#This child is offically adopted and amongst the people

[patheticblorbloscholar]

I don't think anyone noticed but if you zoom in within the tail you can see blue attached within indicating a queue. Meaning this probably isn't 3 where the transformation happens but four. Unless there is enough running time to include Spider's first communion with Eywa. Notice the new threads? A completely different color, his longer songcord. This looks to be a timeskip so I am betting a hundred this is four.

Avatar 3:

Look at his BRAID 😭 The little pony tail tuft at the end 😭 I know he plays with it sometimes and wishes it was an actual queue

[callilypso]

II ▷ 𝐙𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄 — " cold hands, warm hearts "

part 1 of the 𝐥&𝐝𝐬 + 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 [other parts: xavier, rafayel, sylus]

— exploring Zayne as a father, both of Your children’s relationships with You and their Dad, as well as delving into their passions and personalities

note: each LI has different MCs, meaning each child/ren of the other LIs have different mothers and aren't related

ᴛᴀɢꜱ: fluff, fluff, and flufffff, some crack, and some teeny bit of angst (if you squint); the kids are ocs

❥ a/n: i have many, many plans for all of these babies >:) there's nothing too serious yet i promise. feel free to add more of your own ideas i would looove to know them i will srsly cry in joy. pls be nice tho c:

0:02 ───|────────────────────────

𝐙𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄 has two children: an eldest son and his youngest, a daughter. He is The Dad™ amongst all dads, and I know most would agree. He's a very hands-on father, and definitely the stricter one between the two of you especially when it comes to their health. Unfortunately, his babies took after some of their mother's uh.. concerning habits, but nonetheless, he will never get tired of taking care of his family. As much as they can be a source of stress for his poor heart, his joy will always be from them too.

𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐘 — “Cae”, ”Ace”

his eldest, name based from Caleb in his honor (assuming he is truly dead at this time), and Zayne thought it was perfect

he is a literal Carbon Copy of Zayne, except his eyes shaped and color like his mother's

as a baby, he rarely cried and whined, almost picture perfect, however.. it was an absolute pain when they were trying to start feeding him solids

grew up to be a picky eater even well into his adulthood, very particular about textures and smells. he absolutely hates ketchup and anything with tomato sauce, dislikes sour-sweet things and any seafood

You had an idea to try giving him a teensy bit of chocolate at age 2, and he hated it—the sticky texture was off putting

it had Zayne doubting for a moment if Casey was truly his offspring as if he wasn't there to witness the delivery, your hand crushing his in a grip he wasn't sure was physically possible without breaking each other's hands.

Zayne learned to adjust to his needs though, trying to accommodate both his preferences as well as still giving him the proper nutrition. MC at least taught him to try anything just at least once

his role model was truly his Dad, adopting his gentleman mannerisms and kindness for others

would often be brought to work with Zayne after school, behaving well in his office as he browses through some of his Dad's medical books, and would ask him questions to clarify

a lot of questions, sometimes Zayne gets a little too distracted but he will never blame the sweet boy

little darling of the Akso hospital, always greeted by the nurses and doctors of the facilities as he passes by trying to snoop around

he looooves the nurses’ desk, listening intently at all the different stories about their daily life as health workers, from sad to crazy to funny 

would often be given chocolate much to his dismay.. it all ends up going to Zayne and his sister in the end

a smart, reliable, kind, and generous boy, eager to help others in need inspired by both his parents and his healthcare workers environment

from helping his struggling classmates to understand the lessons better, to assisting the elderly cross a busy street

can be a little bit of a people pleaser… just a tiny bit (a lot)

Zayne and MC has never given or voiced expectations on what standards he should be, unfortunately, it doesn't stop outsiders from doing so

growing up, he's felt the weight with each whisper—he is the son of The Dr. Zayne, best cardiologist of his generation in the whole country

it's genuinely one of his inspirations to strive for the best, although in his teens it kind of grows into a toxic perfectionism and competitive comparisons

that's right, he's the burnt out overachiever, a constant at the Dean's List, hence why his peers started to call him “Ace”

disciplined and responsible, although can be prone to anxiety

as a brother, he's protective of his little sister too, sometimes he even outdoes both You and Zayne in strictness.

he likes to think he's a lot more restrained but he's actually very readable.. the boy cannot lie to save his life

a natural approachable charismatic leader

since he was a child, he was Zayne’s own personal 'physician' after work, giving his Dad a full ‘check up’ because he knows being a doctor is hard, but truthfully Zayne’s stress melts away the moment he's greeted by his beaming grin as he runs into his arms, his son's baby shampoo and fresh laundry scent calming his senses instantly

he treats him with shoulder rubs, hand massages, forehead massages, even learning to brew Zayne’s prefered coffee blend, and ah yes with his daily dose of much needed sweets

his relationship with you.. let's just say you get double the doctor now, aka you're very well taken care of and yes, you're also getting treated with the same little services he does for his Dad

although as he grew older, he started being more concerned at the amount of sweets his Dad takes 

If Zayne's constantly pestering you about your health, now he's getting a taste of his own medicine by a mini version of him hiding his stashes of sweets little by little

“Son, we don't have a history of diabetes in our heredity.” Zayne argues, as Casey hugs his stash of chocolates he swore he's hidden in his locked drawer.

“But that doesn't mean you can't.. A small chance is still a chance. ” Cae retorts back as he pinches his nose bridge, and Zayne swears he's looking at a mirror right now.

“How do you even..” Zayne sighs, feeling both proud and defeated because his 8 year old little genius son is actually right. “Cae, I haven't even gotten any sweets this entire day.”

“You had cake, ice cream, and chocolates yesterday—and a smoothie!”

Zayne sighs again, heavier. Unfortunately, that was also true, and it shouldn't have been something he knew about unless..

"Did your mom put you up to this?" Zayne asks. Casey shifts on his feet, averting his gaze, clearly uncomfortable being eyed by his father at the moment. A smile quirks on Zayne's lips.

"No.." Casey answers after a beat of silence, clearly a lie, and Zayne wants to pinch his puffed cheeks. He looked more like you at that moment, absolutely adorable. Something was squeezing Zayne's chest right now.

"Hm.. Well, do I at least get another alternative?" Zayne tries to bargain.

"Um.. I don't know..?" Casey answers honestly.

Zayne settles down his swivel chair, arms beckoning him to come closer, and Casey does. He gets pulled on his father's left thigh, eyes confused at Zayne snickering at him.

"Since you lied—" Cae tenses in his hold, "—I'm just gonna chew you instead."

"Wha—No!" Casey begins to helplessly wiggle out of Zayne's secure grip, but his cheek was already being bitten by his dad. No real teeth, as Zayne tucked his lips inward to cover them.

The office was filled with childish giggling as Zayne continues to relieves his stress through cuteness aggression, play biting and tickling him to near tears.

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄 — “Lili” , “Lianne”

youngest daughter with a 4 year age gap from Casey, and to say the least: a Danger Magnet

single handed increased Zayne's gray hairs and high blood pressure tendencies before age 40 

the baby proofing of the house gets doubled

truly a spitting image of You, except with her father's verdant green and hazel golden eyes

even more unfortunate for Zayne, she's got your prankster habits

she's double jointed, making her extremely flexible.. and also prone to dislocations.

she does a backflip in front of Zayne and he nearly dies of a heart attack because he thought she would crack her head open

at age 3, put lotion on Zayne's coffee. no one knows the reason why, except now you hide all your skincare somewhere else and Zayne now knows what SPF tastes like

at age 4, attempted to wrestle with a wild goose at the park, towering over her small frame.. her battle scars are still evident well into her teens

at age 5, managed to get a hold of some alcohol thinking it was juice… yeh You and Zayne can never ever rest

but despite all that, Zayne, You, and Casey are extremely supportive of her passion as a figure skater

saw Yuzuru Hanyu once live and it stuck to her ever since, begging and crying Zayne and You to allow her to train

growing up, she's The Yapper of the family—doesn’t matter if you listen to her or not, she will talk. sometimes it's like Zayne's personal white noise ASMR to lull him to sleep.

and contrary to all that's happened in her childhood, she does value her family's trust in her, especially Zayne's

and is actually very responsible, never does alcohol (she remembers the taste ever since.. it was not nice), hates the smell of smoke/vape, never goes beyond the curfew, and actually takes good care of her health and wellness more consistently than Casey ironically

competitive at heart, also a perfectionist.. maybe a little more than Cae. 

‘second place is the first loser’ mentality 

at age of 19, she's an internationally competitive and well renowned skater

her relationship with her Dad has its ups and downs, but she's never taken their misunderstandings into grudges, as communication is very important to her to establish trust

if her brother is acts of service in showing love, she's definitely quality of time

she's very outgoing, preferring to spend time together doing activities, from simple night walks in the park, coffee hang outs, to wall climbing and hiking

literally gets bored out her mind staying at home for more than half a day

a major travel girlie, with a vast collection of photos and vlogs—and you bet Zayne has them all watched and saved (and its also her way of documentation that, yes, she's in fact safe and sound)

the family will always try to attend every major competition Lianne has no matter how busy they get, securing tickets and lodgings months in advance if it's overseas

Zayne's chest swells with pride, watching her glide gracefully on ice, burning passion in her eyes. You squeeze his hand and hold your breath every single time she's about to attempt a triple axle, and he too would squeeze back. immediately, you would squeal in delight at her successful landings, cheering loudly and borderline embarrassing.

“THAT'S MY GIRL!!” 

both of you have witnessed the blood, sweat, and tears she's poured in every practice, being there for her as much you can every step of the way

definitely shares the same sweet tooth as Zayne, so they're sneaking each other sweets behind You and Cae’s back.

often jokes that she's Zayne's true child because of it and Cae just rolls his eyes at her every time. "Nothing screams father-daughter more than matching cavities I guess."

Zayne and Lianne have their favorite spots for their sweet tooth adventures, most notably their whole family’s favorite: Destiny's Cafe

Walking down Linkon City’s city lights, the cool autumn night air blows through the streets. It made Lianne shiver, snuggling closer to her father's arm she's hooked her own to. Zayne raises his eyebrow at her, placing a hand over hers.

He sighs. “This is why you should have taken that scarf, Lili.”

“Eh, it's fiiine—I’m always on ice, this is nothing. Plus, I have my dad.” Lianne leans on his shoulder and she throws him a smile, and he returns it.

“You really know what to say, hm?” He chuckles. 

They arrive at their usual night cafe spot, soaking in the warmth provided by the establishment. Lianne insisted she would be the one treating them tonight, Zayne relenting reluctantly after some time.

“You know, your brother would be scolding us again if he sees us here for the third time this week.” Zayne chuckles as their slices of cake and cups of coffee arrive on their table.

Lianne laughs. “Don't worryyy, he's on duty until tomorrow morning, and Mom can't snitch either since she's on a mission. Besides..” she trails off as she took a bite of her own slice, Zayne not catching the mischievous glint in her eyes.

Zayne takes a piece in his mouth, and as he began to chew, the moistness of the sweet treat was both familiar and.. wrong. He looks back up at her, seeing her little smirk.

“.. it's a healthy cake.” 

“!—Lianne-” Zayne hastily swallows the piece and downs his coffee as she began to laugh at his agony of realization.

It was Casey's favorite flavor: carrot cake.

11:11──────────────────────────|──

acc tags: @starmocha @77gigabytes tysm for your zayne kids hcs aaaaa they rlly inspired me more and i got rlly excited when my own hcs appeared in urs <333

[catoperated]

Let me tell you about the (Bill) Clinton campaign. The big thing was he charmed everyone by playing the saxophone on late night talk shows, which in retrospect was a clever way of dodging too much policy talk. Granted, just about anyone could outcharm HW Bush… especially after he vomited sushi on the prime minister of Japan.

The Clintons had a cat named Socks (and a dog named Buddy, just to cover all their bases) and that damn cat was everywhere during the Clinton years. He almost got a video game, but a recovered rom is now freely available. The image Clinton was projecting during his campaign is perfectly incapsulated in the box art.

He’s hip! He’s cool! He’s not like those other square presidents! He has a cat (and once in office they had this whole “for kids” thing revolving entirely around Socks) and plays saxophone! The perfunctory handwringing over a child running around the historic White House (not even the first) couldn’t stop him, and his lingering reputation as a ladies man in college only improved his image—until the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I learned what sex was thanks to it being all over the news. Meanwhile I already knew about marijuana (another minor scandal) from the DARE program at school.

All the shit that happened during the Clinton years paved the way for George W Bush to play cowboy to show he was a traditional sort of cool, only to get into office and fumble his way through every press conference. Sound familiar? He was widely considered a buffoon, everyone knew Dick Cheney was pulling the strings, and he probably wouldn’t have been re-elected if not for 9/11. Discuss conspiracy theories amongst yourselves.

I’m telling you this because even politicians with a nice, friendly, progressive images are not your friends. They are not adoptive parents or cool uncles. They’re not people to be fans of because they’re goddamn civil servants. They’re supposed to be for the people, which in a perfect world would be true, but Harris suddenly turning pro-frakking and all for tighter border control (but with nicer cages! /s) just highlights how they’re bought off by lobbyists. You all need to come to grips with the fact this is how the system works, but that doesn’t mean you have to stand for it.

Shut up about Trump. I know. I’m trans and disabled. I know.

Republicans backing Harris should tell you everything about what’s happening in the US right now. The political situation is looking a lot like the 19th century with factions splintering off, dying, or absorbing others… oh, and the looming threat of civil war. History loves repeating itself, huh?

@decolonize-the-everything has done a much better job than I ever could detailing how to be realistic and take action. I’m exhausted just thinking about the Bush administration. I’d show you what political memes looked like back then, but tumblr won’t let me add any more links. Look up “bush fuzzy math” on YouTube sometime for both the debate the phrase came from and the song remixes.

Someon made a Bush version (the old way, where you had to cut the words from all his speeches and splice them into a song) of Sunday Bloody Sunday. Go look that up too if you want, I’m gonna to bed.

And for the last time (I swear), this isn’t me telling you not to vote, this is me telling you to stop gushing over what a nice guy Tim Walz seems like and other such fandom behavior.

No cop, politician, or fed is your friend. Get that through your head if you want to survive.

[d1ana-m0nd]

╭─► ❝The Servant: Umbrella Academy's Servant❞

Five Hargreeves × Female! Reader || Written by Diana (d1ana-m0nd)

➢ Description : It's a well known fact that Sir. Reginald Hargreeves adopted 7 children to save the world from it's impending doom. Though, the number of children will change from 7 to 8 once a close friend of his, Rita Rossweisse was on her death bed and requested him to take in her child, who fortunately was born on October 1st 1989.

➢ Word Count : 9,850

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

Chapter 1: We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals

Under the eccentric billionaire's order, Pogo gathered the remaining people of the Umbrella Academy to Mr. Reginald Hargreeves office. All three of them stood in front of his desk: The robot nanny, The advanced chimpanzee, and the ever youthful servant named Y/N. The three of them were standing stiffly on their spot, patiently awaiting for the head of the Hargreeves household to speak.

As they awaited, silence became the norm. Although silence has always been the norm in the Hargreeves household, it was rarely tense, rather, this type of silence only occured when the others were still around, especially during their missions. Though you would suppose it was reasonable, after all, their lives were at stake when trying to save the world, and they wouldn't want to repeat "their" mistake back in 2006.

But it doesn't answer the question, why was it so tense now?

Was the Monocle planning something?

You breathed through your nostrils as though knowing that the assumption would make sense since, lately, you have noticed Pogo and Grace talking amongst themselves about something you were not aware of, though you did recall Grace looking dejected every time it was brought up.

"Mr. Monocle, may I have the permission to raise a query?" You broke the silence, making the scribbling noise abruptly stop. The cold eyes his children criticized him for were now gazing into your very soul, thus casting a spell upon your skin to shiver in a rippling manner. Despite knowing how he acts as a person, you will never get used to his actions.

"I have encouraged your lot to raise questions for a reason, so do not hold back when it comes to your curiosity." He encouraged his utmost attention to you, which made you more nervous than usual.

"Ms. Grace and Mr. Pogo have been mumbling to themselves about a plan to bring the Umbrella Academy back. I recall them periodically mentioning someone's death. I'm assuming they are referring to an important figure in their life, someone who will make them come back to where they came from…" You paused breathing through your teeth then continued. "So, they must be referring to you, yes?"

The Monocle looked satisfied with your answer then resumed scribbling on his priceless notebook. "I specifically told them to leave you breadcrumbs so I expect no less of you to catch onto our scheme."

The man who was deemed by his children to be a monster praised you in his own way but for some reason you felt dumbfounded by the confirmation. It even felt like your body was refusing to accept it. As the Monocle laid out the plan he had in mind, you tried to listen intently, keyword, tried.

"Is this necessary?" You blurted out. Their eyes darted to you, which made you want to shrink to the size of a molecule.

"I just don't think taking your life is worth exchanging to assemble the Umbrella Academy… Why don't you try calling them over? Like inviting them over for family dinner?" You suggested awkwardly rubbing the back of your nape.

"As much as we understand where you are going Ms. Y/N, I'm afraid that won't work with how…" The formal chimpanzee paused, trying to look for the right word. "Strained their relationship with their father is."

This whole thing began a cataclysm in your head, questions erupted left and right, your rationale losing its grip with reality because of how much it starts questioning the how's, the why's and what's of the situation you were in. However there was one thing for sure, the eccentric billionaire wants to assemble the academy and there has to be an objective behind it and what could it possibly be?

What could be the danger that made him gamble his life for the Umbrella Academy's return?

As you tried to rationalize, an intrusive thought disrupted your line of thinking.

"Master Five, your father is requesting for you to finish your breakfast. Now isn't the time for you to experiment with your abilities. You will have more time to explore them after the meal." You repeated the head of Hargreeves household's words, though they weren't the exact wording since you paraphrased it because you believed his original phrasing was harsh.

The boy in school shorts slowly turned to you with a familiar scowl on his face, almost mirroring his father's signature look. "You infuriate me."

He took slow steps towards your direction, his eyes not leaving your figure. It felt like you were a deer in headlights willingly awaiting for your death to come. Oddly enough, you kept your composure, externally unbothered but internally dreading what will happen next.

"All you ever do is follow that old man like a puppet, you can't even think for yourself and you speak as though you are following a script." He spat, his words seething with anger but for what?

"I have no use for you, so go back to your box." Five ended with a glare and walked away as though he was satisfied with the damage he had done to you.

"What about Number Five?" You suddenly uttered out, the intrusive thought bringing back his existence into both your mind and the room you were present in at the moment. "How will you know he will come back?"

