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cheshiresense · 4 days ago

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Hi Cross! I'm so happy you're writing for ShunStarrk, it's one of my favrite ships and Starrk is one of favorite characters and I love how you write them. I also couldn't help thinking about wat would happen if you sent Starrk bac with Ichigo in Swinging Pendulum (or just TBTP). You've done Kisuke and Aizen so I was curious how it would go with Starrk. I'd love to see any ideas you might have for it!

lol my first thought when I saw this was a mental image of Ichigo throwing Starrk at Shunsui and being like “go seduce us an ally!” 😂😂😂

But okay, more seriously, I have a few thoughts on it so I guess I'll just ramble a bit? Well first of all, in an AU like SP/TBTP, I would employ one of my handy dandy Bleach headcanons where the next step up from Arrancar is a fully restored soul, so to speak. We know Hollows are generally souls that Shinigami failed to purify and save in time, but I like to think that as Hollows, after hitting rock bottom, if they have the power and the strength of will and the ability to survive long enough to work all the way back up on their own, they can actually fix themselves.

(I actually also headcanon that becoming “perfect artificial Arrancar” via Aizen and his Hougyoku actually stagnates them, so they’re given a power boost and Shinigami-like powers, but they’ve basically peaked and will never again be able to grow much because there is no growth from perfection, which also explains why the Visored’s power levels have always felt a cut below the other captains and lieutenants’ and even after a hundred years they could never manage much with their Hollow abilities, nor did they make any significant improvements or contributions between WW and TYBW, because the Hougyoku pushes you to the pinnacle of your potential at that point in your life, but by doing so, it also cuts off any possibility of further growth, and so over time you might even deteriorate. And all of that ties neatly back into one of Bleach’s major themes of perfection/stagnancy vs. growth/development. But I digress, that isn’t overly important here.)

My point is, the fuckery in the bad end future where Ichigo and Starrk are from lasted long enough and resulted in a terrible enough war that Starrk finally allowed himself that last step of growth and became a whole - if scarred - soul again, so he no longer has a Hollow hole or that collar of teeth, and he has a proper Zanpakutou merged with his Hollow abilities. So like he’s the first and only Hollow ever who managed to rebuild his own soul and is super OP as a result. Like if Aizen’s the upper limit of a Shinigami, and Yhwach is the upper limit of a Quincy, then Starrk would be the upper limit of a Hollow, which the Soul King took into account and was like yay finally the best of a species that isn’t out to ball the universe for once, he’s hella depressed and lonely and grieving but he’s just gonna have to deal cuz the world isn’t going to save itself and my god-slaying mad-scientist-experiment-child of a descendant needs all the help he can get to pull his saviour schtick off again.

All of which is just to say Starrk can blend in much better in Soul Society and yes I took the long-ass way around just to establish this single plot point lmao.

Secondly, as implied above, I’d prob change the final big bad to the Quincy because 1) it’s fresher in my mind and also 2) it gives me more established material to work with. Also 3) we’ll pretend Yhwach wasn’t senile and so didn’t kill off half his own army, because lbr his Auswahlen won half the war for the Shinigami in canon. And this way we get the tragic bad end we need to kick off an SP AU.

And thirdly, just to tie up that loose end, you can’t have two of the same souls in one timeline, so past!Starrk&Lilynette wink out of existence the moment the Soul King drops future!Starrk in TBTP because I’m heartless like that and the more angst the merrier.

Also fourthly, the thing about sending Starrk back with Ichigo is that the dynamic is just so completely different than if it were Kisuke or Aizen or Shinji or any of Ichigo's friends. Like I guess in other fics you usually see Starrk as one of Ichigo's ppl, lured over to the good side because of Ichigo's whole power of friendship, friends and family must be protected thing, and I enjoy reading those of course, but writing-wise, I can't really get behind it because for me, their relationship would come out sth like part-comrade, part-mentor/student because someone's gotta teach Ichigo how to Hollow and I honestly don't rly count the Visored training as such because what they did was basically the equivalent of a temporary patchjob/lesson on how to unhealthily repress a part of yourself instead of actually dealing with it, all so it won't get in the way of fighting Aizen, so Ichigo never actually gets around to harnessing that side of him as opposed to everything he does with his Shinigami and Quincy sides, and lastly part-wow-this-kid-is-a-hundred-years-away-from-becoming-another-Aizen-if-the-Shinigami-keep-fucking-up-with-him whenever Starrk looks at Ichigo, because if anyone aside from Ichigo understood what made Aizen into the would-be-god he became, it would be Starrk, and there's no way he wouldn't be able to see the exact same potential in Ichigo.

