Tag: submission

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To: @cammieanime

From: @oolb

Hi there! This is for @cammieanime. I just LOVE Seven and Lotus and I’m glad you do too, so I wrote something about the two of them meeting up after the events of the first game. It was really fun to write, so I hope you enjoy!

—

It wasn’t often that she went out, honestly. Raising two daughters by yourself wasn’t an easy feat, even though they were already past 18 and didn’t really need any more raising. Truth be told, the thought of being away from her daughters made her nervous, especially given the events that had transpired only 6 months ago… Hazuki – or Lotus, she’d taken a liking to that despite the bad memories the name was associated with – considered herself to be a strong-minded woman, but there wasn’t a soul in the world that wouldn’t be shaken by the Nonary Game.

Funny. Now that all had passed, the number nine kept on showing up in repeatedly in her life… often she caught herself thinking that maybe the game had never ended and this was just a sick version of the Truman Show.

“Or maybe you’re getting a bit paranoid, mom,” Ennea said as she put the car into park. “You have your cell phone, right? You’ll call if you need me?”

“Eh? Ennea, you’re acting like the mom here.” She laughed and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “I love you. Tell Nona I love her too.” And then she grabbed her purse, her coat and jumped out of the car before she could change her mind and ask Ennea to drive her home.

‘Blue Ocean’ was a really fucking stupid name for a bar, Hazuki thought, yet it was her destination nonetheless. What would the ocean be other than blue? Well, maybe green, maybe muddy brown, but still. Something else about the name bothered her, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Still, for such a gaudy name, the Blue Ocean was rather… plain on the inside. Some lopsided fish stared down at her from the wall as she walked in, but that was pretty much all that the Blue Ocean had going for it. Pity. She’d seen fake ships with better décor. Hazuki set herself down by the bar and ordered a pint of beer. On the television screen behind the bar, some soccer match had just started its second half. Perfect. It would be just her, her beer, and two teams she’d never heard of playing for a sport she didn’t care for. If this was what it took to make her feel like a regular person again, Hazuki was all for it.

Yet halfway through her pint of beer… “Well, I didn’t think I’d be running into the demon again so soon.”

Oh, she knew that voice. Hazuki ran her thumb over her rings and gave a little laugh. She stared down at her beer. “I think it’s too early for a reunion, Seven.” Then she gestured loftily to the chair next to her. Not that she thought that Seven was a particularly interesting company, but she was in a good mood.

“Oh, you’re offering me a seat? That’s unexpected.” He shuffled into the seat a little clumsily, a man of his size looking out of place on the dainty bar stool. Seven turned to face her with a grin. Since the last time she’d seen him at the Nonary Game, he’d… changed, somehow. A little bit. It was as if the wrinkles near his eyes became just that much more apparent in the bar’s dim light.

“Good to see you’re wearing regular clothes this time around.” Seven chuckled and smoothed his hair down with a broad hand. He was no longer wearing the beanie and overalls, though his fashion sense still leaned towards “comfortably baggy”.

“I can wear whatever I damn well want,” Hazuki said, sipping her beer. “Plus, belly dancing is only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“I believe ya.” Seven gave her a look. He waved down the bartender and asked for the wine list.

Hazuki nearly spit out her drink. “You’re ordering wine? Really? And I’m the exhibitionist grandma.” For some reason, the thought of a guy like Seven sipping Pinot Noir (Chardonnay? Whatever, who fucking cared about wine anyway) seemed absurd to her. She thought him to be the beer guzzling type.

Clearly, he seemed to think the opposite about her. “Well, I was gonna ask you to join me, but seems you’re all set.” He shrugged. “Don’t diss my wine. Red wine is good for the noggin.” He tapped the side of his head. “If it wasn’t for this thinking machine up here, we would have never gotten out of that confinement room.”

At this, she scoffed. “Please. I was way better at those puzzles than you.”

Seven gave a noncommittal grunt as the bartender slid him the menu. He squinted down at it, lips pursed. He slid his finger down the list and something crossed his expression. “This is gonna sound crazy, but d’you feel like you’re being haunted… by a goddamn number?” He flipped the menu to her. “Nine different types of wine on the list… sometimes I think I’m losing my mind.”

“Ha! You’re not the only one.” She gestured in a conspirational fashion at the television. “Ten minutes ago, number 9 on the red team scored a goal.”

Seven turned to her, a little unnerved. “Really?”

“Tch! I can’t believe you fell for that one.” Seven frowned for a moment but, surprisingly, they shared a moment of laughter. She’d be damned. Laughing with enemy.

“Y’know…” Seven started after ordering a glass of his fancy wine, “I gotta say… I’m sorry I said you looked like a half-naked raisin. I mean, it was true, but I’m still sorry I said it.”

“Nice of you to admit that.”

“Hey, I’m feeling rather generous lately. I guess that’s the side-effect of surviving a Nonary Game. Glad to be alive.” He gave a shrug, which looked a little like a mountain yawning. The man glanced at her, as if trying to gauge something from her expression. “Say, how’s that… how’s that treating ya.”

“How’s what treating me?”

“Y’know… surviving that fucking mess.”

