re: odd/ulrich prompts: Odd draws Ulrich like one of his french boys Ulrich models for Odd's figure drawings
"I hate this. I hate this and I hate you and I can't believe this is happening."
"Mmm-hmm. Stop talking, it's making your face look funny."
Odd erases the line of Ulrich's jaw and reworks the sketch, still humming to himself. Ulrich stands with his hand on his hip, staring pointedly into the distance, glad beyond all measure that they're doing this in the privacy of their dorm room. Of all the things he's been in his life - student, soccer player, Lyoko warrior - he never thought life model would be on the list.
But Odd's missed a week of drawing classes to fight off XANA attacks and they can't use the return to the past any more so, well, here he is. Saving Odd's future. He's too damn heroic for his own good.
"You owe me big time for this."
"Excuse me, I am capturing your physique with all the skill of a promising young artist, immortalising you forever in charcoal. This is a gift, Ulrich. A beautiful, bespoke gift. Once it's got me a passing grade, it's yours to keep. You can hang it over your fireplace. Admire yourself every day."
"Believe it or not, we don't all have your ego. You weirdo."
Odd laughs, shoulders shaking so much he starts ruining his sketch lines again.
"Besides," Ulrich continues, "If I get a copy of this for Christmas this year, no one on this world or Lyoko can fix what I'll do to you."
"Fine. Noted." Odd scoffs. He mumbles something under his breath about keeping it for himself, which Ulrich refuses to dignify with a response, so he changes the subject. He sighs and tries to stay still. His arms are starting to cramp.
"I'd rather fight a hundred Krabs right now. Why couldn't you draw Jeremie, anyway?"
"He's too skinny. I need to practice muscle. Which, by the way, I don't know what you're so worried about with this whole Yumi stuff. She ever seen you without a shirt on? She's gonna flip."
"Odd, I swear to god."
"Stop blushing, it's making your face look funny."
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" reesumi for the boogaloo
oh boy!!!!! i love swearing!!!!!
this one does quite require reading chapter 18 to understand the full (terrible) scope of what’s going on, so in that regard: tw child abuse, but this fic by itself is fairly tame and vague
valentine’s day boogaloo - guidelines - ko-fi
~~
If swearing was an Olympic sport,there would be no question as to who would win the gold.
“God fucking damn it!
“Fuck!!
“Shit, fucking tarantulas,
“Are you fucking kidding me?
“Arrrgh! FUCK!!
“Fuck this motherfucker right inthe—,”
“Reese! Jesus!” Aelitainterrupted, flinging anenergy field right at the said motherfucker that was giving Reese arun for his money. The hornet exploded without further pomp andcircumstance from his trash can mouth. Aelita ran up to him, thecoast nearly clear to the tower.
“Is Lyoko just not burning enoughenergy off for you?” she asked, “Not that I seriously mind, buthonestly,”
“Yeah dude!” Odd cartwheeled tododge the last tarantula’s lasers before firing a barrage of shotsuntil the one lucky hit that finished it, “What, d’ya kiss yourmother with that mouth?”
Reesestared, then devirtualized Odd with a quick flick of the tanto.
“Okay, seriously,”Yumi marched up, gesturing for Aelita to go in the meantime, “Asmuch as it pains me to say it, I can’t blame you, butcan you nothave such a trigger finger—withyour mouth as well?”
“What?” Reesesnapped, “It’s over, anyways!”
Aelita rolled her eyes and leftwithout another word, down to the tower as Reese and Yumi beganfighting, as usual. It was tobe assumed that at this point Jeremie had even taken off the headset,letting the two at each others throats. Thatwas the only brief reprieve he had from it, because as soon as theyall devirtualized to come back home they picked back up where theyleft off the moment they stepped out of the scanners.
“Alright!” Odd called over thenoise of their fighting once they were back in the park, “Seeyaguys later! Bubbye! Good night!”