And yeah, technically Kisuke was a mentor too, same with Shinji and a few others, but with their history, it's hard to really see that role as one of their main ones, esp since all of them end up following Ichigo's lead. If you want to get poetic about it, he's the sun they're drawn to and revolve around and devote themselves to. That's completely not the case with Starrk. If anyone is Starrk's sun, it's Shunsui. Plus Starrk's just a lot older than most of them so he can't just be crammed into the peer/partner/friend willing to burn SS down for Ichigo and follow him to the ends of the world box. It would be the same if it was Shunsui or Ukitake sent back. But that's fun to play with too, something new, and I imagine Starrk's got a soft spot for kids, and this one was also taught by Shunsui (a la SP canon), and Starrk taught Ichigo as well, so it's not like they don't get along or that Starrk wouldn't absolutely throw down with someone trying to take another chunk out of Ichigo. It's just that this is a dynamic where for once, Ichigo isn't the absolute top priority and object of fascination/love/devotion for the one sent back in time with him. For Starrk, that position's already taken by a certain Shinigami captain.

And wow okay we're not even into the actual AU and I already rambled too much, I guess I'll end this with the two of them entering the Academy after wandering in from the wilds of Rukongai? In SP, I had Ichigo being found by the Shibas and sort of faking amnesia, but I feel like it's simpler here to go with the two of them finding their way to the Seireitei on their own, and then the Shibas hear of someone with a face that could pass for Kaien's twin, so ofc Kaien's immediately like HELLO LONG-LOST FAM and rolling out the welcome mat.

Obviously Ichigo's like fuck that this is way too soon after losing all my actual friends and family, but Shibas don't know how to take no for an answer (honestly you're like that too Ichigo), so there's a good few weeks where Kaien haunts the Academy like an enthusiastic ghost two steps left of empty nest syndrome or something, and Ichigo spends an equal amount of time ignoring him in favour of tearing through the Academy curriculum like a man on a mission, which he technically is. He doesn't like the attention, but he's also never had much patience for subtlety, and he's used to ignoring other ppl's opinions of him anyway, so by the end of the month, everybody knows him as the newest Shiba prodigy slated to graduate in a year, and Ichigo doesn't care so long as he gets what he wants.

Meanwhile, not many people notice the man who'd come to the city with Ichigo and applied to the Academy at the same time. Unlike Ichigo, Starrk is very good at fading into the background, and it's doubly easy when you put him next to someone whose very existence is as bright and loud as Ichigo's, with the kind of charisma that attracts ppl to him even when he doesn't do anything.

That suits Starrk just fine. He's exhausted and heartsore and still not entirely sure why he'd said yes when Mimihagi had waylaid him when he'd been on the brink of death and asked him to accompany Ichigo back in time to save the world. He's not a hero, not anyone important or special, and also not particularly interested in living in a world without Kyouraku Shunsui - his Shunsui - in it. But Shunsui had also died for the world, for the Soul Society he'd devoted his life to protecting, died to buy time for others to live just a little bit longer, and it had seemed a mockery of one of the things Shunsui had held so dear if Starrk didn't even try to protect it too when the option was laid out in front of him. Besides, it had also seemed unfair to leave it all to Ichigo, to dump the literal weight of the universe on the kid's shoulders once again, and this time he wouldn't even have any help if Starrk didn't go because everyone else was dead or - Starrk assumes - not as strong as him. Once again, his strength is more a curse than anything else. So he supposes he does know why he'd agreed - a moment of insanity, a moment of weakness - and now here he is stuck in an era he'd certainly lived through before but in a location he'd only ever seen in the midst of war.

Peacetime at least affords him time to rest, although he's not sure how he likes that either. Fighting and killing at least means he has little time for anything else, like sleep plagued with nightmares, but it's that or staring into empty space and being plagued with memories instead, and that's not really any better. Still, he deals and doesn't let Ichigo catch on to the fact that his head's not in a great place because the kid doesn't need anymore on his plate. It's not like Ichigo's getting much sleep either anyway if the bags under his eyes are anything to go by. Besides, Starrk's used to nightmares and bad memories. He has a thousand years' worth under his belt, so it's nothing new, even if the content is.

The Academy is something of a novelty, if only because he's never gone to school before. So unlike Ichigo, he doesn't mind going to lectures instead of immediately testing out of most classes and jumping straight to the sixth-year curriculum and whatever extra credit work that Zanjutsu department head who likes stalking Ichigo gives him. Starrk had checked and discovered that so long as he applies for it before the deadline, he can take the graduation exams at the end of the year, and so long as he passes, the school doesn't much care what classes make it onto his academic transcript. There's even been clan kids who just stay at home with an army of private tutors before directly taking the exams and entering the Gotei that way.

But like Ichigo, there's also not much the Academy teaches that he doesn't excel at. Combat-wise, there are already very few people in all the known worlds who can best him, let alone anyone in this school. His worst subject is history, because he knows almost nothing of Soul Society aside from major events he'd heard of in passing and anything related to Quincy, but when everything else is easy, that just means he can spend all his time memorizing the readings he's assigned.