"I know he will come back but, you are free to call my statement a hunch if it helps you sleep at night." The Monocle stated with a discernible look on his face followed by him quickly dismissing you three for the night.

The news of Mr. Reginald Hargreeves flooded throughout the streets of America: the televisions, the radios, and the people talked of it like it was the only thing worth talking about. Though it was understandable considering how impactful he was in today's society though some were rejoicing in his death for obvious reasons… However, what they didn't know was that this was all part of the plan.

You waited at the front of the door, in your best Victorian maid outfit, your hair was arranged how you wanted to be and you wore special shoes for the occasion. The others will probably say that you looked the same as usual and you will admit you looked the same, but it made you feel and look the part, the part of a servant.

The door creaked, which caught your attention. Your gaze was then directed to the humongous ape hybrid man of the Umbrella Academy, who was now struggling to not break the door handle while trying to maintain his balance. You presume he is still getting used to the Earth's gravity that's why he was struggling.

"Early as always Master Luther." You commended the larger male with a smile on your face.

"I'm sorry if I break something by accident, you know how long I've been on the moon and all." He muttered with a charming awkward smile on his face.

"It's fine, I don't think your father would really mind especially with how hard you've been working on the moon for years now." You reassured the male. You guys had a small chat until he left to take a short nap.

As you stood there waiting for the others, you decided that you were going to get some water for yourself and a chair so you could rest while waiting for the others. Out of nowhere, someone slammed the front double doors. You quickly went into a fighting stance, the portable staff ready to be equipped into the fight but, instead of facing danger, you were facing a man who was a danger to himself.

"ROSEYYY!" Klaus yelled out that terrible nickname he gave you since you guys were children. You weren't primarily fond of it because of how crappy it was but you forced yourself to tolerate it.

Your once wary self relaxed at the sight of him. "Master Klaus, I'm glad you are still in good condition but, it would have been preferable if you entered in a less heart-attack inducing way."

"You and I both know that I'm the light of the party!" The seance declared then circled around you, his arm hanging around your neck. "Which means, I have the responsibility to make this party fun for everyone. And~ just because it's a funeral doesn't mean it shouldn't be fun~ "

"I suppose that would make grieving a lot easier." You said rather uncertain about your response though Klaus didn't catch onto it.

"That's the spirit! Oh, by the way, have you seen Pogo?"

"I haven't, last time I checked he was in the basement…"

"Great! I'll just take a trip down memory lane while waiting for the others." He said then walked off as though he didn't make a big scene, though you doubt that he was planning to take a trip down to "memory lane".

You sat on a nearby chair and waited for the others to show up for the next 2 hours, though the interactions weren't that interesting.

"Good Morning Master Diego." You greeted the kraken with a smile just like the others though he didn't reciprocate your gesture. He just acknowledged your greeting with a nod, then went straight for the living room to loiter. As you waited for the others, you could hear knives being thrown at random directions, most likely his remedy for his boredom.

An hour later, the rumor arrived with her luggage in hand. You both exchanged pleasantries as you assisted her to her room with her luggage though she kept insisting she can carry it. But, you managed to talk her out of it, though you can tell she only felt bad because of how young you looked, despite your mental age.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

Just outside the Umbrella Academy, a certain petite lady had arrived. She stared at the building before her but it felt like it was menacingly staring her down, as if warning her that it was her last chance to run away. Vanya was hesitant to enter and scared to be reunited with her siblings - adoptive siblings - who were most likely not on good terms with her after her book. However, she knew that she couldn't keep running away from them, so she took a deep breath then entered her childhood home.

Despite the fear that lingered, it subsided once she saw the interior of the house. Everything looked the same; the house felt untouched even after all the years that had passed, it was oddly comforting. Though it was most likely in Grace's programming to keep things in order that would please her father, the same could be applied to Y/N but she's mostly responsible for cleaning the yard though.

It was rather comforting that things haven't changed though it felt odd not being able to see Y/N be at the entrance to greet her. It was usually her job to greet everyone and congratulate them over the littlest of things like surviving a mission or mastering a certain skill.

Was she out to get groceries?

Vanya looked for signs of Y/N but found none. She decided to approach someone else who might know where you were. Luckily, she saw Grace by the fireplace, her attention enamored by how the fire danced and flickered.

"Hey Mom," Vanya greeted, but she didn't acknowledge the violinist's presence.

"Mom?" She repeated yet received no response.

"Vanya?" A new voice called out.

The petite girl awkwardly turned to where the voice came from and was met with her sister, Allison Hargreeves. The actress who recently got a divorce but is starring in a lot of movies like romcoms.

"You're actually here." She said in disbelief though there was a small smile present.

"Hey Allison."

"Hey Sis."

In spite of how awkward it was, both of the girls hugged it out. However, a man clad in black leather had other plans. Said man came out of where he was loitering then walked past his sisters.

"What is she doing here? You don't belong here. Not after what you did." Diego sneered at the violinist.

"You're seriously gonna do this today?" The actress asked, it was evident on her facial features that she did not want to deal with Diego's whining.

The brown-haired male didn't give her a piece of his mind but Allison was having none of it. "Way to dress for the occasion by the way."

"At least, I'm wearing black." The male in black snarked back at her and continued on with wherever he was planning to go.

"You know what, maybe he's right. I shouldn't-" Vanya muttered, as she was about to retreat back to her apartment but a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Miss Vanya, you may think that Diego is right but not all of us share the same sentiment as him. For now, let's put the feud past us and gather as a family to mourn for your father's loss." You said. Your words were comforting the uneasiness she felt, at least now she knew that two people - besides Pogo and Grace - wanted her to stay.

Once Diego's sour words were dissolved by you and Allison's overwhelming sweetness. You and the violinist were left by yourselves to explore the eccentric billionaire's house, what Vanya used to deem as her home. But, now it's a house filled with bitter memories for her.

"Miss Vanya, is it alright that I follow you around for a while?" You questioned her, the smile you wore around her over the years seemed like had no intention of being wiped off.

"Y/N, I told you to stop using honorifics around me." The petite girl reminded you, as she reciprocated your smile.

You giggle at the reminder. "It can't be helped, with how much I've been around Pogo, I just couldn't help but pick up the habit."

The brown-haired girl entered the living room with you. Her eyes wandered trying to identify if some changes were made, though she couldn't see any big difference. Unless you and Grace decided to move a decorative piece a few centimeters to the right, then she definitely would not have noticed that detail. As she surveyed the room, she couldn't help but, drift to the section of the bookshelf where her autobiography was nestled in between.

Suddenly, the advanced chimpanzee walked into the living room. A smile adorned his face when his eyes landed on the violinist whilst he adjusted his glasses.

"Welcome home Miss Vanya"

"Pogo." The brunette muttered then went to his side and hugged him.

"So good to see you." Pogo greeted but then his gaze shifted at the book that was in Vanya's hands. "Ah yes, your autobiography."

"Do you know, um…" Vanya glances down at the book hesitating to bring up the question but goes along with it anyway. "Did he ever read it?"

"Not that I am aware of."

Based on Vanya's lack of response, you could tell that she was both not surprised and disappointed. All those years of being by her side made reading her so easier. Just like the others, she was hell-bent on being recognized by their father, the only difference was that she wanted to be treated like an equal.

The petite woman then diverted her attention to the painting above the fireplace. "How long has it been since Five disappeared?"

"It's been 16 years, 4 months, and 14 days." You and Pogo said in unison, both of you shared a small smile not expecting to say it at the same time.

"Your father insisted we keep track," You stated, though you had a different reason for keeping track. You promise to yourself that once he comes back, you will redeem yourself for your past failure.

"You wanna know something stupid? I always used to leave the lights on for him. I was scared he would come back. It would be late, the house would be dark and he wouldn't be able to find us, so he'd leave again."

"So, every night me and Y/N make a little snack and make sure all the lights are on." The violinist recalled, a small smile on her face as she reminisced how you helped her at night making sandwiches and turning on all the lights at night though, Pogo did nag you both at one point for wasting electricity, so you guys had to revert to using lanterns.

"Oh, I remember your snacks. I'm pretty sure I stepped on half those peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches." The formal chimpanzee chuckled. While you tried your best to suppress your laughter, as you remembered the night you witnessed Pogo slipped on one of the marshmallow sandwiches.

"Your father always believed that Number Five was still out there somewhere. He never lost hope." The advanced chimpanzee reassured Vanya that the day of his return would come.

"And look where that got him." The brunette pessimistically said.

Spaceboy ordered you, Pogo, and Grace to gather the others in the living room. You and Pogo didn't waste any time and made sure everyone was in the place where Luther requested them all to be. Grace even hastened her usual pace to make snacks for everyone to munch on.

The numbers of the Umbrella Academy were all gathered in the living room. Although there were only a handful of people in the room, no words were exchanged. The only thing that was audible was the fire crackling, and the sound of Klaus concocting himself's special poison - an alcoholic beverage - from the bar.

"I guess we should get this started," The ape-hybrid-man stood up then suggested. "So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at Dad's favorite spot."

"Dad had a favorite spot?" Allison raised the question, surprised that this never went under her radar.

"You know, under the oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?" Luther added but everyone else was dumbfounded by the new information.

"Will there be refreshments?" Klaus asked as he brought his drink to where everyone else was at. "Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner."

"What? No. And put that out. Dad didn't allow smoking in here."

"I agree with Master Luther, please put that out Mr. Klaus, the smell is unpleasant and it takes a while to ventilate the house. I recommend you smoke outside if you're hell-bent on letting off steam though." You suggested to the seance as you stood behind his slouching figure, which made him jump, have you been behind him since the very beginning? He didn't see nor hear your footsteps.

"Is that my skirt?" Allison raised a brow at her brother's fashion choice.

"What?" The brown-haired male looked down at the bottom part of his outfit then smiled. "Oh, yeah, this. I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know, but it's very breathey on the bits."

"Listen up. Still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?" The ape-man said calmly, gaining everyone's attention simultaneously because they knew something was about to implode.

"Like what?"

"Like the way he died."

"And here we go." Diego muttered as he rolled his eyes at Luther.

Based on his words, you knew that Diego thought that Luther was being overdramatic but you thought otherwise, after all you were an accomplice. You knew where this was going, you can only hope they would go for the bait but, you highly doubt it knowing how they are not coordinated with one another. Though, there was a slim chance they would work together, it was slim but it was better than holding onto nothing.

Vanya's brows were knitted together in confusion. "I don't understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack."

"Yeah, according to the coroner." Spaceboy emphasizes 'the coroner' as though they weren't reliable. If anything, they were more reliable than the paparazzi.

"Well, wouldn't they know?"

"Theoretically."

"Theoretically?" Vanya repeated, not following through with where Luther was going with. To be fair, she was not alone, everyone was as confused as her.

"I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened. The last time that I talked to Dad, he sounded strange."

" Kudos to Mr. Hargreeves for tricking Luther into believing him. Though, I shouldn't be surprised considering how he becomes gullible when it comes to Mr. Monocle." You mused as you played with the ends of your hair, giving away to the others that you were deep in thought.

Diego will not say it but he's had his eye on you since this meeting has started. He didn't understand why you were taking everything to heart. You were never the type to be serious unless told to be. This 'meeting' wasn't even serious, it was all bullshit. Which made him think, what were you thinking?

"Oh, quelle surprise!" Klaus gurgled through his drink.

"Strange how?"

"He sounded on edge. Told me I should be careful who to trust." The dark blonde-haired male reasoned but no one was buying his words.

"Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles." The Kraken angrily retorted.

"No, He must have known something was going to happen." Luther turned his attention to Klaus "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad."

"I can't just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, 'Dad, could you just… stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?'. " The Seance exclaimed with jazz hands.

"Plus, I'm not in the right… frame of mind." The brown-haired male added.

"You're high?" Allison said in disbelief.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Klaus laughed as he confirmed her statement.

"I mean, how are you not? Listening to this nonsense?"

"Well, sober up, this is important." Luther ordered him, to which Klaus reluctantly sighed, knowing he didn't have much of a choice.

"Then there's the issue of the missing monocle." The ape hybrid added to his conspiracy. Even though it was silent, you could hear the others internally groaning as more words came out of his mouth.

"Y/N, while you were cleaning up Dad's room, was the monocle still there?"

"Last night I wasn't assigned to give him medicine, it was Mrs. Grace's turn. So I can't be too sure if he wore the monocle. Though the crime scene cleaners and investigators did let me know that they made sure to keep everything in the same spot." You reported, as your thinking pose shifted into your default one.

"Make sure to check the cameras around the time they were cleaning." He commanded, you bowed in return to confirm you will do as he says.

"Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?" Diego barked as he stood up, nearing Luther's figure.

This was only an assumption but you could tell that Diego was catching onto where Luther was going with. If a fight were to break out, you had to make sure to pin down Diego first before any damage could be done.

"Exactly," Spaceboy agreed then added. "It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Oh isn't it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad." Diego hissed followed by him glaring at the person who was supposed to lead the Umbrella Academy, instead of retorting back his’ brother’s accusation, Luther went silent.

"You do?!" Klaus exclaimed in disbelief.

"How could you think that?" Vanya questioned.

"Great job, Luther. Way to lead." The Kraken angrily stated as he started to walk away from Luther's shit show - his words not yours.

"That's not what I'm saying." The dark blond-haired male tried to explain but he was cut off.

"You're crazy, man. You're crazy. Crazy."

"I'm not finished!"

"Ok well, sorry, I'm just gonna go murder Mom, I'll be right back."

"That's not what Mr. Luther was saying." You tried to butt in only to be ignored.

"I didn't-" Luther sighed, finally reading into the idea that it was pointless to reason anymore.

"Allison," Luther called out "The Rumor" but she walked away from him. "Jeez…"

"That went well…" He muttered to himself, not realizing there was still another person left behind.

"Master Luther, might I suggest something regarding your endeavor to uncover this mysterious monocle thief?"

"Y/N I appreciate the help but, I think I need time for myself now…" Spaceboy breathed through his nose.

"I understand, I will let you be after this but, you have to keep in mind that whilst investigating you must broaden your scope, especially your list of suspects." You dropped a huge hint, just like the Monocle told you to do so.

"Au revoir." You said, leaving Number 1 by himself, like the lonely number he was.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

16 years ago is the day Umbrella Academy debuted. There's a robbery at Capital West Bank at Main and Sixth, this was Umbrella Academy's first mission so the numbers were dispatched to resolve the issue however, you and Vanya were exempted from it so you were both forced to stay by Mr. Reginald Hargreeves' side.

The eccentric billionaire brought out his small hand held telescope and pointed it to where the mission was taking place. From a distance, you could barely tell what was going on but, you weren't worried for them. The thieves can't compare to the umbrella academy's strength, so you knew you had nothing to worry about because they could handle themselves. However, someone else was bothered by the thought of being left out.

"Why can't I go play with the others?" The young violinist questioned, her eyes longingly staring at her family who were having 'fun' without her.

"We've been through this before, Number Seven," Mr. Hargreeves paused as he lowered his telescope. "I'm afraid there's just nothing special about you."

"Oh."

Silence reigned the atmosphere even after the Monocle left you both to your own devices. At the moment, he was being interviewed by the press. With plenty of time and privacy in your hands, you try to cheer up Vanya but she is still looking over at the others.

"Personally, I think your special Vanya. Mr. Monocle has kept you by his side for a long time now, despite having no powers, so there has to be a reason behind it." You tried comforting her.

Vanya exhaled as her gaze descended down to her feet. "He only keeps me by his side because he knows he can't throw me away."

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

The song 'I think we're alone now' played, Luther usually played that song whenever the Monocle left the house. As the song's lyrics went from one ear to another, you couldn't help but recall the days of the other numbers dancing to the song with their own dance moves that each expressed themselves as a person. The thought of it made you smile as you busied yourself helping Miss Grace around the house.

As you were smiling and humming to yourself the song that Luther played, your attention was suddenly taken away by the sound of thunder rumbling, followed by blue light flashing from the outside, and the sound of all the metal objects being thrown towards the wall. Just like everyone else, you went outside to check what was going on, only to find a blue ball of energy appearing in the middle of the backyard, accompanied by the wind howling in its presence.

"What is it?" The violinist questioned, increasing her volume a little so everyone could hear her.

"Don't get too close!" Allison said worried for both of your safety, with a hand on both you and Vanya's shoulder to stop you guys from doing anything stupid.

"Yeah, no shit." The Kraken shot back.

"Looks like some sort of temporal anomaly." Luther paused as he tried to analyze it again then added. "Either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two."

"Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan."

"Out of the way!" Klaus shoved the bigger man with a fire extinguisher in hand.

"What are you-"

The seance sprayed the fire extinguisher towards the strange blue ball but, his attempt didn't work so he decided to throw it towards the hole thinking it would work yet, nothing happened.

"What is that gonna do?" The rumor gave her brother - the rarely sober one - a questioning look.

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know! Do you have a better idea?"

Electricity around the blue ball crackled as the wind howling became stronger, as an image of a person in the blue ball became more visible. It seemed like the person was attempting to cross through the portal, which alarmed Luther and Diego.

"Who, whoa, whoa. Everyone, get behind me." The ape hybrid man stepped up and used his larger frame as a shield for everyone.

"Yeah, get behind us." Diego added as his smaller but well built frame shield you and Klaus.

"Well, I vote for running, c'mon!" The lanky man shouted trying to drag you back into the house but you stood your ground and swatted his hand away.

Everyone is rooted to the ground, their eyes staring right at the portal. As the mysterious person started to become younger and smaller - though you felt like your eyes were deceiving you - then said person fell out. As the portal faded, everyone began to approach the person that came from the portal. The young brown haired male gathered his footing, his clothes larger than his frame, his mere presence left everyone flabbergasted.

"Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is that just me?" Klaus asked out loud.

Klaus' question prompted Five to look down and realize he was back to his 15nth year old self, "Shit."

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

At the moment, everyone was trying to process the bizarre specimen before them. Said specimen was not doing anything weird, if anything Five was just prepping his ingredients and materials to make marshmallow sandwiches. Though the others were staring at him as though he was an apparition that the seance had successfully resurrected in one go.

The younger male could feel their inquisitive stares, instead he chose to sigh and raise a question. "What's the date? The exact date."

"The 24th," The petite woman replied, her confusion still apparent on her facial features.

"Of what?"

"March."

"Good." He said and continued on like nothing happened.

Everyone stared at the younger male as though he was out of place. Truth be told, he is out of place among them but from an outside perspective he would easily be deemed as the younger brother. Whilst you, on the other hand, had stopped functioning. You refused to believe that Mr. Hargreeves knew that Five would return the moment he would die.

