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asmo-ds · 3 years

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(1) i tried to think of a belphie one so here it is, sorry if it kinda bad👉🏻👈🏻 mc has been begging belphie to go to the human realm for xmas tgt but he isn't very sure about it since he did try to kill mc. since mc knows how much he used to love the human realm and humans he probably also loved xmas, they thought he would be excited to go.

How to Love Christmas Again

Belphegor x gn!MC

Word Count: 4295

Genre: Fluff

Summary: As the holiday season rolls around, MC requests to go back home and spend Christmas at their apartment in the human world. Diavolo agrees on the condition they bring a brother to protect them since they have pact marks yet no knowledge of how to use them. Who better to bring then their sleepy boyfriend, Belphegor, even if it means they have to avoid all other humans the whole week!

“Oh right, I almost forgot that was today,” A young Belphegor reaches under his bed to pull out the gift boxes Lucifer had helped him wrap for his twin and the young girl. Beel runs to his own bed bringing out his own gifts for his siblings.

“Did you wrap these yourself, Lilith?” Beel giggles as he observes the horror show of wrapping paper around his gift from her.

“Well… I tried to but had trouble, so I asked Mammon and Leviathan for help - but then Leviathan got wrapped up in tape and it just turned into a mess,” she giggles with a blinding smile. “Anyways open your gifts!”

Belphegor watches as Beel unwraps the gift from their baby sister, revealing a box of freshly baked cookies she had made that morning. Beelzebub gave her a hug thanking her before he moved to watch Belphegor open his gift from Lilith.

He unwrapped the gift and saw a soft pillow covered in the pattern sported by cows. He smiles wide and wraps his arms around her in a tight embrace.

“I sewed it myself, I hope it is soft enough,” she smiles at him.

After they opened their gifts from Beel, a new blanket for Belphegor, and a new dress for Lilith, they moved on to Belphegor’s gifts.

“Don’t call me cheesy, okay?” He blushes as they pull out the shiny golden necklaces. Beelzebub held a necklace with a charm shaped like a sun and Lilith’s sporting a star. Belphie reached down his shirt and pulled out the necklace he had gotten for himself, a moon-shaped charm resting on the chain.

“Belphie these are beautiful!” Lilith exclaims as Belphegor puts it around her neck.

“Think of these as a promise. A promise that we’ll always protect each other.”

The three sat in the circle agreeing and swearing to protect each other no matter the cost.

The Celestial war was the last time he saw those stars. He watched as the necklace flew off of her chest, blood splatter landing on it as the arrow penetrated her wing. He watched as the chain snapped from the force of Lilith’s body flying backward. He watched as he broke his promise to protect her-

Belphie sat straight up, breathing heavily as he woke up from the flashback. He stared straight ahead as he tried to refocus his breathing. Despite the darkness of the attic - he could see the outline of a person next to him. He glanced down at MC as he turned on a lamp. He grabbed their face and checked their pulse, letting out a sigh of relief as they stirred, blinking away the sleep from their tired eyes.

“Belphie? You ok?” MC reaches up to wipe a tear he hadn’t even realized fell from his violet eyes.

He couldn’t respond, his mouth open as nothing but a choked sob came out. MC sat up and pulled him against their chest, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Another nightmare?” they ask, receiving a shaky nod in return. Belphegor looks at the digital clock that rested beside his bed and reads the numbers.

It was 2:03 AM on December 20th.

The next morning, MC and Belphie arrived at breakfast. “MC, the human world holiday season has arrived, Diavolo wants you to be prepared to talk to him this morning about how we can incorporate these human world festivities into our home to make you more comfortable during your stay,” Lucifer announces as MC helps him clean the dishes.

“Actually… I was wondering if perhaps I could go home. Just for a week or so to see family and be in my own home. Christmas is special for me and I don’t really want to spend it in Hell.”

Lucifer looks surprised at their request and opens his mouth, most likely to protest the idea saying it would be a hazard to send MC out to the human world, but he is interrupted by another voice, one belonging to the demon prince himself.

“Of course you can go home for the holidays! Though it may be riskier for you seeing as you now have pacts with all seven demon brothers yet have no idea how to use them. So I will allow you to go home but you will have to take a brother with you,” Diavolo states, causing Lucifer to turn around in surprise.

“I will go with them Diavolo I am the only one who can be trusted-”

“No Lucifer, this is a special holiday and I want you to allow MC to choose for themselves for once.”

MC’s mind immediately goes to Belphie. They thank Diavolo with a big hug due to their excitement and run up towards the attic in search of their sleepy boyfriend.

“Belphie! Belphie!” They jump on the pile of blankets that hid his body beneath them.

“What?” He groans.

“Diavolo said I could go home for a week to celebrate Christmas!” They exclaim and he gives them a half-assed smile.

“Cool. Have fun,” He turns over intending to go back to sleep and not wake up until after the season has passed.

“He said I have to take a brother with me though, so I figured, you used to love the human world so why don’t you join me?” They smile sweetly at him.

He tenses and looks at the ground, avoiding their pleading eyes. “I can’t.”

“But why?!” They whine.

“Because… because I don’t want anybody to get hurt.” He turns to look at MC and they see the fear in his eyes, “what if I get angry again? What if I kill an innocent human while we’re there. MC I can’t go, I don’t want to hurt anybody-”

“Well then we’ll just have to stay inside, no big deal,” they shrug as if they hadn’t a care in the world. “I’ll go food shopping the first day so that we can eat, then we’ll hide out in my apartment all week watching Christmas movies and drinking hot cocoa and all that jazz.”

Belphegor looks at them with hope in his eyes as he contemplates whether or not to join them on their journey.

“You pinky promise we won’t leave the apartment?” He looks at them with a very serious look, and they lean forward, lightly bonking their forehead against his.

“I swear on my soul.” They state before leaning their head down to kiss him softly.

As they prepared to depart for their trip, Lucifer would not stop nagging Belphegor like a mom sending their kid off to summer camp.

“Don’t talk to any humans you don’t know, do you have mittens?! You can’t go without mittens, Belphegor, demons aren’t built for the cold you have to bundle up or else you’ll-” he is interrupted by Belphegor loudly saying his goodbye as he and MC stepped through the portal, landing in front of the apartment building where MC resided. The portal closed behind them and MC grabbed his hand, leading him into their apartment carrying his luggage.

“MC! Long time no see!” the security guard at the front desk smiles widely at them, “you on break from your exchange program in Sweden- or wherever it was you went- for the holidays?” He stands up and walks around the desk to talk more casually to the human.

“George! Yes I’m back, and this is my boyfriend, Belphie, I met him in the exchange program,” MC wraps themselves around Belphegor’s arm as he looks down shyly, afraid to look at any human other than MC.

“Nice to meet ya, Belphie. I’m George, you’ll probably see me a lot since I'm the head of security in this building,” the man reaches his hand out to shake Belphegor’s. Belphie nervously looks at MC who takes the hint and pipes up.

“Sorry about him! He’s Swedish, so he doesn’t really understand, plus he’s a germaphobe so he doesn’t shake hands,” they smile apologetically at the security guard who lowers his hand and gives a nod.

“Tell him I said to enjoy his stay,” George says before walking off.

“Hey Belphie, George says to-”

“Yea I heard him, stupid,” he pokes MC’s cheek before they lead him to the elevator.

As MC reaches their front door and turns the keys they can see Belphie fidget, clearly nervous that they have yet to enter the privacy of MC’s home.

MC uses one hand to push the door open and the other to rub their thumb soothingly over the demon’s knuckles. As soon as they shut the door it feels as if a thousand pounds had been lifted from his shoulders and he lets out a sigh.

“Ok, now that we’re here… do you want a tour?” MC chuckles, grabbing their boyfriend’s hand once more, leading him through the apartment and announcing the rooms as if they were a safari guide.

“Over here you see the bedroom. The natural habitat of an MC. The MC sleeps in this room and nearly never leaves it. This room is where things such as the mating season take place,” MC wiggles their eyebrows suggestively before giving an exaggerated wink, causing Belphegor to snort from how hard he was laughing.

“Your home is very cute, MC,” he compliments.

After picking up their room a bit and placing Belphie’s luggage in the bedroom, MC decides to set up their bed as a nest for them to cuddle in. Belphie and MC lay in the makeshift nest watching horribly hallmark Christmas movies and making fun of their plots before they eventually fall asleep, ending their first day in the human realm.

“Hey, be careful you three!” The white haired angel yells at three teens who run through a town decorated for Christmas.

“Woah! Belphie look!” Lilith grabs his shoulder and they look over to see a giant tree, all lit up (i know light bulbs probably didn’t exist in the era before Lilith died BUT we’re gonna pretend it do :D ) and covered in ornaments.

“Oh, I think they’re gonna put the star on top now,” he, Lilith and Beel all push their way to the front of the crowd, ignoring Mammon calling for them to stay close to him.

“It’s so pretty!” Belphie looks at the young woman and his twin, smiling softly as they stare in awe at the shimmer lights as snow falls all around them in small soft flakes they melt on their skin.

“I wish Lucifer, Asmo, and Leviathan weren’t so busy today-” Lilith frowns. “I know they really just didn’t want to come stand in the cold but… I really think if we could’ve convinced them to come they would have loved this.” Lilith smiles gently and looks back up at the twinkling lights of the star atop the giant pine tree before them, “I hope one day we can all see these lights together.”

“I doubt you’ll be able to get those guys down ‘ere, but ya guys got me!” Mammon catches up to them and smiles.

“Hey Mammon! Can we take a tree from the human world and decorate it at home?!” Lilith asks with a wide smile.

“Well it's a bit late this year, but next Christmas I pinky promise,” He raised his pinky towards her and they locked pinkies, bringing smiles to their faces.

But next Christmas never arrived for Lilith. It was on this trip that she met the human man who she fell for. It was mere months later that he fell ill and they were all cast down from the heavens. Bringing the death of Lilith and the birth of Satan.

Belphie slowly blinked as he winced away from the bright sunlight he wasn’t used to. He raised his nose to the air and smelled something good, so he stood and followed the scent to the kitchen. There he found MC in their pajamas, holding a pan with eggs over a plate that already had bacon and toast on it.

“Belphie!” They place down the pan and run to him, jumping onto him as he catches their thighs, wrapping themself around him as he holds them up, tightly embracing their small form and swinging back and forth playfully.

“Someone seems hyper this morning,” he lets go of MC and they climb down with a laugh.

“I know you were nervous about coming here so I wanted to thank you for joining me with breakfast in bed… so go back to bed and let me surprise you!” Belphie rolls his eyes and climbs back into the bed, moments later MC enters holding the plate he had previously seen them preparing. “Tada! A traditional human world breakfast!”

They eat their breakfast and watch the news, Belphie accidentally laughing at some tragic events due to his demonic nature.

They spend some time decorating with some supplies MC had hidden away in the deepest depths of their closet. They hang a wreath on the inside of the front door and MC pulls out a fake mistletoe, hanging it on a ceiling lamp Belphie was underneath as he strung some lights around the room.

“What’s that thing?” He tilts his head upwards to look at it more closely.

“It’s a human world tradition, wanna try it out?” MC asks innocently.

“Sure why not, what do I have to do-” he’s interrupted by MC pulling his face down to his for a sweet kiss.

“It’s mistletoe, if you and someone else stand under it you have to kiss!” Belphie smiles and gives them one more kiss before looking back down into the box of decorations and spotting a star.

“Oh, this goes on top of the tree, right?” he asks and MC gives a small smile.

“Yea but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get a tree up here by myself, so we might have to skip that part-”

“We have to have a tree! That's the best part!” Belphie suddenly bursts out, immediately blushing embarrassed by his sudden enthusiasm. “Lilith used to love the trees.”

“Oh, then I’m sure we can find a way!” MC suddenly whips out their D.D.D, pressing a few buttons before raising it to their ear. “Hey Diavolo! I need a favor-”

“Here you two are, have fun decorating,” Diavolo says as they finish screwing a tree he and Lucifer had hauled up to MC’s apartment.

“Honestly, I don’t think you should have called us for this,” Lucifer shakes his head with annoyance.

“Yea you shouldn’t have come to the human world for a Christmas tree, you never could do it for Lilith when she begged-” Belphie scoffs, making Lucifer shoot a glare his way.

“Lucifer and Belphie please behave yourselves, you are representing the Devildom here in MC’s apartment,” Diavolo places a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder.

(from here to the dash mark is a tiny itty bitty bit of Dialuci fluff as a small little bonus)

The three men suddenly hear some snickering as MC looks above Diavolo and Lucifer, causing everyone else to look up in return. They all looked up at the mistletoe that hung above them and MC and Belphie looked at each other with mischief in their eyes.

“Oh yea, Lord Diavolo MC taught me a fun human world tradition, would you two like to give it a try,” Belphie gives an evil smirk.

“Of course, Lucifer you join too!”

As Belphegor explained the tradition Lucifer grew extremely flustered and tried to argue his way out of it, losing in the end as the demon prince was too enthusiastic to participate in human culture and kissed him on the lips with little to no hesitation.

The men left, one beaming with excitement and the other sulking but blushing.

MC wrapped the lights around the tree, occasionally tripping over the long tangled wire. Belphie grabbed some tinsel, tossing it around the tree as MC finished the lights.

MC pulled out the normal ornaments first, handing some to Belphie to hang alongside them.

Then they got to the ones with meaning behind them.

“Baby’s first Christmas?” Belphie reads off the ornament shaped like a cradle.

“Oh yea, that’s from my first Christmas! It has my birthstone in there as well, see!”

As they dig through the ornaments and MC tells stories behind them all he can’t help but smile as he gets to know his lover deeper than he had before.

After hours of this, they finish and star at the star that had yet to be placed on top of the tree.

“Do you want put it on, Belphie?” MC smiles up at him.

“Me? Are you sure?”

“Of course this is your first time decorating for Christmas you said so you should get the full experience!” MC hands him the star and he looks at it, a bit nervous before feeling MC’s lips on his cheek, a silent cheer of encouragement.

He climbs the step ladder MC had placed next to the tree and places the star on, plugging it into the wall as it lit up with white lights.

MC runs to turn off the lights so they can see the Christmas light better and Belphie takes a step back, a big smile on his normally sleepy face.

They stand and stare at the tree happily for a few moments before MC excuses themselves to go make dinner. Belphie lays down on the bed and decides to take a power nap while MC cooks.

“Ah, I’m so sorry sir!” Lilith exclaimed as she accidentally bumped into the shoulder of a young man.

“No worries, having a lady as breath-taking as yourself bump into me must be my Christmas gift,” the man compliments the Angel before introducing himself.

“Lilith!” Belphegor calls after having searched for them for half an hour, he finally spotted them blushing as they chatted with a human man. Her three brothers watched from afar to ensure her safety, but allowed them to hang out together for a few more minutes.

“Lilith, we need to head back home now,” Mammon interrupted the pair, bringing a frown to his baby sister’s face. He walks away to let them say their goodbyes.

“Oh, uh, sir, I would love to see you again sometime, could we perhaps meet here in the center of town in three days time?” She asks with hope in her eyes and rosy cheeks.

“Of course, I will wait here for you to return.” Belphie overheard their goodbyes and got slight chills, happy that his sister seemed excited, but fearful because he knew that love between Angel and human was something not taken lightly.

When they got home, Belphegor and Beelzebub sat and listened to their sister speak of the man and how they were going to return and see him soon. So every three days, the four of them travelled down to the human world, creating a new tradition. One day Lilith started going by herself, more frequently and sometimes spending days in the human world, staying with her new lover.

Belphegor was so happy to see his sister happy and he thanked Christmas for existing as he knew that if it didn’t she would never have met the person who gave her so much life. But now he couldn’t help but curse the wretched holiday as it caused her to meet the person she would give her life trying to heal.

Belphegor woke up the next morning with MC still in bed, sleeping next to him.

He smiled down at the human and thought to himself how hypocritical he was. He had been so mad at Lilith’s lover for her death and claimed loving humans if you were not human was wrong, but here he was staring with pure adoration at a human he was proud to call his.

MC stirred and looked up into sleepy violet eyes before slightly sitting up for a kiss.

They both got ready for the day, brushing their teeth, changing into new clothes and eventually arriving in the kitchen for breakfast.

“Ok, funny story,” MC laughs nervously as they open the cabinets, meeting nothing but air, “we are out of food and I’m going to have to go shopping. So you can either stay here alone or join me. It’s completely up to you.”

Belphegor weighs his options before a small voice in the back of his head tells him to join his significant other in public and protect them from witches or other supernatural creatures that may see the pact marks that adorned their skin.

They unplug the tree to avoid a fire and bundle up to avoid hypothermia.

MC holds his hand the whole way, soothing any nerves he had. They tried to crack some jokes to make him feel less awkward but they eventually stopped as it didn’t seem to help him.

As they shopped Belphie’s vice grip on MC’s hand loosened to a casual hold instead of a fearful one.

“This is actually… kind of nice,” he mumbled as he looked around at the humans shopping, some kids horsing around as their mother tried to reign them in, an old couple slowly making their way down the aisle, a father trying to make his infant laugh at his funny faces.

“See, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad,” MC smiles at him sweetly.

They finished up their shopping and paid for their groceries before leaving. On the way home Belphegor made MC stop so they could look at a snow covered park where parents sat and watched their children and he saw some dogs run after frisbees and snowballs their owners had thrown.

The whole way home Belphie couldn’t stop smiling as he watched humans enjoy their lives despite theirs being so short compared to his own.

Then he saw a young lady bump into a man, apologizing before they struck up a conversation. He saw Lilith and her lover for half a second before blinking and seeing the strangers once more.

When they arrived home and got settled in, putting away the groceries and getting back into their PJs, they sat in front of the TV, watching some show MC wanted to catch up on while they were home where it aired.

A commercial came on that Belphie had seen the night before. It was a Christmas movie that was apparently a “remake” of a story about some green man in the mountains stealing a holiday. He saw on the screen it was apparently ‘in theaters now’, so he turned to the human beside him.

“Hey MC… do you think maybe we could go see that tonight?” he smiled shyly and MC sat up and gave him a soft kiss.

“Of course! I’m glad to see you finally feel good about going outside.”

“I mean… movie theaters are just dark rooms you sit in watching a giant screen for a bit,” he shrugs, clearly still a bit nervous about being around other humans.

“Ok, it is still a start though!” MC hugs him before going onto their phone and looking for movie times.

At the end of the movie MC and Belphie walked out hand in hand, him acting much more natural than when they had first arrived.

They returned to the apartment building and were once again greeted by the security guard, George.

“MC! MC’s boyfriend! Have a nice date?” he smiles at the pair.

“Yes! We saw a movie!” Belphie tries to put on his best Swedish accent and watches as the security guard looks surprised.

“Very nice!” George smiles at him, talking very slowly to ensure Belphie could understand him.

Belphie continued to communicate in short and simple sentences in his god awful attempt at an accent. After they left the lobby, MC and Belphie broke into laughter.

“That was awful” MC laughs out, clutching their stomach.

“I only knew how the accent sounded from that show you were watching last night,” he responds, also laughing very hard.

The rest of the night, Belphie and MC make plans for the remainder of their time in the human world.

The next day they went Ice Skating, Belphie falling over a lot before finally getting the hang of it. Though, by the time he got it, he was exhausted and falling asleep on the ice. MC had to hurry home so he didn’t knock out on the sidewalk.

The day after that was Christmas, and Belphie was grateful he hadn’t had any dreams to upset him the past few days.

He had bought MC a gift before they left the Devildom and MC had left to go get him one yesterday when he fell asleep. They both handed each other gifts and unwrapped them at the same time.

“A blanket that matches my pillow!” Belphie exclaims with a big smile, holding the cow print cloth up to get a better view of it. He wraps it around himself as MC finishes getting the wrapping off of his gift to them.

“Oh wow… Belphie this is beautiful,” they lift the necklace up and place the star shaped charm in their palm.

“I had it custom made,” he pulls his own necklace out from under his shirt, “Beel has one too, the third one, that is shaped like stars too, is on Lilith’s tomb under the house. You came and changed me, MC. I want you to know I don’t see you as Lilith, but you are still a piece of my family, and I promise to protect you forever.”

Belphie was certain he would never see the blood on those stars again, he would protect MC with his life and never let them get hurt by anyone or anything.

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shinjukuspiritcommittee · 3 years

Text

Top 20 2021

My Favorites (updated)

Hello my readers, it’s been a while since I just posted something not related to a headcanon and I am doing one right now. I just wanted to take a bit of a break to just get SOMETHING on here on my days off work. Plus I’m just trying to find my groove when it comes to writing again so hopefully this helps me just get back into the mood of making a post more often lol. I wanted to revisit this topic for a while just because we’ve had a lot more events and a lot more alts in the game were added. And I know for a fact LifeWonders reads these posts in some capacity because I have meme’d an AR into the game with my top picks from the last list I did for Christmas 2019. No I didn’t. I’m just joking around and I know LifeWonders doesn’t read this.

Anyways rather than just make up a list on the spot like last year I decided to use the Housamo Sortmaker (Link: https://club.housamo.xyz/sortmaker/ ) to try and make a list that’s more revealing to what I was thinking at the time. Since I talked about 20 characters ish last time I’m just gonna read from my 20th place to my 1st place spots and try to justify whatever I was thinking at the time. Anyways-

20: Marchosias and Susan: This one was a surprise for me if I’m being honest but I’m just gonna blame the fact on Shukou’s recent involvement with LifeWonders in the form of Live A Hero and how Ryekie and Mokdai live in my headspace rent free whenever I think about the characters in that game. Maybe we can see about getting some LAH headcanons since that’s a LifeWonders property too). So out of all the characters Shukou drew for Housamo why did I pick Marchosias? Easy, it’s been 4 years and this poor man has yet to receive a proper alt or any kind of skin for that matter and I think that it’s a crime. Sure he’s not my favorite but he’s definitely grown on me because he’s just a gentle dad kind of character and his design has grown on me over the years. I just hope he doesn’t get left behind since he has a lot of really interesting and potential things to look forward to in the future given how the main story has unfolded.

19: Shiva/Algernon: The helmet heads are together because DAI XT quickly became my favorite artist for Fire Emblem Heroes and I really just like their designs. DAI XT just knows how to draw robots, armor and muscles well. Also Chapter 11 with Shiva you can read into some interesting perspectives. I don’t want to spoil any of the untranslated content for anyone who’s waiting for the official english translation. But if you are curious Roureem has a blogspot where he posts summaries of the newly released events.

Link: https://housamosummaries.blogspot.com/

18: Cthugha: I love this goober so much. He’d constantly try to act super sentai just trying say good morning everyday. He may not be very bright but that just adds to his charm and honestly I enjoy how he always tries to play the hero in a lot of scenarios because it’s refreshing when they implement him after a bunch of heavy hitting story stuff. I’m not gonna spoil too much about it but I will say he’s more than welcome after everything Chapter 10 and 11 put the reader through.

17: Mineaki: I’ve made a post about him being one of my least favorites way back when I first started this blog and let me just say how times have changed and I’ve learned the value of not judging a book by it’s cover. I still think there’s something a bit off about Kowmei’s style for his characters, but Mineaki has definitely grown on me. He’s a caring instructor who does watch out for his students even if it’s not always in the most direct way possible. Not to get into too many spoilers he’s got a lot of intrigue around him as well and I am curious to see his role get expanded down the line.

16: Ded: Housamo is the reason I really like christmas. The Christmas stories despite following a similar structure to each other do tend to be my favorite stories. Ded himself is also just another good dad character. He’s also two guys for the price of one, so I mean… you know… you’ve got the forever ask your other dad situation. There wasn’t much thought put into this choice I just like santa as a concept because I think the outfits are cute, it’s always nice to get something for people you care about on Christmas and Ded is the perfect embodiment of both sides to Christmas.

