#electric016

[katplanet]

Consider: Klaus and Dave going to a petting zoo and one of them being really freaked out by a goat...your choice on which one :3

“Oh, shit,” Klaus says, “horse alert.”

There’s a horse. Big, old, friendly-looking thing, the peaceful countenance that only comes after receiving many pats from many small hands.

“Isn’t that, like, your culture?” Klaus waves across the gravel enclosure at it. “Go say hi.”

Dave looks at the path over, and then looks at Klaus. “You don’t wanna?”

“No,” Klaus says, “no, no, I’m more of a duck guy, myself. Isn’t that right, little fella?”

Klaus squats down and hands a pellet to a duck that’s been lurking nearby. Dave waits until he stands back up to say, “You should come with me. Or do you not like horses?”

“Horses are great.” Klaus still isn’t moving. “Dad used to take us riding, did I ever tell you? Ali and I fought over the one with the white stripe on its nose, so he gave it to Ben. Fuckin’ asshole.”

Dave hums, and still doesn’t move. Allison and Claire are on the other side of the enclosure, Claire’s hands cupped full of pellets, feeding … the various things that the enclosure is full of. She sees him looking and waves with one hand, which spills the pellets everywhere, which gets her swarmed by-

“Ohfuck,” Klaus says, taking a half step forward, and then glancing over to meet Dave’s eyes.

Claire just giggles and reaches out with her little arms while Allison takes pictures with her phone.

“Do you,” Dave says, slowly, “not like goats?”

Klaus swallows.

“I hate goats,” Dave tells him.

Klaus spins and grabs Dave’s shoulders. “It’s their goddamn little demon eyes.”

“I hate their eyes.”

“And their - they chew sideways, Dave, it’s not natural.”

“Uncle Klaus!” Claire shouts. “Look, it’s a baby!”

“That’s not a baby,” Klaus whispers to Dave. “That’s a small adult goat.”

“Yeah, Uncle Klaus,” Ali calls, grinning behind her phone, which she’s pointing steady at them, “come see the baby.”

Dave scopes out the enclosure again. Claire’s pellet drop has most of the action in her area. “If we go wide,” he says, “we can make it to the horse.”

“Okay, but can we make it back out?”

“I have enough pellets left for a diversion if it comes to that.” Dave looks back at Klaus. “I do really like horses.”

Klaus sighs. “If you told me five years ago - goats, David.”

Dave holds out his hand. Klaus takes it.

The horse, it turns out, is very sweet. Goats, it turns out, run fast, but not as fast as Klaus.

[enklavefest]

P.S. Burn After Reading

By: @electric016 (Tumblr & Ao3)

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709795

Prompt: Vietnam/Klaus and Dave write letters to each other, pretending they’re each other’s “girl back home”

Summary:

Dear Klaus, I noticed you were looking a bit bored last time we were all reading letters and thought you might like something to read for yourself. So I wrote you a letter and stuck it in the mail bag. Surprise! Hope you don’t mind. Wait a minute. You can read, right? I don’t think we’ve ever discussed. If you can’t, please write back immediately so I don’t send you another.

[zecretsanta]

Fic: Scavenging

To: @gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016​

From: @electric016

Merry Christmas, gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016! Tenmyouji and Quark are my faves, so I’m always excited for an excuse to write about them! This fic sort of wandered off in a weird direction, but hopefully it’s all still in character and more importantly I hope you like it!

Ao3 Link

It had been about four months since the end of the Nonary Game and life with the Tenmyoujis had finally returned to normal. Even after the excitement of the moon and a second Nonary Game, there were still chores to be done and scrap to scavenge.

“Quark!” Tenmyouji called out, “Are you up yet? We need to get going.”

“Coming, grandpa!” came  the disgruntled and tired voice behind his grandson’s door.

“You’re going to miss breakfast!” Tenmyouji called again, cracking a couple of eggs into the frying pan.

“I’m coming!” 

Tenmyoji smirked to himself, knowing that before long he’d have a teenager to contend with. The thought was simultaneously amusing and terrifying as hell. 

The door to Quark’s bedroom creaked open. The boy emerged mostly dressed. He wore a khaki pair of shorts and a t-shirt. His arm was in one sleeve of a jacket.

“Finally. I thought I was going to have to eat all of this by myself.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty peckish.”