"So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther asked yet he was ignored by the boy silently making his marshmallow sandwiches.

Noticing his “younger” brother’s neglect, the larger male abruptly stands up. "It's been 16 years."

Five scoffed at the other male's statement, then teleported to the shelf behind Luther. "It's been a lot longer than that."

"I haven't missed that." Spaceboy murmured though you couldn’t tell if he was referring to Five’s attitude or how he loosely uses his powers.

"Where'd you go?" Diego questioned.

"The future. It's shit, by the way." The younger male teleported back to the table once he got what he was looking for.

"Called it!" Klaus exclaimed happily.

"I should've listened to the old man," Five grumbled as he teleported to the fridge and opened it. "You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice."

The brown-haired male blinked back to the table and paused, then examined Klaus' outfit. "Nice dress."

"Oh, well, danke !" The seance accepted his - physically - younger brother's compliment.

"Wait, how did you get back?" The violinist inquired.

"In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time." Five explained but his answer left them with more questions and more confusion.

"That makes no sense." Diego replied, which he will grow to regret later.

"Well, it would if you were smarter." The younger male retorted. To which the kraken took offense, as he abruptly stood up and tried to tackle Five but Luther blocked him with his arm.

"If you are that desperate to understand, ask someone to translate it for you in simpler terms. If you want to ask who could possibly condense it down to your level of intelligence then, I suggest you ask the other 15 year old in the room." The younger brown-haired male sarcastically recommended as he side glanced at you.

Everyone followed his gaze which resulted in everyone's attention on you, which made you freeze up, not expecting to be acknowledged out of the blue. "Well… From what I understood, Master Five miscalculated during his time travel, because of the miscalculation he was only able to project his consciousness and not his physical form at the time. And, since his physical form didn't develop during this period, he was forced to manifest in his 15 year old body. Am I correct Master Five?"

"Close enough." Five confirmed though there was a slight error in your explanation but he does not want to go into tangent about it because he knew that it would be pointless and he would start deviating from the main topic.

"How long were you there?" Luther asked.

"31 years, Give or take."

Simultaneously, Diego and Luther sat down. You raised a brow at this, complemented with an amused look on your face. Although neither would admit it, they both shared the same brain cell most of the time and it was hilarious.

"What are you saying? That you're 46?" The ape hybrid inquired, his tone giving away his disbelief.

"No, my consciousness is 46. Apparently, my body is now 15 again." The younger male corrected the larger male.

"Wait, how does that even work?" Vanya raised one of her brows yet she was ignored.

"Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh." Five looks out the window, his back facing his siblings as he eats the sandwich, then he faces his siblings. "Bet she's laughing now."

"Delores?" The violinist's question was ignored once again as his gaze was fixated on the newspaper.

"Guess I missed the funeral."

"How'd you know about that?" The ape hybrid man asked.

Five rolled his eyes at Spaceboy's question. "What part of the future do you not understand?"

The younger male read the paper's headline then asked. "Heart failure, huh?"

"Yeah."

"No."

Five clicked his tongue. "Nice to see nothing's changed."

"Uh, that's it? That's all you have to say?" Allison grunted, confused by his stunt.

"What else is there to say? The circle of life." The boy commented as he left, just like how he left to get milk 16 years ago.

"Well… That was interesting." Luther stated as silence settled among them.

Once the abrupt family reunion ended, everyone left the kitchen to prepare themselves for the funeral. On the other hand, the servants of the Hargreeves household were busy tending to their tasks while helping the others. As you finished your chores, Pogo did not hesitate to switch shifts with you in monitoring the CCTVs, though as you were monitoring it. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of Five, his mere existence boggled you. It didn’t help that you kept replaying what Mr. Hargreeves said to you.

"I know he will come back but, you are free to call my statement a hunch if it helps you sleep at night." It still felt unnerving that he knew and it even felt more unnerving seeing the real deal before your eyes.

Although you were in a dazed state, your mind didn’t completely block out the noise from the physical world. When you heard pitter-patter hitting the window, you shifted your gaze to the outside and noticed the change of weather. People say that whenever the sky darkens and the rain occurs at a funeral, it means the angels are mourning because one of God’s children died. While others say it’s both an inconvinience and a coincidence. Truth be told, the rain did fit the atmosphere for mourning, though the children of the Monocle would say otherwise.

As you were monitoring the CCTVs, Pogo called over everyone to prepare themselves for the funeral. In spite of the rain, you all still went along with the funeral. Everyone brought an umbrella with them, except Luther and Diego. The atmosphere was serious but someone disrupted the mourning.

"Did something happen?" The robot asked with a smile which caught Everyone’s stares.

"Dad died. Remember?" Allison reminded her.

Grace’s smile faltered at the statement. "Oh. Yes, of course."

"Is mom okay?” The Rumor asked concerningly.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. She just needs to rest. You know, recharge.” Diego reassured them, the others doubted his words but went along with it anyway.

"Whenever you are ready dear boy." Pogo signaled. To which, Luther stared at the vase and took a few steps before opening the lid, instead of gracefully dancing with the wind, the ashes of the old man fell out.

"Probably would have been better with some wind." The larger man remarked.

"Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo brought up but everyone went silent.

"Very well," Pogo adjusts "In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master… and my friend, and I shall miss him very much. He leaves behind a complicated legacy-"

"He was a monster." Diego interrupted, despite the horror that was ridden in the other’s faces, Klaus was laughing as more words came out of his brother’s mouth. "He was a bad person and a worse father. The world's better off without him,"

"Diego." Allison called out.

"My name is Number Two." He corrected her then added. "You know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had mom do it."

"Would anyone like something to eat?" Grace interrupted once again.

"Ms. Grace, that won't be necessary." You shut her down.

"Oh, okay."

"Look, you wanna pay respects?" Diego spits on the dust then gestured at it as he spoke. "Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was."

"You should stop talking now." Luther warned Number Two as he took small steps towards the smaller male.

Diego shifted his gaze towards Luther. "You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One."

"I am warning you."

"After everything he did to you?" Diego slowly walked towards Spaceboy.

"He had to ship you a million miles away-" The latino went right up at his face and glared at the larger male.

"Diego, stop talking."

"-That's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you!" Diego harshly pointed his finger towards Luther's chest.

Luther grabbed Diego's hand then performed a right hook to go for Diego’s head but he dodged it, followed by a left hook to which Diego swiftly dodged as well. Both numbers grunted with each fist they threw and dodged.

"Boys, stop this at once!" The advanced chimpanzees' words fell into deaf ears as both males went on with their fist fight. You were about to intervene but, Five grabbed your wrist.

"Their grown men, not children, let them handle this on their own." Five advised you. You knew it was not a direct order but, his words made you hesitant. Against your will, you stayed by his side.

Luther slammed his arm onto Diego which caused him to stagger back but, he managed to tank it and wore a smug look. The latino then taunted the larger man, "Come on, Big boy."

Luther jabbed but missed, Diego punched him in the gut, as Spaceboy was hunched back Diego drummed the larger man's back.

"Stop it!" The violinist screamed yet no one heed her words.

"Hit him! Hit him!" Klaus egged on.

Luther did a left hook but Diego countered it. Seeing that no one was going to listen to Pogo, he sighed and scoffed as he leaves the children by themselves.

Number One grabbed Diego's collar and threw him near Ben's statue. When the latino was on his knees, Luther tried to punch him but, Diego kneed his stomach. The clad in black tried to kick Luther again but Luther pushed him. Before he could apply more force, Diego turned the tables.

"Get off me!" Diego shouted.

Luther tried to slam his arm but, Diego was quick to dodge with a complimentary punch. Both were now panting and staggering, barely on their feet. Everyone’s eyes were on the fight but you had your eyes on Diego’s distance. He was dangerously near Ben's statue.

"I don't have time for this." Five muttered then return inside.

"Come here, big boy!" Diego taunted once again.

Luther ran towards him and sent a punch towards his direction but due to Luther being slow, Diego was able to dodge it. Ben's statue instead became the victim of Luther's wrath.

"Oh…" Klaus’ face shifted to shock as he witnessed Ben’s downfall… twice if you count the statue as Ben’s replacement.

"And there goes Ben's statue." Allison said under her breath then begins to walk away from the fight.

Out of nowhere, Diego brought out one of his knives.

"Diego, no!" You and Vanya shouted in unison.

Before you could run and tackle the Kraken, he already threw the knife toward Luther’s direction. Luckily, Luther's arm only got scraped. Even though you failed to protect him, you quickly rushed to his side as he frantically pants. He hurriedly covered up the wound and retreated to the house, to which you followed.

Once you were finished with helping Luther, you were quick to go downstairs and check on Five. You already lost him once, you don’t want to lose him under your guard again. On your way there, you passed by Allison who seemed relieved seeing you.

"How's Luther?" She asked, concern evident in her eyes.

"Master Luther's fine, luckily the wound was not deep and it merely grazed him. Though, I hope that next time he does not easily get reeled in by Diego's taunting." You said wishfully even though you were aware that was not bound to happen considering their track record over the years.

"I doubt that. After all, boys will be boys." The rumor’s statement made you smile since there was some truth to it. Although you all had been apart for years, the others didn’t change, they were still the same people you grew up with. Hopefully nothing could change that.

As both of you arrive at the kitchen, you guys witness that Five is looking for something, whilst Klaus was on the table loitering and doing his own thing. You didn’t think much about the number of people until Allison raised a question "Where's Vanya?"

"Oh, she's gone." Klaus replied.

Out of instinct, you were about to go and leave the kitchen to look for the violinist but then, you remembered your original objective and stayed in the kitchen instead and just mentally said sorry to Vanya.

"That's unfortunate." Five said as he slammed the refrigerator closed.

"Yeah." Allison was taken aback by Five’s statement, especially knowing the type of person he usually puts up front, until he added on. "An entire square block. 42 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms but no, not a single drop of coffee."

"Mr. Hargreeves hated caffeine." You reminded him but he glared at you to silence you, which worked.

"Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us." Klaus remarked with a laugh.

"I'm taking the car." The younger male was about to blink to where the cars were parked until you interrupted him. "Master Five, where are you going?"

"To get a decent cup of coffee." He hissed at you with venom.

Truth be told, you didn’t understand why he would need to go outside, he could have just asked you to buy coffee for him or you make one for him instead. Though you supposed that would take longer than he would like, and knowing his patience and unspoken dislike of you, he would not appreciate the time you took.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Allison questioned which only caused his furrow brows to become more prominent.

"I know how to do everything."

As Five was about to teleport away, you grabbed him by the wrist before he could blink away.

"May I come with you?"

"I'm 46 years old, I don't need a babysitter." He hissed, clearly hating the idea of being babysat by you.

"Master Five, I'm not coming with you to babysit you, I'm coming with you because I need to monitor you in case you are feeling the side effects of time travel." You tried to reason, though you admit that reasoning was rather flimsy.

"That's the same thing as babysitting but as a shitty excuse!"

You sighed, thinking you failed but, as you were about to let go of his wrist, he grabbed yours instead. His lips near your ear, as he carefully whispered "I'm only letting you come with so someone can catch me up-to-date."

His voice and the distance between both of your bodies made the gears in your head pause, followed by embarrassment flushing your face. Before you could even respond, Five randomly teleported you both to the garage. For a moment, your mouth was left ajar but, you were able to register the boy's silent gesture to enter the car, to which you followed.

Throughout the whole ride, it was silent until Five spoke, "Did you want out of that shit hole so bad that you were willing to go out with me?"

"No, Mr. Hargreeves wanted me to monitor you once you returned." You lied well it was a half lie but, it was true you wanted to monitor him and something about him was bothering you.

"Even on his deathbed you can't even catch a break. Though, I should expect that from you." The boy huffed passive aggressively, which made you feel awful, why did he hate you so much?

"Before his death, did he ever say anything? Like wanting to reassemble the Umbrella Academy?" The boy in school shorts asked promptly, to which you found yourself hurriedly creating a lie.

"The Monocle did say he had plans on reassembling the academy but he never got to do so..."

From then on, the whole car ride was silent as you guys arrived in front of a donut shop named "Griddy's Doughnut". It was rather retro looking - at least based on what you have heard from books - despite it being past the 2010s, they didn't renovate the building into a more modern look. Which you found yourself questioning if they were short on budget or not…

You walked behind Five as a precautionary measure then entered the building. As the counter came to view, the physically younger male approached it then, rang the bell twice, you both sat down silently as a another customer entered the building. The man took in a deep breath as he took a seat. Once the sound of the bell ringing finally alerted the waitress, the sound of clattering ceramics were cut short followed by her entering the counter.

Waitress chuckled as she wiped her hands clean, "Sorry, the sink was clogged."

You awkwardly smiled at her, silently understanding her pain. Then she took out her notepad and pen from her apron. "So, what'll it be?"

"Uh, give me a chocolate éclair."

"Mm-hmm. Sure."

"Can I get the kids a glass of milk or something?" She said with a smile which made you internally cringe for her, you felt like you already knew what was going to come out from Five's mouth.

Five scoffs then says, "This kid wants coffee. Black."

That was surprisingly milder than you expected but, you were relieved that the donut lady was spared from Five's mouth.

Waitress paused, her mouth agape but quickly tightened as she then turns to the man beside Five, "Cute kid." She chuckled.

In turn, Five forced a smile which only worsened the uneasiness you and the donut lady felt. To divert her attention, You coughed and smiled at her. "I'll just have a glass of water."

"Okay." Her body language more at eased with you, the waitress then began to prep for your orders.

Five sighs, "Don't remember this place being such a shit hole. I used to come here as a kid, used to sneak out with my siblings and eat donuts till we puked."

Your eyes widen at his admission, they snuck out without you? Even Vanya? Were you that untrustworthy that they had to hide it from you?

"Simpler times, huh?" Five mused.

"Eh." The older man looked puzzled but, played along, "I suppose."

Waitress cleared her throat as she placed everyone's orders in front of us, "Here."

Five nudged you with his elbow and motioned for you to pay the bill. You pat your skirt's pockets to look for your wallet but, the other man interrupts your search.

"I got theirs."

"Thank you sir." You thanked him with a small smile, to which he returned.

As you took small sips, everyone did their own thing. Your eyes busy wandering about the building, looking for something that would be useful in a certain scenario, like how the broom could be used as a substitute for a wooden staff, a plate as a distraction, and a butterknife for stabbing.

Five glanced at the other customer's vest then strikes up a conversation with him. "You must know your way around the city."

"I hope so, I've been driving for 20 years."

"Good, I need an address."

Five asks for an address for the place he is looking for and the man jots it down on a napkin then leaves once he's finished. The boy then carefully folds the napkin and stuffs it in his blazer's one of many hidden pockets.

As the brown haired boy was about to drink his coffee, he heard the door swing open then notices the reflection of the newcomer - rather newcomers - from the bell, all of them were wearing combat gear which meant one thing...

"Hmm. That was fast."

You glanced at him, confused by what was happening and how Five knew these people.

"I thought I'd have more time before they found me." His answer did not suffice your curiosity.

"Okay. So, let's all be professional about this, yeah?" One of the masked men proposed but the boy beside you had other plans.

Five placed a hand on your thigh then began to do Morse code of 'SOS' to notify you are both in danger. At first you were in high alert, ready to take out your retractable staff but, the boy followed up his secret message with 'I can handle it'. You were not at ease by his answer, not one bit.

"On your feet and come with us. They want to talk." The leader of the masked men demanded as he used his firearm to gesture for Five to go down on his knees.

"I've got nothing to say." Five said so breezily and arrogance which bothered you even more, is this how he handles live hostages?

"It doesn't have to go this way. You think I want to shoot a kid? Go home with that on my conscience?"

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that…" Five turns to the person who had his firearm pointed towards Five's head. "You won't be going home."

Five retreats his hand from your thigh then grabs a butterknife and teleports behind the group leader and stabbed his neck. Then he quickly disappears, while they were distracted by their dead comrade, he reappeared by your side and teleported you behind the counter. Against your will, you peeked and watched him do his work.

He blinked then reappeared on top of a counter, with a very relaxed pose with a smug look on his face. "Hey, assholes!"

You did not like the fact that he looked like he was enjoying this.

The gunmen were shooting at where the voice came from but, he disappeared, leaving the men to shoot up the place and leave it in ruins. The boy in school shorts reappeared at the front door then knocks on it to get their attention, as they ready their firearms to shoot at him. He mockingly salutes then vanishes once again.

You didn't want to be useless so you took a nearby mop and broke it then, stabbed one of the gunmen using the broken half. Before one of the nearest attacker could shoot a bullet through your skull, Five quickly untied his necktie then choked him.

As he was busy, you threw a plate towards a thug's head to distract him and the others. Whilst Five grabbed a pencil then stabbed one of the gunmen that was about to try and tower his smaller figure.

The last two thugs were about to charge their guns at you but, Five ran to your side and blinked away with you in his arms, as the idiots shot themselves. As silence finally settled in, he reappeared to the masked man he was choking earlier and retrieved his necktie.

As you were examining the donut shop, you noticed one of the gunmen is still alive so you approached him then snapped his neck to end his misery. As you left his side, he noticed that one of the men after him dropped a tracking device, which explained how they found him so quickly.

The brown haired boy asked you to use one of the assassin's knife to cut open his arm and dig into his arm to remove the tracking device. Once you were both done, you guys left the building and dropped the tracking device in a nearby puddle then left as if nothing happened.

Five and you made your way to Vanya's apartment, well it was mostly you leading the way since you were the one who memorized the way there. Instead of loitering outside Vanya's apartment like a normal person, Five had other ideas. Without a word he grabbed your wrist and teleported you guys into the violinist's apartment.

Suddenly, the door clicked and the doorknob turned, which Five took as his cue to turn on the light, which made Vanya jump on her heels. Although you knew it was not an appropriate time, you smiled and waved at Vanya nonetheless. You were just glad she came home safe.

"Jesus!" She jumped, a hand on where her heart is supposed to be.

"You should have locks on your windows." Five suggested.

"I live on the second floor."

"Rapists can climb."

You tried to stop yourself from chuckling at his statement, knowing it was a serious conversation and He probably would not appreciate your response.

"You are so weird." The petite girl mumbled as she sat beside you then, began checking on both of you guys. Based on how her eyes widened, you could tell she noticed there were some specks of blood on both of your clothes.

"What happened?" Vanya's worry evident on her facial features.

"It's nothing." Five dismissed but the violinist's lingering gaze never left the specks of blood on his collar.

"Why are you both here?" Vanya asserted.

"I've decided you two are the only ones I can trust." Both girls in the room raised their brows at Five, this type of situation was rare and rather odd.

