Wordpress back-up for the tumblr blog. This is just an archive: the fanart and fanfic posted on this blog are the properties of the users listed and linked in the individual posts.
To: @kuiperdraws
From: @en-el-espanol-de-la-rae, cover by @uglydownvest
i was super excited that u picked the field siblings as ur prompt since!! i did too!! their relationship is so interesting, i love the extreme “i would die for u”.. thing they have going on, and they remind me of my own brother n sister! anyyywaays… have a happy holidays, and i hope u enjoy the songs!
To: @nimfetki
From: @lavenyr
Hello and Merry Christmas! I had so much fun making your gift and I really hope that you like it!! I wish you happy holidays and I hope next year treats you well!
Fic: Operation: Socialise
“Jus’ a couple more minutes please,” Clover said as she buried her face further into the pillow. Although Clover was sure that whatever Alice needed her to do was important, the position she had managed to shift herself into was far to comfortable to leave.
“If I’d known you would get like this I wouldn’t have let you nap”
“No refunds.” Her mind was still a little groggy, but Clover did her best to raise herself up slightly off the couch in order to meet Alice’s eyes. Alice seemed amused, and a little bit frazzled, likely due to the contorted position Clover had managed to work her way into while she had slept.
Clover scrunched up her nose at the sight, it was almost criminal how beautiful Alice looked at any given time—even when she displayed what could only be classified as a shit-eating grin.
Clover tried to rearrange her thoughts the best she could, putting together that she had decided to lie down for a bit to try and restore her energy before something that was happening later that she couldn’t quite recall. A function possibly? Maybe even a mission?
“Clover, I love you, but we really need to get going,” Alice let out a light chuckle before she continued, “We need to leave for the party soon.”
‘Ah a party,’ Clover thought, that was probably what she had taken a nap to prepare for; Having to deal with some of the people who worked for the SOIS was difficult enough when they were sober, let alone how things would likely end with champagne thrown into the equation.
“Did you forget about the christmas party?”
“N-No! I definitely knew that!” Clover choked out. She had forgotten, but there was no way that she’d let Alice know that.
Alice let out another laugh before she retreated to their bedroom. It was almost certain the Alice had caught the lie—which was evident from the way her laugh sounded more like an exasperated sigh than a laugh—but it’s not like Clover couldn’t hope.
“I don’t know why you’re getting ready so early,” Clover said, as she did her best to separate herself from the couch, “We’ve still got, like, a couple hours before the party you know!” It had been around 3:30 when they’d gotten home, but she doubted her ability to sleep long enough for them to be late.
Then again, she and Alice had missed the last SOIS christmas party due to oversleeping—but its not like that was Clover’s fault.
“Clover dear, you do know that the party formally starts at six, right?” Alice responded, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke from the other room. Despite the distance, Clover could still a lighter quality in her sentence, as if she was holding back laughter.
“Yeah then we’ve still got about one or two hours left!” Clover said with as much confidence she could muster. She rubbed the last bits of sleep out of her eyes before moving to follow Alice to the bedroom.
“I’m afraid it’s a little less than that.” Alice stood near the bedroom closet as she slipped a dress over her shoulders; Judging by the considerable amount of dresses that covered the floor, it was not the first she had tried either.
Alice’s current outfit was cocktail dress that fit closely Alice figure until in reached her knees where the fabric flared out like a bright flower. While Clover had initially presumed the dress to be a deep navy or purple it actually featured a gradient into a stunning bright red.
However more distracting that her impossibly pretty girlfriend was the face of a digital alarm clock set on the bedside.
“You let me sleep for two hours?!?” Clover asked incredulously.
“You just looked so comfortable!”
In the end, they were about half an hour late. Despite Alice’s reassurances, Clover somewhat doubted that their superiors would accept the desire to be ‘fashionably late’ as an excuse.
Working as fast as she could, Clover had prepared her hair and makeup in record time. However when faced with the choice of outfit, all progress had grounded to a halt. The dress she had bought with her brother the year before still hung unworn at the back of the closet, accompanied by a few other discarded articles of clothing that she couldn’t bring herself to wear anymore.