Hazuki lowered her eyes from the television screen. She ran a finger around the mouth of the pint glass, pondering the question. And also pondering how much she wanted to tell Seven. He was still a stranger, after all, despite what they’d been through.

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about it. I get it.” Seven said suddenly. He turned away, drumming his fingers on the counter. “Your kids were in it. You were in it. It must’ve been like living the nightmare all over again. Hell, I don’t even know why you got wrapped up into it… I mean. Junpei, that’s obvious. Aoi too. Those weirdo siblings, they were part of the original mess. And Ace too.” He listed the people off on his fingers. “I mean, the only weird part of the equation is you.” He was practically muttering now, speaking to himself.

Hazuki raised an eyebrow. “Seems like you’ve been thinking a lot about this.”

“I have, actually.” He gave a quick glance over his shoulder and leaned in. “Junpei and I are… Junpei and I have teamed up. Sort of. We just… we just want to get to the bottom of this.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “I can’t say much, but I feel like… this Nonary Game wasn’t the last of them.”

Hazuki’s stomach sank. “What?”

“I mean, I can’t say much, but… yeah. Just a hunch.”

God. Another Nonary Game. First her daughters, then her. Maybe she should call her mother soon just to make sure everything was okay.

She examined her glass. “I hope I have absolutely nothing to do with the next one.”

Seven laughed. “Hell, I hope so too.”

“Maybe they’ll write us out of the next two games and give only vague hints about our whereabouts and existence.”

Seven’s eyes widened and he scratched his chin. “Uh…”

She shrugged. “That was a joke. Don’t think about it too hard.” The smile faded from her lips and she paused. “You know, I do wanna talk about it. The Nonary Game, I mean. I think I’m ready.”

He waved his hand in a broad, inviting gesture. She took a deep breath:

“It was awful, and I would rather lick this bar’s floor than spend nine hours stuck with those idiots again, but… honestly, part of me… well, I felt closer to my daughters. I mean, I think it was important for me to go through what they had gone through. It sort of—sort of breaks my heart knowing just what they went through, but it killed a mystery that has been haunting me for years. To some degree, I guess.” She pursued her lips. “Closure. I guess that’s the word. Closure.”

Seven nodded slowly. “You know, I can respect that.”

Feeling a bit uncomfortable after that word vomit, Hazuki took a swig from her beer. “Well, respect it or not, that’s what I feel about that crazy bullshit. My two cents. How about you?”

His wine had arrived. Seven swirled it around in the glass before answering, watching the little rivulets of wine slide down the sides. “I just think we’re part of something bigger. Not me or you, specifically, but… What we’ve been through. I don’t think we fully understand it yet. Maybe we never will.”

“I suppose asking you to go more into detail isn’t allowed?”

He grinned. “Heh. Yeah. Sorry, Lotus, you’re pretty, but I ain’t riskin’ my job for you so soon.”

“It’s Hazuki.”

“Hazuki. I remember that.”

She paused. “Is… your real name classified information too?”

Seven laughed at that, a big, booming laugh that had always gotten on her nerves during the Nonary Game. “I s’pose you wouldn’t believe me if I actually said it was Seven, would ya?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Heheh. See?” He grinned. “Told ya.”

Somebody at the other side of the bar suddenly cried out—“Oh!” Both Hazuki and Seven jumped, until they realized the person was reacting to the television screen. Hazuki and Seven swung around to see a goal being scored. By the red team—player number 9.

“Huh.” Seven’s wine glass was raised and he kept it there for a moment, staring at the TV screen. “That’s… that’s… huh.”

“Blue Ocean,” Hazuki said suddenly, her eyes wide.

“What?”

“Blue Ocean. It has nine letters. That’s what was bugging me.”

“Oh.” Seven blinked. “I thought you’d be bothered by—well, I mean, Blue Ocean is a stupid name—“

“Yes! That’s what I said!” Hazuki raised her arms in exasperation. The gold bracelets on her wrist jangled noisily. “Thank you, Elephant Man.”

Seven chuckled at that. He raised his wine glass. “A toast to the Blue Ocean?”

“That’s lame.”

“Uh… to Zero?”

She raised her glass. “To the Funyarinpa?”

“What the hell is a Funyarinpa?”

“You don’t know about the Funyarinpa?” She scoffed. “Ask Junpei later. He knows.” She clinked their glasses together; both of them gave a hearty sip.

Seven leaned back in his seat. He cradled his wine glass, and then let out a huge sigh. “Let’s just hope we’ll never have to deal with any of this bullshit ever again.”

“You know… I can actually agree with you on that.” Hazuki said, nodding. A life without another Nonary Game—they’d paid their dues. They were done.

In Which Junpei Fails at Knitting. Twice.

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @falselyprofound

From: @electric016

I loved your prompt about Junpei’s scarf knitting not going according to plan! I hope this fic lives up to expectations! Merry Christmas!

Junpei sat clicking the needles. It was therapeutic. Sitting there and just focusing on the looping of yarn around knitting needle. He could relax and and take his mind off the idea that if he didn’t find anything of use to sell this week, he might not be eating next week–not to mention, he could always tell himself that maybe he could sell a scarf.