"Why me?"

"Because you're ordinary."

You glared at Five and stepped on his foot, to which he rolled his eyes at. He forgot you were very protective of Vanya.

"Because you'll listen." He corrected himself though the petite girl had his doubts.

"Miss Vanya, is it alright if we use your first aid kit? We weren't able to pass by a pharmacy on the way here and I'd like to disinfect and treat Master Five's cut." You asked and she went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit then gave it to you. As the servant, you did your task like always, which is to aid with the numbers wounds.

"When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future. Do you know what I found?" The brown haired boy asked.

"No."

"Nothing… Absolutely nothing."

You paused from tending with his wounds and checked if he was telling the truth, he was dead serious.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

The world lay in ruins, a wasteland of rubble and debris. What was once bustling cities and towns were now piles of twisted metal and broken concrete. The streets were empty, save for the occasional scavenger picking through the remains of what was once a home or a business. The air was thick with dust and smoke, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. It was a world of silence, save for the occasional sound of rubble shifting or the distant echoes of a once-great civilization now reduced to rubble and fire.

Five stood amongst the rubble devastated by what the future had become. It was now a world of despair, a place where hope had been lost and the future was uncertain.

"As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive."

Five walked then found a newspaper and read the title.

"I never figured out what killed the human race, but… I did find something else."

"The date it happens."

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

"The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it." He said, his words were soft but it was enough to cause your heart to tremble in fear. Both you and Vanya had shocked engraved onto your faces, still processing what you guys heard.

Knowing this sounded like it was going to be a long night, you turned to the girl next to you and asked, "Miss Vanya if it's alright, may I put on a pot of coffee?"

Vanya nodded wordlessly, as she agreed this was going to be a long night for everyone else.

➢ Taglist : @kumioon @buuhsworld @incapableofanything @igotanidea

[thearchmanofgreenfield]

Victoria Montgomery: The Steel Queen and the War of the Coin

a They Who Hide Under Top Hats story

History

After the defeat of the Woodland Folk by St George Montgomery and St Amia Bargandowan at the Last Battle of Folk the House of Montgomery established themselves as the heads of a new dawn in the history of Hatlynshire. George and Amia would consolidate the power of the title of the Grand Prince and centralize the government of Hatlynshire. They would go on to have one son named Thomas. After the death of George Montgomery in the year 32 AF. Thomas Montgomery would inherit the title of Grand Prince of Hatlynshire.

Thomas, with the advice of his adopted aunt St Annalise, would go on to lay the foundation of what would later become the Order of Man in order to deal with the remnants of the Woodland Folk living amongst the humans. He did this by founding a secret order of hidden soldiers working under direct order of the Grand Prince. Thomas himself would have a son named Claude Montgomery. Thomas would later fall ill due to stress caused by the increasing political tension in Hatlynshire which had occurred due to the populous demanding an end to the old system of government under the Grand Prince.

Thomas would die of illness near the end of the year 47 AF at the age of 53. Claude would succeed him but the increased political turmoil coupled with the death of his father would cause him to undergo a state of severe depression and alcoholism. After an assassination attempt held, against him and his family in the year 50 AF he would eventually concede and pass reforms limiting the powers and privileges of the Grand Prince and expanding branches of the government giving more power to the people. He especially gave power to the noble families of Great Borough, who formed the Chamber of the Governing Commission that had final say over new decrees brought forth by the GP. It was during his reign that private industrial sectors of Halynshire, which had started off as a small movement in rural Hatlynshire started as a result of the demand for a new system, began to expand rapidly. This only worsened the situation politically.

Finally, after nearly nine years as Grand Prince, Claude Montgomery would succumb to his weakened mental state and end his life on the year 56 AF at the age of 36 by hanging himself from his office. He died months before the birth of his son, Carlton Montgomery. 

Early Years

Victoria Montgomery was recorded to have been born on the seventeenth Day of the year of 47 AF in Jacob’s Manor, Great Borough. The first child of Claude Montgomery and Alissa Cristenwall. She was born mere months before the death her grandfather Thomas which would send her father into state of misery. She would also fall victim to the Montgomery Assassination Attempt of 50 AF when she was only three years old. She would survive the incident in which the Montgomery family would be ambushed by a mob of men armed with swords and knives whilst out in public.

The death of her father would occur when she was nine. Moreover, it was followed shortly by the birth of her brother. After the death of Claude, Lady Alissa Cristenwall would become Grand Princess-Regent in her son’s name. The political turmoil of Claude’s reign would continue, during which time the House of Montgomery would lose more and more of its influence. Lady Alissa’s reign was unpopular as many saw her as an outsider to the family. Her attempts at maintaining power by undermining the rising influence of the fledgling industrial elite were met with harsh criticism and disdain. To regain popularity, she would also revitalize the Hunt for the last living descendants of the Woodland Folk. An endeavor many viewed as a frivolous as it was believed that the Folk were eradicated decades prior. In the end, to prevent all out revolution, Alissa placated the people by passing reforms that took more power away from the Montgomery Family.

Finally, after twelve years of rule in the year 67 AF. A combination of political leverage by the wealthy industrialists and the nobles, some government advising and a rumored Folk conspiracy led to Lady Alissa voluntarily abdicating her position has regent. In her place was installed the then 20 year old Victoria Montgomery, who many saw as a legitimate heir and a youthful forward thinker (though some argue that they favored her more as a puppet ruler).

Reign

The Chamber of the Governing Comission (The CGC)

Upon ascending to the title of Grand Princess-Regent. Victoria would first begin by looking towards the growing private industry of Hatlynshire, which was slowly encompassing more and more of the Hatlynshire economy. New Boroughs formed due to the urbanization of rural areas outside Old Hatlynshire such as Bernstein Borough and Hatles Borough had been founded under the new industrial era. Thus, this created a rift between the new elites and the old noble families in Great Borough. Her predecessors had usually aligned themselves with the old nobles who held authority over the nine districts of Great Borough. But as time had gone on even those Nobles had used their wealth to engage in business ventures slowly accumulating wealth which further weakened the old system.

It was clear to Victoria that change had to be made; by that point, the title of Grand Prince was only a few steps away from becoming a figurehead. Her first reported action upon ascension was the complete reorganization of Great Borough. This included the removal of all remaining noble families from positions of administration. Her reasoning for this was the argument that their increasing pivot towards the New Industrialist Movement had made them biased, corrupt and unreliable. The nobles, who had initially supported her ascension, rose up in opposition, demanding Victoria’s abdication. Her response to this upheaval was to make a public announcement atop the steps of City Hall under the statue of George Montgomery a few days later. Announcing her actions to the public. A speech that would later be known as ‘The Monument Address’.

“…On this great day I make this address to you, my dear people! On this great day, atop these great stairs, in front of this mighty hall at the foot of my great-grandfather’s monument do I now make my vow to you! For as your leader I shall smite down those who sow the seeds in our unity, those who seek to gain from our weakness and those who seek to use their power to wreak malice and injustice upon our people!...”

-Excerpt of Victoria’s Address, The Legacy of the House of the St George.

Her address would successfully rally the people, with some people claiming that her words rang like the legendary battle cries of St George himself. With that, she was successfully able to force the Nobles to relinquish their power. And in their place she established a system of elections for each district of Great Borough. Though it has been cited that her popular influence often swayed these elections to whichever candidate she favored most.

The Industrialists and the War of the Coin

After replacing the Noble families with loyal associates, thus having the Chamber of the Governing Commission in her favor, by 69 AF she turned her attention to the New Industrial Movement. Particularly to the new Boroughs, which had become urban territories that existed outside the government’s direct control yet still functioned under government law, a system the Industrialists and the general populous wished to continue. It was around this time that rumors began circulating of a possible exodus of allegedly Folk-descended people from Great Borough to the new territories. Fears began to arise of the potential eclipsing of government power by the sheer economic might of the Industrialists.

To quell this growing threat Victoria first attempted to reinforce he her mother’s anti-industrialist laws, which increased taxes and government intervention in the Outer Boroughs. But doing so made her lose favor with the Industrialists and as an act of revolt the outer Boroughs ceased all trade with Great Borough and City Hall. This created a threat of famine and a deficit of goods, something which led to mass public outrage. Yet Victoria did not back down, challenging the Industrialists to a war of attrition. And thus began ‘The Years of Hunger’, a period of four years in which Great Borough received no supplies from the outer territories, leaving most citizens to rely on illegal smuggling of goods. During which Mr. Corsman Gaft, the unofficial leader of the Industrialists was quoted as saying:

“The poor denizens of Great Borough have suffered close to half a decade of suffering. All so their princess can make her message clear,”

 This period culminated in yet another assassination attempt against Victoria in the year 73 AF, orchestrated by angry citizens supported by various anti-government groups. Victoria yet again survived the assassination and she would eventually repeal her anti-government laws ending their 4-year standoff.

However, in light of this defeat, despite her reputation being tarnished, Victoria did not step down. She then decided that in order to overcome the Industrialists she must undermine their economic power. Hence she would spend the next year formulating a great project. A project unveiled in 75 AF. This project, known as the Great Enterprise, was focused around building government funded business to directly compete with the Industrialists. When news of this plan reached the leaders of the outer industrialist movement, they once again threatened to stop trading with Great Borough.  Shortly after this declaration, unnamed assailants would murder Corsman Gaft outside his home by stabbing him to death. The death of Gaft was considered by many as the point in which Victoria Montgomery started resorting to less ethical ways of dealing with her enemies. Shortly after Gaft’s death, his close friend Bartholomew Darland, who controlled most of the roads leading to Great Borough, was arrested by Great Borough authorities and charged with treason. He too would die mysteriously whilst in prison.

The deaths of key members of the industrialist movement led the remaining members to fear for their own lives. They would eventually agree to keep trading with Great Borough despite Victoria’s clear plans to undermine them in the future. Her alleged illegal methods led many in the Outer Territories to call her ‘Victoria the Demented’. But such pad publicity was minor hindrance.

As per her plans to enact the Great Enterprise, the government began to buyout businesses in Great Borough and convert them to state owned firms. But while these newly formed entities were officially funded by City Hall, it is also alleged that many of these firms were funded and owned solely by Victoria herself and some of her allies. All the new companies formed in under one year and within the next two years, they were competing directly with the industrialists. Their decreased taxes and increased subsidies led them to expand rapidly. But in response the industrialists enacted a series of espionage attempts which included murder, bribery and arson. Victoria herself would engage in similar actions against the Industrialists, a conflict that would last for nearly a decade and would be dubbed ‘The War of the Coin’.

This war would eventually end in early 88 AF. When Victoria made a move that would guarantee the victory of the Great Borough companies over the Outer Borough companies. With the help of Bernard M. Sorah, a banker and an elected member of the CGC, Victoria would replace the currency of Hatlynshire, Beauro, with a new currency named Sorasy (named after Bernard Sorah himself). She would then make the trade of the old currency punishable by imprisonment and offer the new currency at only one location for over a year after its implementation, the Bank of Great Borough with special funds granted to the industrialists who had allied with the government over the past decade. The immediate devaluing of their reserves and the inability to obtain the new currency made the economy of the Outer Territories crumble. It is recorded that all throughout the years 88 and 89 AF hundreds of merchants and traders were imprisoned for trading with false currency. By the middle of the year 89 AF the majority of Outer Borough companies had gone under, something which plunged them into a deep recession. Finally, the remnants of the movement accepted defeat at the hands of the government with it even being recorded that Mr. Milton Henricks, the last ‘head’ of the movement, knelt before Victoria when invited to Great Borough for the discussion of compromise in the winter of 89 AF. Not wanting to see Hatlynshire fall further into economic hardship Victoria and the Industrialists came to an accord. It gave greater economic freedom as well as official government recognition to the Outer Boroughs in exchange for anti-industrialist policies that would make is so that never again would corporate might exceed or threaten the power of the government and the Great Borough Companies. This agreement, named The Treaty of the Enterprises, would end the War of the Coin and Victoria’s implementation of the Great Enterprise would earn her the nicknamed, the Steel Queen.

“…I have conquered the great beast who had so proudly loomed over us for more than half a century. And now its severed head lays beneath my feet…”

- Victoria’s speech, conducted during spring 90 AF.

She would later pass reforms taking taxation off the hands of the CGC and forming a new Bureau of Taxation and Commerce. A department in which Bernard Sorah would serve as its first ever Head Treasurer.

NOTES: Should I do a follow up to this? Cause I really want to explore Victoria's other exploits and her relationship with her brother. But yeah, her and this whole story is just something i thought of in my spare time. Then I started writing it and I REALLY got into it.

As for the image? Well I didnt pull a whole lot of effort into it cause it was meant to be a header image for this one post. The background ended up being real rough but I'm not too mad about it.

And here's some extra trivia, the reason the overall fashion looks different is since this is so early in the AF timeline i decided to use older fashion trends, mostly just the 1600s-1700s. This makes it feel distinct from TWHUTH which has a more 1880-1920 feel.

Anyways, what did you guys think? Please feel free to let me know! Cheerio! :D

They Who Hide Under Top Hats (TWHUTH)- on tumblr

The 'They Who Hide Under Top Hats' Community- on tumblr (invite)

tagline for community members: @harleyacoincidence, @autism-purgatory, @rivenantiqnerd, @sm-writes-chaos, @hellothere2009, , @shin-soumisa

[mutodaes]

Introducing: Rhyvet! Rhyvet is 26 year old ex-scholar who has a tumultuous history with the Royal Ausvardian Court. More under the read more!

Rhyvet by and large is a fairly awkward and abrasive person. He wasn't the most socialized child, being adopted by a stand-offish village who found his odd appearance to be a bad omen of some sort (yet not bad enough to toss away a child). It wasn't until a local boy had drowned that Rhyvet was finally sent away to join an Ausvardian military recruitment caravan. During the groups travel back to the capital, Rhyvet gained some basic combat training, as well as showing promising potential as a strategist and scholar. Once shown to the academy's admissions office, Rhyvet gained a place amongst the studying elite and eventually became an attendant to the Godking himself. There were several reasons he climbed the social ladder so quickly; He had an uncanny ability to read people's intentions and movements, as well as a body that matched no singular species endemic to the land. As much as Rhyvet believed he had earned his place, it mostly boiled down to the royal court wanting to keep a close eye on someone they deemed "unnatural".

[chrisbitchtree]

Enchanted to Meet You

Lokius - 2.6k - T

***

Loki knows he’s not meant to be a part of a loving family. If there was anything that growing up with Odin as his adoptive father showed him, it was that he never had been, and never would be. It was hard to understand as a child why nothing he ever did made him good enough for Odin, good enough for him to sing Loki’s praises as he constantly did Thor’s.

So, it was with that in mind that Loki built a life for himself that safeguarded against making any meaningful connections. He worked for his father’s finance company, in a role that took him all over the country. A week in Florida, two nights in Wisconsin, down to Mississippi for a week and a half. With his schedule the way it was, he never had to worry about difficult goodbyes, because even if he wanted to stick around, he couldn’t.

If he couldn’t stick around, he couldn’t get attached, couldn’t fall in love, couldn’t get his heart broken after wrapping it up and handing it to someone like the precious gift that it was, and he wouldn’t have to worry about breaking anyone’s heart himself.

If anyone asks Loki about his lack of meaningful friendships, or the fact that he’s never dated anyone long enough to even say they were in a relationship, he tells them carefully crafted tales about being a commitment-phobe who chose this for himself, but deep down, Loki knows he wants more.

He wants to have birthdays to buy presents for, wants pictures and postcards to hang on his fridge. He wants to be invited to holiday parties, wants people to buy souvenirs for on his work trips, wants to share a good bottle of wine or an ice cream sundae. He wants people to dote on and love and have love him in return.

***

His latest trip to Houston starts out the same as usual. He arrives just before work starts for the day, so he goes straight to the office, puts in a full day, then heads over to the hotel to check in and freshen up before going out to his favourite wine bar. He’s been looking forward to it all day, as they have an excellent cheese plate and a terrific cabernet, but when he arrives, he finds it closed due to a water main break. Fuck.

Frowning, he considers his options. He could go back to his hotel and order dinner at the restaurant in the lobby, but that’s a ways away, and his grumbling stomach reminds him that he hasn’t eaten anything since the smoothie he had for breakfast this morning.

He’s about to pull out his phone and see if he can find anywhere else suitable in close proximity when out of the corner of his eye, he notices the blinking neon sign for what is apparently “Frank’s Roadhouse Bar and Grill” across the street. It is as far from Loki’s kind of place as you could possibly get, but he needs food now, so with a deep sigh, he quickly jogs across the street and into the low brick building.

***

Stepping inside, Loki surveys the space, and is pleased to see that it’s not too crowded. A couple patrons and the bartender look up as he enters, but he mostly goes unnoticed. He takes a seat at the bar and picks up a greasy, laminated menu. After much consideration of his limited options for things that aren’t completely soaked in grease, he settles on a burger and chef’s salad. He’ll just have to make sure he goes to the hotel gym before heading into the office in the morning so he can work the burger off.

Food order settled, he flips over to the pages listing the drink options and notices that there’s only one white and one red wine listed amongst all the beers and cocktails. This has to be a mistake. “Excuse me, bartender, can I please see your wine list?”

The bartender sets down the glass she’s polishing with an amused laugh and leans over to look at the menu. She points to the two wines, the house red, and the house white. “You’re looking at it. Which one would you like?”

Good god, this night can’t get any worse. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he replies “I’ll take a glass of red, with a burger, medium rare, no cheese or…” he glances at the menu again “special sauce, extra pickles, and a chef’s salad, dressing on the side.”

“Coming right up,” she says, writing down his order and slipping it through a small window before grabbing a wine glass and filling it for him from a bottle on one of the dusty shelves.

She hands it to him and it’s as he’s taking his first sip that he first notices the only other patron at the bar. He’s probably about ten years Loki’s senior, with greying hair, a moustache, and a crooked nose, and what’s certainly an interesting sense of style. He’s decked out in khaki dress pants, a baggy dress shirt and a bright blue fleece vest. Loki’s fairly certain he’s never even touched fleece before, let alone worn it. He shudders at the thought. And just to top the look off, he’s got sunglasses dangling from his neck on some odd sort of rope.

“Not the kind of place a guy like you is used to, huh?” The man asks, before taking a sip from the bright orange cocktail he’s drinking through a skinny little straw.

Usually, Loki would just brush off strangers who tried to converse with him, pretending to look very interested in his phone, but for some reason, he didn’t have it in himself to be rude tonight. And they were the only two seated at the bar. It was quite obvious that the man was speaking to Loki.