They barely paid him any mind as therest of the group left them fighting in the woods.
Yumi let out an exasperated howlthat lingered in the trees above. Reese watched as she raked hernails through her hair then swept down to the back of her neck tolightly massage her sore muscles. Closing her eyes to the noise ofwind the trees over the city beyond.
“Hey,” she finally said, wearyand tuckered out from their shouting match, “Was...what Odd said,did it bother you?”
“That fuckwit? No.”
Yumi opened her eyes to give him asidelong glance.
“It’s just an expression.”
“Still…,” Yumi sighed, “Idon’t know. Whatever.”
Reese gave a terrible smirk, “Thanksfor the concern, sweetheart,”
“Ugh, fuck off,” shesnapped with her remaining energy, “Don’t think that I didn’tmean any of what I said just because I was trying to distract you!”
“Likewise!” Reese leaned forwardto bring his smirk closer to her, “Because since when did you takeit upon yourself to distract me instead of vice versa?”
“An hour ago, apparently,” sheadmitted sourly, “To think,I would love to just shut you up but instead I made you keeptalking—,”
“You’d love to shut me up?” Reese grinned. Yumi immediatelyshot him a death glare.
“What’s with you today?”
“Dunno. Aelita was right, I guess. So, about shutting me up—,”
“I could break your jaw if you like, Anders,” she seethed. Heonly retained his grin with a nasty laugh.
“Sure, if I don’t bite whatever you swing at me first,” Reeseopen and clapped his sharp teeth shut with an audible clack andYumi jerked away in disgust.
“Okay, you’re reaching. Good night, Anders,”
“Yo, Ishiyama,” he stopped her, “Thanks for the pick-me-up,”
Yumi scrunched her eyes shut and kneaded the bridge of her nose asshe muttered, “You better not be literal about that…,”
He fell totally silent. Yumi paused to let him find his words, butafter several minutes she realized it wasn’t going to happen andshe turned around to see what seemed to be a completely differentboy. Like a deer in the headlights, he stood there dumbfounded by hisown train of thought. She raised an eyebrow and put a hand on herhip.
“Did a simple thank you really cause complete and totalshutdown? Good to know.”
Reese unleashed a breath he had been holding, as if the added insulthad released him from stone. In his eyes she caught another form ofgratitude swimming in the herculean effort to simply say so,but instead of tease him more she simply signed off with a quick handsignal from the forehead and turned around to head home.
Setting: The first holiday after they defeat X.A.N.A in season 4. Time setting: My story happens in December 2006 in order to follow the CL time line. P.s: English isn’t my first language so please be indulgent with mistakes.
1st December 2006: Jeremy called all the warriors (including William) for a meeting in his room.
William finally arrives at the meeting. It was the first time a member of the gang, other than Yumi, had contacted him since Lyoko was shut down. So it must be important. He entered the room to see Jeremy seated on his computer chair, facing the rest of the room where the others had already found their seats: Aelita was on another chair next to Einstein, and the others were on his bed. Ulrich near Jeremy, next to him was Yumi and finally, Odd was the one nearest the door, laying back with his feet on the wall and head upside down at the other side of the bed, looking at William’s funny confused expression.
Odd: Hey! Little Will! Don’t be shy, welcome to the party! Said the cat-boy while turning around to sit normally on the bed. Here, you can take my spot! He continues while getting up and sits on another chair next to Aelita.
William: Ok. He simply answers as he goes to sit next to Yumi where Odd was before. What’s this weird meeting about? Does it have something to do with X.A.N.A or Lyoko?
Jeremy: Absolutely not! I called you because, as you know, it is our first holiday together without having to worry about X.A.N.A ruining it and I realise we never actually talked about our traditions for this time of year. So I wanted to fix that.
William sat still for a moment. He was extremely happy to be invited. That means they consider him a member of the gang, but he didn’t dare say it out loud in case that reminded them that he wasn’t. He simply smiles and waits for Jeremy to continue.