Aside from that, he goes to class and sleeps in class, he skips class and sleeps then too, he spars whoever the teacher wants him to but never volunteers otherwise, and he's very careful to keep his reiatsu levels under wraps. He looks at his classmates in each class and picks out the middling to above average students and copies their progress, and he doesn't bother doing more.

"Isn't it boring?" Ichigo asks him once when he's once again hiding from his cousin in Starrk's room. Starrk shrugs from his bed and doesn't tell him that one doesn't know boredom until they've spent a thousand years alone in a barren desert. Anything else is a step up. Even if all the theory in his lectures are things he's already read about because Shunsui had let him have free reign in the private library back home, hearing it again never hurts. "It's a pretty good sleep aid," Starrk says instead, just to hear the amused snort it coaxes from Ichigo.

It is of course impossible to fool everyone, and Starrk hadn't been aiming for that anyway. Ichigo also doesn't spend time with anybody else, so inevitably, two months into their Academy life, one Koyonagi Senzou turns his attention on the man who probably spends more time sleeping than anyone else in the Seireitei.

"All your assignments fulfill the minimum requirements," Koyonagi says, smiling from behind his desk after summoning Starrk to his office. "Never more, never less, perfect across the board even if they all come back with a note suggesting you could try earning some bonus points. All your tests are returned with a score of 75-80%. Never more, never less, but the points that get docked off are always for questions you've left blank. And every single week, you win exactly half your total spars. Never more, never less. Tell me, Coyote-san, do you think yourself more or less subtle than Ichi-chan?" Starrk blinks once, slowly, and stares back without the energy to muster much more than a noncommittal grunt. Koyonagi reminds him a little of Aizen and a lot of Ichimaru, and this kind of person, Starrk knows, wants for nothing so much as they do a reaction. "Wasn't trying to be subtle," Starrk eventually says when it becomes clear that Koyonagi is perfectly willing to wait him out for as long as it takes, and Starrk doesn't care enough about power plays to try and win this one, not when he hasn't even been offered a chair to sit in. "I've been passing everything, so it's fine, right?" Koyonagi doesn't stop smiling, but it becomes just the slightest bit fixed the way Ichimaru's had when he'd not been entirely pleased with his prey's response. Even Starrk probably would've missed it if Ichimaru hadn't often looked like that around Starrk. As expected, the teacher prods a few more times, a little more cutting each round, and Starrk in turn replies with the same dull apathy that comes so very easily to him. "Well-played," Koyonagi finally says, and he just looks bored now. "Although I honestly can't fathom what Ichigo sees in someone so lacking in... ambition." He pauses like he wants Starrk to hear the insult underneath, like he wants Starrk to take offense, but Starrk's barely paying attention as it is, and there was no question anyway, which means Starrk isn't expected to answer, so he doesn't. Koyonagi sighs like he's never met a bigger disappointment. "Never mind, you're dismissed." His eyes glitter with something like mockery. "Your new schedule will be sent to you by tonight. You'll be moved up to the sixth year classes. Do keep up the good work, won't you?" Starrk raises an eyebrow, then sighs right back. Well, whether it's first year or sixth year, it's all the same to him. He's not the one who took the initiative to present himself as a genius, and students are moved in and out of classes for more reasons than just skipping grades. And with Ichigo around, no one will look twice at him. He dips his head in acknowledgement and wonders why people like this can't just say what they want to begin with. This had clearly been the point from the very beginning and could've been over and done with in two minutes, but this meeting's dragged on for half an hour. What a troublesome guy. He heads for the door. The weather is nice today. Maybe he'll even be able to take an uninterrupted nap for once.

On the Shiba front, something's got to give, and unfortunately for Ichigo, he doesn't have experience warding off family unwilling to leave him alone.

"I came here with a friend!" Ichigo snaps, his last-ditch attempt to chase Kaien away. "He's practically family! I'm not leaving him behind!" He'd heard all about the bullshit that was Rukia's adoption into the Kuchiki Clan, thank you. Kaien blinks at him, mystified. "What are you talking about? We just want to add you to the family registry and probably throw you a party while we're at it. You don't have to leave your friend anywhere. Hell, bring him back with you. If he's your family, he's our family, and we have plenty of space!" At this point, Kaien looks like he's warming up to the idea. "That's right, you mentioned you've known him for a while, right? Uh, what's his name again, Coyote Starrk? If he's been watching your back out in Rukongai, I should thank him properly. Is that why you've been resisting all this time? Did you think we'd make you cut ties with him or something? We're not like the other stuffy clans, Ichigo! Any friend of yours is welcome! We'd love to meet him! Hey, how's he doing in his classes? Does he need a sponsor? It doesn't matter, a clan sponsor can only be a good thing. Don't worry, Ichigo, we'll take good care of him!" Ichigo has a moment to picture the sheer amount of chaotic energy that even he can already tell is a common factor amongst the Shiba Clan, meeting Starrk, whose favourite hobbies include napping, creating new Kidou seals, and listening to Kyouraku read to him when they can scrounge up some time for themselves, and the only conclusion he can come to is a horrified, holy shit, Starrk-san's going to kill me.