15: Shinya: Everyone we need to manifest buff Shinya for 2021, this is not a drill. This is legitimate. We must make Taromati’s and my wish come true. To be more serious again he’s just a sweet and gentle character. He’s also drawn by my favorite Housamo artist. Their characters always just look so naturally good. I’m just surprised he hasn’t gotten much of an alt given he’s perfect material for Valentine’s day. He’s just a soft boy and I would love for him to be in more things because I just enjoy seeing him.

14: Jacob: I have to be honest Jacob is on here because every time I look at him he just gets more handsome to me. I wasn’t all that impressed with his introduction and we don’t know much about his background but I’ve just been drawn to him more and more. Maybe it’s just because he’s drawn by GomTang? I just like looking at him and I can’t help it. To speak a bit less crass he’s another gentleman kind of guy and those are always nice.

13: Shennong: Yeah I like the doc a lot. Firstly, I’m a huge sucker for big bulls and Shennong fits the bill. The white fur really adds to his appeal visually and the purple horns give off a bit of an unnatural appearance. Shen feels like someone who’s been touch starved and alone for a long time given how he acts as a character and when we actually hug him I just lost it. He always has others well being on his mind so he’s not afraid to jump in and help, or give a much needed lecture about when you need to take better care of yourself. He just comes across as very well balanced overall.

12: Heracles: I won’t lie- at first he didn’t interest me much. He looked incredibly plain when among the rest of the cast and he seemed like the typical “bait” character since the banner had Echo, Barguest, Gyumao and Snow. But after reading the translation for Valentine Time Slip I was taken aback at how much of a gentle giant he turned out to be and I just really liked his interactions with the others in that event. And honestly his special quest from that year was one of the more unique ones given the slower pace and more romantic vibe it had. After the event warmed my heart I did a complete 180 and I just knew I really liked him.

11. Yasuyori: Before I start praising him I feel I have to justify why he didn’t quite make top 10 and it will have some mild Chapter 10 spoilers. To be as vague as possible his resolution just didn’t vibe with me at the end of Chapter 10. Like it wasn’t a bad resolution and it was the right choice to make but in my opinion there really wasn’t a moment I felt was clear where he made a choice for himself. Everything just sort of happened around him and it felt like he didn’t really do much to improve his situation. To an extent I kind of see that being the idea given his origins and the story he’s based on and there is some semblance of him coming to terms with himself alongside his isolation being portrayed pretty well, but I just wasn’t satisfied with it as much as I would like to be. With that out of the way, oh my god I just want this boy to never stop smiling and I just want to give him hugs constantly please he just deserves to be happy!!! Yasuyori is a character who’s got a lot of baggage and he’s just trying to find ways to properly cope with his trauma and not repeat past mistakes and I just really like that idea. His role in Xmas 2020 (sorry I just forgot the name of that event, but its when he gets his alt) was a much better representation for his character in my eyes. I’m not gonna spoil anything like I keep saying but he isn’t one to disappoint in future appearances and I just hope this lovable lug keeps getting the support he deserves.

10: Hephaestus: A spicy way to start the latter half of the list. I just want to give this lad a hug and tell him he is worthy of love. But at the same time he is a little shit… and I love that. I can’t fully explain why I grow a paternal instinct in me seeing this grown man sob about his mother but I just do. I want to keep him safe and give him all the affection he wants. Though I am aware a lot of Hephaestus’s interest in his parental figure is… questionable. I am just gonna say I would accept his love for what it is and he just wants approval.

9. Shuten: I’ll be honest I have no proper reason for why I like Shuten so much. He’s just a cool and reliable guy. He just seems like a go with the flow kind of person most of the time and he’s a bit more direct than most of the characters which I always appreciate. Plus I have an unspoken bias for naop guys in Housamo.

8. Durga: While not number 1 on this list, I still really like Durga. She’s quirky but not to an annoying degree, she’s determined and definitely very confident in her own abilities. Her growing to be more sociable throughout her events is something I enjoy seeing because it really creates this sense of growth.

7. Kyuma: I get a lot of people don’t like Kowmei’s art but I really think we should look past it because Kyuma is one of the sweeter picks. He’s someone who just wants to prove himself for his own worth and not what David can provide, but David is part of him and it just creates the potential for a good arc. Plus this boy is unintentionally smooth and will just take your heart when possible. I honestly want to see Kyuma more in events because he’s honestly the jock that carries 3 of the 4 brain cells. He’s also the last one without an alt so I’m just hoping he gets one in 2021 because he really deserves one in my opinion. (Also fan art makes him really cute).

6. Tomte: Tomte is relatively new but honestly his event in 2019 really endeared me to him. I’m trying to be spoiler free because the best way to enjoy these stories is for yourselves but let me just say his arc in the event was really endearing to me and much more than I was expecting. His fan service is also incredibly hammy and I love it. Visually Tomte is one of my favorites, I love his multi colored hair and starlit pupils cuz it makes his otherwise more generic look have some flare. I knew I liked him out the box and when I read about him in the summaries and can’t wait to read the official translation for him. I was just very endeared.

5. Tetsuya: Tetsuya fucks. Moving on…

Jokes aside this one’s a bit simple. I have no shame in admitting I think he’s attractive and his whole resistance towards wanting a relationship is cute in a weird roundabout way. When he says no I just want it MORE. I just really like duo haired tsunderes.

4. Kengo: Kengo 3rd alt 2021. Please LifeWonders I need my favorite Summoner. He’s a bro and that’s what counts. Kengo has got your back, not afraid to rely on you, a very fun and dynamic guy. Sure he’s not that bright when it comes to making plans or any book smart, but there are times where he’s the best at being able to read the room or just understand what someone needs to hear even if it isn’t always what someone wants to hear. His bullheaded nature is actually one of his redeeming qualities because it’s nice to just not overcomplicate things and just understand what’s actually going on. Yes the early story didn’t do many favors for him but to me the events, especially the later ones, do much more work for his character. To me, at least.

3. Ashigara: Ashigara is best bear, and I will defend that stance in 2021. The main thing that draws me to Ashigara is that I can see a bit of myself in him. He gets very emotional when he gets left alone, he’s very loud when with his friends, has a tendency of speaking his mind- just someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. I also appreciate that in spite of the negative he isn’t someone who backs down when the going gets tough and in a few instances he’s able to hold his ground physically at least.

2. Wakan Tanka: Love at first sight. This ray of sunshine still persists as the number 1 husband, but number 2 character. Firstly I am a huge fan of the partial beast aesthetic. The buffalo ears and the horns are absolutely adorable. Secondly he’s a perfect body type; he’s not too muscular but not exactly flabby. Third he is just so positive and I love that. He’s someone I admire and wanna hug.

1. Taurus Mask: The more things change the more they stay the same. I’m still a big Taurus Mask fan for all the same reasons as last time. I just… relate to this boy. He is an incredibly shy boy who uses his public persona for confidence. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it’s like we’re soul bros!

So yeah, my tastes haven’t changed in a year and a half.

#tokyo afterschool summoners #housamo #Just Thoughts #qna #sfw

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electrickoushi · 3 years

Text

bakugo and todoroki’s super secret santa mission

a/n: happy holidays everyone. this was a fic I wrote for one of my friends for xmas. enjoy reading!

pairing: bakugo katsuki x todoroki shoto tags: fluff, pre-relationship, swearing (a normal amount for bakugo), tdbk in love! wc: 7.8k

Class 1-A's Secret Santa poses a large problem for Bakugo Katsuki. It’s such a large problem that he has to ask for stupid IcyHot's help in finding a present. In return, he helps Todoroki with his present search (and perhaps catches feelings in the process, but shh, we don't talk about that).

The mall was so crowded that Bakugo was having an awful time finding Todoroki. At this time of year, he easily blended in with the horrible, glittery candy cane decorations.

Bakugo found him standing near the children’s play structure. He looked like a lost puppy, spinning around in search of the familiar blonde spikes and scowl. He squinted his eyes at Bakugo and waved. A small smile spread on Todoroki’s face at the sight of his friend.

Bakugo rolled his eyes at his behavior but walked towards him. They were supposed to meet at the other play structure that was on the opposite side of the mall. Todoroki must have gotten them mixed up again.

“There you are. I’ve been texting you,” Bakugo yelled once he was in yelling distance.

Todoroki looked down at his phone in his left hand as if he forgot it was there. So that’s what the vibrations were? He just assumed it was Midoriya sending him pictures of his new video game.

34 texts and 3 missed calls.

Oops, my bad. “Didn’t we say to meet near the children’s play area?” Todoroki asked, blinking in confusion as he frowned and stood up. He put his phone in the pocket of his blue coat and unwound his scarf from his neck.

“Yeah, the one on the South side,” Bakugo sighed in annoyance. “It doesn’t matter though, just help me so I can get out of here.”

“Okay, help me with Kirishima first. I’m not sure what to get him.”

“I know, and I don’t know what to get ‘Miss I can literally create whatever the fuck I want.’ We’ve been over this. Lucky for you, I have an idea for Kirishima.”

Bakugo grabbed Todoroki’s arm and dragged him along, making sure to not lose him in the crowd of frantic shoppers. If he had to waste another twenty minutes looking for the candy cane boy, it may just end with the building in flames.

They headed in the direction that Bakugo came from. He specifically asked for them to meet at the South side play structure since it was near the store he wanted to show Todoroki, but that plan clearly didn’t work out. So they made a short trek to the opposite side of the mall.

It would have been fine if Todoroki didn’t look at the windows of every single shop they passed.

He was infatuated with almost every product displayed in the windows. It didn’t matter whether it was a speaker, a t-shirt, or a toy—he wanted it all. He could probably afford it all too, with that black credit card he carried that belonged to his father.

Bakugo eventually dropped his arm. They were out of the most congested parts of the mall. They should be fine.

Yet in a few minutes, when Bakugo turned around to check if his classmate was following him, he saw nothing but empty air.

It was a few minutes before Bakugo found the tall boy surrounded by little midgets.

“Come on Icyhot, we don’t have time for this,” Bakugo scoffed, finding him in a Build-A-Bear.

Todoroki turned around to see Bakugo behind him, arms crossed and seething.

“But I want one. They’re so cute and soft. Look.” Its head drooped forward as Todoroki held the unstuffed bear out to show his friend.

Bakugo thought it was kind of ugly. It looked really scratchy too. Out of all the finished models sitting on their shelves, Todoroki somehow managed to pick the most hideous one.

The entire idea of Build-A-Bear was kind of disturbing to him. You paid money to take what is essentially a corpse of a toy, pump some white stuffing into it, and then put a little mass-produced heart in it. Then you would wash it, with air? And give it clothing? Weren’t stuffed animals loved because you could pretend they were alive? How were you supposed to think it was alive when you literally stuffed its guts and organs back into its skin? In conclusion, Build-A-Bear was ruining the imaginations and childhoods of its customers.

Bakugo glowered at Todoroki until he dejectedly threw the unstuffed bear back into the bin and followed him out of the store. Bakugo was right; they didn’t have time for this. This shopping trip was meant to find presents for Kirishima and Momo.

“Just go pull an old one out of storage at your house or something. I’m sure you have a million,” said Bakugo as they walked to the store Bakugo wanted to go in all along.

“Oh, I’ve never had one. Did you?” Todoroki asked, Bakugo dropping his arm once he realized.

Fuck, how could he have forgotten again? Childhood was always a touchy subject for his classmate, he knew that. He didn’t mean to make such a careless comment. “Yeah, I, uh, just assumed every kid had one at some point. Sorry,” he mumbled.

Silence fell between them as they finally made it to the shop that hopefully held Kirishima’s present.

“Here,” Bakugo pointed to a pair of shoes in the window. “He would probably want these.”

“Those are ugly though,” Todoroki bluntly pointed out. They were a white pair of chunky Fila shoes.

Did you see the stuffed animal you were holding? “I agree, but anything is a step up from those red crocs he wears all the time,” sighed Bakugo.

He went into the relatively empty store and found a pair of the same shoes in a size 10, then shoved them into Todoroki’s arms. “There you go. Go buy them.”

Todoroki turned around and walked towards the counter.

A girl stood at the counter, clearly bored with her minimum wage job. When she looked up and noticed him, she immediately put on her best smile and fiddled with her hair. She made a weird face once she noticed his scar but wiped off the frown after a few seconds. “Are you ready to checkout?” she chirped.

Her voice was awful. Nasally and partially responsible for Bakugo’s oncoming headache. “Fucking ridiculous,” Bakugo scoffed under his breath. “He shouldn’t get special treatment because he’s pretty. Everything in the world should be based solely on firepower.”

Todoroki replied, “Yes I am.” Completely oblivious.

Bakugo could not understand how someone could be so dense. He was one of the top students in the class, probably the entire school. He always made good snap decisions when under pressure. He was a good fighter, with or without his quirk. He was powerful and smart and strong. So how could he not notice when someone was clearly trying to flirt with him?

Bakugo crossed his arms and pretended to be intensely looking at some shoe displayed on the shelf. He glanced over every so often to make sure that Todoroki wasn’t about to get swindled out of everything he owned. He wouldn't put it past the poor, innocent boy.

Todoroki smiled at her, thanking her for her help, and Bakugo actually felt the girl’s soul ascend.

He walked over to the register and tried his best not to glare at the pair. She was really getting on his nerves.

Shit, he forgot about the budget limit they set.

Todoroki pulled out the credit card from his wallet and handed it to the salesgirl who was rambling about some deal that was going on as she punched something on her screen. He stared at her blankly, zoning out and probably thinking about the next soba dish he could have if Bakugo had to guess.

Bakugo pushed Todoroki’s warm hand away, almost slapping the card out of it, and the girl visibly scowled at him. Wow, lady, don’t try so hard to hide your disdain. He glared at her.

“Bakugo, what’s wrong?”

“I forgot to look at their price.” He turned to the salesgirl who was clearly annoyed. Good, maybe she would finally take a hint. “We can’t buy these.” He grabbed Todoroki’s free hand and tried to pull him away, but Todoroki stood there.

“Wait, but Kirishima will like these. It’s fine, I will just get them customized if they don’t fit the budget requirements that were set.” He handed the card to the girl who immediately sent a bright smile his way despite her eyes being fixed on Bakugo. She was plotting ways to murder him, he could tell. It was the same look plastered on his face for the majority of the day.

Bakugo cursed out Todoroki’s back but let the purchase continue. It wasn’t his money that was being spent, so who cared. Todoroki egregiously disrespecting the budget was somehow so on-brand for him.

She checked them out and handed them the box with a receipt. “Bye! Good luck with your shopping,” she said to Todoroki, completely ignoring Bakugo.

Todoroki pulled away from the blonde’s hand to put his card away and grab the shoe box. Bakugo flinched, dropping his hand. He forgot that he took it to drag the taller boy out in the first place.

Once they were out of the store, Bakugo snatched the receipt from Todoroki. He was appalled at the price. “11,500 yen? Are you serious? They said to keep it around 2,000.”

“It’s fine. They probably won’t be able to tell,” Todoroki said in his usual serious tone.

Bakugo stood and stared, surprised at the boy’s ignorant thinking. Uraraka would pass away if she was here right now. “Are you joking?”

Todoroki frowned, “No, are you joking?”

“No, I’m not. I don’t care though. It’s your money.” Bakugo went to throw the receipt away when he saw handwritten numbers at the bottom.

She didn’t.

Bakugo studied it more closely.

She did.

“Todoroki, how the fuck do you get all these people falling in love with you? You literally just stand there and trip over your words and smile. It may be endearing sometimes, but that still doesn’t explain anything.”

Todoroki cocked his head and peered over the blonde’s shoulder. “What did she write?”

“It’s her phone number, dumbass.” He balled up the paper and threw it in the nearest trash can.

“Hey, what if I wanted that?” Todoroki stared down at the crumpled paper.

“Why would you ever want to talk to someone like her?”

“No, I meant the receipt.”

Un-fucking-believable. Bakugo walked away from headache reason number two and towards the mall map. If Half-and-Half couldn’t keep up with him, then it was his problem. It was too tiring, corralling the boy. He had been here for at least an hour by now, and he hadn’t even gotten his gift for Ponytail.

Someone’s hand brushed his side and he recoiled at the touch. He turned his head to find the red and white-haired boy standing beside him. When the hell did he get behind him?

Mint permeated the air around them as Todoroki stood near his friend. His soft, even breathing brushed against Bakugo’s ear as he searched for the perfect place. A pleasant sense of peacefulness washed over the blonde as he felt the heat of his classmate’s left side gently radiate off him.

Todoroki pressed his long finger against the virtual map. “There’s a customization store over here it looks like.”

Todoroki’s words pulled Bakugo out of his daze. He must have been getting tired or bored, waiting for the other boy to make up his mind. “Fine, we’ll go there.” Only because it was close. “But then we are getting Momo’s present and leaving.”

They worked their way to the customization store that was conveniently close by.

The interior decor was not awful and there was no one trying to flirt with Todoroki, so this was considered a good place in Bakugo’s book. Todoroki seemed almost overwhelmed with the bright colors and loud bass that vibrated through the floor. His eyes wandered around, taking in the funky colors bathed in the low lighting.

Bakugo seized the box of shoes from Todoroki’s arms. He would have to do it or they would get nowhere.

“Hey, can we get these customized?” he shouted over the music, marching up to the counter.

The man spun around. “Sure, dude, what do you want on ‘em?” Oh no, not a skater guy.

Skater guys were right below annoying sales girls on Bakugo’s list of “Things I hate but must tolerate occasionally.”

“Todoroki, come here. What do you want to put on them?” Bakugo glanced back to see if his classmate actually listened. The blonde was surprised to find the other’s face only a few inches away from his.

Bakugo shifted to the right to make room at the counter. Todoroki stared down at the shoes then up at the man who was waiting patiently for their answer. “I’m not sure,” he finally said.

“You insisted that they be customized but you didn’t even know what you wanted on them?” scoffed Bakugo. He was this close to leaving and finding Momo’s present on his own.

Todoroki shrugged, looking back and forth between the blonde and the friendly cashier.

“It’s all good, bro. Have a look around with your... friend here.” He nodded towards Bakugo who was currently muttering every insult he could think of at the red and white-haired boy. “We’re open until ten, you have all the time in the world.”

“Thank you, sir,” Todoroki said. He turned around, clutching the box of shoes to his chest and looking around at the various options offered in the store. It seemed like he was having trouble concentrating.

Bakugo whipped around again, “Can you turn the music down?”

The man nodded and adjusted the volume so that it was at a normal level. Todoroki sent Bakugo a grateful look.

“Sorry, little dude, business is slow around here so I gotta pass the time somehow.” He stepped out from behind the counter. “There are some common designs over on that wall. Colors are right next to them and fonts next to those. Prices are over here by the register. If you have any questions, just ask me.”

This man had the patience of a saint, Bakugo decided. If he was faced to help the clueless idiot that possessed Todoroki on a daily basis, he would have burnt down the place in an instant.

Todoroki smiled. “Thank you, sir!” He strode toward the colors and surveyed his options.

“Bakugo, what do you think about this?” he asked, looking up. Hair fell in his eyes. He squeezed them shut and shook his head to clear it out of the way. He blinked a few times before staring widely at his friend again, grey and blue eyes shining.

Bakugo blinked away his thoughts and walked over to where Todoroki was standing and pointing to a color. It was a deep red that was slightly darker than Shitty Hair’s shitty hair.

“If you match it with black, like his hero costume, but you also put some white on it, I think it’ll look really cool. I think I will also put ‘Red Riot’ on it. What do you think?” He looked at Bakugo for confirmation.

Bakugo couldn’t help but smile as he pictured his friend’s reaction. “Yeah, he’ll eat that shit up for sure.”

Todoroki nodded and went to survey the different fonts. They were displayed on a small tablet that was connected to the large flat screen hanging above them. He scrolled through hundreds of fonts, double-tapping them to place a star next to his favorites.

“I like this one. Or, wait, this one is nice. This one is sort of manly though.” Once again, Todoroki was overwhelmed with choices and in need of some guidance.

Bakugo nudged the boy over so he could have complete control over the tablet. “What about this one?”

Todoroki tilted his head up to see a font he must have missed: big block letters that looked like they were aggressively painted with bold strokes. He smiled the same brilliant smile that he flashed at the salesgirl and skater man. “I think it’s perfect.”

The pair returned to the counter and to the whistling man who was sorting t-shirts into their respective piles. He noticed they were coming back over, so he quickly folded the last shirt before turning around to face the register.

“Okay, sir, I think we have finally decided.” Todoroki recited the codes back to the man as he punched them into the tablet.

“Very cool choices, give me a few seconds for a rough sketch that you can review before OK-ing it.” He grabbed a stylus from a tin nestled in the corner and started to draw random lines. At least, they looked pretty random to the two. They were shocked at the final design.

With slight direction and input from the boys, the man had created the coolest design either of them had ever seen. They told him about the gears on Kirishima’s costume and he incorporated them on the sides of the wording. He also added flecks of white like Todoroki had previously suggested to Bakugo before when they were picking out colors, as well as other patterns and highlights.

The man tilted the tablet towards the students. “Do you like it? If not, I have another idea.”

“Wow, yeah, that’s amazing,” Bakugo uttered.

Todoroki was just as shell-shocked as the former. “That’s perfect. Thank you so much.” He handed the credit card to the man.

“I just need to warn you that it’s not cheap. It’s about 8,000 yen for that design.” He expected the boy to retract his card, but he kept his arm sticking out.

“Oh, that’s fine. Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The artist took the card from him and looked at the name on the back: Enji Todoroki. So that’s where all this money came from.

He swiped the card and handed it back to the boy, along with the receipt. “If you leave the shoes here, then you can collect them in about a week. Just call ahead and we will get them ready for easy pickup.”

Todoroki frowned. “Oh, I thought you were going to do it right now since you were so fast with the sketch.”

Bakugo rolled his eyes at the ignorant behavior, but the man just laughed. “That’s flattering if you think I could do that all on the shoe itself, but we send them, along with this sketch, to a professional place.”

Todoroki nodded in understanding and placed the shoes on the counter. “Okay, thank you. I will call you in a week.”

“No problem, see you then.” He wished them luck on the rest of their shopping as they left the store. Maybe Skater Guy wasn’t so bad, Bakugo thought, he was a really talented artist and didn’t even snap at Todoroki once.

They were met with loud holiday music and warm air once they entered the main part of the mall and walked toward the directory. The onslaught of frenetic shoppers barrelled past without a second thought and would have dragged Todoroki away if not for Bakugo grabbing onto his arm at the last second.

“Fucking finally. Now what the hell do I buy?” sighed Bakugo as he scanned the section labeled “Women’s Clothing.” If all else failed, he would just buy her a scarf or something.

Bakugo never wanted to be a part of the gift exchange in the first place. It took days of Deku hounding him, Kirishima begging him, and Sero straight-up bullying him to get him to put his name in the hat.

He knew he shouldn’t have succumbed to the peer pressure when Iida came to his desk and told him that he would have to give a gift to Momo. The Yaoyorozu Momo, Quirk: Creation; aka, she could create literally anything she wanted to, so why the fuck did Bakugo have to buy her something?

Unfortunately for him, Momo was really looking forward to the Secret Santa. She couldn’t help but gush about it to her girlfriend Jirou, who would do anything to make sure Momo had a wonderful Christmas, even if that meant harassing a certain spiky blonde gremlin.

Bakugo wasn’t scared of her, no, not at all. Just like how he was not somewhat fearful of Sero, the only person Bakugo had ever met who was immune to his snarky comments and mean words.

After pressuring Iida enough to force him to reveal Momo’s gift-giver, Jirou came over and threatened Bakugo, hissing and engaging in an arguing match with him. It ended with Bakugo promising that he would give her a nice gift. Deku was amazed at Jirou’s success.

