcoming tests that he’s too worried about. he’s studied, still has the flashcards in his room, and there’s no topic in class that he needs to learn with the teacher.

he sighs, “i’ll stay tomorrow too.” your eyes widen, and before you’re about to interject, you sneeze. he takes the chance to continue with a small grin, “i’ll tell kirishima to give me his notes tomorrow.”

you shake your head and argue, “katsuki, there’s no reason to stay with me, you need to keep learning—“

“if you go around grabbing all those utensils and food in the kitchen, you’ll contaminate everything and everyone will get sick. there’s not much in the fridge and everything’s just ingredients, so i guess that means,” he sighs, “i’m making you food.”

you continue to argue, “no, katsuki, you don’t have to make me food, just go to class in the morning—“

he rolls his eyes and grabs you, carrying you bridal style before throwing you onto your bed and pulling up the blankets to your chin. he puts his fist near your neck, and you whine, kicking your feet. you’re practically trapped.

“i’ll tell the principal we’re staying in the dorms. wake me up when you’re ready for breakfast or lunch.” he softly pats your cheek, “go to bed, you need the energy.”

you give him a soft smile and curl up further into yourself, and he leaves your room, retreating to his. this time, it’s easier to fall asleep.

when you wake up, katsuki’s already in your room, lying at the foot of your bed as he scrolls through his phone. steaming miso soup and water are on your nightstand, and you smile at how kind he’s acting.

once you slowly sit up, katsuki murmurs, “good, you’re awake,” he turns off his phone and looks at you with care, “got some pills for you in case you feel extra shitty today, they might make you sleepy though.”

you nod and drink some water, your throat already feeling a little better. once you try the miso soup, your mouth is salivating for more. katsuki can see the shine in your eyes when you quickly take more bites of the tofu, and within a few minutes, you’re done with the soup. a hum escapes your lips at the warm feeling in your stomach, leaving you satisfied.

“thank you,” you mumble, shyly smiling at him.

his eyes soften, and the corner of his lips slightly twitch, something only you would notice. he stands up and walks over to you, bends down, and places a soft kiss on your forehead.

his hand is on your thigh when he affectionately speaks, “i’m gonna refill your water, stay here and don’t do anything too stupid.”

you nod and he takes your glass, hurrying to fill your water before returning in under a minute. when he returns, he only cracks open your door, not fully closing it because it was just you two. he places your now full glass on the nightstand and climbs into your bed next to you.

you complain, “i’m tired!” and groan.

katsuki dramatically sighs before softly pushing the back of your head to his chest, silently telling you that you can lie on it. a giddy grin spreads across your face, and you wrap your leg and arm around him. it’s a bit odd he’s letting you do all this, especially when you're sick. you’re thankful, nonetheless.

he’s so warm.

katsuki kisses your forehead once again and mumbles something incoherent into your hair, and you cuddle up further into him. he wraps a strong arm around your body, comfortingly securing you against him.

the two of you quickly fall asleep in each other’s warm embrace.

when school is out, the two of you are still passed out with each other, and you don’t hear the shuffling of steps coming up the stairs of the heights alliance. however, jiro and kaminari walk by your room and look at each other in confusion. kaminari quietly opens the door, peeking through to see you and bakugo cuddling?

a gasp comes from his mouth and katsuki’s eyes shoot open immediately. his dark eyes glare at kaminari, whose mouth is still open until it turns into a mischievous smile. he takes out his phone and opens the camera app, panning it to your sleeping form being held by bakugo, who has a scowl on his face.

he considers sending a little explosion towards you, but goes against it. he doesn’t want you to wake up yet. you feel too perfect in his arms.

i love this idea! thank you for requesting this, sorry i got a little off track near the end

[violentkisz]

any bob x reader soft smutty things that have been on your mind? :)

Oh sexy sweet traumatized Robert "Bob" Reynolds... Wish I could just cradle his face with my hands and press a kiss to his forehead. I do have a lot of smutty things to say about him, and gladly would like to share my thoughts. (p.s I did write a hefty amount, do excuse my ranting)

Bob finally being able to initiate intimacy is something that floats around in my mind a lot. I imagine him to be reluctant to do anything sexual, and this is not because he doesn't want to. He yearns, deeply, to feel your body in his hands, to trail his fingertips over every space that gets hidden underneath your clothes.

But Bob is a timid and broken man, and has experienced a lot of things most people don't. To be able to have someone to hold and kiss and love wasn't something he ever imagined having. So being able to have someone by his side, to have you, he doesn't want to do anything that may mess it up, not like how he feels he had done to everything else that was good in his life. His hunger to just feel your thighs around his waist and let himself sink inside your warmth— well he just kept pushing it down and starved.

Until you finally gave the green light, verbally expressed that it's okay and you want him in a more intimate way than kissing can go. Then, he finally lets himself melt under your touch and gets past the initial barrier he set of not succumbing to desire. He watches, with dilating eyes and a swipe of his tongue over his bottom lip, as you tug off your shirt.

He's desperate and eager to please. An overachieving student in the study of learning your body. He wants to take off the rest of your clothes, and you let him. His hands are warm, slightly sweaty from his nerves, but ardent in finally revealing skin he hadn't seen before. His eyes become lidded, warm brown irises visibly darkening into his pupils as he shuddered. He keeps asking if it's alright, for him to do this. Says it while his hand is already peeling off your underwear.

He smiles and a small laugh escapes him when you tease him for his mesmerized state, his face flushed as he finally lets those eyes of his lock with yours. His gaze is enchanting, heated, he wants to keep touching, to keep feeling your warmth on the tips of his fingers. So you don't disrupt him, don't give any sign you are uncomfortable because you sure as hell are not. He is gentle at first, light with his touches to the point it's almost ticklish. He is imprinting in his own mind that you're real, that his hands are really trailing up your body and cupping your breasts.

Your soft gasps are making him hard, his cock in his baggy sweats is grinding into the bed. He keeps going, hell he doesn't trust himself that he can stop. He kisses you, passionate and slow. His lips are soft and you can feel his little grin as he tilts his head to deepen it. He pants after a few seconds of kissing you, and he laughs nervously to himself at the overall situation. Bob can't believe you are real. He nudges his face in your neck, pressing more kisses and licking the spot where he feels your pulse the most. He sucks at that point, stilling when he realizes he just nipped at your skin. An apology threatens to spill before you reassure him once more. It's okay, you want this.

So he kisses, sliding down to your chest as his hands keep kneading your skin. He leaves little bites on you, never too harsh when handling you as he finally kisses right above your belly button. Then he lets out a stuttered breath, flicking those puppy dog eyes of his upward to ask if he can go lower. With a nod of your head, he kisses right on your pelvis and his knees hit the floor. He is deep in a trance, and mumbles start to escape him. They are barely coherent, and are just full of his mind's racing thoughts. You're so pretty, so perfect. Unreal. Feel so good under my hands.

Then his lips land on your folds, tongue slipping out his mouth as he drags it from the bottom of your weeping pussy up to your clit. He moans when you moaned from the sheer pleasure, his eyes fluttering shut. He was making you feel good, and fuck it made him want to cum in his sweats. Bob's hands are on your thighs as he keeps your legs open, his grip is firm, but not close to painful, he licks and sucks as he finally lets himself go. Your slick is soaking his maw, whines keep escaping him as he ruts against the bed while eating you out. When your hands land on his hair and you tug, he whimpers. He is so lost in pleasure, which is only sparked because he was making you feel good. He keeps lapping at your folds, eventually a hand slipping from your thigh to daringly sink a digit into your hole.