#myscrap #bleach #coyote starrk #kurosaki ichigo #koyonagi senzou #shiba kaien #ichigo & starrk time travel verse

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tevanbegins · 3 months ago

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When we find out Lucy has joined Air Ops in the last few episodes of season 6, Buck is all "yeah that's cool, great for you" and all but not once does he express any curiousity or thrill at the prospect of pursuing a career as a pilot himself.

It's only because of his huge crush on Tommy that he asked for the tour of Harbor station in 7x04. He wouldn't have cared if he didn't get to see the choppers or the offer for flying lessons, he just wanted to spend time with Tommy in any capacity. At the time he only resorted to showing interest in Tommy's work specialty because he didn't exactly understand the nature of his feelings for Tommy and didn't know how else to get his attention. He would have gone and stared at rocks for hours if Tommy had invited him to do something as mundane as that, the boy was smitten so bad. That's why he came for the basketball game despite hating the sport so much because he knew Tommy would be there.

That's why he stared at Eddie in the firehouse because he was trying to think of ways to get himself invited to the game. All to see Tommy again. If his face fell when Eddie ignored him, he smiled again when he realised he could go to the game with Chimney instead. If Eddie was the one Buck wanted, he would have probably shoved Tommy on the court instead of Eddie. If Eddie was the one he loved, he would have not only been ashamed but horrified about what he did, not leaving Eddie's side even once until his ankle sprain got better even if the injury was minor. Instead the boy was busy having a meal with his sister at her workplace, adulting at home doing boring paperwork, and later reveling in the surprise kiss from Tommy in his kitchen and the date he just got. Not that he didn't care about his best friend but he was also maybe a bit pissed that he was becoming a major cockblock over the past several days, never leaving room or time for him to hangout with Tommy. But he called Eddie after being urged to do so by Maddie and Tommy, once his insecurities were addressed.

If Tommy was an unnecessary part of the equation, why would Buck ask Eddie when he was going to see Tommy again and hoping to be invited to the karaoke bar trivia night? Shouldn't he have devised some other plan that he and Eddie could do without Tommy? Eddie hanging out with Tommy was not really a problem for Buck. It was them doing it without him, his best friend excluding him in all of their plans and Buck missing out on all those chances to spend time with Tommy and get to know him better was what drove him nuts.

It's all so obvious and Buck says as much! Nobody asked him to tell Tommy that trying to get his attention was exhausting. It was completely unprompted and came from a place of genuine realisation. He was the one who started flirting with the head tilt and asking if the Muay Thai lessons would be right after the flying lessons. He is not a teenager to be so confused. In that moment he knew what he wanted and got it too!

Idek why I am writing all of this at this point but let it be known that we're not going to let some people's delusional misinterpretations change our understanding of the canon that's so crystal clear. We have the showrunner's interviews backing up our interpretation as well.

I seriously can't wait for the new season to start and see further development for Tevan so that we have something new to gush about (and the antis have something new to misconstrue) instead of going over the same stuff over and over!

___

#tevan #bucktommy #kinley #tommy kinard #evan ‘buck’ buckley #evan buckley #evan x tommy #buck x tommy #tommy x buck #tommybuck #911 abc #kinkley #firefly #911 discourse

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babacontainsmultitudes · 2 years ago

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OH HE’S PERFECT THANK YOU SO MUCH!

👉👈 While you're sketching mermaids, could I make the somewhat specific request for a little Terry Jr. mermaid (I was thinking kid/teen TJ probably?) with a lionfish-themed tail? If that's not too much to ask!

I might have an elaborate mermaid AU in my head that I haven't told anybody about so yeah aha

Now let’s hear those details 👀

Sketch requests are currently closed!

#No seriously like you nailed it this is like exactly what I had in mind #Thank you SO much #☺️💜 Your TJ is my favourite I just love the way you draw him!#😆 there’s a whole plot in my head but I’m so so shy #But I did spend a lot of time thinking about what kinda fish tails they’d all have LOL #And I *will* ramble about that!#Thank you for giving me an opportunity to do so hahahaha #I’m such a kid lmao #So TJ and Sam are lionfish but Ron would be a much more common one like maybe a trout or something #Lark and Sparrow and Henry are clownfish :)#The Wilsons are pufferfish!#As in Grant Darryl and possibly Carol (not yet decided)#I think Linc would be something different- I haven’t really thought about the teens in this context!#Oh and the Closes are sharks >:]#Yeah I’m actually a 10 year old in a 22 year old’s body #I’m two kids in a trenchcoat #Op this really made me so happy you fucking rock!!!#terry jr #Dndads fanart #dndads #dungeons and daddies #fanart #art #💜#Dndads au #mermaid au

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monsterheart-lionheart · 1 month ago

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OP I AM BACK AND I HAVE WORDS!!!