Although her memories of the Ambidex Game weren’t properly returned, some of the experiences tended to slip through the cracks every now and then. Just as it had felt wrong to wear her old jacket after the second Nonary Game, so to was her fur top and purple heels retired to the back of the closet.
Ignoring the other clothes, Clover pulled out the dress and considered it. The dress itself was light pink and came to just about to her knees; Clover had latched onto it immediately when Light and her had gone out shopping for christmas presents. While it wasn’t tied specifically to any negative event, Clover had still hung it out of sight behind a large amount of other clothes.
Now, as she approached the party’s entrance wearing that dress, Clover felt about as out of place as ever.
As if she could sense her discomfort, Alice looked over to Clover with a concerned look on her face, “Are you feeling alright, Clover?”
Clover frowned, “I don’t see why you’re allowed to wear heels, you’re negating the height advantage I’m trying to get with my own shoes.” It was a weak attempt to change the conversation, but Alice picked up on the cue.
“I like to be tall, it helps me let people know I kick their ass with a just a look.” Alice said with a smile, “I think I may have said this already, but you look stunning tonight.”
“I think thats the fourth time now,” She could feel her anxieties recede as Alice talked, “But that doesn’t mean thats you have to stop. Ever.”
“Are you sure you’re doing ok?” Alice asked again, pulling Clover into a hug. “You know that it’s fine if you’re not feeling up to it alright?” She said softly into Clover’s ear.
Clover drew back slightly, giving Alice a peck on the cheek. “Yeah I’m fine, I’m feeling a lot better. It’s time for the mission briefing right?”
“Alright, time for the mission briefing,” Alice said as she slipped into a slightly more exaggerated version of her mission brief voice that she used at work, “This mission is top priority and is thus entitled: Operation Socialise.”
Clover couldn’t stop herself from laughing. This wasn’t the first time they had gone through this somewhat childish routine but it always helped ground her before bigger social events, even after she had stopped needing it.
Alice continued to the best of her ability as she tried to quell her own grin. “The intention of this mission is recon, and we are going deep undercover in a large government operation. Make sure to gather as much trivial information about those you encounter, without drawing the attention of opposing operatives. Do you accept these terms?”
Clover tried her best to keep a straight face as she gave her response in the most serious voice she could manage, “I accept your terms, commander.” After performing a mock salute, Clover hooked herself through Alice’s arm.
“Alright, lets go!” Clover said, before she enthusiastically marched towards the building, a smiling Alice dragged along with her.
After they passed through the various security checks that had been set up for the event, Clover finally voiced an idea she had been stewed over as they reached the hall doors. Putting on her best puppy dog eyes, Clover asked in the most innocent voice she could manage, “Can I kick open the door?”
“Clover, I love you, but no.”
“I don’t know how you expect us to have a dramatic entrance without letting me kick open the door.”
“No.”
Clover puffed out her cheeks, “No fair, just walking in is so boring!”
“As much fun as it would be, I have to remind you that we are at a formal party” Alice said, “This isn’t the time for your antics”
“You know you love me.” Clover said with a grin.
“Always.”
In that moment Clover was glad they weren’t actually acting as secret agents. As soon as they opened the door what felt like about half of the guests attention turned towards the newcomers.
Clover hoped Alice couldn’t see how red her face was becoming in response to the attention, and instead focused on walking in with as much confidence and grace she could manage.
The space was quite open with a large amount of tables grouped around the back of the hall, likely to make room for guests to mingle. True to the party’s theme, a few christmas trees could be spotted around the space, with other various red and green decorations hung from the ceilings and walls. Above the chatter of the party guests Clover could hear some quiet christmas music playing in the background.
‘Alright! Lets do this!’ Clover thought as she steeled herself for the inevitable small talk and greetings she would need to get through. Operation Socialise was go.
It was only then as she plunged into the crowd that Clover realised she really wasn’t awake enough for this.
As the evening went on Clover flit around the room, sometimes reconvening with Alice before separating again, before she eventually found herself standing with Alice at the edge of the room. She watched lazily as an overly enthusiastic agent drunkenly sung along to Jingle Bell Rock and shambled about attempting to get others to join in.