He could've died then and there, surrounded by nothing but you. Your thighs on his shoulders, your slick permeating his tongue and his nose buried in between your legs. But you pull him up, you want more. You see him rutting against the bed, and need him to be inside. When you see his face again, it's soaked. A dorky smile is on his slicked lips, and it caused you to get even more aroused and feel endearment towards the man at the same time.

He shivers as he stands, fumbling with his sweatpants and tugs them off, to reveal precum staining his underwear. He shyly takes it off next, (as if he wasn't just eating you out like a starved man) to reveal a leaking cock. He is big, in a way that wasn't scary nor underwhelming. Perfect— with a slight curve and a pinker tip. He places it on your abdomen, stilling his breath as he notices how far up he will be inside. A whimper escapes him before he can even reel it back, and he flicks those watery doe eyes up at you. He asks for permission, and you give it eagerly. You pair it with a few praises, how he is making you feel so good. You feel his cock twitch against you, and a nod with a muffled moan escapes him.

He then guides his cock to your entrance, biting his own lip hard as he nudges it against your hole. He lets out a gasp, his eyes rolling back briefly as his whole body melts. You slip your hand down to help him, grabbing the base of his cock to then ease it inside. It's a stretch, a burning sensation as Bob entered you. He lets a whimper seep out, one hand on the bed beside your head as he grips it hard. Your heat is so slick and warm and all encompassing. Bob wants to cum already, but he won't. Not when this was finally happening.

He is slow and accommodating, not wanting to overwhelm you. He sinks in slow, letting that stretch really hit you. He freaks out slightly, his hand cradling your face as the one that fell onto the bed slipped back down to hold your hip. He gives you a smile, the one that made you fall in love with him in the first place. He asks if it's okay, and you nod in response. So he moves, and fuck it felt good.

His cock immediately hits every spot that makes your back arch into him, the slide of him pulling out to just thrust back in was making your thighs quiver. He felt too good, made you feel too full. Bob was deep in a daze, huffing as he slammed a jerky thrust inside. Both his hands found a place on your hips, holding them up at an angle as he continued to pull you back onto his cock. He was moaning, trying to not let it loudly echo by biting down his own lip. He wanted to hear you more than let his own groans intertwine with your pretty gasps of pleasure.

He doesn't even think of letting himself cum until you do. He watches, observes, every little reaction that leaves your body so he can make you feel good. He adjusts his hips, lets a finger start to rub slow steady circles on your clit. As your moans grew in volume, he reveals a crazed smile. His eyes flicker something pale yellow before settling back into brown. You are feeling good, because of him, and that made his hips hit deeper.

When you finally cum around him, he stutters, the sensation of you tightening around him made his own release follow shortly after. In the aftermath, he cradles you, soft sighs leaving him as he holds you close. He is still in ecstasy, even then. You were real, you let him do something so intimate with you. You let him in. Bob couldn't believe it still. He wasn't in the void like how he used to be, and he had you.

-violentkisz :)

[kaijutegu]

What a handsome Komodo dragon!

Except... what's going on with those labial scales? Something about them looks off. And that row of spikes down the back, Komodos don't have that. And their nostrils aren't so round. Hm. I think I know what's happening here.

I did not realize that this was AI at first glance; I thought it was just a really heavy editing style. I saw the missing central toe, yeah, but Komodos will do that to each other sometimes. The other forefoot, the one with four toes, is positioned in such a way that the fifth toe could be hidden, and the lifted hind foot could be similar.

But if you know Komodo dragon anatomy like I do, the inaccuracies pop up pretty quickly. Still, it's not like it was during the early days of GenAI; what I'm seeing here is that the GenAI image algos are getting better at discerning what part of a picture is a Komodo dragon. Since the inception, GenAI has really struggled to make accurate reptiles. In the beginning, everything was an iguana... even the Komodo dragons.

Over time, the models have been refined, but there are still some pretty obvious anatomy differences- the slit pupils, the mouth shape, the overall definition of the snout...

And they often struggle with the tongue. This isn't what the inside of a lizard's mouth looks like!

There's a lot of talk about how GenAI is bad for the brain- but it seems like most of it is actually about writing. And I think we should be talking more about images, too. Not even just about the stolen training data or the erosion of opportunities for artists, but... what is such easy access to these generated images doing to our ability to perceive what's real versus what isn't?

Every single one of the images I pulled is from a highly popular stock photo site. In case you don't know what a stock photo is, it's a photograph (you can also have stock illustrations and stock footage) that's been licensed to use in different applications. These pictures aren't taken for a specific client; anybody who pays can use them within the terms of the image's license.

But all of these images- they're not photos. They're inaccurate illustrations. I recognize them for what they are because I spend a lot of time looking at lizards, but what if you've got someone writing a quick news story, or designing a science worksheet, or throwing together a museum brochure or a zoo sign? If they don’t know what a Komodo dragon is supposed to look like, they’ll use whatever looks convincing.

Images trigger something deep within us- you know that saying "A picture is worth a thousand words?" We're wired to trust what we see. But the problem here is that genAI doesn't create an image of the thing; it creates what its internal logic says is associated with the subject of the prompt. It all comes down to probability; generative AI makes images by looking at its training data and creating output based on what the data is associated with.

(For more info on how AI "sees" what it does, check out the LENS project, which you can read more about here.)

We don't see things the same way the computers do, and we're willing to trust images more than words. How many stock photos do you think you see each day? It's probably more than you think; after all, the average American sees around 5,000 ads per day. And while those photos are marked as AI generated on the stock sites, they aren't marked as AI generated once someone has licensed them. And if the stock site doesn't have what you need? No problem, just use the AI image generator to fake that photo yourself!

We already have seen political deepfakes and AI generated images used to spread misinformation. Did you see the image of an ICE agent arresting a Doordash worker? That was an AI fake, part of a larger hoax. Some of us are already learning to respond with increased skepticism to important images, because people have an agenda to fake those. But what about the less important images, the background images, the completely mundane images? GenAI seems to be quietly coming for them, and it's something we should be paying attention to, because if we're exposed, constantly and quietly, to generated images and are trained to believe it's photography, we'll be more accepting of the bigger lies when we see them.

I don't really know what the solution is here, other than for people to be aware of the stock image issue, and to stop using stock sites that allow generated images, like Adobe Stock. We can't put the generative AI genie back in the bottle, but we can at least be aware of the damage it's causing. And maybe part of the solution is to look for alternative stock and reference options. Maybe we'll start to see more photographers licensing their images directly, or putting together specialized repositories of images based around a theme or topic that they specialize in. The downside there is that it's less convenient than the stock model where there's thousands and thousands of images on every conceivable topic to choose from. I don't know what genAI is going to do to the traditional stock model, but I'm concerned about what the end results might be and what those results might do to our ability to perceive reality.

Komodo Dragon

[onaswife]

The winner takes it all

Couple:  Barça Femení x reader

Au! Omegaverse, Alpha x Omega

Note: This will be a complete orgy, reader will be occupied as a competition for the alphas, lots of smut but a fluff ending. If there is any mistake, please let me know.