Roz and Fink's relationship is honestly one of my favourites in the entire movie? Like the very first day, Fink waited until Roz shut off before slowly walking to snuggle her, all because he was so lonely and wanted her company! And the next time we see them? We watch him silently judge Roz and Fink for their neurodivergent weirdness (I love their relationship too btw they were copying him!!!), he just gives Roz more things to mimic, making a fun game out of it! I love that we skipped whatever slowly warm up period they definetly had, and showed how they became rocks in each other's lives! I was reading an article about moments in the movie (look I saw it on opening weekend and I needed a more spoiler review of it that YouTube reviewers were (fairly) not giving yet) and the person pointed out that when Roz asked what to do if the person you love isn't around to see it, HE DEFLATES!! HE WANTED HER TO SAY IT BECAUSE HE CLEARLY DOESN'T WANT/DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO, THE ONLY TIME HE GETS THE COURAGE TO ASK HER TO STAY IS AT THE END IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AS A MINI CONCLUSION TO HIS ARC, HE COULDN'T SAY IT TO HER PRIVATELY BUT HE WANTS HER TO STAY SO MUCH HE'LL SAY IT IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE FOREST!!

AND ROZ! SHE SEES RIGHT THROUGH HIM, LEARNS HOW HE LIES, AND BECOMES BETTER! SHE BECOMES A FAMILY WITH HIM AND BRIGHTBILL AND I LOVE ALL THEIR TALKS DISCUSSING BRIGHTBILL!

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk XD, in all seriousness your posts had amazing points.

YOU REALLY COOKED WITH THIS. I’m such a huge fan of them. Enemies to people who raised a kid together. They saved 2024 im afraid

#rozfink #the wild robot

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harrypotterfuryroad · 11 months ago

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like seriously calling people stupid on tumblr dot com all the time is not a productive hobby do knitting or rock climbing or something that genuinely makes you happy. and no, I do not believe that screenshotting internet microblog posts about LGBT discourse and captioning about how dumb and stupid and idiot OP is compared to your massive cynical brain makes you happy. log off. enjoy life 😊

maybe i’ll send anonymous messages to people i disagree with instead

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brucebocchi · 8 months ago

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Winter 2024 anime roundup, Pt. 1: Ongoing/returning shows and the trash heap

hey y'all, this is also up on my ko-fi! it's free to read both here and there, but i'm struggling financially rn so i could appreciate if you'd throw a few bucks my way if you liked it!

I wasn't expecting to watch nearly this much anime in just the past three months, but life completely failed at getting in the way. So here's everything I either watched or tried to watch for the Winter 2024 season, and a short review for each.

I'm not going to bother with trying to rank them, so instead they're sorted by category, as follows:

Continuing series from Fall 2023

Returning series

What I dropped

Mixed reactions

On hold

New series that are actually good

With this first entry, I'll be covering the first three, with the back half arriving in another couple of days. As with the 2023 rankings, the OP for each show is linked in the corresponding title.

Here we go.

Ongoing shows:

The Apothecary Diaries

Looking back at my 2023 rankings, I think my placement of The Apothecary Diaries’ first cour at #11 may have belied how much I love this show and believe it to truly be one of last year’s greats. If anything, it was hampered by its status as an ongoing show making it incomplete by nature, and I worried myself over the possibility of recency bias taking over my top ten (Frieren is in the same boat, so its top overall ranking should really highlight how damn good it is). Make no mistake, though: The Apothecary Diaries fucking rocks, and it continues to fucking rock.

It’s largely more of the same, and that’s what you would want from another cour of this show. At the same time, though, more and more is uncovered about Maomao’s background and Jinshi’s status as the proverbial camera continues to pull back and the mysteries adorning the edges of the frame become clearer. I got a sense at the end of the Fall 2023 cour that the show was moving on from its episodic nature into something more serial and plot-driven, and I was mostly right: While several episodes of the Winter cour still revolve around various mysteries of the week, they all start to converge before you even realize it. It’s the same flywheel-effect approach to plot development that Kaguya-sama did so well: While so many of the events seem like one-off curiosities in the moment, these almost-imperceptible movements eventually barrel forward into an unexpected but perfectly logical momentum. The show teases out several plot threads that may not seem relevant at first, and it trusts you to be patient enough to see them play out.

I’m not at all exaggerating when I say that, along with the next entry on this list, The Apothecary Diaries is one of the best anime of the past five years. I had a feeling that this could end up being the case as 2023 came to a close, but I’m sure of it now. Watch this show.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Last year’s best anime continues apace into 2024 as we get an honest-to-goodness story arc: Frieren, who has been around too long to bother taking any magical governing bodies seriously, needs a certified mage in her party order to continue on the journey north. She decides to take the necessary exam to be certified as a First-Class Mage, a rarefied status in this world, and has Fern tag along to do the same in order to double their chances.

