#Remove Cat Spray Smell

[hazbn-oneshots]

Bathtime Headcanons

Just a few headcanons for sharing a bubble bath with the main characters. Enjoy!

Charlie:

oddly enough Charlie doesn’t partake in full baths as much as she favors showers.

She’s busy dealing with the hotel and along with ruling as the Princess of Hell so she much prefers a quick warm spray.

On the occasion, however, she finds herself tired enough that you might just be able to convince her to indulge with you. 

You make a point of dredging up any kind of bubble bath, bath bomb, lotion, anything you can find to ensure that you can provide the best bubble bath possible.

Music plays softly over a small speaker, but it’s drowned out the hushed whispers of words of love as you meticulously wash and condition her hair.

Conditioning is your favorite step. Charlie didn’t need it often as her hair somehow stayed so silky, so every now and then when you got to run a soft brush through her hair, twisting it gently to pin atop her head.

She tries to wash you in return but you always push her hand away, insisting on pampering her after a hard day.

Usually ends with you drying her off and carrying her to bed when she inevitably passes out.

Vaggie:

Vaggie loves baths but she’s hard pressed to admit it. Nothing feels better on sore muscles than a nice soak, ideally with lavender. She loves lavender.

The two of you had been dating for about 6 months before she even entertained the idea of going to you with such a request. 

She was too embarrassed to ask.

-in the end, how she broaches the subject is by surprising you one night when you return home. A few candles lined the edge of the bathtub that was filled nearly to the brim with bubbles.

”I just thought it would be nice, you’ve been gone all day” And you know better to react calmly should you risk spooking the flustered angel with the scarlet red face.

She’s the one that drags it out in the end. She’d wrap her arms just a little tighter around your waist and mutter about how the water would stay warm for just a little longer.

Vaggie gives sweet towel hugs.

Alastor:

Listen, Alastor takes pride in his hygiene. He takes the utmost care to keep himself and his dress in immaculate condition. 

He’ll invest in facial creams, hair creams, body creams, oils, lotions, you name it and he’s used it. 

But baths? No. Absolutely not.

You’ve only attempted to convince Alastor to take a bath with you and neither occasion ended particularly well. The radio demon wouldn’t speak to you for a week after the first failed attempt and had all but removed himself from your life with the second so you couldn’t say you were in any hurry for a third.

However, the two of you have come to a happy compromise. Whenever you found yourself in the mood to draw a bath you would sometimes find Alastor pulling a chair up next to the tub with a book tucked under his arm. So would begin a lovely tradition between the both of you.

More than once you’ve found yourself dozing to the soft static of the Alastor’s voice, and in response the demon would lightly tap his cane against the edge of the tub to rouse you.

Don’t fall asleep though, three strikes and he’ll leave you in the tub. No he doesn’t.

Husk:

Not. A. Fan. Considering his entire being consists of fur and feathers, Husk can and will do everything within his power to avoid bathing if he can. Look, it’s just not his idea of a fun night to sit down with a hairdryer and attempt to wring himself out as best he can.

Inevitably he’d miss a spot and end up with stale wet cat smell and no one likes that, especially not our resident grump.

He won’t make a fuss if you want to bathe with him though. What he will do is laugh while patting your shoulder. “I’ll wait for ya in the room”

The more comfortable he gets, however, you’ll start to see that eventually Husk begins to find reasons just to ‘wander’ into the bathroom with you. He misses you, you know it, but it’s still sweet to see him making the excuse of looking for his lucky pair of boxers.

”The water’s always warm darlin”

You better get the blow dryer ready, the only way you can convince him is if you’ll deal with it. You don’t mind though, the purrs are worth it

Angel Dust:

You and Angel take turns picking which bath bombs and bubble baths that you’ll throw into whichever potion you’ll be brewing up tonight.

Bathtime with Angel was always a favorite for you, you couldn’t think of anything better than getting to curl up with your cuddle bug in your arms. Although things never really stay that way for long.

It’s hard not to tease while washing each other. A slip of the hand here, just a little rough touch of loofah there, just a sweet little taste of what could be but the restraint comes easy in the relaxed atmosphere. Just in times like these Angel will be patient enough to wait until you can actually make it to the bed. 

Angel won’t let you wash his hair. You don’t know why he’s so particular about it but if you interrupt his routine of products then his entire night is ruined so you choose the peaceful route and leave the man be. That doesn’t mean he won’t wash your hair for you if you ask though, those four hands of his do wonders at massaging the scalp.

Angel will 10/10 let you towel dry him every single time and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t use it as an opportunity to make a show at bending this way and that, making sure to get every inch of him.

He looks like a fluffy mess afterwards but hey, he’s your fluffy mess.

Requests open!!

[pinknatural]

After googling “what to take to a stranger’s birthday party” and reading the top five articles thoroughly, the first two more than once, Castiel has determined that he should either bring candles, wine, or baked goods. 

A candle seems like a good, safe option, but the Walmart candle aisle is overwhelming. How is he supposed to know if Anna’s-friend-Dean likes oaky, woodsy smells versus lavender-linen smells? Castiel likes the one that smells like a waxy apple pie, but who’s to say that opinion is shared? What if he prefers pine, or something called Deep Twilight Mist? Castiel removes the lid for Deep Twilight Mist and smells the cream-colored wax curiously. It smells like the perfume Hael used to spray everywhere when she was eleven. He puts it back on the shelf. 

There’s a candle that smells like cupcakes. It is a birthday party, so perhaps he would like that. Castiel puts it in the blue plastic basket dangling from his arm, then puts it back on the shelf, tilting it so the label is facing perfectly outward. Maybe Anna’s-friend-Dean doesn’t like candles at all. 

Wine. Everyone likes wine. Well, unless Anna’s-friend-Dean is one of those guys who thinks wine is too feminine. Or if he doesn’t drink at all. Or if he drinks too much. Or, perhaps even worse, if he’s some kind of wine connoisseur and will mock Castiel for buying reasonably-priced wine from Walmart and then blacklist Castiel so thoroughly that he will never find a friend in this town. 

Wine and candles are too complex. But everyone likes baked goods. 

Castiel is stopped in the middle of the road, turn signal blinking to indicate that he would like to turn left into his apartment complex, when he realizes that Anna’s-friend-Dean could be diabetic. But the party is at a restaurant that specializes in hamburgers, so probably not. Hopefully not. All Castiel has to do is successfully implement chocolate chip cookies and then melt into the walls at the party. Be pleasant enough company that next time someone has a large event they allow Anna to invite him again. Go to enough social functions that he can claim to have friends and get Anna off his back. Live quietly, working at the Gas-N-Sip and writing papers about the science of Theology and perhaps even going to the library and reading secular fiction.

Castiel has no expectations of finding actual friendship at Anna’s-friend-Dean’s birthday party. Or ever, really. If he ever gets lonely, he can get a cat.

Anna thinks that Castiel and Dean will get along very well. Castiel thinks that living outside of their mother’s influence has made Anna believe in fairytales. Anna has known Castiel his entire life. She knows full well that he has never gotten along very well with anyone. 

Castiel cracks an egg over the batter. Maybe this whole baking thing will impress Anna so much that she’ll stop bothering him about making friends. 

Who knows, maybe these cookies will unlock something else to add to Castiel’s quiet life. He quite likes the idea of baking.

--

The firefighter is very beautiful. Maybe even the most beautiful person Castiel has ever seen, besides models on the sides of buildings who look so perfect they’re fake.

“You the guy who started the fire?” the beautiful firefighter asks. He puts his hands in his pockets. Castiel’s cheeks burn. Not from any fire. 

“They were just burnt cookies,” he says. “I didn’t know they would set off the smoke alarm.” In the entire building. The other firefighters are by the doors, writing things down, talking to other residents of Castiel’s building. How come the beautiful firefighter was the one who had to talk to Castiel? He sneaks a peek at the man’s arms, but they’re sadly covered by his coat. 

“You burned the cookies on purpose, then?” the firefighter raises an eyebrow. 

“Of course I didn’t,” Castiel says. The firefighter has green eyes and freckles splashed across his nose. Castiel wants him to take off his helmet so he can see what his hair looks like. 

“Right,” the firefighter says. 

“Am I in trouble?” Castiel asks. 

“No,” the firefighter says. He winks. Castiel feels his heart literally skip a beat. “Not a crime to burn cookies. Losing out on the cookies is punishment enough.”

“They weren’t for me,” Castiel says. “They were for a birthday party. Tonight.” For some reason, he wants the firefighter to know that he has a social life. Never mind if the social life was enforced upon him by his older sister.

“A birthday party? Today? Who’s hosting? I gotta fight for my honor.”

Castiel is baffled. What honor? What fight?

“What?”

“Everyone will come,” the firefighter says. He makes a pose, as if he’s flexing. “To see me and this other guy fight to see who’s the Supreme Birthday Boy.” He stretches one arm out, pointing it to the sky, then he opens his fist. “Pow! It’ll be me, of course.” He turns to look back at Castiel. His mouth is very pink. Castiel wishes he understood what words were coming out of it. 

“It’s my birthday, too,” the firefighter says after a moment, when Castiel doesn’t react.

“Oh,” Castiel says. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“I dunno. Trying to be funny, I guess.”

“Oh,” Castiel says again. Behind the firefighter, he sees that the other residents of his apartment building are filing back inside. For some reason, despite the January chill, Castiel doesn’t want to go back in. Not yet. 

“You know, usually this is the part where people say happy birthday,” the firefighter says. 

“Happy birthday,” Castiel repeats. 

“Thanks!” the firefighter beams. “So do you think I should crash your friend’s party tonight?”

“No,” Castiel says, alarmed at the thought. A firefighter, and probably a bunch of other firefighters, crashing Castiel’s opportunity to stand beside the wall, holding a cup of sprite? When Castiel shows up with store-bought baked goods? And this beautiful firefighter will point right at him and say that Castiel invited them and then Anna’s-friend-Dean will hate him forever, and probably Anna will too? “Also, he’s not my friend.”

“He’s not? Then why are you going to his party?”

“He’s my sister’s friend,” Castiel explains. “I’ve never met him. She thinks I need to leave the house more.” Too late, Castiel remembers that he was supposed to pretend he had a flourishing social life. Oops. 

“Wait,” the firefighter says. His eyes sparkle. “Are you Anna’s brother? Cas-something?”

“Castiel,” he says, with the patience of someone who has had to explain his name a million times. He narrows his eyes. “How did you know that?”

“Dude,” the firefighter says, laughing. “I’m Dean.”

Anna’s-friend-Dean is a beautiful firefighter, with green eyes and freckles? Anna’s-friend-Dean is the Supreme Birthday Boy? Anna’s-friend-Dean probably has very muscular arms, under his uniform?

“Oh,” Castiel says. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” the firefighter says. 

“Winchester! Wrap it up!” one of the firemen calls from the truck. Castiel realizes that all the firefighters are about to leave, and everyone from his building is already back inside. When did that happen?

“Be there in a minute!” Dean hollers over his shoulder. When he looks back at Castiel, he grins almost shyly. “You were gonna make me cookies?”

“Yes, I--I thought it would be an appropriate thing to bring.” Castiel wonders again if Dean could be diabetic. Or perhaps allergic to something in chocolate chip cookies. Are chocolate chips made in a peanut-free facility? Maybe Castiel should’ve bought wine, after all.

“Hell yeah,” Dean says. “Whoever said that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach was dead-fuckin’-on. But, uh.”

“But?” Castiel is sure, suddenly, that Dean is about to reject him and tell him not to come to his birthday party after all. Which would be a shame, because all of a sudden Castiel wanted to go.

“My favorite dessert is pie,” Dean says like a confession. 

“Oh,” Castiel says, eyes widening. Maybe he can swing by the bakery--maybe he can look up a bakery, and then swing by it--on the way to the party. Assuming he’s still going. 

“And, uh, not to toot my own horn, but I make a pretty mean one. I actually made myself a birthday pie, and I was gonna eat it alone, but maybe…I mean…”

“Yes?” Castiel asks. Dean is slightly taller than him, so he tilts his head back to meet his eyes. Dean swallows. Castiel watches his adam’s apple bob.

“Well, I could swing by after my shift is done,” Dean says. “Bring it with me. We could share. Before we go to the Roadhouse, I mean. If you want.”

“I want,” Castiel says before he can think about it. He snaps his mouth shut. Dean brightens. 

“Great,” he says. “I’ll be back. After my shift.”

“When does it end?” Castiel asks. Dean looks at his watch. He grins at Castiel, tongue poking between his teeth.

“Twenty minutes,” he says. 

“Okay,” Castiel says. “I will you soon, then.”

“Yep,” Dean says. “Gimme about an hour, okay? And then we’ll have pie.” 

“Okay,” Castiel says. Dean turns to head back to the firetruck. “What kind of pie?” Cas calls after him. Dean turns. 

“Apple!” he calls. Castiel stands outside, in the January chill without his coat, for a long while after the truck leaves. What a strange man, making his own birthday pie. What a lovely man, sharing it with a stranger. Supreme Birthday Boy, indeed.

--

When Dean returns, in a soft flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up, revealing his magnificent forearms, his hair a spiky mess that Castiel wants to run his fingers through, he has, as promised, an apple pie. And Castiel has a present for him. 