The first member of the team you met was Aitana. You were in your fourth year of your English teaching degree, and as part of your professional practice, you had started giving personalized and private lessons in addition to the hours you were required to work at a student residence.

She had found you through a mutual friend. According to what she had told you the first time you met to discuss these lessons, she wanted to learn more English so she could do better in interviews, speak better with her foreign teammates, and overcome her fear of English. Aitana was a very calm, gentle Alpha. She always listened attentively to what you were teaching her and was very eager to learn everything you taught her.

As soon as Aitana was able to schedule the first study session with you, she refurbished one of her spare rooms. She painted it creamy red and bought the necessary supplies. A notebook for her, a small whiteboard so you could write down important things she needed to write, pencils, and markers. It was a study room, filled with books in Spanish and books in English that you had recommended.

You found it very endearing to see how focused she was on learning English. You still remember that time she was excited to be able to formulate a sentence correctly in the past tense.

"So, since we've already taken the placement test, we'll start talking about verb tenses. I suppose you know the main verb, right, Aitana?" You placed a printed piece of paper in front of her on the table, while she looked at you with Bambi-like eyes, quite confused by what you had just said.

"I…" She lowered her gaze as she seemed to stare at the sheet of paper as if it were the most important thing in the world, as if it were going to give her all the universal answers and open another door to the universe. You, on the other hand, laughed tenderly; she reminded you of a little Bambi.

"Okay, we'll start by reviewing that, and then the first thing we'll look at is the Present Tense." She had given you a small board, but you could write on it. "The main verb is the verb "to be." We covered that at the end of last class. I think you wrote it down. So, there are three tenses. Do you know what they are?" She shook her head slowly, and you smiled in understanding. You'd met many children who felt self-conscious because it was a different language, but who actually knew a lot.

"They're the present, the past, and the future," she nodded quickly, beginning to write in a notebook. Apparently, she wasn't very different from the children you taught in the mornings.

"Those moments are divided into four," you saw her raise an eyebrow and decided to continue. "There's the simple, the continuous, the perfect, and the perfect continuous." You gave her a few minutes to write and then continued making a timeline listing the four moments. You slowly explained the four and gave her an example of each, so that she understood the information.

"Now that we've covered the four, I'm going to pass this on to you." You held up a worksheet where she would first have to see which present tense it belonged to, find the mistake, and, lastly, write an example for each one. You gave her 15 minutes; you knew it would be difficult for her, so you gave her the time she needed.

You organized some of your things, putting the ones you didn't need in your bag, the rest in your pencil case, and leaving the essentials outside. You began to look around Aitana's house, trying not to look at her so she wouldn't get nervous. It gave off a great vibe, a warm light, minimalist arrangement, and light gray and white walls. There were many photos of her family and herself throughout her career hanging on the gray walls, each one framing an important moment.

After the 15 minutes were up, she timidly extended the sheet of paper toward you, anxiously awaiting feedback.

You silently reviewed them for yourself, then smiled broadly.

"Okay, shall we begin the feedback?"

"Yes, please," she sounded tired. "I didn't ask how your work went today. You're very tired, Aitana," you began as you wrote things down on the whiteboard. You looked up and saw her nod slowly. "Sorry if I was too nosy. I guess it's a teacher's way of worrying about students like that," you commented jokingly, trying to get her to let go of the day's stress. You heard her laugh at your words and felt a strange warmth in your chest.

"Okay, let's begin."

Aitana had done almost everything right, with small mistakes despite it being her first time seeing the topic. Until the final part. She became nervous and started bouncing her leg, waiting for you to tell her everything was wrong.

"I must say, I think you're the fastest learner in my classes." You smiled. "You had all good ones, Aitana. Congratulations. You're one step closer to speaking English better." You congratulated her on her new achievement, giving her a big smile that was reciprocated with emotion.

"Did I really have all good ones? Are you sure? Completely sure?" she asked, already getting up from her seat and almost jumping for joy.

"Yes, Aitana, I'm sure you had all good ones."

You saw her celebrate as if she had won the World Cup, jumping up to hug you.

That day will remain in your memory; you had never seen her so full of energy so close up.

Then came the day you met her teammates.

Aitana had forgotten to tell you that that Thursday, like every Thursday, they wouldn't be able to have tutoring because her teammates would be attending the traditional team meeting held every three weeks at one of the girls' houses.

You arrived and knew immediately that something wasn't right. When you stood outside her apartment door, you smelled a lot of different odors, all of them alphas. At first, you thought it might be the neighbors, but when a completely different person than Aitana opened the door, your suspicions were confirmed.

It wasn't that you weren't a soccer connoisseur; your best friend was a soccer fanatic, along with his father and yours, so it was a big surprise when none other than Alexia Putellas opened the door to your student's apartment.

"Do you want something? I think you've got the wrong apartment." Her voice was soft, though you knew she wasn't happy with your presence.

"I'm looking for Aitana… we had a class today." Your voice sounded weaker than usual. Her presence was imposing, and her scent even more so, making your omega feel very weak, ready to be marked or taken by that alpha. She raised an eyebrow, and when she was about to ask again, she was stopped by the hostess.

"Y/N? God forgive me. I forgot to tell you that we couldn't have class today." Aitana looked very embarrassed, while Alexia's gaze flicked between you and her companion.

"Do you want to come in? I'm sorry you had to come all the way here and we can't have class because I forgot to tell you." You could sense the change in Aitana's scent, while an apologetic look crossed her face.

"It's okay, Aitana. I don't mind going home,"you tried to dismiss her guilt as a soft, but tired smile appeared on your face.

"No, no, come on in." She brought her hand to your wrist, where she gently took it and pulled you into the apartment. You felt Alexia's gaze on you and heard her close the door behind you.

You felt like you'd just walked into the lion's den.

You were surrounded by very beautiful female athletes, all alphas. You felt a little uncomfortable being the only omega there, so you stayed close to the only person you knew, Aitana.

She introduced you to all her teammates, while they greeted you cordially. You noticed how every time she introduced you to someone, they looked you up and down. Some were more adept at hiding it, others not, and bit their lip while giving you flirtatious glances. You felt your blush grow every time that happened.

There was a moment in the night, which had been filled with meaningless conversations with the older alphas who were also showing interest in learning English, while the younger ones were more interested in flirting with you. You had decided to go out to Aitana's balcony to get some fresh air, and also to look over some things the university had sent you.

You went out with your bag to sit on the beanbag Aitana had on the balcony. You took out your computer and placed it on your lap, turning it on and logging into the university website. You put on headphones so you could hear the material better.

You were so focused on your computer that you didn't notice when someone came out onto the balcony as well. It wasn't until she sat down next to you that you realized, jumping in your seat and placing a hand on your heart, while sighing, feeling your heartbeat a thousand times an hour. "God, that was scary," you heard her laugh as she looked up at the sky.

"Sorry for scaring you. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to get some fresh air. I didn't think you'd be here… We thought you were gone. The others were starting to feel sad."

You felt embarrassed when you heard her words. Even though everyone else had made it clear they had other intentions, they always respected each other's boundaries.