Jeremy: Ok so here’s how it goes! I’ve got all our names in this Santa hat. I’ll pick one at random and this person has to tell the others about their holiday traditions. Once it is over, we’ll reuse the names to make a secret Santa. Is that good for everybody?
Ok why not? Agreed the warriors all at once.
Jeremy: Perfect let’s do this! First one to speak is…….(Drumrolls)…… Odd! So Odd? What are your holiday traditions?
Odd: Oh you know nothing big. I just go back to Italia with my family. We have some rotation process so every year a different house organizes the party and this house alone has a Christmas tree to put the gifts under. But usually it goes the same: all the people arrive around 5 o’clock then everyone talks about how the stores were a mess to go to this year and how well the house is decorated and shitty things like that until we eat dinner at 7. Then the conversations gets a little better, but I’m too busy eating to even care so… then we stay in the living room until we open the gifts around 10. The host puts on a Santa suit and delivers the gifts and once they’ve all been opened we go to the midnight mass and then everyone goes back to their homes. That’s it. For New Year we just shout out the countdown for midnight and kiss each other a happy New Year that’s all. Usually I just wait for the season to be over and I can’t wait to come back here with you!
Aelita: Why? Your family sounds fun to party with!
Odd: Oh it would be fun if I didn’t have to anticipate my sisters’ “joke” and spend the whole night recovering from it.
Ulrich: Funny I thought you’d be the joker.
Yumi: Maybe karma does exist at some point (Laughs)
Odd: (suddenly very serious) If that is karma I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Everyone stays quiet for a while… What kind of jokes would scare Odd and take him that long to recover? He who never seems to be affected by anything… William was about to ask the question out loud when Jeremy, in order to change the mood, broke the silence.
Jeremy: Ok next one is (He puts his hand in the hat, mixes the papers and gets one out of it.) Ulrich!
Ulrich: Well that would be short I don’t have any.
William: What? How come? I though Dutch people celebrated Christmas!
Ulrich: Dutch people do! But my father doesn’t. I mean I used to get the Santa thing and all but my father learned somewhere that 7 years old was the rational age and he thinks that means to be little adults so a week or so after my 7th birthday, he spoiled it all about Santa and his magic elves not being real and even forbid me from watching “stupid children’s cartoons” anymore. Since then Christmas at my place is a business one where he invites everyone from his office and smooth talks the no-lifes who come. Same for New Year.
Yumi: Wow… I knew you didn’t have the father of the year but killing all the magic at once like that is just… super cruel.
Ulrich: It was just imaginary bullshit anyway so I don’t care. Who’s next Einstein?
Einstein: Yeah sure… ok (he mixes the paper in the hat again starting to feel uncomfortable with the whole thing… He did it for them to have fun not to relive holiday traumas… he didn’t even know such things could exist! Not so close to him at least.) Next one to share their holiday traditions is Yumi!
Yumi: Ok well don’t worry it won’t be awkward. (Everyone laughs nervously.) In Japan Christmas is a friends/couples holiday not a family one. On the 24th my parents go to a romantic dinner and I stay with Hiroki. We eat take-out fried chicken and watch some Christmas movies until we fall asleep on the couch and on the 25th we exchange secret Santa gifts in the morning. New Year is for family! We all go to my aunt Akemi in Japan from December 27th to January 5th and it is a time to clean, repair/replace everything broken and make resolutions to start the New Year on fresh good bases. It is very fun and I look forward it every year!
Jeremy: That sounds very cool!
Ulrich: Yeah can I go with you?
Yumi: Not for Christmas. Hiroki and I picked mom and dad on the secret Santa for the first time so we decided to only watch one movie while eating the fried chicken and then clean the whole house and then go to Millie’s house (guess who asked for that) for the night and the next day so our parents will have some time alone.