Quark slumped into a chair by the kitchen table, leaning his head in his arms and muttered something in audible.

“What was that?”

“I’m going to eat them!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Tenmyouji placed a plate of eggs and toast and beans before his grandson. He knew he’d perk up a bit once he’d had some food. Mornings had always been a bit of a struggle with the boy, and Tenmyouji had a sneaking suspicion they’d only get worse the closer they got to Quark’s teenage years.

He joined his grandson at the table with a matching plate of food and a hot drink he’d like to say was coffee, in that it was dark and brown and bitter, but was actually a rather horrible root tea. He did enjoy the warmth and habit of it though.

“Where are we going today?” Quark asked, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth.

Tenmyouji put his fork down. “Well, I was thinking of maybe trying something different today,” he said slowly.

“Yeah?” Quark asked, looking curious.

Tenmyouji nodded. “I’ve been thinking. I’m not getting any younger and I might like to start thinking about retirement. Now don’t give me that face, nothing to get worried about. I’m just thinking an extra day off or two every week might be nice.”

“What does that mean?” Quark inquired, studying his grandpa incredulously.

“Well, what do you say you go out by yourself today? No supervision. I won’t be breathing down your neck or micromanaging what you find. I trust you.” 

“What? Really?” “Sure! You’ve been at this for how many years now? I think it’s time for a promotion.”

Quark immediately perked up--it was as if his sleepiness were totally forgotten. “So where should I go?”

“Hmmm.” Tenmyouji took a swig of his tea. “Where would you suggest going if you were in charge?”

“Well.” Quark looked thoughtful, scratching the back of his neck as he thought. “There’s that old food processing plant in the next town over we saw last time we were there. I could start there.”

“Yes, I suppose you could. It’s an awful long walk though.”

“What? Aren’t you going to give me a ride?”

“Nope. I’m going to be enjoying my day off here.”

“Can I drive the truck then?” Quark asked eagerly.

“How are you going to push the pedals and steer at the same time? Nice try, kiddo. Maybe once you’ve got a bit more height on you.”

“Aww. So I guess somewhere I can walk to, huh?”

“Unless you’re planning on hitchhiking.” Quark opened his mouth. “I’m kidding. You’re absolutely not hitchhiking.”

“Well. In that case, there’s that old abandoned radio station. That might be a good spot to start with.”

“That’s not a bad idea at all.” Tenmyouji rubbed his chin. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else having gone through it. I think that’d be a good place to start.”

After cleaning up breakfast and feeding the chickens, Quark got packed up to go out on his mission. 

He looked a little as if he were about to set off for school, and it gave Tenmyouji a weird sense of misplaced nostalgia. 

“Alright, you got everything you need?”

“Yes, Grandpa!” 

“You got your lunch?”

“In my pack.”

“Radio transmitter?”

“Over and out,” Quark said pulling the radio out of his pocket and speaking directly into it.

“Okay. I think you’re set. If you run into any trouble, be sure to give me a call. Or you can give Red or Marco a call if they’re in range. But don’t bug them unless you need to.” 

“Okay. What are you going to do today?”

“Hmm. Well I might drop off a loaf of bread with Clover and Alice and see how they’re doing. But mostly I think I’m going to catch up on some reading.”

“Sounds good! Tell them I said hi!”

“Will do, kiddo. Take care now.”

“Bye, Grandpa! See you later!”

--

Quark set out with a spring in his step. It was a good feeling, knowing his grandpa trusted him enough to send him out to work by himself, and quark was confident he’d be perfectly fine by himself. Really it wasn’t too much different than usual. Usually they’d travel together to a scavenging location, and then split up. They’d meet up for lunch and then go back to scavenging.

Quark enjoyed scavenging with his grandpa--well at least when he wasn’t getting in trouble for messing around. He liked when Tenmyouji found something particularly interesting or unique, he would call Quark over and explain exactly what it was and how it worked and how it could be used to turn a profit. 

The novelty of striking out on his own was still fresh; however, so he was really looking forward to being totally in control.

The abandoned radio station was only about a 45-minute walk from their home. Three of the station’s call sign remained: K LV.  Quark decided it must have been a Q. Ever since he was a kid, he always enjoyed recognizing his initial on buildings and signage. Q for Quark.

