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sillyfanatic · 11 months ago

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Snowstorms and card games

Merry christmas and happy holidays! Here's my little festive present to all of you! (Because what's more festive than gay hedgehogs and snow <333) Click here to read it on ao3 :D

CW for detailed mentions of food!

p.s: Thank you to everyone who responded to my post about Shadow's teleportation, it helped a lot with this fic!!

(wc; 4142)

The whistle of the wind and the rattling of the window had pulled them out of their conversation. Sonic stood then, walking to tug the curtains to the side, wanting to discover what lay on the other side. It was late now, and yet there was a brightness to the evening, heavy snowfall batting against the window with force.

Shadow didn’t mean to be here this long, there was barely a snowflake in the air when he’d first come here, and now… well, now, it looked like a blizzard was brewing on the other side of the wall.

“Oh, shit, how long have we been talking?” Sonic shook his head and pushed the curtain back, as if hiding the outdoors would change the weather. A quick glance at his watch indicated 10:43PM. “Hm.” A quiet disappointed huff, perhaps the start of a realization.

They both knew Shadow lived far. While Sonic had opted for a home in the countryside, the agent’s career required him to live in the heart of the city. They also knew that his bike, which had been conveniently parked by the front steps, was now stuck underneath a thick blanket of snow.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stay this long.” It’s all Shadow could muster as the situation fell upon them: an apology for something that was outside of his control.

“It’s fine.” Sonic reassured, as he always did, but his eyes betrayed him. There was a glimmer of unease in them, a worry in the way his brows furrowed pointedly. Was his presence really that bothersome? Did the thought of them being stuck together annoy him?

He was already worrying, reading into things.

The agent felt a familiar heaviness in the air, the awkward silence he and Sonic often struggled to fill. Except when they were talking about work, which they had been, for… three hours, it seemed.

Why had he let himself get carried away?

“I should go.” He stood then, but moved no further, standing still as he eyed the other.

“Are you insane?” Was the immediate reply on Sonic’s behalf. The blue hedgehog drew the curtain back again, a dramatic show of their current situation. “Shadow, your bike’s at least six feet under by now.”

The thought of his beloved motorcycle being left to rust out there was almost enough to make him wince.

But it’s not what he’d meant. There was a better, easier, way to get out of here.

“No, idiot, I’m just going to-“ he started, feeling himself becoming more and more irritable. The situation wasn’t great, he wasn’t happy to know he’d wasted three hours here, that his bike would need some repair after this, and Sonic’s oddly placed nerves didn’t help either.

Frustrated, he reached into his quills seeking out…

It wasn’t there.

“Were you about to say that you’re gonna chaos control?” Sonic’s arms were crossed now, and there was a smug smile on his face. It wasn’t helping Shadow’s souring mood, not by a landslide.

“Fuck you.” He spat out, surely an aggressive reflex born from his past, not by the person he was trying to be.

“Fuck me? You’re the one who came here asking about a chaos emerald in the first place!” He pointed out, very annoyingly.

“Let me think.” Shadow mumbled, pacing around the room as a heavy silence settled between them once more.

There had to be something he could do, some way he could get out of this house. He’d just come here about the emeralds, and yes, although the three hours they’d spent discussing them wasn’t entirely unpleasant, it did not mean he wished to elongate his stay.

But every answer seemed to fall short. His bike was not usable, and even if it was, the roads were probably undistinguishable. So, vehicles were a no, and sonic didn’t own a plane (tails did, but he stored his plane in his garage, which seemed inconvenient now.)

And he couldn’t teleport out of here because he lacked a chaos emerald.

“Your pacing is stressing me out.” Sonic was still standing by the window, leaning against it now. He looked so nonchalant, how the fuck did he seem so calm now? Had he accepted the situation that easily? Was change, unexpectedness, not frightening? It certainly froze up Shadow.

“Helps me think.” He slowed down, still, feeling himself get a bit too worked up.

“Think about what? There’s no way out of here dude, you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

“I could walk?” He knew it wasn’t an option, he’d even spoken it as though it was a question, not a suggestion.

“Sure, that would be a super cool way to die.” His voice was thick with sarcasm. “‘Tried to take a walk in a blizzard’ is what I’ll have them write on your gravestone.” Sonic chuckled at his own joke, making the other stop his pacing entirely just to glare at him.

“Aren’t you trying to think of anything? You certainly don’t want me here all night, do you?”

“Mm, wouldn’t be the worse company I’ve ever had.” The hero shrugged his shoulders, ignoring half of the questions asked to him.

Fuck. This was going to be a long night.

The way the windows rattled against the storm was concerning to say the least. A couple of hours later and the house had not yet fallen, despite the cracks and the creaks occasionally heard throughout the home.

It wasn’t the worst place he could be stuck in. This wasn’t G.U.N headquarters, or knuckle’s house (that, he’d risk a walk in the snow to escape.)

In fact, it was kind of cozy. He’d only ever seen the kitchen / dining / living room area, but Shadow felt fond of the decor here, the messy mish mash of vintage 80s furniture and sentimental items that did little to match the ongoing “theme”.

It was comfortable, not too gaudy, and it didn’t appear to follow any set rule or rhythm. Kind of like Sonic.

Sonic, who had been noisily rummaging in the kitchen for the past few minutes as Shadow lay on his back on the couch, begging the minutes to go by faster. The agent had run through every possible escape plan, most of which landed him in the hospital. He was resilient, sure, but he wasn’t stupid; no mobian could face such low temperatures and harsh weather conditions with barely any protection. So, he’d reluctantly concluded that he’d have to stay here for a while, until a solution came up, or until the storm vanished. Both of which felt like they were years away.

The noise Sonic made was bothersome, yes, but not nearly interesting enough to warrant his attention. And so, Shadow ignored it.

That was, until a smell started to tickle his nose: something warm and spiced, a savoury aroma filling the air around them.

It managed to make him move. Propping his elbow underneath him, Shadow threw a peek into the kitchen. As expected, there Sonic was, fussing over a large pot, the metallic edges surrounded by vapor. There were cutting boards and utensils strewn across the area, ingredients and their unusable portions littering the counters.

It was intriguing, he supposed. Or at least, it was something to do, something to watch.

And so, Shadow pushed himself up, heading towards the small kitchen to bother the other hedgehog.

Sonic barely glanced at him as he made a trip to the fridge, taking out some carrots to cut and peel.

“It’s stew, nothing fancy.” He spoke as he chopped, the crisp sound of cutting carrots repeating itself gently.

“Mm.” Shadow huffed, but his curiosity was peeked. Looking into the pot he could observe a rich broth, laden with vegetables and some sort of meat, a labour of care. And although he couldn’t see them, there were spices, a nice mix of seasonings that almost made his mouth water.

Sonic slid the carrots into the mix, snapping the agent out of his daze. “It’ll be ready when the carrots get softer, maybe fifteen minutes, I’d say?” He stirred the mixture slowly, the broth changing colours and shimmering as he did so.

“Where did you learn to cook like that?” It was the closest thing to a compliment.

Sonic put the ladle aside, shaking his shoulders.

“Don’t know. I’ve always loved cooking. I think I wanted to be a chef when I was young.” There was a small huff, something akin to laughter on his lips. There was some humour in a retrospective like that, to think of what you dreamt, knowing what had become of you after all those years. “I guess I also learnt for survival, yaknow? Cooking basic things with what I had, making sure tails and I were always fed.”

It was hard to imagine Sonic as anything else than what he was now. A chef? The idea seemed ridiculous. Perhaps in another lifetime, in a different universe somewhere, Sonic the hedgehog was known as a chef.

It made Shadow wonder; did he have dreams and aspirations too, an ideal career he never fulfilled? If there was, he struggled to remember it now.

“Plus, I just wanted to cook the last of what was in the fridge, in case we lose power.” He noted, moving to stir the mixture once again.

It made sense, it was smart. Shadow kept these remarks to himself, opting to stay quiet instead.

When the food was eaten and stored away, they faced boredom once more.

Shadow found himself on the couch again, laying on his stomach this time, hoping to fall asleep out of annoyance.

Sonic was somewhere around him, fidgeting or fussing with a Rubik’s cube from a nearby shelf.

As bored as he may be, the agent would not fall asleep. He barely slept in his own bed, for Chaos’ sake, it would be impossible to pass out here, on a coworker’s couch.

Lifting his head, he turned his gaze to the other. Sonic had given up the Rubik’s cube and was now fighting with a rather pilled cushion, attempting to remove lint off its surface. If only his admirers were here to see him lose a battle with lint. The thought made Shadow huff.

“Rouge used to force me to play board games when we were snowed in.” He spoke, sharing a memory – there were few he cherished, and this one was a part of those few.

“Oh yeah?” It brought a slight smile to the hero’s face, distracting him from his never-ending battle with the old pillow. “Seems on-brand for you two.”

“Mm. It was nice.” He cracked a small smile too, feeling the other’s joy affect him. He added; “if you tell her I said that, I’ll kill you.” His tone wasn’t serious enough, the premise of the threat too ridiculous to be taken seriously.

Sonic burst into laughter then, eyes crinkling with joy as he tilted his head backwards. It was contagious, endearing in a way the dark hedgehog could not describe. When his laughter faded, he replied; “I think I’ll have to risk it, it would be fucking hilarious to let her know you actually enjoy her company.”

“It would be cruel.” Shadow couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried.

“’The perfect prank’, is what I think we should call it.” Shadow rolled his eyes at this, but he could not feel any annoyance at the words. “Alas, I’m not as smart as Rouge, I don’t have any board games.” Sonic sighed dramatically, swinging his feet in boredom.

“It’s fine.” Shadow replied nonchalantly, though he’d hoped there was something for them to do.

Sonic didn’t reply, gaze fading somewhere out into the distance. He bit his lip as if in thought, and Shadow could not find it in himself to look away. It was more entertaining than keeping his eyes closed, that’s for sure. Sonic’s legs went still then, his eyebrows furrowing. “Wait, hold on.” He snapped out of his thoughts, standing rapidly. “I think I have something.”

“A secret copy of monopoly? We both know you’d go bankrupt immediately.”

Shaking his head, Sonic extended a hand forward, urging the other to stand with him. The agent found himself just interested enough to take the offer, placing his hand in the other’s, letting himself be guided to another part of the small home.

Sonic’s room was surprisingly nice.

Shadow was sat on a fluffy white rug as Sonic shuffled through some drawers for something.

The bed was not made, the green sheets tossed about in an endearing way. The furniture was of a nice white oak, a matching set that felt unlike Sonic – it was a touch too coordinated to feel quite like his doing.

The walls were covered in pictures, cards, tickets, memories of all kinds taped to the white surface. There were bookshelves laden with books and trinkets, an old television with even older video game consoles surrounding it, their yellowed controllers strewn about.

Like the rest of the home, it was disorganized yet personalized, an insight into Sonic, one Shadow could not dislike.

“There it is!” He beamed triumphantly, hurrying to sit down in front of the black hedgehog. In his hands was a relatively small cardboard box, a rectangular one.

“It’s the only board game I have.” He explained as he took off the top, revealing a set of nicely stacked cards. There must’ve been about 50, all a nice red colour with white text peeking out. “Amy gave it to me a few years ago, never had the chance to use it.”

Shadow picked a card from the pack, reading the text printed on its surface “Your favourite vacation spot.” he mumbled under his breath, brows furrowing in confusion.

“Yeah, it’s like a ‘get to know the other person’ kind of game, I think.” The hero spoke as he handled a small instructions packet, flipping through its glossy pages at a worrying speed.

“I see.” He turned the card around in his hand – the other side was simply decorated by a white heart in its center. He felt himself grow warm, his cheeks surely becoming pink - it was hopefully concealed within the low light of the room.

“We don’t have to play if you don’t want to, I just thought it would be nice.” The black hedgehog lifted his gaze to look at the other; Sonic had a warm smile lining his lips, his features speaking of ease and nonchalance, a casualness Shadow envied in this moment.

“Don’t be ridiculous, we’ll play.” He wasn’t afraid of a few plastic cards, surely. Fidgeting with the one in his hand, he eyed the other. “But it’d help if we had… incentive.”

“Hm?” The blue hedgehog began, lifting his gaze from the booklet he seemingly barely read. It soon dawned on him what his friend had meant, and by the way this evening was headed, he was sure it wouldn’t hurt to indulge, just for once. It wasn’t like they could leave the house anyways, so being in a proper state of being was really unnecessary, if you thought about it. “Mmm, gotcha.” He nodded. “I don’t have much, I don’t know what you like, but I hope some cheap wine from a few years ago will do.” He smiled in a way that he hoped was apologetic. Here he was, offering low-end alcohol to Shadow, who probably owned some of the finest bottles in town (though that would be more because of Rouge than because of him).

“It will do.” He replied, that familiar passiveness returning on his features.

“Good, because I think Amy gave it to me as well, and I need to drink it soon before she realizes I haven’t touched it.”

Without another word (he spoke too much, always) he left the room, fetching the bottle from the back of some cupboard, as well as the only two wine glasses he owned.

Returning, he settled the glasses on the wood floor, besides the carpet. The bottle was quickly opened, its contents carefully tossed into the two glasses.