It was a good time to just let his mind wander, take a break and eat his lunch. Today tuna fish sandwich was on the menu.

As he knit, his mind wandered towards his childhood. When he’d been in elementary school, he’d learned to knit as part of a home economics class. It had been during the last week in February. 

For Valentine’s Day that year, Akane had given him a small box of homemade chocolate, decorated to look like a mini-bento box. It had been really thoughtful. He’d been wracking his brain ever since to think of the best way to reciprocate. After all, what kind of friend would he be if he didn’t return her gift?

The knitting class had given him a spark of inspiration. He would knit her a scarf. 

So when Junpei got home from school he asked his mom if he could go with her to the department store.

“Why do you want to come with me?” his mother asked suspiciously.

“We learned how to knit today at school, and I want to get some yarn so I can practice at home!”

His mother deemed this reasonable because soon he was climbing into the back of the car and off to the department store.

While his mother was gathering groceries, Junpei wandered off to the craft section, the 500 yen coin his mother had given him safely in his pocket. The selection was incredible, so many colors and sizes he didn’t really know where to start.

‘First thing’s first,’ Junpei thought trying to break it down logically, ‘what color would she want?’

His eyes scanned the shelves and landed on a deep, royal purple.

‘Of course, purple!’ Junpei said to himself. It was her favorite color after all. But there were so many different kinds of purple yarn. The big purple ball that had initially caught his eye was kind of coarse. He couldn’t make the perfect scarf out of that. 

Wandering up and down the aisles, he touched every ball and bundle of purple yarn, until he found the perfect one. It was a light lavender color and by far the softest yarn in the store. The only problem was that it was a pretty small bundle. 

He checked the price. 

“Seriously? 450 yen for a ball of yarn?”

Well he certainly wouldn’t be able to afford two of them. Well, Akane was a small girl. She probably only needed a small scarf. 

So everyday after school that week Junpei worked on knitting Akane the perfect scarf. He had to start over once or twice but eventually he got the  hang of it. 

The moment he was finally able to cast off and finish the scarf he realized his mistake.

He’d used the entire ball of yarn, but the scarf wasn’t nearly long enough. He’d made it too wide.

He tried to wrap it around his neck. The scarf was about as tall as his head, but only wrapped around the back of his head from one side of his face to the other. 

Junpei evaluated his options. He could unravel it and start over, but he didn’t have the time. Akane was just going to have to receive the least perfect gift ever for White Day.

Oh well, showing up to school with a misshapen scarf was better than showing up empty-handed. 

So the next day before school started, Junpei approached Akane where she was reading at her desk.

“Happy White Day!” he said in a rush, shoving the gift onto her desk.

“You got me a gift?” she asked setting her book down.

“Well, I made it. So I’m sorry it’s not very good. It’s supposed to be a scarf,” he said blushing.

Akane held up the scarf, letting it fall open. 

“Oh, Junpei! It’s perfect! Just what I needed!”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to lie. That thing won’t even wrap around your neck.”

“No, it won’t,” she agreed with a smile. “But it’s perfect for something else!”

She placed the scarf over her lap, wrapping it under her knees.

“See? This is perfect! It’s always cold in the classroom, and my knees get chilly. This is the perfect thing for that! Thank you, Jumpy. I love it!”

“Oh. Well, in that case–”

His memory was abruptly interrupted by a tugging at his yarn. Great, the ball must have gotten tangled up. He looked over at where the ball of yarn was resting next to him.

“What the–?”

His ball of yarn certainly had gotten tangled up. But not quite in the way he’d been expecting.

A little ginger kitten was tugging on the yarn.

“Hello, little guy. Where did you come from?”

The kitten flopped to the ground, the yarn in his mouth.

“You know, kittens really shouldn’t eat yarn. I think it’s bad for you. It could get stuck in your stomach…or something.”

He picked the kitten up, extracting him from the tangles of yarn.

“Here, you should try some of this instead.” He pulled a bit off of his tuna fish sandwich and fed it to the kitten. The cat ate it up hungrily. 

“Alright, kitty,” Junpei said setting the kitten down and giving him a pat before standing up. “I’ve got to get going, but take care of yourself.”

Junpei headed back inside with his knitting and sandwich, and leaving the kitten looking back at him. 

Junpei didn’t have pets. Even when he was growing up. His mom had been allergic to cats, and she was always saying they didn’t have time for a dog. Rodents were absolutely out of the question, and there was no way she’d allow him to keep a lizard. 

Once or twice he’d won a goldfish at the summer festival in his town, but they weren’t exactly what Junpei would call a pet. 

At this point in his life, Junpei wouldn’t consider himself a pet kind of guy. They were just too much hassle. And what with the state of the world these days, it was enough trouble trying to keep himself alive. 

Just because Junpei sometimes left food out for the cat, certainly didn’t mean he’d adopted it. It was a tough world out there and cats needed to know how to fend for themselves.

And Junpei was always very strict with himself. Absolutely, under no circumstances, did he take in strays.

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @dornishsphinx

From: @lizardtape

Hi! This is my gift for @dornishsphinx. It’s a ficlet with a related photo attached (aka lil Kyle drew a picture for his family). Happy holidays!