“You can say that again,” Loki laughs bitterly into his drink.

“Not the kind of place a guy like you is used to, huh?” the man repeats, a wide grin on his face.

Loki stares at him blankly for a moment before catching on. “Oh gods,” he groans. “That might just be the worst attempt at humour in all of human history. Are your jokes always that bad?”

“Sure are,” the man laughs, taking another sip of his stupid drink. Loki wants to slap it out of his hand, but he also wants to grab it and take a sip. It probably tastes better than this cheap wine. “I’m a dad. I can’t help but tell terrible jokes.”

Loki zones back in just in time to hear him say it. Of course this man is a dad. It makes perfect sense. And that probably means that he’s married. Which means that Loki has no chance. He shakes his head to rid himself of that alarming line of thinking. The wine coupled with the lack of food must be getting to him. There’s no way Loki would want a man wearing fleece. And yet, he can’t help the little spark of excitement he feels when he notices that the man isn’t wearing a wedding ring.

“Ah, how lovely.” He replies, unsure of what else to say. He wants to continue the conversation but isn’t sure how. It’s not like he and this man will have a whole lot in common.

Thankfully, he’s saved by the bartender arriving a moment later with his food.  That’ll give him a couple minutes to think of his next move. He inhales half his burger, along with the majority of his salad, before coming up for air. When he does, he finds the man eyeing him, a curious look on his face.

“Do you have any kids?” The man asks, picking up his drink and moving two stools over, to the seat next to Loki.

“Oh, no,” Loki laughs, surprised that the man would even ask. He gestures to himself. “Do I look like a doting father?”

The man shrugs. “You never know. Not everyone’s look can scream exhausted and overworked father of three like mine.”

Loki tries to hold his tongue, but he can’t, so he asks “Just getting a little time to yourself? Wife at home with the kids?”

The man shakes his head. “Oh, no. I’m a widower. Two years now.” He pulls a chain out from inside his shirt, a ring dangling from the end.

Loki can see the sadness in the man’s eyes as he toys with the ring, and he suddenly feels an incredible urge to cry for the first time in years. He awkwardly pats the man’s back in what he hopes is a comforting gesture.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump that on you. That was weird. I’ll just, uh…” he tucks the ring back under his shirt and sticks out his hand to shake Loki’s. It’s warm and calloused and he’s got a nice, firm grip. Loki’s mind wanders to thoughts of the man firmly gripping something else, and he berates himself for it.

“My name’s Mobius, by the way.” The man, Mobius, says. Mobius, what a curious name. Not what Loki would have expected, but somehow fitting.

Loki remembers his manners and introduces himself in return.

“Loki, like the Norse god of mischief?” Mobius asks, a twinkle in his eye.

Loki’s impressed. It’s rare that anyone actually knows who he was named after without him having to explain.

“Bingo,” Loki replies, downing the last of his wine. “How’d you know?”

“Oh, just a big fan of mischief,” Mobius replies, winking, and Loki feels himself flush. What the fuck is going on? Loki should not be this attracted to a man whose wallet probably had Velcro on it, but he feels himself giving into it, shuffling his chair a little closer to Mobius’s, close enough that their feet touch.

“Can I buy you another drink?” Mobius asks, reaching for his wallet. He pulls it out, and yes, of course it has Velcro on it.

“Sure,” Loki nods, because why not? The man is nice, and it’s not like Loki has any other prospects in this establishment.

“Great,” Mobius signals the bartender before glancing at his watch. “It’s only 7, and I’ve got the babysitter until 9. We can talk some more, get to know each other better.”

The bartender gets to them, and Loki starts to place his drink order. “I’ll have another glass of-“, but Mobius cuts him off before he can finish.

“No, he won’t. Two tequila sunrises, please and thank you.”

Loki can’t believe this. Someone ordering for him? He’s always the one to make the decisions on a date. Not that this is a date. Is it? It’s starting to feel like one.

He turns to Mobius, mouth agape, only to find the other man looking right back at him, a twinkle of mischief in his eye. “Thought you could use a little sweetness in your life. Something tells me you don’t get a lot of that.” And then he has the audacity to wink at Loki! Where does a man in a fleece vest get off winking? And why is it hot?

Loki hums in response, too flustered to speak. Their drinks arrive shortly, and while it’s a bit too much for Loki to add it to his regular drink rotation, he finds that Mobius was right. Much like the moustachioed man beside him, it does provide him with a bright punch of sweetness that he didn’t know he was missing until he had it. He grabs the older man’s hand and squeezes it in thanks as they drink in companionable silence.

They spend the next hour and a half trading questions back and forth, hands clasped between them, and Loki finds himself opening up to Mobius in a way he hasn’t opened up to anyone in a very long time. He tells Mobius about growing up in Thor’s shadow, feeling like he would never be enough for their father, no matter what he did, how it made him feel unlovable, and uncapable of giving love to anyone.

In return, Mobius tells Loki about his sons, how proud he is of them, even when they’re driving him up the wall with their pranks and messy bedrooms, about the watercraft sales business that he owns and operates, and how it feels to have loved and lost someone. It makes Loki’s heart ache for this sweet man. He wants to hold him close and tell him that he’s proud of him. It also privately pleases him that Mobius has chosen to spend his small sliver of time that he gets to himself with Loki.

Before Loki knows it, and certainly before he’s ready, Mobius’s phone starts chirping loudly in his vest pocket. He extracts it and punches a button, silencing it. “Time for me to head out if I want to be home by 9,” he says with a sigh.

“Can I walk you to your car?” Loki asks, once they’ve settled their bills. He surprises himself when the words pop out, as he’s not usually one for drawn out goodbyes. But he really shouldn’t be that surprised. He’s known almost from the first minute that they spoke that Mobius is different. Special.

Mobius nods, a grin settling back on his face. “I’d like that.”

All too soon, they’re standing beside Mobius’s vehicle, a minivan that appears to be near the end of its lifespan. It’s worlds away from the luxury cars that Loki’s used to, but of course, it just adds to Mobius’s charm, to think of him driving his children to school and sports practice, to ride the jet skis that he speaks so highly of.

Suddenly, Loki’s feeling shy, something else he’s not used to. He’s always the one to take charge, to go for what he wants. Does he kiss Mobius? Hug him? He can feel his palms getting sweaty as he stands awkwardly, hands in his pockets, staring at some far-off point over Mobius’s head.

Thankfully, Mobius isn’t feeling shy at all, as evidenced by the calloused hand that he cups under Loki’s chin, directing his gaze slightly downward, so they’re eye to eye. Mobius isn’t a short man, but Loki’s a good four to five inches taller, and it’s cute the way Mobius peers up at him with his soft blue eyes edged with laugh lines.

“Can I?” Mobius asks, and Loki barely has time to respond before his lips are being captured in a soft, sweet kiss. He’s gently guided backwards so his back is up against the van, and Mobius crowds between his legs. Loki can feel the beat radiating from his body as he presses his tongue to the seam of Loki’s lips, seeking entry. Loki lets him in, moaning softly at the feeling of the other man inside him, even in this small way.

“Come back to my motel,” Loki pants, a hand fisted in Mobius’s shirt as they come up for air.

“I’m sorry, Loki, but I can’t. The kids. My youngest especially. He gets up at 10 every night like clockwork for a glass of water, and he’ll be upset if I’m not there to tuck him in. Plus, the babysitter starts charging time and a half if I’m late.” With one more chaste kiss to Loki’s lips, he pulls away and takes out his keys, unlocking the van. “Can I see you again?”

Loki, who’s trying not to visibly pout and is definitely failing, perks up at that. This too is different. He’s usually not one for seconds dates, but he rattles off his number and smiles when Mobius says he’ll text him.

And with that, Mobius drives away, and Loki finds himself alone in the parking lot, grinning like an idiot, and for the first time, feeling like he might be capable of loving, and being loved in return.

[artemistorm]

I know there is much chaos with the update, with people simping and/or cancelling Dink, but May I ask height and Age headcanons of the Lu bois?

-🦋🤠

Hi. Sorry for the long wait Butterfly Rancher Anon. This ask caught me right before the busy few days where I moved out of my house. But now I’m chilling in a hotel and finally have time to get into it.

Age and height headcanons you say? Well I am quite excited to share my age headcanons, but I must admit, I don’t really have height headcanons. I think it’s part of my autism, but I don’t really notice people’s height unless it’s extreme, so I’ll do a rather simplistic “short, average, or tall” for the Links.

Here we go! (Long post: 1311 words)

Time – He’s tall and imposing—or is he? Maybe it’s just an optical illusion and he is actually average height but because he’s so built and wears armor that he seems tall. It’s hard to say. Age-wise, his body is in the late thirties, but his mind is older, somewhere in his forties. He’s seen a lot, experienced a lot, but there’s that part of him that’ll will always be a joyful and mischievous child, although he tends to keep it hidden.

Warriors – Warriors is quite tall, no doubt about that. He is 27 years old. He enlisted in the army as soon as he could and spent several years as an infantryman. When he was 22, Cia initiated her war against Hyrule and that’s when his adventure began. For his valor during the first battle of his adventure, he earned himself a battlefield promotion to Lieutenant and the title of Hero of Warriors. Over the next 5 years, he completed his adventure, formally attended officer training school, and progressed through the ranks, and is now a Captain.

Sky – Sky is an average height (maybe a little on the tall side) 25 years old. He completed his adventure when he was 18 or 19 years old and since then has officially become a knight, started a new Hylian colony on the Surface (the residents want Sky to be the leader, but Sky is reluctant—he doesn’t feel like he’s leader material). He and Zelda are in a serious relationship and are talking about marriage. Sky wants to propose but he’s very nervous and he wants to make sure to do it at just the right time and in just the right way.

Twilight – Twilight is 24 (but since he was found and adopted as a young child, he doesn’t know his age for sure). Not gonna lie, Twilight is the Link I know least about so I don’t really have much to say other than that he’s like Time, he’s seen and experienced a lot and it weighs down on him sometimes, but he is still pretty young and sometimes it shows. He is of an average height, but his bulky pelt makes him seem bigger.

Four – Four is a very small 22 year old. He was a hard one for me to understand who he was, but generally, he seems to be quite mature, very smart, but he still has some of that young hot blood and passion that one has as a younger adult. Honestly, to me he is ageless, like a divine being that is both ancient and eternally young. Despite the timeless vibes I get from him, he is in fact a Hylian, and since most people headcanon him to be one of the younger heroes, I put him at a solid 22 (although I could probably get away with 23 if I pushed it). He is the middle child, filling the gap between the older 4 heroes and the younger 4 heroes.

Legend – Legend is average height and 21 or maybe 22 years old. He started off young with adventuring and goes through a lot and it takes his toll on him mentally and physically. At first impressions, he seems much older than he is, at least 26 years old, but if you’re around him for a while or if you’re particularly perceptive, you’ll realize that he’s not quite as emotionally mature as you might initially think. And he definitely does have a substantial gremlin streak that is common amongst the younger heroes, but he’s usually pretty good about moderating it.

Hyrule – Hyrule is borderline between average and short (thanks to fairy genes) and he is 18 years old. He is definitely one of the youngest heroes, but he’s older and more mature than Wild and Wind. He has lots of practical life experience with living on the road, he’s been fighting monsters since he was young, but minimal peopling experience. He is an extreme gremlin (he tries to hide it and be sneaky, but everyone knows what he’s up to) and a tendency to be silly, but he struggles with anxiety and badthoughts. Those things combined sometimes make him seem younger than he is.

Wild – Wild is 117, 17, and 2. Canonically in LU, Wild is 117 in chronological age, but practically, he’s 17. Physically, he’s 17, he’s slightly taller than Hyrule, but he’s kinda scrawny so it makes him look smaller. Wild’s an interesting one and he’s similar to Time in that he has a body-mind age mismatch. His brain has the “programming” of a 17-year old troubled and dutiful knight, but with none of the memory and only about 2 years of life experience (thus the 2 years old). He is mature in some ways, especially with regards to battle and wilderness survival, but very immature in other ways, like with emotional regulation, social interaction, and impulse control.

Wind – Wind is short (but going through growth spurts) and 13 years old (his canonical LU age). I know a lot of people favor a more mature Wind, but from the LU comics I interpret him to be rather immature, innocent, and inexperienced. If you think about it, he had a happy childhood, growing up with his grandmother and little sister, and living on an island, it was probably pretty sheltered. He’s really grown a lot from his adventure—he is sharp, quick, very clever, and can handle battle as well as any grown man, but he’s still pretty inexperienced at life in general.  He is on the cusp of those turbulent teenage years and occasionally goes through phases where he’s dark, moody, and angsty, but for the most part he is a jovial and peppy young lad.

***

These are based heavily on how they act in the LU comics (since I have only played a few of the games) and my own experience. I work in a career field that primarily employs young folk, people in their 20s and 30s, and I’ve got a pretty solid understanding of how people act/how mature they are at different ages/responsibility levels (entry-level, proficient worker, crew leader, shift manager, etc.). So I just compared what I saw in the comics with what I knew from work and voila: age headcanons.

Yes, I know my age headcanons are older than most people’s age headcanons for the boys. It’s possible that I’ve misinterpreted their ages once I play their games/read their mangas I’ll realize “oh, actually he’s older/younger than I thought.” To be honest, I think that with a few exceptions, most of them probably don’t even know their own true ages. Most Links don’t have family to speak of and none of them have biological parents still around.

And there’s a certain point at which exact age no longer matters, you are simply Adult. They’re all peers regardless of age. They may have different roles in the group, but overall they have the same mission, the same quest. It doesn’t matter how old they are, only what they bring to the table. It doesn’t matter where they’ve been, only where they’re going.

But anyways. This was fun! Thanks for asking, Butterfly Rancher Anon! What do you think their ages are?

[agent-robin]

agent robin's intro!

this is an I Expect You to Die (VR videogame) oc askblog run by @frenchtoastfive.

please read all (excluding under the cut) before sending an ask.

Say hello to Agent Robin, a young low-ranking agent of the Enhanced Operatives Division!

ALIAS: Agent Robin

NAME: X■■■ ■■■■

AGE: 1■

HEIGHT: 159cm

PRONOUNS: he/she/they

INTERESTS: art, writing, acting, photography, sudoku (yet she rage quits after 2 minutes)

FAVOURITE FOOD/DRINK: white grape juice :D

BIRTHDAY: October 13th 200■

SEXUALITY: aroace!

You can send asks at any time, but your ask will probably have to wait, because Agent Robin is active in her office from:

(GMT +8, timing is an approximation)

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday - 3:30pm to 7:30pm

Wednesday, Friday - 6pm to 7:30pm

Weekends - 11am to 9:30pm

if you want, you can ask for free SFW IEYTD doodles (canon and oc characters allowed). agent robin would love to draw them! only uncoloured doodles for now, though. also, remember that robin's busy with missions sometimes, your ask won't be answered immediately, especially if it's a doodle ask.

ASKBLOG RULES

-no NSFW. RP flirting is allowed to an extent. Robin's a minor and so am I, so please be respectful. Also, be warned that if you flirt with him, it'll probably fly way over his head, haha.

-don't be weird! You can be the nice kind of weird like giving cheese donuts tho

-no hate. RP hate to Robin is okay, I guess, but please keep it to a minimum, and make it clear that it is roleplay. I'm really bad at reading in between the lines :D

-if you have an ieytd askblog as well, feel free to ask in character!

-dinosaurs are cool, homophobia and transphobia are not :)

-in this post i'm using she/her for Robin only to avoid confusion, but in other posts i will use her other pronouns.

some random fun facts under the cut!

fun facts :D

-agent Robin is pretty young, and one of the few reasons she's an agent is because she can cry on command, which helps in certain missions that need someone to act as a child. other than that, she can't really climb up the ranks of the EOD, because of her inexperience and her unwillingness to step out of her comfort zone.

-she likes croissants

-Robin's never met Agent Phoenix before, of course, but she looks up to them a lot.

-she uh she likes macarons

-she has a million plushies in her office/room. to the point that you can fling yourself onto the floor and be cushioned by the plushies. this is partly because robin sleeps in her office, and partly because plushies go brr.

-following the plushie thing: every day, without robin noticing, people add one plushie to the pile. robin realised this only after a few weeks.

-the plushies have a monarchy and a status ranking amongst themselves. only the high status plushies get to kneel before the king of the plushies and-

-ahem the plushie thing got a bit out of hand

-yeah this is how agent robin entertains herself while locked in her office on slow days

-she's left handed (and so am i!)

-backstory (WIP): when robin was really young, she got caught in one of the EOD's missions, and the agent sent to diffuse the problem failed, inadvertently ending the lives of thousands of people, robin's parents among them. tainted by guilt, that agent took robin back to agency headquarters and the EOD basically adopted her. the agent later had to switch jobs to being a handler because of his actions, but everything's fine now haha

-SHE LIKES CHEESE STICKS 

-everyone at the EOD treats robin like a baby heh

[drgnbld]

"I may not have thanked you much at the time, but without you I wouldn't be where I am. I mean that literally. Had you not asked for my help at the Lake, I may have never broken free of the mindset I was in. If you hadn't proven I could stand up for people, I wouldn't have rushed to Goldenrod."

He smiles.

"I may have wonderful parents who I love very much, but you are within my extended family, Lance. Thank you."

" gold... "

for everyone involved, the pre-rocket takedown missions in mahogany town ( and even post in goldenrod ) plays a looped video in all those who were involved minds. it was a rough time - extremely rough. one of the biggest takedowns done by the gmen all while being helped by kids. lance has never really forgiven himself for all of it. no child should've gone through that and was something he was so adamant on after the rocket incidents in kanto years prior.

a part of him tells himself in the darkest depths of night those he's accidentally put in danger through the actions he's taken. it comes at him as a broken record, repeating every little detail, exaggerating those he can't say he ever saw for certain. gold, lyra, hell even silver should never have been put into the positions they had been.

there's a running joke amongst the league and the clan about his treatment of the younger protagonists - how he cares for them as a father would, how it wouldn't be surprising to find adoption forms for them all stashed away somewhere in his office. the reality is a lot more brutal than that. lance feels responsible for them. he feels as if he should be the one there to help protect them, guide them, because everything they went through wasn't something a child should.

after a while of course he stopped looking at them like kids. they were seasoned trainers. gold was champion. but that never stopped lance from caring the way he has in the past; the way he does now. and while those actions certainly spoke louder than the words kept in his heart he never quite saw the otherside of that coin - that gold would think the same way about him. that they were just as much a family.

he wishes they never went through what they did, but he'll be damned if he wasn't proud of the person gold, and the others, had become. taking a deep breath in, mostly to compose himself, lance finally allows himself to smile even when slight tears prick, blink and they're gone.