Shadow took a sip, and to the other’s relief, he did not recoil. (The thought of it mortified Sonic). His lips curved into a slight smile as he remarked; “I think the most surprising thing about tonight is that you own proper wine glasses.”

“I’m full of surprises.” Sonic spoke as he sipped his drink, the odd bitter taste coating his throat. It wasn’t entirely repulsive; he’ll give it that much. And it was all they had, so it would do well.

The wine flowed more easily after a few sips. An unfamiliar warmth held him loosely, a fuzziness in his limbs that made the hero smile brighter, laugh easier.

He could see the wine starting to loosen the other, though Shadow’s tolerance surely outshined his own. Still, the agent seemed calmer than he had all night, his usually unpleasant demeanor switching towards something more easy, friendly.

Sonic would be lying if he said he didn’t want to see more of that person, a peek behind the curtain of a closed off hedgehog.

“Right, I have ‘favourite colour’.” Shadow huffed at the card, rolling his eyes.

“What’s so bad about that?” Sonic pouted, eager to know the other’s favourite colour. Small as it may be, it intrigued him to peer into his friend’s mind.

“Please, I’m sure you know my favourite colour.” He shook his head as if this was an obvious thing – nothing about him had ever been ‘obvious’, not even his favourite colour.

“Couldn’t tell you if it would save my life.”

“Really?” The agent tilted his head to the side as his gaze poured into Sonic’s, making the hero take a larger sip of his wine than intended.

“Mhm.” He nodded as he tried not to choke on the wine. “You’re pretty secretive.” His fingers fidget with his glass, unable to stay still. “But you seem interesting. It’s why I thought this game would be nice.” He shrugged his shoulders at the confession, hoping the nonchalant motion undercut the hidden message and the oddly heavy emotion behind it.

I want to know you. I want to be your friend, and I want to spend time with you. I don’t know why.

“It’s green, I like green.” Shadow’s smile was soft, inviting.

“I like red.” Sonic blurted after, feeling the alcohol’s effect on his tongue, loosening his thoughts and easily spilling his words.

“Good choice.” The dark hedgehog practically purred, finishing the last swig of his glass. It was hastily topped off.

Sonic ran his fingers over the deck, choosing a card from the middle, or where he thought the middle was.

Pulling out a card, he read its prompt out loud; “Name the most attractive feature about your partner”. As soon as the words were spoken, Sonic felt himself flush red, embarrassment mixing with the alcohol to form a soft panic in his head. “Chaos, sorry, I didn’t know this kind of question would be in there”.

“I mean, a red deck of cards, decorated with white hearts?” Shadow remarked, seemingly unbothered. Pointing out the obvious only deepened Sonic’s embarrassment, the hedgehog finding solace in sipping wine – it was the only thing hiding his face. “Most importantly, I think the fact that Amy got this for you is enough to categorize it as something rather ‘romantic’.”

Shadow’s voice was like velvet in his ears.

The hero had defeated gods, and yet this felt like his death, more than any other wound he’d received.

The tips of his ears burnt, stomach twisting in his flustered state. “Ha, yeah, she’s got a bit of a thing for me, doesn’t she?” he hoped it deflected from their current situation.

“You’d be a fool not to notice it.” He spoke, swirling around the red liquid in his now half-empty glass. “I can’t blame her, you know, you have a really charming smile.”

The compliment was like a brick to the face, it was sudden, unexpected – if Sonic had been drinking, he would’ve surely spat it all out.

A compliment was one thing, yes, but a compliment from Shadow, of all people? He didn’t think it possible.

“Thank you.” He mumbled as he downed the rest of his bitter drink, hoping the last few swigs would offer him the courage to flirt back, to say something. “For what it’s worth, you have a really nice smile too. I don’t think I’ve had the chance to see it, like, properly.” He was speaking a bit too fast, words slurring ever-so-slightly. “Yaknow, till today.” He placed his glass down. “So, yeah… thanks for that.”

It was messy, embarrassing, unlike him, and yet, Shadow did not flea (it wasn’t as though he could). Instead, he started laughing. A warm and rich sound, a pure one – if Sonic wasn’t there to witness it, he’d deny its existence. But, no, it was really happening. Shadow was throwing his head back in laughter, mirth tickling the air around him.

And the hero forgot what they’d just been discussing, unable to do anything but watch the scene unfolding before him.

It felt forbidden, private.

“So, I take it that’s my best feature then?” He spoke when his laughter died down, an uncharacteristic grin plastered on his face. His teeth were sharper than Sonic’s, and he had fangs, sticking out ever-so-slightly. It was almost as intoxicating as the wine.

“One hundred percent.” Sonic affirmed, feeling a mix of giddiness and carelessness brought by the blending of wine and pleasantries (some could say he was even developing a crush here; if asked, he’d deny it).

“Thank you.” It was sincere.

“And you’d say my best feature iiiissss?” He held his hand out to Shadow, silently urging him to finish the sentence.

“Well, you’ve already given me smile, I suppose it’d be cheap for me to say the same.” He took a big sip – there wasn’t much wine left. “I guess I’d have to say… your eyes.”

“My eyes?” He tilted his head in question.

“They are my favourite colour after all.” He noted, calling back to their earlier conversation.

And if Sonic hadn’t been blushing before, he certainly was now. With no wine glass to hide his embarrassment, he pretended to look elsewhere, feeling that newly familiar burn tickle every inch of his body.

There was silence for a few moments, but for the first time, it did not feel awkward. It was still heavy, yes, but it was somehow comfortable, and perhaps it could even be described as pleasant?

The next thing Sonic felt was a hand upon his chin, pulling him back towards the other. He felt his ears pinning back, unable to hide his flushed state any longer.

Shadow held his chin firmly in between his gloved fingers, gently coercing him to gaze at him, and only him.

The air was hot, their heavy breaths stained with the cheap alcohol they’d hastily consumed.

Before they knew it, they’d leaned into each other – stained lips pressed gently to one another, in a softness that spoke of firsts.

Sonic had felt fear, excitement, elation, and yet, none of those emotions had elevated his heartbeat this much. He’d run faster than the wind, and still, his heart did not pump so fast.

In this moment, however, the hero could feel it thrum inside its cage harder than ever before, his blood rushing everywhere, to anywhere except is head.

Shadow’s grip was unwavering as he led them down a path of no return, deepening their kiss into something more sinful.

Sonic had barely known the existence of Shadow’s fangs, and yet here they were, nipping at his skin, gently scratching him in a way that made his head spin.

It was sloppy, unpracticed, yet so so delightful – they felt no remorse indulging each other in something so sweet, something seemingly forbidden.

It was only when the air wore thin that they split apart, foreheads connected as they caught their fleeting breaths. Hearts beating out of their cages, they kept at it, losing themselves in their new-found passion, drinking the other in, sharing the same air again and again until they were too tired to do so.

Laying on the carpet, their head spun with the low-quality wine and their sudden thirst for each other. As their eyelids began to feel heavier, they drifted towards a dreamless sleep, their hands interlaced, their shoulders touching.

The bottle of wine now sat empty; their dirtied glasses discarded along with the card game. It was a miracle they hadn’t stained the carpet.

And when morning came, when a white sun and a snow covered land greeted them, and a small headache clawed at the back of their heads, they could not find it in themselves to regret their actions.

A/N

>so happy i could get this fic out on time omg. as always, any interaction is appreciated, and i'd love to hear yer thoughts!! (think of it as a present for me <3)

>have a lovely end of your year, and an even better start of a new one!

#myr writes #my fics #my writing #sonadow #shadow #sonic #shadnic #shadow x sonic #sonic x shadow

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kushami-hime · 2 years ago

Audio

CW: Sneezy D/enki, rapid sneezes, one noseblow, hitching breaths, short (and failed) holdbacks, sparking/electricity noises, dust allergies, M/ina and K/iri are here too!

As the days count down to Christmas, M/ina asks K/irishima and K/aminari with help decorating her lavish tree! While K/aminari is more than happy to lend a hand, the dusty old boxes full of sentimental Christmas cheer may just put a damper on his more than excited mood.

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year fellow sinners! If you’re seeing this it means that either 1. Tumblr fixed my account so posts will go into my tags and be seen again, 2. It’s after christmas and this is late or 3. either one of the two, idk. I’m hoping this goes up to satisfy any holiday horni you’ve got going on (at least before the year is up, jesus fuck, Tumblr get your shit together)

Buuut I digress. These wavs were gonna be late regardless cause an incoming ice/flurry is gonna elongate my trip home cause I dont wanna be stuck in traffic and more than likely get hit by someone who doesnt know how to fuckin drive (that being said I ALSO cant drive for shit so I cant say much.) ANYway, happy holidays, and happy new year! <3

Minors DNI. Vanillas may look but can’t reblog! Thanks! <3

#kushami wavs #kushami snz #b/nha #m/ha #m/ina a/shido #e/ijirou k/irishima #k/irishima #d/enki k/aminari #d/enki wav #k/aminari #snzblr #snz kink #snz wav #Snzfucker Todoroki

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kalims · 2 years ago

Note

Yes, Christmas event :D! If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to request: (10, 4, 2) with Silver 💗 🗡️❄️

I love your work, I'm always excited when you post something new about the twst Boys 😊💘 I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year🎇🌠🌌

‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "merry christmas and happy new year to you too! thanks for the kind words :P"

prompts,

twisted holidays event

slow dancing — in the living room.

my wish.. — they overhear your wish about being together forever.

a home, but made out of pillows — in a particularly cold day. you get an idea to invite your lover into your so called fort of pillows, it's warm when you're in it, and even warmer when you're both pressed up against each other side by side.

character. silver

note. malleus is the best friend here fr.. also I literally had to put a divider because I was putting in spoilers for chapter 7.. 😭

slow dancing

for a gift malleus is sure is generous.

while you're sure that his present for you certainly didn't leave a dent in his fortune it was still a little surprising to find an elegantly carved vinyl just waiting for you to take care of.

if a vinyl wasn't enough he even included a set of photograph records for you to listen to, of which are usually classics. most of it fit the briar valley vibe, slow and elegant.

but it did get you in the mood.

you blink as a lovely tune echoes around your walls. it feels like ramshackle is a little less abandoned, excluding the fact that silver was sleeping soundly in your couch that you doubt was comfortable.

I knew I should've replaced it. you sigh, but in all honesty crowley should've funded you for renovation.

the music plays for a while, occasionally repeating a tune which you eventually caught on and started humming in sync yourself. you imagine your surroundings fading into a bright ballroom, how nice it must be to dance with this tune.

silver stirs from his sleep. the very tune that a figure he can't quite remember sang to him. the words are blurry but he can recognize the sound from anywhere.

through blurry eyesight he pins his gaze on someone dancing in front of him. the movements were a little clumsy, perhaps they were out of practice or a first timer. silver though, lilia made sure to teach him ballroom etiquette even if he probably wasn't gonna get exposed to that kind of atmosphere himself.

he can't see them clearly but he can tell that their character seems very warm.

you tilt your head. "silver? sorry. I must've awoken you." you apologize through a small whisper, probably keeping mind of staying quiet for his sake.

wow they know my name. silver thinks. he feels like he never really knew anyone from his dreams but this person is really familiar.

what a strange dream.

"it's alright. I'm more glad to be awake than asleep to be honest." silver sighs. "anyways.. I can't quite remember where I heard this from but it's familiar."

"really? I would've mistaken it as something played for a royal ball or something."

"well. actually it wasn't really meant for those but I think the late queen and king met through that one melody." silver explained, sitting up from his position and rubbing his eyes to remove the sleep. "then it just happened to honor their love."

prince philip and aurora's romance was a strange one. lilia had told him so, but it was almost like he was purposely leaving out details of their life to silver. he never pondered on it though, it's not like he's.. related to them..

an idea pops in your mind.

"you know how to dance silver?"

he shakes his head. "kind of. I've only ever watched people dance."

you smile and extend a hand.

contrary to expectations, silver is really good at dancing. he was a little stiff and unsure at first but he knows how usual dances like these go and he eases up the more the time passes.

you don't know if he was lying that he wasn't that good at dancing or it's like a natural instinct of him to just be good.

silver is slower than most dancers but his movements carry a twinge of elegance rather than sloppiness. for a man who looks stern on the outside he certainly has a way of handling you gently.

whenever you misstep or fall behind in general silver never comments on it. with practice you'll make perfect and it feels like he's trying to imply that he can dance with you whenever you want to get better at it.

oh well. most of the time he never really strayed his gaze, you're absolutely sure he just looked at you the whole time you guys were just swaying in the middle of the living room.

silver liked it cause it kept him awake and it felt oddly intimate.

ㅤ

my wish..

maybe he was face down on a surface. which made you think he was asleep, as in after everyone left you just look outside to the sky and clasp your hands together in a silent omen.

"whoever god is out there.. please let us stay together for eternity.. if not then a long time." you murmur silently and suddenly the sleep in silver is promptly kicked away.

he's definitely wide awake now but you probably didn't notice as you continue to silently stare outside. silver wishes nothing more to just turn to you and cuddle next to you out of joy but he supposes he deserves a moment to take it in.

god forbid if lilia ever found out about the thoughts he's having.. he knows the boys will be going on about wedding bells and frankly? silver isn't confident that he can protect you from everything else yet.

first he must!!! not fall asleep suddenly!!! what if danger comes and he just passes out?

all worries aside he's just spacing out staring into the wall he deemed very interesting in hopes of settling the warmth in his heart.