When Dean opens it, he laughs until he almost cries. He lights it right away, and the lingering aroma of burnt chocolate chip cookies is chased away by the apple pie candle from Walmart, a bright, steady little flame flickering between them.

(ao3)

[yjhariani]

Surprises

Simon 'Ghost' Riley X GN!Reader

Word Count: 1.8k Warning: Profanity, mention of a death of a neighbour.

A/N: Still the neighbour. How shall we end this series?

That one day, you bumped into one of Simon’s friends who you met at the ball in your building. You believed they called him Gaz. When you greeted him, he greeted you back and said that Simon asked him to get something from his flat while he was away. Simon had left for a couple of months by then.

Later that day, you found out that your new Russian neighbour died. All you knew had died in a car accident.

When you updated Simon on your day via voice message, he only responded with a skull emoji, per usual. However, he did ask how you had been doing.

Weeks passed. Upon your leave, you found a bouquet of lovely flowers by your doorsteps. There was a card attached to it that said; Skull emoji.

When you confronted Simon about it, he left your text on read. Afterwards, you bombarded him with photos of Ghost the cat and received a response of a very rough selfie that had his middle finger in the frame.

You stopped counting the days of Simon’s leave because it was not getting better. The yearning was getting more and more real. Ghost the cat was keeping the yearning fire going even more rather than consoling you of Simon’s leave.

Then, it was your birthday again. At that point, you had not been in contact with Simon for over a week—which was not irregular.

However, later you had someone delivering something to your place. It was a birthday cake with a chunk of a quarter of it missing. A few hours after texting Simon of it, Simon responded with a photo of a quarter of a cake with his friends gathering around the remainder of the cake in the background.

About another couple of months after that, you found Simon waiting in front of your door at your arrival to your flat one Friday evening. You were not sure if you did it on purpose or not, but you leaped into his arms and he was catching you.

Even there, you could hear Ghost the cat meowing from the inside of your flat. He started scratching the door.

“Little shit’s going to ruin your place, love,” Simon pointed out.

“He’s already spraying everywhere, my place smells like cat piss now,” you replied.

“Maybe you should move him out to my place,” Simon suggested as he put you down on your feet.

Simon had his mask on and as if it was tradition, you pecked him on the lips through it.

“Let’s get in, then. Your son misses you a lot,” you teased.

“Of course you’d call him that,” Simon sighed.

Chuckling, you proceeded to open your door. Right away, the cat hopped out and meowed loudly at Simon. Simon picked up the cat and started scratching the space between the cat’s ears.

“I got something for this cheeky bastard,” Simon said.

“Oh, yeah? A little gift for your son?” you joked.

“I thought he’s yours,” Simon said.

“He’s my cat, but he’s your son,” you said.

You pulled the two of them into your flat. You led them to the sofa and put down the stuff you were carrying before going behind him and draped your arms on him from the back. You gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Tea?” you asked.

“Just you,” Simon said, gently pulling you so you were sat on the sofa next to him.

There was a moment when you and Simon only looked at one another. He took something from his back pocket.

“The bastard’s got my name, might as well look the part, don’t you think?” Simon put something into your hand.

Placed at your hand was a pair of circular tin with a chain. On the tin was embossed the word Ghost.

“I got it commissioned,” Simon informed.

You chuckled.

“What?” Simon asked.

“You care so much about your son. That’s cute. I’ll attach it to his collar,” you answered.

Simon looked at you disapprovingly. It was quite terrifying and it explained the look people gave him when you were at the ball.

“Hey,” Simon softly called. “Did I spook you?”

“You can say I just saw a ghost,” you said.

Simon put the cat aside and removed his mask. It was visible that his beard was longer than usual. His paint also looked fresh, meaning he was not taking chances of not putting his mask on or putting it on and looking weird behind the mask. 

Simon put the mask on the table. However, of course, the cat kept coming back at him.

“It’s mating season and I think that’s why he’s more touchy,” you said.

“Yeah? Shall we pair him up?” Simon replied.

Again, you chuckled.

“I paired my brother up and it went well,” Simon said.

That froze you up.

Simon? Pairing his brother up? It went well? Also, he was saying this out of the blue? On top of that, he said in a very good mood. Or so it seemed, at least.

As if seeing your wonder in the way you looked at him, Simon sighed and took your hand.

“You said you don’t have a pleasant story. That sounds very pleasant,” you brought up.

Simon said nothing, really. He instead brought your hand up to his lips and kissed your knuckles.

“Are they still together?” you carefully asked.

“I wouldn’t know, love,” Simon answered.

That sentence contained more emotion than whatever Simon had ever expressed in your presence. There was sadness. There was guilt. There was a little bit of anger. Even way less than that, fear.

You leaned closer towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Simon rested his forehead on yours before eventually taking your lips with his.

When the kiss seemed to be about going somewhere, you felt a smack on your face along with a few claws.

Yelping, you pulled yourself back, holding your face.

“Again?” you questioned.

“Get the fuck off,” Simon groaned, putting the cat down who reacted with a meow of protest. “You alright?”

Simon tilted your face aside, looking at the impact of the cat’s attack.

“Yeah,” you replied. “There’s more on my arms.”

Simon moved his hands to your arms, rotating them carefully to see a couple of more scratches.

“It’s just scratches,” you said.

“This joke isn’t worth it, then,” Simon said.

“You love the cat,” you reminded.

“Never said that,” Simon said.

Again, you both only looked at each other. Maybe you were trying to memorise each other’s faces again, but in a different emotion this time.

“What say you we ditch the cheeky bastard here and you spend the night over at my place?” Simon said.

“Dust island, you mean?” you asked.

“I’ve been cleaning since morning,” Simon said.

“Really?” you replied.

Simon nodded once.

“You managed to clean your place but not yourself?” you asked, lightly scratching his beard.

“I did take a shower,” Simon said. “Besides, you said you want to help me shave.”

“When are we gonna do that?” you continued.

“I got all week,” Simon informed.

Then, it was the next day.

You and Simon were in his bathroom. Simon sat on the closed toilet and you sat on his lap, facing him. You were lathering shaving cream on the lower half of his face and neck. Simon watched you, holding you in place by the waist under your shirt. Well, his shirt.

Once you were done, you smeared a little on his nose and chuckled. Simon responded by wiping his nose on your face.

“Are you sure you trust me to do this?” you asked.

“I am,” Simon nodded.

“What if I nick you?” you questioned, wiping the shaving cream off his nose.

“I’ve had worse,” Simon said.

“What if I shave your eyebrow?” you replied.

“No one would notice, love,” Simon shrugged. “Except you.”

Simon wiped the shaving cream off your cheek before resting his hand back on your waist.

“Get on with it, then,” Simon said.

“Let me know if I hurt you,” you said before taking the razor.

You started shaving his face. Every now and again, you would look up to his eyes, to see if he was telling you something. Every time, he only looked back at you with nothing but a resting look.

Occasionally, Simon would rub his thumb on your skin. At one point, he moved his hands to taut on the small of your back. Sometimes, he moved his hands to your thighs. Other than his hands, his body sat still.

After the shaving was finished, you rinsed his face and dried it up with a towel. Then, the two of you did nothing. You were just there with your arms draped over his shoulders and his on your hips.

“How does it feel?” you asked.

Simon felt his shaven face with one hand

“Good,” Simon said. “Well done, love.”

You smiled.

“I could get used to this,” Simon said.

“Let’s get used to this,” you said.

Simon pulled you closer and kissed you on the lips. You returned the kiss without hesitation. By the end of it, Simon rested his forehead on the crook of your neck.

“You’re safe,” you heard him say.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” you asked.

There was no answer.

Simon just pressed his lips on your collar bone.

“Hey, we’re already here. Might as well take a shower, yeah?” Simon suggested.

You put your hands on his face, lifting his gaze to you. 

“Sometimes you don’t answer my questions and it worries me,” you admitted.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Simon said.

“I have you to worry about every time you leave,” you said. “Should you fall in battle, who would tell me that? Our landlord when he lets someone move into your flat?”

“Especially that you don’t have to worry about, love,” Simon said. 

You only looked at him, not really reacting to his question.

“Look, the only person allowed to move into this flat after me is you,” Simon said. “In fact, if you’d like to save some for rent, you could.”

Simon took your hands.

“I got this place because I want to feel like going home every now and again,” Simon explained. “Then, I have you.”

Seeing the thin smile forming on your lips, Simon squeezed your hands a little.

“Doesn’t have to be quick, doesn’t have to be my place. Could be yours. I don’t care. Only if you agree with this,” Simon continued.

You moved a hand to his face.

“Sure,” you said. “The two of us living together?”

“How’s that sound?” Simon asked.

“With your son,” you added.

“Now you’ve ruined the moment,” Simon said.

You chuckled.

“Yeah,” you said. “Let’s get rid of one of these places. I mean… might as well, right?”

“Right,” Simon nodded.

The two of you were looking at each other again.

“We’re not moving too fast, are we?” Simon asked.

“It’s relative,” you said. “I already adopted your son.”

“God,” Simon scoffed.

You chuckled feeling that Simon was actually enjoying the joke because he kissed the back of your hand and smiled while doing so.

@hao-ming-8 @here4thespice @fckwritersblock @misshoneypaper @oscarissacsslut @itsasecrets-things @revrs @d4z01 @snortangeldust @sm8th0p

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

[rottenpumpkin13]

SOLDIER Fanclubs Conspiracy Theories

A compilation of speculation and murmur amongst the Silver Elite, Keepers of Honor and Red Leather.

Sephiroth wears a wig

Genesis can't read and has just memorized LOVELESS to make people think he can

Angeal has been arrested twice before

Sephiroth is an android

Genesis has gotten three separate women pregnant, one of which was Sephiroth

Angeal can't actually lift his buster sword

Genesis definitely does drag in his off time

Sephiroth and Genesis are secretly married

Zack Fair is Angeal's child

Sephiroth can barely read too. That's why he points and mouths at whatever he's reading

Genesis is deathly afraid of squirrels

Angeal and Sephiroth accidentally burned Genesis's first copy of LOVELESS and replaced it

Sephiroth doesn't exist

Genesis is secretly plotting to place hair-removal in Sephiroth's shampoo

Angeal has had penis reduction surgery

Sephiroth is addicted to spaghetti and meatballs

Genesis isn't a natural redhead

Angeal's facial hair is sprayed on

Genesis has been to therapy for his LOVELESS addiction

Sephiroth is part cat and turns into a cat every full moon

Angeal swears A LOT

Genesis puts dumbapples in everything literally EVERYTHING

Sephiroth's breath smells like disinfectant

Genesis is colorblind and can only see red, that's why it's the only color he wears

Angeal has caused multiple insect infestations in the ShinRa tower due to his plants

Angeal has a pet snake named Genesisssss

"Sephiroth" is an alias and his real name is Anthony

Angeal has multiple secret tattoos, one of which is "certified DILF" on his back

Genesis lies about his age and he's actually younger than the other two

Genesis has an evil twin named Revelation

Angeal gets paid by ShinRa to put up with Sephiroth and Genesis

Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth are actually married and have adopted Zack and Cloud as their kids

Genesis plans on sacrificing his friends to the goddess to obtain the gift

Sephiroth will eventually turn evil

Cloud Strife is from the future

Sephiroth can't swim

[offbranddrpepsi]

Hi! Loved your yandere chamber headcannons, could I request yandere reyna headcannons?

Fuck yeah lets go, Ill include SFW and NSFW with NSFW below the cut in case people/you want both.

warning: mentions of blood, she must nibble for she is reyna

Reyna is already a bit more aggressive, more forward, so her Yandere nature goes under the rug for the most part

As soon as shes gained interest in you shes always lurking, watching your heart beat through walls and coming in the moment it rises.

Shes touchy but thats normal with people she has affection for, but with you its possessive. She makes sure others see her giving you a kiss on the cheek or a head pat. When theres competition she has an arm around you, tapping her fingers rhythmically on you so the movement keeps the other persons focus

She knows you scent well, how your soul moves and hums. She uses this to keep tabs on you, being able to hunt you down the moment you're out of he sight, warning you to be careful the moment shes tracked you down.

If you come by here with even the hint of someone else on you, be it Yoru's cologne he sprayed liberally after training or Sage's office after a meeting, she is immediately on you. She hugs you, nuzzles you, and hangs around you until you smell of her again. You accuse her of sent marking you like a cat, neon even joins in on teasing her, but she can't deny it because well she is. She smells great so it's not really an issue if it lingers over you for a bit, who would hate smelling like roses and laundry?

Unlike how some others may be Reyna is very upfront and once you seem the smallest bit receptive of her advances she asks you out which is hard to refuse, shes gorgeous and caring and absolutely obsessed with you.

Reyna is a perfect girlfriend though a bit clingy and overbearing. She meets your needs, takes care of you, encourages you to be the best version of yourself, etc. Anything you could want in a partner she provides however it comes with a possessiveness that always seems to hug jealousy.

You aren't really allowed to go any where she isn't, she doesn't trust others to not go for you or hurt you. You have to tell her, and sometimes ask, about leaving the house which she always joins or makes you call her for the duration. She has lost so much and she will be damned if she loses you too so, despite it being concerning, you let it happen since it makes her feel safe.