Breaking in was fairly easy. It seemed a lot of offices and commercial buildings weren’t secured during the radical-6 outbreak. They found so many that were simply left unlocked and ready to be explored.

Tenmyouji had trained Quark well and he knew the first thing he had to do was check for signs that the building might not be safe to enter. But this one seemed to be structurally sound.

Quark pulled his lantern from his backpack and switched it on, illuminating the hallway before him. The halls were dark and musty, dust floated up through the air as he entered. An ancient fire escape map on the wall gave him his bearings, outlining where there server rooms were and where he was likely to find the sound equipment. 

He was aware from a theoretical standpoint that fear of the dark was pretty common, and he liked to tell himself that he wasn’t afraid of the dark at all. Why would someone who spent their life exploring dark rooms and who found a thrill in discovering the most remote nooks and crannies be afraid? The truth of course was that he still felt a little flutter of anxiety whenever he entered a new room.

Steeling himself, he turned the  handle to the recording room. 

“Huh,” Quark said aloud to himself, filling the hallway with the sound of his voice. “Won’t budge.” He turned the handle again and shoved his shoulder against the door. But still it remained stuck.

“Guess this calls for a little back up.” 

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small crowbar. Wedging it between the door and frame, he leaned his weight against the metal. 

Finally the door gave way and there was a whoosh of air as the seal on the room was broken and the pressure between rooms equalized. 

He stood in the doorway, an apprehensive chill going up his spine and shone his lantern into the room. The light bounced off the large glass window in front of the control panel. There was a work chair turned slightly towards him and it gave him a start when he realized it held the remains of a slumped skeleton.

Quark was used to seeing skeletons. He knew many of them were victims of the radical-6 outbreak. He knew it was harder for his grandpa to see the skeletons and be reminded of what it was like to live through the fall of humanity. For Quark they were relics of a bygone age. Sad, but no more sad than a mummy in a museum. They did startle him every now and again though. 

“Sorry to bother you,” Quark addressed the skeleton. “I hope you don’t mind, I’m just coming in to collect some parts.” His grandpa had taught him that the line between life and death is thin. Sometimes the only thing that decided what side you were on was chance. It was important to always be respectful of the dead.

“This is a pretty interesting set up you have here,” Quark told the skeleton, setting his lantern on the ground, and pulling out an additional flashlight from his bag. “I have a small radio, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as what you had going on here. I mostly just use it for calling people. Grandpa said you used to play music from here all across the city. We’re not allowed to do that anymore.” Quark affected a mocking adult voice, “‘Public radio stations are for official use only.’ They only play boring things like news and public service announcements. I think it’d be much cooler if they played music.”

Quark situated himself on the floor beside a control panel and pulled off the metal grating. “Ah yeah, I should be able to get a lot of good stuff from this. Thanks for keeping an eye on it for me.”

As Quark got to work he continued chatting to the remains in the chair, “You know, this is my first job out all by myself? Usually I travel with my grandpa. But he trusted me to go out by myself this time.”  He glanced over to the skeleton. “I know he’s not telling me exactly what happened on the moon--oh yeah! I went to the moon recently. 

“It’s a bit of a long story. Originally Grandpa thought we were going to meet an old friend of his, so we got all dressed up and everything, but then it turned out it was this weird game. It was actually kind of scary, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was a baby.”

He was silent for a moment, working through a tangle of wires. “You know, I think something bad might have happened to me up there. Apparently we were all infected with radical-6, and Grandpa said it was fine, but I don’t know. I was asleep for a lot of what happened. I think maybe it made me sicker than he wants me to know.”

Quark was quiet again. Working in the dark room by the light of his lantern and flashlight. 

“Actually, I think he’s still worried about me,” Quark confided to the skeleton. “He’s been a little more overprotective, and it’s very nice of him, but to be honest it’s been a little annoying. I know he feels guilty about the whole thing, but I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t remember anything bad happening, so it’s all fine, right?”

The skeleton didn’t respond, but Quark said, “I know, I should probably be telling him this, huh?”

Still no response from the skeleton.  

“Yeah, you’re right. But Grandpa can be so awkward about feelings.” Quark sighed.

“No, you’re right, it’s still better to say something. But it’s still a good sign that he’s sending me out on my own, isn't it? Maybe it means he’s getting over it.”