ㅤ

a home, but made out of pillows

silver usually doesn't like falling asleep at all but he can't help it.

it's almost like he's been cursed or something haha..

the sleep just stays in his bones till it succeeds to make him fall asleep, and only does he feel better when he does rest. it's like staying awake for a whole day and you're unable to resist the sleep when you're laying on a bed.

silver has grown to like sleeping whenever you're around cause the sleep is a 100% better. sometimes he falls asleep outside in the dead of the night after patrolling the dorm and he feels really cold afterwards. lilia finds him usually but he doesn't always.

but with you he always feel warm before and after he wakes up.

with winter practically hitting the school by storm it's much more colder, the only times to feel warm is when you're in front of a fireplace.

the odd thing in the fireplace in your dorm though? was the fact that there was a literal fort of pillows in it.. you even tied a blanket to make a makeshift roof, the rest? all comfortable pillows that anyone would feel like royalty laying in it.

you say something about 'if I ever become royalty my room is gonna look like this'

(well you might be one lmaooo)

I NEED TO STOP PUTTING THESE

silver merely dons a soft look when you invite him inside and he gratefully accepts. he's already feeling sleepy by the sight and he's not even laying down yet!

you pat down the spot next to you and silver doesn't object as he immediately falls down next to you.

he definitely didn't mean to just go down like that it's like his body is failing him 😿

"feeling sleepy?" you hum. wrapping your arms around whatever you can reach in silver.

the fort worked like a charm. it was incredibly warm. you can barely feel the cold and with silver's habit to slumber you totally understand his strange behavior.

silver, in a daze. nods silently. you can tell he's attempting to fight back the sleep with the eyelids that are blinking rapidly. "no.. yes..."

you chuckle. so cute!

"just sleep. that's why I made this you know. for you."

silver dreamt of you that night and he almost forgot that it was winter.

if you already didn't know he LOVES the fort! at some point got disappointed when you took it down but never spoke against you.

wishes to experienced that again.

clarification

in slow dancing I was originally gonna write the slow dancing scene in a scenario format, which I was gonna imply that silver thinks it's a dream. (actually there was already implications in the finished work that he thinks it's a dream but I changed my mind yet kept it there) therefore 'i know you, I met you once upon a dream' was gonna be a quote used once the initial drowsiness wears off him and he realizes he's dancing with you

^ idea stems from that new chapter 7 if ykyk

ngl I'm lowkey projecting the theories into this post HAHAHA

#ㅤ◜◡◝ . . twisted holidays !#twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland headcanons #silver #silver x reader #twst silver

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mitamicah · 11 months ago

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thank you so much for your gift aiwpjddkb when i saw it was you who was my secret lahjakääryleet i freaked out for a second before i even looked at it, simply because i was so happy that i got SO lucky to get such a great artist like you 🥹

and then, well, the drawing is just. crazy good. and it features all my favourite kcrew people. i’ve began loving häärijä even more during the calendar era, and lately i’ve also really turned into a jesse girly (especially because of the gift i made, it revolves around him and jere) so it was amazing to see him in there as well.

all in all, i love it and, as i said in my reblog of your post already, i love all the different versions as well, it feels like i got more than one gift 🤭 thank you so much for making this for me. happy holidays and merry christmas (if you celebrate <3)

Don't mind me being late to respond to this one :'D

It was my pleasure :D!!! Seeing your reaction to it made it even more of a joyful experience for me than it already was planing and drawing the boys being silly 🥹

Stoooop that's so precious tho :'D I don't think I've really experienced that sort of excitement from a santa before :'3 (except maybe when the host of the SS I participated in yesteryear knew they'd got me as their santa, whoops x'D) 💚❤️Mostly my santas are just happy to get a present (given that I've recently mostly been replacement santas because there was a time I myself would wait months to get my santa's present bc of unlucky draws in SS events - it at least happened thrice :'3) so I know the feeling of dissapointment having to wait that long :'D I think that is why I have been hesitant to enter SS events for everything but the replacement santa. (I've only been in one a friend hosted yesteryear and one for the fandom I was most active in at the time (Tales of Arcadia) hosted one in 2019 or 2020; I don't recall :'D). Yet after feeling this close with the kääryleet I knew without a doubt I wanted to participate because if nothing else I would love to spread the love to a community that has given me so much love and support these 7-8 months :'3 <333 And so no matter if I would end up being the unlucky sheep again with no gift (spoilers: I wasn't I got a lovely one from Eryka / @c28hunter - thank you so much again :'D <33 ) I would at leas thave made another kääryle happy. And that was enough for me :'3

Sorry for babbling on again x'D

Awwwn I am so glad to hear that and even more so that my choice of including Jesse is appreciated this much :'D (fun coincidence that I just landed within your jesse girly era :3)

Thank you as well for the gift of these lovely reaction messages and I hope you had a great christmas yourself (if you celebrate) and will have a lovely new year 💚❤️💚❤️

#flashing #(a bit of flashing lights)#all the love #💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️#replies #lahjakäärylet23

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 02/12/2023 a.k.a. a Deep Dive into '10 Hour Deep Relaxation'

Content warning: Christmas, some language, sex and politics

Welp, it’s officially Christmastime on the chart, and I really wanted an easy week in the first place. So thankfully they gave me one, no debuts in the top 75, “Lovin’ on Me” by Jack Harlow is still at #1, I’m going to do the rundown, two reviews for song suggestions and dip. Welcome to perhaps the least essential episode of REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Brenda Lee’s at #14, Mariah’s at #6 and for the first time this year, a Christmas song is in the top five: “Last Christmas” by Wham!. This means that I’m in the space every year when I can mess with the structure because there is no ordinary chart week from now on, and I’m kind of glad because things tend to get busy this time of year anyway. Our top five is rounded out by “greedy” by Tate McRae at #4, “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe at #3, “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan surprisingly at #2 and of course, Jack Harlow coming in for a third week at the top.

Whilst we’re discussing the non-holly and non-jolly songs on the chart, there are a few gains and returns that have nothing to do with the holidays. Drake’s “IDGAF” featuring Yeat returns to #61 in the stead of “You Broke My Heart”, which drops off from its debut last week, and then we have “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims gaining at #53. We then may as well bid adieu to the songs falling victim to the holiday plague this week, also known as our notable dropouts. They peaked in the top 40 or stayed in the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, for five weeks, but now they’re out, and they are: “Nice to meet you” by PinkPantheress featuring Central Cee, “Seven” by Jung Kook featuring Latto, “adore u” by Fred again.. and Obongjayar, “Desire” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, “Daylight” by David Kushner, “Calm Down” by Rema, assisted by the remix with Selena Gomez, “Another Love” by Tom Odell and of course, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

Now for the surge of festivities - I’ve already told you the three highest and that’s all I’ll tell you for now until they creep higher into the top five. As for now, as with all Christmas weeks, I’ll only mention the songs that are making it to the top 75 for the first time for this year’s round in this week, or songs reaching new peaks. In the first category, we see the grand returns of “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade at #70, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano at #60, “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis at #58, “I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday” by WIzzard at #55, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber at #54, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney at #52, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes at #51, “Step into Christmas” by Elton John at #47, “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea at #46, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #45, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by the late John Lennon and Yoko Ono with the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir at #44 - only time I’m saying that one, always a relief. The sooner we get to that mouthful, the better. We then continue with “Snowman” by Sia at #40 and “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John at #17, with the Amazon original tracks “Stay Another Day” by Jorja Smith and “You’re Christmas to Me” by Sam Ryder reaching new peaks of #38 and #23 respectively.

And whilst we’re here, if I covered the entire top 100, which I have an array of reasons why I don’t but they’re becoming increasingly irrelevant, I would still only be reviewing one song: “#skeptacore pt. 3” by Ryder and Skepta, a cute little wistful weightless grime remix of a Skepta track that I actually checked out when it was released a month or two ago.I’m holding out for it to stick past Christmas because it’s actually pretty brilliant. If it doesn’t end up in the top 75 in January, well... it got Best of the Week in absentia. Let’s review randomly-selected songs from the batch provided to me by viewers like you.

SUGGESTED REVIEWS

Suggestion #1

Like Santa pulls gifts from his sack, I pulled out two randomly-selected song suggestions from the 49 that I now have, except I excluded a certain suggestion submission because he… sorry, it’s anonymous. SOMEONE added like morbillion songs so I actually chose from 20, and then I chose from 19, because someone else suggested Travis Scott’s “FE!N” as if I hadn’t reviewed it before. Regardless, our first suggestion is “Like a River” by Frederico featuring Tiffany Aris. Frederico is a German producer hiring Brussels-based singer Tiffany Aris for a dance-pop effort and it’s pretty effective. It has a decent amount of melodrama with the unnecessary reverb and how it starts with an overwhelming level of synth suffocation, and it almost reminds me of 2013’s weird blend of folk and EDM given the heavy and sometimes pretty stripped use of acoustic guitars as the main melody in the verses, it reminds me of “Counting Stars” especially with the snaps and several dusty layers of acoustics that eventually propel into a pretty typical house beat, with cascading synths pushing in during the chorus. I respect how it goes for more of a house format instead of a build-drop EDM structure, so the song - however basic its lyrics - does ground its narrative a bit more effectively. Aris is a good singer and whilst the chorus does feel cluttered with the several attempts at a hook, which only gets worse when she starts doing vocal riffs and backing vocals eventually, she is surprisingly emotive throughout all of it. As a song, it’s functionally fine, but it’s also just not my thing, honestly. I can appreciate a lot of genres but this kind of phase-through-you dance-pop glut feels more fitting for an advert than being on Spotify as a full song, and I do think it runs out of steam by the end. Like I said, the chorus throws a lot of hook melodies at you, in a pretty rushed fashion, and we get a song that sacrifices its respect for catchiness. That wouldn’t be a problem if those hooks were more punctuated or really damn good, but what we have here just isn’t all too up to par. Sorry.

Suggestion #2

Our second suggestion is… a bit unorthodox. One joker suggested one song and one song only, “10 Hour Rain, Thunder, and Lightning | Deep Relaxation, Meditation, and Sleep”. The song I assume they meant by this, the highest search result on Spotify and only one I could find with that exact name, even down to the Oxford commas, is far from 10 hours. In fact, it’s five minutes and three seconds. Released in 2022 on the label Truefin Music, which seems to be one guy, who is the same guy the song is credited to. It may be by “10 Hour Deep Relaxation” but in reality it’s by a self-declared “music man” from Miami, Florida, who also goes by Bluefin Music online. He released his first single in 2018 under the name Tropical Punk, and it’s a cute little Spanish jam called “Mar y Sol” that whilst amateurly mixed as one would expect, is actually decently professional and very fun for what it is. I could see it as a theme song for a show about some groovy Hispanic surfers, I don’t know, it’s fun. He released a second song in 2019, “Dragonfly_summernight”, and it’s not great, it’s more ambitious than the last as well as being slower and in English, and it just doesn’t feel like a very natural fit. He could have usually found himself in this pop rock lane though. It sounds a bit like a local band rather than a singer-songwriter but with some refinement I can see a lot of appeal in this sound that’s informed by 80s soft rock cheese whilst still being relatively contemporary and with an… interesting vocal take. Hell, I actually really like the bridge and think it’s a pretty inspired little detour. So, naturally, after I found out that the 10 Hour Deep Relaxation guy was a failed two-song singer-songwriter, real name Gustavo Ordunez, it’s not doxing if it’s on Spotify, I checked his social media to see if there was any explanation to why he switched to the ambient stuff. So I looked through ALL of his Tweets. Or Xeets, I suppose.

We do get kind of a story here. In 2011, he Tweets that he made his account because he has a chance of winning $1000, and maybe that budget when to recording his two songs, who knows? He appears to have been romantically involved with one “jellsbells07”, whom he pretty consistently made loving posts towards, and called her the prettiest white girl he knew. On March 5th, 2012, he posted that she was a dick, and then a minute later, that she was the “most beautiful lady in all the lands”. In November, he got a new phone and by December, he was making passive-aggressive Tweets about a girl missing out on Italian food, and given some other Tweets at this time, they may have broken up, as in early 2013, he Tweeted that he was on the cusp of reanimation, went to strip clubs, and in April, Tweeted separately: “Man mode active” and “#thisbitch”.

He started being all profound in May of 2013 before the end of the month where, maybe they didn’t break up, maybe it was temporary, maybe all this time they were friends, who knows? Either way, he started Tweeting jellsbells again, notifying her that he was listening to 2Pac outside of a Starbucks, “#thuglife”. Then he started tracking his runs, which he does for like half a decade on Twitter. Interestingly enough, in October of 2013, he was still Tweeting his possible former lover jellsbells with stuff like “Real man breakfast” and how someone “don’t need no women”, which just seems like harassment at that point but I’m sure I’m missing some needed context and deleted or private replies. In November, he Tweeted possibly the best one liner of all time: “Don’t piss and text. #splashmountain”.