Her room becomes yours. You're greeted with addictive kisses that sometimes involve blood as, yes, she bites as a form of affection. One such bite nearly always rests just above your collar, just enough to show you are owned. Reyna never makes you cover up but she sure as hell visually intimidates anyone that looks at you.

When it comes to removing anyone that would separate you two Reyna is like a well trained predator. People vanish without a trace, she and her sister get the souls they so desperately need, you stay safe in her claws without a chance to wiggle free. It's like a lioness keeping a stray gazelle in her den, eventually you don't feel the danger as she is entirely passive to you. Even if her works uncovered she can defend herself, after all she needs to eat and feed her sister and these people were bad people anyways so who cares if they go missing?

Reyna also absolutely does not let you out on the battlefield anymore. She fights Sage and Brimstone tooth and nail to get you removed from active service while she cries to you how her heart just can't take seeing you in danger. You are put on base duty which just means you are in charge of taking care of Reyna when she gets back, what ever that may mean, as well as sitting nice and pretty until she does.

She also does dress you to the nines, making sure you have the best version of what ever you want to wear. Reyna is stunning and has many events she goes to but you are so much more stunning wrapped around her arm. At these events she gifts you a specific set of jewelry to wear; a very nice choker with a purple diamond surrounded by gold, representative of her heart, with gold bangles that have a band of amethyst ran through them, and a black ring with a purple gem similar to the eye she summons to blind people. Eventually you wear the choker all the time and later the ring becomes your engagement ring. It is always so so very clear who you belong to and who pulls the strings in your life.

NSFW

The moment you let her claim your body it is everything she hungers for. She craves you more than she does souls and makes this well known, never hiding her need for you against her.

Of course she is an aggressive, borderline feral, lover. Your body is a patchwork of bites, claw marks, bruises. Her bites are not simple love bits, no, she draws blood and always does.

Your blood is heaven for her though she only ever takes a taste and makes sure to clean your wounds well. You look more like a cat bigger cat got you really well while playing too rough, which is kinda what happened. She often will ask for a taste as a pick me up, taking a little nibble of your neck before giving you an appreciative kiss and zooming off to do her work.

Because of how affectionate she is you are also well versed in how your own blood tastes as well as how your own fluids taste. She cant help herself as you moan and squirm against her, only being able to finish what shes doing before her mouths on yours. At first it was jarring but the more she did it the more you grew used to it, though she does still try not to get too much in your mouth as she doesn't want you to be sick.

Reyna must taste you so that becomes how she has you. Her mouth taking what ever it wishes for as long as it wishes. It is a mercy for her to fuck you and let you fall over the edge she keeps you on for so so long.

When ever you let her she will always take you be it behind a wall just away from others, in your workspace, the shower, your room; there is no where this woman wont fuck you.

Sadly she does often fuck you past your limits. It doesn't matter how much you plea with her, you are hers and she will have that the moment you let her and will not let up until shes satisfied. Her stamina is so much greater than yours so you are just a mess. You aren't her fuck toy, no she hates that, you are feeding her and of course if you're in distress she will stop and you do have a rarely used safe word. Most days you cant walk, your everything is sore, sometimes you look so messy you can't leave her bed until you've healed. No matter how much she does this you never seem to build up the stamina to match.

Regardless of how much she breaks you, she always makes sure to put you back together. She tends to you just as furiously as she fucks you, making sure you are perfectly prepped for your next encounter.

As a bit of herself she gives to you, she lets you decorate her for these events. You dress her, adorn her in jewels and gold, make her into the goddess she is so she can tear into you once again. She looks divine as she fucks you in any way possible, bringing you orgasm after orgasm all in exchange for a tiny amount of your blood at the start.

Of course she also makes you please her. Placing herself on your face she rides you until you are a mess. She lets you fuck her until you can't anymore and then turns to fuck you until shes pleased. Nights with Reyna often aren't nights but days but its euphoric and breaks you enough you cannot resist going again.

[tamberwoof]

Moraygill's Super Horrible Time: Part Two

Part one can be found here:

There are no big warnings for this part. It's mostly character interaction.

----

Everything hurts. 

That was the first thing she noticed upon waking up. Everything hurt. 

Distantly, she could recognize that there were voices. They were muffled and hard to understand over the pounding in her head, but they were there. 

The next thing past the pain and the voices, was the smell. It smelled rich, like freshly turned dirt and old logs. It was vastly different from the salty sea spray that coated everything in the Coastalclan camp. 

No. This couldn't be Coastalclan. She was somewhere dark that smelled of the deep forest. Not that she smelled that often. 

Wispclan

Moraygill tried blinking her eyes open but the simple act seemed to work against her. The pounding behind her eyes became worse and her eyes themselves burned. She whined, trying to lay her paws over her eyes. 

That didn't work.

Her right paw made it up just fine but her left one wouldn't move. The wrist didn't bend and it was agonizingly heavy. 

The voices stopped. 

Moraygill froze and listened intently as muffled footsteps started towards her. She growled as she felt the presence of another cat move in front of her. 

Trying to open her eyes, she was greeted with slick black fur and red eyes. The cat looked concerned. 

She growled t0 the best of her ability, though the sound was raspy and pathetic at best. It stuttered in her chest and made her feel worse than she already did. 

The cat in front of her took a step back, looking her over, before turning and moving back to the other cat in the den. They resumed talking in hushed whispers and sent her pitying looks that she could hardly stand. 

She wanted to speak up. To shout and screech about how she was fine and didn't need any help. But her throat and chest ached and her muscles screamed in protest as she curled up a bit more. She used her shoulder to block sight of the other cats. 

She'd be dead if they weren't helping her, so now all she could do was take it and hope there were no major consequences. 

Slowly, the black cat made it's way back over and moved to be in her line of sight. He motioned at his ears and Moray scrunched her face up in confusion. 

The black cat carefully reached up to Moraygill's own ears, causing her to flinch back. He was persistent, though seemingly scared too, and she felt his paw move against her ear.

Distantly, somewhere off in the back of her mind, she wondered if her ear had been torn or something. 

But no, the tom just removed a wad of moss from her ear and suddenly her hearing was better on that side. 

“Needed those to draw the water out.” He spoke softly, voice light and almost feminine. He moved to take out the other wad and she didn't move as he did. “Widowmarch found you half dead on the shore just outside our territory. I'm surprised you've woken up as soon as you have.” 

Moraygill gave him a confused look and huffed. 

He continued, addressing her confusion, “It's been close to two days since the storm.” His tail flicked anxiously. “We haven't been able to tell your clan that we have you yet. We planned to send a messenger today since we're sure the storm has stopped.”

Moraygill took a deep breath and let a flicker of annoyance run through her body at the fact she couldn't talk back. 

“Do you think you could try drinking something?” The cat from the entrance of the den asked. She was large and fluffy, with black, orange, and white fur. She looked to have spider webbing strewn throughout her fur. “Addershade here said you would be dehydrated when you woke up.” 

The black tom rolled his eyes and huffed. He sent a look back at the fluffy she-cat and she just shrugged. Then he turned back to her with a sigh. “Would you like some water?” 

Moraygill took a moment to really take note of how awful she felt. Her mouth was dry and her head was still pounding. Her throat and chest burned and ached like she had a fire raging in them. 

She nodded softly, unwilling to hurt herself more. 

The cat at the entrance gave a big grin and rushed off, ignoring who Moraygill assumed was the herbalist as he tried to say something. 

He flattened his ears and huffed in an offended manner, staring out of this den after the fluffy she cat. It gave Moraygill a moment to truly inspect him. 

He was slender and almost shiny furred, the black fur casting off colors like purple and green at certain angles. She knew his eyes were red, but she hadn't noticed his ragged ears until now. They were clawed up but also had what looked like a claw pierced through his left ear. She couldn't tell much more than that. 

He didn't seem to have any visible scars peeking through his fur nor any signs of illness or starvation. Honestly, he looked like he was in better condition than most cats she personally knew. 

Soon enough, the she cat returned with a soaked wad of moss in her jaws. “Here,” She purred with a soft smile, setting it down in front of Moraygill. “I know you've already heard us say our names, but I'm Widowmarch, and this is my brother, and the clan herbalist, Addershade.” She explained. 

Moray looked between them before taking the wad of moss into her own mouth and biting down so the water would squeeze out. 

“Your paw was pretty badly messed up too.” Widowmarch continued on, “Two of your claws were ripped out and your whole paw seemed to just be shattered.”

Moray snapped her head up to look at her then. 

“Oh hush.” Addershade snapped at his sister. “What's really wrong is that yes, two of your claws were torn out, and the two toes they were on are broken. I have them splinted but because of the break, I doubt they will heal correctly.”

Moraygill's ears flipped back and she scrunched up her face in warning. 

“You should still be able to walk once it heals.” Addershade mumbled and curled his tail over his paws nervously. “It's gonna be an adjustment, but I don't think it will stop you from doing your clan duties.”

Shifting a bit, Moraygill gave her injured paw a good look. It was wrapped in cobwebs and leaves, both of which were soaked through with blood. She cringed and just looked away. Not like she could see what was underneath them anyway. 

Instead, she tried to shift her legs under herself so she could stand. The action seemed to panic the other two cats in the den, and Addershade started to say something. 

But Moraygill was determined to stand.

And then it seemed she was falling. 

Her legs crumbled under her, jerking her down and to the side as Widowmarch rushed forward for her to fall against. 

“You're too weak right now!” Addershade chirped out through what seemed to be his calming panic. “You have extensive bruising and there's nothing left for your body to run on. You haven't eaten or drank anything since we found you.”

Moraygill glared at him. Sure, he was right, but stars, did this whole situation make her fur stand up. Here she was, leaning against a wispclan cat. Being helped by the clan that stole Coastalclan's treasure. She felt like a traitor just being here. 

Though… maybe she could admit that Widowmarch made a nice nest buddy… her fur was soft and acted as a nice cushion. 

Moray didn't register her eyes drifting closed or her head start to tilt over into Widowmarch's side. Didn't register how comfortable all this felt until the other she cat started to purr softly and began grooming the fur around her spine down. 

She barely recognized her own purr starting up at some point as her eyes slipped shut. 

[swabian-princess]

Domestic engineer tales - daily cleaning routine

Hey girlies,

as we all know - I'm a proud domestic engineer (aka SAHGF) and while this life is very soft I still have responsibilities. One of them is cleaning.

I grew up with a mother that wasn't about cleaning all the time. Sure, the basics were always done but she wasn't bothered if some pet hair was on the couch or if the kitchen wasn't cleaned until the next day.

Well, my bf is the direct opposite. He hates dirt, dust, stains, pet hair and the list goes on. Basically - he wants our apartment to look like nobody lives there. He's a perfectionist and he can't relax if he suspects the apartment is not clean. That's when I enter the game - it's my task to tidy the apartment every day, so he can come home and simply relax.

I'm not going to lie - it was really rough in the beginning because it seems like this man can smell a faint stain on a towel ten miles away.

Realize that maintenance is key!

It took some time for me to realize this. Just trust me - it's way easier to clean just a little bit every day than to spend hours cleaning once a week.

1. vacuuming

My first step is always vacuuming the whole apartment. I need roughly 30-45 min to thoroughly vacuum the apartment. My holy grail tip is to invest in a wireless vacuum cleaner. It doesn't have to be the newest dyson! In fact, bf and I have three vacuum cleaners: two dysons, one of them wireless and one Phillips, and I absolutely prefer the Philipps one over both the dysons.

2. dusting

I hate dust. It makes my nose itch and my eyes water - so there is a strong no dust policy in my home! I just grab an good old swiffer and simply dust off all my counters and all the surfaces in the apartment.

3. disinfect

I blame the pandemic for my urge to disinfect everything. I love sagrotan cleaning wipes and I always buy them in bulk when they're on sale. I wipe down my kitchen counters and every other surface in the apartment. I've been doing this for a few months now and I don't see any damage on our furniture that could be caused by the wipes.

I also wipe down my bathrooms - my sink, the water taps and the complete toilet. I also spray down the toilet and my door handles with disinfectantspray for extra protection.

4. polishing

We have quite a few glass surfaces that need to be polished every day because they tend to get grease stains very easily. I take a microfiber towel and a cotton towel and spray those surfaces with a special glass cleaner, rub it in with the microfiber towel and dry with the cotton towel for a streak free finish.

5. couch vacuuming

It was not the best decision to get two white/grey coated cats with long and fine hair while still having a black couch. You. can. see. every. single. hair. I'm very happy that our Philipps vacuum comes with a special attachment for pet hair removal. I use it on both of our couches and the attachment works like a charm. No more hairs!

6. making sure it smells good

A good smelling apartment is mandatory for me because I believe that a good smelling apartment makes living way more enjoyable.

I make sure to clean the cats' litterboxes frequently - I try to scoop the litter out immediately after they finished their business. Nothing is worse than the smell of cat shit or piss and I know way to many people that have their whole apartment smell like their cats litterbox because they neglect cleaning it.

I also spritz our couch and our carpets down with some Febreeze golden orchid cushion cleaner. It smells heavenly and the smell stays for hours! It's also pet safe, so don't worry.