“Why do we have this tree here?” Kyle asked, staring at the strange new addition to his father’s workspace. It was a pine tree, he recognized it from books, but it was covered in strange circular objects. In his nine years on the moon, he’d never seen something like it.

“Hm?” Dr. Klim looked over his shoulder, then grinned. “Oh, that. It’s a Christmas tree. It’s…something I used to have every year back home, so I figured that we could use one here.”

Kyle walked around the tree silently, trying to analyze what was in front of him. “What is a Christmas tree? Do these circles make it Christmas and not pine?”

“No, no,” Dr. Klim chuckled. “If you want, I can have Luna tell you–”

“No.” Kyle interrupted firmly. “I want you to tell me.”

Dr. Klim sighed and rubbed his temple. “Well…okay.” He climbed off his chair and moved to sit on the floor next to Kyle. “Christmas is a holiday a lot of people celebrate back at home. People say it has different meanings, but for me…” He paused, staring at the tree in silence for a few seconds before responding. “It’s about giving things to people you care about. Like you, buddy.” He gently poked Kyle’s shoulder.

Kyle sat in silence, listening, then nodded. “So what should I get you for Christmas?”

Dr. Klim smirked. “You don’t have to get me anything.”

“You’re my dad. I care about you. So I do. What do you want?” Kyle insisted.

“Well, I want you and Luna to get along…”

Kyle sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Look, I know how you feel about her, buddy. Just…can you try for me? Even just for the holiday.”

Kyle looked down. “What day is Christmas?”

“December 25th.”

“What day is today?”

“December 12th.”

“…okay.”

Dr. Klim smiled and patted Kyle on the back. “You’re the best, kiddo.”

———–

The next day, Luna found herself in a new situation– being willingly approached by Kyle. “W-what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Do we have markers and paper?” Kyle asked. He remembered Luna having offered them to him at one point. He also remembered having completely ignored her offer.

“Yes! They’re in your desk in you room. Do you want me to point out where–”

“No. That’s fine.” Kyle turned around, then started to walk to his room. He stopped after a few steps, remembering what his dad had said. “Thank you, Miss Luna.”

Luna smiled. “You’re welcome, Kyle.”

———–

Kyle stared at the blank paper for a while. He hadn’t drawn much before, and never really cared to. But beyond that, this was difficult. He had an idea, but something wasn’t right. It didn’t make sense.

He crumpled the paper up into a ball and threw it to the ground.

Unfortunately, that didn’t feel as good as he hoped it would’ve, so he picked it up, unfolded it, and did it again.

It felt a little more satisfying that time.

So he picked up a new piece of paper and a black marker. He thought for a moment, nodded to himself, then began to draw.

———–

On Christmas Day, Dr. Sigma Klim woke up to an envelope under his tiny Christmas tree. It was marked “Family”. He smiled slightly, then opened it up.

The Thoughts That Count

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @electric016

From: @therealhousewivesofhyrule

Merry Christmas! Thank you for the lovely C-Team OT3 prompt! I went a liiiiitle off-topic I think but I hope you like it anyway! ❤

(and as a bonus… here is the big plot device in all its glory.) 

——–

“What the hell is it supposed to be, though?” Aoi asks as he nurses his hot chocolate. He tilts his head to from side to side, squinting at the truly strange and horrendous sweater Junpei is holding up in front of him. “Yo, Carlos, you know black and white ain’t all that festive, right?” 

“Yeah, you should have gone for red, at least,” Akane teases. She leans over Carlos’s shoulder and pinches his cheeks. “Like mine!” 

Carlos turns in his chair to look at her, and she strikes a pose, arms splayed wide to show off the baggy sleeves. Akane’s sweater is long and oversized everywhere, perfect for keeping warm on a cold day. She giggles as Carlos makes a twirling motion with his fingers, and she spins in place to show it off. The rabbits going around the sweater seem to hop around her waist as she moves. 

Aoi gives a low, appreciative whistle. “I know I gave you a hard time about all the knitting you were doing,” he starts, “But damn. Didn’t know you were planning something this cool.” 

Reaching up behind his head to scratch at the back of his neck, Carlos laughs sheepishly. “I don’t know if I’d call it cool…” 

“No, it’s so cool!” Akane insists. 

“Yeah, like you know what’s cool and what isn’t.” 

“Aoi!” 

“Cut it out, guys!” Carlos waves his hands to get the siblings’ attention, and it’s just enough to cut their argument short. He’s a little bit surprised that it’s Aoi ribbing his sister tonight and not Junpei, but Junpei has been abnormally quiet ever since he opened the box and pulled out the sweater. He’s still holding it up in front of him, eyes wide and… reverent? Carlos thinks that’s the word he’s looking for, but he’s not quite sure he wants to give himself that much credit.

The two Kurashikis notice Carlos staring and turn their attention to Junpei as well. “Jumpy, are you okay…?” 

Aoi does not have nearly as much concern for him. “Seriously, man, what is that thing?!” 

Carlos laughs and rubs the back of his neck again. “Well, you know that thing Junpei keeps next to the bed?” 

Aoi raises an eyebrow. “You mean that ugly dog picture?” 