Ona settled in next to you, brushing her arm against yours, but not making eye contact. A few minutes later, another person joined them, Jana. You'd noticed that she, like the other younger ones, was quite talkative and energetic. So it seemed strange to you when she sat on your other side in silence, simply looking at what you were doing on your computer and asking you questions about words she didn't know, and you happily explained everything to her. Ona, who was on your other side, was resting her head on your bicep, her eyes closed, and she seemed content with the scent of you enveloping her.

A few minutes later, you had two alphas sleeping on your sides, their heads resting on your shoulders. Aitana called out to you, but you were determined not to move so as not to wake them.

Weeks later (after exchanging numbers with most of them under the guise of planning a tutoring session), you'd been invited to a party to celebrate a big victory.

You couldn't refuse; you really needed it. You were a few weeks away from finishing your semester, and that meant a lot of stress.

You put on comfortable but nice clothes; you never know, maybe you'd find a hot alpha or something to spend the night with.

You arrived and could see how the girls seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. Ona was dancing close to Jana, Cata was dancing close to Pina's back, and Patri was filming them. You saw Alexia standing face to face with Ingrid, while Mapi sat drinking with a smile on her face.

You approached them, greeted by their greetings and a beer. "I don't know if you'd like it, but if not, I'll tell Aitana to order something for you, little one," Kika spoke, giving you a flirtatious smile, typical of her. You sat next to Ellie, accepting the beer they'd given you. You quickly fell into a conversation with the English girl, her hand resting on your shoulders, caressing them, and your hand occasionally resting on her knee. There was a moment where she stopped hugging you to lean over to drink her drink. When she sat back down, she placed her hand on your thigh, squeezing and caressing there. It felt so good to feel her caresses on your sensitive skin.

A while later, you went to the dance floor, where you danced with all the Alphas, unaware that you had left them aroused and with a plan in mind.

That day, like the previous ones, you had gone to class with Aitana, although this time you encountered a new surprise. All of Aitana's teammates were in her apartment, apparently waiting for you as well.

You entered, greeting everyone present politely and heading to the table where they usually held classes. You took out your books, your computer, and the markers for the board, waiting for Aitana to join you. You were in the weeks leading up to exams, so you were more sensitive and stressed than usual. It was noticeable in your scent; it was less sweet, almost imperceptible, which had worried the other girls.

Ingrid had entered the small area where you felt comfortable teaching. She sat down next to you and put her arm around your shoulders.

You inertia nestled against her, inhaling her scent and relaxing slightly. She placed a kiss on your hair, beginning to caress your arm with her fingertips, sending shivers down your spine.

Then Mapi joined her. She was more active, unlike Ingrid; she started talking.

"Oh my God, baby, are you okay?" She helped you get up from the chair and, without asking, made you sit on Ingrid's lap, so you could bury your face in the Norwegian's neck. Mapi sat next to Ingrid. "I'm worried about not smelling your scent. Are you okay? I don't know if that's normal for Omegas, but if not, we should take you to the hospital for a checkup. You can't lose your scent… I really like the way you smell, love." You opened your eyes slightly and saw the exact moment a pout formed on her lips, making you feel extremely tender.

"I'm fine… it usually happens to me when I'm really stressed… It's the last few weeks of exams and I need to pass them. I don't want to waste a year and have to repeat it."

Ingrid's hands were all over your back, trying to help you relax. While Mapi seemed to have the mission of filling the space with her scent. You felt lips on your temple, making you open your eyes again, connecting with Ingrid's green ones.

"How can we help you, Kjære?" Ingrid's hands rested on your lower back, over the end of your shirt.

You felt dizzy from the attention they were both giving you; it was very difficult for you to think straight when there were two alphas marking you with their scent, trying to relieve your stress.

Mapi's lips landed on your shoulder, followed by a small bite that made you shudder completely, making you gasp slightly.

You hid your face closer to Ingrid's neck, listening to both of them laugh softly at your reaction. "It's okay, Cari." Mapi's hands rested on your waist, pressing against your side. They stayed like that for about 10 more minutes, and you were already going crazy. You were enveloped in both of their scents and could feel their cocks unconsciously rubbing against your body or pressing against yours.

You emerged from your hiding place on Ingrid's neck, sharing a look with her, which she then undressed toward her lips. She seemed to get the hint, as she slowly leaned toward you to touch her lips to yours. It began as a shy, innocent brush of lips, her hands resting on your knee, leaving small caresses with her fingertips.

But it quickly transformed into a quicker, more lustful kiss. Her hands softly and slowly moved to your waist, where she gently tugged to adjust you so that your back was to Mapi, who was standing in front of Ingrid.

As soon as she finished positioning you on her lap, you could feel the prominent erection already growing through Ingrid's pants, making you gasp and moan when you touched there. Mapi was already sitting in front of you, her hand positioning her member and also trying to calm the uncomfortable erection that was growing as she watched you rub and kiss her girlfriend with such need. Her head fell back as she now squeezed her member. When she turned her gaze towards you, she saw both of you staring at her intently.

"Mapi, we need to help our girl here. Then we can help you, right, baby?" Ingrid asked the last thing to you while she rubbed her nose against your neck, while you couldn't tear your gaze away from Maria's erection; it was almost hypnotizing.

You felt Ingrid's hands assault your backside, leaving a firm grip. You moaned, turning your gaze forward, watching as she shifted to remove your shirt and, in passing, your bra. She paid attention to your breasts, first taking one of them to her warm mouth and running her tongue over your already hard nipples. Her hands roamed over your abdomen and thighs, feeling your skin react to her touches.

"Ingrid…" you moaned as you moved your hips against her cock. "God… yes, please." Your hands gripped his hair, tugging as you felt her teeth press against your sensitive nipples. You could still feel Mapi's scent filling the space, though it was stronger now.

Ingrid brought her hands to your butt, kneading it as she began to bite near your collarbones, leaving small marks. You began to move up and down, pressing Ingrid's cock in the right place, feeling that familiar sensation of pleasure rush through your body.

Ingrid threw her head back, feeling you move against her, her hands still on your butt. She looked over your shoulder for a second, watching Mapi stare at your butt and touch her cock, now free of her pants and looking pleased. She instantly decided you should see it too.

She lifted you from her lap, and as soon as you stood up, she placed a kiss on your abdomen while slowly unbuttoning your pants, followed by soft, fluttering kisses, trying to show care and affection.

When she had your shorts off, caressing and kissing in between, she made you sit down, this time with your back to her, so you could look at Mapi, who was standing with her cock wrapped in her hand, looking at you shyly and with a blush on her face. You felt yourself getting even wetter at the sight, if possible, feeling even more in need of a cock, while Ingrid took her time kissing your body.

"Ingrid," you moaned, staring at Mapi, who had once again begun to stroke herself, this time slower but with deeper movements. She stroked from the tip to the base of her penis, while you watched the precum begin to flow out.

Ingrid pulled her pants down enough to free her member. First, she stroked it for a few seconds, then helped you align it. As soon as it entered, you could feel a small release of pleasure. It ran through your entire body, from the tips of your toes to your head.

You took a few minutes to get used to its size and thickness, then you began to ride it with her help. Her hands were firmly gripped on your hips, while her own moved upward, penetrating you deeper. In the moment when you could keep your eyes open, you were able to see the exact moment Mapi had her orgasm.