By December of 2013, he was defnitely dating jellsbells again because he was hornyposting on main, and we find that he is still in education during February of 2014. He was grinding at the gym this year, setting “impressive cardio records” and being generally appreciate of human anatomy, stating that “thumbs totally […] rock”. He gets a bit boring talking about his workouts and biceps in brief anecdotes, but on Christmas Day… he posts feet. To be clear, he actually just retweets an image someone else had posted showing three people, one of which is Ordunez, with varying levels of footwear. I don’t know which one is him, but there’s feet regardless.

He once again started to Tweet reclusive, fake-woke one-liners in 2015, ones that I’m sure he’d be embarrassed by now, as well as continuing to track his runs. In May of that year, he Tweeted, without context, “Lol irony”, and in June, “I care for you. I really do, I really do”. I hope jellsbells07 is okay.

That month, he went on a bunch of runs and listened to Paramore’s “Ain’t it Fun”, and he was actually really active during this time but I can’t lie, most of it is abstract and slightly insufferable non-Tweets that are half-poetic. In July, he Tweeted, “the microchip has been compromised” and in August, “I beats meats man”. These are not the only political posts I could find from our protagonist, he Tweeted against capitalism in September, but I just like the dichotomy. He touched a manatee in February of 2016 and continued to track his runs. That’s what he spent most of the year doing, he didn’t Tweet much that year so I assume it was an inward-looking year. He had some what appear to be post-breakup posts, retweeted Neil deGrasse Tyson and some posts criticising Donald Trump, but that kind of appears to be it.

It’s much of the same in 2017, with even less of a Twitter presence, the vast majority of it being tracking his runs through the same third-party app, which he probably forgot was still doing that. In December, however, he did Tweet that his big regret from 2011 was “not staying in school full-time”, which is… interesting, given that he’d been more outwardly depressive and political in the years before? In January of 2018, he was actually still quoting and tagging jellsbells, and this seems to align with a new brief period of activity early this year, with mostly very positive, wholesome Tweets about how he’s blessed and filled with love, posting a rare selfie in April and yes, still tracking his runs. Possibly my favourite Tweet from him is on May 1st, 2018, and it reads: “BOY DO I LOVE DOING STUFF FOR PEOPLE I LIKE”.

In June, however, he had another one of those semi-poetic, vaguely coherent breaking down moments, which came with a lot of Tweeting as well, some of which was oddly funny, like him quote-Tweeting a picture of a snake in a boot from a year prior, questioning why he’s thinking about it, but most of it just seems a bit sad, but by August, he says he was in bliss… and thanked Taco Bell for words of wisdom. In October, he retweeted Russell Brand. I think he knew. In November, he released his debut single.

He went on a bit of a Twitter break until January of 2019, wherein he got even more abstract, with a lot of motivational weirdness throughout that entire year, and by the entire year, I meant two years because he was doing this in 2020 as well. In fact, he took most of 2019 off - despite apparently playing a gig around 2018 and 2019 time, probably to do with his single release - and returned to Twitter in July of 2020. It got borderline conspiratory at times. In November, he started streaming on Twitch, but he doesn’t have any VODs so I couldn’t find anything of interest. It seems like he was doing some gaming but also just livestreaming his musical creative process, which is really cool. He streamed on Twitch pretty constantly during the last two months of 2020, but he hasn’t Tweeted since 2021 or liked anything since 2022. Truefin Music appears to be his brand, I think he’s from Cuba, he seems like a decent guy, I just genuinely have no idea why he made this pivot other than I guess the streaming money but he didn’t announce it anywhere. Maybe he’s kind of ashamed? I don’t know, maybe I would be too.

It’s beautiful but also a bit worrying that I have created this perspective of Ordunez. I don’t really know much about this guy, but I also feel like I know everything from this journey. I’ve just created a guy, a character. In my mind, he’s married to jellsbells07 and he still listens to 2Pac outside of a Starbucks, just now the clean version in his car with his one-year-old son in the passenger seat. Maybe he made the 10-hour meditation single to stop him from crying.

For the record, his relaxation release isn’t even great, it’s a stream-trolling, maybe even stolen ambient palette that isn’t really dynamic enough to feel effectively like ambiance. It’s honestly quite the opposite, at least to me, it’s a bunch of fuzz most of the time instead of being what it describes itself as, but from what I see on his Twitter, the man is honest to a fault and also somewhat pretentious, but willing to put himself out there. I’ve looked through all this man’s non-reply Tweets - maybe the replies could be a further episode - and the singles he made in the late 2010s make so much more sense to me than this 2022 pivot, and it’s pretty telling that he only released the one ambient track.

I would like to end this weird, unexpected way of handling this suggestion by reciting two consecutive Tweets made by Gustavo “10 Hour Deep Meditation” Ordunez in 2013 that particularly resonated with me, and I think will provide a great deal of closure to our story. Ahem…

“A little nonsense, now and then, is relished by the wisest men.” “You know what guys get for free? Handjobs. From ourselves.”

Thanks for everything, Gustavo.

Conclusion

Hopefully next week there’ll be people starting to clammer for that Christmas #1? Or you know, anything at all? But I can’t lie, these slow weeks where I can have a nap and wake up to doing a really simple, dry episode… kind of growing on me, man. If you read this, thanks? Rest in peace to Shane MacGowan, and I’ll see you next week.

#pop music #song review #uk singles chart #christmas #10 hour deep relaxation

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lesamis · 2 years ago

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For the end of the year asks - 1, 3 and 8 maybe? Also Merry Christmas if you celebrate and f not have a good day anyway!

thanks for stopping by! very happy holidays to you if you're celebrating sth! :')

1: Song of the year? according to spotify, this was the tumbler by robert hallow and the holy men for me. i listened to it non-stop for almost the entire month of august & genuinely still love it

3: Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year? probably heather dale! i've been really enjoying her green knight album lately.

9: Best month for you this year? definitely october, i spent half of it traveling & half of it arriving home after a pretty turbulent summer. i also finished the first third of my phd thesis around then, which was a huge weight off my back - it was a wonderful month.

lil edit: i just noticed you said 8, not 9, so here's an addendum :D

8: Game of the year? this year i brute-forced my older brother into a monthly boardgame night with me, and the first game we played was eldritch horror. i now have a real soft spot for, plus vengeance against that game; it's so difficult to beat & so fun to play.

#thank you for these!! have a lovely day <3 #asks

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kayodekolade · 10 months ago

Text

Obey The Laws of wealth

Dear High Performer,

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

‘What’s your fondest memory about the holidays growing up?’

Rahila asked the other day.

‘How short they were.’

As a kid one thing that always struck me about the Christmas and New Year holidays was how short they were.

It’s like you’re living your life for these three days in the year and then poof, just like that,

They’re over before you can even say the words ‘happy’ or ‘merry.’

I bet you can relate too.

It just feels so unfair.

These three days that you dream about because…

They are going to be three days you finally get to be free.

Free from the obligations of schoolwork.

Free to sleep in and stay up late to watch as much TV or play as much video games as you like.

Free to eat anything and everything.

Free to laze around and have no care in the world.

Freedom, oh how sweet the sound.

Freedom, isn’t that what we all want?

To be free.

To be unencumbered.

To be unhindered.

Freedom to know what we want with clarity,

To pursue it with certainty,

And to achieve it confidently.

Maturity is realizing that for this to happen, we need to understand the concept of freedom.

Freedom is not a life without laws.

Freedom is not to escape.

What many people define as freedom is escape.

Maturity is realizing that the more you try to escape, the more you get trapped and entangled.

Laws are good for us.

Law brings order.

We can’t escape or run away from laws.

There’s no country you get to that doesn’t have laws and rules in place as the standard of behavior.

This simply tells us that freedom is the willing submission to laws – the right kind.

The kind of laws that empower us to have dominion on the earth.

There are two kinds of laws at work in the world –

Laws that make people slaves to things.

And the laws that make people have dominion over things.

At the end of the day, we all must make a choice.

And if you refuse to choose, the choice is automatically made for you.

There is no middle ground.

It is either we consciously submit to the laws that lead to freedom,

Or we unconsciously submit to the laws that turn us into slaves.

There are laws we must obey to enjoy greater wealth and abundance in our lives, and they are:

Law of Diligence

Law of Difference

Law of Day one

Law of Daily

Law of Delay

Law of Diligence

The diligent find freedom in their work*.

Diligence and hard work are two different things.

While one is concerned with aptitude, the other is about attitude.

One is focused on the what; the other is about the why.

One is external –based, the other is internal-focused.

One is about eye-service, the other is about heart-service.

One is focused on being a man-pleaser, the other is focused on being a servant of Christ.

There are many hardworking people who aren’t free.

Best case, they endure what they do, but most times they look for every opportune moment like the holidays to escape.

Contrast this to the diligent who enjoy their work.

They enjoy their work because they’ve made the decision to bring joy and passion to what they do.

Characteristics of diligent people:

Diligence is speedy attention to a given task.

The diligent see things others do not notice.

They hear things in a conversation that others overlook.

Some problems are more noticeable to you than others,

Take note of them.

They are a clue to the solutions you carry inside you.

Diligence is the ability to anticipate what is needed before a request is made.

Diligent people are creative and discover new ways to solve problems.

They review and constantly evaluate the results of their efforts.

They are open to correction and receive with gratitude rather than resentment.

Diligent people keep their word. They keep the promises they make to themselves and to others.

Diligence is the key to excellence and makes you the topic of conversation among others.

To rule in your finances, you are either going to have to bring diligence to what you do,

Or find the work you can truly be diligent in.

Law of Difference

Develop confidence in your difference.

You don’t have to follow the worn path established by others;

You can create your own.

The premier league for example decided they wouldn’t follow the regular calendar, so they created theirs.

So, while the rest of the world is saying, ‘it’s New Year’s Day, let’s stay at home and just cuddle up in bed… ‘

The premier league guys can’t relate because January 1st is match day as far as they are concerned.

Now, is there anything wrong with staying home and cuddling up in bed on New Year’s Day?

No.

You know the motives for the things you do.

Why do you do what you do?

And why do you do it that way?

Is it because that’s the way it has always been done?

You can choose to be different and to do things differently.

‘Clean living and justice with our neighbors mean far to God than religious performance**,’ is the way wise Solomon put it.

Jesus made his mark on the world because he did not do religion.

He did not try to fit in.

You will hear him make statements like;

‘You’ve heard it said…

But now I say to you…

This year don’t go with the crowd.

Don’t just follow popular opinion.

Chart your own path.

Dare to do things differently from the way you are used to doing them

Or the way they’ve always been done.

You can dare to be different.

You can dare to be the one who sets a new standard.

Law of Day One

One day or Day One? You decide.

I actually learnt this law from my mentor, Steve Harris, before I heard The Rock talk about it.

Some years ago, he shared his story of how he strategically positioned himself to make money on the 1st day of the year,

While other coaches and consultants were waiting for the year to begin in earnest.

This made a huge impression on me.

The law of day one is a lesson he also learnt this from his mentor, popular comedian, Ali Baba.

While other people are busy re-calibrating, resting, or perhaps over-indulging,

They are already getting their work done and smiling to the bank.

Another company that inspired this law so much in me is the company, WWE.

Those guys are just amazing.

Their slogan says it all – Then, Now, Forever.

In 2022, or was it in 2021, they introduced a brand-new show, called, Day One.

The promo video had all the superstars holding one finger in the air with their game faces on.

I loved it.

It’s about the willingness to do what every other person is unwilling to do.

So, while every other person is at home, these wrestlers are working…

And the people who aren’t working will gather in front of their TV sets to watch these guys do their thing.

That’s exactly what these laws of freedom do in the life of a person.

They make the people who are willing to obey them a showpiece to the people who are not willing to follow them.

So, in your finances, or in any area of your life, to make your mark, the question you need to ask is;

One day or Day one?

Are you going to wait till 2nd or 3rd week of January when most business activities have resumed or…

Are you going to get going today?

Today is day one of the rest of your life.

A year from now…

Specifically, by December 31st, 2024, you are going to wish you started today.

How many more ‘new years’ are going to wait to see before you demand a change in your life?

Whatever you said you were going to do…

Start today.

Delay will only lead to decay.

Law of Daily

Success is not a day’s job, it’s a daily job.

Another way to say that is, the secret of your success is hidden in your daily routine.

Still yet another way to say that is, your daily practice is your strongest practice.

No matter how cliché you think any of those statements are,

It doesn’t change the truth.

Your success this year is highly dependent on creating a lifestyle that supports the achievement of the goal(s) you want to achieve.

You don’t become successful one day when all your dreams come to pass.

Success is a way of life.

A successful life is made up of successful days.

So how do you know you are going to achieve your financial goal for the year?

How are you using your days?

How are you using the hours in each day?

The difference between the rich and others is rich people do daily what poor people do occasionally.

This applies to finances, health, career, business, relationships – any goal you want to achieve this year.

Another name for the law of daily is the law of routine.

The law of pattern.

The law of rhythm.

To enjoy your life and walk in the freedom you desire this year,

What is the routine, rhythm, or pattern you are going to build to achieve your goal?

Law of Delay

The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied***.

There are two kinds of delay.

The bad kind and the good kind.

The good kind of delay is the one I’m talking about here...

And you know it as the willingness to delay gratification.