" that strength has always been inside of your heart and soul, gold, and it shines so brightly even now. we never quite discussed what happened beforehand and what made you feel the way you did, but shaking that off, taking the rest of your life in stride; that was all you. "

his hand reaches for gold's shoulder to grasp with all the affection he can muster without directly hugging him. " I am so proud of you, and that goes for all of you. not just your strength and determination, but even parts of you which you may dislike or more. you are a part of my family as much as I am yours. you'll always have a home with us. "

[hardynwa]

Kebbi spent N9bn in eight months to reposition education -Gov

Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, says his administration has within its first eight months in office spent over N9billion in repositioning education. He disclosed this at the flag-off of the National Campaign on Out-Of-School Children in the Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria held in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday. A statement signed by his media aide, Ahmed Idris, and made available to our correspondent said the governor explained that the sum was spent on the construction of classrooms, provision of motorised boreholes and hand-pumps, construction of toilets, provision of furniture, renovation of dilapidated classrooms as well as provision of textbooks and writing materials. The statement read, “2,000 teachers were trained to improve their pedagogic competence for effective teaching in schools, adding that six mega schools were being constructed to provide access to education by Almajiris and other categories of out-of-school children in the state. “717 Post-Basic Literacy Centres were established across the state for post-basic literacy programme for the Almajiris that had already undergone basic literacy programme under Better Education Service Delivery for All. “BESDA programme, Kebbi State recorded tremendous success in terms of enrolling the different categories of out-of-school children into schools through the instrument of non-formal learning centres. “Not less than 3,945 learning centres were established comprising Almajiri, Girl-Child and Nomads Children and more than 500 learners have been enrolled in a basic literacy programme. “This has let Kebbi attain an enviable position amongst the 17 BESDA participating states in terms of achievement of rewards.” In his speech, the Minister of State, Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko-Sununu, urged the Kebbi people to appreciate the new administration by supporting its policies and programmes and rendering good advice that would take the state forward. He appealed to individuals and groups to key into the national campaign on out-of-school children and other issues related to education “as government alone cannot do it.” Tanko-Sununu advised the state government to establish a strong foundation by constructing more classrooms and recruiting more teachers to make it easy for the Federal Government to come in and assist. The minister urged the governor to ensure the recruitment of professional teachers who duly registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. While applauding the governor for increasing allocation to education in the 2024 budget, the minister also advised him to talk to traditional rulers in the state to see how teachers’ respect would be restored. The Director of Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Falake Olatunji-David, said the programme was the third phase of the several interventions embarked upon by the ministry to ensure a substantial reduction in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. She lamented that a recent study shows that Nigeria accounts for one out of every five out-of-school children in the world and 45 per cent of out-of-school children in the West African sub-region. The director appealed to spirited individuals in the state to aid the less privileged in the community by adopting the children and youths “who are of school age and supporting the education of such.” In December 2023, the governor flagged off the construction and upgrade of 120 secondary schools across the state valued at N8.9bn. Speaking at the ceremony which was held at Bubuche in Arugungu Local Government Area, the governor said the gesture was meant to reposition the education sector in the state. He explained that the programme, which was under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment in collaboration with the World Bank and Dominat Engineering Limited aimed at promoting the education sector by providing a conducive learning environment for children. “This flag-off will occasion the constitution of new schools designed to upgrade 120 schools from primary school to junior secondary and junior secondary to senior secondary schools under AGILE,” he said. Read the full article

[grantgoddard]

Living on the frontline : 1985 : Dave Asher, 21 Aharonson Street, Tel Aviv

“There’s a bomb!” someone shouted. “There’s a bomb!”

I had just collected ‘NME’ from the newsagent that reserved it for me each week and had been lazily staring at a display of the new ‘designer’ stretch jeans in the windows of Gloria Vandebilt’s shop. All had been calm on the city’s main shopping street. Then suddenly it was chaos. People ran in all directions as if their lives depended upon it … which they did. Men, women and children screamed as they fled down side streets, their shopping bags flying behind them like parachutes. I was in amongst them, running at full pelt until I thought I was far enough away from the suspect device. How would I know? I didn’t. Did I hear an explosion? No. Was it really a bomb? I never knew.

On the walk home, I called in at the post office and joined a lengthy queue at the counter for overseas mail. Once I handed over my letter, the man behind the counter inspected it and adopted the withering look of an adult castigating a child … or a new immigrant.

“You cannot send this,” he said, visibly weighing up my ignorance. “We are at war.”

“Oh,” I said sheepishly, taking back my letter. “Okay. Thanks.”

Where I came from, you could send a letter anywhere in the world. I had spent much of my childhood doing just that, writing to radio stations as far away as China, Russia and Syria … and receiving replies. However, I was now learning that life is different during a time of war. I had written a fan letter to ‘Radio One’, an FM station in Beirut, Lebanon with English-speaking DJs who played the latest international hits, interspersed with familiar identification jingles stolen from ‘BBC Radio One’. Since radio transmissions ignore borders and war zones, I had become a committed listener in recent months. Now I had to return home with my unsent letter.

‘Home’ was temporarily a house at 21 Rehov Aharonson in Tel Aviv, where I was sleeping on the living room floor of the lower flat rented by fellow Brit Dave Asher. He was a well-known DJ in Israel from having presented the ‘Voice of Peace’ radio station’s breakfast show for several years. There were drawbacks to my accommodation. One morning I awoke to find ants nesting in my hair, while the nocturnal journeys of slugs from behind the adjacent bathroom sink gave me frequent ‘Alien’-type nightmares. But Dave had let me stay for free and I was grateful for his generosity. Weeks turned into months; how quick they pass.

Dave had a job as DJ at a city centre basement lesbian nightclub which he kept inviting me to attend. I did visit on one occasion, but was faced with the challenge of convincing two burly doormen that I wanted to enter a female-only club filled with scantily clad women because I said my male friend was working inside. Dave was also the DJ at a packed concert by American drag queen Divine in a huge former cinema, one of the most entertaining events I have attended. My crazy plan was to remain in Tel Aviv by finding a job in the record industry, for which Dave had helped me make contact with people he knew in the business. Pre-internet and pre-mobiles, this required a lengthy wait for replies to handwritten letters.

As summer was hot inside the flat, at the end of the day I would walk the short distance to the end of the street and sit on one of the public seats along the promenade. I could put my feet up on the sea wall, read the day’s ‘Jerusalem Post’ newspaper, watch the sun set over the Mediterranean and cool down in the onshore breeze. One day, a man seated near me asked if he could read my paper when I had finished with it. He spoke in Hebrew and I replied likewise.

By then, I had learnt enough of the language to hold a basic conversation. The frustration of not even understanding destinations displayed on the front of city buses had forced me to learn the Hebrew alphabet and numbers from a schoolbook. Every afternoon I developed my vocabulary by watching ‘Sesame Street’ (‘Rehov Sumsum’ in Hebrew) on television, where the first word I learnt was the ‘dustbin’ in which Grouch (Moishe Oofnik) lived.

I was suspicious of this man trying to strike up a conversation because, weeks earlier, I had been sunbathing alone on Tel Aviv beach when a man came and sat far too close to me on the sand and propositioned me for sex. He appeared to interpret my indignant refusal as merely ‘playing hard to get’ and continued to pester me, so I now avoided the beach and its potential for further unwanted attentions.

Thankfully this man on the promenade seemed different. Because our initial conversation had been in Hebrew, he found it hard to believe that I was not a recent immigrant to Israel struggling to learn my new language. After several rounds of questioning, he was eventually convinced that: I was not Jewish; I was British; I spoke English; and I was Christian. Only once these facts had been established did he have sufficient confidence to identify himself to me as a Christian Palestinian.

“Meet me here at the same time tomorrow,” he told me. “There is something I want to show you.”

Despite an incendiary device having recently exploded at the end of our street, thankfully with no casualties, I decided to risk meeting this man again the next day on the promenade. We walked to a walled compound a few hundred metres away where he spoke Arabic into the intercom, the gate opened and we walked through a garden into a house. He took me inside and knocked on what appeared to be a bedroom door. When it opened, it was immediately apparent that this was no normal small bedroom.

Bunk beds were butted up against each other on three walls of the room, leaving no space in their midst for other furniture. The small window had been covered so that the room was dark except for a single lightbulb on the ceiling. After my entrance, I was being stared at by six men, each sat on their bunk, their sweat thick in this non-air-conditioned room. My guide explained to them in Arabic why I was there, then he turned to address me.

“I wanted you to see how Palestinians have to live in Israel, the same land in which our families were born,” he told me. “Before dawn every day, we are employed outside to clean the beaches, sweep the streets and collect rubbish but, by the time the sun comes up and the crowds come out, we have to make ourselves invisible by returning to accommodation like this. As a fellow Christian, I wanted you to see how we are forced to live in our own homeland so that you can tell people what life is really like in Israel for those who are not Jews.”

A man arrived with a big bag of takeaway food which he started to dole out to each of the men in the room. I wondered to myself if I was to be included in their evening meal and how that could happen when there was no available space for a guest to sit. My guide quickly quashed that notion.

“The men will not eat their food in front of a stranger,” he explained. “We have to go now.”

It had only required a few minutes in that crowded room for the man to have made his point. He was understandably angry about his people’s situation. He told me that, having seen their conditions myself, I now had evidence to refute the disinformation that most of the world believed. We left the compound, he went his own way and I never saw him again.

After several months of messages, letters and calls from public phone boxes, I was finally offered a meeting with the head of an international record company’s Israeli subsidiary in his penthouse flat. There I explained that I had recently secured airplay on British radio for Israeli pop records through my knowledge of the UK radio industry. I believed I could do more like this to develop Israeli music’s presence overseas.

“You should go home,” he told me sternly. “Israel is not the place for you. There is a war going on. The economy is in bad shape. Things are terrible here. Go home and find yourself a job there.”

I departed Israel on the next available flight, disappointed by my failure to secure a job. I left behind an economy with an annual rate of inflation nearing 1,000% and a currency so devalued that it required a thick wad of banknotes just to buy a loaf of bread. Prices in shops had to be updated daily, written on post-it notes stuck along shelf edges. At checkouts, there were insufficient banknotes in tills to provide change, so customers were given the equivalent value in sweets and candies. Coins had become obsolete because they were worthless. I was carrying around several hundred banknotes stuffed down the front of my underpants because my wallet was now too small.

Back in Britain, within three years I had organised the release and promotion of an Israeli record that reached number 15 in the UK singles chart, accompanied by a ‘Top of the Pops’ television appearance. It became the biggest selling Israeli record in Britain since Esther and Abi Ofarim’s ‘Cinderella Rockefella’ in 1968, coincidentally my very first single purchase. Singer Ofra Haza became an international star, later recording songs for a Disney movie. Despite failing to find a job in Tel Aviv, I had managed to successfully pin music from Israel on the ‘world music’ map of the 1980’s.

It was Dave Asher who had first introduced me to Ofra Haza’s music in 1985. Two decades later, his job was presenting the breakfast show on a radio station … in Beirut!

[fabulivonline]

All you need to know about choosing the perfect study table furniture

The inside of homes has changed. Today, a growing number of people prefer to spend considerable time at home. People must consequently have all they require in order to function happily as well as comfortably, as this today involves putting in extensive hours at the workplace and in the classroom. Throughout the twenty-first decade, home offices as well as homeschooling are increasingly growing in popularity, as well as a study table remains among the essential elements of equipment that individuals now use.

In metropolitan homes, a smart study space or office room seems to be amongst the needs. A study space or office is equipped with everything an individual requires to go about their regular business or academic activities. It has a lovely study table, a cosy chair, a modest area for books, some greenery, and utilities with as many gadgets one would require.

Why should you invest in study table furniture

Study tables are desks that have been specifically created for work as well as study. This is a typical item of furnishings in children's rooms and office spaces. Additionally, you might locate makeshift study tables within rented as well as shared visitor residences. If someone is planning to study as well as work for such a lengthy period of time, they are required to remain in a suitable position. Writing from bed, concentrating, or adopting poor postures could seriously harm your health. As a result, amongst the main elements of furniture intended for a child's or individual's room would be the study table furniture.

Things to consider while buying a study table furniture

Size of the study table

One flexible study table is provided to guardians for their children's rooms. Whenever reading as well as taking classes online during home education, some youngsters prefer not to sit adjacent to one another. This is a waste of space in these circumstances. So, before reserving any seat at the table, think about your needs and those of your children. Many people choose to establish their workplace with a large work table as well as integrated power outlets. For those who do most of their job from residence, this is fantastic.

Price of the study table furniture

From just a few thousand to several million study tables are offered. The price of a study table is heavily influenced by a wide range of factors. A high-quality fabric may be more expensive than you anticipated, and bespoke design should also be taken into account. When money is tight, you may have to choose amongst durability and design. You can't expect the appeal of a superbly made study table to last for years, as well as you also can't survive with such a study table you detest. To make the best decision, it is advised to talk it over at an interior decorator.

Design of the study table furniture

Making a decision from a variety of lovely study table layouts is challenging. To narrow down and screen out all the study tables which could really complement your living area décor, you must first make decisions about other elements. Making a decision on the study table layout at your household is quite simple if you are aware of the dimensions, economy, style, as well as material. If you're still unsure, you can make a Pinterest board as well as a mood panel of such interior design of your apartment and include images of such study tables that made the short list alongside the remainder of the furnishings. It would assist you in picturing the last room preceding firing the bullet.

Wrapping up

In the twenty-first era, study tables are indeed a piece of furniture that everyone needs. There are many internet stores where you could simply acquire a study table as well as have an interior designer develop and create one for you. Some of the handful businesses offer ready-made as well as customised study table furniture in a variety of styles.

[mellowchen0813]

Anniversary

Poseidon X Sasaki Kojiro

Modern AU

OOC | BL | LGBTQ+ Topics, adoption issues |

*Side notes*

The sequel for “Confession”, the story of how Poseidon and Sasaki adopt Little Swallow and Little Dolphin a few years after the graduation ceremony. The focus is on the determination of gay couples to build a family and the risks they must take.

…………

After that super coincidental and super embarrassing confession (aka marriage proposal), they began to live together soon after. They are the sweetest couple and the fastest in moving in together amongst their cohort. While adjusting their pace to cope with the current society, the two fresh undergraduates have rather little interaction than most of the couples who were passionately in love, but they would still support each other silently, accompanied by a few daily conversations. "Good morning", "Stay safe", "Welcome home, dinner is ready." "How’s today? Has anything happened?" and other ordinary daily conversations, which made their domestic life as sweet as a newly-wed couple.

In this busy life, their domestic life gradually stabilized. As the couple is about to turn 30, they have a new plan for their current life... That is to have a child, build a haven for both, a place for them to enjoy when they grow old, and a paradise for their children to grow happily. However, like gay couples, if they want to have children, their notarial marriage must be put aside first.

According to the law, for gay couples who have registered their marriage, one of them can only adopt the other's "biological children ", which makes it impossible for them to adopt children who are not biologically related. For gay couples who adopted children while they are single, even if they have been able to legally marry each other, their spouses and children can only be “Familiar Strangers” and cannot establish parent-child relationships according to the laws. The biggest worry is that if the father or mother of the custody party dies due to illness or accident, the father or mother who has established a long-term relationship between the child and themselves will become "Familiar Strangers” and may even be forced to separate.

Inequality of laws limits the right for gay couples to build families. As they are eager to have children, the two refrained from registering for marriage. To grant their wishes, they have done tons of research, just to find the most suitable way for gay couples to adopt children. Like most gay couples who want children, Poseidon and Sasaki have once found a surrogate mother. In the early stage, through the agreement, they and the woman planned to have children via intrauterine insemination (IUI). Sadly, they failed repeatedly, and with the bottomless expenses of subsidies, the birth cooperation with weak trust ended six months later.

After having failed to find a surrogate mother, the two who still want to have children must walk a more cumbersome and long way: Adoption.

Although the two had a wedding banquet, their marital status remained "single" in law: Just in case they are about to adopt a child. At least, one of them is the legal adopter of the child. The plan that seems to work has been discussed for a long time, of course, with several commotions in between, but at least one conclusion has been reached: If they want to adopt children, they shall adopt two.

Sasaki knows very well deep in his heart; he doesn't have siblings and relatives like Poseidon. If anything happens, Poseidon can ask his relatives for help. If there is any relative on Sasaki’s side, there is only one relative: Grandpa Toga. But he's long gone.

…………

In the bustling urban area, people come and go at rush hour. Poseidon carried a briefcase on his shoulder, a suit coat in one hand and a bag of Sasaki's favourite Salmiakki pie in the other hand. Today is their wedding anniversary. Poseidon doesn't want to waste a single minute in the office, he just wants to go back home and enjoy the couple moments with Sasaki as soon as possible.

Just as he opened the door, Poseidon was stunned by what he saw: Sasaki tied a neat ponytail and wore their wedding suit: a clean white suit, a bright silver chrysanthemum totem embroidered on the collar, and an eye-catching blue dolphin pin on the left chest of the white suit.

"Why are you wearing our wedding suit?"

"Yours is ironed. Go and change it."

"What?"

"Come on ~ Don't ask why, just go and change."

Sasaki took the Salmiakki pie from Poseidon’s hand and placed it on the table. A little impatient, Sasaki pushed Poseidon into the bedroom and urged him to change quickly. Poseidon, who was still not aware of what’s going on, put on his suit. After changing his suit, Poseidon came out of the bedroom in doubt. The only difference with Sasaki's wedding suit is that the pin on the left chest is a brown swallow.

"Why are you so formal today? What…"

Before Poseidon could finish his sentence, Sasaki pressed the play button on Spotify.

恋が芽生えた記念日も

That day, our love began to grow

愛が産まれた記念日も

That day, our love was born

"How nostalgic..."

二人だけのカレンダーに 記し続けてゆこうよ

Let's keep on writing it in the calendar that belongs to us only

"Come here."

Sasaki smiled and stretched out his arms, tightly hugged the dolphin who have been trying to protect him, laying his head on Poseidon’s shoulder, and Poseidon followed suit. With the slightly brisk rhythm of the music, Sasaki took the lead in hugging Poseidon and slowly swayed their body from left to right.

The familiar lyrics and melodies brought the two back to the memories of dancing together for the first time.

"Do you remember the day when this song was played?"

"Of course, I do remember. Isn't this the song I played to celebrate the first anniversary of our relationship?"

"No! It's the first anniversary of our marriage, not the first anniversary of our relationship. Is your memory getting worse?"

"Haha... Sorry, I forgot."