First, you saw her face, constricted with pleasure and red from the heat that had been building in the room. Then, you looked down, observing how her nipples were erect and her abs were defined by the continued tension, making you gasp as thoughts began to flood your mind, mostly about what it would be like to cum on her abdomen. Finally, your eyes reached her cock, which was at its peak in her hand.

It was wet and rumbling as she moved her hand along its length. It was a sound similar to the one Ingrid's cock made inside you. You saw how she began to move her hand faster, and her moans intensified. It didn't take more than five minutes for her to reach her orgasm. It was addictive to watch her neck tense and her veins pop out, while the same thing happened on her tattooed arms, which were then splashed with the whitish liquid that flowed from her cock. It took about 15 seconds for the semen to flow from Mapi's big cock, while she moaned with pleasure and tried to breathe normally again.

Ingrid was also close, and you were the one who was almost cumming. The familiar tugging began to appear, and your thighs were already trembling. You brought your hands to your tits to knead and play with your nipples, pulling them, giving yourself more pleasure. You lasted no more than 10 minutes with these movements before you came on top of Ingrid, satisfied. She moved against you as she came, and you tried to come down from the cloud of pleasure and ecstasy you'd been lifted to.

While you were in that state, Mapi approached Ingrid and handed her a marker. She took it and leaned you forward, making you hug her abdomen while you wiped the tears there.

She wrote on your lower back, before reaching your buttocks: "Ingrid: 1."

Mapi smiled at her, watching her write with a satisfied smile on her face. All the alphas had planned such an encounter, and they had also talked about writing down how many orgasms they could give you.

"Does that also count as an orgasm caused by me?" Mapi asked as she ran her hand through your hair, leaving soft, tender caresses.

"Do you think so?"

"She watched me masturbate for her, it turned her on and helped her cum," she murmured, feeling triumphant. Ingrid handed her the marker so she could write it down, then pulled you towards her chest as she hugged you and placed small kisses on your shoulders and neck. Mapi leaned down and wrote her name with a 1 below your right collarbone.

She smiled contentedly, watching you draped over Ingrid, her cock still resting inside you.

"There's still a lot of night ahead, baby, so come on. We all want to make you feel less stressed and better. Are you ready for the night?" Ingrid whispered against your ear, as she began rubbing your clit, making your legs tremble slightly and you moan her name.

"Can you answer me?" A long gasp left your chest as you opened your eyes again, looking at a smiling Mapi in front of you.

"Yes, God, yes. Please." You brought your hand to Ingrid's, gently squeezing her wrist. You both looked at each other and shared a knowing smile, already knowing what was coming next.

[quinnkaneki]

Haikyuu characters as parents/soon to be parents part 1 <3

pt 2

This part includes Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, Kuroo Tetsuro, Kenma Kozume and Keishin Ukai.

→ Oikawa Tooru — During pregnancy ^^

• He talks to your belly daily.

“— and when you learn to walk I'm gonna teach you how to serve a ball right into uncle Iwa's face!”

• He preorders baby stuff the moment he finds out, it doesn't matter if you're only 3 weeks pregnant.

“What about this pink crib? Ah wait, we're not sure if they're a girl yet.... Woah, babe, look at these panda pjs.” *adds to the cart*

• Baby proofs whatever he can, safety comes first.

“Tooru... Why is the living room tv remote in styrofoam?” You look up at him.

“So our little one doesn't get hurt...”

→ After pregnancy

• Awestruck, can't believe he has a little family of his own.

“I'm the one who just gave birth, why are you crying?”

“It's just... She's perfect,” He says while gently caressing her cheek.

• Proudly sends monthly updates of his baby to Iwaizumi.

“*sends video* SHE SAID HER FIRST WORD AND WE GOT IT ON CAMERA, I REPEAT, SHE SAID HER FIRST WORD!!!! LOOK AT MY BABY GIRL IWA-CHANNNN”

• Becomes a princess.

“Daddy! Stop moving, you're gonna smudge your lipstick!" Your daughter argues while adding the final touches to his make up.

“Don't you think this skirt is too short sweetheart?”

“Nuh uh! Mommy said it makes your butt look big!” You snicker at her words and snap a photo of him in a skirt and crop top.

“I'm so sending this to Hajime.”

→ Iwaizumi Hajime — During pregnancy ^^

• Cooks for you everyday.

“C'mon sunshine, breakfast is ready, wake up.” *kisses your forehead*

• Makes sure you're up to date with your doctor appointments.

“Okay so, Friday is your next doctor's appointment and we find out the gender then.... Excited?”

• Spends an entire week painting and decorating the baby's room.

“What'd you think sweetheart? Should I move the crib to the other side of the room or do you like it here?"

→ After pregnancy

• Just like Oikawa, he breaks down in the delivery room.

“Are you okay Hajime?”

“I am sweetheart... He looks just like you”

• Accidentally uses a bad word in front of him.

“If a creeper gets into my house again, I swear to God Shittykawa—”

“Shittykawa! Shittykawa!”

“Woah, woah, woah— don't say that! Don't repeat what daddy says!”

“Pfft, good luck explaining that to Y/N Iwa-chan.”

• Enjoys telling him random stories from high school.

“There was this one time uncle Tooru and I stayed back really late after school to practice volleyball and didn't tell anyone. His cousin got really worried cause he wasn't picking up her calls so she drove to the school to check if he was there...wanna know who his cousin is?”

“Who?!”

“Your mom.”

→ Kuroo Tetsuro — During pregnancy ^^

• Pregnancy photoshoots every month.

“Andddd into the album it goes,” He says while writing ‘7 months’ under it.

• Literally your personal servant. Pillow too uncomfortable? Sayless, he won't let you raise a finger.

“You okay, baby? You keep stirring.”

“Mhmm, my pillow is just too high-” *gently adjusts your pillow before you can*

• Drives to the store at 3am just to satisfy your pregnancy cravings.

“They were out of mint chocolate chip ice cream so I got cookies and cream,” He says as he enters the car.

“Did you get my cheese?”

“I got your cheese, love.” *kisses your cheek*

→ After pregnancy

• Takes your daughter on afternoon walks.

“Look at the kittyyyy!” he coos, adjusting her on his hip to see the kitty, “kinda looks like uncle Kenma, doesn't it?”

• Family outings.

“If you don't go to bed right now I'm cancelling our trip to the Zoo tomorrow.” Kuroo bluffs.

“But dadddddddy, one more episode please!” She pouts and shifts her gaze over to you for help.

“Daddy already spoke honey, don't you wanna see the giraffes?”

• Living room forts<3

“Daddy this side is gonna fall!” Your daughter panics while trying to keep the makeshift wall up.

“Leave it to me sweetheart, go help mommy with the popcorn.”

→ Kenma Kozume — During pregnancy ^^

• Thinks you're joking.

“Wait so...you're actually pregnant..?”

“I am Kozume, this isn't something I'd joke about”

“....wow...just wow,” he embraces you. “I'm ready to take on whatever comes our way, as long as it's with you.”

• Limits his game time

“Kenken?”

“In the kitchen!” He shouts.

“Woah, what's all this?”

“your breakfast...thought I'd treat you, tho beware, I can't cook.”

• Counts down the days till delivery.

“6 more weeks.” he mutters.

“6 more weeks till what?”

“Till our little angel is here.”

→ After pregnancy

• Immediately buys her a switch.