Several years ago I listened to Pastor Mensa Otabil preach a message titled, ‘Buy The Future.’

He talked about how Esau sold his birthright - his future - for a bowl of stew.

Scripture calls it the ‘Esau syndrome:

Trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite****.’

The reason a lot of people struggle with their goals is because they find it hard to delay gratification.

This is why if our results are going to be different this year, we must buy the future.

The goals we want to achieve will cost us something.

There is a price to be paid to get the prize.

For the man Moses to become the champion God created him to be,

‘He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin*****.’

The truth though is that in this our very fast-paced, instant-reward culture it’s very difficult to wait for anything.

Here are three things you can do to help you:

Set shorter goal lengths.

Instead of thinking about the next 12 months,

Just focus on the next 90 days and take it one day at a time.

Refocus on the goal, not the effort it will take.

The picture of the prize must be a lot bigger in your mind than the picture of the price.

Think about the reward of achieving that goal, always.

Also think about the consequence of not achieving the goal.

Celebrate the wins.

Keep a journal.

Make reservations at a nice restaurant.

Throw yourself a little dance party.

Or call a friend on a Friday evening to share with them how you stayed consistent that week.

Celebrate and integrate your wins daily.

Don’t wait till the end of the year.

Doing these three things will help you buy your future and the freedom you desire.

YOU ARE NOT EXEMPT

Whoever sows sins reaps weeds*6.

You’ve heard the saying, whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

The statement doesn’t only work in the negative; it works in the positive too.

Obedience is a seed that guarantees a harvest of wealth and freedom.

The wonderful news is God is no respecter of persons.

His laws don’t play favorites.

Anyone who obeys will get the rewards.

And anyone who disobeys will get the consequences.

There is no neutral position.

There are no spectator seats.

There is no bench for incompetent players.

You are either for or against.

You are either playing the game to win…

Or playing the game to… as hard it is to say – lose.

This year I see you winning in your finances and every area of your life.

Obey the law of Diligence.

The diligent find freedom in their work.

Obey the law of Difference.

Don’t follow the crowd. Chart your own course.

Obey the law of Day One.

A year from now…

By December 31st, 2024, you will wish you started today.

Obey the law of Daily.

A successful life is made up of successful days.

Obey the law of Delay.

Pleasure is fleeting and temporary.

The future is solid and eternal.

Buy the future.

Buy your future.

YOUR GREATNESS IS VERY SURE.

NOTES Proverbs 12:24 (MSG) * Proverbs 21:3 (MSG) ***Proverbs 21:17 (MSG) **** Hebrews 12:16 (MSG) ***** Hebrews 11:25 (NLT) *6 Proverbs 22:8 (MSG)

NEXT STEPS

#dearhighperformer #obeythelawsofwealth #therichlife

#dear high performer #the rich life

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eclipnet · 11 months ago

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AVOT Update #6

(edit: as of now, i unfortunately don't have time to make AVOT, nor the skills to make it yet, and the project i originally needed it for is no longer required, so unfortunately i won't be making AVOT as of now, but i still wanted to keep the posts up)

happy holidays !! & a late merry christmas for those who celebrate !! :)

i have a long update today >:))

for christmas I got a drawing tablet, so i moved from working on AVOT on my ipad to now my pc !! which means avot is now going to be animated in adobe animation (which is a huge upgrade from the app i was previously using to animate)

heres a little test animation with my oc that i made with it yesterday, and it is alot smoother than my previous animations on my ipad :)

alsooo i have 2 scenes storyboarded for avot and a general idea of the actual storyline & video, so all i have to do now is storyboard & animate as of now !! :D

i did rewrite some of it, especially the beginning with the icon being introduced as i felt like the story moved too slow, plus i think my new idea is alot more entertaining :) (but i wont spoil it yet !!)

(unfortunately though that does mean the 9 second animation i made for the beginning already that i posted will be scrapped, but i can make it better! :) )

speaking of the beginning of AVOT, i do want to make a trailer/teaser video if possible, (mostly just for fun but also because ive spent so long on this so far!!), originally i planned to have it done by december, but i just now reached the beginning of the animation stage as i took a break from working on it due to exams, but as of now i plan to maybe have one done beginning/mid january if i can !! :)

ill probably post more updates more frequently as i have no more highschool classes anymore so i have alot more free time compared to balancing schoolwork with this project !! :)

also sidenote but i organized my blog more !! i redid my pinned post & remade the AVOT explanation post, & i also plan on posting more than just avot stuff here as well :)

#animation vs oregon trail #avot #alan becker #animation vs animator #animation vs minecraft #ava #avm #avot updates #avot archive ☆#eclipse txt ☆#eclipse animates ☆#eclipse art ☆

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stsgooo · 11 months ago

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hi don’t know if you remember me TT it’s been a while after all, but i’m the nom-anon!! (don’t worry if you don’t remember me. it’s fine, really! it’s been a while since that ask after all ^^)

I’m just dropping in your inbox again after all this time because i saw you posted your OC fic and OH MY GOD !! the prologue was so well-written it got me on my tiptoes from curiosity !! i loved how the prologue was paced (mostly the ‘Mercy’ part! that was awesome in my opinion, because it enhanced the character’s thoughts and gave more insight to the character at that point), it made me really feel a pang in the heart when i ended it. also the, and here i quote because i’m dumb and don’t know how to summarize with my own words, “What kind of mother killed their daughter and still accepted their declarations of love? What kind of mother masked mercy as love?”… my jaw was on the floor 🗣️

can’t wait to meet Hibiki and see how it’ll go from here on tbh! i’ll patiently sit and wait for next updates (no pressure! take all the time you need, please) <3 merry late christmas or if you don’t celebrate, happy (late?) holidays! hope you had a wonderful time and rested and eat a lot aside having fun (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

p.s.: sorry for the long ask TT

OMG HI NOM ANON!! I do remember you !! :3

I'm so so glad you enjoyed the prologue!! I was a bit worried that it was a little too vague and/or repetitive for people, but I'm so happy it's been received well so far! :) The mercy part is actually one of the first things I wrote for the prologue, just something I thought would be silly to include in it. IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED IT THO!!

I have the next chapter written, but I'm tweaking it a lot before I actually update it :3 I unfortunately take a while to update things so I hope you can hold out!! I can't wait to hear from you again, nom-anon! Happy belated holidays and take care you're too sweet! Also don't apologize for long asks it makes me so happy to hear from everyone!! :D <3

#asked and answered #anon #nom-anon!

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raplinesmoon · 2 years ago

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wow how is it already the 21st of december? i’m plodding away on your gift but i don’t think i’ll have it to you before christmas day! i hope that’s ok haha. perhaps it can be like an extra little gift to brighten up that weird time between christmas and new years when all the other gifts have already been opened.

it was so much fun reading all your answers :) my sister literally named her first born my favourite name for a girl so i feel you man. to be fair, my niece is now three and i am nowhere near having children so like i get it! but still… haha

i love baking! i actually don’t like cooking at all but baking can be so fun and you end up with such yummy stuff :D you should totally pick it back up again. there’s always going to be someone better and someone worse. that doesn’t matter if you enjoy it :P (says me who can’t make myself do anything i’m not automatically good at on the first try lol)

i have a ‘hope right here’ sweatshirt and a ‘sweet night’ sweatshirt and i love them both so much - so cozy! i’m jealous of your everythinggoes one though, that sounds so cute!

how’s your secret santa gift going? working away? obviously you don’t have to tell me much for fear of giving away who you are writing for. are you able to share which idol you are writing for without giving it away? i’ll look forward to reading it :)

another question for good measure: what are you looking forward to in the new year? could be writing related or just life related…

- merry ❤️❤️

Hi Merry!!

Merry Christmas if you celebrate🎄❄️✨ sorry for answering this a few days late haha, I was enjoying some much needed rest!! The time in between Christmas and New Year’s is so awkward you’re right… it feels like saying goodbye to the holidays but then there’s another one on New Year’s 🙃

How were your Christmas celebrations? Did you do anything special with family?

Ahhh that’s so cute that you and your sister had the same little argument over baby names… I think my sister won though, and I probably need to start looking for other options if and whenever I do have kids!!

Also, after you sent this, I did actually make some treats! They were mostly no bake desserts for one of my coworkers who’s leaving in the New Year. And while I did almost cry because it didn’t turn out perfect, I reminded myself that not everything has to be for me to enjoy myself 💗

I so badly want a hope right here shirt!! Or idk if you’ve seen them but the hope world sneakers from Sugar Seoul are so 🔥🔥🔥 half the time I’m scared people will judge me for wearing them in public, but other times I think they’d think they’re super cool too!

My secret Santa gift is still in the planning stages, I tend to impulsively write things out when the pressure’s on, so we’ll see how it comes out! I want it to be nice and fluffy though, so hopefully my muse cooperates (if you check my master list you’ll know who I love to write for 😅)

As far as New Year’s wishes, I just really want to spend the next year happy and healthy!! 2022 was so up and down for me in terms of finishing dental school but also the mental stress of what it took to finish and then starting a new program and my physical health kind of took a nosedive too! I’d like to be able to do more in 2023 without limitations from my body… so here’s to health!!

#asks #bangtansecretsanta #merry 🎄

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fatal-error-blog · 7 years ago

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I hope everyone is having/had a really lovely holiday filled with things and people and activities that make you happy :)

Also I hope to consume as much cocoa as possible <3

Also Fatal wanted to leave blue raspberry syrup for Santa but eventually settled for milk

#Merry Christmas #christmas 2017 #kid!fatal #aunt xed #i wish i had more time to draw something more super #also sorry for being a bit quiet lately!#been working on lots #that i hope to share soon :D #happy holidays!#xedra art

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simpurnatural · 3 years ago

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“This is Mine” - T. Chalamet

[series masterlist ] || [teaser] || [chapter 1] || [chapter II] || [chapter III] || [chapter IV] || [chapter V]

Note from Nat: “So apparently, this post didn’t go through earlier when I tried publishing it before my flight. The series finale! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed this story as much as I did. This was also the first series I was able to finish! It’s truly a Christmas miracle!”

D/n - Means “Dad’s name” not “deez nutz”

Warning ⚠️: Slight smut, Swearing,

Pairing(s): CEO!Timothee Chalamet x Assistant!Reader

Any writing errors? Point them out! Love some helpful feedback! <3

REQUESTS ARE OPEN! WORKING ON (0) REQUESTS <3

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY LOVES!

All For You

You shot up from bed at the sound of your alarm blaring. Upon grabbing your phone, the time revealed that you were late. Looking around, you grabbed some clothes before dashing into the bathroom to brush your teeth.

“Shit.” you muttered with toothbrush in mouth.

After spitting out the toothpaste, you brushed your hair quickly before tying it into a bun. You finally unlocked your phone and tried calling your parents, worried that they might’ve thought that you left them stranded at the airport.

All your calls were sent to voicemail to which you apologized over and over again in each message before hanging up and calling again. Finally slipping on your shoes, you went to open your front door. The knob turned on its own and three voices were heard, in walked Timothee with your parents.

“You picked them up?” you asked your boyfriend to which he nodded.

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you.” he replies with a sheepish smile. “Thought you would’ve like to sleep in.” he says with a jug of coffee and box of donuts in his arms.

“Here, we can put that on the table.” you instructed him quickly before turning to your parents and embracing them in a hug. “I missed you guys so much.” you sighed happily.

“Well, we’re here now!” your dad beamed before pointing to Timothee. “I’ve only just met the kid and he’s already stepping up!” he chuckles.

“I appreciate that Mr. L/n. But it’s really the least I could do.” Timothee assures as he walked over to help them with their luggage.

“Timothee, call me D/n!” your dad insisted as they sat on the couch. “Now tell me, what do you do for a living?” he asks as an arm pulled you into the kitchen.

“Oh my God,” your mom mouthed, silently freaking. “That’s him?!” she gasps before you slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Yes mom,” you groaned, hoping Timothee didn’t hear anything.

Your mom took your face in her hands and whispered, “Blink three times if you’re in danger.” she instructed

Swatting her hands away with a laugh, you explained “No, no. He’s actually really great.” with a lovey smile on your lips.

“Aw,” Mom gasped with a hand over her heart. “I’m so happy for you, honey,” she smiled, pulling you into a warm embrace.

“Thank you Mom,” you grinned before the two of you headed back into the living room

“Let’s open these presents!” Timothee cheered, clapping his hands together.

“Is the camera ready?” you mom asked, turning to your dad who was struggling with the tripod stand.

“Yep almost!” he assures with a thumbs-up motion.

“Okay, now I have a very special present for you.” Timothee says as he got up from his seat beside you. “I’ll be right back,” he smiles before walking away.

“Wonder what it is.” you say as swarms of gift wrapping swarmed you like a tornado filled with holiday cheer.

Timothee came shuffling back with a huge box probably half the size of his tall stature. When he placed it in front of you, the sound of whining and scratching could be heard from it.

“Please don’t tell me there’s a rat in there,” you said, grabbing hold of his sweater.

“It’s fine, just open it.” he chuckles, pointing to the cardboard flaps.

Upon opening the box, a puppy came jumping out all excited. You let out a gasp as the small golden retriever crawled into your arms and began licking your face.

“Hey little girl!” you cooed, holding it up to eye level and noticing the its lower half. “-Guy!”

