Maaaan Youma 2007 was my first con too. I miss the Dearborn Hyatt from the next couple of years so much. That was the best hotel.
The first thing I saw that Saturday was the gigantic army of Ls at the deathnote photoshoot outside of the hotel. 14 yr old me was truly not prepared for that.
If you’re feeling truly nostalgic Midwest Media Expo is held at what used to be the Dearborn Hyatt and not much has changed in there either
Just like high school, I waited until the last minute to start my zecretsanta, but it’s going to be a multichapter fic–so please look forward to a gift that keeps on giving! For striginesensiblity on tumblr <3
AO3 link
“T-this is rid-diculous!” Hazuki Kawashibara, also known as Lotus, stammered her complaint through chattering teeth. She glared around the large, mostly empty warehouse, hearing the wind whistle through its high ceilings. “Honestly, couldn’t you have picked a be-better place to meet up?”
“Sorry, Lotus!” Junpei held up his hands apologetically. She hid a small smile at the use of her old nickname—only one other person had called her that recently, and it was nice to hear it from someone else. “You see, we’re kind of… “
“It’s my fault,” Akane said, stepping out of the shadows. She handed Junpei a can of warm coffee, and offered one to Lotus, which the older woman accepted gratefully. “I was hoping we could meet inside, but… this place is better, in the long run.” She pushed her hands together in a small, shy bow of apology.
Lotus understood without needing further explanation. She wasn’t really sure how exactly Akane’s mind worked, but from the last few month’s interactions, she had realized that it was extremely similar to her own daughters.’ Akane was supposedly even more powerful of an Esper than the twins, so it was probably pointless to argue.
Lotus’ mouth twisted in irritation. She was really not fond of Akane—after all, she’d put her through a nightmare!–but she couldn’t exactly hold onto the grudge now that she fully understood her reasons. It took a lot for her to admit it, but there was much more at stake than her own pride.
She clicked open her coffee, burning her tongue slightly on the first sip and making a face. She wrapped both hands around it, hoping they would warm up. Early February had been brutal, weather-wise, and she had forgotten her gloves. She hoped that she could finish this business quickly and get back to her kotatsu and laptop. “So, what is it that you needed to meet in person for?”
Junpei’s arm reached behind his neck, and he smiled awkwardly. “Well, it’s uh… “
Akane elbowed him with a frown, and turned back to Lotus. “We should really wait until our other guest gets here to explain, don’t you think?”
“Other–?” Lotus began, but was interrupted by heavy footsteps behind her. She spun around, nearly dropping her coffee. “YOU!”
“You gotta be kiddin’ me, Junpei. You know that witch is the last person I wanna see!”
The large mass of her ex-boyfriend lumbered into view, shaking his head the entire time. He was wearing a heavy brown coat and a thick knit cap pulled down over his ears. Seven.
She refused to acknowledge her heart beating faster under her stylish wool coat. The last time the two had spoken, it had been their biggest fight yet—she’d been surprised no fists had been thrown, although the verbal blows had hurt just as much.
After several of their friends had been kidnapped and threatened in various ways—Clover, by a trap set by a cult in her very first mission, and Junpei and Akane in a particularly awful Nonary-esque game—the stress level of the pair had gotten severely high. It finally boiled over when Seven demanded that Lotus stop hacking for SOIS & Crashkeys. Lotus had quickly countered with an absolute insistence that Seven stop investigating a certain cult.
Things had degraded very, very quickly.
Lotus was fiercely independent, and Seven was just as stubborn. Neither would budge an inch from their positions, making a demand of the other they refused to comply to themselves. Ironically, their last words to each other had been spoken at the same time. ”I can take care of myself!”–before she had slammed her apartment door on him.
It had been nearly a month since they’d last been together, but it was clear the anger was still burning fiercely in each of them.
“Hmph, I’m surprised this idiot hasn’t gotten himself killed yet.” Her fingers tightened around the can, denting it. “Akane Kurashiki, you had best have an explanation for this!”
Junpei and Akane had shifted slightly closer to each other and exchanged a nervous look under the pair’s wrath. “Y-you see–” Junpei began, but Akane interrupted him, her face taking on a serious expression.
“There’s no one else who can do this for us right now. This is very important Crashkeys business.”
“I swore I wouldn’t speak to him again even if the world was about to end,” Lotus declared, stomping one boots (with stiletto heels, of course)-clad foot. “I’m not about to break that vow!”
“What d'ya expect me to do with a stubborn old lady like that?” Seven demanded, crossing his massive arms. “Ya can’t even reason with her!”