And it’s still incredible! Great action, brilliant animation, wonderful character moments, and a beautiful score. It is still the top-rated anime ever on MyAnimeList, and by a significant margin. I’m not sure I agree, necessarily, but I can say with all sincerity that this has been a perfect season of television and my Fridays now feel empty without it.

That’s all I’ve got on this one. What else do you want from me? I’ve already written nearly 2000 words about this show alone since it premiered. You’re asking me for more? I’ll kill you.

Shangri-La Frontier

If the low placement on my 2023 list was any indication, I was pretty fed up with Shangri-La Frontier by the end of its first cour, and the first couple episodes of 2024 being little more than plot set-up had me teetering on the edge of dropping it entirely. But I’ll be damned if it didn’t reel me back in once shit actually started happening and the plot really began to move forward.

Well, for a bit, at least. The height of the series so far has been the Wethermon arc, in which Sunraku teams up with his fellow shit-gamers, Pencilgon and Katzo, as they vie to be the first to take down a notoriously difficult unique boss. As the fight plays out, we get to see the feeling-out process of a tough action-RPG boss, rife with attack pattern memorization, skill timing, and buff stacking as the margin for error grows ever thinner. As always, the animation is on point, the soundtrack rules, and the action sequences are exhilarating.

But my major gripe with the series remains: There’s hardly any actual story here, even after 25 episodes. There are broad gestures towards a larger plot (“the truth of this world,” as the NPCs call it), but they are too vague to even resemble anything enticing. Everything in between the major fights is just set dressing, and there’s a lot of in between. There’s decent stuff in there, to be fair; the adorable rabbit NPCs are always a delight, and I love the commitment to depicting our top-level gamers as smug, preening shitheels. These are long walks for short drinks of water, though, and much of the main cast isn’t likable enough to make the downtime tolerable, to the point where watching the many set-up episodes feels like more of a grind than the actual grinding in the show. Even in the best fight sequences I still had moments where I found myself yelling “STOP TALKING ALREADY” at the screen. Internal monologues are a constant in battle shonen, I know, but if there’s any demographic whose internal monologues I want to hear the least, it’s gamers.

I kept watching this show despite myself, and six months later I’m still not sure how much I actually enjoy it. I haven’t seen any of the lousy VRMMO anime that people favorably compare it to, so at least it isn’t Sword Art Online. Yay, I guess? Yet here I am, still plugging away at a show I can’t strongly recommend to a lot of people. Shangri-La Frontier has turned me into a Steam reviewer.

Undead Unluck

The stakes continue to rise exponentially in one of last year’s more underrated shonen hits (or it would’ve been a hit if Disney gave a fuck about marketing the anime on its own platforms). The Union neutralizes a threat, gains a new Roundtable member, and then shit hits the fan.

The scope of this series goes into absolutely buckwild directions, and all I will say is that “Kimi no Todoke predicting the future” was not a piece of worldbuilding I would have ever expected. But at the same time, it never loses focus on the human element, which only gets more poignant as it goes on. There’s a really beautiful message in the last arc about how people can live on through the memories of others, well past their bodies dying, which hits nice and hard considering this season aired at the same time as Frieren.

This is a show that I tended to watch sporadically (because I just plain forget to open Hulu just to watch one show every week), and I would say that it was the ideal way to watch it, except the pacing issues from the first cour only got worse during a monumentally consequential sequence in the middle of the second. There was an episode that had, I shit you not, 90 seconds of new content in the first seven minutes of runtime, and at the exact point in the series where you’re salivating for something, anything new. In a season where so much goes on in just 24 episodes, I’m baffled that they felt the need to pad the runtime so much.

That’s the worst of it, though, and the momentum fortunately builds up from there and barrels downhill until the end. The story becomes incredibly meta, which was a very ballsy move for a Shonen Jump series that was still relatively early into its run. The gamble pays off, though, and the debut season ends on several incredibly strong episodes, and now I want more. I’ll be hopping on the manga soon.

It also struck me towards the end of the season just how goddamn cute everyone looks. For all of the spraying blood and grim marching towards Armageddon, it says a lot that I still wanna pinch everyone’s fat little cheeks.

Returning shows:

The Dangers in My Heart, season 2

The first season was absent in my 2023 rankings but I decided to pick it up while the second was still airing, and I’m so glad I did: The Dangers in My Heart is an almost-too-precious middle school romance that is endlessly endearing and bluntly honest (if a little exploitative) about what middle schoolers are actually like, warts and all. Insecurities are amplified, they struggle to figure out their identities, and mental and physical development run on different schedules from one kid to the next. And amidst all this raging hormonal nonsense, we have ourselves a lovely little romance story.