“Honey what’re are you gonna name it?” your mom asks, waving to the small pup.

“Not sure yet,” you replied as you offered him to your boyfriend.

The dog let out a small bark and went to bite Timothee’s nose. Both of them were drenched with drool. The sound of cameras shuttering was heard and the three of you turned to see your dad finally working the camera.

“Okay everyone! Stand in front of the tree!” Your dad instructs, making his way to it. “Ten seconds!” he warns as everyone else got up and stood with him.

“Say Christmas!” your mom beams.

“Christmas!” everyone recites with big grins on their faces and the camera went off.

“I think I blinked.” Timothee says right after the camera flash.

...

“You guys got my address?” you asked your mom, again.

“Yes sweetheart,” she nodded, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back tomorrow!” she waves as she and your dad made their way to the stairs.

After they turned the corner, you shut the front door and turned to Timothee. He stood in the living room, picking up empty glasses and throwing away trash.

“Merry Christmas baby,” you sighed contently, walking over to him and wrapping your arms around his waist. “Thanks for everything,”.

“Least I could do for ya, doll-face,” he assures as your puppy lay asleep underneath the Christmas tree.

“I mean it. You went as far as going through JFK airport on a holiday to pick up my parents,” you huffed at the thought of all that traffic.

“Well I just like to see you happy,” he smiles, placing dishes in the sink and garbage in the bin.

“I wanna return the favor,” you smirked, Timothee looked up and saw you take off your jumper. “Now help me take off these clothes,” you order, “I’ve had this bra on all day,”

Your boyfriend followed you into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. His jaw literally following to the floor when you turned to face him in your decked out lingerie look.

“For me?” he asked, pointing to himself with the shocked look still on his face.

“All for you,” you replied as you he approached you. “What a lucky guy,”

“I am,” he chuckled as he pulled you in. “Now tell me, think you made the naughty or nice list?” he asked.

“You tell me,” you replied, leading him to the bed. “Have I been bad??”

“I think you’ll have to show me,” he whispered into your ear. “If you can be a good girl,”

YEARS LATER...

The sound of little thunderous footsteps erupted throughout the penthouse. You heard Timothee chuckle at the chanting of the same two words continuously echoed.

“Santa came! Santa came!” your two daughters cheered as they swung open your bedroom door.

“Oh really?” you asked, as they both climbed into bed excitedly.

“Yeah!” your youngest nodded as you both sat up.

“Did he eat all the cookies?” you gasped, looking to your husband.

“Mhm! And the milk!” the eldest gasped, wide-eyed. “It was all gone!”

“He must’ve really liked them. Mommy makes the best cookie.” Timothee says with a shit-eating grin since he ate a good majority of them the night before.

“Yeah, they’re so good that he didn’t even save any for me,” you add, elbowing him playfully.

“Santa even got doggy a present!” the youngest giggles as he came trudging in with a treat the size of his face.

“Speaking of presents,” Timothee began, a brow raised, “Are my girls ready to open their presents?” he asked.

The two girls squealed at the idea and pulled him out of bed in an instant. Your husband looked back at you and halted. He offered you his hand which you gladly took

“C’mon daddy!” your eldest whined as they dragged you both down the stairs.

You watched from the couch as Timothee helped them tear open their presents. Your heart swelled at the sight. If you told you from a few years ago that this guy would be the man you married, she’d call you psycho.

But this was everything you ever wanted, coming from the person you least expected.

FIN

...

I hope you guys really enjoyed this series! I’m very proud of it and this one for sure is one for the books! Thanks for the support and feedback from everyone of you! <3

taglist: @runawayolives @rainelikerain @mam-ia @valiantllamasandwich

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zecretsanta · 3 years ago

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FIC

To: @alricspellsword

From: @999-picarat-puzzle

Hello, @alricspellsword ! I’m your Santa this year. :)

I really liked your prompt of Hongou as Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, so I decided to write a fic based on that prompt. I hope you like it!

Happy holidays — and if you celebrate Christmas, then merry Christmas too! :D

[Spoilers for 999, including its Q&A]

Prompt: Christmas Carol: Hongou Scrooge, Aoi and Light ghost of christmas past, Seven and Lotus ghost of christmas present, Akane and mini Akane ghost of christmas future.

Possible sensitive topics/trigger warnings: Poverty, school bullying, Gordain’s game and the Nonary Game, suicide. Also swearing, but I guess that’s a given, considering Aoi’s part of the story lol.

Chapter I: A phantasmagorical being

It was a cold and misty Christmas Eve morning. Gentarou Hongou, CEO of a small medical company named Cradle Pharmaceuticals, walked through the city’s streets wrapped in his warmest coat as he headed towards the company’s headquarters. To be fair, the so-called ‘headquarters’ were a normal apartment he had bought and remodelled to use as an office and a clinic, but he liked calling it ‘headquarters’ anyway, since it made it seem like an important company.

He stopped in front of the building, got his keys from his coat pocket and opened the door. Hongou took the elevator to the third floor and entered his office. He turned on the light switch and a blueish-white light illuminated the place.

As usual, Hongou was the first one there. He checked his phone and saw a message from his coworker — his only employee, an idiot with an awkward personality who responded to the name ‘Teruaki Kubota’, would come around an hour later. He huffed. When Kubota had first asked him if he could start work later some days, since his mother was sick and apparently he needed to take care of her, Hongou had rolled his eyes. But after Kubota’s earnest insistence, he had reluctantly agreed, if only just so he would shut up.

He shook his head and hung his coat on the rack he had in his office. He sat at his desk, booted his computer and decided to start working straight away. The Nonary Project wouldn’t prepare itself, after all, and if Kubota was so keen on slacking off, someone would have to get the work done.

A few hours later, the front door creaked open and his coworker stepped into the office.

“You’re late,” said Hongou with his eyes fixed on the medical file in front of him.

“I— I know, sir. My apologies, I— I had a bit of a problem, and the traffic was pretty bad, and—”

“Spare me the details, Kubota,” he spat. “I don’t care why you’re late, just start working right now.”

The employee — a lanky man with messy hair and ever-crooked glasses — bowed awkwardly and sprinted to his office.

“Un— understood, Mr. Hongou!”

“Tsk.” He shook his head. “Some work ethic you have.”

Hongou went back to the file he had been reading before Kubota had walked into the office.

Name: Akane Kurashiki

DOB: 2006/02/17

Description of the experiment: The subject and her brother were placed in different rooms. The subject was then shown different shapes and numbers, and her sibling, who had been unable to contact her during the experiment, was later asked which shapes and numbers were shown to the subject.

Results: The subject performed exceptionally well and was able to transmit information about each and every one of the shapes and numbers to her sibling. Potential candidate for the Nonary Project.

With a pleased smile, Hongou looked up her sibling’s name — apparently, it was ‘Aoi’ — and added his name to the list of candidates for the Nonary Game. He wrote his name under the “Receiver” section. Then, he added Akane’s name to the “Transmitter” section.

Or he would have, had he not been interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Puzzled, he got up from his chair and opened it.

Two young girls with raven black hair stood in front of the door, bundled up in identical, fluffy green coats.

“Merry early Christmas, mister!” said both of them in unison, as if they had rehearsed their greeting countless times.

“What is it? I don’t have the time for chit-chat, kids, what do you want?”

The girl on the right spoke.

“Our school is collaborating with a charity to feed the poor this Christmas, would you like to make a donation?”

“No. Now if you excuse me, I have work to do.”

Before any of the girls could react, he closed the door and went back to his chair. “Feed the poor”? Bah, he had been there before, and he hadn’t needed Christmas donations. He had managed to pay his debt by skillfully winning Gordain’s game. They could perfectly pay their debts if they really wanted to.

It was then that he realized he had been interrupted just when he was about to add Akane’s name to the list, so he wrote her name in the “Receiver” group.

Hoping he wouldn’t be interrupted again, he opened another file — one about a ‘Light Field’ — expecting that it would be of use for his project.

“It’s— it’s getting late, sir. I will be heading home now.”

Hongou took a brief look at his wristwatch. It was past 9 p.m.

“Ah, I must have been so absorbed with work that I missed the time, haha. Very well, then. See you tomorrow.”

“Actually… I, uh, wanted to ask if I could— if I could take a— a free day.”

“A… free day?” said Hongou, as if it was his first time hearing about the concept. “What are you talking about, Kubota?”

“It’s— it’s Christmas, sir.” The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “My mother… she— she wants to celebrate Christmas, and— and she asked if you wanted— if you wanted to have dinner with us.”

“So… you’re asking if you can take a free day… and if I want to join you two for dinner? Did I hear that correctly?”

“Y— yes, sir.”

Hongou got up from his chair and gestured to his desk, which was filled to the brim with papers and notes.

“With all this work to do?”

“I— I’ll come a bit earlier the next day to make up for it!” pleaded the man.

Hongou sighed and shook his head. He knew he couldn’t change Kubota’s mind. That lazy good-for-nothing, he thought.

“Very well, then. I want you here at 6 o’clock on the dot on the 26th. Not even a minute later, or I’ll have to reduce your paycheck for this month. Understood?”

Kubota nodded frantically. “Yes! And about the dinner— uh—”

“I’m afraid I won’t be joining you. I need to keep working on the project, you see.”

“Ah…” Kubota seemed slightly disappointed. “Alright. If you— if you change your mind, please let me know. Until— until tomorrow, or— or the day after that,” he added, as he walked through the door.

Hongou simply shook his head as Kubota left. He turned off his computer, grabbed his coat from the rack and put it on before walking outside.

A few minutes later, Hongou stepped into his apartment, locking the front door behind him. He took off his shoes, went to his bedroom and changed into his pyjamas.

Just as he was about to finally lay in bed, close his eyes and fall asleep, he heard a clinking noise, as if someone was dragging some heavy metallic object over the floor of his apartment.

“What the hell…?”

He opened his bedroom door and found himself face to face with an old man wearing a tuxedo and a top hat. His ankles and wrists were shackled, and he was dragging heavy chains as he walked.

“Hongou…”

Hongou recognized the man, or more specifically, his voice. It had been almost two decades since he had last seen him, but he could never forget that voice.

It was Lord Dashiell Gordain.

The same Dashiell Gordain who had been dead for 18 years.

Thinking he was dreaming — he had to be dreaming — Hongou rubbed his eyes. The phantasmagorical being didn’t disappear. Slowly walking towards him, Hongou reached out with his arm and found himself horrified at the fact that his hand could go through the man. He retracted his hand and stared at it for a while.

“Hongou, we need to talk.”

“How— how are you…?”

“Listen to me, I don’t have much time. It’s important.”

“How can you be here? And why are you… dragging…” he gestured to the chains the man was carrying “…all that?”

“I made many mistakes during my life, and as such, I must pay for the rest of eternity. And that’s why I’m here, Hongou. To help you avoid your fate.”

“My… fate?”

“You will end up like me if you don’t change.”

Hongou laughed. It was ridiculous. He was surely hallucinating all this, he just needed to go back to bed and—

Lord Gordain grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. The chains hanging from his wrists collided against Hongou’s arms, and he grimaced in pain.

“Listen to me, Hongou! You can still be saved!”

Still having a hard time believing the situation was real, Hongou asked, “What… what do I need to do?”

“You will be visited by 6 ghosts in the next few hours. Listen to their advice and you won’t end up like me.”

“Six ghosts, huh?” He was still not convinced, but he decided to play along.

“They will come in groups of two, and each group will visit you for one hour,” said the old man. “You can expect the first pair to come by 1 a.m. tonight. Hopefully you can change your fate before it’s too late. Please, don’t end up like this old man.” Gordain gestured towards his chains, as if to emphasize his statement.

Hongou nodded. What else was he supposed to do? “Very well. I appreciate your concern, sir.”

“Good. Have a good night, young man. And make sure to listen to the six ghosts.”

Gordain tipped his hat in a polite farewell gesture and continued walking through the corridor. Once he reached the end of the hallway, he went through the wall — chains included — and disappeared, leaving Hongou standing in the hallway all alone.

Chapter II: The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Still confused by the whole situation, Hongou went back to bed. Six ghosts? What was going on?

He checked the kitchen, in case he had left the gas valve from the heating system open and he was suffering the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. Nothing. It was closed.

Then what possible explanation could there be for what he had just witnessed? Was he going insane? Was he so tired he was imagining things?

Yes, that had to be it. He was exhausted, and a good night of sleep would solve that. It definitely would.

He went back to bed, pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes, trying his best to fall into a slumber.

But then he started feeling uncomfortable laying on his back, so he turned around to lay on his side. And then the pillow was uncomfortably warm, so he had to turn it around. And had his pyjamas always been that stiff? Not to mention his throat was dry.

For what felt like an eternity, he tossed and turned on his bed, unable to fall asleep. And then, the bell in the clock tower nearby chimed once. One o’clock, thought Hongou. Just in time for the first alleged “ghost appearance”.

A bang on the door made him almost jump from the bed. With shaky legs, he closed the distance between him and his front door.

Surprisingly, when he arrived, the door was already open, despite the fact that he remembered locking it when he had arrived home. Two men stood before him — a tall individual with silky grey hair that cascaded down his shoulders and another one with short, spiky white hair. The grey-haired man was wearing an elegant, blue jacket over a white shirt, while the other man was wearing a white tank top, as if it wasn’t the middle of December.