“I really hope someone’s recording this.” Clover said. She had hoped that the man would stop singing after the song finished, but he seemed to have no trouble swapping over to Twelve Days of Christmas as the music over the speakers changed.
“Oh almost certainly. It is an amazing performance after all.” Alice said as she brought her hand up to her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile. “However, as entertaining as this is, perhaps it would be better to find a quieter spot” Alice added, having winced slightly at the performer who had attempted to hit a note far out of his range.
“Yeah, thats probably for the best.” Clover said. She took Alice’s hand before they walked together towards the exit. It was a lot quieter once they left the room, and Clover couldn’t feel more thankful for the calmer atmosphere.
“Alright here should be good” Alice said. She closed her left hand over Clovers before reaching into her purse to grab out a small purple pouch, which she opened to reveal a small silver bracelet. “Merry Christmas Clover.”
“Ack! W-wait no!! I didn’t realise we were supposed to bring gifts?!” Her own gift for Alice remained tucked away in a box hidden in an old shoebox she kept under the bed ready for presentation on christmas day.
Alice seemed amused by Clover’s panic, her hands were steady as she methodically wrapped the bracelet around Clovers wrist and joined the ends. “Consider it an early gift.”
Clover could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes. Attached to the bracelet were a few small charms: the first was a small four leaf clover, as well as a small harp and a flower that Clover recognised as one of Alice’s favourites.
“Oh my god, Alice this is…” Clover murmured at a loss for words, “I love it, thank you so much.”
“Hey Clover, look up,” Alice said. Clover followed her gaze upwards to find a bundle of mistletoe that appeared to have been hastily affixed to the door frame above their heads.
True to her namesake, Clover really was the luckiest girl in the world.
To: @hugewitches
From: @choicemtn
the klim family’s christmas card. why are clover and snake there? You decide.
merry christmas!!
To: @crashkeyes
From: @nimfetki & @toxicmasterpiece
Happy holidays! Here’s some field sibling fluff! Every year Light helps Clover decorate the tree. She tell him the trim on the tree is gold, he knows she’s lying but lets her get away with it because it makes her happy. Clover always makes sure they have fun festive outfits!
*note: Nimfetki came up with the concept and designed the holiday outfits, toxicmasterpiece is the talented artist!*
To: @clearjoyhues
From: @eatingfireflies
tfw you get so engrossed in your video you forget to feed your bf.
happy holidays @clearjoyhues! you asked for fluffy aoipei and my mind decided ofc we need kfc.
To: @billyweird
From: @sense8lotuses
Happy holidays, billyweird!
The harsh buzz of electronic static from beside Junpei’s head lead him to leap up with a start. Fortunate that no one had been around to see his outburst, he still did his best to play it cool, only offering the offender, the walkie-talkie he’d left on his desk, a simple “Huh.” The device would think again before trying anything shifty against Junpei.
It took him a few seconds to realize what the sound of the static meant. Someone was trying to communicate with him, damn it, and he was absolutely certain he’d left it on the right channel. Time was running out. After fiddling with the dial for several seconds, he tapped the device angrily on the wooden surface of the desk, and finally, a gruff voice began to hash its way through the interference.
“Agent…” someone tried to say.
“Repeat last message,” Junpei barked. He tapped the dial pensively, as though a ginger touch might have any effect on the internal circuitry, then held it up tightly to his face. “Rep-”
“Agent Handy!” The shout startled Junpei again, and the poor walkie-talkie tumbled back to the desk. “This is Agent Mountain reporting in. Got a visual on the subject!”
“Damn it, man, which subject?” Junpei returned, his patience wearing thin. God only knew how many active case files the two were collaborating on at the time.
“Subject No Man.” Agent Mountain’s words sent a shiver up Junpei’s spine. Subject No Man was one of the duo’s most elusive and least understood missions, and it was safe to say that she was not common… Alas, this was no time for cold feet. The ziptie of opportunity would be cinching shut within the hour, and he had to reach Agent Mountain’s position.