"Hmph."

"Don't be angry with me. I didn't mean to. I bought your favourite Salmiakki pie, treat it as an apology from me, okay?"

"... All right."

Without a word spoken from the two, they leaned on each other's shoulders and immersed in the song that sings about them. Bit by bit, the memories of them living together slowly appeared in their mind…

Do you remember? When we went on our honeymoon, your favourite straw hat was blown into the sea. I was very distressed at how sad you were. I coaxed you for a long time... You weren't happy until I bought you a new straw hat.

Do you remember? Every time on my birthday, I will drag you to eat Salmiakki pie with me. Although you never like to eat Salmiakki pie, you will try your best to overcome the strong taste and eat up the portion I cut you.

Do you remember? When I accompanied you to watch Musashi's Kendo tournament, at the moment he won, you cheered for your friend excitedly and waved your hand and accidentally hit the stranger nearby. That was so embarrassing…

Do you remember? When you propose to me by the beach, you kept emphasizing that what happened during the graduation ceremony was a confession, not a proposal. A moment that was supposed to be heartwarming, yet you made it so funny. I’m so sorry but I couldn’t hold my laughter.

Do you remember? When we went to the vineyard to experience winemaking, your centre of gravity was unstable and slipped. You didn't forget to hold me and fall with you... We smelled like grapes on our way home. In the end, our white shirts were dyed purple. However, I have to say, it's dyed quite evenly.

Do you remember? When you accompanied me to visit the zoo, you didn't want to take a single step into the insect museum at all. It took me so much effort to bring you in. In the insect museum, you never looked up for once. Even the children next to you were laughing at your timidity.

隣で手を繋いでく 永遠に

Side by side, holding hands forever

二人で未来を描く 永遠に

Drawing the future together forever

何年だって 何十年だって

No matter how many years go by

共に歩んでゆこう

Let's always walk side by side

As if they were sitting on a time machine, they remembered all kinds of memories about them. Slowly, they remembered their various first times.

初めて目が合った日も

The first time our eyes met

Do you remember where we first met?

The blonde boy with textbooks and the black-haired boy with a wooden sword on his shoulder sit side by side in the same class. In the first interaction, the black-haired boy passed the handout to the blonde boy sitting next to him with an approachable smile.

初めて会話した日も

The first time we had a conversation

Do you remember, what was our first conversation?

"What's your name?"

"Poseidon."

"My name is Sasaki Kojiro! Nice to meet you, let’s work together on our group project!"

"Sure."

初めて触れ合った日も

The first time we touched

Do you remember, how we held hands?

"Why are you holding me so tight?"

"There is a bug. On my shoulder."

"Bug? You're afraid of a butterfly? Haha..."

"Little piece of shit..."

二人のたからもの

This is our treasure

No matter what kind of memory, as long as you are in that memory, that is the best memory.

You know what? After grandpa Toga passed away, I was left alone. Musashi and other friends accompanied me through the most painful and lonely time, and I quickly stood up and continued to live. But I still feel something missing in my heart. I keep looking for things that can fill that gap.

You know what? Since I met you at school, what I look forward to most every day is seeing you on campus, saying hello to you, having a meal with you and doing projects together. Any tiny little things related to you make me look forward to life a little more, and the gap in my heart is filled by you unknowingly. It was only then that I found out that I fell in love with you. But I never dared to take that step because I don't know... If you would love a person who is the same gender as you. Your heart is like a needle that lies in the deepest part of the ocean. I'm deeply afraid that when I go deep into your heart, I find that needle is not what I expected.

You know what? When you confessed to me with a bouquet of red chrysanthemums at the graduation ceremony, my heart was overflowing with joy. There are so many coincidences in the world that the person I have a crush on confessed to me. When I put the red chrysanthemum into the boutonniere of your suit, I swear to myself: I will always be by your side. No matter what difficulties we encounter, I am willing to bear hardships all by myself.

二人だけのアルバムに

In ours-only-album,

Write down page after page of stories in our diary. Whether is it happy, sad, embarrassed, ashamed, painful... Write it all in.

また一つ新しい思い出が

another new memory has appeared

No matter what kind of memory it is, we should write it all in.

今日も産まれて綴られる

And it was written down today

Because every memory promotes us to create a better and happier future.

Sasaki slowly lifted his head and looked at his lover affectionately. Everything he wants to say next is for a better future, even though his lover is unwilling in any way, even though he... Can't become the legal adopter of the child. He is willing to sacrifice himself and is ready to become the "Familiar Stranger" at any time.

"Darling, listen to me. If we want to adopt children, you must be their legal adopter."

Poseidon was frightened by Sasaki's words. This is different from what we have discussed?! Why can’t we follow the initial plan? Why is he saying things that bring him disadvantages?

"Why? Didn’t we agree on this? Each of us should be the legal adopter of a child. What should the children do if something happens to me?"

Sasaki shook his head, held Poseidon's face with his palms, and caressed his cheek with his thumb.

"You should know. I was brought up by grandpa Toga when I was a child. He passed away when I was in high school. I didn't have a family member around me from that time until I was with you. So, if I became the legal adopter of the child and one day I encountered an accident, even if you were my spouse, legally you and the child were just “Familiar Strangers” ... I have no family members who can adopt them on behalf."

"No, you will not encounter any accident... You will not... Kojiro, please don't have such thoughts..."

Poseidon couldn't stop his tears flowing down from the edge of the corner of his eyes and into the gap between his cheek and Sasaki’s thumb. Sasaki wiped away Poseidon’s tears with his thumb to comfort him, and his tears also flowed down.

"But... But you have your brothers and relatives around you! There are Hades, Adamas and Zeus. If anything happens to you, your family can help you. At least legally, our children can rely on your family."

君とだから 素直でいられる

It's you I'm being with so I can be straight about my feelings

"Don't you think... It's unfair to you? I don't want you to sacrifice like this..."

あなただから ついてゆける

It's you so I can follow you without hesitation

"Even if I can't be the legal adopter of our children, I will be the Pappy in their hearts and the adult they can rely on. After we successfully adopt our children, we will go and notarize our marriage... By then... By then"

これからも いつまでも

From now on, till forever

"I will be your spouse, your partner... The swallow that will always be by your side. So... Stop crying... This is the best solution for us to adopt children. Don't worry... Everything will get better. Let's create... Our future together, okay?"

二人の愛を育ててゆこう

Let's slowly grow our love together

Poseidon nodded, held Sasaki’s face in both hands, touched his forehead and nose, and slowly rubbed their noses together.

"Yes."

………...

When the same marriage act excludes joint adoption and gay partners apply for adoption, even though only one of them becomes the legal parent because the partner is also an important caregiver of the child in the future, based on the best interests of the child, adoption matchmaking institutions often invite partners to go through evaluations and participate courses.

After nearly a year of registration for adoption, participating in various briefings and educational courses, evaluation talks and visits of social workers, and the final adoption qualification and examination, Poseidon and Sasaki finally waited for the matchmaking day. Meeting their future children is even more nervous than confession (aka proposal). What if the children are afraid of him? What if the matchmaking fails? What if…

Suddenly, his right hand was held tightly which stopped Poseidon from running through all kinds of negative thoughts and turned to his partner. The confident and warm smile dissipated the negative thoughts in his mind, and it was also the smile that supported him from time to time, whenever he was overthinking.

"Don't worry, today shall be a memorable day. Be happy, we're going to meet our future children."

As they stepped into the orphanage, lively children are playing together: some are playing with building blocks, some are playing with sand, and some are playing tag. The native families of these children often have a complex background, such as poor economic support, inability to raise, parents may be underage or must serve long prison terms. It is their last resort to choose to opt their children out for adoption, but this is also for the sake of the children's happiness. Look at it with a glance, people would think that they are in a kindergarten, but the children here are actually "orphans" waiting to be adopted.

Sasaki noticed a pair of twins observing the ant nest in the corner: Long dark purple bangs covered the right eyes of the sisters, and the pupils like emerald exuded the innocence, purity and loveliness that children should have. Sasaki, who is also interested in nature, squats down and wants to join them to observe the ant nest.

The twins seemed to notice that they were stared at by someone behind them and turned their heads to look at Sasaki. The adopter and the children have their eyes met, and the children's eyes reveal rejection and anxiety towards the adopter. The defensive elder sister immediately got up and stood in front of the younger ones. The younger sister shrank behind her like a poor stray dog. Before Sasaki could say hello, the elder sister angrily pointed to the adopter in front of her and yelled at him:

"I know you will come today! I won't let you hurt me and my sister! Let's go!"

Without looking back, the elder sister brought the younger sister away from Sasaki and fled indoors.

The frightened Sasaki sat down on the floor: "I... I didn't do anything? They knew we would come today? Are they...?"

"They are the twins for today’s matchmaking."

The twins came from a well-off family. Due to gene mutation, the twins had Heterochromia iridis at birth. Their father thought that their mother had an affair with another man, thus the twins had different colour pupils. Without listening to their mother’s explanation, he left her and the twins and disappeared without a trace. Their mother brought the twins who had just reached two to three months to the orphanage because she was unable to raise them.

"Can't you contact the native family anymore?"

The dean sighed and shook his head.

"So, the covered eyes..."

"Amber-colored, like a wolf's eye."

"Amber-colored eyes?! Aren't those eyes exquisitely rare?"

"Yes. Because it's so rare, there was once a slender man with short black hair, who wears a black coat and a suit showed his interest to adopt the twins. After hearing about the twins, he actively wanted to adopt them. Whether it's economic conditions or participating courses, that man is a perfect adopter. During the adoption qualification and examination, I realize that the man planned to carry out all kinds of inhuman experiments on the twins. As the head of the adoption agency, I unqualified that man and sent him off. "

"How old are they now?"

"The twins are almost five years old. Although there are still a few couples who came to adopt children, they will retreat when they see the twins. When I ask them for reasons, most of them replied that they don't know how to explain to the twins that they look different from other children."

Difference? Can there be anything that happens to be the same between people in this world? Naturally, everyone is unique in their way since they were born. However, in this society, there has always been the fact of appearance discrimination. In the process of one's growth, we would hear others criticizing one’s or others' appearance, and even ridicule them with embarrassing words.

Poseidon looked thoughtfully into the room where the twins had fled.

"Some couples exaggerate and regard the orphanage as a market. They have strict demands for the child's appearance, specify a strict age range, require in-depth genetic testing reports, require the child to be smart, and so on. Especially after seeing the twins, they just went on and say nasty things about the twins’ appearance in front of them."

The twins involuntarily became conspicuous in the crowd. In this cruel world, if there are places that do not meet social expectations, unrealistic labels such as "Mutants" will be pasted on them. At a young age, they are pasted with labels that they should not bear, and they have to bear the spit and ridicule from the adults. The accumulated attacks and trauma made them decide to cover one eye with their hair to cover up the fact that they had Heterochromia iridis. They built a thick wall in front of any adopter who tries to approach them and directly rejects their kindness, whether it was real or not.

Because, instead of bringing themselves in like a silly, it's better to protect themselves before the adult acts.

Because their inner expectations about the world are about to be broken by those adults.

Because they hold their hesitation about "love".

"About your matchmaking, we'll talk again sometime..."

"No need."

Poseidon turned and followed the twins' escape route.

"Poseidon, where are you going?"

"Find those two kids."

"Wait for me, I'll go with you!"

Is it true that the ugly duckling in the fairy tale is truly ugly? It may be that after growing up, because of the comments it receives, it found that it was ugly when it was a child. It is human’s nature to love beauty, but "Standardized Aesthetics" is not. Beauty should have different looks and forms.

Poseidon had his dull hair radar, quickly found the twins' hiding place: Their bedroom. But the door was locked, and the only way to communicate was to talk through the door. Poseidon and Sasaki squatted down and faced the door. Hoping that their words can change the twins’ thoughts on the things around them. Poseidon took a deep breath and took Sasaki's hand:

"When a person looks at the world from a narrow perspective and imposes his standards on others, everything will be unpleasant, and even maliciously criticize others' appearance and attire. On the contrary, when we hold an open attitude and sincerely respect everyone, we can accept everyone's differences and appreciate all kinds of beauty. Your state of mind determines how you see the world. Only people with an ugly heart will criticize others' appearance and think that others are ugly."

If you want children to have a happy life, the first step should be teaching them how to accept their existing appearance and learn to appreciate different kinds of beauty, so that children will not endanger their physical and mental health due to unhealthy self-appearance thoughts.

Squatting by the side, Sasaki leaned against the gap in the door and held Poseidon's hand tightly:

"Although a person's appearance is very important, the most important thing is whether he or she can live their life beautifully - being beautiful is an advantage, but living beautifully is an ability. Starting from loving ourselves, being a positive, optimistic, and intelligent person. In this way, we will start from the bottom of our heart to let our life energy bloom and shine brightly in the crowd."

"I'm Poseidon / Sasaki Kojiro. Would you like to give us a chance?"

Were they touched? Or convinced? The twins look at each other, and their eyes say everything. The twin sisters nodded, and the elder sister opened the door: The adopters in front of them did not send out a single bit of hypocritical kindness and hatred, like the adults before, but were as warm as the sun, and the smile on their faces did not hide a trace of falsehood.

"Will you hate us?"

The adopters shook their heads.

"Will you abandon us?"

Poseidon and Sasaki shook their heads.

"Well, can we call you "Daddy”?”

"Of course."

Daddy and Pappy answered.

The tears swirled in the twins’ eyes. Finally, they couldn't help but cry, because for the first time they have ever felt such warmth from the adults. The long bangs covering their right eyes were soaked with tears and stuck to their chubby cheeks. Poseidon picked up the elder sister and Sasaki picked up the younger sister, wiped off their tears, brushed away their long bangs, looked at the child in their respective arms and said:

"My dear child, let’s go home."

A family of four walked out of the building.

They yearn for the best of living together in the future.

…………

As the first group of gay families to be enrolled in the local kindergarten, Poseidon and Sasaki took things seriously. They had an interview before entering the kindergarten, took the initiative to share their gay family identity, and received a friendly response from the kindergarten.

"Little Swallow and Little Dolphin’s Daddy and Pappy are here!"

This announcement couldn’t be more natural to hear during every pick-up period.

………...

Poseidon: Big brother just sent a wedding invitation.

Sasaki: Really?

Little Dolphin, Little Swallow: Wedding invitation??

Poseidon: Yeah.

Sasaki: That means Uncle Hades is getting married!

Little Swallow: Really?

Little dolphin: Is it with Uncle Ying Zheng from the east?

Poseidon: Yes *opens the wedding invitation* Let me see... Children, do you want to be Uncle Hades's little flower girl?

Little Swallow: Is it the same as throwing petals and giving rings at Daddy and Pappy's wedding?

Sasaki: That's right! That means the important task of sending the ring will be left to you!

Little Dolphin, Little Swallow: Yeah!! We're going to be flower girls!

* Heterochromia iridis: Congenital, mainly the difference of iris colour between two eyes, which may be related to heredity. Because the colour of eye iris is genetically affected, if one of the offspring's parents has blue eyes and the other has grey eyes, the offspring of those two may have a pair of blue eyes or a pair of grey eyes, but it is also possible that the iris of one eye is blue, and the other is grey*

*Swallow represents the meaning of vitality and hope, which has a meaning of good omen since ancient times. In the East, swallows are regarded as messengers of spring. If swallows build nests under eaves, it means good luck. In the west, swallows symbolize freedom and dreams. Whether in the east or the west, swallows also represent a beautiful longing for the future*

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

Mellow’s Roar:

I, who went super slow in writing fanfiction, finally finished this one. Other than writing my fanfiction, I am also doing translation in my free time. Well, I do all this is to improve my writing skills.

In the original manga/anime series, Hrist's eyes are green when she is the “One trembles in fear” and her eyes are gold when she is “One tremble with anger”. However, I want to throw in the setting of "Heterochromia iridis", so the covered eyes are golden (Amber) and the uncovered eyes are green.

The reason why I choose "Kinenbi (Anniversary in English) by HAZZIE feat. Miwa" is that this song surrounds a couple who have been in love for a long time and tells us about the anniversary they celebrated annually, from careful preparation to simple and quality time well-spent with each other. They don't care about gifts and flowers and restaurants, but only interact and get along with each other as usual. I'm only grabbing the chorus into the fanfiction because... It's easier for me to write. So, if you play music and read it... It might be a little difficult to read, but I hope you guys get the feeling I want to convey.

The reason why I will write the part about adopting children this time is that I hope we can pay a bit of attention to the inequality of homosexuality in the law and the sacrifices they must make. The process of adopting a child is way longer than ten months of pregnancy, which takes about one to two years. This preparation period, which is longer than pregnancy, includes various discussions, reviews, parenting courses, etc. Some people will feel that the adoption process is either taking too much time or troublesome, or they felt evaluated during the review process, so they will stop halfway. But in fact, these processes are necessary adoption preparations to understand adoptive parents and adopted children and help both parties adapt.

In order not to hurt themselves, the adopted children prefer to doubt or reserve the establishment of intimacy. Therefore, some children will challenge their adoptive parents to test whether their parents love them. It takes time for children to open their hearts to accept their adoptive parents. At the same time, adopters hope to get closer to their children as soon as possible. Therefore, this period is a huge challenge, but it is also a precious process for both sides to learn to love and be loved.

Once love crosses the blood barrier and the test of distance, adoptive parents and children can share life. Whether a heterosexual, homosexual, double parent, single parent... If you are prepared to be a parent, ethnic group or gender identity is never the standard answer. "After all, we should return to the core spirit of adoption, that is, "Love across blood".”

I hope you all like this. See you next time.

[disasterfandoms]

This is Your Home Now ~ The Ryders x teen!reader imagine

@atjafshelby​ requested: “Okay so I was thinking maybe a teenage reader who was like Judd as a child, gets in trouble and needs help and stuff. But maybe she lives on her own so Grace and Judd take her in and try to help her? No rush though, thank you!!❤️”

A/N: I appreciate you sending me a complex ask. I’ll be honest, I had no idea how i was going to write this one when I first saw it. I tweaked it a tiny bit, and instead of being on their own the reader is in a group home. This may be part 1 if anyone is interested in part 2?

TW: foster care, mentions of violence, mentions of therapy.

Your POV:

Sitting in the principal’s office, you began to take in the various lame quotes around the room. “You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take” sure, whatever.

“You have to look through the rain to see the rainbow” this has to be the worst one of all. What rainbow? and why go through hell to be able to see a prism of light in the sky?

The door shuts loudly, pulling you from your thoughts. You roll your eyes when you see your social worker walking in with the principal.