Such an interesting pair, he thought.

“Merry Christmas, motherfucker!” said the white-haired man.

“Who are you?”

“Why, isn’t it obvious? I’m Santa Claus.” The man crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m bringin’ coal to you, since you’ve been an asshole this year—”

The other man cleared his throat. “Please excuse Aoi’s behavior,” he said. “My name is Light. We are the Ghosts of Christmas Past.”

The Ghosts of Christmas Past. So they were indeed the ghosts Lord Gordain had been talking about.

“Why are you here?”

“To take you on a journey through your past.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” muttered Aoi. “We’re the Ghosts of Christmas Past for a reason.”

“Well, he did ask. I felt like I had to answer.”

“Would you… would you mind waiting here, gentlemen?” said Hongou. He was eager to get away from the two men. “I should get dressed, you see—”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”

Light snapped his fingers and in the blink of an eye, they were in what seemed to be a schoolyard. Hongou looked around wide-eyed, completely lost.

“How did we—?”

Light changed the subject.

“Does this place look familiar to you?”

Upon further inspection, Hongou realized that he did know the place. The benches in the yard, the rusty swingset, the oak tree… There was no doubt about it, that was the elementary school he used to attend as a child.

A group of children ran past them, chasing after a boy who was kicking a ball. Suddenly, Hongou felt very underdressed.

“Can they… can they see us?”

“Nah, don’t worry, we’re invisible right now,” said Aoi. “They can’t see your ugly-ass pyjamas, if that’s what you were worried about.”

He was indeed worried about his clothes, but he made no comments about it.

“Now, let’s see what we wanted ya to see, okay?”

They walked towards the oak tree. A young boy, around ten years old, was sitting on his own on one of the benches near the tree, swinging his legs back and forth. He was reading an anatomy book, completely oblivious to the older boy who was sneaking up behind him with malicious intent.

In the span of a second, the older boy snatched the book from the kid’s hands and started turning the pages in a bored fashion.

“Hey! Give that back!”

The child jumped from the bench and tried to get his book back, but the older — and therefore taller — boy simply lifted the book so he couldn’t reach it.

“Does this ring a bell, Mr. Hongou?” said Aoi.

“It does. That is me,” he answered.

The younger child kept jumping in a futile attempt at getting his book back, and the older boy broke in laughter.

“Give it back or I’ll tell the teachers!”

“Oh, you’ll tell the teachers? Okay, someone stole your book but… who was it?” The boy changed his voice to a high-pitched one. “Am I Megumi?” He lowered the pitch. “Or maybe I’m Yama?” He changed his voice again — this time, to a nasal tone. “Nah, I’m actually Jun. Sorry for tricking you, Gentarou.”

The scene was all too familiar to Hongou.

“When I was a child…” he recounted, “I used to be bullied by the other children because of my prosopagnosia. They would mock me by changing their voices and clothing so I was unable to recognize them.”

He used to wonder what emotions looked like. Granted, he had read about plenty of those in books, but he had been unable to see anything of the sort with his own eyes. His mother always said that his smiling face was so bright that it rivalled the very Sun. He would stand in front of the mirror every so often, trying to see it, but alas, he could never see his face fully — if he concentrated enough, he could recognize an eye, or maybe his nose, but picturing his face as a whole was an impossible task.

“So that’s why… I vowed I would find a cure for my condition. So no one else would suffer as I did.”

They stood in silence for a while, staring at the two children. The younger child was finally able to retrieve his book, and Light broke the silence.

“I think that’s enough of this memory. Now, let’s go to our next destination,” he said. “We still have more things to see.”

“Thank God we’re leaving, it’s freezing in here. I’m gonna turn into a fuckin’ ice cube at this rate.”

Light crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “This is why I told you to bring a jacket, Aoi.”

“You ever heard about this little thing called ‘fashion’, Einstein?”

“Yes. And I do believe jackets are part of what is deemed as ‘fashion’,” he retorted.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake—”

Hongou growled. He was not in the mood to hear the two ghosts bickering. “Can we just get to our destination and forget about this topic? Complaining will do us no good.”

“You are absolutely right. Let’s leave.”

Hongou blinked as Aoi snapped his fingers, and when he next opened his eyes, he was standing in a warm room. A small Christmas tree with few decorations adorned the place, which appeared to be the living room of a house.

“This is… my childhood home.”

“Yup.”

Beside the tree, there was a dining table with a few candles illuminating the room. A woman in her forties sat at the table, gripping a rosary with both hands as she sobbed. She kept on murmuring what seemed to be a prayer.

“Why is my mother crying? What happened? I don’t remember—”

Hongou was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. His mother snapped her head toward the sound and got up from her seat.

“Gentarou? Is that you?” she said.

A younger Hongou walked through the door and the woman ran to him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

“It’s a miracle!” she cried. “A Christmas miracle! Where were you, dear? You’ve been missing for three days!”

“It’s alright, Mama. I’m fine. We won’t ever be in need of money anymore,” said the teenager.

The woman let go of him to look straight into Gentarou’s eyes.

“What are you talking about, dear?”

Oh, so that was it, thought Hongou. This must be the time when I won Gordain’s game.

He clearly remembered the three days he had spent in that damned ship. He remembered being kidnapped after school and waking up in a ship, surrounded by seventeen more people. He remembered his fellow participants dying and killing one another in hopes of winning the grand prize — one billion yen. His people skills and intelligence had saved him, and as such, he became the sole winner of the game.

Gentarou told his mother the story, and she raised both hands to her face in horror.

“You were in such a dangerous situation? Oh my God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I couldn’t—”

“Don’t be sorry, Mama. We’ll be fine,” said the boy, hugging his mother once again. “We’ll be fine,” he repeated. He didn’t know whether he was trying to convince his mother or himself.

Hongou blinked a few times, trying to hold back tears. His mother had died on Christmas day, ten years after Gordain’s game, and he missed her. She was the only person who treated him like a human being despite his prosopagnosia throughout his childhood. The only person who had ever loved him despite his flaws. And she was gone.

“I believe it’s time to leave,” said Light.

No, thought Hongou. Please, let me stay here. I don’t want to leave her again. Please.

Hongou wondered whether he said that out loud or not, because Light added “I’m sorry, but we must leave. You still have two more visits left.”

Hongou tried to reach for his mother, but before he could even move, they were back in his bedroom. He plopped onto the bed and stared wistfully at the wall.

“Well, our time’s up, man,” said Aoi. “We gotta leave before the Ghosts of Christmas Present come.”

“Indeed. It has been a pleasure to guide you through your past. I sincerely hope you realize your mistakes before it’s too late for you.”

“And if you don’t, well… then I hope you rot in prison. Or burn in Hell. Or whatever.��

And as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the two ghosts bowed politely before disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Chapter III: The Ghosts of Christmas Present

Hongou kept staring at the wall for what felt like an eternity, lost in his thoughts.

What had been the point of all of that? Making him relive his awful childhood? Opening that old wound that had been his mother’s death? How could all of that have anything to do with his future?

He was tempted to go to bed and completely ignore the next appearance, but then, the bell from the clock tower chimed again.

One time…

Two times…

Hongou waited for a few seconds, but it seemed like the bell had gone silent for good. It was two in the morning. Just in time for the next set of ghosts.

A bright light blinded him momentarily, and when he opened his eyes again, the ghosts were standing right in front of him.

A black-haired woman with a belly dancer top and a gigantic man with yellow overalls stood in the middle of his room. Somehow, the pair was even more eccentric than the previous one, but Hongou made no comments about it.

“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Hongou!” said the man in the overalls with a merry laugh. “You can call me Seven.”

“Wait,” said the woman, turning around to face her companion. “What kind of name is that?”

“Dunno, I just don’t feel comfortable sharin’ my name with this guy, y’know?”

“So you’re going to use an alias?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Well, then I’m not sharing my real name either!”

Hongou sighed. “What should I call you, then?”

The woman raised her hand to her chin, deep in thought. “Hmm… how about Lotus?”

“A beautiful flower, I see,” answered Hongou. It was not like he could see her, but women loved compliments, right?

“Unlike her,” joked Seven under his breath.

“Why, you—!”

The woman swung her fist towards Seven’s face. By the sound it made, Hongou was certain it would leave a noticeable bruise in the near future. The giant massaged his jaw with a huff.

“Woah, you’re a fiery one, arentcha?”

“Tsk.” She turned to Hongou and continued their introduction. “Like I was about to say before we changed the topic, we are the Ghosts of Christmas Present.”

“I assume you’re here to show me my present?”

“No presents for ya, buddy. You’ve been naughty this year.”

“Not that kind of present.”

“He’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, please forgive him,” said Lotus, waving her hand in disdain. Seven grunted in response. “But yes, you are right, we will be showing you what’s going on this Christmas.”

Lotus extended her hand towards Hongou. He took it and, in an instant, they were transported to the interior of a small house. An elderly woman sat on a cushion in front of a lit chimney, stretching her hands towards the fire to get some warmth.

“Mum, do you— do you need anything else?”

Hongou’s eyes widened at the familiar voice. Kubota stepped into the room holding two cups of tea. He handed one cup to his mother and took a seat beside her.

“Ah, thank you, honey. It wasn’t necessary.”

“I know. It’s just that I don’t want you to— to overexert yourself, since you’ve been fairly sick this past week.”

“But I’m feeling much better now! Please, do not worry for me, I’ll be fine.”

Kubota nodded slowly and took a sip from his cup.

“By the way,” said the mother, “did you ask your boss to join us for dinner tomorrow?”

“Mr. Hongou? Yes, but he— he said he wouldn’t be coming. He wants to keep working.”

“On Christmas day?”

“Yes.”

“My, such an interesting fellow, isn’t he?”

Kubota sighed. “I don’t— I don’t really like him much, to be honest. The Nonary Project seems… wrong. I don’t know all the details but— but it’s giving me a bad feeling. I wish I could find a better job.”

“Then why do you keep working for him, honey?”

Kubota looked around the room. “It’s just… we have— we have nothing else, Mum. I barely get enough money to pay rent. And I can’t—” he hiccuped, “I can’t seem to find another job.” He gripped his hair in frustration. “I’ve been to countless interviews and I didn’t get accepted for— for any of the jobs! What am I doing wrong?!”

He broke into sobs, and his mother wrapped her arms around his scrawny torso.

“There, there.” She patted his back softly. “I know you’ll eventually get out of this. We will get out of this. Together.”

Kubota gripped her mother’s dress and cried onto her shoulder. “I wish I could earn more money to repay all the— all the things you’ve done for me. It’s what you deserve. But alas…”

His mother gently grabbed his face and ran her thumb over his cheek.

“It’s alright. Having you around is worth more than all the money in the world. As long as you’re with me and we’re healthy, then I’ll be happy. So don’t look so grim, Teruaki. It’s Christmas Eve, after all.”

Hongou held back tears. A small, old home. A sickly, single mother taking care of her only child. The ever-looming threat of not knowing if you would be able to pay that month’s rent, or afford to put some food on the table.

The scene was all too familiar to him. And he was partially at fault for it.

“I think we’ve seen enough from these two.” Seven’s booming voice brought him back to reality. “Let’s see Christmas from a happier point of view.”

And so, they travelled to different places and saw different families celebrating Christmas in their own special way.

A single mother watching cheesy Christmas films with her twin daughters after helping at the food bank.

A young girl excitedly guiding her blind brother to the Christmas tree, under which their parents had put their presents while they weren’t paying attention.

A white-haired boy leaving the presents under the tree as his younger sister slept soundly beside the tray of cookies she had left for Santa.

A kid opening his presents and jumping in delight after finding out Santa had brought him the videogame his friend Kanny had said she wanted to try someday.

A lonely detective staring at the enormous Christmas tree in front of the town hall as it snowed.

Different people from different backgrounds, all united through the joy of Christmas.

“Christmas is such a nice holiday, isn’t it?” said Lotus with a dreamy voice.

“Yup,” Seven agreed. “Gotta love the decorations and the delicious food.”

“And don’t forget family gatherings! I love getting to spend time with my girls.”

“Eh, I’d rather spend it on my own, but I guess everyone likes different stuff.”

Hongou stood there, watching the two ghosts conversing happily about the joy of Christmas. To be honest, he hadn’t been able to enjoy it since his mother’s death, but he had to admit their arguments were sound. Perhaps he would be able to enjoy Christmas again someday. Hopefully in a not-so-distant future, after the Nonary Project was completed.

“Hey, you’ve been pretty quiet, man. Guess you’re not the talkative type, huh?” said Seven, patting Hongou in the back. “Anyway, it’s gettin’ late. Our job here is done.”

“Right,” said Lotus. “It’s almost time for the final two ghosts to visit you. We should leave.”

Hongou nodded in understanding. “Very well, then. May you two have a good night.”

Just like when they first appeared, a bright light took over the place, and when Hongou was able to see again, he was back in his room, completely alone.

Chapter IV: The Ghosts of Christmas Future

After the previous appearances, Hongou realized that trying to fall asleep would be useless, so he decided to wait for the last two ghosts.