He held down the transmission button then, making sure his dramatic, plot-relevant sigh could be heard. “Very well. Follow carefully and keep an eye on your coordinates.” Throwing on a tactical cerulean vest and shades, Junpei was on the move.
“Oh shiiit, dude,” the walkie-talkie hummed as Junpei jogged out onto the sidewalk.
“Excuse me?” Junpei questioned.
“Sorry. Uh, oh shiiit, Agent Handy, dude,” Agent Mountain replied.
“Come on Seven, you can’t call me dude. It breaks the immersion,” Junpei groaned.
“Bro, we agreed on codenames…” Admittedly, Seven did sound a little disappointed. Um, Agent Mountain sounded a little disappointed, is what Junpei meant to think.
In any case, it would not be long before the two were reunited and would be better equipped for the situation ahead of them. “Whatever. Tell me, what’s No Man up to?”
Agent Mountain cleared his throat quite performatively. “Subject is approaching the nearest Point Arabica.”
Junpei’s face twisted in confusion. “I’ve lost your coordinates, Agent. What’s your nearest Point Arabica?”
If his cohort wanted to admonish his shortcomings, he didn’t give any sign over the walkie-talkie other than a few seconds of silence. “Sunquid Co. The one on the vertex.”
“Copy that,” Junpei said. “Be there in digital root 228.”
“Agent Handy, we may not have that long,” Agent Mountain replied. “Just sighted Subject Crash Key, and the Point does NOT look busy. Are you packing?”
Junpei had to suppress a scoff. The knowledge of the second subject’s arrival had been a bit jarring, but if Agent Mountain knew anything about his partner, it was that he was always packing. “Looks like Crash Key is about to get a taste of her own medicine.”
“That… didn’t answer my question…”
Junpei facepalmed, only removing his hand after nearly running into a tree. “Listen, Mountain, try to keep up. We knew there was a chance that Crash Key might be spotted. I never leave the house on a mission without heat. Or… whatever this is.”
“Just… cool it with the lingo…” Agent Mountain sighed. “You need to think these things through before saying them.”
“Seven! Can I just! Have a little fun here!” Junpei was answered by the sound of static, presumably Agent Mountain pressing the transmission button without speaking. “THANK you.”
In only two short minutes, Junpei could see Seven seated on a park bench, on the side of the street opposite the Point Arabica. He let himself slow into a casual jog, hoping he could regain his breath before having to speak again. And as the beautiful lady in the green circle popped into view, Junpei realized – indeed, the two subjects were within the building. Crash Key and No Man were right within his reach… and it was time to accomplish this mission.
“Good to see you, Handy,” Mountain said, without looking up. At least, Junpei didn’t think he was looking up. Mountain was wearing shades of his own, helping to keep him from standing out too much. In all honesty, the shades completely countered the pale orange jumpsuit’s unusual appearance. Junpei was quite sure that all of the passersby that were giving odd looks were doing so because they’d just watched him running, definitely not the pair’s fashion choices.
“Mountain,” Junpei greeted in return. “So, fill me in.” He obviously knew it would have been dumb for Mountain to be more specific over transmission than he was – there was no need to risk compromising their position.
“No Man was here three minutes and 28 seconds before Crash Key showed up. No Man’s order was quick, like the coffee was just a formality. Christ, just look at her. She doesn’t even like it.” As the subject took a sip of her drink, her face remained completely neutral, at least from what Junpei could tell. In all his years knowing her, he could agree with Mountain’s analysis. “As for Crash Key, well, she’s ordering now. If the way she shuffled her hair upon entering the Point is anything to go by, you know she’s down for a chai tea frappuccino.”
“In this weather? It’s December,” Junpei said.
Seven slapped his hands on his knees. “Who’s been an agent longer here?”
“Sev, we both agreed to this back-”
“You’re right, me. Thank you.” He cleared his throat three times more before continuing. “She’s getting the chai tea frappuccino, but…”
Junpei sighed. “But the problem she’s having is, does she just get a venti? I mean, she usually goes for the venti. You can see it in her eyes. But today she’s just not sure if the venti is enough. Does she want a grande? Good God, could she even finish a grande?” He let himself slip into a seated position beside the other agent and grabbed at the binoculars around his neck.