Last but not least - candles. I like to light some scented candles in different rooms of the apartment to make sure that it smells nice everywhere. My current favorites are the yankee candles in vanilla cupcake and sunny daydream!

It takes me around 3hours daily to finish cleaning the apartment and that's only maintenance.

I deep clean different rooms on different days during the week. My daily tasks also include loading and unloading the dish washer, doing laundry, cooking and cleaning the kitchen after cooking.

lots of love

Selene

[wolves-of-wonderland]

These are the things I will have in my future dream home. I will get it one day. I will add to this list or remove things from it as I see fit. I will also check off things as I get them.

• A fireplace

• Kitschy lamps, with some sort of animals on them

• Pretty smelling room sprays

• Animal knick knacks, probably from thrift stores

• Lace placemats

• A cute cookie jar

• Incense

• A shelf for herbs and crystals

• Plenty of tiny jars for spells

• That Hello Kitty toaster that toasts in the shape of Hello Kitty

• At least one gaming system

✅ Cozy homemade blankets and quilts

• Embroidered pillows

• A beautiful bathroom

• Hand-painted tea pots

• A writing desk

• A juicer (I wanna make homemade fruit juice)

• A tinted glass pitcher for said fruit juice

• A bookshelf with ✨personality✨

• A hat rack

• A cat, preferably a black one

• The love of my life

• Light switch covers

• Pretty walls

• A sink with some kind of decoration

• Art

• Garlands

• A garden for growing herbs and flowers

[the-many-soul-speaks]

CEDARCLAN: Moon 1

Clan play began this moon.

* Prose for CedarClan is kept beneath a readmore for potential length.

--✧--

⇢ Faithspore & Stumpymoth - Discover an abandoned kittypet; hit by a car. 1 -1 =1. There is a scuffle, and the outsider is killed, only for their patrol/family/ clowder/etc. to appear and demand justice.

Faithspore is something of an enigma to much of his clan, and Stumpymoth would be the first to admit to being somewhat flummoxed by the older tom. His dedication to his daughter, Darkkit, has always been clear, nothing left to be desired in his parenting— and even before her birth, in his own youth, Stumpymoth recalls him as a favorite kitsitter. His work ethic is impeccable, he goes out of his way to finish tasks others would rather leave for another day, and never once complains or lauds it above others. 

So why, when all his traits suggest compassion and cooperation, does he remain so apart? 

It’s not so much that the answer is unclear; merely, what is it that makes him so, Stumpymoth wonders.

The kittypet they had come across was clearly lost, far removed from any twoleg homes in the vicinity, and distressed. Stumpymoth would have expected sympathy towards such a case. Instead, Faithspore is at their throat before a word was uttered.

Perhaps he had a difficult upbringing.

“Faithspore!” It’s his alarm that makes Stumpymoth slow to act, intervening too late to stop blood from being drawn. But no amount of alarm in his voice is enough to halt the older tom. “Faithspore, stop! It’s just a kittypet!” His only answer is a snarl, and a spray of blood. Before another word leaves the younger tom’s mouth, Faithspore has slashed his claws across their neck. Dead before they hit the ground, the kittypet slumps. 

Stumpymoth would be more shocked if this hadn’t happened before. Faithspore was one of Patchoulistar’s most loyal followers, after all. 

Still, it turns his gut unpleasantly, a measure of fear mixed with the disgust. “You didn’t need to do that…” Anything else to be said dies  on his tongue as the dark-pelted cat swings his head, muzzle flecked with blood. 

“A trespasser is a trespasser,” is all Faithspore says . 

And really, there’s no arguing with him after that. 

--✧--

⇢ Peakdapple & Oakpaw - Badger set; bushes shoved in to check if badger is present.

“Do you smell that?” Oakpaw’s anxious mew cuts through the quiet, jolting Peakdapple out of a cloud of thought. Lifting her muzzle, she breathes the crisp spring air over her palate, wrinkling her nose with a scowl at the musky scent. “Badger. Good nose, Oakpaw.” “Is it fresh?” The worry in the apprentice’s voice isn’t without cause, but Peakdapple thinks, rather pessimistically, that it isn’t badgers they should all be concerned with. 

She scents again. “Not fresh enough to worry about. Lets see if we can’t follow it a bit, find out if it’s denned nearby.” She picks up her twisted forepaw, still aching from the lingering chill, and begins a lilting gait down the game path. Still looking skeptical, Oakpaw hurries to catch up. 

They don’t have far to go, the pools of the swamp giving way to sandy uplands and broader-leaved trees, one a gnarled old oak with a hole at the base. Here, Oakpaw falls back, mouth open. 

Peakdapple follows suit. “Not fresh enough to worry about,” she muses, “still. But I wonder if it intends to return. What do you think, Oakpaw?” The apprentice shuffles, anxiety in every inch of the movement. “I don’t know… We can’t know, can we?” “I suppose not.” Peakdapple fixes him with a sympathetic eye. “We’ll have to keep an eye on it.” Oakpaw remains silent. After a moment, shifty-eyed under the consideration, he mews, “What if… What if we full the den entrance with brush? And when we come back, if the hole has been cleared…”  He trails off, but Peakdapple is already impressed. “Very good thinking.” Another consideration, and then, “Very good! I suppose we ought to get to work then, hm? If it is coming back.”

“Yes ma’am!” Oakpaw’s fur bristles, and Peakdapple has to resist a laugh. A little mean that was, maybe, but the idea is good. She’ll have to mention it to Alderstar.

[ribbonmiku]

oh so life update i discovered that my basement is full of white mold last week. it’s coating multiple floor joists and infecting all of them. my landlord isn’t taking it seriously and is being a dick about it, per usual. he said he was going to treat it himself by spraying a vinegar solution. he was down there for like 5 minutes, no PPE, and when he finished he was like “oh i didn’t realize it until i got started but there was some bleach in there too,” and then walked out the door before we could tell him that he JUST MADE CHLORINE GAS. HE FILLED OUR BASEMENT WITH CHLORINE GAS. I COULD SMELL IT IN THE BEDROOM. so we had to leave while the house aired out. thankfully we already had the cats somewhere else, i didnt want them home in case my landlord did something stupid during the “treatment” and fucked something up. it’s like i’m a prophet. anyway, i haven’t told him that he made poison when he mixed bleach and vinegar yet because i don’t know how to broach it without him starting a fight. i’ve been in contact with poison control and i’m going to talk to the housing authority. we’re looking into trying to get a mold removal consolation and inspection ourselves just so i can get an expert opinion on if the amount of mold is hazardous, and if so, how hazardous, and what can we do. it sucks. it all sucks a lot.

[ganymede-princess]

Winter Wine | Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)

ship: Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) X fem!OC

warnings: drug references

summary: In the winter before the Summer of Love, Rick meets a young woman at one of his gigs.

word count: 3629

a/n: This is an adaptation of a story I wrote 4-5 years ago, and I have done a fair amount of re-working to make it more readable and to remove some of the pick-me energy that was pretty prevalent in my old stories. If you happen to read this and recognize the plot from way back when I first published this; hello! Please do reach out if you remember my work, I'd love to reconnect with the community again.

written by  @ganymede-princess

It was New Year's Eve, 1966, and I could smell a change in the air. I could tell that the dawn of ‘67 would bring revolution to the history of young people everywhere, but not even a new era of mankind could shake off my nerves. I was supposed to be meeting a girlfriend for a shindig at some underground club in celebration, but she had cancelled our plans at the last minute and I didn’t like the idea of being carted off somewhere to be murdered. That being said, it was the biggest night of the year and I was hardly going to let a little imminent danger stop me. So I armed myself with a little kitchen knife, a can of toilet refresher spray, a lighter, and a bottle of champers. One last time, I looked myself over in the mirror. I had donned a little white tassel dress with bell sleeves that fell just above my knees, over which I wore a lichen green Afghan coat to stave off the English weather. I had even done my eyes like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra with golden lids and black swirling wings, and spritzed myself with Belle De Rauche. I felt sexy, but I knew that feeling sexy and being sexy were two entirely different breeds of cat. With one last tousle of my hair, I headed out.

After walking a while I noticed flurries of soft snow filling the air. It fell down like floating pearls to leave little burning tingles on my nose and cheeks. I fluttered my eyelashes as the snow weighed them down and giggled. All through the street people were stumbling around grinning, their eyes locked on the sky. I had seen a panorama of different people in this part of Cambridge, but one thing that united us all was a universal love of snow. Outside the UFO Club I noticed a line of people in all kinds of fancy dress were huddled together beneath the eaves of a building. I cursed under my breath and pulled my coat closer around myself, ready to turn around and go home when I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

“Jenny!” It was my cousin Rodney Maudsley standing right at the front of the line. His auburn hair was a splat of blood on the snowy street.

“Hi Rod!” Grinning, I hurried over and flung myself on him. “Fancy seeing you here!”

“Where else would I be?” He cackled, tossing an arm around me. “Look, Adam, this is me cousin, Jenny. Cute huh?”

A tall man with short, black hair was standing by the door. He had a grey woolen blanket bundled around his body to keep himself warm and a little paper name tag around his neck.

"Indeed she is. Rodney." He grinned eerily as he greeted me in a cockney accent. "It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, mate.” I smiled, grateful to have a clear voice for once.

“Orright, in yous go.” Adam ushered us inside. “Don’t want you to freeze now do we?”

“Many thanks, mate, many thanks." Rodney winked and sauntered inside, causing a small uproar in the waiting line.

The UFO Club was a miasma of alcohol, cigarettes, and a mingle of a hundred perfumes. Strange wailing sounds emanated from the far end of the room, catching me in a cobweb of curiosity. The noises did not sound organic, so I could only assume it must be a kind of music.

"So how do you know the bouncer?”

“Oh, friend of a friend..." Rodney responded, slipping his arm off my shoulder. "Y’know. You meet people, you like ‘em. In- a- anyway. Have a good one."

With the smell of Eau Sauvage lingering in the air, he was gone. I peered through the gathering crowd at the bar that had been set up at the end of the long shed, and decided not to follow him, as much as I wanted to. Instead I decided to stick to the wall and make my way towards the stage at the far end of the hall. I slipped into the shadows by the wall, dodging a mob of speed freaks who were debating Whitman so hotly that I wondered if a physical fight might break out. It was quite easy to get to the stage, as I was very petite and could easily sneak through the dim concert hall. I soon found myself in a little nook a few feet from the side of the speaker where I could see the whole stage from end to end.

Four men were littered over the stage, two standing with guitars, another sitting at a drum kit behind them, and at the far side was a man sitting at a keyboard, his face obscured behind a fall of mousy hair. I let my attention sit on each of them individually, allowing them each the opportunity to enchant me. Firstly, I looked at the bassist; he must have been very tall, since he awkwardly stooped over his instrument. He ran random objects such as bolts, washers, and screws over the strings of his bass, each one creating a unique noise effect.

The lead guitarist was painfully cute. His hair was a mass of black curls which trembled with every movement and I could see his face lit up with excitement at every pleasing sound his guitar produced. His whole body shook as he bent the sounds coming from his guitar into strange, wobbling frequencies using quick finger movements and occasional movings of the tuning knobs on the neck. It was a strain to pull my eyes away from him to look at the drummer who tapped at the drums in a seemingly experimental manner, almost as though he had never played them before. I soon looked back at the guitarist and watched him plucking at the strings for a while with a dreamy smile on my lips, but soon remembered that there was one last man I had not observed.

Regretfully, I looked away from the lovely guitarist and made my way to the far side of the stage, sticking close to it so as to avoid any dancers. I found a decent spot to stand, and looked up at the keyboardist who was sitting only about six or seven feet away. Just a moment ago I had thought that the guitarist was the most attractive man on the planet, but I was soon proved to be sorely mistaken. That little keyboardist who hid behind his hair was like heaven on earth: shy as a pixie and dainty to boot. He frowned down at his hands while he played, carving little furrows in his brow. In that moment I would have given my right arm for the privilege of knowing what was going on behind his eyes. I felt my heart start to thud as the song came to an end.

"That was Interstellar Overdrive." The guitarist mumbled into the microphone. "Next we're going to hand over to our keyboardist, Rick, for one of his songs."

"Er, yes, um..." Rick stammered in a voice like a wind chime. "This is called Remember A Day."

The music kicked in with a bluesy bass line, arpeggios on the keyboard, and a groovy, off-beat drum line. The guitar swooped from low to high like a police siren. I found myself beginning to sway gently to the music.

"Remember a day before today,” Rick's singing voice was gentle and ambient. It was similar to the voice of the guitarist, only it had a unique dreamy quality. "A day when you were young, free to play with time... evening never comes..."

His eyes roamed around the room as he sang.

"Sing a song that can't be sung without the morning's kiss..." It was that very moment that our eyes met. I could feel my cheeks growing hot as his attention lingered on my face. A small smile grew on his lips before he sang the next line. "Queen you shall be if you wish. Look for your king."

My face became a garden of blush. I looked away, feeling a foolish flutter in my stomach. When I found the strength to lift my head, he was looking back at his hands. I wasn’t sure if I should be disappointed or relieved. The song continued for a while, and it seemed as if he was purposely avoiding my eyes, so I slipped away into the shadows by the side of the stage. I could see no point in putting him off his playing by lingering.