Kyotaro has (mostly) kicked his chuuni tendencies and realized that he’s madly in love with the beautiful, cheery Anna. He’s as aware as anyone of what a mismatched couple they’d be, though, and continues to self-sabotage any progress in the name of maintaining her good social standing. To pile onto his loner’s perspective of middle school politics, Kyotaro also gets a front-row seat to Anna’s part-time work as a model-slash-actress and he wonders if an underdeveloped shrimp like him should be seen anywhere near someone so obviously more mature. At the same time, though, he’s a growing boy, and we see lovely moments of progress as Kyotaro takes initiative both for her sake and to achieve what he wants. To both ameliorate and complicate these situations, Anna reciprocates his feelings towards her, and we creep ever closer towards what we want to see, in increasingly awkward and precious fashion.

So much of this anime is just gorgeous. Even setting aside the visuals and music (which are on point at all times), there are really lovely themes in here about insecurity, teenage perceptions of maturity, and self acceptance. On top of all of that, though, this is just a delightful slice-of-life romance story. You can probably guess where we’ve ended up by the end of the second season, but it’s the getting there that makes it all worth it. The manga is still running (and I plan to pick it up), so there’s clearly plenty more of the story to tell, but if this is where the anime ends, it ended perfectly.

Holy shit, though, did the first season really air at the same time as Skip and Loafer and Insomniacs After School? Dentists must have made a mint that season because every single one of these shows is so unrelentingly sweet that my teeth start to itch. Not that I’m complaining.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles, season 2

I honestly think I might’ve been too hard on Mashle in my 2023 rankings. I gave up on it a few episodes in when it’d initially aired, but I eventually came back to finish out the season and ended up having a pretty good time. I’ll cop to having forgotten that latter part when I mapped out those rankings, but that enjoyment quickly came back to me when I picked up season 2... even if the season begins with a ton of table setting.

Plenty of battle shonen take time to find their voice, both in manga and anime, and Mashle really seemed to hit its stride fairly quickly into the second season. Mash Burnedead’s lack of magical quality is no longer a secret, and now magical society has to find a way to deal with it, so the series’ initial stakes are raised and Mash HAS to become a top-level sorcerer lest he lose his life. Also, the bad guys are back. Unfortunately, just as I started to genuinely appreciate the ensemble cast, most of Mash’s friends took a backseat to the larger plot (Lemon is nowhere to be seen almost all season) as the villains raise the stakes with increasingly JoJo-esque magic abilities. There’s still plenty to like, though, and some of the new characters help. Props for having an openly nonbinary character play a major role.

The music is a real highlight here; a surprising amount of hip-hop paints the backdrops during dialogue, and any show with an OP by Creepy Nuts will immediately grab my attention. "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" actually turned into a bona fide hit single, much like Oshi no Ko's "Idol" and Jujutsu Kaisen's "SPECIALZ," and I'd say it's well earned (seriously, it fucks, please click the link above). The animation has also started to really pick up where it felt like it kept falling short in the first season as well, and I found myself looking forward to action sequences more as the season went on.

And hey, it might’ve taken 21 episodes to get there, but I finally laughed at a cream puff gag!

Urusei Yatsura (2022), season 2

I really don’t have much to say other than it’s more Urusei Yatsura, and that’s just swell. We continue the modern adaptation of the classic gag manga as the OG anime babe and her piece-of-shit “darling” get caught up in yet more bizarre hijinks. Despite the 48-episode run being touted as an “Urusei Yatsura all-stars” cherry-pick from Rumiko Takahashi’s 34-volume opus, not all of the segments hit on the same level, but the stories that last entire or even multiple episodes have been killer. Lum and Ataru, despite their myriad flaws, genuinely do care for one another, and this series is at its best when those feelings get to shine through. Takahashi remains a legend for her expert balancing of comedy and heart, and while this particular adaptation doesn’t have the built-in benefit of 300+ chapters of familiarity, those moments still feel earned.

It’s Urusei Yatsura. It’s a classic for a reason. Watch it.

Dropped:

Gushing Over Magical Girls (dropped after one episode)

For the TL;DR version, consult the image above.

All I’d heard about this show going in was that the manga it’s based on was good and that there would be boobs. I wish I’d known more than that before watching, though, because if I’d known that said boobs would belong to middle schoolers, I wouldn’t have bothered with even the one episode I did end up watching.

I was drawn in by the initial premise, too: The protagonist, the conspicuously-named Utena (who looks enough like Bernadetta from Fire Emblem that I was immediately endeared to her), is an enormous fan of the magical girls who keep her city safe, so when an adorable maho shoujo mascot approaches her with an offer, she immediately takes him up on it. As her sinister-looking (and unnecessarily revealing) costume suggests, though, Utena doesn’t get to live out her magical girl dreams; she actually got roped into—and blackmailed into keeping—a role as a villainess. The magical girl team she idolizes quickly finds her, and to stave off their assault, Utena is forced to summon a monster to bind them. As they continue to struggle and squeal, Utena goes further with it by ripping their clothes and spanking their bare bottoms red, because it turns out that she’s actually into this stuff, sexually. The title, it turns out, is a double entendre.