Quark sat back. “Okay well I think I’m good with everything here for now. Maybe I’ll come back on my day off, but I want to have a look at some of the other rooms while I’m here. Thank you for your company!”

Quark zipped up his bag and hauled it back onto his back. He briefly placed his hands together in a quick gesture of prayer for the skeleton, then headed on to the next room. 

--

When Quark got home that evening his pack was full of useful wires and connectors. He was feeling pretty satisfied with his haul. 

“Grandpa! I’m home!”

“Hey! Welcome back! How’d you do?”

“Really great! I found so much stuff! Do you want to take a look?”

“Hmmm. No, I think I’m good. How about tomorrow we go into town and you can try your hand at bartering? I’ll come along as your back-up of course. But I trust you. I know you did well.” He ruffled his grandson’s hair. 

“Sounds good! And then do you want to go back to the radio station the day after?”

“I think maybe that day we can head out to the food processing facility. You can save the radio station for my days off.”

“Okay!”

“Alright, now go wash up and you can help me cook dinner.”

“Hey, Grandpa?”

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say, thanks for trusting me to go out on my own. I know you’re really worried about me, especially after the Nonary Game, but I really am fine.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you.” He gave his grandpa a quick hug, then darted off to the bathroom to wash up.

Tenmyouji was bemused, but relieved. After the Nonary Game he’d been so worried that Quark would have come away from the experience clingy and paranoid. And truth be told--that was probably just a projection of his own feelings. Quark seemed fairly unfazed by the whole situation having been asleep for the most terrifying portions of it. 

He was glad Quark seemed so thrilled with having this new opportunity for independence. Listening to Quark babble away about the adventures of his day, it sounded like he was happy to have the time to himself. And in his whole long life, there was only one truth that he had found to be absolute. When Quark was happy, he was happy.

[zecretsanta]

Fic: Something Constant

To: @zeroiv4 From: @electric016​

Happy Christmas, Zeroiv4! I loved your prompt about Akane having a pseudoscience rant with Junpei. Unfortunately I’m not really up on my pseudoscience, so I went with a philosophy discussion instead! I hope you enjoy it!

Ao3 Link

“So you’re cooking tonight, right Junpei?” Akane asked, leaning on the counter.

“What? Why do I have to do it?”

“Becaaaaaause, I checked the timelines, and if I cook dinner, the fish gets burned.”

“Oh, come on! That’s ridiculous.” 

“Um, I don’t think so. You don’t want burned fish do you?”

“Well there’s got to be at least one timeline where the fish gets burned, right Akane? Maybe it’s worth burned fish for me not to have to cook.”

Akane stuck her tongue out at him. “But I already got the rice started!”

“You mean you turned the rice cooker on?” 

Akane nodded.

Junpei sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll cook. But just know, you’re abandoning some other Junpei and Akane to a timeline where we eat burned fish.”

“I’ve made my peace with that,” Akane said with a grin. 

As Junpei got started on dinner, Akane pulled up a stool and sat to keep him company, leaning against the island counter.

“You know, I was talking to someone about timelines the other day at work.”

“Hypothetically? Or an actual timeline discussion?” Junpei asked, not turning away from cutting veggies.

“A little of both. We got to talking about Determinism.”

“What’s that?” Junpei asked. 

Akane often discussed thought experiments or conspiracy theories while he was cooking. He found it oddly soothing. Some people put on podcasts while they cooked, he liked to listen to Akane.

“Well, it’s the philosophical idea that every choice is determined by your experiences, so that there’s already a set outcome.”

“What, like predestination?”

“Hmm, I think some people interpret it like that, but that’s not necessarily part of it. It’s more like… hmm. What did you have for breakfast?”

“Uh, I had a bowl of oatmeal.”

“But we also have cereal and yogurt in the house. What made you pick oatmeal?”

“I guess I picked it because it was cold this morning, and I wanted something warm.”