At that, Junpei finally lowers the sweater, and his eyes are alight with fury as he stares Aoi down. Akane sighs and buries her face in her palm.

“Are you talking about the funyarinpa?” Junpei asks, voice nearly a growl. Carlos tenses and stands, ready to get between them, if he has to. This is going to go nowhere good. 

“The ugly dog picture from Q? That what it called?” Aoi snorts. “That’s stupid, but yeah.” 

Junpei looks like he’s about to throw the sweater on the ground, but instead he just angrily pulls it on over his clothes and stalks toward Aoi. He looks ridiculous doing it, and Carlos and Akane both exchange a look and try to stifle their giggles in their hands.

“Look, I don’t care whose brother or boyfriend or whatever you are—”

“Your boyfriend, for the record. Or one of them—”

“But in this house, we respect the funyarinpa!”

Akane sighs, but her smile is bright and happy. “Oh, God, there they go.” 

With a nod, Carlos puts a hand on her shoulder and rubs it gently. “I’m sorry. I really should have thought this through a little better.” 

They’ve completely tuned out of the argument Aoi and Junpei are having. Both men are standing and flailing their arms angrily, but luckily, no fists have been thrown yet. Akane giggles again and stands up on her toes to lean in and give Carlos a kiss on the cheek. “Nonsense!” she says. “It’s perfect. I can tell he really loves it.”

Carlos laughs and puts his arm around her. “With the way he’s defending its honour like that? I think you might be right.” 

Akane shifts in his grip to turn and face him properly. Her arms come up to wrap around Carlos’s neck, and she leans up again. Against his lips, she breathes, “And I love mine, too.” 

They kiss, chaste but long and lingering, only breaking apart when they hear a thud and a yelp of pain. Akane and Carlos jump apart, and Akane immediately drops to her knees next to Junpei, who has her brother in a headlock. “Apologize!” he yells. “Apologize to the funyarinpa!”

“Never!” Aoi yells back. “It’s fuckin’ stupid!” 

“You bas—”

“Okay, boys, that’s enough!” Akane says, and with way less effort than should be humanly possible, she yanks Junpei off of Aoi and into her arms. “Aoi, apologize to Junpei and his silly dog picture.”

“Hey—”

“And you, Jumpy! You apologize to Aoi. We do not tolerate roughhousing like this on Christmas, understand?” 

One of her hands rubs at Junpei’s arm, and she smiles sweetly. Everyone in the room knows that what that look really means, though. There’s absolutely nothing sweet about it.

“…Fine,” Aoi says. “Sorry, Junpei.” Junpei frowns and points to his sweater with both hands. Aoi rolls his eyes and adds, “Sorry, ugly dog sweater.” 

“Aoi.” 

“Fine! Sorry funyarinpa.” He rolls his eyes. Junpei grins smugly.

“Now your turn, Junpei.”

“All right.” He sighs dramatically. It’s all for show, and once again Carlos has to hide his laughter behind his hand. “Sorry for putting you in a headlock.” 

“And?” 

“And for yelling at you.” 

“Now that’s more like it.” Aoi stands up and makes a show of dusting off his pants while Akane turns Junpei’s face to hers and kisses him deeply. They’re both smiling into it, and it makes Carlos’s heart flutter seeing his girlfriend and one of his boyfriends so happy. He only pulls his eyes away when he feels Aoi nudge him. “Guess I’m sorry for calling the sweater ugly, too. So, uh, sorry, Carlos.” 

Carlos chuckles and puts an arm around Aoi’s shoulder. He squeezes him lightly. “Nah, it’s fine. The whole point was to make you guys ugly Christmas sweaters.” 

With a laugh, Aoi gestures to his own sweater – light blue with snowflakes all over it. “That why all the snowflakes on this thing are uneven?” He points to one of them, particularly distorted, with one half of it much smaller than the other. At this, Carlos pushes him away lightly. 

“No, that’s because no two snowflakes are the same.” 

“So you’re saying this isn’t your first ever attempt at knitting sweaters?”

“No, it’s not! Goodness, you are rude today.” 

“You love it, though.” Aoi leans in close and steals a quick kiss, right at the same time Junpei and Akane get up off the floor. Junpei frowns and punches Carlos lightly in the arm that isn’t still holding Aoi. 

“What, no love for me?” 

Once again, Aoi rolls his eyes, and Carlos just leans in close and ruffles Junpei’s hair. “So needy, Jumpy.” But they both lean in and kiss Junpei, one after the other. Dork that Junpei might be, he still doesn’t quite know how to process such open affection like this, and his face blushes a furious red. 

“Th-that’s not…” 

“Aw, shut up.” Aoi pecks him on the forehead again, and somehow, Junpei’s face gets even more red. “You know, you’re cute when you blush like that.”

“Almost as cute as my sweater,” Akane says fondly.

“Almost the same colour, too,” Carlos adds. Junpei throws his arms up in the air and turns around in a vain attempt at hiding his face, but they all already know he’s nothing but a blushing mess now. Akane hugs him from behind and slowly coaxes him to turn around again, once his face is closer to its usual colour. 

“Did you make one for Maria, too?” she asks.