That’s how he ended up here, at the mall, with the one and only infuriating Todoroki Shoto by his side.

“I don’t know,” Todoroki frowned, scanning the directory to find a suitable store.

“You, what?” Bakugo must have heard him wrong. He must have heard him wrong because if not, then what was he even doing here?

“I don’t know what to get Momo.”

“Are you fucking serious? I literally agreed to meet you here because you said you could help me. I just hauled my ass around this stupid mall trying to help you get a good gift, and in return, you tell me you don’t know what to get her? I cannot believe-”

Todoroki turned and walked away. He learned that’s what you are supposed to do from Midoriya’s guide he passed out to the class named Dealing with Bakugo Katsuki 101. There was a section that Midoriya entitled “Feral Bakugo.” This must have been what he meant.

Method #1: Just walk away.

Bakugo chased after him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Half-and-Half Bastard? Don’t walk away from me when I’m fucking talking to you, you son of a-”

Mothers covered their children’s ears and glared at the blonde because of his open profanity. People walked around him, wanting to avoid the shit that was inevitable about to go down.

Todoroki sighed. He would have to move on to method two. He turned around and stared at Bakugo with a blank look on his face.

Method #2: Stare at him to make him uncomfortable or confused.

“Okay, what the shit? You’re kind of creeping me out.” Bakugo stopped growling and being an overall barbarian in public. Mission: accomplished.

Todoroki was about to speak when something caught his eye in the display case behind him. He walked past Bakugo to see what was sparkling.

Bakugo turned around as the boy ignored him. “What the hell are you looking at now?” he snarled, still angry that Todoroki was ignoring him.

Todoroki pressed his face up to the glass, close enough that his breath fogged the display case. “Do you think Momo will like these?”

Cute glass figurines sat on a bed of cotton strewn about to look like fake snow. Glitter was sprinkled along the shelf and vinyl clings of snowflakes were stuck to the window. Wooden carvings rested near the glass characters, along with other useless knick-knacks and baubles. Bakugo found the whole display tacky, but Todoroki seemed to be enchanted by it.

“Let’s look at them more closely.” Todoroki grabbed Bakugo’s hand and pulled him into the store, seeming to forget about his so-called “feral behavior” three seconds ago.

The store had the exact opposite vibe as the customization one. It looked to be a novelty gift store. It was totally decked out in Christmas decorations, with lights hanging everywhere and Christmas music blaring loudly.

Todoroki immediately found the glass figurines in a box. He handed it to Bakugo for closer inspection, cold hand briefly brushing against the warmer one.

“She can just make these herself. They’re just pure glass anyway.”

“Sure she can, but it’s the thought that counts. Also, I don’t think she would ever think to make them.” Momo would never use her quirk in such a self-indulgent way. The only time she ever manifested items was when it was for others.

He had a point. “You’re right,” Bakugo conceded, flipping the box over to see the price. 5,500 yen, ouch. “But it’s still over the price range.”

“She won’t know though.”

Once again, he had a point. Momo had never been good at guessing the price of an object, probably because she never had to pay attention to it. Unlike Kirishima who would be able to tell just how expensive his customized shoes were, Momo might not even think to consider the price.

At the end of the day, Bakugo had to admit that Todoroki was pretty good at this gift-giving thing, but he wouldn't be caught dead ever saying that aloud.

Bakugo agreed to buy the figures, satisfying the other boy. The cashier easily rang up the figurines and they were out of the store in ten minutes.

Now that both presents had been bought, Bakugo was in a much better mood. The anxiety that came with the possibility of Jirou murdering him in his sleep dissipated once he finally purchased the gift.

“Why did your present take so much longer?” Bakugo teased.

Todoroki shrugged. “I’m not sure. They usually say it’s harder to shop for girls, right?”

Todoroki clearly did not understand the jab.

Bakugo cleared his throat. “Right. Anyways, are you ready to go? I have to go buy a present for my mom, but you can leave. I won’t keep you hostage.”

“Oh, alright. Goodbye.” Todoroki nodded once, turned on his heel, and walked away.

Bakugo watched him walk away before sighing to himself. Now came was the hard part. What would Todoroki Shoto want for a Christmas present?

Todoroki walked towards the exit, peeking over his shoulder every couple of minutes to see if the blonde boy had left. Once Bakugo had walked away from the gift store, Todoroki turned around and weaved his way back through the crowd.

While Bakugo was scrutinizing the glass figures, Todoroki saw a small potted cactus he thought the blonde would really like. It didn’t require too much attention and was very prickly; Bakugo was one of these two things. It was only a small present, and despite the number of times that he tried to deny it, Bakugo was indeed Todoroki’s friend.

He double-checked his surroundings to make sure Bakugo had truly left before walking into the store.

“Back again, honey?” The old woman who helped check out Bakugo was still sitting at the counter.

“Yes, I am buying a present for my friend.”

She smiled and went back to looking at her magazine.

Todoroki turned around to find the succulent, which was actually a Christmas cactus. How fitting. He picked it up and inspected it similarly to how Bakugo inspected Momo’s present. Looking at it, it didn’t strike him in the same way as it did earlier. Bakugo wouldn’t hate it, but he wouldn't love it either. After a few months, he would just think it was a nuisance and kill it.

He set it back down and looked around the store again. Now that he didn’t have to be secretive about what he was doing, it was much easier to clearly check out all the products. Still, nothing was standing out to him as a great gift, so he waved goodbye to the nice lady and went on his way in search of the perfect present for Bakugo Katsuki.

Bakugo had no clue where to even start.

Clothes were always the go-to present, so he might as well start there. Maybe some great idea would strike him from above while he wandered aimlessly.

He ended up in a punk-goth-emo type section. “How the fuck did I…”

Skulls and chains in a sea of black surrounded him as he tried to find an escape. This must be where his mother bought his clothes as a child.

He found the small hallway that he must have walked through to get to this terrifyingly bleak place. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to find a half-red half-white haired boy standing about thirty feet away.

I thought he was the only one who looked like that. Unless… Todoroki Shoto has fanboys? It wasn’t completely out of the question. A lot of 1-A students garnered fans ever since the Sports Festival.

The possible fanboy turned his head.

Oh shit, never mind that was literally Todoroki.

Bakugo didn’t want to turn around and get lost in the endless maze of black again, but he couldn’t stay in this brightly lit hallway.

Instead, he darted down the hallway as fast as humanly possible and dove behind a clothing rack. It rattled softly, but Todoroki didn’t notice. Bakugo released a sigh. He clearly wasn’t going to find anything worthwhile here, so he made it his main priority to get the hell out of here before he was spotted.

Every few seconds, he bolted from rack to rack, making sure that Mr. Candy Cane never saw him. Todoroki never seemed to notice as he went around the store picking out clothes and feeling different materials.

God bless Bakugo’s amazing espionage skills, or he would’ve had a large problem on his hands if he had to explain why he was shopping for his mother in the goth section.

Todoroki was still having no luck.

Nothing caught his eye in the ginormous clothing store. A few times, a metal rack would shake and Todoroki would go check the mysterious noise out. The first time it happened, he considered it a sign from the gift-giving gods that purposely lured him over. That was until he discovered it was filled with tasteless vests and button-ups that no one should ever wear, not even as a form of punishment.

He knew Bakugo would not have the patience for any puzzles. He also doubted Bakugo would appreciate the simplicity of children’s toys, so he was out of ideas.

Todorki flitted around the entire mall, going from store to store as he combed through the thousands of gifts. The last few stores were a shoe store, a bookstore, and a jewelry store.

If nothing else worked, Todoroki would just buy him a book. He was pretty sure Bakugo liked reading, and lots of books existed, which meant his odds of getting a book that his friend hadn’t read before were pretty good.

He left that as his last resort and instead entered the jewelry store. Thousands of sparkling crystals blinded him and he almost walked right out. But no, he would press on until he found the perfect gift.

He knew Bakugo wouldn’t like anything too sparkly. His brazen personality was more than enough to gather people’s attention.

Eventually, Todoroki found himself in a section filled with bracelets and rings that weren’t outfitted with diamonds. They were mostly leather or solid metal.

He sifted through the suggestions, spinning the little carousels around when an orange bead caught his eye. He pulled it off the hook. It was a simple bracelet with metallic black and orange beads. The colors reminded Todoroki of Bakugo’s hero costume.

He slipped it on his own wrist and found that it was slightly elastic. It wouldn’t fall off, but it wouldn’t get stuck, meaning it would be perfect to wear during class or meals or combat training. Todoroki wholeheartedly believed Bakugo would appreciate the versatility.

He took it off and went over to the nearest register. There was one person in front of him, so he just got in line and looked at his phone.

Despite Todoroki sending no responses to Midoriya, he still texted him with screenshots of his game. There were over a hundred messages now. He must have been very excited.

The man working at the counter called “next,” so Todoroki put his phone back in his pocket, making a mental note to look at them later.

He gave the bracelet to the man, and the man scanned it and placed it in a fancy silver box lined with black velvet. He grabbed a small plastic bag and slipped the box in, along with a receipt. He wished Todoroki a nice day and the boy replied with a small “thank you” before grabbing the bag and walking out of the store.

He peered down at the box. It was the first present he had ever bought by himself, and he was strangely proud.

He was almost at the exit when he looked up to find Bakugo in front of him with a startled look on his face.

Bakugo spoke first. “I thought you left.” He eyed the taller boy with curiosity.

Todoroki’s eyes widened once he realized the situation. Bakugo couldn’t know he bought him a surprise gift. It wouldn't be a surprise then.

“Oh, um well, I planned to. But then I, uh, I saw this store, and I was like my cat would really like this…” he trailed off.

“Your cat?”

“Y-yeah, you know. My cat, uh, he likes to, to wear fancy jewelry sometimes. You know, like, to dress up for fun.”

Rich people were so fucking weird. “What are you saying-”

Todoroki scratched his head and nervously laughed. “Okay, bye!” He flew out of the store clutching the small bag.

There was no way he was buying something for his cat.

No fucking way.

He must have been buying something for his mother or his sister. He couldn’t understand why Todoroki would be so flustered over something like that but to each their own.

He looked around the store. It was his last-ditch effort to find something that suited Todoroki. His classmate had quite the eye for stupid, useless things, and jewelry seemed to fit the description well enough.

A young woman came up to him. “Hello, sir, do you need help finding something?”

Not another saleswoman, please no. He couldn’t take any more. At least this one had a normal voice and a non-murderous look in her eye.

The humidity in the building had messed up his hair and all their hustling had made him start to sweat. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, just itching to blow something up. He must have looked terribly disheveled because the woman asked if he was okay.

He wanted to snap at her until he remembered that a place like this demanded civility. Very unfortunate. Instead, he tried answering her in the most docile way possible. Maybe she would actually be of some use. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m just having difficulty in finding a present.”

“Understandable! I can help you if you would like?” The saleswoman's happy, airy tone returned once he assured her that he was okay.

“Oh, actually yes. Yes please, thank you. Do you have anything a teenage boy would like? Something cool, but still elegant in a way?”

“Oh, do you have a boyfriend you are shopping for?” she inquired, leading him to a specific area of the store.

“What? No!” he snapped.

A blush may or may not have graced his cheeks when he thought about Todoroki opening his present.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. We have a collection over here though if you would be interested.” She could tell he was lying, either to her or himself. No straight, teenage male would be found dead in a jewelry store buying a present for his male friend. The red cheeks were also a dead giveaway.

“Yes, sorry. It’s just been a tiring day.” Bakugo didn’t mean to bark at the lady who was just trying to help him; it was just second nature at this point.

“I’m sure it has. Gift shopping can be hard, but that’s why I’m here.”

They made small talk while she showed off many different pieces. Various features and product advantages flew over his head as he tried to picture each bracelet on Todoroki’s wrist. He eventually settled on a leather cuff with a large metal adornment.

“If you want to fill that metal box with an engravement, that’s included if you buy it.”

Todoroki would definitely like this. His gut told him so, and it was never wrong.

“Okay, cool. I’ll get it engraved.”

They walked over to the engraving station in the corner of the shop. The woman unclasped the bracelet, placing the cuff flat on the table, and turned towards Bakugo. “What would you like it to say?”

“Oh, can I have a second?”

The woman nodded and smiled, but her eyes anxiously traveled from customer to customer.

The holiday season was always a great time for her paycheck, but she couldn’t really keep up with commissions if she was stuck helping the same customer. Children like him usually bought the first thing they saw, which is why she started with the most expensive items first. The fact that he took so long only further convinced her that he was shopping for a special someone.

Bakugo crossed his arms. He can’t fuck it up now. He’s spent hours in this dreadful building to find the perfect gift. Now it was in his grasp, and he could make it even more perfect if he thought of the right thing to write on it.

“You can always engrave it later, but I would recommend something like-”

“I got it! Put Katsuki on it in Kanji.”

The lady smiled at the blonde, ready for this exchange to be over so she could go help someone else. “Is that his name?”

“No, it’s mine.”

The woman gave him a strange look. “Sir, do you really-”

“You heard me, lady,” he growled. He was about to explode, literally and metaphorically. It had been hours since he last felt something explode beneath him, and he just wanted to feel the satisfying recoil when he used his quirk.

She scowled at him but did what he said. At the end of the day, he was just another customer that would fill her pockets.

She quickly rang him up and placed it in a box. Bakugo was slightly shocked at the price, but he couldn’t back out now. Also, it was engraved so there was no returning it. Also, he was very confident that Todoroki would really like it.

Bakugo walked out of the store after muttering thanks. His energy and wallet were exhausted and he was ready to go home.

He headed towards the exit when another store caught his eye.

One more stop couldn’t hurt.

Everyone was gathered in the common room on the first floor of their dorm building. The Christmas tree’s lights illuminated the room and all of the students were curled up near the fireplace. They had enjoyed a large dinner beforehand, munching on cookies and sipping on milk afterward.

Todoroki and Bakugo ended up sitting next to each other on the floor as they eagerly waited for Kirishima and Momo to open their presents.

Kirishima’s name was called next, and he searched for his package. Todoroki had wrapped it with red wrapping paper covered in cartoon ornaments and tied a large gold bow on top.

Kirishima grabbed the box and crawled back to his seat next to Denki. He shook it loudly and held his ear up to it. Denki rolled his eyes and told him just to open it. Kirishima elbowed the blonde before tearing open the paper. He lifted the lid to find the shoes Todoroki had customized for him.

“Holy shit! These are the coolest things I’ve ever seen!” He pulled them out of the tissue they were nestled in and held them up for the rest of the class to see. Everyone oohed and ahhed, stunned to see the fantastic gift.

“Your gift giver must have been Momo or Todoroki!” Mina noted as she wrote that down on her notes. She was trying to figure out who everyone’s Secret Santa was with Uraraka’s help.

“It doesn’t matter who it was, they’re so awesome. Thank you!” He grinned his little shark smile and stuffed them back into the box.

Todoroki side-eyed Bakugo and discreetly high fived him.

A few more people opened presents until Momo’s turn came around. Mina got hot pink roller skates, Shouji got a six-armed knit sweater, and Sato got a few new kitchen knives.

Momo grabbed her box, a smallish one wrapped in pink wrapping paper with baby pink stripes on it. Thankfully, she did not shake it like Kirishima or Bakugo would have to riot.

She gently tore the wrapping paper off and opened the brown box. The brown paper crinkled as she pulled the wrapped figurines out. Untying the strings, the paper opened to reveal three crystal animals that sparkled in the multicolored light.

“Thank you, whoever! They are very pretty,” she smiled at the whole room. Jirou curled into her girlfriend’s side, flipping the figurines over in her hand to look at them.

Uraraka muttered to Mina, “I have no clue…” Mina reluctantly placed a question mark next to Momo’s name.

Bakugo smirked to himself. There was no way in hell he would let himself be discovered.

The rest of the class opened their presents, and overall, everyone was very happy. People munched on desserts, drank hot cocoa, and talked and laughed with each other. Per Kirishima’s request, Bakugo had even power napped before the event so he wouldn’t have to leave early.

By the time midnight rolled around, almost everyone was gone. Almost everyone, meaning everyone except Todoroki and Bakugo.

Bakugo had brought the bracelet with him and hid it in his sweatshirt the entire night. No opportunity had presented itself, but then again, no one would just give you an opportunity. You just had to steal it for yourself.

Bakugo watched Todoroki’s figure as he fluffed all the pillows and folded the blankets.

The blonde almost spoke several times but hesitated each time. No, he was not chickening out. It just wasn’t the right time.

“Um, Bakugo,” Todoroki started. “I got you a present. I saw it and thought of you.”

Bakugo turned around to find a box that looked strikingly similar to the one in his pocket. He untied the ribbon and opened the lid. A bracelet with orange and black beads.

“It reminded me of your hero costume. The black and orange,” Todoroki admitted, abashed.

Bakugo slipped it on. It was very nice, stretchy, and easy to take on and off. He looked up at his classmate.

Todoroki’s heterochromatic eyes stared into his eyes, trying to gauge the blonde boy’s reaction.

Fuck, was he always this pretty? Bakugo wondered, his heart possibly skipping a beat.

“Bakugo?” Todoroki cocked his head to the left, white hair falling in his eyes.

Bakugo was suddenly very aware of how close the other boy had gotten.

“Yeah?” he breathed out, distracted by the mint scent that surrounded the two of them.

“Do you like it?” Todoroki shifted closer, inspecting the bracelet and how it looked on the blonde’s wrist. He picked up the smaller boy’s arm and turned it over in his hands, watching the light bounce off the wooden beads.

“Oh, yeah I do. I do,” Bakugo managed to stutter out. The alternating warm and cold touch sent jolts up his arm and through his body.

Todoroki smiled, dropping his arm to look at Bakugo who had a light blush on his cheeks. It was very cute according to Todoroki.

Bakugo had to sympathize with the salesgirl now. It really was a killer smile that he possessed.

Oh right, he almost forgot. He got too swept up in… everything. “I have a gift for you too. For helping me with Momo’s present and stuff.”

He tore his eyes away from the boy to go find the box he hid in his coat earlier. The bow got slightly crushed, so he tried fixing it as best as he could before turning it around to hand it to Todoroki.

He unwrapped the bow and pulled out a leather cuff with some sort of engraving. “Oh, wow, Bakugo, this is really nice.” He turned it over to read the engraving. “Wait, why does it say your name?”

“Kacchan, you did not just give Todoroki a bracelet with your name on it.”

Bakugo’s face went red at the sudden intrusion. “Shut the fuck up, Deku,” he growled. “Why are you even here?”

“Oh, I was trying to find Aizawa to give him this sweater for his cat. Also, I had colored pencils and a coloring book for Eri, but I couldn’t find them. I thought they might have come here but I guess not. I will take my leave now, so have fun you two!” He hopped off the couch and disappeared around the corner.

Todoroki and Bakugo stared at his retreating figure.

Todoroki poked the blonde. “So why is your name on it?”

“So you’ll always remember who gave it to you!”

“Oh.” Todoroki didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, it was kind of cute. On the other hand, it really just wasn’t.

Bakugo’s heart fell at the lackluster answer. “If you don’t like it, I can just take it back or something.” He definitely could not take it back.

“No, I love it.” He slipped it on his wrist and admired it.

Todoroki could stare at the bracelet all day and Bakugo could stare at him all day, but there was something else Bakugo wanted to give. “Uh, Todoroki, I also got you something else.”

Todoroki looked up with inquisitive eyes, folding his hands in his lap.

Bakugo stood up and grabbed Todoroki’s present that he had hidden under a pillow all night.

“I remember you said you never had one as a kid, and it seemed like you really wanted it.” He threw the teddy bear into the other boy’s arms while he trudged back over to their spot in the middle of the room near the fire.

Todoroki easily caught it and looked down to find the teddy bear he wanted from Build-A-Bear that day they went shopping together. He hugged it to his chest and found that it was soft. (It really wasn’t.)

Bakugo melted a bit at the sight as he smiled fondly at the boy. He was so innocent sometimes.

“Thank you,” he whispered, looking up at Bakugo.

“You’re welcome,” Bakugo whispered back.

All of a sudden a paper plane hit Bakugo on the side of his head, shattering the sweet atmosphere.

He growled and looked around for the culprit, but no one was there. Dammit. Grabbing the paper in his hand, he angrily snapped it open to find a message written in very familiar handwriting on it.

“Just kiss already <3”

Deku was about to get a fucking mouthful.

"And that is how you fly a paper airplane, Eri!” Midoriya smiled at the little girl.

He watched his friends around the corner, Bakugo growling over the paper airplane and Todoroki trying to read what it said while he held his new stuffed animal to his chest.

They would be just fine. More than fine. They would be happy. And that’s all Midoriya could ever ask for.

#elliewrites #fluff #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha #mha #todoroki shoto #bakugo katsuki #todoroki x bakugo #todobaku #tdbk #bnha oneshot

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janfraiser · 4 years

Text

Dirty Secret

This is day 17 which I am late to on account of I was camping all day saturday. It’s Call the Midwife again, and I had a different idea but then I wrote day 19 and got into a Trixie/Val mood. Set during (after?) the season 8 xmas special, which, disclaimer, I haven’t seen in a while. I apologize for inaccuracies, oops. Also the whump is only emotional but y’know what, I’m gonna say it counts

Warnings: grief, references to period-typical homophobia

Trixie stands in her bedroom, wrapped in a nightgown with her hair in curlers. She’s ready for bed, and certainly tired. But instead of sinking into her covers she sinks into her thoughts, fingering the red sweater sitting on top of her still-made bed. She swallows hard as she stares at the label sewn into the back of the neck. Though she’d thought she’d processed the news weeks ago, coming home to Nonnatus makes Barbara’s death sting anew, like a scab coming off an unhealed wound.

The door opens and closes as Valerie returns from the bathroom, equally ready for bed. She hums in sympathy, her light smile disappearing as she recognizes the garment under Trixie’s hand. “Oh, hon. You got her sweater?”

Trixie nods, not quite trusting herself to speak. Indeed, her voice comes out shaky. “I-- it feels like everyone else has moved on already, but coming back here, coming home, and seeing she’s really gone... it feels fresh to me.” She’d visited Barbara’s grave earlier. It had taken her quite a long time to stop crying enough to be presentable again.

Valerie sighs and opens her arms. “C’mere, love. You could do with a warm hug.”

Trixie goes obligingly, her eyes closing as Valerie wraps her in her arms. She’s surprised when her friend leads them to sit on her bed, but she’s the one who leans into her until they’re lying down together.

“None of us have moved on, not really,” Valerie says softly. Her voice rumbles in her chest, and Trixie feels it more than she hears it. “We all miss her. There are still days when I could scream with the unfairness of it. Bloody hell, it hasn’t even been two months.” She trails off, but Trixie hears how choked up she is.

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” she says softly. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Trix.”

She nods against Valerie’s chest, and for a while, they lapse into silence.

Silence is dangerous. Silence lets Trixie focus on listening to Valerie’s heartbeat, on the smell of her soap, which smells exactly like the hand soap downstairs in the prep room but somehow better on Valerie. Silence means Trixie is alone with her thoughts, and her thoughts are telling her to hold Valerie close and never let go.

“Your hair smells nice,” Valerie says, and that does not make the thoughts go away.

Trixie feels herself blush. “Thank you,” she murmurs.

“Must be your fancy shampoo.”

“Are you jealous?” She means to lighten the mood, but finds her voice has gone quiet and a bit breathy.

“Jealous isn’t quite the word,” Valerie answers, and her voice is rougher now, too.

Trixie looks up, momentarily silenced by how close her face is to Valerie’s. She spends a few moments trying to decide whether her eyes are green or brown before realizing she hasn’t spoken in far too long. “You smell nice, too.”