“So based on what you know about timelines, there’s also probably a universe where you pick cereal and another where you pick yogurt, right? And probably also one where you choose to skip breakfast altogether.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Well a Determinist would say that there are no other universes. All of the decisions you’ve made and experiences you had that led to you choosing oatmeal are all still in effect, so you’re only ever going to choose oatmeal. It’s not necessarily that it’s predetermined and you don’t have a choice in the matter, but more like it’s the only choice you’re ever going to make. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it actually kind of does.” Junpei replied, furrowing his brow and tipping the veggies into a saucepan. “Like if someone wanted to go on a trip, but they were afraid of flying. They’ve looked at it logically and know the chances of anything bad happening are slim. They consider that if they were to stay home, they could just as easily slip on the ice walking outside and die that way. So they decide to not let their anxiety get the better of them and go on the trip. From a Determinist perspective, there’s never a universe where they stay home and slip on the ice because all of their experiences and who they are as a person has led them to this conclusion–knowing everything they know, they’re not going to let their fear stop them from going on a trip in any timeline.”  

“That’s right! But it’s at odds with what we know about timelines, isn’t it? We’ve been to other timelines, we know decisions can have other outcomes.”

Junpei thought about this for a moment, turning the vegetables in oil with his chopsticks. She was right. At face value it seemed impossible for the two theories to be able to exist simultaneously.

“Okay, but what if hypothetically those timelines only exist to us through observation?”

“How do you mean?” Akane asked leaning forward with interest.

“Well,” Junpei said, thoughtfully scratching the back of his ankle with his other socked foot, “I guess, I mean what if we can only observe those timelines. It’s like we’re trains on parallel tracks. We can see into the windows of the choices next to us to pull information from them, but they’re actually entirely different. When we receive information from another timeline, that’s an entirely different Junpei and Akane. After all, you and I have only ever made one set of choices that got us to where we are now. Even when we Shifted out of DCOM, maybe we were always going to choose to Shift. As far as you and I know, we don’t ever not make that choice.” 

“What about when it comes to chance? What if I roll a die and get six here. Do you think there’s a universe where I actually roll a five?”

Junpei didn’t respond as he added the fish fillets to the frying pan. He listened to them sizzle as he considered Akane’s scenario.

“Well. I suppose it’s possible to say it’s only ever going to be a six. Because the texture of the table, the force and angle of the throw are always going to be the same. The conditions which created the six aren’t going to change.”

“Jumpy, have I  turned you into a Determinist?” she asked, a teasing tone in her voice. 

Junpei cocked his head to the side for a moment and thought. “Hmm, I’m not sure,” he said grinning at her, “It does make a lot of sense on a certain level, but you’re right. Our experiences suggest that timelines do branch from one another. Plus, I still want to believe there’s a universe out there where I’m eating burnt fish and didn’t have to cook.”

Akane grinned at him. “Well, maybe that universe is actually just tomorrow night. Thank you for cooking dinner.”

“Thank you for the company,” he replied. “Could you help me dish this up?”

“Gladly,” she replied with a smile.

[zecretsanta]

Fic: let’s fly

To: @electric016

From: @billyweird

Happy Holidays! Enjoy Junepeis.

AO3 LINK

“Hey, Jumpy?” Kanny is standing on her swing, rocking back and forth out of sync with Junpei beside her. She’s looking up at the sky like she used to at school – sitting against the chain link fence with her arms around her knees – before Junpei came up to her and asked her to play baseball. (She hit him in the face with a hard pitch. He still played with her the next day.) Without waiting for him to answer, she continues, “Where do you wanna go if you could go anywhere in the world?”