“Dude, wha-”
“Hmmm…” As Junpei peered into the window, which he could have definitely seen without them, Crash Key sat at the small table where No Man was already seated. “Oh shit, she went grande. Looks like someone’s thirsty.” A clock to the head startled him as Agent Mountain tugged the binoculars away.
“Keep it cool, Handy. Don’t make me get you a damned frappuccino. You won’t like where I put it.”
The two watched their subjects quietly for a minute or two, until… the two subjects leaned forward, closing their eyes. “Are you seeing this?” Junpei asked.
“My God…” Seven’s attention had been grabbed, and without thought, he raised the binoculars to his own eyes. “Caught in flagrante delicto…”
No Man and Crash Key shared a sweet, romantic kiss for a few seconds… until Crash Key opened her eyes. And, as though Junpei and Seven were in a timeline that God had abandoned, Crash Key’s eyes were pointed right at them.
The world around them seemed to slow down as they were trapped, lost in Crash Key’s eyes. The eyes swirled like a vortex, piloted by years of rage the likes of which the two men had never before experienced. The experience only got worse as her finger slowly rose to point them out, her mouth slowly twisted to form words, and finally, worst of all… her girlfriend slowly turned around.
And when No Man was pissed, all hell was to break loose.
“Phi looks PISSED!” Seven said. “And if she doesn’t kill us, who knows what Akane’ll do.”
“What do we do?” Junpei asked. As prepared as he thought he’d been for this situation, he lacked the years of practice that had made Mountain such a skilled agent.
As the two subjects stood up, clutching their drinks with the ferocity of nine hundred suns, Agent Mountain laid down his master plan. “You’re packing! You hide somewhere and fire! I’ll run away.” And with that, he was gone.
“Unbelievable…” Junpei had to take a moment to keep his own anger at bay. Doing as the traitorous agent suggested, for some god damned reason, he leapt behind a nearby bush, hoping that by some miracle the subjects hadn’t seen him.
“JUNPEI!” Well, at least he could lay that dream to rest. As four angry feet pounded towards him, he decided it best to release all worldly angers. Agent Mountain could be forgiven… perhaps the man had run away intending to distract the two subjects… Yes, now Junpei could live with that.
And so, as the two ran up to the bush, Junpei steeled himself. “Time for justice.” Whipping out his weapon of choice, he blasted the two with a frankly absurd stream of water.
“…” Phi and Akane were silent for a few moments, filling Junpei with dread. When would the explosion come? When would the short-haired woman literally cleave his head from his body with a sword?
His question would never be answered. Akane heaved a sigh, placing a hand on Phi’s shoulder as though to stop her. “This is why we’re not dating, you doofus.”
“Hey, I thought it was because we had too much emotional trauma between us, or something,” Junpei said.
“Well, this didn’t help,” Akane said.
“Listen, you locked me on a ship and almost got me killed. I can shoot you with a water gun.”
“That was one time!”
As the two’s bickering increased in volume, Junpei felt the arms of his ally close tightly around his waist. “Come on, Handy; let’s live to try another day.”
“You were there! You remember literally being drugged right? I wa-” Alas, a hand clamped itself over the young man’s mouth, and the mission was truly completed. Resigned to watching Phi and Akane smooch again in the distance, he found himself warming in the heart, resigning himself to the thought that maybe the situation was for the better.
Thanks for these prompts! I would have never had this idea without them, and this is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve written all year. It was a ton of fun though, and I hope it gives you as much joy as it has me! Cheers, sense8lotuses.
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.
To: @aleena-san
From: @siggyklim
My gift for @aleena-san! I did your prompt for the 999 survivors having a Christmas Eve party! I hope you enjoy your gift!
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.
To: @meow-vvow
From: @aoiasahina
Prompt: Junpei and Akane loving happily together (how they support each other when it comes to the trauma)
The world may be shitty, but at least they have each other to support and comfort the other. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
Happy holidays, meow-vvow, I was your secret santa! : D
ZEcret Santa 