“I know, I wouldn’t ask you if there was anyone else,” Akane said soothingly. “But you both have very unique skills, and I know this will be something that you’ll agree to.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” Lotus said, crossing her arms and looking pointedly away from Seven. “What is it?”
“Let me show you!” Akane reached into her coat’s pockets and pulled out two pamphlets. She handed one to Junpei, who offered it to Seven. Lotus took the other.
“What the heck is this? A cruise?” Seven held up the pamphlet pinched between his massive finger and thumb as if it were a piece of trash, giving it a small shake.
“Explain yourselves,” Lotus added, skimming over the contents as she spoke. It was, indeed, a pamphlet for a cruise in the heart of the Caribbean. The bright sun and blue water pictured made her heart ache a moment, and she shivered again.
“You’ve won our grand prize–We’re sending you on a cruise!” Junpei declared with a large grin, holding his arms out in a ‘tada’ motion. No one smiled. His smile faded. “Uh… I mean, there’s…”
“We’ve gotten intel that someone from Cradle is planning another Nonary Game,” Akane stated calmly, ignoring Junpei’s antics. “Our source found that they were planning on purchasing this exact boat—the Queen Pompador, and that they would be making the confirmations for the sale and starting the planning on its final cruise—which starts in two days and will last for a week.”
“Who would dare–” Lotus began at the same moment Seven firmly stated “We gotta stop ‘em.”
“That’s where you two come in!” Junpei said, his grin back. “Seven, you know how to investigate people in, uh, person, and Lotus, no one is better at hacking than you.”
“I don’t see how hacking is going to be needed here,” Lotus said, putting the pamphlet under her arm and tapping her foot impatiently. “It’s a boat. While many have wireless communications, this company in particular prides itself on being almost entirely internet-free.” She shuddered internally to think of an entire week without any access to the web. Apparently, that was considered luxury to some. She frowned as she made the connection. “I suppose that’s why you need me to go in person.”
“The source says the plans are being made in person, and stored on a laptop that hasn’t had any internet connection, ever. As a matter of fact, the hardware itself is missing in its design. But it still is protected under several layers of encryption. So it’s impossible for us to get the evidence we need through standard hacking—it’ll have to be done by accessing the computer directly.” Akane’s face had hardened, as if she was reliving her own Nonary experience. “We need that information so we can stop them before anyone is hurt.”
“If it has any USB connections, that would be easy enough to fix,” Lotus said, intrigued in spite of herself. “I have adapters for older models that will bring it online. It wouldn’t be difficult to copy the entire contents and email them to you if I can access the ship’s satellite servers…”
She trailed off as she thought about the various ways she could accomplish this mission. Although she wasn’t ready to admit it, she had already agreed to do it in her mind. Akane had been clever to hand her a photo pamphlet. The bright blue water—and the idea of actually being warm again– was irresistibly calling to her.
“So basically, you want me to get on this boat, and get that laptop to her so she can do her thing, right?” Seven was frowning. “You can’t hire some other goon to play bodyguard?”
“Seeeeveen, my man,” Junpei casually punched Seven’s arm, wincing slightly as it didn’t give. “C'mon, you know you’re the only big goon we can trust with a delicate lady like Lotus, right?”
“It’s true,” Akane said, her eyes wide and innocent. She placed her hands over hear heart earnestly. “Please, Seven, won’t you help me?”
Seven closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it.” He shook his head. “But I ain’t gonna like it.”
“I’m happy to help,” Lotus said, smiling in a sickly sweet manner. She added, under her breath, “I’m certain it won’t be hard to avoid such a large mass, even if it is on a boat.”
Seven snorted, clearly having heard her snark. “Given all t'other old ladies on cruises, hope I don’t mix her up with someone else.”
Lotus ground her teeth, refusing look at him or to rise to the bait.
“Awesome!” Junpei pumped his fist in the air. Akane smiled.
“I’m so happy you agreed! Anyways, here are your tickets, and your fake ID’s!” She pulled more papers from her winter coat’s deep pockets. “Hello, Sev Sevenson and Lola Lotus!”
“What kind of utterly ridiculous fake names are those?” Lotus demanded, shuffling through the paperwork. The passport was impeccable, and they’d gotten a very good photo of her, but the name seemed completely out of place.
“Lotus, you wound me. I spent a long time thinking those up,” Junpei said, placing a hand over his heart. Akane tugged at his sleeve.
“Oh, dear, look at the time!” she exclaimed, pointing to his watch. She turned back to Seven & Lotus. “Well, I’m afraid we must be going now! Bye! Enjoy your cruise!”