“Um…” Junpei tries to think about places he’s heard of that might interest Kanny. She seems to know a little about everything and he doesn’t want to look stupid. “…Canada.” “Really?” Was that a bad answer? Junpei doubles down: “Yeah, ‘cause I wanna speak French.” She will never believe this, he thinks, because she knows he can barely remember their English lessons. “I think that’s only part of Canada,” Kanny says, but continues rocking unperturbed. “But that’s really cool! Oniichan says he wants to go to Germany.” She pouts. “He says he’ll go by himself though, so I said I would go somewhere twenty times cooler.” Junpei drags himself to a stop, his heels scuffing against the mat under the swingset. “Like where?” Kanny must’ve thought of something great already. “I don’t know.” With a final thrust, Kanny jumps off the swing and for a moment she floats, her skirt rising up like a bubble and toes pointed like a ballerina, before she hits the ground and falls on her butt. “Kanny!” Junpei runs to her and pulls her up as she complains about being sore. “Come on, it’s getting dark. I can carry you to the bus stop.” He intends to, but Kanny’s heavier than she looks and she’s taller than him, so she has to lift her feet so they won’t drag as he lugs her on his back. “I’m okay Jumpy.” He wheezes in protest, and makes it halfway to the stop before he lets her slip off his back. While he’s still bent over with hands on his knees, catching his breath, she pats his back. When he can talk again, he straightens up and tells her “Wherever you go, I’ll come with you.” Kanny clasps her hands together. “Yeah, let’s do it! Tomorrow!” “But tomorrow is Sports Day,” Junpei protests. “My dad said he’s gonna come watch me.” “Day after tomorrow?” Junpei considers this for a moment, then shakes his head. “I don’t think my mom will give me enough money for a plane ticket.” Last time they went shopping, Mom wouldn’t even give him change for the capsule machine. “And we don’t even know where we’re going.” Kanny sighs. “Then after high school.” She nods. “That way we have time to think of somewhere cooler than Germany, and save enough money to go.” Junpei likes the idea that he’s still gonna know Kanny when they’re in high school. They’ve only been friends for three years but he wants to play with her for a hundred more. “Okay!” He offers her his hand to shake, she does, and then while she’s still holding on to him drags him to their bus stop. * “What do you mean you don’t remember that?” Junpei grouses as he and Akane leave the museum. People are looking at them funny because he’s carrying her piggyback, but Akane doesn’t seem to care as she rests her chin on his shoulder. She climbed on him when they went to leave and he knows not to toss her off. “We talked about places we wanted to visit all the time. Why does that conversation stand out?” “Because it was the first one.” He glances up at the sky; it doesn’t look any different from the same one Akane gazed at all those years ago. “Although if I remember correctly, Aoi wanted to come to Germany alone.” “Eh. Oniichan’s alone right now.” Aoi is back at the hotel, glued to his phone and talking through a business deal with a partner organization. (Junpei never actually met Aoi when they were kids, but he thinks Young Aoi would be both embarrassed by Adult Aoi and jealous of his money.) Junpei stops to hoist Akane further up his back. “And that’s good for us.” He smiles to himself at Akane’s contended noise – but his back is killing him. “Okay, enough, you can walk.” Akane squeezes his waist harder between her knees. “Nope. My ankle still hurts.” “I’m not carrying you in Thailand. From now on you’re gonna have to rely on your brother for all carrying services.” Akane doesn’t respond except to scratch his scalp. * “Hey, Kanny?” Junpei says as he and Kanny watch the sunset. She liked the Jumpy doll. Good. But it doesn’t make their parting better. “Promise you won’t take the Jumpy doll to Canada without me.” “Okay.” She makes the Jumpy doll walk across her knees. “When you think of that really cool place to go to after high school, promise you’ll call me.” * In Thailand Junpei is sweating his ass off on a hike when he thinks aloud, “I think we’re still looking for that cool place.” “You’re right – it is really hot,” Akane says while fanning herself. She winks at him when he stares at her, unimpressed. “But isn’t it the journey that’s fun?” Junpei steals her fan and holds it over his head when she tries to snatch it back. “Yeah,” he admits, then snaps the fan shut and gently presses it to her lips. “It is. So where to next? Somewhere’s gotta be the place.” Akane pulls something out of her pocket – the Jumpy doll. “He’s never been to Canada.” She kisses the worn doll and Junpei swears he isn’t jealous of an inanimate object. “That’s close enough to justify picking up Carlos, right?” Carlos always cooperates when they try to kidnap him (and he distracts Aoi when Junpei and Akane want to be alone). “Of course!” They take each other’s hands and chatter about Canada and everywhere else on the map.

[zecretsanta]

The Thoughts That Count

To: @electric016

From: @therealhousewivesofhyrule

Merry Christmas! Thank you for the lovely C-Team OT3 prompt! I went a liiiiitle off-topic I think but I hope you like it anyway! <3