"Alright, it's half-past ten," The bassist announced as the song came to a close. "And we'd all like to go and watch the fireworks, and I'm sure you all would too. So, have a good night everyone, and don't hesitate to come and say hello if you liked the show."

Nobody seemed to be listening to him as he spoke, just as nobody had seemed to be truly listening to the music. All of the bodies in the hall started to syphon out of the room before he had even finished speaking. With those words, all four of the performers shuffled off the stage and out of an exit door that I could see in the wing. I sighed regretfully as I watched the back of Rick's white frilly shirt disappear through the door. I stayed in my nook for a few minutes with my eyes fixed on the door, wishing with all my might that it would open again to reveal the gorgeous young keyboardist with a smile on his lips and love in his heart. Eventually I gave up and made my way to the visitors exit, which was clear of people by then. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned with a hopeful smile, but was disappointed when it was the drummer who greeted me. I hoped it didn’t show.

"Are you the girl with the Afghan coat?" He inquired, folding his arms.

"Erm..." I frowned. "Well, yes, I am wearing one, but lots of people do. I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for."

It was a bold-faced lie on my part, that keyboard boy had to be looking for me. I couldn’t tell you why exactly, but my confidence crumbled at the thought of talking to him.

"Oh no, I don't think so." He smiled. "You fit the description perfectly. Listen, my friend, Rick the keyboardist, he wanted to talk to you, but he has an awful chip on his shoulder about girls."

"What?" I was really in for it now. "A chip- look. I'm really, truly sorry if I distracted him. I don’t usually stare like-"

"No, no!" He shook his head, giggling goofily. "He's not angry, not at all. Listen, he told me not to tell you this, but he said that you're the most beautiful girl he's ever seen."

"If this is a joke, it's not funny!"

"I'm not joking!" He exclaimed. "I promise. He'll even tell you himself. Please, just don’t run off. If I don't get you to see him, I'll never see the end of it."

“Surely he’s exaggerating?”

“No, no.” He beamed. “Rick’s plenty of things, girl, but he’s not a liar.”

“God…” I buried my face in my hands, my cheeks burning. “I hope you aren't playing with me."

"I'm not." He took me by the arm. "Just come here for a sec.”

He led me around behind the speakers and up a few steps onto the stage. We picked our way over the snaking auxiliary cords and various instrument stands to the far side of the stage where we came to the exit door. I stopped short, suddenly apprehensive. What if everything was not as it seemed?

"Now, you just wait here," The drum boy smiled sympathetically. “And don’t worry. Oh, and my name’s Nick, just by the by.”

"Jenny." We shook hands.

“It’s good to meet you, Jenny.”

“Alright.” He laughed. “Just stay here, yeah?”

I nodded as Nick disappeared through the door, leaving a trickle of cold air behind him. I caught the door before it fully closed and peered through the crack into the ally beyond. My Rick had his back facing me, and the other two stood around him. The bassist leaned against the back wall smoking a fag, and the guitarist fought a losing battle to spray him with what I assumed was perfume.

"Syd, stop it." Rick snapped. "I smell fine."

Syd muttered something unintelligible and backed off. Nick cleared his throat and Rick spun around on his heel, almost tripping over. My heart gave a little squeeze.

“Oh.” He breathed. “You didn’t find her?”

Gently, I closed the door. I sat down on a stool near the mic stand and fought to find a breath that I didn’t know was missing. I closed my eyes and buried a hand in my hair. He was so cute it was like a knife in my guts.

"Hello..." Rick’s voice was so soft that I almost thought I had imagined it. I must have jumped in my seat because he laughed a little. “Did I scare you?”

“Just a little." I responded, letting out a breath.

"I'm Rick." He padded over the wires and stuck his hand out.

"Jenny."

I placed my hand in his and waited for him to shake it, but instead he took my hand and pressed it to his lips. I felt as if there was a bird struggling to burst out of my chest.

"Enchanté." Before he had the chance to say anything more, soft little noise came from the open door. The bassist peeped through the doorway with an equine gawp across his face. Rick chuckled awkwardly and itched the back of his neck. "Do you perhaps want to go for a walk?"

I nodded, and we made our way out into the open street. People milled around, kicking snow and laughing. I felt the familiar magic that comes with shared happiness.

"So erm..." Rick mumbled. "Won't you tell me about yourself?"

"Well I'm not very interesting, y'know." I clawed for something to say. "I'm twenty-two years old, I love the Beatles just like everybody else... um, I'm a Scorpio if you happen to be interested in that kind of thing. I like to write poetry and go out to clubs... like I said, there's nothing interesting to know."

"Well, you sound very interesting to me. I like poetry too. What kind of things do you write about?”

"Just things that I see that make me think about life… the rhythm of samsara and all that. For example I'll write a little something about the snow when I go home tonight... and perhaps a few words about my new friend Rick."

"I'm going to write a song about tonight, for sure." Rick smiled at the floor. "It's far too beautiful not to capture. I feel so lucky to be walking around in this lovely new snow with a gorgeous girl like yourself."

"Don’t be like that." I laughed and gave him a friendly punch on the arm. "If anybody's gorgeous here, it’s gotta be you!"

"Shh!" Rick smiled. "If you keep up like that your nose'll grow."

“Don’t talk bad about yourself.” I stopped walking and looked into his eyes. “You’re lovely.”

“I’ll stop if you stop.” Roses bloomed on his cheeks.

Time breezed by, and an hour of conversation and a bottle of champers later, I felt as if I had known Rick for years.

"You remind me of somebody, Rick. Like a character in a story, but I don't remember who."

"You remind me of someone too. Perhaps... Cathy and Heathcliffe?"

"Oh!" I giggled. "So you're going to run off on me and I'll end up wasting away in bed?"

"You won't waste away. Not if you can catch me!" With that, Rick took off running in his Sunday best.

For a moment I stood gaping like a codfish, then shook off the shock and pelted down the street after him. Laughs burst like champagne bubbles between us, and our feet pummelled a rhythm as we ran through the neighbourhood. The bystreets grew deserted as we ventured into the built up part of town, though a few daring people sat on top of their roofs to watch the fireworks. I slowed to look up at the couples, families, and groups of friends, all huddled together. Something in me ached. Rick slowed to a jog.

"Come on slow poke! Come and catch Heathcliffe!"

"I can't!" I called back with an empty grin.

Rick sighed and jogged over to me, coming to rest so close that I could feel the heat radiating from him. Our breaths billow in white clouds, mingling like twin souls.

“Is something the matter?”

I shook my head, my loneliness melting away. An impish grin grew on his face, and swiftly he bent his knees and lifted me off of the ground by the waist. I squealed and clutched his shoulders, not so much afraid of falling, but afraid of the moment ending. An unexplainable magic crystalised in his silver-grey eyes and I was so stricken with it that I almost kissed him. Instead, he just placed me back on the floor. He wordlessly took my hand and pulled me away from the footpath and through a gate. I realised we had run all the way to the local park. Rick looked at his watch.

"Seven minutes until midnight." He grinned. "Come on!"

I followed him down the gravel path that ran through the park, watching all the trees glittering white in the snowfall. In the very middle of the park there stood a chestnut tree with a platform and canopy made of wood planks nestled up in its huge branches.

"Can you climb?" Rick inquired as we stood beneath the bough.

I did not respond, only ran up to the tree and clumsily pulled myself up into the branches. I clambered up the tree and onto the platform, which was quite a bit smaller than I remembered from my childhood, and huffed in embarrassment. Rick looked up at me and laughed, then climbed up to join me. I offered him my hand to pull him up, but he refused and managed on his own. The tiny seat forced us to press together, and I relished the warmth of him beside me. We sat in silence for a moment, while I ruminated upon what Nick had told me.

"You didn't have to lie to Nick, y'know." I muttered. "I'm sure he would have come to find me anyway."

"What do you mean?" His blessed brow furrowed at my statement.

"Well, he said that you thought I was the most beautiful girl in the world..."

"That bloody bastard!" Rick slapped his thigh in annoyance. "I told him not to say!"

"I think he was just being cheeky. Besides, I was afraid you were angry with me, so I think he told me to stop me from bolting."

"Why would I be angry with you?"

"Well, I thought I distracted you from your playing. I didn't mean to. I just couldn’t help but stare at you."

Rick blushed lightly and avoided my eyes, smiling to himself. There was conflict on his face for a moment, as though there were two ideas warring in his mind.

"I wasn't lying, y'know..." He mumbled, still refusing to look at me. "You really are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Thank you, but surely I’m not the most beautiful.”

"No, no, no, you are!" He looked at me finally, visibly distressed. "I've seen plenty of pretty girls, but there's never been one that's quite as lovely as you. I don't know, there's just something about you that I can't put my finger on. You're just bewitching."

"To tell you the truth, I'm thinking something very similar about you. You look like an angel."

I looked up into his eyes, like silver coins shining in the weak light of the moon. Snow flurries had caught themselves up in his soft locks, and I suppressed the urge to comb them away with my fingers, settling on simply brushing the powder off his shoulder. Rick's cheeks and nose were flushed with fervor and I knew I must look the same. Words were rising in my throat like some unstoppable force. Words that I knew I would regret.

"Rick, do you believe in love and first sight?"

"Well, I never used to..."

"Did something change your mind?"

Rick just nodded and leaned in ever so slightly. His gaze was fixed on a point below my eyes.

"How long 'till midnight?"

Rick broke concentration to look at his watch. "One minute."

I gave away to my urge and tangled my hands up in his hair, watching as the snow fell away. Rick's hands lurked on the back of my neck, thumbs stroking gently at my skin. He leaned in and our lips almost touched, but I ducked away.

"How long now?"

"Fifteen seconds." Rick whispered. "Fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven..."

"Ten," I joined the counting. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

I took Rick by the chin and pressed my lips gently against his. For one dreadful moment his body tensed and I thought he was going to break away from me, but then he melted into the kiss. His hands found my waist, and mine rested behind his neck, lips moving together in a wordless incantation. The champagne on his lips tasted of starlight, and my head swam with patchouli and tobacco.

"Happy New Year." Rick whispered.

"Happy New Year." I returned and leaned in for another moment of bliss.

[i94so]

. . . ✿﹐standing at just 165 centimeters tall, this starlet will remind you of chaos, beauty, and everything found in between followed by the smell of rosewater, fresh vanilla, and dark cherries, & the feeling of curling into bed after a long day.

✿　⸻   TAPE ONE : IN BLOOM ! 

BIRTH NAME.   lee so hee STAGE NAME / KNOWN ALIAS.  han so hee NICKNAME(S).  —

DATE OF BIRTH.   november 18, 1994 AGE.   twenty-nine ( 29 ) PLACE OF BIRTH.   ulsan, south korea  ZODAIC.   sun in scorpio, moon in taurus, rising in aquarius

GENDER  +  PRONOUNS.   cis woman + she/her

RELATIONSHIP STATUS.   single CRUSH / LOVE INTEREST.   lee taemin of shinee ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.   demiromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION. pansexual

PIERCINGS  +  TATTOOS. there have been moments where she had multiple face piercings, but after trying them, she removed them. instead, she just has standard ear lobe piercings. most of her tattoos were removed for her career, but so hee has two that fans can occasionally see ( on her right side and a floral one on her waist ) while others are still hidden from view.

MAIN OCCUPATION. actress, model

LANGUAGES. korean ( native ) + english ( basic )

PERSONALITY. traits quirks habits curious. indecisive. playful. kind. worrisome ( about those she cares about ). anxious ( at times ). cautious in trusting others. very expressive, even outside of work. passionate. determined. loyal. a bit secretive. calm, but bright. stubborn. meticulous. reserved around people she isn’t close with, but is still polite. creative. spontaneous. independent. open-minded. can come across as cold or aloof at times.

LIKES. blackpink ( her favorite member is jennie ). comfortable clothing. dresses ( because they're easy to put on ) or workout attire. loves to hear : "let's meet again!" / "let's meet again soon!" the color black. ramyeon ( it's her favorite food ). loves all animals ( she does not have a favorite ). rock / indie / alternative music. films, especially noir ones. art. spongebob. going on walks. journaling / art diary. reading. cozy nights in with friends. watching mukbangs, especially dessert ones. still water. mint chocolate. mike wazowski. learning / playing the piano. spring ( her favorite season because it's warm in the day and cold at night. she gets too hot quickly and gets too cold easily, it rules out summer and winter. the fall makes her feel lonely ).

FAMILY.   father ( estranged ), mother ( estranged ), grandmother ( extremely close )

✿　⸻   TAPE TWO : SHE BLOSSOMS ! 

when planning for a trip, she prefers to improvise — date, place, food; it all depends on the mood.

formerly an infp but is currently an enfp. though, she thinks that she is a combination of both.

so hee has two cats, a white one named hammer and a grey one named marsh-ie.

she is a sensitive sleeper and often has to spray an aroma that comforts her to sleep.

prefers to go out than stay in; she considers herself a busybody, even if it means doing things independently. the only time she likes to stay in is if she's been super busy. then, she prefers to stay home and watch things or read.

her art journey started with fashion design, later to details in art, before fine arts until she switched focus to becoming an actress.

she is not afraid to admit that she's a bad dancer, and would even prefer being a good dancer over being a good singer.

so hee isn’t one to approach people first, she would rather they come to her.

her habit when taking a photo is doing the 'toothache pose'.