“I customized it with her name at the back, look” he shows you “i added pink hearts too”

• Has a personal hair stylist

“Mama what do you think? Bow or no bow?" She places the bow in Kenma's hair then removes it before looking up at you.

“Definitely bow.”

• Falls asleep with her in his arms while gaming.

“D/N! D/N? Kozume?” You enter the gaming room and melt at the sight in front of you.

→ Keishin Ukai — During pregnancy ^^

• Quits smoking and drinking.

“They're gonna grow up in a healthy environment and I'm gonna make sure of that.”

• Refuses to let you around the team.

“No can do darling, they're too rowdy and I need you to rest.”

• Closes the shop early.

“You're home early.”

“I missed my wife.”

→ After pregnancy

• Surprise, you have twin boys!

Teaches the kids how to cook but it usually turns into a food fight. “Both of you, in the shower now” He sternly commands as he begins to clean up.

• Family movie nights.

“Okay so mommy voted barbie and I voted-”

“Barbie!” They both yell.

“Guess we're watching barbie..again.”

• Teaches them how to fish.

“Daddy look! I caught a big fish!”

“You idiot, that's not a big fish, that's a sardine.” his brother says.

“But I still caught a fish and you didn't!" He teases.

I absolutely love Oikawa \⁠(⁠๑⁠╹⁠◡⁠╹⁠๑⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♬

First time publishing on Tumblr, hope you guys enjoyed :3

[delilahsturniolo]

— 𝜗ৎ skinny . . . c.s

in which . . . chris helps you through your insecurities

warnings . . . body dysmorphia, insecurities, negative thoughts/emotions about yourself, fluff, angst, crying, comforting, use of pet names, bf!chris.

written by @delilahsturniolo. do not copy, steal, or modify my works. if you are taking any inspiration from this, please ask me first before posting and credit me in your description. happy reading! :)

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT WRITING MARATHON . . . fic #1

you’re staring at yourself in the mirror again. the kind of stare that turns into a search. looking for answers in the curves of your face, the lines under your eyes, the shape of your body that you never really learned how to love. your shirt feels too tight tonight, your jeans too snug, your skin too loud. it all just feels like too much. sometimes, you just don’t look in the mirror because you hate what you see. other times, you just can’t stop looking in the mirror because you hate what you see.

you pull at the fabric like you’re trying to loosen more than just the clothes, like you’re trying to make space to breathe. you’ve got to be somewhere in thirty minutes. chris is already downstairs, probably waiting with that soft smile, the one that makes everyone else melt. you wish you could be one of those people. the ones who melt when they see themselves. the ones who shine.

but you don’t feel shiny. not tonight. you force a smile anyway. a fake one. the kind you’ve perfected. you paint it across your face like armor, something that will convince everyone you’re fine, even him. “you look beautiful,” chris says when you finally come down. he’s leaning against the counter, hair messy in that casual way he never has to try for. you shrug off the compliment with a small laugh. “you’re just saying that.”

“no,” he frowns, eyes narrowing, “i’m not.” you brush past him, pretending to check your phone, pretending to be too busy to let the words sink in. the car ride is quiet. music playing low. your fingers trace patterns on the window, and you can feel his eyes on you every so often, but you don’t look back. you keep pretending. pretending that your chest isn’t tight. pretending that you’re not trying to hold yourself together with invisible thread.

the night is loud. laughter, lights, people who seem so effortlessly confident. girls with perfect skin and perfect smiles, guys who move like they own the room. and there you are, just existing. stuck in your head, stuck in your skin. you catch your reflection in the window and your stomach twists.

why? why why why?

you smile again. fake. again. you laugh at jokes you don’t hear. you nod along to conversations you’re not in. chris doesn’t buy it. not tonight. “hey,” he says quietly, pulling you to the side, away from the noise, away from the people. “what’s going on?”you shake your head. “nothing. i’m fine.” his hand gently touches your waist, warm and grounding. “sweetheart…”

your throat tightens. you don’t want to cry. not here. not now. but it’s like once he says it, once he calls you that soft nickname, your defenses start to crack. “i just…” you pause, eyes darting everywhere but his. “i don’t feel good. about me. i hate how i look. i feel like everyone’s staring and judging and..” your voice breaks. “i can’t keep pretending i’m okay.”

there’s silence.

not the awkward kind. not the cold kind. the soft kind. the kind that feels safe. chris steps closer, his hands cupping your face so gently it makes your heart ache. “baby,” he whispers. “you don’t have to pretend with me.” your eyes finally meet his, and there’s no judgment there. just love. and pain, like it hurts him to know you’re hurting. “you don’t have to smile if it’s fake,” he says. “you don’t have to shrink yourself to be enough. you already are.”

you start crying before you can stop yourself. he doesn’t say anything. he just pulls you into him, arms wrapping around you so tightly, like he’s trying to hold every broken piece of you together.“you don’t see what i see,” he whispers into your hair. “you never have. but i’ll remind you. every day. until you start to believe it.” you cling to him like he’s the only solid thing in a world that keeps slipping from your hands.

and for a moment, it feels okay not to smile. not to fake it. for a moment, it feels okay to just be, raw. insecure. human. and still loved. he doesn’t try to fix you. he doesn’t say all the cliché things you’ve heard before. he just stays. and somehow, that’s enough. maybe tomorrow you’ll still feel the same. maybe not. but tonight, in his arms, with the music fading into the background and your fake smile finally gone, you feel like you can breathe, and maybe that’s where healing starts. not in changing yourself. but in being seen exactly as you are.

© delilahsturniolo

💌: #selfprojection….anyway im excited to post tomorrow’s fic iykyk

[welcome-tothe-mystery-shack]

There's so much goodness in other reblog chaina (please go check them out!) but I have a slightly different idea in mind, because I'm a slut for the GhostKing!Danny trope.

(Sidenote: I'm writing this with a headache so please forgive me if it gets a little loopy or doesn't make sense at some points, I just wanted to get this out there before I forget.)

The meeting immediately screeches to a halt as the older heroes are struggling to keep their cool. On the one hand, they knew that ghosts function VERY differently from living beings, regardless of species. That a ghost's age and appearance don't have to match. But they also know that Phantom is still half alive (none of them understand how that works, not even Danny). That Danny's human half is 20, and his ghost half is only six.

Not to mention that in spite of his young age, for the last two years, he's been officially crowned High King of the Infinite and about this time last year he'd joined the JL. A fact that had made Constantine nearly faint.

The sorcerer had been petrified to learn that the Ghost King was now an ally, as the last he heard, the King had been Pariah. When he learned that the position had been usurped by not only a teenager, but a BABY GHOST? He'd been simultaneously relieved and stricken because if he'd been that strong as what was essentially the ghostly version of a toddler, then that had some heavy implications for the strength of said toddler once he came into his full power as an adult.

Now they were hearing that he was apparently having CONTRACTIONS? As in about to give birth?!

Batman spoke up, his voice a trained calm tone. "Would you please elaborate? Do you mean to tell us that you are currently in the process of... giving birth?"

Phantom blinked owlishly before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Ohhh crap, I totally forgot to tell you all didn't I? Umm to answer your question, yeah? But technically I have been for the last... what day is it? Tuesday?"

Someone nodded.