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

——–

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

“Yeah, you should have gone for red, at least,” Akane teases. She leans over Carlos’s shoulder and pinches his cheeks. “Like mine!”  Carlos turns in his chair to look at her, and she strikes a pose, arms splayed wide to show off the baggy sleeves. Akane’s sweater is long and oversized everywhere, perfect for keeping warm on a cold day. She giggles as Carlos makes a twirling motion with his fingers, and she spins in place to show it off. The rabbits going around the sweater seem to hop around her waist as she moves.  Aoi gives a low, appreciative whistle. “I know I gave you a hard time about all the knitting you were doing,” he starts, “But damn. Didn’t know you were planning something this cool.”  Reaching up behind his head to scratch at the back of his neck, Carlos laughs sheepishly. “I don’t know if I’d call it cool…”  “No, it’s so cool!” Akane insists.  “Yeah, like you know what’s cool and what isn’t.”  “Aoi!”  “Cut it out, guys!” Carlos waves his hands to get the siblings’ attention, and it’s just enough to cut their argument short. He’s a little bit surprised that it’s Aoi ribbing his sister tonight and not Junpei, but Junpei has been abnormally quiet ever since he opened the box and pulled out the sweater. He’s still holding it up in front of him, eyes wide and… reverent? Carlos thinks that’s the word he’s looking for, but he’s not quite sure he wants to give himself that much credit. The two Kurashikis notice Carlos staring and turn their attention to Junpei as well. “Jumpy, are you okay…?”  Aoi does not have nearly as much concern for him. “Seriously, man, what is that thing?!”  Carlos laughs and rubs the back of his neck again. “Well, you know that thing Junpei keeps next to the bed?”  Aoi raises an eyebrow. “You mean that ugly dog picture?”  At that, Junpei finally lowers the sweater, and his eyes are alight with fury as he stares Aoi down. Akane sighs and buries her face in her palm. “Are you talking about the funyarinpa?” Junpei asks, voice nearly a growl. Carlos tenses and stands, ready to get between them, if he has to. This is going to go nowhere good.  “The ugly dog picture from Q? That what it called?” Aoi snorts. “That’s stupid, but yeah.”  Junpei looks like he’s about to throw the sweater on the ground, but instead he just angrily pulls it on over his clothes and stalks toward Aoi. He looks ridiculous doing it, and Carlos and Akane both exchange a look and try to stifle their giggles in their hands. “Look, I don’t care whose brother or boyfriend or whatever you are—” “Your boyfriend, for the record. Or one of them—” “But in this house, we respect the funyarinpa!” Akane sighs, but her smile is bright and happy. “Oh, God, there they go.”  With a nod, Carlos puts a hand on her shoulder and rubs it gently. “I’m sorry. I really should have thought this through a little better.”  They’ve completely tuned out of the argument Aoi and Junpei are having. Both men are standing and flailing their arms angrily, but luckily, no fists have been thrown yet. Akane giggles again and stands up on her toes to lean in and give Carlos a kiss on the cheek. “Nonsense!” she says. “It’s perfect. I can tell he really loves it.” Carlos laughs and puts his arm around her. “With the way he’s defending its honour like that? I think you might be right.”  Akane shifts in his grip to turn and face him properly. Her arms come up to wrap around Carlos’s neck, and she leans up again. Against his lips, she breathes, “And I love mine, too.”  They kiss, chaste but long and lingering, only breaking apart when they hear a thud and a yelp of pain. Akane and Carlos jump apart, and Akane immediately drops to her knees next to Junpei, who has her brother in a headlock. “Apologize!” he yells. “Apologize to the funyarinpa!” “Never!” Aoi yells back. “It’s fuckin’ stupid!”  “You bas—” “Okay, boys, that’s enough!” Akane says, and with way less effort than should be humanly possible, she yanks Junpei off of Aoi and into her arms. “Aoi, apologize to Junpei and his silly dog picture.” “Hey—” “And you, Jumpy! You apologize to Aoi. We do not tolerate roughhousing like this on Christmas, understand?”  One of her hands rubs at Junpei’s arm, and she smiles sweetly. Everyone in the room knows that what that look really means, though. There’s absolutely nothing sweet about it. “…Fine,” Aoi says. “Sorry, Junpei.” Junpei frowns and points to his sweater with both hands. Aoi rolls his eyes and adds, “Sorry, ugly dog sweater.”  “Aoi.”  “Fine! Sorry funyarinpa.” He rolls his eyes. Junpei grins smugly. “Now your turn, Junpei.” “All right.” He sighs dramatically. It’s all for show, and once again Carlos has to hide his laughter behind his hand. “Sorry for putting you in a headlock.”  “And?”  “And for yelling at you.”  “Now that’s more like it.” Aoi stands up and makes a show of dusting off his pants while Akane turns Junpei’s face to hers and kisses him deeply. They’re both smiling into it, and it makes Carlos’s heart flutter seeing his girlfriend and one of his boyfriends so happy. He only pulls his eyes away when he feels Aoi nudge him. “Guess I’m sorry for calling the sweater ugly, too. So, uh, sorry, Carlos.”  Carlos chuckles and puts an arm around Aoi’s shoulder. He squeezes him lightly. “Nah, it’s fine. The whole point was to make you guys ugly Christmas sweaters.”  With a laugh, Aoi gestures to his own sweater – light blue with snowflakes all over it. “That why all the snowflakes on this thing are uneven?” He points to one of them, particularly distorted, with one half of it much smaller than the other. At this, Carlos pushes him away lightly.  “No, that’s because no two snowflakes are the same.”  “So you’re saying this isn’t your first ever attempt at knitting sweaters?” “No, it’s not! Goodness, you are rude today.”  “You love it, though.” Aoi leans in close and steals a quick kiss, right at the same time Junpei and Akane get up off the floor. Junpei frowns and punches Carlos lightly in the arm that isn’t still holding Aoi.  “What, no love for me?”  Once again, Aoi rolls his eyes, and Carlos just leans in close and ruffles Junpei’s hair. “So needy, Jumpy.” But they both lean in and kiss Junpei, one after the other. Dork that Junpei might be, he still doesn’t quite know how to process such open affection like this, and his face blushes a furious red.  “Th-that’s not…”  “Aw, shut up.” Aoi pecks him on the forehead again, and somehow, Junpei’s face gets even more red. “You know, you’re cute when you blush like that.” “Almost as cute as my sweater,” Akane says fondly. “Almost the same colour, too,” Carlos adds. Junpei throws his arms up in the air and turns around in a vain attempt at hiding his face, but they all already know he’s nothing but a blushing mess now. Akane hugs him from behind and slowly coaxes him to turn around again, once his face is closer to its usual colour.  “Did you make one for Maria, too?” she asks. “I did,” says Carlos, smiling softly. “I was going to bring it to the hospital tomorrow. You know, like a normal Christmas morning. And I…” He takes a deep breath, and now it’s his turn for his cheeks to redden. “I was hoping you’d all come too. Make it a family thing?”  Three pairs of eyes go wide, three mouths fall open. Akane’s is the first to stretch into a smile, and she leaves Junpei to throw her arms around Carlos instead. “Oh, Carlos! Of course we will! You don’t even have to ask us!” “Yeah,” Junpei adds. “I mean, she’s your sister, right?”  “And family’s important.” Aoi crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Damn right, we’re going with you.”  Carlos’s heart swells. He pulls all three of them in for a hug, awkward as it is, and he feels three sets of arms and hands on him, pulling him close and squeezing.  They’re right. Family is important. And Carlos has never felt so loved by his family in all his life. 