Valerie hums, her eyes locked with Trixie’s. She leans forward. Trixie leans forward, too, but her breath catches, and she pauses. “We-- we can’t. It’s... wrong.” She doesn’t even believe herself, not really.

Valerie raises her hand to cup Trixie’s cheek, then slides it into her hair. “Maybe it’s the rest of the bloody world who’s wrong.”

And that must be it, because when Valerie’s lips meet hers, it’s the most right thing she’s ever felt.

#whumptober2020 #no. 17 #dirty secret #call the midwife #ctm #trixie franklin #valerie dyer #fic #grief tw #mentions of death #mentions of homophobia #trixie/valerie #otp: cigarettes and saline #(otp tag subject to change)

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drawlfoy · 4 years

Text

2019 Draco x Reader Secret Santa Gift Exchange - - Inevitable

masterlist request guidelines i know, i know...it’s been a bit. this is for @eltanin-malfoy ‘s secret santa gift exchange.

pairing: draco x reader

requested: kind of! this is part of the xmas gift exchange :)) also i hate to say this but i kind of deviated from the request...i wanted to make it a bit longer and didn’t like how it specified how they were the only two students left at hogwarts...wanted to mix it up some :)))))))))

summary: ravenclaw y/n is remaining at hogwarts over the holidays to study for N.E.W.T.S while her family is away on business. despite never really having been close to him before, y/n begins to form an unlikely connection.

warnings: just swearing and underage drinking and a mention of a sexual relationship between snape and a student (don’t worry...NOT the central focus and just an anecdote provided).

a/n: damn....it’s really been like....almost two months. i’ve been logging on and off occasionally to see what’s been going on. i know that there were a lot of requests over the summer that kind of sunk that i never got to, and to that i’m very sorry. maybe one day i’ll be able to get back to them (i’m thinking of doing so over the next summer!!). i’m so so so thankful for the fact that you guys are still here, reading my content and enjoying draco malfoy as much as i am. i love this community and feel very blessed to be a part of it.

music recs: any christmas music!!

word count: 3,859

“And you’re sure that you’re alright with staying behind?”

Y/N sighed, twisted her hair into a knot behind her neck in a nervous gesture. “Yes, Mum. It’s really okay. I hope you and Dad have a good time in Paris.”

“You know we won’t,” her mother said. “I can’t believe we have to work through the holidays.”

“I’m sorry Mum.” Y/N took a glance out the window, watching the rest of her friends leave the grounds with the intention of catching the train back to London. “If it makes you feel any better, I think I’m one of the only students staying here this winter. I’ll just be working too.”

“Be sure to write often.” There was a brief pause before Y/N could hear some commotion in the background, and her mother’s face, which had previously been gazing at her from the common room coals turned. “I’ve got to go, dearie. Love you!”

With that, the fire was extinguished, and Y/N was left to sit alone in the empty Ravenclaw common room. It was rather dark now that the sun was hanging lower in the sky, and every sound she made echoed. She had never noticed just how much space her housemates took up until they had gone home.

Once Y/N had gotten over her miniature pity party, she gathered up her robes and headed down to the dining hall. There was one particular Slytherin girl, Daphne, who she knew was staying behind for sure. There was something about the Slytherin house staying over the holiday break to study for N.E.W.T.S...or perhaps all their parents had gotten sick of them and their snooty attitudes by this point.

Y/N snorted ungraciously at this notion as she entered the dining hall, pushing open the two large doors. The eerie hum of quiet chatter hit her ears instead of the familiar roar of 4 houses, and her footsteps echoed--actually echoed--as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table. She quickly changed her mind when she saw Daphne waving at her from the sparsely populated Slytherin table.

“Over here, Y/L/N,” she called, shoving someone who was sitting next to her to the side. Y/N couldn’t get a good look at who it was, but the long, flowing dark locks suggested that it was Pansy. “Move, Pans. We have special company.”

Y/N gratefully accepted the offer, ditching her completely empty table and sliding in next to her Potions partner.

“Thanks, Greengrass.” Y/N never understood the Slytherin obsession with calling acquaintances by their last name, but on Merlin was she going to follow that rule whilst she was the only friend she had.

“Of course,” Daphne responded, daintily picking at the food on her plate while Y/N grabbed a roll and spooned stew into her bowl. “Just don’t embarrass us too much, you know. Blue and green just don’t really...vibe well. We’ll have to get you a Slytherin tie for the holidays if you don’t want to be harassed in the common room.”

“In the...what?”

“In the common room,” Pansy said, barely looking up from her own plate. “You don’t seriously think we’re going to leave you to go up to an empty dorm every night, right?”

“Does...that....huh?” Y/N knew that her mouth was gaped unceremoniously open, but she didn’t know how else to act. The Slytherins were...inviting her to live with them?

“Yeah, Pans and I have an extra bed now that Millicent is off in Peru on holiday,” Daphne said nonchalantly.

“Does that mean I get to call you Daphne now, or...”

She laughed, her perfectly straight white teeth glinting in the light. “If it makes you happy. Only me though. Or Pansy. Anyone else will have a bit of an attitude.”

Y/N smiled nervously, pushing her stew around with a spoon. “I really wasn’t expecting this, Thanks for not making me spend the holidays completely alone.”

“Honestly,” Pansy said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t get why people give Slytherins such a selfish rap. Look at how empathetic and caring we are.”

Y/N laughed, casting her eyes up from her food and taking in the table. The 6th year Slytherins were well-represented, with Zabini, Nott, and....Malfoy? She frowned at him. Malfoy had blabbed the entire year to all of his croonies about how well-regarded he was in family and how he was such an integral part of his father’s work. It was surprising to see him at Hogwarts and not home, where he would’ve been much more useful to his family. The extra line in his scowl suggested to Y/N that he was well aware of the fact and was staying against his will. Then again, she could’ve been wrong. She’d had some classes with him, but they’d never personally spoken, but it didn’t take much for her to draw the conclusion that he was a spoiled prat.

She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t think to pull her eyes away when Malfoy turned away from his conversation with Zabini, his head tilting in her direction. His grey eyes snapped up from the table to meet hers, and she jerked away the moment they made contact. Y/N stared at the table as nonchalantly as she could, counting 7 cracks in the wood before she felt confident enough to peek back up again. Malfoy was turned back around, talking a bit more animatedly to his friends.

That was weird she thought, putting her energy back into her stew. I’m never looking that direction again.

<^>

The Slytherin bunk beds felt slightly more comfortable than the Ravenclaw ones. “Daddy’s money always makes for a thicker cushion,” Pansy said to this observation as she rifled through her drawers, trying to find a few acceptable pieces for Y/N to borrow. “I don’t have an extra jumper, but I’ll be right back. I know someone who does.”

“Isn’t this kind of extra?” Y/N asked Daphne as Pansy dashed off through the open dorm door. “I’ll just avoid wearing blue stuff. I swear.”

She laughed at this, tossing an extra Slytherin tie on Y/N’s bed. “It’s weird. I think it’s kind of a Slytherin thing. It’s fun to indoctrinate you or something like that.”

“Kind of kinky.”

The two snickered as Y/N continued to unpack her things into Millicent’s now empty drawer, shoving her sweats and unmarked sweaters to fit as much as she could.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but if it floats your boat.”

“You’re gonna love me for this,” a prim voice sang from the doorway. Y/N turned to see Pansy holding a bundle of clothes. “Full set of Slytherin robes. I say that you try and convince everyone that you’ve been in this house the whole time.”

Y/N cackled at this. “I feel like I’m rooming with absolute lunatics.”

“Because you are, darling.” Pansy flounced forward, pinching Y/N’s cheek. “Anyways. I say you get changed into something a little less...blue...and we go to the first Christmas party of the year. I hear it starts at 11.”

With that, the girls descended into a flurry of motion. Y/N slipped into one of Daphne’s deep emerald dresses, which felt more expensive than her family’s home, and prayed that it would stay intact for the rest of the night. She was never a wild partier, but she would never forgive herself if a rogue glass of mulled firewhiskey found its way onto the expensive velvet fabric. It felt uncomfortably tight and revealing, so she snatched the first Slytherin article of clothing she could find--what appeared to be a black cape with a snake emblem on it--and draped it over her shoulders.

“Let’s talk about girl things,” Pansy announced as she took out her makeup bag and sat herself in front of the mirror. Daphne smiled in exasperation. “I know all about Daphne’s vast experiences with Blaise, but I know nothing about you, Y/N. Got any horrid men messing up your educational experience?”

Y/N laughed as she finished trying to spell her hair smooth. “No. Not really. I wish. I was into this one guy in my Charms class this September, but he turned out to be a whole clown.”

“Oh, ick.” Pansy paused just long enough to make eye contact in the mirror and send her a disgusted expression. “I hate men. Except for mine, of course. “

“And that is...?” prodded Y/N.

“If I told you, it’d ruin all the fun,” Pansy teased. “He does look good in red, though. I’ll let you know that. Do with that information what you will.”

“A Gryffindor?! Aren’t you afraid that he’s gonna kill himself cliff-jumping over the holidays or something?”

“Oh, hush little Y/N. He’s here for a good time, not a long time.”

Daphne snorted from her corner of the room, sending Y/N a look that said “see what I have to deal with?”.

11 came around sooner than expected. Y/N’s dress was feeling tighter with each breath she took, her anxiety brewing within her. Despite being on friendly terms with Daphne for a season, she had never been invited to a Slytherin party, but she had heard plenty of morning after stories that left her wondering what really went on.

Now I’m going to find out she mused, running her fingerpads over her ring.

“Are you going to just stand here or are you going to open the door, kiddo?” Pansy’s voice sounded behind her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

“Don’t be fucking rude, Pans,” Daphne chided. “This is a monumental moment for Ravenclawkind.”

<^>

Y/N never thought that she’d see people getting absolutely trashed to Frank Sinatra’s christmas album, but her first Slytherin party shook this preconceived notion. The moment she stepped into the common room, Daphne pressed a hot goblet into her hand that was full of something that smelled suspiciously like fire.

“It’s a Slytherin specialty,” she explained. “Firewhiskey, but with more fire.”

Whatever it was, it tasted good. Really, really good. If Y/N hadn’t been so nervous, she would’ve downed the goblet in one go, but she knew better and only took small sips. Daphne and Pansy were a little less conservative, pouring themselves a third go before she had even finished her first.

“So proper,” Daphne managed to get out as she looked at Y/N, an amused expression on her face. “Come on and be festive.”

Y/N managed to hold off on heavy drinking and instead retired to a dark green leather armchair, choosing to people watch. The Slytherins were stumbling about in a fashion that was very unSlytherin-esque but oddly charming. Pansy was chatting up Nott and Malfoy, and when she saw Y/N sitting alone, she grabbed the two boys by the tie and dragged them over.

Malfoy didn’t look nearly as hammered as his companions as he stared daggers at Pansy’s hand, clutched at the emerald fabric encircling his neck. They were standing in front of her in moments with Pansy smiling goofily.

“Y/N, doll,” she began, dropping the ties and reaching out to grab Y/N’s hands. “Have you met my friends? Draco and Theo?”

“Why are you wearing my cape?” Draco’s voice cut past Pansy’s easily with his posh accent.

“Your...what? Are you talking to me?” Y/N asked, her mind clouded with confusion.

“Er, yeah,” Malfoy said, motioning towards the cloak settled over her shoulders. “That’s mine.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Y/N shifted awkwardly, working it off her shoulders and holding it out to him. “You can have it back, if you want. Pansy just said that I could borrow it.”

Malfoy stared at her, his silver eyes flickering in the dim light. He seemed very out of place--the Malfoy energy didn’t exactly match with the classic Christmas love songs that were echoing through the room.His pale hair reflected the festive green lights strung up around the dungeon ceiling and walls, making it look much colder than she thought it normally did.

It took him clearing his throat for her to realize that she’d been staring again and that no, he hadn’t reached out his arm to take the cape.

“It’s yours now,” he said stiffly.

“Ooooookaaaaay,” Pansy sang, slipping her arm through Nott’s and shoving Malfoy towards the couch. “Looks like you two need to talk this out! I’ll be going!”

With that, she darted off, leaving a very awkward looking Malfoy standing substantially closer to her.

“You can sit down if you want,” Y/N said, a wave a boldness washing over her. So what, he was cute, and there was nothing stopping her from talking to him now. “I don’t bite.”

He seemed receptive to this, settling down onto the couch and leaving a healthy distance between them. “Your name is Y/N, right?”

She was surprised by this. There was no point in time where she was referred to anything but Y/LN in front of him, but it appeared as if he somehow knew her first name anyways. “And you’re Draco?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to call you Draco or Malfoy?” she pushed, curling her legs up under her and turning to look at him better. Now that he was just about a foot away from her, she could see that his hair was slightly ruffled.

“Whichever you fancy,” he answered.

“Do we have Potions together?”

Before Draco could fully answer, there was an explosion of motion behind them and an infectious spread of laughter.

“Mistletoe!” Pansy gleefully shrieked from somewhere out of Y/N’s line of sight as a floating patch of greenery made its way through the common room air.

“The fuck is that?” Y/N cast a questioning look at Draco. “What’s the point of mistletoe if it doesn’t stay still?”

“It’ll stop in a moment. It goes to the pair with the most chemistry in the room.”

“That sounds kind of dangerous.”

“Oh, believe me.” Draco’s face broke into a rare smile, revealing dimples that Y/N had never seen before. “I heard that one time Snape walked in while that thing was floating about. It stopped over the heads of him and one of the 8th years. The cruelest thing is that it won’t leave the pair alone until they kiss.”

Y/N closed her gaping jaw and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I wish I could return to the point in my life where I didn’t know that information.”

He smiled a little wider, his eyes seeming to be a little warmer now. Their was a strange fluttering inside of Y/N’s stomach, but she chalked it up to the firewhiskey. The distance between them had shrunk significantly since they had first begun to talk, and now they were so close that Y/N could smell his cologne--a tasteful mix of pine and mint.

Her throat dried up as she saw Draco blink slowly, resting his chin in his hand and looking at her in a way that made her feel...not right. Wasn’t he supposed to be a prick? Her attention was caught by a flash of green leaves in her peripheral vision, speeding towards their direction.

“I should go,” she hastened, grabbing the cape and pulling it snug over her shoulders. His eyebrows raised the slightest bit in interest, but he didn’t seem to move at all. “I’ll....er....see you around, okay?”

With that, she booked it to her room.

<^>

“I’m never drinking again!” Pansy’s shrill voice awoke Y/N from a rather deep slumber. “I swear to Merlin, Daph! Never let me do that again!”

Y/N leaned over the side of the bunk, glaring down at the two girls. “Can you be a bit quieter? Some of us are trying to get some sleep here.”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “And some of us are trying to get up in time to get a good study spot in the library. Care to join us, princess?”

While it pained Y/N to admit, Daphne was probably right--every single student staying at Hogwarts over the break was there with the purpose of studying for N.E.W.T.S, meaning that the library was going to be overflowing. A quick glance at the clock on the wall confirmed her suspicions--most spots were probably already taken at 11 in the morning, and they’d be lucky to even find a table open at this time.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Y/N moaned, sliding down from the bunk to get dressed. They all readied quickly--after all, studying wasn’t the most glamorous event--and made their way down to the library.

“Damn, there’s only a few spots left open.” Daphne frowned as she surveyed the room. Sure enough, there were no empty tables, just scattered empty seats throughout the library.

“Guess we’re splitting up then,” Pansy said. “We can all meet up in an hour for lunch. Until then, good luck! I have some Wide-eye potion if either of your hangovers get too bad.”

Y/N snorted at this, turning away to find her own spot. If she was lucky, there’d be an empty seat by the windows that overlooked the forest. It was snowing, and she wanted nothing more than to watch snow fall as she revised.

Thankfully, there was exactly one empty seat, but unthankfully, this seat was next to a certain someone.

“Hi Draco,” she greeted, immediately wishing that she had just kept her mouth shut. Her tone of voice was way too cringy.

He looked up from his Charms essay, his face lighting up when he saw who it was. “Hello.”

“Do you mind if I sit here?” She motioned towards the empty chair, and he shook his head, even going as far as pulling out the chair for her. “Thanks.”

Draco nodded but turned his attention back to his essay, dipping his quill back into his inkwell and continuing to write. Y/N rested her chin in her hand as she watched the snow swirl outside the window and paint the trees white.

After a bit, she unpacked her books and began to read up on outlawed hexes. Every once and a while, Draco’s elbow would bump her arm as he immersed himself in his essay.

“Isn’t that my tie?” Draco asked, his voice breaking the silence.

“What?” Y/N’s eyes cast down to the Slytherin tie she had haphazardly thrown on that morning and caught something she hadn’t noticed before--the Malfoy crest.

“Oh,” she said. “Pansy gave me a whole bundle of things. I’m assuming all of it was yours. I don’t plan on keeping this stuff, by the way. Once I go back to Ravenclaw, I’m never wearing green again.”

“Shh!” A random student looked up from their work to glare at Y/N. She whispered a quick apology before turning back to admire Draco’s amused expression.

“Those are fighting words,” he told her simply, quirking an eyebrow and tapping his lip with his quill like he was thinking.

“Can I see your quill?” she asked suddenly, holding her palm out. The feather was something she had never seen before--it shimmered with some kind of charm that projected silver light. Without a word in response, he passed it to her, his hand dragging across her palm for a second as he placed it in her hand. She shivered--his hand was surprisingly warm considering his fairly cool demeanor.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “Very wintery.”

“That’s not a word,” he said matter-of-factly, but one glance at him was enough to tell that he wasn’t being serious.

“You’re insufferable,” Y/N told him. “But you must know that.”

His face broke into another smile, lines forming around his silver eyes. “Insufferably wonderful.”

“Seriously, can you guys shut up?” the same Slytherin asked from the other end of the table. “Some of us are actually trying to work.”

“Yeah, take a walk if you guys can’t be quiet,” another Slytherin added.

Draco sent them both a death glare that made them turn back around and get back to their work without another word of caution.

“Maybe I should leave,” Y/N offered, motioning to the blizzard outside. “I like the snow anyways. You can come with me if you’d like.”

His dimples pressed into his cheeks again at this as he packed up his things, a bit haphazardly and carelessly. “I think a walk sounds great.”

The two made their way out of the library, passing by Pansy who sent them a curious look. The library doors were obnoxiously loud to open, and it took both of them throwing all of their weight into them to get out.

“I hear they’re harder to open the more students are inside,” said Y/N absentmindedly.

“And where did you read that?”

“Hogwarts: a History, I think.”

“Of course.” Draco seemed amused at this--which was admittedly a great look on him. Today he had worn a white collared shirt, the collars barely peeking out of the dark green jumper he wore over it. That color always looked absolutely stunning next to his near-white hair...something made Y/N feel warm for noticing.

“So....er....” Y/N struggled to stay upright on a particularly slick patch of ice. Draco’s arm shot out to steady her. “Oh, er, thanks. Are you enjoying the holidays?”

His eyes crinkled at the edges. “Yes, I guess so. You?”

“They could be better.” One of his eyebrows arched. “Er, no, I mean, not because of you, because of all the studying I have to get done.”

“I almost forgot you were a Ravenclaw,” he teased. A few snowflakes had nestled themselves into his eyelashes, and he looked indescribable to Y/N.

He cleared his throat, and Y/N stopped staring.

They walked in silence around the grounds for a bit, and Y/N cursed herself for not wearing any gloves. The winter air swirled with snowflakes that stuck to her bare skin, and Y/N shivered a little more with every step she took.

“D’you want my--”

Draco’s proposition was cut short by the sound of something whizzing through the air.

“How did that get out of the common room?” Draco said instead, motioning with his head to the flying patch of greenery that was coming their way.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s out now.”

The two waited awkwardly for a few seconds, and Y/N was sure that they were both praying that the mistletoe would change its course and veer back in the direction of the castle, but it didn’t. It made its way straight for them, hardly stopped at all through the battering of the blizzard.

It stopped only when it was directly above the two of them. When Y/N tried to lean away, it was like she hit a forcefield that forced her back in, even closer to Draco. He seemed concerned at this, running his fingers through his hair once and sighing.

“I guess this was inevitable,” he said, offering further explanation when he saw Y/N’s confused expression. “I saw it heading towards us last night. If we had gone to another Christmas party, I’m sure it would’ve found us anyways.”

“Maybe it’s better that it’s here than in public,” Y/N mused. Before she could add anything else, Draco took his gloves off and took her hands in his.

“Another reason why this was inevitable,” he began, dropping her right hand to brush a strand of hair away from her face, “Was that I was planning on doing this anyways.”

final a/n: sorry i really really didn’t feel like writing a kiss scene and also i procrastinated and started this yesterday and that was NOT the move i’m so so sorry kings and queens and nonbinary royalty--i hope you can enjoy the lead-up and use your imagination to fill in the blanks that i have left (please please please don’t kill me). alright love u all and merry xmas. wonders of ohio is coming out soon and is in progress

#draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco #draco malfoy x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #draco x y/n #draco x oc #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x oc

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bpro-cardstories · 4 years

Text

Goshi Kaneshiro SSR

2017 ー Christmas Promise [クリスマスの約束]

“For Kaneshiro-san, if there is a slightly special place that you bring them to, wouldn’t your partner be pleased about it. Important is, where does Kaneshiro-san like to spend time with your precious one.”

『 Event: The Dreaming Xmas LIVE (15th - 28rd December 2017) 』

Part 1

Tsubasa: ‘You did great for the recording! Because there is some time until the next appointment, may I have a bit of your time?’

Yuta: ‘Yep, it’s fine.~ Is it about work?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, a gravure shooting for a women’s magazine came in. Because it will be for the magazine’s Christmas issue, it seems you will think about the ideal Christmas date and shoot for it.’

Goshi: ‘What? We have to think about it?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. One week before the shooting I will have to inform the other party about your ideas.’

Kento: ‘Hee, that’s the perfect project for me.’

Yuta: ‘A date situation, huh. There are so many spots I want to go, too many to decide!~’

Kento: ‘Let me think about it carefully so that my good sense will show.’

While his two teammates are excited for the theme Goshi is the opposite. He is not interested in such thing, much less having to think about it himself. Kento and Yuta learn how Christmas is celebrated overseas which is quite different than in Japan.

Goshi: ‘........’

Yuta: ‘Ah! Gochin’s making a long face! You are probably thinking “I won’t go on a date!”, right~’

Goshi: ‘Shut it, leave me alone.’

Tsubasa: ‘Uhm, since there is still some time until then, please think about it carefully.’

Goshi: ‘....Yeah.’

Kento: ‘Fuuh, you sure let out your disinterest. Isn’t Christmas popular overseas. Aren’t you used to it?’

Yuta: ‘Ooh~! Is Gochin a Christmas date expert actually!?’

Goshi: ‘Don’t go saying stupid stuff on your own.’

Yuta: ‘Eeh~, then what’s it like?’

Goshi: ‘What’s it like, you say…. Having a party with family and friends and exchanging gifts, things like these.’

Kento: ‘Speaking of which, aren’t the gifts being put under the tree.’

Yuta: ‘Eh, not at the bedside?’

Goshi: ‘There are too many to put there.’

Yuta: ‘Hee~, it sounds super fun! We should do that too!’

Goshi: ‘Haah? It’s gonna be awful.’

Kento: ‘I also pass. It’s not my hobby to give out presents to men.’

Yuta: ‘Muuh~~! Gochin and Kenken are such cheapskates! Come on, please, please! Let’sーdoーitー!’

Goshi: ‘You’re too loud, quit it!’

Kento: ‘Haa…, do if you feel like it.’

Yuta: ‘I definitely willー!’

Part 2

(Since the meeting is over I return to the office after this and need to clear up the collected documents….)

Goshi: ‘....Ah, Sumisora.’

Tsubasa: ‘Oh, Kaneshiro-san, hello. Are you practicing the guitar?’