“I did,” says Carlos, smiling softly. “I was going to bring it to the hospital tomorrow. You know, like a normal Christmas morning. And I…” He takes a deep breath, and now it’s his turn for his cheeks to redden. “I was hoping you’d all come too. Make it a family thing?” 

Three pairs of eyes go wide, three mouths fall open. Akane’s is the first to stretch into a smile, and she leaves Junpei to throw her arms around Carlos instead. “Oh, Carlos! Of course we will! You don’t even have to ask us!”

“Yeah,” Junpei adds. “I mean, she’s your sister, right?” 

“And family’s important.” Aoi crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Damn right, we’re going with you.” 

Carlos’s heart swells. He pulls all three of them in for a hug, awkward as it is, and he feels three sets of arms and hands on him, pulling him close and squeezing. 

They’re right. Family is important. And Carlos has never felt so loved by his family in all his life. 

Happy holidays @deathdesu!

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

to: @deathdesu

from: @thefireinthewire

Here’s you gift! I really liked you prompt about Eric pulling Mira into nerdy hobbies, so here you go!

Ao3

Dice and Other Distractions

“So the thing is,” Eric says, running his hands through his hair as he addresses the table, “I’ve been trying to find something to keep Mira occupied since she can’t go out much anymore ever since I, uh, broke her out.” His voice tapers off, wavering at the last few words. “But then I found this article about how playing games like Dungeons and Dragons can help people work out their feelings in a, a non-violent manner.” He laughs nervously. “And I remember playing some games in high school, so I think it would be fun.”

“Okay, and?” Junpei said from across the table. Officially they were all there to work on preventing the destruction that Delta had predicted, but they had gotten off topic a while ago.

“Well, right now with me, Sean, and Mira, we don’t have enough people to play a game, so I was hoping that someone else would play with us.” Eric cast his eyes around the room. Akane and her brother, who always seemed to show up at these meetings, were speaking quietly in Japanese and seemed to have missed most of what he had been saying. Carlos was looking on with the serious concentration he always had when someone else was speaking, but he had yet to say anything. The rest were looking on with varying levels of boredom. Phi had her head nestled in her folded arms and looked to to be asleep.

“Yo, Phido,” Sigma nudged her with his elbow, “you play Dungeons and Dragons, right?”

Phi whipped her head up so fast that it turned into a white blur. “Who’s playing Dungeons and Dragons.”

“Uh, I am?”Eric raised his hand awkwardly. “I need another person so that I can play with Mira and Sean.”

“What edition are you using, sixth or fifth? Or are you using a totally different system? I’m not super fond of Fate, but I really like Blades in the Dark, and I’ve played some good games of The Sprawl, and Apocalypse World is always fun.”

“I- what?” Eric shook his head. “I don’t know what half of that means. I’ve only ever played Dungeons and Dragons, and I wanted to do a campaign for Mira.”

“Oh, okay.” She bounced up and down in her seat a little. “Do you have a campaign planned out? Because I have a couple of ideas for ones that I want to run, if you don’t already have something planned out.”

Eric shrugged. “Not really. Do you want to-? I mean, you don’t have to, it just seems like you want to.”

“Yeah, I’ll be the DM!” Phi said, a little too quickly. “Sorry, it’s just that I haven’t played a game since I graduated college and started saving the world full time.”

“I think we could all use a game like this as a break,” Diana pipes in. “I mean, I’ve never played before, but it seems like it could be fun.”

“As long as Mira can play, I guess people can join in,” Eric said. “Does anyone else want to play?”

“Sorry, I think I’m too busy,” Junpei says, turning to join Akane and Aoi in their conversation.

“I can try to see if I have time,” Carlos said, running his hand sheepishly through his hair. “I played once or twice when I was younger, but my life’s been a bit hectic since then.”

“Okay, anyone else?” Phi looked around the room, but the rest seemed uninterested. “Nope? Alright. I expect character sheets on my desk by Monday.”

“What character sheet?” Diana said at the same time as Eric said “You don’t have a desk.”

“I’ll send everybody links to stuff you can use,” Phi said, gathering up her things. “I gotta start planning.” Then she scurried out of the room too quickly for anyone to follow.

“I’m the one who drove her here,” Diana said as Phi disappeared from sight. “She can’t go home without me. I have no idea where she’s going”

*

“Hmm,” Mira said, flipping through the handbook. “So playing as certain races can give you an advantage in certain other classes. Interesting.”

“Yeah,” Eric leaned into her as she read. “Some people don’t really care about those connections, since they think that it makes characters too stereotypical, but most of them make sense to me.”

“That’s stupid of them.” Mira shook her head. “It makes perfect sense for me to play an orc fighter. An orc’s strength will give me the extra power that I need in combat.”

“Oh, really?” Eric laughed. “I thought you would have chosen something pretty, like, like an elf!”

“No, that wouldn’t work for what I want to do.” She turned to look at Sean, who was filling out his sheet sprawled across the living room floor. “What about you, Sean? What kind of character are you going to play?”

“A gnome!” He turned his head and smiled. Sigma had made him a temporary head while he worked on developing ABT, and while it was more realistic than a big sphere, there was a plastic quality to the skin that made it obvious that he wasn’t human. “They’re going to be a wizard. I’m working on making a backstory now.”