“So, Y/N, you’ve been getting into more fights recently, including earlier today when you struck another student in the face for saying something about your family,” your principal read from the file, then looked up at you, “Anything you’d like to say for yourself?”

”yeah, they deserved it,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes at him again. Everyone here should know by now the topic of your parents is off limits, especially what he said about them. 

“Just because someone says something you don’t like doesn’t mean you can assault them.” Your social worker scolded, probably hating her life for having to deal with you. 

They went on lecturing you for another 20 minutes, but at that point you zoned out, focusing on the view out the window behind your principal. It was sunny outside, the trees on the outskirts of school grounds blowing slightly with the wind. You could see people walking out there, and instantly wanted to be anywhere but here, supposedly listening to how you’re a screw-up and if you “don’t get your act together” you’ll “never have a future.”

“Y/n, what do you think about the compromise?”

You snapped your head to the principal, trying to figure out what all you missed in the last few minutes so you could figure out to answer appropriately. You studied his face, before deciding agreeing would be the quickest road. How wrong you were, you wouldn’t have the faintest idea until an hour later.

“Sounds good to me, as long as I can go back to class. Ms. Neal is teaching about the wage gap and I want to see conservative boys lose their ever-loving mind.” you smiled, hoping they buy it for now. They both nod their heads, then you stand up to leave. 

“I’ll see you after school, Y/N,” your social worker spoke confidently, seemingly proud of herself for her part in the supposed compromise. With that, you left the two adults to work out the details amongst themselves.

Going to Ms. Neal’s class quickly, you started to wonder what you agreed to. It had to be something significant if you weren’t getting in trouble for giving the star of the baseball team a black eye, which he deserved, by the way. 

Class went by as a blur, your attention focusing in and out on class, except when it came time to debate your stance on the issue of the class. You loved to argue, especially with privileged, snotty teens who don’t know how well they had it. You were good at it too, you could be a lawyer if you had any shot of a successful life.

Sooner than you’d like, class was over, and you started to get up and leave. You were too occupied with making sure you had everything that you didn’t realize you were making a beeline into your social worker.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“Hey, watch it!” You both say simultaneously, backing up and looking at who ran into you.

“Oh, there you are Y/N! Come on, I’m driving you back to the home to pack up your things” She signaled with her hand to come with her, and you obliged, confused.

“Pack my things? Why?” You asked while walking to your car. You know you’ve been in trouble recently, but being kicked out of the group home seemed a little extreme.

“Did you listen to the compromise at all when were talking about it? Before you agreed to it?” She asked, already knowing the answer.

“Not really, just figured agreeing would get me in the least trouble,” you replied, and you could see her smile a little as she shook her head at you.

“This last fight isn’t going on your permanent record, as long as you get anger management classes, and move out of the group home and into a foster situation with two loving people who know how to handle situations like yours,” 

“Crap, I really should listen more.” You sighed and leaned your head on the window. You didn’t see how moving you out of the group home would help at all, it’s more change and more adjustment, and you were tired of both.

“Want to know about the couple?” You social worker asked you, but you barely heard her. You shook your head and put a headphone in, hoping this wasn’t a mistake.

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

Judd’s POV:

“Are we sure about this, Gracie?” Judd asks, pacing between the living room and the kitchen, pausing every now and then to look at his wife. He stopped, turned to her, and rubbed his face before putting both hands behind his head, cradling it as he thinks about everything that could go wrong with this.

He knew they both wanted kids, and adoption seemed to be their only hope due to ther infertility troubles. But still, he argued to himself, a teenager? With this kid’s anger management issues, stubbornness, and troubled past, this isn’t what he necessarily had in mind.

“Yes, Judd, we’re sure. This kid needs our help, and a stable home to thrive. I understand you’re nervous, I am too, but we’ve been doing our research and interviewing with child protective services for months, and now they’re gracing us with a child that needs us.” Grace had walked over to him at this point, and taken his hands into hers. He looked into those beautiful, rust colored eyes of hers and took a deep breath. He knew she was right, she usually is, but he was still nervous.

He wrapped his arms around her, leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “I love you,” he whispered. She looked up at him, grabbed the nape of his neck, and kissed him lovingly. After a few seconds, she broke away, and whispered, “I love you too, handsome.”

Before anything could further along, the doorbell rang. The two looked at each other, took a deep breath, and walked to the door. Grace opened the door, and they both saw the social worker, Malia, with a teenager that looked less than happy to be on their doorstep.

Judd quickly scanned the teen, noticing the frown on their face and the bruised knuckles they were sporting on their right hand. They had a suitcase in the other hand, and looked short in stature. Everyone looks short to Judd, though. 

“Hi Malia, Y/N, please come in.” Grace states, welcoming their guest and their now-forster child into their home. Once the social worker guided Y/N in, the pair sat on the couch while Judd and Grace sat on the other, clasping their hands together and looking at the child who’ll be staying with them, being nurtured by them, for next couple years.

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

Your POV:

The house is nice, you thought to yourself as you sit on the couch, waiting for someone to speak to you. You look at them, whose names you aren’t aware of yet, and study their features. The man was tall, and you can tell he’s been working for a while due to his build and the scratches and burns on his hands. The woman is much smaller, and seems softer, but you can tell they love each other just by the way they can’t keep their hands off each other.

“Judd, Grace, this is Y/N. Now, I know the department have given you their file, but do you have any questions about their history, or anything I can answer?” Malia asked, putting her hands in her lap. At least you know their names now, you thought to yourself.

“I don’t think so, ma’am. You’re welcome to stay for supper, though. Y?N, is there any allergies or diet restrictions we need to know about?” The woman, Grace, you remind yourself, asks. She smiles at you as she asks, and she has a pretty smile. You start to wonder why they wanted to take in someone like you.

“No ma’am, thank you for asking though. Can one of y’all show me to my room, though? I’d like to unpack and start on homework before supper.” You try to be polite, not knowing who they are once the social worker. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

“Of course, I’ll show you up there, and let you get settled.” Judd offers, standing up to guide you to where you’ll sleep.

You go up the stairs, and are impressed by what you see. This is better than the group home, at the very least. You head down the corridor he’s taking you through, and walk into a moderately sized room that had a full-sized bed, two nightstands, a dresser, closet, desk with a chair, and a door to what you assume is a bathroom.

“Take all the time you need to settle in. This weekend we’ll all go shopping and you can buy decorations for your room. Once supper is ready, we’ll call you downstairs to eat, get to know each other better. Alright?” He asked, looking as if he expected you to answer. You quickly nodded, and got to putting away your things and taking in the space. Maybe you actually belong here.

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

Once supper was ready, you were called down, you stumbled down the kitchen, washed your hands, and then took a seat at the table. Malia had left, hopefully to bother another kid and leave you alone, and you sat there quietly, eating the dinner they prepared.

“So, Y/N, is there any hobbies you enjoy? Anything we can look into getting you, like an easel or a video game?” Grace asks, making conversation.

“Why do you care? It’s not like I’m your kid,” You rolled your eyes, then looked down and played with your food. You wouldn’t let yourself get attached to the idea of having people truly care about you, especially not now.

“Hey, you-” Judd started to raise his voice, but Grace cut him off with holding her index finger up to him, then spoke.

“Y/N, I know this is all too new for you still. You don’t know us, you do not know our intentions, and you’re past makes it especially hard for you to believe anyone would love you and care for you. But, and I mean this, this is your home now, Y/N, and we will not abandon you, no matter the obstacles ahead,” she paused, and looked to her husband. Judd nodded, and took a deep breath.

“Y/N, I was just like you when I was your age. I was going through somethin’, and it left me violent and not knowing who to trust. We want you here so we can help you through the hurt you’ve been through, and make you into the young adult we can already see inside you. We have two rules, don’t disrespect us, and be honest with us. Got it?”

“Got it,” you spoke quietly. The rest of the dinner was quiet, and afterwards you went upstairs to your room, lying on the bed, thinking about how this is going to be good for you. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay.

[intercoursefluids]

The Impromptu Sleepover Part 2 (Final)

One day. All she asked for was one normal day. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? A single completely average day is not too much to ask for.

Unless of course, you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Then it’s impossible.

People around Marinette start crying as Scarecrow walks into the room, mothers hiding their children behind them as everyone holds onto each other, scared of what’s to come.

Marinette shudders at the pure animosity radiating from the man-turned monster.

Adrien, ever the faithful friend, mistakes the slight shake as fear and shifts so he covers her from the villain’s view.

Everything is quiet before Scarecrow starts on his evil monolog (not that anyone cares).

Tuning him out Marinette looks around, trying to come up with a plan to get everyone out before a shrill scream and crying fill the air causing her to snap back around.

Some of Scarecrow’s goons are holding a woman back as a small boy is dragged up to the monster himself.

Grabbing the boys are he holds the trembling child painfully tight before reaching behind him and pulling out a canister.

Seeing as how Marinette planned this whole trip she made sure to know all about the local heroes and villains.

And the knowledge of what that bastard was going to do to that poor kid squashed any sense of self-preservation Marinette had.

Rushing forward she manages to make it past the few armed men standing between her and Scarecrow and rips the kid away from him just to get blasted in the face by the fear-toxin.

Ringing fills her ears as she collapses to the ground, voices shouting from the corners of her mind.

All of them shouting how they failed her, she should have done better. That she never should have been chosen.

One voice rings out crystal clear amongst all of the other roaring voices.

You said you would save me, M’lady. I should have known better than to trust someone like you. After all, you aren’t even worth the Ladybug miraculous. I have to say, I’m disappointed in you Bugaboo.

Her head jerks up at her partner’s voice, tears streaming from her eyes as she comes face to face with someone she never wanted to see again.

Chat Blanc.

Voices surround her as explosions sound in the distance. Her parents, her friends, everyone. All screaming at how she failed them, how she should have stopped when she had the chance.

Children’s cries fill the air around her, only these are different. They don’t echo from within her head, instead, they come from around her, slowly grounding her. Reminding her that this is just some monster’s trick.

The fear is still there, prominent as ever, but now her focus is on getting everyone out. She hasn’t failed yet.

Slowly uncurling from the ball she had formed she looks around. Forcing herself to see past the bloodied faces of people she failed to save.

All around her everyone is still the same, the hostages in the same places, same as the gunmen (even if they look smug at her suffering).

The only one missing is Scarecrow himself, and turning ever so slowly to face Chat Blanc her fears are confirmed.

In Scarecrows place stands her beloved kitty.

Pure unadulterated rage fills her as he dares wear her kitten’s face.

Lunging at Chat Blanc she hears the startled screams as she attacks him before the rushing in her ears takes over, leaving her deaf to the sound of shattering glass as the heroes arrive on the scene.

Having the advantage of surprise on her side she manages to pin him fairly easily tying his arms behind his back with her visitors’ pass before spinning around to help take down the rest.

An arm wraps around her, trapping her arms to her side as she struggles, a hand coming up to cover her eyes as she tries to getaway.

Quiet shushing and words of reassurance reach her ears causing her struggling to slow.

“W-who are you?”

Marinette winces at the tremor in her voice as she takes stalk of her surroundings.

Her head is tucked under their chin as their surprisingly strong arms hold her in place, one hand still firmly over her eyes.

“My name is Damian. I’m trying to help keep you calm until they can get you the anti-serum.”

She chuckles even as she shakes in his hold.

“It’s not normally a good idea to grab a girl from behind if you want her to calm down.”

He tenses slightly.

“Right, I didn’t think that through. Most people see what they are most afraid of so I thought if I took that away it would help you calm down.”

Marinette doesn’t reply for a while, opting to try and match his breathing instead of replying. All the while subconsciously leaning more against him.

“It’s working I’ll admit, you just went about it horribly. Can we sit down? I feel like my legs are about to give out.”

She feels him loosen his hold and fumble with something behind her before the hand over her eyes is replaced with a piece of cloth. He takes her hand leading her over to a wall before sitting and pulling her with him, tucking her into his side and draping something over her shoulders as her shaking picks up again.

“I’m sorry, can you tell me about yourself? It’ll help me keep my mind off of the panic.”

She feels him nod shifting again so she's leaning more against his chest.

“I have 3 older brothers. Richard, but everyone calls him Dick, Jason, and Tim. I lived with my mother until I was 10 so I’ve only known them for 6 years. They are all adopted but I don’t think anyone even remembers that half the time.”

Marinette can’t help the soft smile that takes over her face as she wraps her arm around him (why is he so warm???).

“You sound like you love them.”

He scoffs.

“Not in a million years, they’re annoying. Grayson is overly dramatic and a hopeless romantic, Todd is a trigger-happy hothead, and Drake is an insomniac, workaholic with a caffeine addiction.”

Marinette can’t help but giggle, her overwhelming fear slowly receding enough for her to think.

“They may be ‘annoying’ but they’re your family, I can tell you care about them.”

Damian makes an offended noise even as he wraps his arm around her rubbing her arm up and down.

“The only person in our family that I actually like is Alfred, he’s our grandfather and the only reason any of us are still alive, but, I guess they aren’t as bad as they used to be. Not that I'll ever admit that to them. Their egos are big enough as is.”

Marinette is about to respond when another voice cuts her off, causing her to cling to Damian as her heart rate picks back up frantically.

“Too late, I brought the anti-serum for your frie- Hey is she okay?”

Damian pulls her into his lap, rubbing her back even as he scolds the other person.

“She’s still being affected by the fear-gas dipshit! I just got her to calm down again, give me that!”

One of his arms leaves her body as he reaches away from her, he starts whispering to her again as something pricks her upper right arm.

It only takes a minute for the anti-toxin to work, causing Marinette to sag in relief against Damian as he keeps his arms around her.

“Seriously Todd! You should have known better than to startle someone like that!”

Marinette takes deep breaths of air, slightly surprised by the smell of Damian’s cologne before realizing she has her arms wrapped around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re right. My bad demon-spawn.”

Damian scoffs adjusting Marinette in his arms so he can sit up instead of leaning against the wall.

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to, nitwit!”

Marinette sits up slightly kissing Damian’s cheek as she takes the makeshift blindfold off before returning to her earlier position.

“Thank you, Damian. You didn’t have to help me, much less stay with me and calm me down. You’re really sweet, you know that?”

His arms tense around her before cackling fills the air.

“Demon-spawn? Sweet?! I don’t know who you’re calling sweet but it’s most definitely not my little brother.”

Damian groans as ‘Todd’ keeps laughing, instead directing his attention to Marinette.

“Do you think you’re okay to walk? The cops will probably want to take a statement.”

She nods and they slowly rise, Damian, supporting her the whole time. Once she is finally standing up straight she turns to look at the boy who helped before coming face to face with the greenest eyes she’s ever seen.

Her breath catches in her throat as she meets his electric emerald eyes for the first time since they met.

They stand there, in complete silence before a camera flash breaks through their quiet bubble.

Turning towards Todd, Marinette studies his features.

Pale skin, blue eyes, and black hair with a tuffet of white at the front.

“What do you think you are doing,Jason?”

Todd now dubbed ‘Jason’ grins stepping away from his brother.

“Ooh, the first name. You only use that when you’re pissed. And I’m sending this to the group chat, no one will believe me if I say that you were civil with another human being!”

Damian glares.

“You have ten seconds to run, Todd.”

Jason wastes no time running away as quickly as humanly possible.

Damian goes to follow him but stops when Marinette grabs his arm.

“Help me over to the officers? I’m still a little shaky.”

His sharp glare softens as he leads her over to give her statement.

10 minutes later, they are both sitting on a bench waiting for the police to finish getting statements from the rest of the hostages and for the armored truck that will transport Scarecrow to arrive.

“One time when I was 11, Todd and Drake decided it would be a good idea to kidnap my turkey Jerry and hide him away after buying a raw turkey and cooking it for dinner. They said they found it wandering around outside and decided it would be a good idea to cook it.”

Damian shakes his head in fond exasperation.

“That is the closest I had ever come to crying in front of my brothers. I ended up running and telling Grayson what they did and he got so mad. They ended up fessing up that it was just a prank and they didn’t mean to actually make me upset. They ended up going out and buying a bunch of junk food and pizza before we had one big movie night together.”

“We all ended up falling asleep in the living room all piled on top of each other. Father was so surprised when he came home and he didn’t even send us to bed. He got changed and joined us in the living room. We all ended up sleeping in a giant pile on the floor that night while Alfred took the couch.”

Marinette smiles up at Damian, he had been telling her about himself ever since she had asked him to and she honestly enjoyed it.

“They sound wonderful Damian. Hey, when do you think they are going to-.”

“Mari!”

Marinette is cut off by one of her favorite blondes as he latches onto her body.

“When you rushed forward I tried to follow you and ended up getting hit with the gas and had a panic attack, and then when they gave me the serum I couldn’t find you and had another panic attack, and they couldn’t calm me down for a while and then they had to take my statement but I still couldn’t find you and I’ve been freaking out the whole time. What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

By the time Adrien finally stops rambling his head is in Marinette’s lap and his arms are wrapped around her waist.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, but you shouldn’t have even followed me, that was dangerous and stupid and your dad would destroy me if anything happened to you.”

Adrien snorts.

“If you don’t want me to follow you then don’t take off running.”

Marinette groans, not acknowledging the fact that she is still leaning against Damian.

“Adrien, you are far too ride or die for your own good.”

Adrien sighs, leaning back to look at his best friend.

“Yeah well, Chloe is probably gonna kill us both if we don’t get back to the hotel soon. She heard what happened and has been blowing up my phone since I came to. Ms. Bustier won’t let her leave though.”

“We are so dead. She’s going to actually kill me this time. Damian? Would you like an invite to my funeral? You’ll need a tux.”

Before Damian can even try to respond Adrien cuts him off.

“Oh! There's another person here… Who saw me acting dramatic…. Oh no.”

Adrien's pale face contrasts brightly with Marinette’s, which is bright red from restraining her laughter.

“Okay, okay this is fine. It’s fine. We have two options here, A: We kill you so you can’t spill our secrets or B: You become our friend and are kept under surveillance.”

Damian raises an eyebrow at him not even bothering to acknowledge how dramatic he is still being.

“No.”

Marinette finally breaks, cackling like a witch she rips a piece of paper from her ever present sketchbook and writes her number down.

“Here, this is my number in case you want to stay in contact. Come on Adrien, Chloe is going to kill us.”

She grabs Adriens arm and starts to run, ignoring his protests of ‘He knows too much to be left alive!’ in favor of trying to make it back to the hotel with her other favorite blonde.

She didn’t see the soft smile Damian sent her way as he puts her number in his phone…

But Jason did, and soon will ever other wayne if the video he sent to the family group chat had anything to say about it.