Goshi: ‘Yeah, because the studio’s free.’

Tsubasa: ‘Which reminds me, it is about the special feature for Christmas we talked about last time. Did you decide on a date situation?’

Goshi: ‘Sorry, I didn’t yet.’

Tsubasa: ‘I see….’

Goshi: ‘Ashu and Aizome already decided on their’s, right.’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. But if you are troubled, it is fine.’

Goshi: ‘Yeah….’

Goshi: ‘Haa…. Even if you say Christmas date…’

Tsubasa: ‘Kaneshiro-san?’

Goshi: ‘During my stay in the US it was normal to celebrate with your family and friends, so I don’t have any idea, to be honest.’

Goshi: ‘Even though it’s crowded wherever you go, do you think you want to go out of your way to go anywhere?’

Tsubasa: ‘Uhm, I think it is not necessary to do things you are not familiar with only because it is Christmas.’

Goshi: ‘What do you mean?’

Tsubasa: ‘Things like the lights or a Christmas dinner are also wonderful…’

Tsubasa: ‘For Kaneshiro-san, if there is a slightly special place that you bring them to, wouldn’t your partner be pleased about it. Important is, where does Kaneshiro-san like to spend time with your precious one.’

Goshi: ‘Hm, so that’s how it is?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. At least when you ask me.’

Her honest advice makes him pensive. He takes a minute to think about her words.

Goshi: ‘....Well, I’ll try to think about it a little.’

(I hope you can decide on a situation, Kaneshiro-san.)

Part 3

Yuta: ‘We made itー! Fuuh~~~, that was heavy~~~’

Goshi: ‘That should be my line.’

Kento: ‘Why did we have to carry this luggage.’

Tsubasa: ‘What an impressive luggage. What happened?’

Kento: ‘On the way here, Yuta started to talk about wanting to buy Christmas goods.’

Yuta: ‘I bought lots of tree decoration and gifts!’

Goshi: ‘Even though we have a recording, that guy had to buy so much stuff!’

Yuta: ‘Well, I thought because I wanted to buy lots of things Gochin and Kenken won’t have the time for it ♪’

Goshi: ‘We are not your luggage personnel!’

Yuta: ‘Since you two got presents too, look forward to it ♪’

Kento: ‘I mean, why let the person that receives the present carry the luggage.’

Yuta: ‘Don’t mind, don’t mind~’

Kento: ‘Speaking of which, Goshi wasn’t there during the shopping. Where did you go?’

Goshi: ‘....Eh, why should it interest you?’

Yuta: ‘Oho, that’s suspicious, Gochin~!’

Kento: ‘Could it be, you bought a present for someone?’

Goshi: ‘It got nothing to do with you.’ _____

Goshi: ‘Also, Sumisora, I decided on the date situation for the Christmas issue. I’m negotiating with the place so please wait for a bit longer. I will write down the details in the questionnaire that came from the editorial department and hand it over.’

Tsubasa: ‘I understand!’

Goshi: ‘Well, it’s not a big deal.’

Tsubasa: ‘I am glad that you decided on something.’

Yuta: ‘Ah, say! When the recording is over, we will decorate the tree. Won’t Tsubasa-chan join us?’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh, are you fine with it?’

Goshi: ‘Oi, don’t include me.’

Kento: ‘Tsubasa is always welcomed.’

Yuta: ‘Muuh~~, you two aren’t honest. If we do it together with everyone it will be 100 times more fun!’

Goshi: ‘Don’t just say things on your own…’

Tsubasa: ‘Then I will come by later to help out!’

Part 4

The long awaited moment of decorating the Christmas tree finally happened. Yuta is visibly excited over this small task. But one of them was not of big help...

Yuta: ‘Putting the star on top of the Christmas tree… Complete!’

Tsubasa: ‘It turned into a wonderful Christmas tree!’

Kento: ‘Thanks for coming, Tsubasa. If we had left it to Yuta, we wouldn’t be done by now.’

Goshi: ‘Says the one that held us back the most.’

Kento: ‘Assembling is outside of my expertise so I act as the supervisor.’

Goshi: ‘That’s the same! “One centimeter more to the right”, you and your strange obsession!’

Yuta: ‘Yep, that’s right!’

Kento: ‘Because kids don’t have an eye for aesthetics, they should be quiet.’

Tsubasa: ‘Fufu, even so there sure are a lot of presents under the tree.’

Yuta: ‘Ehehe, there are so many because I couldn’t decide. Of course, Tsubasa also has her own one!’

Kento: ‘Actually, I wanted to prepare a present only for Tsubasa but Yuta bought one himself too and was quite noisy about it.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eeh, somehow, I am sorry.’

Yuta: ‘It’s only natural because Tsubasa-chan is also a member of THRIVE~’

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you very much.’

Yuta: ‘Gochin quickly bought one too!’

Goshi: ‘Whatever you say.’

Yuta: ‘Muuh~~, what a contrary person.’ ___________

They turned off the lights to look at the results of their hard work from earlier.

Yuta: ‘....So, now that we finished decorating, let’s turn on the lights!’

Kento: ‘Yeah, you’re right. ...Let’s turn them on.’ ______

Yuta: ‘Waah, it’s so sparkling beautifully~! We did our best with the decoration!’

Kento: ‘Definitely, I wonder if I should take a picture and send it to the girls.’

Yuta: ‘Me too, me too~! I will boast about it to Ryu-chan ♪’

Kento: ‘Yes, yes.’ ___

Goshi: ‘....Sumisora.’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, how can I help you?’

Goshi: ‘This is for you…’

(Christmas wrapping…. Could it be a Christmas present?)

Tsubasa: ‘Is it fine if I receive it?’

Goshi: ‘Well, it’s a thanks for always taking care of me.’

Goshi: ‘Since I will put it under the tree later, come get it on the 25th.’

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you very much. I also prepared presents in advance.’

Goshi: ‘Yeah….’

Part 5

It is the day of the shooting of the Christmas special issue. Everything went well, in particular Goshi’s scenario was well received. The compliments for it surprise him since he had such difficulties with this theme.

Staff: ‘This is all for the shooting. Thank you very much!’

THRIVE: ‘Thank you very much!’

Yuta: ‘That shooting was so much fun~! Say say, how was my date plan?’

Kento: ‘Yuta’s was too much like a child’s one. Things like cake all-you-can-eat, that never changes, huh.’

Yuta: ‘It’s different~! It’s Christmas cake all-you-can-eat!’

Goshi: ‘No, that’s the same.’

Staff: ‘Everyone, you really did a great job. Each of you did a different situation, and either one was as charming as the other. Especially Kaneshiro-san’s Christmas live in the jazz bar! It was very adult-like and the best.’

Goshi: ‘Thank you very much.’

Staff: ‘Until next time, please take care of you.’

Kento: ‘Indeed, the bar had a good atmosphere. Is it Goshi’s favourite one?’

Goshi: ‘Well. An acquaintance of mine manages it but it’s a place where music lovers gather, so I know this one well.’

Yuta: ‘That’s why you got permission to shoot in there, right~’

Goshi: ‘I like it since not many know of this bar.’

Kento: ‘Nevertheless, even for Christmas you can’t be separated from music.’

Yuta: ‘But it’s very much like Gochin!’

Goshi: ‘....I don’t mind.’ ___

Goshi: ‘.....Sumisora.’

Tsubasa: ‘Oh, Kaneshiro-san. You did well for the shooting.’

Goshi: ‘Thanks.’

Tsubasa: ‘Kaneshiro-san’s idea of the situation was quite popular among the staff.’

Goshi: ‘I just introduced my favourite place.’

Tsubasa: ‘Fufu, I think, that thought makes Kaneshiro-san happy.’

Speaking with her about this favourite place of his brings a smile to his face. He then takes a moment to think about what he says next. With a blush, he voices his gratitude for her advice the week before.

Goshi: ‘....Thanks for helping me the other day. After I listened to your advice and thought about it, it could only be music after all.’

Tsubasa: ‘I am glad if it was useful to you.’

Goshi: ‘Yeah.’

Tsubasa: ‘Nevertheless, it was a really lovely establishment. It was a bit regrettable that you were not able to listen to the live since it was during the shooting.’

Goshi: ‘Do you want to go together, next time?’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh, are you sure?’

Goshi: ‘Yeah. If there’s day where you can go, tell me. I’m sure if it’s you,it will be something you like.’

END

#b project #b-project #goshi kaneshiro #thrive #myps #card:2017

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dramallamadingdang · 4 years

Text

I was going to do this with "in-line" replies, but it just got unwieldy and doing the mentions in a multi-reply reply is a PITA. So we do it this way. A really long (sorry!) post of replies for @taylors-simblr, @niamh-sims, @hugelunatic, @mustluvcatz-reloaded, @simaddicted-sue, @dunne-ias, @pensblr, @mdpthatsme, and @yuichen about kids and stuff...

taylors-simblr replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

I am very happy that Christmas is over, we went to my mums. I had decided it would be lovely, and it was to an extent, but we were there for 5 days and there were too many people and kids and by day 3, I was peopled out and just wanted to get home. Daughter had her 3rd birthday on Friday too and was a horrible mess of over excitement ��, but that’s all over and things are getting back to normal. Except for the piles of toys people bought us, that I have no where to put...

I always feel bad for kids with Xmas-time birthdays. Their special day gets lost in the madness. That’s part of the reason why I always made more fuss over birthdays than Xmas, since my son’s birthday is December 17. Mini-Taylor is young enough not to be resentful, but I hope she'll be OK as she gets older. :)

But yeah, for me, the main problem is that everyone was at my house and stayed here because lodging in this area is scarce and the affordable options have to be booked months or sometimes even years in advance. My son is in the Army and he’s only just home after a long deployment, and the timing of his going home was always in question. When they knew (more or less) for sure when they’d be coming, all of the lodging in the area had long been booked. (This is why we have frequent (adult) houseguests, which I'm perfectly fine with.) The original plan was for my son and his family to stay with his wife's family, which is literally next door because my son married the literal girl next door. That would have been better. Theirs is an enormous family -- 14 kids, 3 bio ones and the rest fosters that were taken in and adopted, most of them still teens and younger -- so they have a huge house and they're well used to little-kid chaos and sort of revel in it. But right before people were scheduled to arrive, their house came down with some severe plumbing problems, and stuffing it with 30+ people was just a no-go. So, they ended up here, at more or less the last minute.

The kids are 4, just past 2, and 7 months old, all in the age range that I can't tolerate. I'm OK with tiny, non-mobile babies, but after they're mobile, I do not want until they're about 8-to-10 or so. So, since they were here, if I wanted peace, I was the one who had to leave my own house. Which isn't terrible or anything in the grand scheme of things, but it is annoying. Plus, the 7-month-old had an ear infection, and flying cross-country didn't help it. They almost cancelled coming out because of it, but the 4-year-old had been promised learning how to snowboard and would have been totally crushed. So then daughter-in-law was going to stay back with 7-month-old, but that seemed unfair to DIL to be deprived of her family, and I and the other grandparents hadn't even seen the younger two kids in person. So, they drugged 7-month-old up to his eyeballs, and did the thing. So 7-month-old was just crabby and awful and had trouble nursing the whole time, which only added to the crabby awfulness, which in turn made 2-year-old awful. (Four-year-old was actually pretty OK the whole time, did learn to snowboard, and sort of fell in love with my husband. Which, you know, I understand. *laugh* They both cried when she left. :) ) I understood that the baby didn’t feel well and the 2-year-old was upset by it, of course, but that doesn't make it any less annoying when they're both screaming more or less 24/7. Gave me terrible flashbacks to my daughter's preemie-baby/toddlerhood. *sigh*

But yeah, I survived to rant about it. :)

niamh-sims replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

I am a woman who doesn't want my own children (much to the chagrin of many people I speak with), and I struggle with other people's kids. In saying that though, I absolutely adore my 5 year old nephew, he is a dude, and my 9 year old step-son is an old soul and extremely mature with a wicked sense of humour. They're all I need!

I hate the presents aspect of it!

See, 9-year-olds I'm (usually) fine with. My window of intolerance is from about 6 months through the little-kid years. It seems like when a kid hits 8 or 10 or so that a switch flips in them and their behavior changes from little-kid to big-kid. Sometimes that happens earlier, often with girls; I've known 5-or-6-year-old girls (and a few boys, too) that I've been just fine with. I’ll probably be fine with my son’s eldest when she’s 5 or 6 because she was pretty OK even at 4 under trying circumstances. But mostly it seems to happen in the 8-to-10 window. It's the start of "tweenhood," I guess. I'm fine with "big kids" even if their chronological age is a little younger than normal to be a "big kid." I'm also perfectly fine with teens, even when they're really surly. I'll take a super-surly 14-year-old over a "cute," bouncy, loud 2-year-old, even if well-behaved, any day. Which is weird, I guess, but there it is. Someone has to deal with the teens. :)

And yeah, the presents thing. In my own, nuclear family, starting when it was just me and my little kids, we don't do presents other than small hand-made gifts if someone feels like making them. We just did stockings on the morning of Xmas Eve. They were filled with little things, small toys and candy and as they got older some more practical things, like makeup/nail polish or small bits of sports equipment and stuff. When they hit tweenhood, we'd each fill each other's stockings, not just me filling theirs. We developed a tradition of exchanging goofy toothbrushes that way, of all things. :) It wasn't that we couldn't afford to do big gifts; I just didn't want to instill that kind of mindset in them. Our tradition from the time my youngest was about 8 was to spend Xmas Day at the local shelter/kitchen for homeless/transient people, which did both Xmas breakfast and dinner. We'd be there, kids included, from pre-dawn until after midnight, prepping, cooking, serving, eating with the people the kitchen served, and cleaning up. It was actually really fun (the kids even looked forward to it) and really fulfilling and, to me, that's what Xmas ought to be about. Not the consumer frenzy. I have no interest in feeding and perpetuating that frenzy and while it caused some problems as the kids grew up when they found that their peers got showered with extravagant gifts, they also realized that they’d get gift-showered for their birthdays, and they've both said that they prefer the more low-key way we did Xmas as a family as well as the more service-oriented mindset, which they both have continued. Aside from this Xmas just past, which we did more "traditionally," but still without extravagant gifts.

hugelunatic replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

I love my granddaughter to pieces! But I can only stand being around her without her parents around. LoL

And hello my fellow Grinch! *loves*

They are definitely better without their parents! :) We took 4-year-old to the slopes on the day after Xmas without her parents, and it was a ton of fun. Spent the whole morning teaching her how to snowboard, had lunch in town, boarded bunny slopes/courses with her, would have done dinner out, too, but she was crashing by that point, etc., and it was all great. None of us, including the 4-year-old, wanted to go home to the screaming baby and toddler. *laugh*

I will be fine when the kids are older. I'm fine with my other set of three grandkids -- the kids of my firstborn, whom I don't call "my son" because he was adopted at birth, so I don't feel that I am his parent for all that he's my bio-son -- the youngest of whom is 8 and the eldest almost 15 (and a Simmer, along with his next-younger sibling :) ). They live in Botswana, but they come over to the states fairly often and will be here this coming fall for a month and will stay with us, and I'm perfectly fine with that. The problem is, my son and his wife want a large family -- She comes from one, they're conservative Christians, etc. -- so by the time they're done having/adopting them, it'll be a long time -- probably longer than I'll live -- that they'll all be older. So then I'm put in the position of wanting to be around some of them but not all of them, which is not fair to them, but...yeah. In some ways, it's good that they live far away. I'm good with visiting with all of them via Skype. :) But they might not always be far. When my son retires from the Army after he puts in his 20 years, they plan to move back out here. But I might not be alive by then or at least I might no longer be able to live at altitude, so there's that. :)

And...GRINCHES UNITE! *high five*

mustluvcatz-reloaded replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

And there I was.. Happy as hell to see my grands and sad to see them leave. But I rarely see them so.. *back to being a Scroogy Grinch*

I think most people are happy to see their grands and sad to see them leave. I'm an outlier, I know. I've never actually liked little kids, despite raising two of my own. In truth, my husband and I were pressured into it, he more so than me, but I was trying to be a "good, obedient Christian wife." It's not surprising that I struggled and that it all contributed to the end of that marriage. I did not enjoy my kids when they were little. I gave up my career because I felt that I had to (Husband didn’t want me to, actually, but I couldn’t imagine living the life we lived dragging a kid around, which was another nail in the marriage’s coffin), and there’s a part of me that will always regret that. And I resented that my husband didn’t have to give up his career, that of course it fell to me to do so. I mean, I loved my kids, of course, but that's a different thing from wanting to be around them all the time and always enjoying their company. It was a huge struggle for me, and I'm glad it’s over. Teen/adult kids are great, though, and I'm thankful they both turned out well. Because, yeah, I’m a mom who doesn’t like kids, and worse I was a single mom who didn’t like kids, which could’ve been utterly disastrous, but I muddled through, living for the day when they’d be grown-ups.

And more for the Grinch Club, woo! :) (Also, I am only just now reading about what you're going through. I am so, so sorry. :( )

simaddicted-sue replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

I feel your pain and raise you 14 grandkids I love them dearly especially when they are not here lol

*sigh* Should I live long enough, I'll have at least 14 grandkids. My firstborn and his wife are done. They only wanted two, especially because there were problems with the second pregnancy. The third was an IUD fail, and then both got surgically sterilized in the aftermath, just to be safe. But my son and his wife....They want 8, minimum. They're planning on 4 bio kids (and will gladly accept more if they happen), and then they want to adopt, just as her family did. And then there's my daughter and her partner. They will marry in a few years and they're both anti-kid right now...but they're also only in their early 20s and when their mutual female biological clocks kick in, who knows what might happen? They might be like me and remain uninterested in kids for life or they might not. In any case, my health is not the best and will only get worse as time goes on, so I will have that as an excuse not to have littles around much, at least. There are silver linings to chronic conditions! :)

dunne-ias replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

meh, stay healthy and you'll live to have a relationship you might even enjoy when they're older. Not everyone has to like kids, even it they're related to you. I had my nephews visiting for a few days, which meant 4 days of almost non-stop Zelda-playing, but they're in just the right age for a visit, as in mature enough to handle their basic needs on their own.

Yeah, older kids can be a lot of fun, and I have no -- or at least a lot fewer -- problems with them. My firstborn's two eldest kids play Sims (The eldest plays TS4, but the 13-year-old prefers TS3. :) ), so sometimes we'll be on Skype together, all playing our games and yakking at each other about it, for hours, and we have a lot of fun that way. The TS3-playing kid and I are playing Dragon Valley concurrently, cycling through the premade households and doing different things with them, which is fun. And my son's four-year-old sat on my lap while I played TS2 a bit to chill out this past week, and she was fascinated and “helped” me a little, so now I plan to "groom" her as best I can going forward. ;) Video games are a good way to bond with kids. :) And when the firstborn's family is here, I'm sure we'll be doing plenty of that, as a group, since all of us love video games of various types. The Mortal Kombat tournament will be vicious and I will undoubtedly lose, but I will have fun while I am repeatedly, violently killed. :)

We'll just have to see what happens with my son and his planned never-ending parade of children who aren't allowed a lot of screen time and "educational" video games are only allowed in very limited doses. *sigh* I have to come up with a sales pitch that makes TS2 “educational.” Well, it did make my daughter interested in the Middle Ages, since she played a medieval game, and she is now working on a graduate degree in Medieval Studies and has a talent for writing well-researched historical fiction as well as interesting narrative non-fiction, so....

pensblr replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

My husband and I really chuckle quite a bit (as we continue to happily enjoy our child-free lives) when we are judged for not doing the whole kid thing by people who always seem stressed-out trying to juggle everything. I'm like 'I don't judge you for wanting children. So don't judge me for not wanting them.' Recently had a male colleague tell me that God put men and women here to have children, and if we didn't "What's the whole purpose of life then?"

Yeah, child-free is a great way to live! Especially if you're double income/no kids, I'd imagine. IF you can deal with the constant judgment and the pressure from people who want grandkids or nieces/nephews and the accusations of being selfish and pressures from one's religion, if that's a factor, and all that crap, of course. :\

Since my husband is almost 20 years younger than me, has no children, and I'm past menopause, I get a lot of side-eyes not just for our age difference (though with my gray hair dyed and a general lack of wrinkles because I’ve never been able to expose myself to much sunlight, I look (and act) younger than I am, so at least that helps with that) but also for our inability to procreate. I get a lot of "But what about when he wants kids? It's not fair to him to be married to someone who can't have kids!" (Which is a lovely argument to lob at anyone! I mean, I guess involuntarily infertile young people shouldn't marry fertile people then? *eyeroll* ) But he doesn't want kids. His own father died suddenly at 39 of a massive coronary, and when it happened his mom checked out for a bit, leaving him to deal with his grief and mostly raise his three younger siblings -- the youngest of whom was only 2 -- until she got her shit together, which took her years to do because she got addicted to the tranquilizers the dumbass doctors prescribed and had to do rehab, etc.. He did his time parenting starting when he was 14 until he was about 22. He has zero interest in having his own kids and can’t imagine that changing, though he loves being around other people's kids that he can give back to their parents. He absolutely loves being a step-grandparent of 6 at the age of 37, in addition to being an uncle to his siblings' kids. :) Even if he does eventually want his own kids, it'll probably be after I'm gone and then he'll be free to find someone to procreate with, if he and that partner want to spawn. So, I tell those people to just fuck right off.

And ugh, that "God put men and women on Earth to be fruitful and multiply and if you don't do it you're just selfish -- and having “sinful” sex -- and going against God's will and there's no point to your life" thing. That's why I had kids. That's NOT the right reason to have kids, but I was so brainwashed at the time that I didn't think that way. Or at all, really, at least not about that subject. Ugh. Ugh ugh UGH! I wish I'd responded with a polite-but-mighty "fuck off," too...but I DO like my kids and am thankful that they exist, so...yeah.

Rant! Sorry! :)

mdpthatsme replied to your post “OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

28 years old, don't like children, don't want to have children because I know this about myself and I'm ok with it. People tell me it's a phase and I'll want children soon enough. I'm like, uh, no. Family and friends get aggravated with me when I don't hold their babies or don't want to watch their children. Like has the point not come across yet?

Yeah, everyone tells under-30 women who don't want kids that they'll change their mind. So many women want to be sterilized but doctors won't do it because "they might change their mind." Some have the nerve to get them to get permission from their husband, if they're married. My daughter suffers from terrible endometriosis is in almost constant pain from it. Over the years she's gone through all the treatments short of hysterectomy and nothing has worked, at least not permanently. She badly wants that hysterectomy but to date has found no doctor -- at least here in the States; I’m thinking she might have better luck in Europe -- who will do one because she's only 22 and unmarried. They think she'll marry a man (which she won't do; she's pretty firmly declared herself a femme lesbian) and then magically want kids. They even have the balls to tell her that if she goes ahead and births a kid, that might cure her condition because GOD FORBID they just do the relatively easy procedure that will likely cure her. Instead, they'd rather saddle her with a kid or at best make her go through a pregnancy and then have the kid adopted. At which point the endo might just come back again.

I really can't believe how misogynistic gynecologists can be, even the female ones. Maybe their brains are warped by the women who desperately want kids but can't have them. I have enormous sympathy for those women, truly I do, but their plight should not prevent women who don't want kids from taking more drastic steps to not have them and certainly shouldn't force women to suffer through medical conditions that would be cured or at least made better by being completely sterile.