Ulrich: Oh that’s nice! And for New Year? Can I go to Japan with you? My dad probably won’t notice I’m gone for a week.
Yumi: If you pay your ticket I’m sure my dad won’t mind.
Ulrich: (totally broke) Forget it. But I’ll save up for next year.
Yumi: Fine by me said Yumi smiling.
Jeremy: Great! Now next one is……………………………………. William!
It took a few seconds for the ex Xana-warrior to realise his name was called. He didn’t realise he was actually in the hat, part of the gang.
Odd: Will? Do you plan on talking today? Cause if not I’m gonna get some snacks.
William: What?! Oh yeah it’s my turn… Ok well my dad and I are kind of Christmas freaks so all December we decorate the entire house. We would start sooner, but my mom doesn’t allow anything Christmassy until December 1st so… Anyway on the 24th we get my dad’s family here in France and it is a big super fun party until the Christmas mass. They go but I don’t because I’m atheist and I find it disrespectful to go to places of worship when you don’t believe their meaning.
Ulrich: So they leave you alone at home?
William: I’m not a kid I can take care of myself for a couple of hours! I just watch "Christmas Vacation" while finishing the party snacks. And on the 25th we go to my mom’s family in Quebec. Thanks to the time difference (Quebec is 6 hours late from France) we can get some sleep before going and still spend the entire Christmas day with them. Or the entire week since we stay for New Year which is really fun at their place and we all watch "Le Bye-Bye", a show where some popular local actors make comic sketches about what happens during the year. It is fun and my grand-mother explains every joke cause since we live in France, she thinks we don’t know anything about what happens in the rest of the world. It is useful sometime though… especially when they refer to Quebec TV shows so we let her do it. And that’s pretty much it so…
Jeremy: Cool… I didn’t know your mom was from Quebec.
William: Yeah they met during one of my dad’s business trips. I was even born and grew up there! I was 6 when we moved to France for my dad’s job. I never told you that?
All: Nope.
William: Ok, well now I just did.
Jeremy: Very interesting! Ok now there is only two left!
Yumi: The cute chubby couple! Screamed the manga fan, making everyone look at her in shock because of how unusual this sort of enthusiasm was from her. What?! They are a cute chubby couple. She adds pointing at Jeremy and Aelita.
Jeremy: Thanks! Ok so the first Chubby to talk about holiday traditions is……. Princess!
Aelita: Did you really write princess? She check out the paper to see that yes, he did.
Jeremy: And I wrote Einstein for mine he says while taking the last piece of paper to prove it. Though it was funny… It is funny right?
Odd: I give you my approval! But you lose points for not writing "Little Will”.
William looks at Odd angrily. What would it take for him to stop calling him that?
Odd: More than you could ever do in a life-time. Answered the trouble-maker as if he had read his mind.
William gets a little scared by it and manages to avoid eye contact with him for the rest of the meeting.
Aelita: I don’t remember. I was 6 when the men in black kidnapped my mom and after that Hopper didn’t celebrate any special days. He focused on Lyoko and his work as a teacher.
The room’s energy suddenly drops real deep down into sadness and compassion. Jeremy takes his princess into his arms and Aelita hugs him back for several long seconds before she gently pushes him back and wipes her little silent tears with her hands.
Jeremy: You know what? I’m sure you’ll find a way to make your own traditions and maybe this year I could share mine with you if you want.
Aelita: I’d love that! What are they?
Jeremy: I’m Jewish so I celebrate Hanukkah!
Ulrich: The thing with the candles?