"For the last 4 days then. See, ghost pregnancies are, like most things with us, are really complicated. TECHNICALLY I'm not actually pregnant? But I also am? Basically my former arch nemesis tried to clone me after he largely gave up on trying to convert me to being his son and he failed. A lot. There were only 5 clones that survived long enough to form their own cores that he then sent after me. But I was stronger, and they weren't stable enough to last long and since they were 'failures', Vlad was gonna let them dissolve while he watched and studied them destabilizing."

The table creaked as Superman's grip on the rim tightened, but Phantom continued.

"I wasn't gonna let them End like that, they didn't ASK to be made, they were just babies that were doing what they could to please the only parent they knew they had. Four of them didn't last long at all and reverted to their cores pretty quickly, but one of them was stable long enough to help me against Vlad and went exploring on her own for awhile to try and learn who she was while I kept the other four in a tub of ecto. But when she started destabilizing too, she came back and we went to Frostbite and he said the only way to help them all was to incubate them next to my own core, so they could mirror its stability and be fed a constant flow of healthy ecto. So that's what I did."

The halfa shrugged as if it wasn't a massive bomb that he just dropped, only to add a second even bigger one. "Oh, and then an evil version of my ghost half from a dead timeline that fused with Vlad's ghost half started destabilzing in his timelocked prison, so I decided to incubate him too. Clockwork assured me that the chance of him trying to destroy the Earth again was extremely unlikely, so I wanted to give him a second chance too."

If they weren't in space, there would be crickets chirping as Phantom finally finished speaking.

Batman had to swallow the bile rising in his throat at the prospect of a 16 year old choosing to become a single parent to sextuplets created by a creepy old man. "I see... Where is this 'Vlad'?"

"He's rotting in Walker's prison for crimes against the crown, both before and after I took over, and many other crimes. Don't worry, he's also got no legal custody over my kids. Since he'd abandoned my clones and technically had no direct part in creating my evil version, the courts agreed that he has no right to any of them."

That was... mildly relieving. "You are being very mature about this." Wonder Woman added.

"I mean yeah? I had to grow up quick even before this, but if I had to make the choice again, I would." He smiled softly, resting a hand on his sternum, where they assumed the baby cores rested.

"If you've been in labor for four days, how much longer will this go on? Do you require medical assistance or accommodations?" Wonder Woman was worried for the young man, though she had to admire his dedication.

"Average pregnancies last beween 1 and 10 years, depending on the size of the..." He paused and looked thoughtful before continuing. "Litter, for lack of better translation. Once contractions begin, they last for up to a week until the ghostling's ready, then they're born one at a time, with usually a couple weeks to maybe a month or two between them. It's incredibly taxing on the parent's core, since we have to make sure that each one gets enough ecto to form a body. So the first one should be born any day now, and I'll be able to sense when. As far as accommodations, I just have to ask that no one goes into my quarters for now? Frostbite says that birthing parents get extremely territorial during and after giving birth so I'd rather not accidentally hurt anyone. I should be fine medically wise? I've got plenty of emergency ecto in my quarters. Ideally I'll be in my castle for the next few months, but knowing my luck, there'll probably be at least one world ending threat that needs my help."

"Understood. Thank you for sharing all this with us." She smiled softly at him as he returned one, embarrassed.

"No problem. Sorry for not bringing this up sooner, I genuinely thought I had."

"Don't worry about it, young Phantom. Just know that if you require any assistance, we are more than willing to provide it."

"Oh- um- thank you." He blushed, face turning a pale shade of green that made his silver freckles stand out more, his long ears drooping a tad. "I'll keep that in mind. Though I would appreciate any pointers from those of you with kids? I don't know what their temperments will be yet, but if they're anything like me, they're gonna be absolute gremlins." The whole table turned to look pointedly at Batman, whom sighed.

"I will provide you with a pamphlet, as well as a copy of Agent A's more simple meal and desert recipes. You are more than welcome to stop by the Batcave to pick them up at your convenience, as I am sure tha Agent A would like to guide you through some recipes if you are inexperienced."

"Woah really?!" Phantom perked up, eyes literally shining like neon green beacons. "That would be amazing! Thank you so much!"

Batman grunted quietly, though those that knew him well could see the amusement lingering in his body language. After a few more minutes, Phantom had to run, as another contraction hit and he wanted to visit his doctor to make sure that things were progressing properly. Once he was gone, silence settled over the conference table for several moments before Hal spoke up.

"So we're breaking into Walker's prison to beat that sonuva bitch into ectopulp, right?"

So if ghosts can revert into their core, what if Dani did when she was destabilizing?

What if cores needed a safe resting place with access to ectoplasm? And it's instinct for ghosts to protect and nurture cores. As they're very vulnerable.

Danny acting on instinct absorbs the core or cores??(other clones?) into his body. To keep them safe.

So he carries these cores around until they mature and are stable enough to take form.

However, this takes time, like years.

So I propose. Newest JL member Danny Phantom just suddenly gasping and keeling over in the middle of a meeting or fight??

JL members start panicking. Like wtf?? What's wrong with Phantom? An attack? Is he hurt?

Phantom just sits up and continues the meeting or fight like normal until it happens again and they're like " Are you hurt? Poisoned? What is it!"

Danny just shrugs and goes " It's fine, just contractions".

"Contractions?..."

"Yeah! They suck, but I'm glad they'll be here soon. It's been like 4 years".

Just the JL or whoever panicking and being super protective over there newest and youngest member, who, through a series of misunderstandings, thinks Phantoms been knocked up for 4 years by his arch nemesis.

[lukolathoughts]

McGuffin or Chekhov's smokin' gun?

During my old university days, I studied Media as part of my Drama degree. I was interested in film at the time, until they made us all sit through 2001 Space Odyssey. Absolute torture. Anyway, we studied a whole lot of Hitchcock also. I learned a great deal about the auteur, the male gaze and the 'McGuffin'. Stick with me reader, I am going somewhere I promise. In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. (Wikipedia) For example, in Pyscho the lead female character Marion Crane turns up to Bates Motel with a suitcase full of stolen cash. It ends up being irrelevant because that is not the main plot. Marion (spoiler) is stabbed to death by Norman Bates and the suitcase of money ends up in the lake with her car. That is her story over. A modern day McGuffin in my mind would be Dennis Nedry stealing dino DNA in Jurassic Park using a can of aftershave cream. The plot point is irrelevant, even though it causes the fences to shut down and chaos to ensue, the can is lost as Dennis is eaten by a Dilophosaurus and that is the end of that. The main narrative is elsewhere.

In university, I was fascinated with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. As a Buffy fan, I was almost ecstatic with joy to see another badass female lead slice her way to revenge and justice wearing a yellow, leather jump suit. It is an incredibly gory film, but I see it as a masterpiece of cinema. This is where I was made aware of the term - Chekhov's gun. "is a narrative principle emphasizing that every element in a story be necessary, while irrelevant elements should be removed. For example, if a gun features in a story, there must be a reason for it, such as being fired at some later point." Usually in film, the director will make a point of showing the object/device and it will come up repeatedly or later. In Kill Bill, there is The Bride's sword which is made and then shown later with her lopping off a hundred or so heads. In Kill Bill part 2, in a flashback to years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Pai refuses to teach his students; properly used, the attack is reputed to leave an opponent able to take only five steps before dying. This is how (major spoiler) The Bride defeats Bill in the end. She was shown by Pai Mei. I could go on and on about how these devices are used in cinema and television, but you will be aware of them. In Bridgerton, we can see that Penelope's feather quills are Chevhov's gun, because they are representative of a secret that she is keeping that has indirectly and directly affected so many people. Lady Whistledown has massive plot implications.