And yeah, the family constantly pushing babies at you and wanting you to babysit, just because you happen to have a pair of boobs. Nope. I'm thankful that my gay brother and his husband are not interested in kids and wouldn’t have cared if I didn’t have any, and that my mother is indifferent to the concept of grandchildren, but I DO have a lot of kid-crazy cousins that I did my best to avoid like the plague but when I couldn't were constantly trying to "convert" me by shoving their "adorable" babies in my face. They don't do it anymore with our advanced age and all, but when they were actively popping them out before I had any, as an older teen/young adult saying I had no interest in kids, it was like they were on a freakin' crusade, complete with forced conversion. *eye roll* Even though at that point I HAD birthed a kid not at all by choice and had given him up for adoption. Nope, not good enough. I had to have one that I wanted, I guess. And when I did have kids, they were all smug and, “See, we knew you’d change your mind!” Even though I really hadn’t. It's sick. Not every woman loves babies/kids.

MOAR RANT! More sorry. :)

yuichen

replied to your post

“OMG, I'M GLAD THAT'S OVER!”

36, no kids. I like my brother's but probably because they're older and I missed most of their early lives. My cousins' kids, however? Fuck no. I avoid the whole massive family gathering because they weren't taught to have respect for people's things, or how to not act like little psychos. I'm talking jumping on the furniture and running around screaming while their parents do absolutely nothing. In a small house. Fuck. That.

Oh yeah. In my experience, the most adamant baby-pushers were the ones who had the worst-behaved kids. They "loved" them so much that they never established/enforced boundaries and thought that any kind of discipline would damage them somehow. *eye roll* One of my cousins never made her kids sit down to eat. They just wandered around the table grabbing food (with their hands!) from serving dishes or, worse, from other people's plates. They let them do that in restaurants, even. It was disgusting. Or, the most adamant baby-pushers were the ones who were also complaining about how stressful their life/marriage was and who could be heard pining for the pre-kid years of their relationships. And I'd just give them a meaningful look. But if you point out that you just don't want to complicate your relationship/life by adding spawn to it, well then you're just “selfish.”

Yup. I was at some point, at least in that regard. Being a more fundamentalist-type Christian in my 20s/30s warped my brain on the subject, but down in my heart-of-hearts...I would've been perfectly happy being that kind of "selfish." No, I wouldn’t give up my kids now, but if I’d never had them, I would’ve been perfectly OK, too.

#yuichen #mdpthatsme #pensblr #dunne-ias #simaddicted-sue #mustluvcatz-reloaded #hugelunatic #niamh-sims #taylors-simblr #replies #non sims

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anxceit · 5 years

Text

just as the milky way dreamed

Summary: Roman and Patton plan a holiday celebration to end all holiday celebrations. There’s just...one small hitch.

Pairings: Platonic DLAMP

Word Count: 5373

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit. Let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Hi there, @minshinxx, I’m your Secret Sanders gifter! You mentioned you liked the 12 Days of Christmas and Fitting In episodes, so I figured I’d do a sort of “include the new family member” type of episode with Deceit! I hope you like it, and let me know if you have trouble accessing the full thing! Title is from “Beautiful Fiction” by Pinnochio-P, which is generally a very good song for Deceit. (Also, thanks to @starlightparade for letting me bounce ideas and for reminding me that I almost forgot the entire last scene.)

Roman hums along to a Christmas station on Spotify as he plans out the tree he wants to conjure this year. He’s been forced to wear headphones after Virgil slammed into his room to inform him that Thanksgiving was YESTERDAY, Princey, calm down, but he’s not letting that Ebenezer Snooze stifle his creative whimsy! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all!

A spiral-bound notebook drops with a slam onto his desk. He blinks down at it, up at Patton (who was not there a few seconds ago), and back down at the notebook. “Sanders FamILY Xmas 2018” is written across the cover in loopy handwriting, surrounded by holographic stickers of snowflakes and Christmas trees.

“I had a few ideas for caroling this year,” Patton explains. “It’s not super important, but if you get a chance...”

He’s vibrating.

Roman chuckles and sets his plans aside. “I’d love to see what you came up with,” he assures him.

Patton claps his hands together loudly, rocking on the balls of his feet. “Ooh, goodie! Thanks, Ro!”

Roman flips through the notebook. Patton’s ideas are far more targeted to each side than Roman’s were, including plenty of time off-stage for Virgil and a “beat poetry(?)” section for Logan. Stapled to one of the pages is a recipe for shortbread cookies with jam in the center. Patton has definitely been working on this since long before the holiday season.

He flips to the next page and stops abruptly. “Patton.”

Patton has taken it upon himself to untangle the Christmas lights Roman dragged out of storage this morning. “Yes?” He looks so hopeful, Roman almost hates to ask.

Almost. His Christmas needs to be perfect, and he can’t let a detail like this ruin it. “There’s a whole section in here for...Deceit.”

“Mmhmm! Is it good?”

Roman stares at him. “Is it...Patton. We cannot have Deceit at our celebration.”

Patton’s brows knit together. “Why not? He’s been in videos before.”

“Because,” Roman snaps, frustrated. “He’s Deceit. He’ll ruin everything. This celebration is supposed to be for the family.”

Patton abruptly stands to approach Roman, but gets tangled in the Christmas lights and falls flat on his face. Roman cries out and jumps up to help him.

Patton takes his hand and sits up. He sniffles, rubbing at his eyes as Roman hands him his glasses. “I just don’t want to see anybody get excluded again.”

Roman will not cave. He won’t. Patton is cute, and Roman feels bad that he fell, but Christmas is important. He’s not going to just—

Patton is crying now.

Roman caves. “Alright, fine, Deceit can come to the Christmas celebration.”

Patton launches forward into Roman’s arms, and Roman rubs circles into his back as he calms himself down.

Eventually he sits up straight again, beaming even though his face is still red. “Thank you, Roman! This is going to be great, you’ll see!”

Roman sighs. “Of course it will,” he declares. “After all, you and I are planning it!”

Patton giggles. “We’re the best team, huh?”

“Of course.” Roman hops to his feet and grabs the notebook again. He leans against his desk to read. “You’re right, though,” he says to the page, “we don’t know much about Deceit.”

“He’s a very private person,” Patton agrees. “But we still need to do our best!”

“Of course, of course.” Roman waves him off, wheels starting to turn. “Why don’t you go...get cleaned up a bit, and I’ll do some brainstorming.”

Patton nods. He knows better than to get caught up in Roman’s brainstorming after that time Logan almost got clocked in the head with a book. He sinks out just as things start to rattle.

Three days later, Patton and Roman sit together on Roman’s floor, looking over the revised copy of the planning book. It’s somehow evolved from a simple carol set into a full play, complete with costume ideas and set design. The basic script is written out, too—a cutesy special in which a single nonbeliever is taught the meaning of Christmas by loving friends.

“Oh, you designed costumes and everything,” Patton whispers, turning the pages with admiration. “Roman, this is amazing!”

Roman winks at him. “Why, of course. You did come to the best, after all.”

“Oh, and it’ll let us bring Deceit into the celebration too,” Patton realizes. "This is the best idea ever!"

"This is the worst idea ever," Virgil says. He's staring up at Patton and Roman from the couch, brows knitted together in an incredulous frown. Patton wilts visibly. "I mean, like, no offense, it's cute, it'd be great with just the family..."

"Which we want Deceit to feel part of," Patton reminds him firmly.

There's a beat of silence. "...Anyway, there's no way Deceit will go for this." He scans their faces for understanding. Finding none, he sighs and sits up properly on the couch, dropping the notebook on the coffee table so he can rest his head on his hands. "Listen, Pat, you know how I had to ask you to stop with the cutesy nicknames?"

Patton nods. "I really am sorry, I didn't mean..."

"I know you didn't mean it," Virgil reassures him quickly, "but that's because I knew you for a while beforehand. I knew you weren't trying to be insulting."

Roman lifts up the notebook to scan the page it's flipped open to. "So...you think Jekyll and Lies will believe we're making fun of him?"

"First of all, he's used that pun for himself more times than I can count, so you're not allowed." Roman pouts. "But, uh, yeah, he'll flip his shiiii-lid if you try to talk him into this, and it'll be forever before he speaks to you again."

Patton hangs his head. "...I really wanted this to work out," he admits.

Roman looks from Patton to Virgil, who shifts uncomfortably on the couch. He raises his eyebrows. Virgil shrugs and shakes his head. Roman reaches over and gently pats Patton on the back.

Patton sniffles.

"Okay, alright, fine," Virgil bursts out, "I might be able to figure out a way to make it work, please don't cry."

Patton's head jerks up, bad mood completely cleared. "Let's get started then!"

Logan was only planning to fill his water glass when he came downstairs. Of course, things can never be that simple with a family like his.

The coffee table has completely vanished. In its place, the three members of Logan's family are sitting in a circle around a piece of poster paper, chattering in a low whisper and giggling. As Logan watches, Patton says something so uproariously funny that it causes Virgil to fall on his back with laughter.

Logan walks over to investigate (his first mistake), standing directly over Patton (the second error) in order to check on Virgil.

"Hey, Specs," Virgil greets, without bothering to sit up.

"Am I interrupting something?" Logan asks, tilting his head. "You all seem to be enjoying yourselves."

"Actually..." Roman draws out the last vowel in his typical dramatic manner, grinning. "I think you're just in time to join us."

Logan pauses and waits for further clarification (strike three). Patton takes advantage of his momentary hesitation to reach up and yank him down by his tie.

He refuses to admit to the undignified noise he made in response.

Virgil knocks on Deceit's door, Patton and Roman flanking him on either side. "Hey, Deceit," he calls. "Are you decent in there?"

"Morally?" comes the immediate response. "I'm insulted you even feel the need to ask."

Virgil rolls his eyes good-naturedly and pushes the door open. Patton and Roman follow him in.

Deceit glances up at them with mild interest from his desk. "Oh, Patton and Roman as well! To what do I owe the pleasure? I do hope I'm not in trouble again..."

"We...actually need a small favor," Roman responds. Deceit's eyebrows rise.

"So, uh, every year they do a little Christmas carol...musical...thing," Virgil explains, gesturing to the other two. "Patton and Roman write it, and Logan just gets sucked in. Well, this year they need someone to play a villain role. Roman refuses to do it, Patton won't let me do it—" Patton's back straightens as he nods – "but nobody can take Patton seriously, and Logan...I love him, but he can't act anything but annoyed."

Deceit snorts and leans back in his chair. "I fail to see what this has to do with me."

"We need a villain and you owe us for the stuff you pulled with Patton." Virgil drops a pile of papers on the desk. "That's your script. The performance is in a week."

"Thank you for the help," Patton adds, slowly dragging the other two out of the room as Deceit watches.

"Virgil," he calls, "if you would wait a moment."

Patton and Roman freeze, but Virgil waves them off and strolls back inside alone, shutting the door behind him. Deceit picks up the script and skims through it. He slowly rounds his desk and stalks up to Virgil, backing him up against the door.

He taps Virgil on the nose with the script. "Don't lie to me again," he drawls.

Virgil pushes Deceit's arm aside with a crooked smirk. "Just humor them, okay? They worked hard on this." He opens the door behind him and ducks out again.

"They'd better live up to the hype," Deceit tells him as he leaves.

"Hope you're good at improv!" Virgil calls back, disappearing.

“Isn’t this a bit ambitious?” Logan asks, looking around at the beginnings of the set Roman has been working on. “Last year it was a simple carol, not a musical.”

“And we couldn’t get through that without fighting the whole time,” Roman agrees, “even without Deceit present.”

“...Yes.” Logan stares at Roman where he hangs upside-down from an overarching beam. “So why are we doing something even bigger?”

“Because it’ll be fun!” Patton chirps. Roman gives him a thumbs-up and swings back onto the beam to keep working.

Virgil slams into Deceit’s room without a word. “Virgil?” Deceit asks, startled. “Do you need something?”

“Gotta borrow you for a sec,” is all Virgil offers as explanation before hooking his arms under Deceit’s and lifting him off the ground.

“Virg—what are you—I can—hey!” Virgil drapes Deceit over his shoulder and carries him out of the room. “Was this really necessary?” he mutters into Virgil’s shirt.

“Mmhmm.” Virgil pats him on the back. As he carries him down the stairs, he calls, “I got him!”

“Perfect,” Deceit hears Patton cheer. “Now we can get started!” Virgil drops Deceit on the ground and blithely ignores the vicious glare Deceit turns on him.

All three of the Light Sides are standing in the middle of the living room, staring at him and Virgil. “Get started with what...?”

Patton claps his hands together. “The Secret Santa assignments, of course! It’s so much fun when you don’t know who your gift will be from!”

“...Right,” Deceit says. “Forgive me for repeating myself, but what does this have to do with me?”

“You’re part of the cast!” Patton and Roman chorus. Logan offers Deceit a sympathetic glance.

Roman turns aside to where a small pile of folded scrap paper lies. “Let me just put these all in...”

Virgil cuts him off. “Here, use this.” He swipes Deceit’s hat off his head and hands it to Roman.

“Hey!” Deceit cries. “Give that b—I mean...do what you want.” He crosses his arms tightly over himself.

Patton pouts at Virgil. “Virgil, don’t be mean.” Virgil shrugs.

“Is it alright if we use this?” Roman asks, waving the hat towards Deceit.

“Whatever.”

“...Alright! Let’s get started then!” Roman sweeps the papers up and into the hat, making sure to mix them up well. He then extends it into the center of the circle with a flourish. They all reach in and take a scrap.

Deceit unfolds his paper. As soon as his eyes flash across the name written on it, his face twists into a grimace. Next to him, Logan hums contemplatively.

“Alright, everybody got one?” Roman asks.

Deceit glances up at Roman and nods. Virgil gives him a thumbs-up. Patton, who is nearly vibrating with excitement, sings, “Yup!”

“Nobody got themselves, right?” Silence. “Deceit?”

Deceit rolls his eyes and snips, “Your observational skills are unparalleled, Roman. Of course I got myself. Now, give me that.” He snatches his hat out of Roman’s hand. “If we’re all done here, I have nowhere better to be.” He stalks back upstairs.

They watch him go. Patton leans over to Roman. “That could have gone better,” he murmurs.

“Do you think he’ll actually make a gift?” Logan questions.

Virgil nods. “He will. He won’t be happy about it, but he’ll do it. He’s probably going to try and show Roman up just because he’s irritated.”

Roman chuckles. “I’d like to see him try.”

Roman paces backstage. “I gave him a very specific time to be here so we could all get ready!” he shouts. “Is that really too much to ask?”

Patton bites his lip, glancing at the other two. Logan looks vaguely concerned, at least. Virgil just seems bored. “Virge, should you go get him?”

“Nah, he’ll probably be...oh, there he is.” Virgil glances up just as Deceit breezes into the room, completely unconcerned about his own tardiness.

“Deceit!” Roman cries. “Where have you been? I needed to have you in costume twenty minutes ago so I could make adjustments!”

Deceit gives him a once-over, then glances at the other Sides. Patton and Roman are dressed in matching red-and-green outfits complete with copious amounts of glitter and shoes with bells on the tip. Virgil is in a similar but far less ostentatious outfit, far closer to a formal suit than the almost elvish inspirations of Patton and Roman’s designs. Logan is the only one who looks different. He’s in a deep navy blue outfit with a sheer cape and silver trim.

“What happened to your glitter?” Deceit teases Virgil, who shrugs.

“Didn’t want to be a main role,” he explains simply. “Too embarrassing.”

“I see.” He puts a gloved finger to his chin and turns back to Roman. “Well, as much as I’d love to see what you have prepared for me, I have my own outfit.” He winks at him and vanishes. “See you on stage!”

Roman glares at the spot where he was standing.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Logan whispers to Virgil. Virgil snorts.

Patton falls to his knees in front of a trashed toy shop. Roman runs up next to him, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder as he surveys the damage done to their shop.

Opposite them, Deceit stands on one of the only unbroken tables. He’s wearing a tailored black suit with a green dress shirt, looking the part of a businessman. He gives them a sly smile as he watches their reaction to the destruction he’s caused.

“Who are you?” Roman demands. “Why are you doing this?”

Deceit chuckles. “Oh, my name isn’t that important. I’m just part of a system, after all. And as for why I’m doing this, well...” He shakes his head. “You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?”

“You won’t get away with this,” Roman seethes.

“Oh, won’t I?” Deceit tilts his head. “Try and stop me then.” He steps backward and vanishes in a puff of smoke just as Roman reaches for him.

Patton sniffles behind Roman, who returns to wrap him in a hug. Patton returns the hug, crying into Roman’s shirt, “Our shop...how will we be ready by Christmas now?”

“Not to worry about that,” echoes a voice from behind them. A beam of light shines into the shop, and the wreckage begins to levitate, putting itself back in order as if guided by an invisible force. Patton and Roman whirl around just as Logan strides in, twirling a silver rod between his fingers.

“How did you...?” Patton starts, but Logan cuts him off.

“If you don’t mind, I actually have a request for you two.”

Patton looks down at his new uniform as he and Roman wander a forest path. “Still, isn’t saving Christmas a lot?” he asks doubtfully. “I mean, we’re just toymakers.”

Roman shrugs. “If it falls to us to defend the spirit of the holiday, then I’ll fight with all my power!” he declares. He draws his sword (newly obtained from Logan along with Patton’s) to punctuate the statement, and narrowly misses slashing Virgil in the face as he backs away with a yelp and falls to the ground. Patton gasps and puts a hand to his own sword, and Roman brandishes sword at the interloper. “Who are you?” he demands.

“H-hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” Virgil stutters, leaning away from the sword. “You guys met my boss earlier, right? Green shirt, stupid smirk?” Roman and Patton share a glance and nod. “Well, uh, I want to help you. I don’t like what he’s doing, and I want to try and save Christmas.”

Deceit turns as the trio enters, facing them with a confident smile. “Ah, it seems you’ve caught up to me,” he purrs, “and with one of my own associates, no less.”

Roman and Patton draw their swords. “We won’t let you threaten Christmas any longer!” Roman shouts.

“Really?” Deceit tilts his head and chuckles. “Well then—” he holds out a hand, and a slim silver rapier materializes— “let’s see you try.”

Deceit holds his hands up, allowing his sword to clatter to the ground. “Alright, alright, I concede,” he says. “I, alone, am not strong enough to defeat the three of you.” Roman grins and sheathes his own sword, while Patton drops his entirely in order to run up and hug Roman from behind. Caught up in their celebration, neither of them notice Deceit’s eyes catch on something behind them.

“Don’t you think it’s time to come clean, boss?” he purrs.

There’s a half-second pause, and then the point of a sword presses into Patton’s back. He and Roman both whirl around to find Virgil smirking at them, weapon now aimed at Patton’s heart. His outfit shifts before their eyes to become a perfect mockup of Deceit’s, with a red shirt instead of green.

“Virge?” Patton gasps. “Wh...what are you doing?”

Virgil chuckles darkly, holding his head high to look down on Roman and Patton. “Did you really think I had defected to your side?” he asks mockingly.

Patton and Roman exchange glances. “Um...yes?” Roman says.

“Idiots!” Virgil stabs forward with the sword, and Roman sweeps Patton behind him to shield him. “This ‘Christmas’ you’re protecting is a sham! It’s nothing more than a corporate ploy to force people to spend more money!”

“We’re just trying to bring joy to the world!” Patton defends.

Virgil laughs again, shaking his head slowly. “Wake up! You’re not bringing joy to anyone! You’re just teaching greed!” He stands up straighter, swinging his sword out to the side to punctuate his next statement. “Now, stand down...unless you plan to die for that blind faith of yours.”

“Virgil, no,” Roman hisses.

“Yes, and...” Behind Roman and Patton, Deceit has recollected his weapon and aimed it at the two of them. He purrs, “Now, why don’t you show us that Christmas spirit of yours?”

Roman unsheathes his katana once more, while Patton scrambles for his, but just before they launch into battle Virgil holds up a hand. “One sec.” He turns his head to the side of the stage. “Hey, Lo, you wanna get in on this?”

Logan peeks out from the wings. “Must I?” He produces a copy of the script and leafs through it, frowning. “It seems somewhat contrary to my characterization thus far.”

“You can hit Roman with a sword,” Deceit offers.

There’s a brief pause while Logan considers this. He sighs and drones, “Oh, no, I seem to have fallen under the influence of those dastardly villains.”

“Logan,” Patton cries, “not you too!”

Deceit conjures a rapier and tosses it to Logan. “They were just too convincing,” Logan says, still deadpan even as it lands at his feet. He picks it up robotically.

“Alright,” Virgil says, turning to the other two with a sharp grin. “Now we can get started.”

Midway through the battle, Logan bumps Virgil out of the way to square off against Roman one-on-one. “Listen to me,” he hisses as Roman swings forward at him, “I need everyone to stop fighting. I think I have an idea.”

Roman pauses. “Do something dramatic,” he advises. “That works for me every time.” He rushes past Logan after Virgil once more.

Logan taps his chin, looking up at the ceiling for inspiration. Something dramatic... “Ah.”

The stage lights go out, bathing the room in darkness. A single spotlight cuts through the dark, illuminating Logan alone. “Everyone, please, stop this.” He tosses his own sword aside and spreads his hands outwards. “We’re all fighting for the same thing.”

A second spotlight shines down on Roman. “What are you talking about?” he demands. “They’re trying to destroy everything we’ve worked for!”

“Listen,” Logan says, serene. The light glitters on the silver trim of his jacket. “You’re working to keep Christmas joyful. They aim to rid it of the commercialism which has become so pervasive in its celebration.” He walks up next to Roman and spreads a hand towards him. He gestures with the other at Virgil, who is kneeling in a sudden third light. “Rather than this pointless infighting, would it not be more prudent to join hands and work together to save the season?” Roman and Virgil lock eyes, hesitant. Slowly, Virgil stands and offers a hand to Roman, who shakes it firmly. The stage lights come back on, and Patton dashes across the stage to lift Deceit into a hug.

Snow begins to fall over the five of them.

Patton looks up into it, still holding Deceit’s arm with both hands. “I think this is going to be a good Christmas,” he murmurs.

The curtains fall.

They all drop into the living room, in their normal clothes once more. Patton sidles up next to Roman. “So did everyone have fun?”

“I know I did!” Virgil says, grinning.

“Of course you did,” Roman grumbles, “you take joy in ruining my cre—” Patton elbows him in the side. “I mean...you were very cool on stage.” Virgil grins at him, obviously ignoring the slight.

“It was rather enjoyable,” Logan admits. “What did you think, Deceit?”

Deceit blushes and looks away. “It was...fine.”

“Just fine?” Virgil nudges him, and Deceit slaps his hand away.

“Are we doing this stupid Secret Santa thing or not?” Deceit demands, crossing his arms.

Roman’s face brightens immediately. “Oh! I’ll go first!” He extends his hand with a flourish, and a wooden box appears in his palm. “Patton, I drew your name.”

Patton gently takes the box into his hands, glancing only briefly at the small rod sticking out from the side. “Oh,” he coos, “it’s so pretty!”

Roman grins wider. “Go ahead and open it.”

Patton blinks at him, then undoes the small clasp on the front. When he opens the lid, staccato notes begin to play in a soft rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” as the rod spins.

“It winds itself so that the rhythm stays steady. I think that song is an excellent fit for you, wouldn’t you say...?” Roman trails off. “Patton? Are you crying?”

Patton sniffles and rubs at his eyes. “It’s just...really sweet. Thank you, Roman.” Deceit shoots Virgil an bewildered look. Virgil shrugs.

“Are you okay to keep going?” Logan asks. “Or should we come back to you?”

Patton shakes his head, inhaling sharply. “No, I’m good!” The music box vanishes, presumably to his room, and he puts his hands on his hips. “Let’s keep this party moving! Virge, I got you!”

“Oh!” says Virgil in a vaguely terrified tone. Roman winces in sympathy.

“...So I made you some cookies!” Patton hands a Tupperware container across the circle to Virgil, who pops it open. He pulls out a dark brown cookie and stares at it, puzzled. Patton leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “They’re dark chocolate.”