Jeremy: It is more complicated than just "the thing with the candles" but yes. And since I’m the only one who hasn’t spoken yet I’ll be glad to explain it. A long time ago, a Seleucid king of Syria took control over the kingdom of Judea. He let the Jews do their own things but when his son took his place, wanting to unify his kingdom, he made it illegal to practice Judaism and to study the Torah. He wanted everyone to worship the Greek gods. Now many went along with it. But when the king invaded Jerusalem, a group of rebels called the Maccabees fought them for 3 years and once they pushed the invaders out, they had to rededicate the temple. To do so they needed to light the Menorah. Now they only had oil to light it for a day but it miraculously lasted eight days and eight nights. We call it "the miracle of the cruse of oil". And to commemorate this miracle and the victory associated with it, each year for Hanukkah we light the eight candles of the Menorah. One more each night during the eight nights of Hanukkah.
Aelita: What a nice story! I can’t wait to see the candle-lighting myself!
Jeremy: If you like how I tell the story you should hear when Jim does it! He is a good story teller despite what his "I’d rather not talk about it" anecdote suggests.
Ulrich: You mean Jim is Jewish too?
Jeremy: Yes! And so are some of the other boarding students. You see, Hanukkah isn’t exactly on the same date every year. Most of the time it happens before the holiday break. That means some boarders like me can’t be there for the menorah lighting with their family. And as real Menorahs (meaning not electric ones) are not allowed in the rooms for safety reasons, Jim does the lighting and the blessings each night in one of the classrooms so the students who want to attend can be there. And we can stay for the time that it burns which means half an hour or an hour and half. Non-Jews are allowed too if they stay respectful.
Odd: Cool! What time is it this year? I wanna see that! Promise I’ll behave I know this is serious.
Jeremy: You better! This year in 2006 Hanukkah starts the night of December 15th and finishes on December 23rd. But now it’s secret Santa time! I’ll put the names back in the hat and everyone pick the name of the person they’re gonna buy a gift for. Once you’re done, give it to Millie and Tamiya. They will give them to me once they’ve received them all and I’ll give you your gifts before we leave for the break. We all open them on December 25th at midnight on our own and not before then all right? We’ll talk about it when the break is over.
Jeremy puts the names back in the hat and shakes it to mix them randomly. After that, he passes the hat around the gang so everyone can pick a name. Odd was the last one and after reading the name he lets out a big sigh.
Odd: Oh damn I picked mine!
Everyone sighs heavily and puts their paper back except for William who instead says:
William: No you didn’t!
Odd: (With the greatest smile he’s ever had) Oh right I picked princess… guess that means you picked me!
Odd’s smile changes into a laugh when he sees William’s face as he realises he fell into Odd’s trap to find out who picked his name. Ulrich joins him while the others just look annoyed by his joke.
Jeremy: Seriously Odd! Now we’ve got to do it over because of your stupid joke! Ok all the papers are in? Good now Odd you pick first this time!
And everyone picks their recipient and goes back to their normal lives waiting for the big day.
Bonus: Who picks who and what was their gift?
Jeremy picks Aelita and gives her a necklace so he can finally say he is the giver without lying.
Aelita picks Jeremy and gives him Lyoko stats that she made herself since the supercomputer didn’t.
Yumi picks Odd and gives him a picture of the Lyoko gang so he remembers he still has a good family despite his blood-sucking one.
Odd picks Ulrich and gives him the “Pacific Rim” DVD cause it makes him think of Ulrich and Yumi.
William picks Yumi and gives her an antique looking glass so she never forgets how awesome she is.
Ulrich picks William and gives him an elf suit and he went to his house with a Santa suit and they had a merry XXX-mas.
Hope you enjoy it! Give me your comments! On my Tumblr (@nemesisadraste or @aidosshadow).
What are your favorite character interactions in CL, and were there any particular relationships that you wished were fleshed out more? :O
so we need a gazillion times more of: yumi and aelita; will and odd; jeremie and yumi; jeremie and ulrich. ulrich and aelita those are my fave 1-1 interactions that i wish we’d seen more of!!
ALSO i’d love to have seen more of nicolas, herve and sissi outside the context of trying to thwart the lyoko warriors? just them hanging out snarking at each other and despairing at nicholas’ weird cloud-cuckoolander statements.