Eric shifted in his seat. “Are you sure you want to play a wizard? I’ve heard that it’s sometimes hard for beginners to play magical classes.”

“I’ve already downloaded the entire spellbook, players handbook, and several other supplementary materials to my hard drive.” Sean said. “I think that as long as we stick to the rules I should be okay.”

“Oh, right,” Eric said, “I forgot that you can do that.”

“What kind of character are you playing, Eric?” Sean chirped.

“Oh, I, uh. I got so excited about you guys making your characters that I forgot to think about mine.”

He picked up the handbook and flipped through it, although he already knew most of the basics. When he was younger he would usually play a fighter, but Mira already had that covered. He should play a character that could protect her, maybe one with healing powers, that would be nice.

“I think I’ll be a paladin.” He said, resolve hardening his voice.

“And for the race?” Mira asked.

“Human,” he said, then again with more certainty. “Human.”

*

“So, does everyone have their dice?” There was some fumbling and rattling. “Character sheets?” Papers rustled. “Wizard hats?”

“You never said-”

“It was a joke Carlos.”

“Oh. Right.”

They were crowded around the kitchen table in Eric and Mira’s house, almost elbow to elbow, excluding Phi, who was seated at the head of the table and hidden behind several propped-up binders. Mira and Eric had decided to host the gathering because it was risky for Mira to be seen in public after she had been broken out of jail, but this was more people than they were used to having over at once. Sean was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest in an armchair that they had pulled in from the living room.

“Okay.” Phi clapped her hands together. “Let’s get this party started. First, I want everyone to introduce their characters. Eric, since all of this was your idea, you can start.”

“That’s not how that works!” Eric snipped.

“Yes it is. C’mon, you’re going to have to do it eventually.”

“Fine.” He took a deep breath. “My character is a human paladin named Alexander. He fights to protect his friends, and he isn’t afraid to die for a cause.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Phi smirked. “Okay. Mira, your turn.”

“My character is a fighter named Mab the Bloody.” Mira shrugged. “She’s an orc and she likes to punch stuff.”

“Cool. Sean?”

“My character is named Lenny Littlefoot!” Sean smiled and gestured with his character sheet. “They’re a wizard and a gnome, and they’re really excited to go on an adventure, even though they’re afraid of monsters.”

“Oh buddy am I going to use that against you.” Before Sean could respond, Phi turned again. “Diana! Your turn!”

“Oh!” Diana jumped a bit. “I’m playing an elf druid named Iris. She, uh, she likes birds? I don’t know what else to say.”

“That’s good enough. Last but not least.” Phi took a moment to pause dramatically. “Carlos!”

“I,” Carlos said, dropping his voice until it was comically low, “am playing Throckmorton, a dwarf, a rogue, and a general good-for-nothing.”

“If you establish that as your character voice, I will make you use it for the entire campaign.” Phi laughed.

“Challenge accepted,” Carlos rumbled.

“Alright.” Phi looked around the table. “Is everyone ready?”

The group nodded, expectant.

“Excellent.” She cracked her fingers louder than was necessary. “The five of you have been called to the town of Windport….”

*

“The fire giant roars as you approach, letting out a burst of flame. He knows that you’re here, and he is not happy. What do you do?”

They had been playing for what felt like years now, although in reality it was more like months, on and off as schedule conflicts delayed games. They were supposed to be saving the world, after all.

All of their hard work had come down to this. The evil king was deposed, and all that remained was the giant that he had summoned. If they won this fight, the kingdom would be free.

“I want to charge in and attack him.” Mira’s face was set, almost bored.

“Are you sure?” Phi asked. Mira nodded. “Alright then. Normally I would make you roll for initiative, but it’s pretty clear that you’re making the first move. Are you just hitting him with your sword, or-?”

“I’m just hitting him with my sword.”

“Alright then. Roll a d20 plus your strength modifier, which is,” she flipped through some papers, “five. Go ahead.”

The die clattered on the hard wood of the table, coming to rest nearly at the center. All around the table, the players leaned in to see what it said.

“Oh jeez,” Carlos winced. Diana bit her lip

“Well,” Phi said, “that’s a one. Okay, so you charge forward, sword raised high, but the thing is that your sword is just metal, and your armor is metal, and all the coins and jewelry that you’ve picked up is metal. And metal melts. The giant takes a deep breath, and you can see waves of heat rolling off of him. He rears back-”

“Wait!” Eric holds out a hand, desperate. “I want to jump in front of her and cast Shield of Faith.”

“Okay, but just so you know, if you fail, both of you are toast, and I mean that literally.” Phi sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “That’s another d20, plus your spellcasting modifier, which is four. Go for it.”

Eric rolled the die between his palms, trying to channel any bit of luck he had into the little piece of plastic. It bounced on the table and landed in front of Mira.

“It’s a 20.” A smile pulled at the corner of Mira’s lips

Phi shook her head. “There’s no way.”

“Come over here and look if you don’t believe me, but it’s true. Eric rolled a critical hit.”