Virgil snorts suddenly at that. He immediately reels back and covers his mouth, dropping the cookie back into the container. Glancing around at the others to make sure none of them are judging him, he closes the lid and mutters, “Thanks, Pat.” Patton smiles widely at him, and he returns the favor with a crooked grin of his own. “So, I, uh...” He lets the cookies vanish. “I had Logan, and I was trying to think of something practical to give him...”

“Always appreciated,” Logan interjects, nodding.

Virgil hesitates. “Uh...so I ended up deciding on this, because I figured it’d have to come into use sometime. Like, statistically. And stuff. Here.” He hands a small object off to Logan, who flicks it open to reveal a Swiss Army knife.

Logan’s eyebrows rise. “Hm. Interesting.” He pockets it. “You are correct in seeing it as a pragmatic gift, although I hadn’t considered obtaining one myself. Thank you, Virgil.”

Virgil huffs, looking away. “Glad you like it.”

Logan inclines his head in Virgil’s direction, then turns to Deceit. “Well, I received Deceit’s slip.”

Deceit jumps, as though he’d forgotten he’d be receiving a gift in the exchange. “Great.” Logan ignores him.

“Well, I don’t know you particularly well, seeing as you do your best to avoid contact with the four of us, but...considering your reptilian nature, I hope this is satisfactory.”

Deceit catches the yellow stuffed snake Logan tosses him. He stares at it in disbelief. “Really creative, Logan. Nobody’s ever thought of a toy snake before,” he deadpans.

Logan raises an eyebrow and snaps, “Can I finish? I wasn’t finished. Is it okay if I finish?”

“Oh, please, go ahead,” Deceit says, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

“Are you sure?” They glare at each other for a moment. Logan sighs. “As I was about to say, the snake is filled with flaxseed. It can double as a bedwarmer if you microwave it.”

Deceit considers the snake for a moment. “...Alright then,” he concludes, “seems I was correct earlier.”

“Apology accepted,” Logan responds with a smile. “You’re welcome for the gift.” Deceit rolls his eyes at him without malice.

He sighs. “Well, obviously, I didn’t get Roman.” He produces a box wrapped in red paper, with a gold ribbon, and hands it to Roman carefully.

Roman immediately starts to tear into the wrapping, but Deceit hurriedly puts a hand on top of Roman’s. “Don’t...!” Roman gives him a confused look. He sighs. “...Open it when you get to your room.”

“Don’t open it here?” Roman confirms. He looks down at the box and back up at Deceit. “What is it, a bomb?”

Deceit throws his hands up in exasperation. “Yes, of course, I got you a bomb for Christmas.” He gathers the snake under one arm and turns sharply to leave. “If we’re all done here, I’d absolutely love to stay.”

“Aww, come back,” Patton cries. “We were about to have our holiday movie marathon!”

“Have fun with that,” Deceit shoots back. Patton deflates.

Virgil looks up and swings an arm loosely around Patton’s shoulder. “Yeah, I don’t blame you for leaving,” he calls to Deceit’s retreating back. “Patton gets really clingy on movie nights, especially when the weather’s this cold. Must be nice to get some time alone.”

Deceit pauses on the first step. Virgil leans forward and continues, “Sometimes I wake up completely trapped. I guess I’ll deal with it though, since you’re going off on your own.” Patton opens his mouth to say something (apologize for invading Virgil’s personal space?) but Virgil merely winks at him and gestures toward Deceit.

Deceit sighs. “Well, I suppose we all must make sacrifices.” He whirls around, cloak furling outwards. “I’ll stay down here, and see if we can’t lessen that burden on you.”

Virgil puts a hand to his heart. “My hero,” he croons. “Come help me make popcorn then.”

He drags Deceit into the kitchen, leaving the other three Sides to watch in varying states of relief and bewilderment.

“I cannot believe that worked,” Logan whispers to Roman.

Patton claps his hands together joyfully. “What movie should we watch first?”

“The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Virgil and Deceit chorus. Patton gives Roman one final, grateful hug and turns to the DVD stack.

Deceit was gone when they awoke the next morning, disappointing Patton (who had cheerfully cuddled Deceit for as long as he was allowed). He bounced back quickly, though, at the sight of Deceit’s gift to Roman, still lying unopened on the table. He had pressed it into the arms of a barely-awake Roman and shuffled him off to his room to open it alone “since he asked you to, and you should respect that!” Not that it really mattered either way, since Logan was in the kitchen making coffee and Virgil was still asleep upside-down on the couch.

Roman flops down on his bed, bouncing twice on the mattress, and sets to tearing open the wrapping paper. He doesn’t know why Patton’s so excited. Deceit’s so rude all the time! He probably wanted Roman to wait just so that the other Sides wouldn’t see how crappy his gift was.

He tosses the lid off the box and freezes as the contents shine in the light of his room. He lifts the accompanying placard with gentle hands. Written in gold calligraphy, it reads “This seemed the most befitting of your status. Every prince needs one, after all.”

Roman suddenly feels very, very underdressed.

He swaps his pajamas for his proper princely regalia and takes a few seconds to brush out his hair properly. With that settled, he reaches into the box and removes the crown Deceit gifted him, taking a moment to admire the way the inlaid rubies catch the light before setting it carefully on his head.

It’s a perfect fit, naturally.

Roman strides over to the full-length mirror he uses whenever he considers a costume change and spends a few moments trying out different dramatic poses. The weight on his head is strange, but he figures he’ll get used to it after wearing it every single day for the rest of his life. He hides his face in his hands briefly to contain his excitement, then stands up once more and straightens his clothing.

Roman rises up in the living room in his pose of choice (one hand over his head, the other on his hip) and looks out at his family with a smirk. “Hello, nerds.”

Patton lets out the loudest squeal any of them have ever heard in their life.

“Wow,” Logan agrees, pausing midway through a sip of coffee.

Virgil, still lying upside down, raises his eyebrows. “Damn, he really did show you up.”

Roman huffs, refusing to allow Virgil’s gloomy outlook to ruin one of the best gifts he’s ever received. “I prefer to call it creative competition. Anyway, guys, how cool is this?” he gushes. “Look, there’s rubies in it and everything!”

Patton claps his hands to his cheeks. “It’s perfect!” He bounces up to Roman. “Looks like he did the opposite of ruining Christmas, huh?”

“I suppose that’s to be expected,” Logan muses, “since opposites are his whole...thing, so to speak.”

Virgil finally sits up properly. “Well, you have two months ‘til his video anniversary thing you guys do. Better get working.”

“Right!” Roman snaps. “I’ll show him who’s the real creative boss then!”

Logan squints at him. “...It’s obviously you. That’s literally the name of your aspect, I don’t...” Virgil waves him off.

“Before all that,” Patton interjects, “let’s have breakfast! Little princes need a healthy diet, you know!”

Virgil hauls himself off the couch to follow Roman into the kitchen. He stops him just outside and mutters, looking away, “It really does suit you, y’know.”

Roman beams. “Why, thank you, Virgil! It’s rare to receive such a kind compliment from you.”

Virgil’s face goes red even as he scoffs, “Just get in the kitchen already,” and pushes Roman inside to join his family.

#dlamp #sympathetic deceit #deceit sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #sanders sides #my writing #secret sanders

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cutesuki--bakugou · 5 years

Text

Cookie Gremlin

For Day #9 of the @mha-xmas-challenge

Christmas Challenge | Day 9 - Christmas Baking / “There’s more frosting on you then there is on the cookies.”

Category | One-Shot

Pairing: Bakugou x Koge (OC) Koge’s Tag

Rating: E, no warnings

Word Count: 2,257

“Mommy, who are we making these cookies for?”

“For us! Duh, Matsu!”

Koge smiled at her daughters confident statement, working on kneading some cookie dough against the countertop. “Only some of them are for us, Natsuki. The rest are going to our friends and family as gifts for Christmas.” Natsuki tossed a handful of sprinkles onto a cookie, creating a perfect blob of red on white frosting made by a highly skilled five year old. “Bam! Uncle Seiji is going to like my cookies more than yours, Matsu!” Her brother was carefully placing a piece of candy as a button on a snowman, tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. At seven, Matsuki was much calmer than his sister, who was bouncing in her stool. “No way, Natsu. Mine are perfect, they will be more impressed with mine.”

‘Lies!” Natsuki placed lopsided eyes on her horse cookie, two on one side. “You’re just jealous of me and my perfect cookies.” Koge shook her head, rolling the dough out with a rolling pin now to cut out the shapes. “Both of you are making perfect cookies. Uncle Seiji is going to love them all. Ah, Natsuki, don’t squeeze the frosting into your mouth like that.” The young girl stopped her partaking of the frosting, placing the tube down quickly as she spoke with her mouth full of the pink sweet. “Sorry Mom, I just like it.” Using a range of cookie cutters, Koge stamped out the shapes in the dough before placing them onto a baking pan. “I know, but you’re already bouncing off the walls and covered in frosting as it is.”

Natsuki giggled maliciously, starting to put green frosting onto a Christmas tree shaped cookie. “Bwahaha, I am the evil cookie queen! Give me all your cookies or there will be punishment!” Beside her, Matsuki gave a small roll of his eyes, glowering at his sister. Koge noticed how he wasn’t threatening or vicious in any way, his pale blue eyes and fluffy light blonde hair that matched his father's making him look like a little squishy puffball. His sister, however, did look scary, toothy smirk on her face and crimson glare locked on the Christmas tree as she used brown frosting on it. Her blonde, nearly white hair was a wild mess, her ponytail loose and bow lopsided. “This tree is half dead, Mom. Someone forgot to water it!”

“How sad for the tree.” Koge gave a small shake of her head, still working on cutting the cookie dough. By now, Koge had grown used to her daughters darker sense of humor, something she had picked up from her father. Thinking of him, Koge glanced up at the clock, noting that he was late returning home again. Her phone had not gone off recently, so he hadn’t messaged her, and that made her worry a bit. But, knowing him, he was just working overtime and was more focused on getting home than worrying about his phone. Still, she had hoped he would return home in time to partake in the cookie making. They were only halfway through at this point, so she held onto some hope that he would appear soon.

“Natsuki, are you putting a face on it?” Koge asked curiously, leaning forward a bit to look at the what was supposed to be a Christmas tree. Natsuki nodded. “Yeah, it’s dead, so it’s a zombie! Zombie tree is going to eat all your presents!” Matsuki carefully placed his finished snowman with his other finished cookies, brow furrowed in worry. “Natsu, that’s scary! Can’t you make some happy cookies?” He grabbed a star shaped cookie, going to work on it with yellow frosting. Natsuki blew a raspberry, giving an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “You’re just a weenie! Don’t be scared, it’s just a cookie!” Koge narrowed her eyes at her daughter, who immediately clamped her lips shut and held the tube of frosting up to her face to hide behind it. “Sorry, I know I’m not supposed to call names like that.”

“If you know, then don’t do it.”

Both children jumped at the sudden growl of a voice that came from behind them, quickly looking over their shoulder at the source. A huge grin spread across Natsuki’s face as she dropped her frosting, standing up on her stool. “Daddy!” As Bakugou walked over, he caught her as she leaped off the stool onto him, latching her arms around his neck. “Hey, baby. How are my little squids, huh?” Holding Natsuki with one arm, he ruffled Matsuki’s hair, who smiled at him. “Hey, Dad. We’re making cookies!” Bakugou gazed upon the horrific mess on the kitchen island counter top, before his eyes met with Koge’s. “Making cookies, huh? Looks more like making a mess.”

Koge smiled, working on kneading the left over dough to roll it out again. “We are having a great time. If anyone is making a mess, it’s your little gremlin there.” Natsuki giggled, pointing down to her zombie tree. “Daddy, look! It’s a zombie Christmas tree! Isn’t it cool?” Bakugou took a seat on the stool Natsuki had been using, setting the young girl down on his lap. “Wow, that’s pretty good. You know, Seijirou doesn’t like zombies. That might scare him.” Natsuki smirked, going back to adding more details to her cookie. “Ehehe, that would be so funny!” Koge rolled her eyes, cutting out more cookie shapes. “Katsuki, don’t encourage her to scare him. She already thinks it’s hilarious to jump out of nowhere and scream. Last time he spilt his coffee everywhere!”

Bakugou and Natsuki both snickered, sharing a knowing glance between each other. “He’s just too easy, Utsuro. Even when he expects it, Natsu is still able to scare him. That’s pretty funny and you know it.” Koge sighed, giving a small shake of her head. “Yeah, I mean… Okay, it is funny. But he’s being kind enough to teach her. I just feel like there needs to be a bit more respect shown to him.” Bakugou nodded, working on fixing Natsuki’s ponytail as she started on her next cookie. “Yeah, I know what you mean, even if he is a kook. You hear that, Natsu?”

Natsuki nodded in an exaggerated series of headbangs, pulling her hair from Bakugou’s hands as she did. “Yes! I will not scare Uncle Seiji anymore. Maybe.” Bakugou chuckled, going back to fixing her hair once she was still. “No, no maybe. You listen to your mother.” Natsuki nodded in a more tame manner this time, her new ponytail bouncing about. “Yes, Daddy. Only on special occasions, like Halloween?” Koge smiled, closing the oven and setting the timer. “Okay, only on Halloween. I’ll allow that.”

Bakugou grumbled a bit as he pulled dried frosting out of his daughters hair. “Natsuki, there’s more frosting on you than there is on the cookies.” Matsuki looked up at his father, watching him. “When we first started, she squeezed a tube of frosting on her face. She’s always making a mess.” He looked back at his mother as she placed a bowl in front of him. “Would you like to mix this batch of dry ingredients, baby?” Matsuki nodded, moving to prop himself up on his knees on the stool to be taller. “Yes, Mama. With my hands?” Koge smiled, giving a small nod. “If you want.”

Bakugou watched his son as he timidly put his hands into the mixture of powder, working it about. “Matsu I’m not surprised that your sister did that. She’s probably eaten her own weight in it, too. She’s a little gremlin, after all.” Natsuki giggled in a high pitched, malicious voice, as if she were an evil witch. “Hehehe, oh yes, I am the eeeeeeevil frosting gremlin. Watch me devour it aaalllll!” She shoved a broken piece of cookie into her mouth, wiggling about happily as she chewed it. While she was distracted, Koge walked around the counter and took her own sugar in the form of a kiss from her lover. “I’m glad you made it home in time for the cookies, Katsuki.”

Bakugou reached up to rub her arm as she wrapped them around his shoulders, her cheek pressed against his and body resting on his back. “Yeah. I had an impromptu meeting I couldn’t bail out of. And my phone is dead so I couldn’t text. Sorry.” Koge kissed his cheek gently. “It’s okay. Did you want to make some, or just watch?” Bakugou furrowed his brow as he gazed upon the pile of naked cookies, thinking for a moment. “Well, there’s a lot, I guess I could--”

Before he could finish, there was a loud series of familiar sounding crackles and a pop from beside them, a cloud of smoke and mixed dry ingredients swallowing the family. Natsuki squealed in surprise, though she was still quick to lay blame. “Matsu! Why’d you do that?!” Coughing a bit, Koge waved the cloud away from her face, moving over to her son. “Natsuki! You stop that, you know it was an accident.” Sure enough, Matsuki was frozen, staring at his own palm in shock with tears welling up in his eyes. “I-I-I’m sorry M-Mama, it just w-w-went off.” Frowning, Bakugou stood, placing Natsuki down in the stool instead.

Matsuki’s quirk was exactly like his own, so he knew the troubles he was going through as far as keeping control of it, especially when nervous. It didn’t help that the child was timid and nervous natured, so it was constantly going off without him prompting it. Gently, he scooped up his son and sat down on the stool, placing him down on his lap. “Let’s go over what happened, squid. Were you nervous?” Matsuki was trembling, sniffling as he tried to wipe the powder from his face, completely covered in it. Koge stroked his hair gently to comfort him, but allowed Bakugou to take over the talking.

“Y-yes, Dad. I was scared it was g-going to go off when my hands were in the powder.”

“Do you think that those thoughts made it go off?”

The young boy nodded. “Yes… It's my fault, I can't control it.” Bakugou took his sons hand gently, wiping his palm of the powder. “Matsu, I had trouble with it, too, when I was young. I know it doesn't make much sense, but the key to a quirk like this… is to be confident and not fear it. You've gotten much better, you know.” Matsuki tried to control his hiccups as he looked at his palm, comparing it to his father's. “I just get nervous that it's going to go off… then it does.”

“Because you're worried about it. Just… think of it like…” Bakugou looked up at his wife, hoping she wouldn't mind his metaphor. “Think of it like you really have to pee, and your worried you might pee before you get to a bathroom. What would you do then?”

Matsuki scrunched up his face a bit in thought. “Uh… not think about it? Or if I can't ignore it, go to the bathroom?”

“Exactly. So, if you realize you're nervous about it, try to focus on something else. If you can't, then you have every right to excuse yourself until you can calm down. Remember the breathing techniques I taught you?” Bakugou patted his sons back as he nodded. “Good. Don't just let it all well up inside until it goes off. Tell us, or just excuse yourself to calm down. Now give me a boomfive.” He held up his hand, to which Matsuki clapped his hand against it, both of their palms going off with a small explosion. “You got this, kiddo.”

Matsuki gave a smile, reaching up to wipe his face of tears. “Thank you, Dad. I’m going to go clean myself and change clothes.” He hopped off his father’s lap, jogging out of the kitchen. Bakugou looked up at Koge, who was glowering down at him. “A pee metaphor? Really?” Bakugou shrugged, putting his arms around her waist gently. “Hey, whatever he can understand. He calmed down a lot faster this time.” Koge nodded, kissing him gently. “He did. He really depends on your support… I have a hard time calming him down because I don’t understand the quirk like you do.” With a sigh, Bakugou rested his forehead against hers. “You know, with Natsu, it would be a lot harder if she had ended up with it. It would be going off constantly, just from her high energy.”

Koge rubbed his arm gently. “I think we know how she is at this point…” Bakugou’s eyes downcast to the floor, brows furrowing as he thought of it. “I don’t think she understands yet… Soon we’re going to have to sit her down and explain.” Placing a soft kiss on his forehead, Koge ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Katsuki… It’s my bloodline… I never knew my great grandmother didn’t have one…” Bakugou shook his head, pulling his lover closer. “Stop. It’s no one’s fault. Quirk or not, she’s tough, and she’ll end up an amazing fighter learning under Seijirou.”

Hearing an odd noise from beside them, both adults looked at their daughter, a small gasp leaving Koge’s lips as they noticed the state she was in. Caught red handed, Natsuki stopped, holding a tube of frosting above her head, which she had squeezed almost empty into her hair.

“Uh… I’m a cookie.”

“Natsu!”

“Oh my gosh, she’s adorable Katsuki, I have to take a picture!”

#bnha scenarios #bnha imagines #bakugou #katsuki bakugou #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha writing blog #cutesuki scenarios #personal writing #oc #original character #koge #christmas challenge

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bitway-arts · 5 years

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@isozakikenma hewwo merry late xmas gift!!! I hope you enjoy rensuka first christmas time!!!

"You're coming whether you like it or not!"

"So, I'm really not given a choice?"

"Nope!"

Asuka sports his dorky grin while Ren lets out an aggravated sigh. It was a little too early to for his liking to be dragged around, especially on this holiday- Christmas. He'd never really looked forward to it, never thought much about it or gave it any special meaning, but this year was a little different. He had someone who was going to shove it in his face regardless of his feelings towards the holiday.

"Fine."

Without another word, Asuka's hand reaches out, instantly gripping onto Ren's wrist as he begins to drag him out the door of his own home. The walk to Asuka's place is silent, but not in an awkward or uncomfortable way, it's just too early for the grumpier boy. Ren eventually picks up his pace, walking alongside him instead of being dragged along. He glances over to spot a way too happy Asuka. He rolls hies eyes, pushing back that stupid smile he's getting from seeing the other boy shining brightly today.

When they get to Asuka's home, Ren looks at the exterior of the house he's seen dozens of times before. It's nothing new to see it decorated with lights and ornaments and signs out, but it just feels different today. As if there was more meaning to having these dumb decorations out. Either way, he doesn't stare at it too long as Asuka drags him out of the cold and into the warm household.

Not even half way through the kitchen, Ren can spot Asuka's parents and his sister, all sitting down, waiting for them in the living area, crowding around the Christmas tree thats placed in the room. That decorated tree catches his attention, eyes going down to the presents underneath. He tells himself not to think much of it, too get rid of the images of an empty and dull tree with no one crowded around it. He's no joining in this celebration anyway, only going to watch, be an observer that was dragged here against his will.

"We're here!" Asuka chirps, hand still holding onto Ren's as they enter this room.

"Hey, Ren!" Endou says, almost as enthusiastically as Asuka. Tobitaka greets him with a simple smile and a wave. His own silent 'hey'.

"Ren!" Kiyoko nearly jumps to her feet, bouncing on her seat as she waves to the boy.

Asuka pouts. "What? No hello for me?"

"I see you all the time. I don't have to say that," she comments back. Ren snickers and Asuka shoots them both an unthreatening glare.

"Come on, you two. No fighting today." Tobitaka interjects, wanting to stop this little fight before it breaks out (he doubts it would be anything big, but would prefer today be peaceful in this home).

"Hey," Ren says his own greeting with a slight shrug, leaving it open and directed at everyone here. Asuka looks towards him, expecting more than a simple 'hey'. Maybe its just his mood- which will change soon, he hopes. It was Christmas after all and he wanted Ren to be able to celebrate. Not by himself, but with his family.

"Now that you're finally here, we can get breakfast ready. We didn't want it to get cold without you here," Endou says while getting to his feet. He waits for his husband to stand beside him before they could start heading off towards the kitchen.

Ren wasn't sure if that was directed towards him or Asuka, most likely both, but it doesn't matter, he thinks. They step aside for the adults to pass into the kitchen. When they're gone, Asuka nudges Ren.

"We should go and help."

Ren deadpans at him. "You're going to make the guest, that you literally dragged over here, help with making breakfast?"

"What? No! I mean…" Asuka scratches the back of his head, trying to find a suitable answer to that well thought out remark. Nothing comes to him.

Ren grins as he can see Asuka trying so hard to find something to say. He takes a step closer towards him, making him move back and pressing him against the side of the couch. Asuka blinks and stares up at him, face going red at how close they are, leaving no room for him to escape.

"Not in front of my sister!" He yelps as his head turns away.

"Aww, it's fine! She can watch~."

"No!"

Asuka bites his lip, determined to stay put even as Ren keeps pressing his body onto his. He glances back to Kiyoko for a moment, noting her eyes on them. It's not like they haven't kissed or anything in front of the family before. Ren clicks his tongue, giving up for the moment under the excuse of 'it's too early to deal with this shit'.

"Alright then, let's just sit and wait."

The (not) couple sits together where the adults had been sitting, literally side by side. Kiyoko is still on her own smaller couch, attention grabbed by the presents hiding underneath the tree. She had gotten up, made a walk around the tree to try and find which were hers and take a guess of what it might be by the size of the box. Asuka had to make sure she didn't do anything to them, no touching allowed until everyone was there.

Ren sat back and watched Asuka speak with his sister, trying to be the responsible older brother. It's entertaining and makes him chuckle when he sees Asuka's own sister doesn't even listen to him. The more frustrated he gets over their bickering, the more he chuckles.

The sight is nothing new to Ren, he's seen them and their playful little fighting before. He knows it could go on longer, but they're interrupted when a voice- Tobitaka's- calls out with a, "breakfast is ready!" Asuka nearly darts for the kitchen, instantly forgetting about Kiyoko's attempts at guessing presents, but stops himself to go back to Ren. He holds out a hand for him to take, which he does, so they could go into the kitchen together.

Entering the kitchen, the kids find the table set up, the tablecloth and plates Christmas themed as well, to Ren's surprise. He would have expected gingerbread and Christmas tree cookies to be their breakfast at this point.