[zecretsanta]

In Which Junpei Fails at Knitting. Twice.

To: @falselyprofound

From: @electric016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He checked the price. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Akane held up the scarf, letting it fall open. 

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh. Well, in that case–”

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

“What the–?”

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

A little ginger kitten was tugging on the yarn.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[eatingfireflies]

For the fanfic ask D for Kissing Santa, S and T!

Yay thanks for the ask! Gonna keep this short and sweet so I don’t clog people’s dashboard any more. This site hates its users I guess.

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Kissing Santa?

I did make a playlist! I joke that it’s 50-50 horny and tragic, but it’s here on spotify. Also, as you and @billyweird​ have mentioned, Bastille’s Doom Days is like Bastille making an album for my OTP :”D Thanks guys.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Established relationship usually means domestic fluff and that’s one of my favourites. Bickering/banter (with or without sexual tension) is also good. It’s why Junpei/Akane in ZTD is my good fucking food. 

I also like multi-media fics that make use of chats, tweets, etc. and embed the images on the actual work. Fics that make use of technology (e.g. forum threads etc.) get me very excited, especially when they’re used well. 

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Hurt/no comfort. Infidelity. Chat fics--hey, didn’t I just say I like fics that make use of technology? Yeah. It’s easy to get everything ooc in chat fics though and tbh one of the limits of my disbelief suspension is when the characters have 0 reason to be in one group chat to begin with. Also the lack of research done with the kind of sites/apps the characters would use. I can go on, but let’s try to positive thinking here. :”D