✿　⸻   MIXTAPE : WE FLOURISHED ! 

below are all of so hee's connections within seouless. disclaimer : if you're unhappy with a description, please let me know. this will be kept up to date as time passes.

✶ seokjin of bts ⸻ ex

prior to him, so hee had been in a string of casual relationships, nothing that ever meant too much. she had been too focused on making ends meet to working her hardest for her dreams to come true for something so serious. things changed when meeting seokjin — her first true love and serious relationship. it was serious for her to the point where so hee felt that he really was the one. the two breaking up was out of love, for the sake of their happiness. it was a tragic, bittersweet ending to something that was once so beautiful. it inevitably changed how she guarded her heart and decisions she isn’t necessarily proud of.

they are on good terms and so hee no longer has a romantic attraction or interest in seokjin; just fondness and a constant wish for him to be happy.

✶ jungkook of bts ⸻ family / younger brother

with so much in common, it isn’t surprising to anyone around them on how well these two meshed and simply clicked together. jungkook is one of the very few people that so hee truly allows herself to be free around, more than usual. she barely keeps secrets from him, though, so hee would not be able to tell you if she has any secrets from him. jungkook is someone she feels safe with, that she can trust, and the feeling seems to be mutual. so hee would do anything to make sure he’s happy.

✶ taemin of shinee ⸻ love interest / crush

despite being deeply attracted to one another and the two of them knowing it, something always prevents it from happening. one thing is for sure : when things begin to get serious between the two, so hee, more often than not, tends to back away. perhaps so hee is too afraid to get into another relationship for fear of getting hurt again or maybe it's taemin's imprudent actions at times. reviving their friendship after losing contact, who's to say if so hee will finally let him in in the end?

✶ wooyoung of ateez ⸻ family / younger brother

everyone needs a support system, someone they can turn to when things are too much. and well, that’s who so hee is for wooyoung. no matter the time of day or night, all it takes is a simple message and she’s there. in trade, so hee has recognized him as a younger sibling — leaving him subject to her worrisome messages to make sure he’s doing okay and taking care of himself.

✶ johnny of nct ⸻ old flame / confidant

acquaintances that crossed over into friends with benefits at one time or another, with the condition of no strings attached. it was a time after johnny’s break up with joy — things never go to plan, especially not this. with him wanting to make things official, so hee ended things out of fear of just being nothing but a rebound. unbeknownst to her, this led to johnny having the reputation he’s given himself now. after losing contact, seeing each other once so much time has passed makes the past they once shared feel like ancient history. seems that the two of them have crossed paths at the right time.

✶ danielle of newjeans ⸻ new friends / younger sister

though their friendship is still fresh, so hee cares for danielle like she’s the younger sister she’s never had. so hee does her best to help navigate her through the new found journey of dizzying fame and the industry itself. in the end, so hee has a little habit of doting on danielle, too.

✶ casual friends ⸻ jinyoung of got7.

✿　⸻   pinterest. musing tag. visage tag. wanted connections.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

We Only See Each Other At Funerals (And Miss Each Other's Weddings)

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy Summary: It's been a long time since they've all been together like this, and a lot has changed since they were eighteen. Warnings: Mentions of canon child abuse/neglect, pregnant male trans character Word Count: 8,034 Ship(s): Five Hargreeves/Viktor Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, Luther Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves

Archive link!

A/N: So I wrote something really self indulgent and I'm very happy with it! These are all ships that I really love and I got to write them all in the same spot. I know that pretty much no one else is going to read this, but if you're one of the few people that is: Hello! I hope you enjoy this. Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

The first to arrive were Klaus and Ben, which was to be expected since Ben had always been a massive stickler about being on time. If it were up to Ben and he was operating independently, then they would have arrived a little bit early. Ben was the one that shepherded them out of the house on time when they were children and they had to attend far too many galas and charity events. The only time that he ever dragged his feet was when they were going on missions because of what it always meant for him. Klaus, on the other hand, made them perpetually late to just about everything that they did. When they were kids, he was the last one to slink down into the car that Reginald made them to go their events in and he would always sit in the back to avoid Grace noticing that he was late (not that it ever worked).

They walked through the door, bright and laughing about a joke Klaus had made moments earlier. The psychic spread his arms out around him as he turned in a half circle, throwing his head back to stare up at the dark wood of the ceiling, “Can you smell that, Ben?”

“What, childhood trauma and the body spray can that you set fire to when we were sixteen?” the other asked, catching the other man’s sleeve to tug him closer. He placed both of his hands on either side of Klaus’ hips to keep him still for once in his life.

Klaus threw his head back and laughed as he looped his arms around his husband’s neck so that they were swaying back and forth. Doing so in the home that they had first learned to dance in brought back a lot of memories, blushing cheeks and Klaus’ first drunken buzz. “No, my dear husband,” he leaned forward and gave him a swift kiss. “The scent of the house’s spirit returning to her now that the old man isn’t holding her hostage anymore.”

The other stood there for a second, blinking at his husband as he tried to process what had just been said. “God, you’re so weird,” Ben snorted. He released Klaus’ belt loops and then snagged his scarf off of him to hang up on the hooks that they had used when they were children. Over a decade ago they all would have had thick winter coats on the upper hook and Umbrella Academy branded windbreakers on the bottom for when they had to be seen in public. Some days when the wind was bad, they were also provided with thick scarves to keep themselves warm so they didn’t shiver in front of the press.

Now they were empty of the plain black, blue, and maroon garments. The hooks under the metal number four on the wall held Klaus’ coat, a gaudy hot pink item that had once held many feathers around the neck and waist before their cat decided she just couldn’t have that and removed them all, and his scarf that was striped in the pansexual and genderqueer colors. The hooks underneath the number six held Ben’s, which was a thick black wool coat that had embroidery of flowers around the wrists and a hood hanging off the back.

“Let’s go find Mom, shall we?” Klaus asked as he turned towards the now empty halls of their childhood home. The house had always seemed drafty and hollow when they were living here, but it was somehow more so now that none of their siblings were occupying it. Both men were nervous to see what had happened to the aforementioned people they had grown up with, and what their interactions with them would be.

“I think I want to stay here and kiss my husband for a little while longer,” Ben replied as he tried to stall. This building brought back some of his worst memories, reminding him of the training that both he and his husband had been forced to go through even while begging their father to give them a break of any kind. It also reminded him of the nights that he spent clutching Klaus’ hand as he heaved up all the substances he had ingested to try and drive away his powers.

Klaus knew what his husband was doing, he had been prepared for it immediately upon receiving the invitation back to the Academy after learning of their father’s death. He was prepared for it and determined not to let Ben spend the entire time they were with their family mulling over bad memories. “We have plenty of time for that at home,” he said, though he did plant another kiss on Ben’s lips.

“Not nearly as much as we used to,” the taller of the two pouted.

“Well, that’s what happens when you have two teenagers camped out in your living room,” Klaus laughed, his husband cracking a smile as well. 

They both loved their two foster children more than they thought that they were capable of, but it was still a rather hard adjustment. Since they hadn’t gone from the baby phase to eventually having teenagers and just jumped right in to fostering a thirteen-year-old and a fifteen-year-old it was a very steep learning curve. 

Ben threaded their fingers together as they carefully began to walk down one of the dark, foreboding hallways to find the two beings that had really served as their parents when they were younger. It was a small comfort that they wouldn’t be able to keep up after they found any other member of their family since they didn’t want them to know just yet. They didn’t know how their family would react to them being together, not when they all had so much trauma and were all so unknown.

“Oh, my boys!” Grace beamed when she saw the duo from where she was dusting off the mantle in the living room.

Ben immediately dropped Klaus’ hand, but it wasn’t that big of a deal because the other surged forward so that he could wrap his mother up in a hug. “It’s great to see you again, Mom. How have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been so excited for you all to come home. You’ve been gone for so long, the house was so quiet without you,” Grace tutted. She pulled back from the hug and then pulled his face this way and that so that she could check him over for any injuries or malnourishments. “You look so healthy and happy, what’s happened while you’ve been gone?”

“Well, I had someone help me with my powers a lot more than Dad ever did,” Klaus chuckled under his breath.

Grace either didn’t hear them, which was unlikely since she had picked up on everything that they had whispered to each other when they were in class as children, or she chose not to acknowledge that comment. She turned to Ben and then wrapped him up in a hug as well, though it didn’t last nearly as long as the one with Klaus did since she knew that he wasn’t a fan of physical affection.

She pulled back from them and looked over both of her children. Her robotic eyes were almost shining with the love and adoration that she held for them both. It had been so long since any of her children had been around for her to take care of and she had missed them all dearly. “Are either of you hungry? Lunch isn’t for another half hour but I have some snacks prepared in the kitchen.”

“We’re good, Mom, we had kind of a late breakfast,” Klaus said. He didn’t want to tell her the reason quite yet just in case any of their siblings came in while they were talking, and he didn’t want her to spill the secret before they knew that it was explicitly safe to do so.

The trio walked further into the living room and sat down across from their mother. She beamed at them as she folded her hands politely in her lap. “Tell me what’s been going on with you, boys. I’ve missed you very much, you know.”

Ben glanced at his husband for a moment and then turned back to Grace, “We know, Mom. I’m sorry that we didn’t come back to visit more but we got pretty busy after we left.”

“You should be happy to know that I’ve been clean for a decade,” Klaus grinned. He pulled a chain from underneath his black crop top (something that he was wearing over a white tank top at Ben’s request since it was far too cold to be that unclothed). The chain was simple, just silver balls strung together but it held the ten year chip that Klaus had gotten from his sponsor a few years ago.

“That’s wonderful! I knew that you could do it, dear. You’ve always been so capable. You can do anything that you set your mind to,” Grace praised. 

Klaus almost glowed under it, his face splitting into a wide beam. It was something that they had both forgotten since they had been away from their mother for so long. They both still craved the validation of a parental figure after the shit childhood they had endured, even if therapy was helping them get away from that slowly.

They continued to talk with their mother, discussing everything that they felt like they could about their lives. It was nice to be back in their childhood home, where some of their best and worst memories rested, without the worry of their father constantly breathing down their necks.

---

Five and Viktor were the next two to show up. They had tried to get out of the house on time, something that they were both usually very good at because of their career and hobby choices, but it had been getting harder and harder as of late. 

“This place is just as creepy as it was before,” Five muttered as he removed his coat. It was a brown woolen overcoat that fit snugly over his suit jackets, which was a necessity seeing as he wore them constantly. Today he was dressed in a casual blue turtleneck with a pair of his favorite black dress pants after Viktor had insisted he go for something more casual. 

“I think that it has its charms about it. I spent a lot more time here than you did, remember?” Viktor asked, teasing his husband slightly. 

“Mm, I suppose that you did,” Five sighed. He placed his hand on the side of his husband’s face and then leaned down to kiss him sweetly. It was as natural as breathing for both of them, to exchange small intimacies like kissing and brushing their hands against each other. It was going to be hard to turn that off while they were here, to avoid their siblings finding out.

While it was no secret that Viktor and Five had been very close when they were younger, they had always tried to present themselves as platonic soulmates or best friends, despite Allison and Luther also leaning towards each other. It was unknown how the rest of the Academy, as well as Grace and Pogo, would react to what their lives and relationship had turned into after all the time they had all spent in the real world. 

Five let out a breath to calm himself down. Being back in their childhood home reminded him of the feral protectiveness that he had over his husband when they were younger, something that he had to constantly war with back then. He couldn’t let the others know what they had been doing so a lot of his teenager-hood had been spent telling himself that he had to let Viktor endure the borderline-harassment passed off as teasing just until they were old enough to leave the Academy.

“Let me help you with your coat, beloved,” Five said softly after he hung up his own.

Viktor rolled his eyes but let the other do as he had asked. He knew what Five was going through right now, and their additional secret only increased the feelings that he was having. “Hey, it’s gonna be fine,” Viktor said, reaching up to cup either side of Five’s face. He traced his calloused thumb over his husband’s cheekbone and then pecked him on the lips.

“Let’s get this over with,” Five sighed as he took his lover’s hand just to give it a brief squeeze before they walked down the hallway towards the direction where they heard voices.

The conversation naturally petered out as they all turned around to see who the new arrivals were. Klaus cheered as he turned to Ben and said, “I told you that Five would be the next one to show up. Luther and Diego are going to be so late.”

“I thought that Luther would be first because of how much he kissed Dad’s ass when we were here,” Ben groused in explanation. He gave a nod to Five, who immediately returned it. The last time that the two of them had seen each other outside of confirmation of life calls and the occasional letter was when they were both in college. Ben had gone on to become a high school English teacher and Five a math professor, but for a while they had basically the same schedule and had gotten very close to each other. Not close enough that they had disclosed the most intimate details of their life, but they were all inclined to hide those details from each other when they didn’t know how it would be received or what would possibly be passed on to their father.

Grace got up from the couch that she was on and walked over to both of them. “Oh, my dears,” she beamed as she grasped Five’s hand and ran her hand over the side of Viktor’s face. “You’ve changed so much since I’ve last seen you. I have a feeling that there’s been a name change as well.