Lying awake on his bed, he wondered what kind of future awaited him. Lord Gordain had told him it was a grim one, but could it really be that bad?

As he stared at the ceiling, three chimes echoed on the cold night.

It’s time.

A hissing sound got Hongou’s attention. He got up from his bed to find out white smoke was coming from under his bed, clouding his room and preventing him from seeing what was going on. He put his sleeve over his mouth and nose to avoid breathing the gas.

“Who’s there?” he coughed.

The voice that answered didn’t sound human. Instead, it was deep and distorted, as if it was going through a voice changer. A chill ran through Hongou’s spine.

“We are the Ghosts of Christmas Future,” said the voice.

The smoke eventually dissipated enough to let Hongou see the ghosts, and he instinctively took a step back in fear.

In front of him stood a person wearing a black robe. The ghost’s face was covered by a gas mask, and a few strands of chestnut hair cascaded over the person’s chest from under the cloak.

“You can call me Zero,” said the figure.

“I… I thought there would be two of you coming.”

“And you are right.”

A smaller person appeared from behind Zero. A young girl with brown hair and a pink sweater peeked from behind the masked ghost, clutching Zero’s cloak with trembling hands.

“What is your name, little one?” asked Hongou as gently as possible to avoid scaring the child any more than she already was.

She stepped aside so she wasn’t hiding behind Zero anymore. She fiddled with her sweater’s sleeves in discomfort. “Akane. My name is Akane Kurashiki.”

Akane Kurashiki. Interestingly, her name matched one of the potential candidates for the Nonary Game. He wondered if it was a coincidence.

“Very well then, Akane.” He turned his attention to Zero, since the girl seemed a bit shy. “May I ask where we are going this time?”

“You will see soon,” said Zero.

The building they found themselves in was one that Hongou had never seen before. It looked like a normal office, covered from top to bottom with Christmas decorations.

The desks nearby had little snowflake-shaped stickers adorning them. Red and golden chains with pearls and little bells hung from the walls, and in the places where there weren’t any bells, there were decorations with the words “Merry X-Mas!” in sparkly red letters. A medium-sized Christmas tree shone with white and yellow LED lights that twinkled with such strength that it was almost headache-inducing. There was even a small Santa Claus by the entrance that laughed merrily in a mechanical voice.

And yet, despite the Christmas decorations, the place sent chills down Hongou’s spine for some unknown reason.

“What is this place?” wondered Hongou.

“The place in itself is not important. What really matters is what we’re going to see,” said Zero. “Look over there.”

The figure pointed to a nearby desk. A woman with short black hair and dark skin sat at the table, while a girl with pink hair stood beside her.

“So he’s dead, then?” asked the pink-haired girl with a flat voice.

“It would seem so.” The woman bit her nail. “We had him in almost constant surveillance, but he managed to kill himself anyway.”

A tense silence took over the room. Hongou rubbed his arms — it was almost as if the last part of the statement had decreased the temperature of the room by ten degrees.

“Is it… is it normal that I don’t feel anything? I mean, instead of sad or angry I’m just… relieved? Does that even make sense?”

“It’s a completely normal response, Clover. That man kidnapped you and Light when you were children, and you two have had to deal with years of trauma because of him,” she said. “It’s no wonder you only feel relief after he’s dead. I would personally be drinking the most expensive champagne I could get my hands on to celebrate, if I were in your shoes.”

Hongou had no idea who was the man they were talking about, but he seemed to be an awful person, if people were so relieved to see he was dead.

“Let’s go to another room to get a bit more context on the situation, alright?” said Zero.

They took a nearby corridor and, after a few turns, found themselves in front of a coffee machine covered up by even more snowflake stickers. A woman and an enormous man stood beside the machine with steamy cups in their hands. But that was not what surprised Hongou the most — he knew them. They were the same people who had visited him hours prior, the Ghosts of Christmas Present.

“Guess it’s over, huh?” said Seven.

“At least he paid for what he did,” said Lotus, staring at the floor and gripping her mug of black coffee with both hands as if her life depended on it. “And he cannot hurt anyone anymore. I’m satisfied, even if it’s not exactly how I expected things to turn out.”

“Uh-huh.” Seven took a sip from his coffee.

They had been in two different rooms and Hongou still had no idea who had died.

“May I ask who they are talking about?” he said. “We’ve seen four people so far talking about this man, but I still don’t know who he is.”

“Let’s find out, shall we?”

Zero gestured towards a door at the end of the corridor. They went into the room — more specifically, a private office — only to find the Ghosts of Christmas Past were there, too.

Aoi was sitting at the desk, with both hands on his head in what appeared to be a fit of frustration. Light sat solemnly in the chair in front of Aoi.

“I cannot believe that bastard offed himself. Didn’t think he’d have the guts to do it.”

“It’s understandable, if you think about it,” said Light, as if he was thinking out loud. “He was going to be imprisoned for the rest of his life after his involvement in the Nonary Project and Kubota, Nijisaki and Musashidou’s deaths, and he had nothing else to live for, if his speech after the Second Nonary Game was any indicative.”

Kubota is dead? ‘Involvement in the Nonary Project’? ‘Second Nonary Game’? What the hell are they talking about?

“Still. It sucks that he took the easy way out, you know?” said Aoi. “I wanted him to suffer a bit more. He burnt Akane alive, for fuck’s sake,” he spat.

Akane inched closer to Zero, and the woman ran her hand through the girl’s hair in a soothing gesture.

“I know. I wish Hongou had suffered a bit longer too.”

It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water over Hongou.

He was dead.

And the only negative feelings people had over his death were the regret over the fact that he deserved to live so he could suffer some more.

“No. No. This isn’t— this isn’t right—”

“So,” said Zero, “this is your future, Hongou.”

“Nonsense!” he roared. “Why am— why am I so hated? How did I even end up in prison?!”

“Why are you so surprised? You’re planning to kidnap multiple children and put them in danger to test the morphogenetic field theory.”

“But—”

“Do you really want to know what will happen, Hongou?” said Zero. “You will kill an innocent child in the Nonary Game. She will then orchestrate another Nonary Game with you as a participant, and you will be sent to prison for killing three different people, including your current coworker. And then… well, you’ve heard the rest.”

It was too much to handle. It had to be a lie, or a sick joke. It was too ridiculous to be true.

“Wait a minute! How can she orchestrate another Nonary Game if she’s dead?”

“Because she needs that Second Nonary Game to ensure her survival in the first one.”

“How the hell does that make sense?!”

“She will be unable to solve the incinerator puzzle on her own, so she will need to access the morphogenetic field to contact someone from the future. Someone who will also be playing the same game as her. So as long as she orchestrates the Second Nonary Game in the future, she will be able to survive the First Nonary Game in the past. A bootstrap paradox, if you’re familiar with the term.”

No way, there’s no way—

His voice quavered. “How do you… how do you know all this?”

Zero removed her cloak, letting her long brown hair cascade over her back. She then took off her mask, and Hongou expected to be greeted with another blank slate, another faceless being.

What he got instead was a pair of purple eyes staring right into his soul, a thin nose, and glossy lips.

“Because I am that child.”

Hongou took a few steps back. It was impossible.

“How…?! How is this…?!”

“This is what you wanted all along, wasn’t it?” She took a step towards Hongou. “Well, this is what you earned. You’ll cure your prosopagnosia with the morphogenetic field, but you’ll pay your freedom — and eventually, your life — as the price. Congratulations,” she said, mockingly.

Was this what he had yearned for so long? To see human faces?

No, this was not what he had wanted. He had wanted to see happiness: the way people’s mouths contorted into grins, the way their eyes squinted in gleeful delight, just like he had read in books so many times.

Not this. Not Zero’s eyebrows twitching into a frown while her mouth contorted into a mocking, disgusting smile.

His legs went weak and he fell to his knees. He barely felt any pain from hitting them against the cold marble floor. The only thing he could think of was his future demise.

He was going to end up in prison. He was going to kill people. How had he stooped so low? What would his dear mother think of him?

Crawling his way to the woman, Hongou gripped her cloak with both hands. “Please! Please tell me! How can I avoid this fate?! I can’t— I can’t end up like— like this!” he pleaded.

“It’s simple,” she said. “Abandon the Nonary Project and repent.”

The Nonary Project. Ever since he was a child, he had wanted to see faces, to recognize people the same as everyone else did. He had wanted to be able to see happiness, love, laughter. Everything he had done, he had done it to achieve normalcy and help others like him.

Had he been wrong all along? Had he mistakenly thought that curing his prosopagnosia was a good thing?

As if she could read his thoughts, Akane, who had been silent all along, chimed in, “It’s not that your motives weren’t pure. I know that you wanted to help others. You just have to create a better world without sacrificing innocent people in the process.”

Still on his knees, Hongou turned his head towards the child.

“But how… after all I’ve planned to do, how am I going to…?”

“Soporil-β.”

“What?”

“You inherited the Gigantic, didn’t you?” said the child. “Inside of All-Ice’s coffin, there’s a special mandrake root that can be used to create anesthetic — an anesthetic that you called Soporil-β in another history. It’s incredibly effective and will have almost no side effects, so it will become universal and Cradle’s stocks will skyrocket.”

“Another history? What are you talking about? How do you know all of this?”

She giggled and, despite being unable to see the child’s face, he knew her smile was genuine. “Didn’t we tell you? We’re the ghosts of Christmas Future. We can see what’s yet to come. All the possible outcomes.”

Soporil-β. Could this be what he needed to change his life? Akane had said his company’s stocks would increase after its creation. Maybe he could use all that money for good. Researching non-harming treatments for prosopagnosia, for instance.

He remembered the two girls who had visited him in the morning, asking for money for the poor. Maybe he could also put some of the money earned with Soporil-β in organizations that helped people who needed it most. And raise Kubota’s salary, too.

“I now see I was in the wrong,” he admitted. “I must admit I was so utterly convinced that curing my condition would be good enough that I forgot to take into account the means I intended to use to achieve that end.” He lowered his head in shame. “Thank you for helping me see the truth, Akane. And you too, Zero.”

Zero smiled, but this time, it was a sweet smile. Hongou couldn’t help but smile, too.

Then, a familiar white smoke started to blur Hongou’s vision.

“Our time is up,” said Zero, holding the child’s hand and intertwining their fingers together. “I genuinely hope you commit to changing into a better person, Hongou.”

“I trust you will,” said the child. “Please, remember this. Don’t let me die.”

Hongou’s eyelids started to feel heavy and slowly, he closed his eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

Chapter V: A changed man

The following morning, Hongou found himself lying on his bed. His head hurt, and he rubbed his temples. Had everything been a bad dream?

He got up from his bed and found a note on his nightstand. The handwriting was unfamiliar to him — his own penmanship was much messier in comparison to the elegant cursive from the note.

“Please, don’t forget. — Akane.”

So it wasn’t a dream.

Without even putting his slippers on, he ran to the phone and dialled Kubota’s number. After four tones, a raspy voice answered the call — it seemed like Kubota had just woken up.

“Mr. Hongou? Why are you calling this early? Is— is something the matter?”

“Merry Christmas, Kubota!”

“Huh?”

The man sounded genuinely confused, but Hongou couldn’t blame him in the slightest, to be honest. His change in demeanor had been so abrupt that even Hongou himself was surprised.

Then again, not everyone is visited by six Christmas ghosts and told that they’ll become a murderer and die alone in a dingy cell, so his change of heart wasn’t that unexpected, given the circumstances.

“I simply called to wish you and your mother a merry Christmas day, and to tell you that I will be delighted to join you two this evening, if that’s alright with you.”

There was a momentary silence at the other end of the line. “So you— you accept?”

“Yes. If that’s alright with you,” he repeated.

“Of course it is! Merry Christmas to you too, sir!”

Hongou chuckled.

“By the way, I think I’ve been too harsh to you lately, and I sincerely apologize for that. I’m considering raising your salary as an apology.”

“R— raising my salary?!”

“Would you rather stay as you are?” he joked.

“N— no! It’s not that! It’s just— well, I wasn’t expecting it.”

Another chuckle. “Well, I think you deserve it,” he paused momentarily. “Oh, and also, don’t worry about coming tomorrow to work on the Nonary Project. I’ve changed my mind, and I’ve decided to scrap it.”

“The Nonary Project? But— but why such a sudden change of heart, sir?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve had a… revelation,” he said. “A divine awakening, if you will,” he added.

“I’m not entirely sure I understand what you’re saying but… I’m glad— I’m glad you’ve changed your mind.”

“Me too, Kubota. Me too.”

That same evening, as he walked through the streets on his way to Kubota’s house, Hongou saw a young girl wearing a familiar pink sweater. She turned her head towards him and waved her hand, and even if he couldn’t see her face, he knew she was smiling at him. He smiled fondly and waved back.

He wondered whether she was aware or not that she had changed his life. Perhaps she was, perhaps she wasn’t, but Hongou was grateful for the lesson she had taught him anyway.

Something cold brushed against Hongou’s cheek. Puzzled, he looked up to the sky and realized it was snowing. He stretched the palm of his hand and, as he watched the snow gently fall, he smiled again.

For the first time in years, Christmas didn’t seem like such a bad day.

#submission #zero escape #9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors #alricspellsword #999-picarat-puzzle #zecret santa 2021

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