So, ZG where are you going with this blog post? I have struggled with keeping my mouth shut these last few months and running things through in my mind. It is easier to just chat in my discord and much less hassle, but it also grinds my gears that us Lukola's feel the need to be underground. I want to be a voice of reason for the fandom and not be stifled. A few days ago, I was made aware of a picture. This picture had my eyes widening and my heart thudding, because it was confirmation to me that what I had suspected and read in my cards, was absolutely right. I have struggled in the past with even writing this down, because people get so mad. I am a mother of four. I have actually had six pregnancies. I have dealt with early miscarriage, gestational diabetes, premature labour the lot. I am an experienced mother now of many years and I recognise another mother when I see one. I do not take pregnancy and childbirth lightly. I know what I saw last year from Nicola and I stand by that. This has NOTHING to do with fat shaming or commenting on Nicola's body, which I NEVER have.

It is now up to the story narrative to play out and for us as an audience to find out whether the buggy/stroller in the picture that Nicola is pushing, is a McGuffin - irrelevant. I saw someone say it might be a doggy stroller. Sigh, sure Jan. Or she could be pushing her sister's baby around Dublin. It is possible, but why are all her friends there that particular weekend? Where is her sister? Why is Aimee there? Why was Louisa tagged in the photo? What was so special about that weekend? We have worked out from Louisa's clothes that the weekend was most likely the 5th April. Jake shared a photo with Louisa in a pub that Saturday and the clothes match. I will come back to Jake in a moment.

Or is the stroller Chekhov's gun? A massive plot point and integral to this whole damn narrative and why my friends, we have been dragged along on this bumpy ship navigating an endless storm, that has included missiles, hurricanes, a great white shark, shelves, anchovies, tiramisu etc. My question from a few blogs ago was, what are Nicola and Luke hiding in the attic? In my opinion, it is the stroller. As I said on X yesterday, if you see the picture but refuse to acknowledge at least the possibility of what that stroller means, then that's on you if a harsh truth is ever revealed.

The Jakeholes have been quiet about this. It almost makes me giggle. Nicola liked that post, so she is absolutely aware of it. It has been sitting on Instagram for two weeks literally like a smoking gun undetected until the Lukola FBI finally dug it up. Lets face facts here. Jakey boy was filming from April - June last year in Wales and Nottingham for What it feels like for a girl (I loved it by the way! It weas excellent). Nicola was on a massive six month press tour with her co-star Luke Newton. We all saw the way they looked at each other in Brazil. We are not blind or stupid. We don't have amnesia either. I can look at the live footage at a touch of a button. Us Lukola's do not have to manipulate footage of Jake from WIFLFAG, where he plays a male prostitute and pimp, with footage of Nicola from Big Mood, where she plays a woman with mental health problems, and mash it together to make it look romantic. Those edits are sickening. They are also pathetic because whereas we have actual footage from Bridgerton and in real life, the Jakolas have nothing. Even Tiff couldn't make the Cannes footage look romantic. He looked like Nicola's assistant and we caught Jake making horny eyes at a man in the pre-Bafta party. My point is, Jake was not around when Nicola likely became pregnant and I will quote someone in my discord, Jake hasn't seen a vagina since he came out of one.

I believe the person in Nicola's recent post is Luke. My very dear friend @pikanchidouble-blog has done excellent analysis on this over the weekend of the ear and thumb and I absolutely think it's Luke. If it was Jake, why not tag him? She's not been shy about tagging him before. The sweet treat is also Luke coded and the fact he loves Italian food. Jake is also at the moment busy shooting a film. Nicola has better things to do than sit alone in a hotel all day in Australia alone, waiting for him.

We are yet again back to waiting game. If that was Luke in the selfie, Nicola has made a massive step forward in showing an aspect of him. She has made strides in showing the stroller also. I love Nicola for this. There must be a reason that she has decided to show us this. It has to be part of the larger story.

So do we have a McGuffin on our hands, or Chekhov's gun? You decide. We wait.

PS. Love you all xx

[luna-azzurra]

Writing Advice #2

If your character arc feels kinda flat or fake or like you’ve accidentally written a pamphlet instead of a person, Ask yourself what they’d do if they were just… petty and a little emotionally stunted.

like, not in a evil-villain way, I mean in the way real people are. In the way where someone says “you hurt me” and they’re like “oh okay cool i’m just never gonna talk to you again, problem solved.” or when they spiral, they don’t journal or grow, they start subtweeting or stalking their ex’s new girlfriend’s Social Media Profile or binge-eating hot cheetos, in a weird power move against no one.

Because people rarely go through pain gracefully. We flail, we regress, we lie to ourselves and pretend we're doing “fine” while googling “is it normal to cry during grocery shopping.” and then (Maybe) eventually, we start figuring shit out. Not because we’re heroes, no, because staying broken forever gets exhausting.

So let your character be petty and mess up things for stupid reasons. And let them make a bad choice not because the plot needs it, but because they’re tired and bitter and still learning how to be a person.

[silver-grasp]

Ehhhhhhhh I mean it's good enough for casual interest, but there's multiple issues here so don't take this as a comprehensive guide to how tengwar work. First off, I recommend anyone interested in playing with tengwar look up another chart of the letter forms, because this one doesn't adequately distinguish stem lengths on most of the consonants and that hyarmen looks weird as fuck.

This guide also misrepresents vowel systems. The system that moves vowels to the left is the Quenya system, because Quenya words often end in a vowel. Sindarin words tend to end in consonants, so the Sindarin system shifts vowels to the right. English is usually written with vowels shifted right, because like Sindarin most of our words end with consonants. I believe OP may have misunderstood this as moving the vowels "to the middle", because that is not a typical form. I think people do that for calligraphy sometimes, but it's not standard.

Somewhat less importantly, this presents tengwar as having a mostly one-to-one relationship with the English alphabet, which it doesn't. There are multiple ways you can write English using tengwar, and opinions vary on the "best" way. Most people, however, agree that at least some measure of phonetic spelling should be used. Even this guide brings in phonetics, showing both forms of R (but not adequately explaining the difference) and providing the TH/CH/SH clusters as separate tengwar. However, it ignores the fact that hard C is usually written as K and long vowels should use a long vowel stem, which are two of the most common concessions to phonetic spelling that you'll see.

I'd like to point out that it took me (writes tengwar fluently) a hot minute to figure out what the last one says because it's spelled bizarrely. It's supposed to say "good luck" but it reads more like "godo luc k" or "ogod ulc k" because the vowels are placed incorrectly (this is an example of where you could use a long vowel stem) and CK as a consonant cluster is typically written as a doubled K.

The best online resource for learning tengwar is, hands down, tecendil.com. It has an automatic transcriber where you can type in whatever you want and it will generate the typical English form. You can also switch languages and transcribe other real languages like Spanish, or Tolkien's languages like Quenya and Sindarin. It also has a tengwar handbook that explains the system in very thorough detail, including the proper names of the letters, the standard letterform chart, and different language modes.

YOU WANNA LEARN ELVISH?! HERE YA GO!