“I’m still Five,” the taller of the two said as he gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek. He loved the woman that had raised him very dearly, he tried to model his own parenting style off of her as much as he could.

“I prefer to go by Viktor now,” the smaller admitted, leaning happily into the touch of his mother. He had been the second closest to her since he had spent the most time loitering about the house while they were training or on missions.

Klaus let out a cheer and reached out over the couch to ask his brother for a high-five while saying, “Trans sibs gotta stick together!”

Viktor laughed and complied with the request before he sat down on the couch across from them beside his husband. Five inched slightly closer to him, obviously uncomfortable about having to be so far away from his husband when they were in a place that had so many tough feelings for them. He was placated when the other dropped his hand down into the darkness between their legs and laced his fingers together with Five’s so that they were holding hands without a way for their siblings to see.

“I’ve already asked Ben and Klaus, but I should ask you as well. Do you want me to bring up some of the snacks I prepared or would you prefer to wait for lunch?” she asked politely.

“I think that we’re good, Mom,” Viktor smiled.

Five glanced down at his husband for a moment before he turned back to their mother, “Snacks would be great. That way you don’t have to set them out later anyway.”

The smaller of the two elbowed his husband so that they were staring at each other for a moment, obviously having a silent conversation, but it was then dropped. Grace bustled out of the room so that she could get the snacks that she had prepared for them and almost as soon as she had, Pogo walked. “Look what fine adults you’ve all grown into,” he beamed proudly at them.

“Hey, Pogo,” Five smiled at him, all arguments with his husband now immediately forgotten. Pogo had been more of a father to them than Reginald had the entire time that they were growing up, but they had all been unable to visit him in fear of running into their adoptive father. 

The ape crossed the space between the doorway and the sitting area of the living room so that he could get a better look at each of his children. “It’s been so long since all of you were in the same space. I’m glad that you could attend this, even if I wish that it had been under different circumstances.”

“I just wish that we had done it sooner. Forgot how much I missed hanging out with my family,” Viktor smiled warmly at his brothers across the way. 

Just as Ben and Klaus had when Grace was upstairs, the conversion shifted to what they had all been doing in their time away from each other. It was pretty evident that there were holes in their lives, things that they weren’t telling the others about, but none of them were as close as they were when they were kids so it didn’t feel right to pry.

---

Surprisingly, Diego and Luther were the next to show up. The only reason that they had been so late was because waiting for a sitter had put them back almost a half hour. They had been in such a rush to get out of their apartment and to their childhood home afterwards that they had only showed up about forty minutes later. 

Diego opened the door to their home and then swore as soon as he caught sight of all the coats on the hooks. “Shit, man, everyone else is here before us.”

“That’s not true,” Luther replied as he pushed his husband the rest of the way into the foyer so that he could close the large stained glass door behind him. He shucked off his large winter parka and hung it up on his hook, right under the metallic number one on the wall. Diego let out a discontented noise in the back of his throat as he placed his slimmer coat on the hook next to Luther’s. They looked like a pair, he noticed after seeing them placed where all the identical jackets used to be placed when they were still active members of the Academy.

Some of the tension in his shoulders that had formed when they were trying to get out of the house (it was always a chore with how anxious Diego got when he was away from the kids outside of the usual work times) relaxed. 

Luther noticed, placing one of his large hands on his husband’s back. He then moved both of them so that he was wrapping Diego up in a hug with his lips plastered to the other man’s neck. “Stop that, the others are just down the hall, they’re going to be able to see us,” Diego groused though he did nothing to push the other man away.

“Do you think that Mom and Pogo would notice if we stole the numbers before we left tonight?” Luther asked as a shit-eating grin grew over his face. Once he had finally been able to get away from their father and learn that there was more to life than missions and praise, he found that he had a rather mischievous side to him. He had missed out on all the jokes and pranks when they were younger so he was making up for them now.

“I think that’s an absolutely brilliant idea that we can totally pull off,” Diego grinned back in return. “We’re probably gonna have to leave the earliest anyway.”

Luther sighed as he felt some of the tension work its way back into Diego’s muscles. It hurt to see how nervous and protective his partner was even though nothing bad had ever happened to their children and nothing could now that their father was dead and wouldn’t figure it out.

“Are you ready to go and see our siblings? We’ll just have to wait for Allison to show up and then we can have the wake and leave,” Luther reassured him to try and release some of the stress.

Diego only nodded and wiggled out of his hold so that they could walk down the hall to the sitting room where their family was still gathered. Klaus beamed when he saw his brother and bounced up from the couch to wrap Diego up in a hug, as they had been the closest outside of the pairs that had already arrived. “Hey Klaus, how are you?”

“Wonderful now that Daddy dearest isn’t going to be trying to cramp my style whenever he finds me,” Klaus grinned wickedly. He glanced over Diego’s shoulder to where Luther was hovering in the doorway and then said, “Sorry, Lulu.”

“Why are you apologizing to me? I escaped Dad two years after the rest of you did,” he shrugged. It wasn’t exactly true, but there was enough truth in it that he felt like he could say it without it being a lie. He had started to distance himself from his father when he was attending the few classes that the college wouldn’t allow him to take through Grace or online and then he had officially broken away after graduation so that he could travel with Diego after the two of them reconnected.

“Nice,” Ben smirked from the couch. He turned around and then grabbed a handful of Klaus’ shirt to tug him back down into a sitting position so that he wasn’t smothering their siblings anymore. 

Grace rose from her spot on the couch and rushed over to Diego. She checked him over as she always did when they returned back from missions and then kissed the top of his head. “You look wonderful, Diego. So happy,” she beamed as she led him further into the living room.

Both of the couches were already taken up with the other two couples, so Diego and Luther were forced to split up so that they were sitting in the chairs closest to the fire. It wasn’t that bad since they didn’t insist on touching each other every second that they were near one another like Viktor and Five did, but it still sucked because it meant that they couldn’t do anything subtly couple-y without being caught.

Grace asked them all the same questions that she had asked the other four of her children now gathered in her living room. If they had eaten enough, how often they were sleeping and for how long, if they had been injured recently, if this old wound was bothering them or if that condition had eased up any since they had last seen her. They gave her the answers that any kid gave their very worried mother, honest but still placating to an extent where they didn’t have to tell the full truth. It was nice to be back under her care, even if it was just for the day.

---

By the time that Allison arrived in the mansion, it was growing closer to one o’clock in the afternoon. She had meant to arrive earlier, but there had been delays in her flight across the country and then she had some difficulty flagging down a taxi.

She, unlike the others, was alone when she walked through he front door of her childhood home. She also had her fully packed suitcase trailing behind her, so she tucked it underneath her spot on the wall as she shed her coat and scarf. She smiled as she looked at everyone else’s, pausing for a moment so that she could admire the subtle trans flag that was patched onto Viktor’s winter coat amongst all of the national park and band patches.

“Hello?” Allison called through the seemingly empty halls of her childhood home as she tried to figure out where they had all gone. The living room was disturbed in the way that a room got after people had been spending time there for longer than a couple of minutes. Barely touched shelf-stable snacks were spread out on the table and the couches were ruffled and discombobulated based on the pillow distributions alone.

“Miss Allison,” Pogo’s warm voice said from further down the hall.

She jumped slightly and then laughed as she turned to face him. “It’s been a while, Pogo. How have you been?”

“Better now that you’re all back. The house got too quiet after you left,” he sighed wistfully. It surprised her how much he was both a father figure that had missed his children and a teacher that was reuniting with his students for the first time since they had graduated.

“I know that we all left around the same time, and I’m sorry for that,” she apologized. She knew that her departure from the Academy had been very abrupt, especially since she had moved the furthest away than any of the other siblings had.

“It’s alright. I know that you all needed to spread your wings and become your own persons. Now, your siblings are down in the dining room with your mother having lunch. Would you like to join them?” Pogo asked, gesturing with the end of his cane down the hall to where all of the others were.

“Of course. Are you not coming?” she asked as she took a step towards her siblings and then had to turn to look back at him.

The elderly ape shook his head. “I’m afraid I have a couple of things to tend to, but I will be spending some time with you all during dinner tonight. Your mother is very excited to have more than just me and your father to cook for again.”

“I can imagine,” Allison laughed. Her mother had been programmed to be the perfect housewife, cooking all of their meals and cleaning the house to perfection, on top of taking care of them. That meant that Grace found pleasure in cooking for them because it satisfied two different parts of her code.

She left her father figure behind in the hall as she walked down to the dining room. She paused when she got to the doorway, observing the way that they were all interacting with each other like they used to on the rare occasions that Reginald wasn’t there to enforce the no-talking rule during mealtimes. 

Upon Klaus’ wish they had all changed where they were sitting so that none of them were in their assigned seats from their childhood. Ben and Klaus were up at the front of the table, sitting across from each other. Grace was sitting at the head, though she had no food in front of her. Luther was sitting across from her with Diego to one side and Five to the other. Between Klaus and Five there was an empty chair, and Viktor was sitting between Diego and Ben.

Allison walked in and took the one remaining chair, serving herself some of the food as she got through the customary welcoming words from her sibling and leaned into the half hug that Klaus was willing to give her. “Welcome home, Allison, dear,” Grace preened as all of her children were finally in one place.

“I’m surprised that you were able to make it on such short notice. Isn’t your schedule usually packed with shoots?” Luther asked. Even though they had abandoned the childish crushes that they had on each other as soon as she fled to LA, they had still remaining in touch with each other as much as they could. She was one that had received all of the postcards from the places that Luther and Diego traveled to, after all.

Allison shifted uncomfortably and began to play with the corner of her sandwich. “I’ve actually been taking a break from acting for a while. Patrick and I are getting a divorce and it’s pretty messy. It’d only get worse if I was also trying to balance work around that.”

“A divorce? Oh, Allison, I’m so sorry,” Viktor said, his voice genuine and not holding even a hint of mocking in it. He didn't know what he’d do if Five suddenly decided that he didn’t want to be together with him anymore. It would literally break him apart to get a divorce from his husband, so he couldn’t imagine what his sister was going through at the moment.

“Patrick and I weren’t working, so it’s alright. Just stressful and full of a lot of hurt feelings,” she sighed as she leaned back in her chair. She wasn’t quite ready to admit that she had used her powers on her daughter to get her to be a better child, not when she had no idea what kind of people her siblings had changed into since they had all gone their separate ways.

---

Lunch was over fairly quickly after that and they were shepherded out of the room so that they could complete the task that they had all gathered to do. Pogo led them outside while clutching the urn that held their father’s remains inside of it. Grace walked behind them with a placid smile on her face, like she didn’t really care that Reginald was gone.

They all stopped and formed a weak semi-circle around Pogo when he turned to face them. None of them were quite sure how they should be feeling since they hadn’t exactly had a good relationship with their father, but he had still been the one to raise them. It was uncomfortable and they all just wanted to get back inside so that they could continue enjoying their time with each other like they had before the funeral.

“Would anyone like to say a few words?” Pogo asked as he glanced out at all of the superheroes that he had helped raise.

“I have some words to say but I don’t think that anyone is going to like them,” Viktor sniffed. He leaned into Five’s warmth as the other man reached his hand up and placed it on Viktor’s shoulder to bring them just a little bit closer together.

“I’ll say ‘em for you, bro,” Diego offered with a wicked grin.

Pogo sighed as he set the urn down underneath the tree. “I know that all you children saw your father in a very different way than I see him. To me, he was my creator and a very dear friend. He helped me become who I am today in every sense of the word.”

Viktor was unable to contain the information that he had been eluding to earlier, “But to us he���s the abuser that drugged me my entire life and lied about everything that he could in the hopes that he would control us better.”

“He drugged you?” Allison gasped as she turned to face her baby brother properly.

Viktor winced slightly. He had been trying really hard to keep those kinds of secrets to himself so that he didn’t have to explain it to everyone, but now was a better time than never. With their father gone and all of his siblings sharing the sentiment of hatred there was really nothing bad that could happen anyway. “Yeah. Do you guys remember what happened when I was four?”

“He said that you were sick and that none of us were allowed to see you,” Klaus snapped his fingers when he remembered. Despite all of the substances that he had put into his body when he was younger, he had the best memory out of all of them which is why he had made a good lookout and scout when he was sober. 

“That was a lie. He put me down in this room in the basement while he made a drug that could stop me from using my powers. Which is a detail that I probably should have led with before I started the story,” Viktor chuckled weakly.

Pogo looked grim, gripping his cane tighter in his hands and staring down at the collection of dead leaves brushing across the lawn in the early spring wind.

“You have powers?” Ben asked, his eyes widening slightly.

“Yeah. I have the ability to turn sounds into energy, but they’re really volatile and hard to control, especially back when I had no training or understanding of how they worked. I think that Dad saw the potential for me to be really dangerous and then decided that he didn’t want to deal with it anymore so he drugged me and used Allison to make sure I forgot about my powers,” Viktor nodded his head towards the sole female member of the Academy. 

She blanched and placed hand over her mouth as she processed everything that her brother had just explained and her own place in it. “Oh, Viktor. I barely even remembered it because Dad didn’t explain it and I just thought that it was some weird training thing. Was I really rumoring you to forget that you had powers?”