The adults take their seats on one side of the table, the boys on the other, and Kiyoko at one end. The breakfast scene is lively, the whole family chattering and exchanging excitement for this holiday. There's only one who is silent. Ren sees how excited they are, speaking so happily and highly of this day, even their comments about the night before. Being here never felt strange, he knew how to slide into place and exert himself. But, he couldn't today. It felt like he was intruding upon something meant to only be for a family, a special moment that he wasn't supposed to be apart of. When had that feeling ever stopped him? He'd rather not think about it too much. For now, he shakes off the feeling and shoves food into his mouth before attempting to steal Asuka's attention away from his parents, something he'd normally do.

"Big brother," Kiyoko shouts, causing Asuka's head to turn. "Can you pass me the salt?"

"Hm? But it's closer to Ren, why don't you ask him?"

"I am asking him, thats why I called him."

"Huh?" Ren raises a brow as he looks over to the girl. "Why are you calling me that?"

"I just thought you'd make a good brother in law."

"Eh?" Ren stares at her, speechless.

"KIYOKO!" Asuka shouts her name with blaring red cheeks.

"Ki-Kiyoko…" Endou starts while putting a hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing. It doesn't work and he can't even try to get a decent sentence out. All they can hear are forcefully held back laughs. Meanwhile, Tobitaka isn't bothering to hide his own. It definitely was a surprise to hear something like that at the breakfast.

Asuka tries to cover his face in his hands, muttering, "how'd she learn that?"

Ren is still in a state of surprise, glancing over to the others before looking to Asuka. It wasn't something he'd thought about and if he ever did, the thought was pushed away. There was no way that would happen…would it?

After everyone calms down, finishes their meal, plates are put away, they head back into the living room. Endou announces that it's time to open presents and the siblings cheer. Ren rolls his eyes to all this hyped up excitement and keeps to himself on the end of the couch. He can't help but watch as gifts are passed around, first to Kiyoko, then to Asuka, and then too…him. Ren stares at the gift in Asuka's hand being held out towards him.

"That's…not for me."

"It is!" Asuka says with a smile.

Ren ends up looking to the adults, unaware of his terribly surprised and confused expression.

"What he said is true," Tobitaka answers his silent question. "You've got more too."

"Yup! But you're going to have to wait to get yours like everyone else," Endou chimes in.

Hearing that makes something tug at his chest, leaves an aching feeling there. He has to bite down on his lip as he takes the present from Asuka, eyes resting upon the wrapped gift. This one is labelled from the whole family, others from the individual family members themselves, and even a couple from Santa (he guesses this was mainly to keep the jig up for Kiyoko). It wasn't something he'd been expecting at all. He'd been thinking he was only being brought here to watch, not to be included or apart of it really.

But…it feels nice. Nice to be apart of a family. Nice to be accepted. The nice feeling didn't last with thoughts of his own family being nothing like this. Even more when guilt began to eat at him, gnawing at his insides for only getting Asuka gifts. He'd argue how he wasn't informed it would be like this, though hoped that he could make it up to the family, albeit a little later. Buy them something or help them out with…whatever they needed. (He'd ask Asuka for help on that part.) It wasn't something he wanted to voice aloud, but he'd make an exception to them.

Ren takes a look at the room around him, watching as one by one gifts are opened, smiles go around, excited and grateful voices fill the room. He never thought he'd be experiencing something like this. A real Christmas. It was completely different from his quiet and empty Christmases at home, this was more lively, filled with actual love and heartwarming moments.

It made him smile.

And he kept that smile as he placed his own gifts aside. He turned to look to Asuka, that smile widening as he caught the perfect time to swoop in and steal a surprise kiss from the boy. It startled him, made him blush, made him smile. That's all he really needed to see.

"Thank you for bringing me here today, Asuka."

#isozakikenma #gifts;#fantext;#rensuka #poses at this #enjoy the gays with christmas time

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noona-clock · 5 years

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hey queen 🐝 ! it's been forever since we've last talked (and since i've last read your fics, yikes!) how are you sweetie? i hope you're doing well! you're little xmas drabbles are literally the cutest things to exist, thank you so much for writing them and getting us all in the holiday spirit! i love you lots babe, and i look forward to your next writing piece 🥰😘

Hi!!!!! I am doing just fine, how are you?! Are you on break yet? I hope your finals weren’t too stressful!! I know I’ve gotten a little off schedule with my Christmas songfics the last couple days, but I am working on two special pieces! Not songfics! I do have two more songfic drabbles planned, though. Those should be up on Sunday and Monday! (hopefully... I have so many presents to wrap this weekend.........)

I love you, too!! I hope you’re doing well 😍

(p.s. omg i love the queen 🐝 thing that makes my heart so happy)

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xmyautisticlifex · 5 years

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Warm hearted asks

Under a read more as a long post

Weather - What do you love most? The times when I feel like I belong to something bigger than myself - whether that be feeling like I truly belong with a group of friends, dancing with strangers, witnessing something amazing with others.

Dove - How do you express love? Mainly through my words :) I also like to do special things for people <3 Letting people in and letting them know me is also a big one.

Friendship Bracelet - What does friendship mean to you? For me the most important thing is being able to be myself without fear of judgement. Friendship is knowing someone has your back, that they improve your life, and that you just genuinely enjoy spending time with each other.

Loveseat- Describe your ideal house - beautiful big floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, a small garden (no lawn, mainly wildflowers and fruit trees and herbs), a big comfy bed, lots of natural light, and a library/study with a fire place. Oh and a nice view (from somewhere high up, or somewhere near water). Somewhere to swim. I mean if its an ‘ideal’ house then I guess I have to admit it would be very expensive + luxurious. I like large spaces and beautiful things :P

Record Player - Love songs or breakup songs? - well I mean I guess I prefer love songs? but its not something I seek out. I don’t like sad sounding music because I really really feel it and it brings me down. I do like breakup songs that have a bit of kickass vibe to them.

Stargaze - Celebrity crush? No one really. I mean I can appreciate they are pretty but I am far too aware that I don’t know anything about what they are really like to feel ‘crush’ feelings.

Planter - Do you have a green thumb? I was hoping I did but it turns out I don’t! Mainly because the feeling of dirt is really unpleasant to me :P I do have a nice vege and herb garden though and I love harvesting stuff, its super satisfying.

Linen - Do you prefer being friends with someone before starting a romantic relationship with them or starting straight into love? In terms of romance it doesn’t really matter to me. But in terms of sleeping with someone I either have to not really care about them at all (barely know them) or know them extremely well and trust them. In between that is unenjoyable.

Hot Cocoa - Three things you love about yourself? I like how hard I work to put my beliefs into actions, I like that I’m clever with words and love reading, I like that I take all the opportunities I want. I’ve had an eventful life already.

Valentine - Do you like pda? I have no objection to it, or strong feelings about it. I get mistaken as being super into PDA but really I just like physical reassurance from my partner when I’m feeling anxious or out of place (like literally hiding behind her and cuddling in like a shy kid haha). I’ve noticed people don’t react great to that though so I’m trying to tone it down in public :P

Succulent - What are you looking forward to? I’m really looking forward to cuddling up with the wife tonight after a bubble bath. Im looking forward to kitten season at the animal shelter I help at. I’m looking forward to wrapping up all the xmas gifts all nice. And just Christmas in general <3 long term I’m looking forward to getting our own house and travelling.

Bath bomb - What is the best form of self care? No joke, every moment of every day is me practicing self care to keep myself good and stable (its so much work!). When I actually need extra self care because I’m doing bad (by my standards) then I go to therapy haha. If I just need to relax then bubble baths, walks, yoga, and night time driving.

Roadtrip - Where is the farthest you’ve been from home? Florida - I lived there for a few months about 5 years ago while I worked at Disney world.

Brown Sugar - What is making your heart warm today? The rainy weather outside is lovely to listen to

Pearls - Do you want to get married? I am married! Coming up one year anniversary in January.

Seaside - Ideal date? The wife nailed this one on our first proper date. Midnight picnic in the hills overlooking the city lights. Other than that - anywhere outside. Carnivals, markets, outdoor music events are all favorites. I also love theater and art galleries and museums. And swimming! I’m pretty easy to please so long as I don’t have to just sit and make small talk for ages and can actually move around and have a proper experience and conversation. .

Luna Moth - City or country? City. As much as I like to think of myself crafting, and gardening, and writing, and reading - its not realistic. I would drive myself nuts stuck in my own head all day - i need some distractions.

Velvet - What is your style? In clothing? I don’t wear my style because we don’t have much money and I’m chubby which limits opshop options haha But my style is classic, feminine, with a little bit of edge.

Cupcake - Are you in love? very much so

Romcom - Is your story a comedy or tragedy? why not both?

#about me #anon ask

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gorgeousshutin · 6 years

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I couldn’t . . . update Seinen Kakumei by Xmas after all.

However!

I’ve manage to find the Chiho Saito X Ikuhara Kunihiko Special Talk they did for the new manga, After the Revolution, hosted on utena.su.

After the page cut is the google translated gist of it all. Enjoy and happy holidays!

Here it sounds like Ikuhara does have a hand in creating this somewhat male-centric manga. Oh well it’s a series, so who knows which character(s) the next chapter might feature.

The Interview

Why did you decide to draw a new chapter of "The Young Revolutionary of Utena"? Saito: This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the anime release, and that's why I often remembered it. Just at that time, I received a proposal from the editorial staff of the "Flowers": "Would you like to draw something for the twenty-year anniversary?" And I felt that I have a duty to "Utena", so ... (laughs) Ikuhara: Five years ago we could have refused, but twenty years have passed ... Perhaps someone will not want to read a new chapter. But I thought that it could be something like a fan service, another story about Utena for those to whom it is still expensive. Saito: The full-length film was conceived as a continuation of "Utena", but an alternative story turned out, so it justifies me a little. Ikuhara: I think it's good that there are many versions of Utena. A series, a full-length film, a manga ... I hope the fans will forgive us for the fact that the manga has now become longer. Saito: It's because anime so beautifully told about so many things that this new "Utena" became possible. I do not know if they'll forgive me or not, but I decided to try.

Returning to the beginning: Mrs. Saito, how did it happen that Mr. Ikukhara asked you to create character designs for "Utena"? Ikuhara: At that time, I was engaged in Sailor Moon, but I planned that my next project would be original work. However, I did not want it to be the same story about a girl who is changing clothes and doing something there. I was thinking. And then in the bookstore, where I sometimes went, I saw the release of "Petit Comic" with a cover from Ms. Saito - and it dawned on me. "It seems that I need it!" - I thought. If she started developing the design of my characters, then everything would go by itself. So I changed my mind and decided to make a shojo anime with an emphasis on the visual part. Saito: Then the "Utena", which he had conceived, was completely different. Ikuhara: I already gave Utena a name, but I had different ideas on her account. Even the "teacher in kindergarten." (laughs) I was not sure whether to make the girl the main character again, but the moment I saw Ms. Saito's work, they simply fascinated me. Without logical reasoning: "This is it!" I felt that they would help me create something beautiful. That is, you inspired these drawings? Ikuhara: It often happens to me. I love drawings that allow you to discard logical reasoning. In the works of Ms. Saito, there was such power. While I was arguing, they struck me in the heart.

Saito, how did you feel when Mr. Ikuhara offered you cooperation? Saito: First, the editor of Petit Comic told me that the director and the team responsible for Sailor Moon are developing a computer game, and I'm being offered to do character designs. "The main director of" Sailor Moon "own person ?!" I was amazed and answered that I was ready to meet him immediately. (laughing) Ikuhara: Actually, I lied about the game. (laughs) If I said that it's an anime, people from Ms. Saito's entourage would be on guard, so I originally talked about the game. And when everything turned up, I would say: "The plans have changed, we make anime." (laughing) Saito: In a word, I was asked to develop character designs. But there were no specific instructions at first. Something like: "Do in the style of your" Waltz in a white dress. "" Ikuhara: I still keep the letters of Ms. Saito of that time and the sketches I made myself. There was no email at that time, so we exchanged letters by fax. They drew and invented simultaneously. It's a shame to admit, but I drew inspiration from Ms. Saito's drawings - if they changed, history changed.

Saito: And at first it confused me. (laughs) The director asked me to draw a lot to expand my own idea of "Utena", but at first I did not understand it at all, so we constantly wrote to each other. Ikuhara: I could tackle the story itself when the character design was already ready. I needed to fall in love with these designs to begin to come up with the plot and characters of the characters. In a word, since I had no ideas myself, I needed to love what Ms. Saito created, and so I fooled her. (laughing) Saito: So I needed to draw something amazing to ignite the flame in the director. (laughs) But I did not understand what he wanted, and I thought that I only needed to develop designs. When I asked: "Maybe I should add a hairpin here?" - neither "yes" nor "no" answered me. But when I painted Utena and Anfi together, they wrote to me: "That's it !!!" - and for the first time I felt that I understood what was being said. (laughing) These designs were similar to the current Utenu and Anfi? Ikuhara: For the most part, they were already ready. With them, we almost figured out, and after that started working on the rest of the characters. Then the plot arose. The plot details of "Utena" were borrowed from Ms. Saito's manga and developed. For example, the relationship with Akio, the relationship between Miki and Kodzue ... All this quotes from the manga of Ms. Saito. Saito: I knew that the director and script writer read my work very carefully, but did not know that they were going to use it in this way.

You created a manga together with Mr. Ikuhara? Ikuhara: I always asked to show me storyboards. Saito: I always showed the first chapter to the director, and at some point he said: "Here I myself will make a storyboard!" (Laughs) Ikukhara: "Panels of this size!" - I said. (laughs) Ms Saito was used to drawing the manga more on the basis of the plot than the percussion. But in the anime characters were in the spotlight, and I wanted the storyboard panels to push them to the fore. So I lightly put my hand to her. What is the difference between the story of the manga and the anime story? Ikuhara: First of all, if you look at the anime scenario, then there are enough surreal moments. (laughs) If they asked me what they meant, I would not have answered it myself, even though I thought of it. To understand, it was necessary to do, but work on the anime took us a year. It was difficult to explain everything in words, and it's impossible to realize it in a manga. Saito: I did not understand how the story would develop when I drew the manga. I had no idea who Anfi was. I did not know anything about her and was surprised that she has an older brother ... Ikuhara: We did not know either. (laughs) They came up with everything on the go. (laughing) Saito: I had to be ready for the fact that I'm drawing a story about which no one knows anything and which should turn into a finished anime in a year. I did not understand anything, but I had to somehow move the story of the manga forward ... (laughs) Ikuhara: In fact, despite the existence of the script, my staff was very much supported by the fact that the manga left until the end of the anime. They often asked: "Yes, what are we working on at all ?!" (laughs) But the power of visual images is such that after the final of the manga of Mrs. Saito everyone realized: "Oh, that's what this story is about." After all, no matter how surreal the story may be, after such visual images everyone was reconciled. I think if we had only a story, the team would not be able to work normally. Saito: I was drawing, although I did not understand anything at all ... (laughs) Ikuhara: In my opinion, that's why history could develop to such a level - thanks to the attraction of the characters of Ms. Saito.

By the way, did you discuss the differences in the finals? Saito: In general, the manga and the anime broadcast had to be completed at the same time, so I learned about the anime finale from the script. I tried to comprehend it, but it was not possible to realize everything in the manga, so I changed it slightly ... Ikuhara: But we discussed surrealism in the anime finale and how it can be interpreted. (laughing) Saito: He is very artistically impressive, but when you think about his meaning, you stop understanding something, so I decided that the anime is one, and the manga is different, and I painted mine. (laughs) But when you watch anime every week, you think: "That's how it turned out ... What should I do ?!" - and so four times a month ... Then you think: "I give up!" - and continue to draw your own. (laughing) And now you're working on a new manga chapter ... Saito: I immediately understood the story the director had suggested. I thought: "This is not difficult!" - and was very pleased with herself. (laughs) But now, in the midst of work, I have a lot of doubts, I always consult with him, and the story is not yet complete. Ikuhara: In my heart of hearts, I really want to do something that no one else has ever done. When we were working on the anime, at some point all agreed on a certain plot twist: "Yes, usually it does." Then I decided not to introduce it, and all already turned pale. After that, we often decided on the twisted turns of events. I think it was hard for everyone, but thanks to the trial and error method, our history acquired such visual power. Saito: If the same happens now, it will really be hard ... Ikuhara: But now you already understand what "Utena" is. (laughs) If you do not prepare morally, you will only think: "What am I trying to do?" And readers now realize that "Utena" is a continuous surrealism, and if something surreal happens in the new chapter, they will just think that such this is history. (laughing) How do you work on "Utena" after a long break? Saito: It's still as before. Ikuhara: Yes, it is. Honestly, we have different views with Mrs. Saito on who are Toga and Sayonji, like every other employee in our time. But we once already dealt with them, so in a sense there is no doubt. In general, we act according to the scheme: "He has such a character, that's why he will do so, and so - no." And than "Utena" became for you? Ikuhara: In my case, this applies not only to "Utena", but also to my other works: "initiation." History as a rite of passage. If you do not win this competition, do not pass through the tunnel, then it will be impossible to move further - that's what my works become for me. I understand that they are out of common fashion, but I want to tell them at all costs, go through this initiation to get the opportunity to move forward. Saito: I used to draw the manga myself, so this was my first collaboration. Of course, it reflects also my own ideas, but I was very interested to know what the final result would be. And if we talk about the audience - I was able to show myself in something other than manga, so for me it was a "gift". Ikuhara: I wanted to create something unique that would make a deep impression on people and would remain forever in their hearts. In fact, I'm incredibly happy that until now, after twenty years, many like "Utenu." At that time, I was often asked: "Who does this story for ?!" - but now I see that she has found her audience, and I'm happy. Saito: In addition, it is dear to so many girls among the fans. In this work, our twenty-year-old employees put their experiences and worries, and those to whom these feelings were close, took it directly. Maybe the motives were drawn from my manga, but it is because of the emotions that the director and his collaborators presented to Utena that this story is so addictive. Ikuhara: Perhaps the feelings that we felt at that time because of our place in life really left a mark on this work. In addition, "Utena" certainly remembered to the audience thanks to the theme - "the girl is looking for herself." "What do I want to be? What role should I play in the society? "- all these questions that girls ask themselves. And I think that in the heart of "Utena" lies "defeat". This "defeat" including ourselves, its creators. Saito: If you think about it, girls have been accustomed to defeats since childhood ... Ikuhara: And the reason why "Utena" remained in the hearts of the audience is precisely this "defeat". I think if it was a story of victory, it would quickly be forgotten.

Saito: When we hear a story about a victory, we want to be like her hero, and when we hear about the defeat - we think: "Yes this is about me."

As for the theme "a girl is looking for herself": it is also raised by the "Confusion" that you are currently working on, right? Saito: I would say yes. The girls suffered a defeat back in the Heian era ... (laughs) Has the experience of working on Utena somehow influenced your further work? Saito: Before that, I did not draw in the genre, but I liked working on Utena, so portraying in "Confusion" the marriage between Yonokimi and Himegimi, who pretends to be a man, was also interesting. (laughs) They are married, but Himegimi should pretend to be a man, so there are enough exciting moments ... I think the experience of "Utena" helped me to portray these touching relationships between the girls. In the clouds: "I did not get enough sleep." "And the truth. The eyes are red. " The marriage of Young and Himegim (two girls) mangaka painted with interest. In "Confusion" she applied what she learned from "Utena". Mr. Ikuhara, were you inspired by other works of Ms. Saito? Ikuhara: Inspired. Recently I found a terrific story in the collection of Ms. Saito's works, but when I spoke about it, she asked: "Did I draw this?" I was shocked: "Ah ?! Have you forgotten about it ?! "(laughs)" How could you forget about such an amazing manga ?! " Saito: All my works for me are like native children when they are just finished. If someone says: "I read such and such your manga, I'm a fan," then I re-read it too, and it becomes even more dear to me. But if there is no reaction, I think that it was not a success, and then I do not want to reread it. There are a couple of works that I have not read since I drew them. (laughs) So I forgot about them completely. Ikuhara: Perhaps some authors and can endlessly come up with something new, but often we use all the same motifs, changing the main theme and characters. Subconsciously you think: "The last time did not work out - and if I put everything like this, will it suddenly come out?" I think in the works of Ms. Saito many motifs are repeated, slightly changing. Perhaps, therefore, it is difficult for her to remember each separate story. Saito: Quite often I can not express what I want. "Now it surely will!" - I think I'm trying again, changing something. This often happens. Ms. Saito, what were these thirty-five years of creative activity for you? Saito: I painted manga every day ... and now it seems to me that these years and months have passed very quickly. Two weeks after I made my debut in "Shoujo Comic", I was offered to publish regularly. Ikuhara: Right after the debut ?! Saito: I was noticed and offered to be published before the debut. (laughs) But my work did not like the readers. I was trusted, and I let them down ... This is my recollection of my debut in the manga. I started with failure, with worry that I was not accepted, and I learned to win the audience by trial and error. And how did you come to success? Saito: First I painted stories about family life. At that time, I was already married and knew how it really looked, but readers liked all sorts of calf tenderness. And I was young and proud, I wanted to draw not some teary stories there, but something sublime. But I could release them one by one, and the readers were happy. Then it helped me out. Then, when I was able to rest, I began to draw more erotic, sensual stories, and just then I was offered to work on "Utena". Ikuhara: I got the impression that Ms. Saito initially liked the aesthetics of the Baroque. If you take a love story from the shojo-manga of that time and place it in the baroque decorations, it goes perfectly. Saito: I think I've had bad luck, because I was working on something that was interesting to me alone. But when I got burned and listened to the readers, taking into account their desires on a par with what I wanted to paint myself - then, thanks to this strategy, success came to me. Ikuhara: Since the "Another puppet", the covers of your works have acquired a baroque character that distinguished you from other authors. Love lines also changed, recalling the taiga drama. The depth was felt, the horizons widened. Saito: I continued to work, and after the success of Utena, after the publishing house "Shogakukan" noted the "Flower Madonna" prize, I felt that I had achieved something. Before that, I had to invest in every work I did, and now I could breathe peacefully. (laughs) There was a period when I did not want to draw a manga. However, I realized that you can not quit work, somehow continued, and slowly the inspiration returned to me. And in "Flowers" there are so many veterans of the industry, and I am very pleased with the opportunity to be among them. Now I feel like I love my job. And when I think about how I painted the manga every single day ... I feel that life has not been in vain.

And in the end: what would you like to say to the fans? Ikuhara: Thank you for watching Utenu for twenty years. I had no idea that our characters would be so in love, and if those who first read the manga or watched the anime, this story presented an experience similar to initiation, this is its main advantage. Maybe the new chapter of the manga will be interesting to those who first get acquainted with "Utena"; maybe someone will be pleased when this title is again mentioned in the media. So forgive us ... and wait impatiently. (laughing) Saito: I too, sometimes, draw and think: "Forgive me ..." (laughs) It all ended so beautifully, the ending was so touching, and I was going to spoil everything. Fans will probably get mad, but they are already adults, so I hope they will forgive us ... (laughs) Ikuhara: Me and Saito talked about how we can destroy the impression of a story that is so expensive. But we decided that we still want to give "Utena" to those who waited for it again. Saito: I do not know if I can even paint in ten years. Take the same health problems ... Maybe this is our last opportunity. And I was just offered this work on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the "Utena" - as if they gave a chance. I had a feeling that I should accept this challenge. What would you like to say to your fans, Ms. Saito? Saito: I could continue to work quietly only thanks to readers who bought my manga. I wanted to draw stories that would delight them, support them morally, help them live until next month, when they can read the sequel. I just do that I draw a manga, and I hope that it helped someone in everyday life. I am very grateful to all my readers. Thank you both for the interview!

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