“Yup, see ya later!” Junpei waved as Akane hurried him out of the warehouse.
Lotus’ eyes narrowed. Why the sudden rush? She turned back to the papers they’d left her with. Plane tickets, first class—well, it was certainly nice that they weren’t cheap, and a cabin ticket for the Honeymoon sui—HONEYMOON SUITE?
“GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!” Lotus took off, her stilettos clacking as she ran towards the warehouse door the couple had left from.
Seven finally caught what she’d seen, and was only a few steps behind her. “JUNPEI, I’M GONNA–”
They heard a car door slam and speed off just as they reached the entrance. Lotus had to hand it to Akane, she was very good at planning ahead. She wondered briefly if the driver had been Aoi or Clover.
“Goddamnit!” Seven kicked a large, empty can after the retreating car, his face red. “We’ve been set up!”
“This—is—ridicul–ous!” Lotus was panting painfully. The cold air felt sharp in her lungs. “I can’t believe the n-nerve of those two!”
Seven let out a deep sigh. “You think any of it was true? Or you think they’re tryin to play some kinda love game?”
“I sincerely doubt Akane would lie about something like this just for her own amusement,” Lotus replied, shivering. “Don’t you think she has better things to do than worry about your love life?”
“My—listen, I’ve had plenty a dates lately! One of them even showed up.” Seven said proudly, then winced as he realized his self-burn. He changed tactics quickly. “She probably feels bad since ya ain’t getting any younger.”
“I’m hardly desperate,” Lotus replied dryly. “I haven’t dated at all because I don’t need to be in a relationship to feel fulfilled.”
She glanced at the papers tightly gripped in her hand. The blue skies shining over the white sand caught her eye, and she imagined the warm sun on her bare skin. No matter what kind of games Akane was playing, her mind was made up.
“Regardless, I’m not going to let a free trip pass me by.” She gave him a savage grin. “Now, if you’d kindly give me your—”
“Not a chance! Ya think I’m gonna pass on this either? No way. I’ve had it with this winter.” Seven stomped his feet in place, trying to regain his circulation. “I’m ready to be warm again!”
Lotus rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. I’ll see about changing the reservation to singles cabins. We probably can’t change the plane tickets at this point, so try to remember to shower first, ok?”
“Yeah, and you better bring some extra blankets. I don’t want your bony ass snugglin’ against me mid-flight cause ya got cold!”
“You wish—there’s no chance!” Lotus stuck her nose up in the air. “I’m going home. I suppose I’ll see you on the flight tomorrow.” She began to walk away, trying not to shiver.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.” She heard Seven stomping off in the other direction.
Lotus paused, then quickly glanced over her shoulder. It wasn’t like she’d missed him or anything, but–
Her face flushed as she saw Seven doing the exact same thing—glancing back at her–from several yards away.
She whipped her head around and hurried off to where she’d parked her car, rubbing her arms for warmth. Even if it was with her ex, there was no way she wasn’t going to welcome some of that sweet Mediterranean sun. She had a lot of packing to do…
Any recs for Beauty and the Beast themed AUs per chance?
We definitely recommend this drabble by @fabulousanima. There are others that are Beauty and the Beast-esque, but not precisely. If you want those, let us know!
Aaah I hope I see you in Husky! He's been on my list for *years* and I unfortunately keep bumping him from my WIPs for other higher-priority projects. So happy that there are still other people who appreciate the gem that is +Anima! ;3;
Same here! But with Colossalcon being an aquatic con I was like ‘No, it is now’ Though being able to wear him is largely due to having the wonderful promise of support from my Senri/friend/handler CannyPucaCosplay since that is a costume I have to have a handler in order to wear it. I hope we see you as well! We’ll be doing +Anima on Saturday all day at least on my part! (CPC may change out of Senri depending on how her con goes!)
What’s double fun though is after posting that I was wearing him to Colossal I have a bunch of friends I never knew loved the manga pop out and want to cosplay it with me in the future! So us +Anima fans are out there, just quiet about our love!
HELLO FRIEND. SOMETIMES I GO THROUGH POST TAGS, SO I'M HERE TO TELL YOU HELLO FROM THE KYOUSOGIGA FANDOM. I know all of like 1 other person lmao.
i got my friend into it but i know of like maybe ten other people who bother posting in the tag at most even though its so good. its such a shame that it went ignored
HEY IF YOURE READING THIS AND YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO FOR SEVERAL HOURS WATCH KYOUSOUGIGA