“No, I believe you.” Phi took a deep breath. “So the spell radiates out from your holy symbol which, may I remind you, is a literal shield. It covers the whole part just in time to protect them from a burst of flame that sets the trees around you on fire. All of you are alive. I can’t believe that you managed to pull that off.”

“I did it!” Eric grasped Mira’s hand and grinned. “Mira, I saved you!”

“Technically you saved Mab the Bloody,” Mira smiled, “but yeah, you did. Thank you.”

“You guys know that you still have to get through the rest of the encounter, right?” Phi said.

“Yeah, but at least we got through this.” Eric squeezed Mira’s hand. “We got this far.”

Escape Room: Library

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

to: @choicemtn

from: @windsorgirllove

Merry Christmas! Or more specifically Merry Finals at the time I’m writing this. I really hope you enjoy!

…

Phi was going to die.

Well, not physically. But emotionally, probably. Academically, definitely.

She had fallen asleep on the library. Apparently this school couldn’t pay for decent security guards, cause she had been locked in. She wasn’t even tucked away in a corner; she was in one of the computer banks, out in the open. The keyboard had left painful red indents in her face. She growled, pushing herself off the hard plastic seat while rubbing at her cheek. The library was dark.

She checked her phone. 2:58. Only 12 more hours until her final term paper was due and she could finally collapse. She picked up her bag and headed for the front door.

Locked, of course. Phi knelt down, placing her bag beside her, and peered at the door latch. She could pick regular locks pretty easily – learn how to one boring summer – but she didn’t know what to do about an electronic lock. It was probably rigged to set off an alarm, too. That would be a great way to end her first semester at college, getting kicked out for breaking into the library. She fell back to a sitting position and put her chin in her hands. Maybe she could just stay there until morning. Freak out the librarians when they finally arrived.

She sighed, falling back and stretching on the floor. This was hard. College was hard. Life was hard.

It wasn’t supposed to be.

She wasn’t supposed to be stumped by a simple locked door. She wasn’t supposed to have put off an essay until the very last moment. She wasn’t supposed to be falling behind.

Phi let out a frustrated scream, kicking the ground. Then, abruptly, all her angry energy left her. Her stomach growled. She groaned and pushed herself back up. The basement was supposed to have vending machines.

Her footsteps were especially loud on the echoing steps down. She should probably be more worried about making so much noise. But it’s not like anyone would hear. That would be too lucky for her.

She punched the numbers into the machine and leaned against it, surveying the basement study area. They’re were bean bag chairs in some of the private study rooms on the top floor. Maybe she could just sleep here. That would be nice – a quiet night, for once. She couldn’t get comfortable in her own room. She was an only child. Sleeping with another person in the room was… weird.

Phi tore the wrapper off the chocolate and took a big bite of it. Food made her brain feel a little clearer. She couldn’t sleep – not yet. And she couldn’t stay here either. There were probably other exits from the library. Maybe she could climb from one of the windows. There was also the cafe – they had to have a door in the kitchen or something.

She strolled through the basement, looking around. Most of the basement was dedicated to the archives. She had spent most of her time upstairs, in the private study rooms. It’s the only chance she got to be alone. It’s what she wanted.

Alright, no. No it’s not what she wanted. That’s what she was used to. It’s what she was comfortable with but it wasn’t what she wanted. She just didn’t know what she wanted. Not this, certainly. Not college.

More specifically not locked in the library in this shitty college by herself. There wasn’t any escape route from the basement, unless she fancied digging. She tramped up the stairs, munching her chocolate bar. She just wanted to get out of here. Out of this college, out of this town. Find an apartment, get a shitty job, get a cat. Disappear from the lives of everyone she ever knew. Find some new friends.

The cafe door wasn’t locked, although she half expected it to be. She hopped the counter, wandering into the kitchen. There was one door, leading out to the terrace where students would sit during the warmer months. Phi rushed to it, jiggling the handle. Locked, of course, but locked normally, not electronically. She crouched down, glaring at the keyhole while she fiddled with her hair. Her bangs fell in her face as she removed her hairpin and bent it back. It slid into the lock, clicking as she moved it around. Before long the lock sprung open.

She stopped to pin her hair back, repositioning the flower pin in her hair. Then she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders, and escaped.

There was a tall hedge of bushes surrounding the terrace and pinning her in. Phi growled and stepped up onto the brick base of the planter. She had no time or patience to try finding the easiest route. Just the shortest.

The branches tore at her hair and her skin, but she pressed on, fueled by determination and late night desperation. Eventually, gasping, she made her way to the other side. She stood panting. Fucking finally.

Phi slumped to the ground, shivering. It had been so warm this afternoon when she left for the library, but now at night the December chill finally made its appearance. She hugged her knees to her chest. All her energy from before had left her, and she felt exhausted. Phi closed her eyes. She just wanted to open her eyes and be somewhere else.

There was something strange pressing at the back of her mind. She closed her eyes tighter, willing it to go away. But it kept growing. It was like the worst migraine she had ever had times ten. She let out a groan as it kept building. Her eyes shot back open, and everything was blurry. She tried to get to her phone, call for help, or even shout, but she didn’t get a chance before she passed out.

When she woke up she was staring at a blank gray ceiling.