“Yeah, but I don’t blame you. We were all just kids at the time. The only person that can really be blamed is dead, thank God,” he chuckled as he cast his gaze back to the urn.

---

The siblings were all commiserating on how much they hated their father and how relieved they were that he was gone. They piled back into the house after shedding their coats back on the hook where they belonged so that they could talk. Grace busied herself with dinner in the kitchen while Pogo processed the fact that they had discovered a bunch of Reginald’s secrets. The caretakers also figured that their adult charges could use some time where they could be freely together without the watchful supervision of a parental figure.

Luther turned towards his husband and whispered something in his ear while Klaus was telling the story of his first personal training session that had taken place when he was eight, the one where he had died. The two of them had a very hushed discussion with each other about something that none of the other siblings could make out.

Finally, they finished their little whisper session and then turned back to the rest of the family. They patiently waited for the story to be over and a lull to take place in the conversation before Luther cleared his throat, “So now that Dad’s gone and can’t do anything about it, Diego and I wanted to let you all know that we’re married.”

While fishing his wallet out of his pocket Diego also said, “We have two little girls too. Olive is four and Mirabel is five. We had Olive through a surrogate right as we were matched with Mirabel after waiting two years for the adoption agency to get their shit together.”

He dug the photo out of his wallet and then passed it over to the sibling next to him. The little girls were standing next to each other while smiling widely at the person behind the camera in the way that kids did when they were told to smile. The smaller of the two had her blond hair done up in pigtails with sparkly hair ties and was wearing a pair of pink cargo shorts with a purple shirt that had cartoon characters on it. The older girl had her hair back in a messy braid, obviously having been playing before the picture was taken, and was wearing a green sundress with blue leggings underneath. 

“Holy shit, you guys have kids too?” Klaus asked, his eyes wide as he and his husband stared down at the picture. Ben was already digging around for the polaroid that he kept in his wallet of his family. 

“Too?” Diego asked as he eyed his second favorite brother.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that I was the only person Klaus could find to marry him,” Ben joked. His husband let out a little scoff of disapproval as he handed the polaroid of Luther and Diego’s daughters over to Allison so that she could look at them. 

It was hard for her to do so when she knew that she could very quickly be losing custody of her own daughter. She loved her siblings very dearly and she was happy that they had all found so much joy in their lives but she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous about that. They already all knew about Claire since none of her life was really private from the paparazzi, not with her husband actively giving interviews about their divorce while they went through it. She kept quiet and passed the picture over to Viktor and Five.

“The older one is Jackie, she’s seventeen and preparing to move off to college,” Ben said as he finished fishing the picture out of his wallet and passed it towards Allison as well. Klaus let out a little pouting whimper as he was reminded that his baby was getting ready to fly the nest soon. “The younger is Liam, he’s fifteen.”

The picture was all four of them standing together in the courthouse with two sets of official adoption papers being held by the adults. The older girl had black lipstick on and was wearing a green dress that fell off of one shoulder and went down to her mid-thigh. The boy was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a button up flannel with a beanie stuffed over a shock of red hair.

“We’ve legally been their parents for about two years but we were fostering them for two before then too. We wanted to adopt them a lot sooner but that process takes forever,” Klaus groaned. “We also serve as a go-between point for when kids are either being moved to a new home or being put into the system. Our house is always pretty busy.”

The two of them looked at each other like they could imagine nothing better in the entire world than what they had just described. It was really sweet, all of the other siblings had to agree about that. They had all been there to see Klaus during the worst time in his life when he was trying to drown out the ghosts that his power allowed him to see with any substance that he could get his hands on. It was reassuring to all of them to see their brother so happy and full of life, starting a family with his best friend.

“I guess that means it’s our turn,” Five smiled down at his husband before he turned out to the rest of their siblings. “Viktor and I got married pretty much the night that we left the Academy. We have two kids of our own.”

Viktor flipped the polaroids out of his pocket and then passed them the same direction that the rest of the photos had been passed around. “Riley is the boy and the girl is Annika. They’re both ten.”

The photos were the ones that the kids had gotten from school, so they were separate but held together with a little roll of scotch tape on the back of each so that they became double sided. One side had Riley, wearing a blue button down and smiling wide enough to show off the gap in his teeth. The other side had Annika, her smile much smaller and her hair covering most of her face in her shyness.

“Are they biologically yours?” Diego asked when he looked over the photos before he handed them over to his husband.

“Uh, yeah, funny story,” Viktor laughed. “So adding onto the story I told you all outside, Dad told me that I was infertile my entire life. I was on the meds and apparently they had some kind of birth control inside of them because when I stopped taking them after we were able to afford a therapist Dad didn’t have control over, I got pregnant immediately. I’m talking a month after I stopped the pills we found out that I was pregnant with the twins.”

“Damn, you two are compatible biologically as well as personally!” Klaus cackled, which earned him a playful kick from Five across the living room. 

Viktor turned towards his sister, grasping her hand. “You can tell us about Claire if you want, you know.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s too raw to talk about at the moment. Maybe some other time,” Allison replied. All of the jealousy that had been burning inside of her chest melted when her brother showed her the gentle compassion that she had been aching for since her divorce started. Most of her and Patrick’s mutual friends had chosen her ex-husband over her, so she had been left with basically no one. She had people when she was here though, her siblings had done enough healing that they’d do that for her. She was sure of it.

---

The siblings continued to exchange stories about their kids until their mother got them for dinner. None of them had even realized that much time had passed until they were brought out of their conversations. It was nice to be back together and to realize that all of their siblings had families themselves. 

The second meal that they had was a lot more fun than the first had been because they all got to sit with their partners and talk with each other. Each of the couples were placed at the table across from their corresponding spouse with Pogo and Grace (Pogo ate very little and Grace didn’t need to eat, after all) sharing a spot at the head of the table and Allison at the other end.

“This smells amazing, Mom,” Viktor praised as he finished heaping food onto his plate and then passed the noodles to his husband.

“I’m glad that you think so, dear. I’ve missed cooking for all of you. You should come back and visit more often,” she was nearly pleading. None of them could resist it, so they all quickly agreed to meeting up at the Academy at least once a month for a family dinner, though Allison’s visits would be rarer since she lived across the country.

Pogo and Grace were elated to hear about all the grandkids that they had and Grace demanded that she hear the stories that they had already told each other when they were hanging out in the living room. Each of the parents were happy to tell her everything that she wanted to know about the kids since they were very overtly proud of them. Most of it was tame, like how they were doing in schools and what it had been like when they lost their first teeth. It was harder for Ben and Klaus to answer a lot of the questions since they had gotten their kids a lot older than the rest of their siblings had, but they still found a way to tell as many stories as they could.

Halfway through the meal, Grace got up and decided that she was going to bring out some wine to help celebrate the revelation of her expanded family after making them all promise to bring her grandkids to see her when they could. She got out seven wine glasses for each of the kids and then began to go around he table, filling them up as she had when Reginald held dinner parties at the mansion.

By the time that she got to Viktor he placed his hand over the top of the cup, “Water is fine, Mom.”

“What, you’re not drinking tonight?” Klaus asked. “You should at least have one for me,” he winked.

“I have to drive,” Viktor shook his head. 

“You don’t, he can teleport,” Diego pointed towards Five. “And a small glass of wine isn’t going to impair your driving ability.”

“Maybe not with Luther’s metabolism,” the smallest brother sniped playfully back.

“Stop pressuring our brother to drink if he doesn’t want to,” Allison shook her head.

“But this is a celebration! And I can’t celebrate because of the stupid sobriety thing even though Dad had the best wine,” Klaus groaned dramatically. It wasn’t really that hard for him to stay away from alcohol anymore, not when the only reason he had been so dependent on his substances had gone away after he was able to overcome his fear with the help of his husband. That was why he hadn’t politely excused himself to go back home to their kids early when Grace had declared that she was going to bring down the bottle.

Luther then looked up and caught Viktor’s eyes before he gasped, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

The siblings all erupted in shouts.

“Luther!” Allison gasped like he had personally offended her.

“You can’t just say things like that, honey,” Diego placed his hands over his eyes.

“I highly doubt that this far in his transition he can even get pregnant anymore. Hyper compatibility with Five or not,” Klaus snorted like the whole idea was very funny.

While all of their siblings argued with each other, Five and Viktor shared a look that no one else picked up on for a moment before the smaller man turned back towards them. He caught Luther’s eye and then gave him a nod, which made the tallest member of the Academy crow confidently. “I knew it!”

“What, you’re pregnant?” Allison gaped as she turned back towards her brother.

He laughed. “Klaus was partially right about me being far enough in my transition to not be able to conceive. I had to have a very long talk with my doctor about stopping HRT for a while so that I could carry another baby to term. But Five and I thought that it was important to have a kid on purpose this time, and our family needed another addition,” Viktor turned to his partner and smiled affectionately at him.

“I love you,” Five whispered, so quiet only Viktor could hear thanks to his super-enhanced hearing. They shared a quick kiss before they went back to answering questions.

“How far along are you?” Diego asked.

Viktor pulled his green t-shirt tight around his stomach with one hand, revealing the fact that his abdomen was already rounded out significantly. “Just passed twenty eight weeks, but I got damned good at hiding a bump when I had the twins. This means that I don’t get misgendered this time around.”

“Twenty eight weeks? And you can hide the bump?” Allison gawked. She had tried to hide her pregnancy from the paparazzi because having a publicly known pregnancy sounded like Hell on Earth, but they had found out almost immediately.

“I had twins the first time! I was way bigger with them than I am with baby number three so all the tricks I learned with them work extra because there’s less to hide.”

“Do you have any ultrasound photos?” Klaus asked, very excited for his brothers and the newest soon-to-be addition to the family.

Five shook his head, which made Grace a little bit disappointed as well. “We can bring some the next time we come for a family dinner,” he quickly placated.

The siblings and two parental figures gave their congratulations to the two expecting Hargreeves before the conversation continued to lilt and change through the night.

Something about the way that they had all detached from the Academy had been good for them, but they were all ready to be a proper family now that their father was dead. There was nothing holding them back from talking to each other as often as they wanted and about anything in their lives. They didn’t have to worry about what would get passed back to their shared abuser or what might be taken the wrong way because they were all remarkably similar and Reginald was now long dead.

[agoddamn]

Asst'd skunk facts because I always want to tag ramble whenever I reblog skunks

They're legal to keep in a number of states as well as Canada and the UK! With license or without, depending on location. Registered breeders and everything are out there.

Many pet skunks get an elective surgery to remove the stink gland, although this is illegal in the UK and considered similar to declawing in that it removes a natural behavior purely for human convenience. You can also just not terrorize a skunk, and then it won't spray

Spraying is a last-resort weapon for skunks; it usually takes a few days for enough fluid to build up in the stink glands again

They have an unusually low level of fear because they've got very few predators on account of the aforementioned stink glands. Certain birds of prey can't smell their fluid, but everyone else with a nose...Although they are a significant rabies vector, it's not strange to see them not very fearful of humans in the same way it's strange to see a bat or a fox or a rabbit not showing much fear of humans. If you've seen a video of a skunk nosing up to a human and then walking away, that's not bizarre behavior (also they're crepuscular, not purely nocturnal!)

The primary barrier to them being legal pets in the US is the lack of an official rabies vaccine more than anything else. I've heard that a feline rabies vaccine functions perfectly for them, but isn't currently federally recognized in the US (this is also a very off-the-books "I've heard...") because testing would be very expensive for little profit

Pet skunks tend to get fat easily because the cheapest/easiest thing to give them is cat food, which is very high-calorie...and skunks are gorge eaters. Since they're scavengers their instinct is to eat fucking everything they can whenever they can

On the scale of exotic pets my completely amateur asshole opinion is...not the worst you could do, honestly. They're not an already-domesticated species like cats/dogs, but it's also not the kind of thing like a mountain lion or a wolf where 'dude that is literally just a wild fucking animal in your house.'

I don't get vaguely concerned when I see a skunk tiktok like I do when I see, idk, people snuggling with tiger cubs or some awful Dodo video. Although animal abuse is always out there, their pop culture bad reputation actually protects them a little bit in this sense; very few people want to keep a pet skunk for clout, where zillions of people want to keep a wolfdog for clout.

(of course, the ethics of keeping an exotic pet are questionable for a number of other reasons such as vet availability, but like I said--on the scale.)

[forestryfae]

fantastic!! the electricians i was told were gonna come "Sometime" have been here and someone didnt close the bathroom door so not only did the cat piss on more of my clothes and bedsheets, but i also cant use several electrical outlets

and noone told me! mom knew theyd come but didnt tell me when theyd been here. so i dont even know what theyve done or what the final result actually was beyond some outlets being unavailable

and thats on top of mom doing dishes again even tho i told her not to, so the dishwasher smelled so fucking sour. im 99% sure i didnt do dishes before leaving and if i did id have opened the door

so basically the whole house smells sour or like cat piss, i have to buy boxes and odor-removing spray, i will probably have to clean the whole house like twice or something, and ill need to figure out a way to get rid of a lot of furniture and other crap i dont want. and the lawn is completely overgrown so its like.. send fucking help pls

[moonstandardtime]

why does my room still smell like cat piss istg ive sprayed everywhere with that odor remover shit. and why does it only smell on some breaths