Credit where it’s due for a clever concept: On paper, this is really goddamn funny! My issue is with the execution: I don’t really care to see someone’s sexual awakening if it involves repeated violations of consent, and much less so if I have to see nudity of ostensible middle schoolers (Japanese middle schools are the equivalent of seventh through ninth grade, meaning these girls are 15 at most). After 100 Girlfriends, I thought I could handle whatever trashy bullshit any anime could throw my way, but the longer I chewed on Gushing’s premiere, the worse it sat with me. I have no intentions of playing morality police here, but I can’t bring myself to watch any more of this than I already have.

Early teenage sexuality is a very difficult subject matter to handle delicately, especially in a comedy milieu, and I can levy plenty of criticisms on that matter towards series I otherwise enjoyed, like Call of the Night and the aforementioned Dangers in My Heart. And although there appear to be some coming-of-age elements here, Gushing doesn’t seem interested in handling it without being exploitative. Maybe it gets better, but I don’t plan to find out for myself.

I just feel like it’s a shame that in a season with some actual halfway decent LGBT representation, the breakout yuri hit is about middle schoolers performing dubiously-consensual BDSM on each other. And maybe that speaks to something for some sapphic viewers, and I have no intention of speaking over them, but I do know that this isn’t for me. I would’ve gone fucking feral over this show when I was like 13, but I haven’t been a 13-year-old boy for a long, long time.

I may not have a leg to stand on here as someone who watches Mushoku Tensei (and frankly, that one’s on strike two with me), but I have to put my foot down somewhere. For me, that “somewhere” is borderline pornography involving 13-15 year olds. I try to meet media where it is, even the squicky stuff, but I cannot put myself at the level Gushing Over Magical Girls sets for itself.

Sasaki and Peeps (dropped after eight episodes)

This show is frustrating to even process postmortem. After a mildly intriguing hour-long premiere that introduced a whole lot of concurrent concepts, Sasaki and Peeps somehow managed to not only continue heaping new ideas onto the pile, but also fumble every single one of them in a way that wasn’t even entertaining to watch.

Sasaki, a lonely 40-something salaryman of modest means, decides that instead of living vicariously through adorable animal photos on social media, he should pull the trigger and get a pet of his own. He settles on a reasonably-priced and suitably adorable fat little Java sparrow, who as it turns out speaks human language and is actually named Piercarlo the Starsage (Sasaki settles on calling him Pii-chan, or Peeps in English). The bird was reincarnated from another world, where he is able to take Sasaki at will, and the man realizes he can use the other world’s relative dearth of technology to his advantage and sets up an interdimensional trade full time so he can make coin on his own watch and help Peeps try the delicious beef he heard is the best food in Sasaki’s world. To the latter end, he also invests in a restaurant. Peeps also helps teach him magic, which Sasaki is forced to use in a pinch in the real world. He is quickly found out and gets roped into a secret government bureau of psychics, because the agent who caught him using ice magic decides he’d be a perfect complement to her water powers (think Kanne and Lawine from Frieren, but stupider). Sasaki now has to balance these multiple lives, which hardly ever interact with one another, as the stakes rise in Peeps’ world in the form of palace intrigue and in Sasaki’s world in the form of a growing threat of evil psychics or something. Also, there’s magical girls, because why the fuck not at this point.

If you actually managed to process all that and went “wow, that’s a lot, I wonder how they can tie all that together,” it brings me no pleasure to report that Sasaki and Peeps completely fails at that task. This is a work of fiction with entirely too many ideas, to the point where it feels like it has no ideas. There’s a saying in football that a team with two quarterbacks is a team with no quarterback, and Sasaki and Peeps has, like, six on its depth chart. You ever hear a band that managed to cram multiple genres in the same song and you get whiplash every time it switches up? Those are bands with a lot of influences, but no identity or vision to call their own, and that is Sasaki and Peeps to me: It is the Twenty One Pilots of anime. A lot of shit got thrown at the wall, and none of it stuck: This show, conceptually, is shit-stained drywall with a pile of turds adorning the moulding.

For a show about a 40-year-old man, it gave me serious pause that there was not a single named adult woman in any of the episodes I watched, and I grew even more frustrated waiting for one to show up. Sasaki’s partner, Hoshizaki, seems to be a driven, professional young woman, but it turns out she’s a 16 year old high school student, for some reason. The daughter of the viscount doing business with Sasaki is a young girl who likes to tag along with him, and Sasaki’s neighbor is a latchkey high school girl who may or may not have a yandere-ish fixation on him. The magical girl we meet is also definitely a kid. The female psychics they face off against don’t appear to be older than teenagers, though the one who appears to grow fond of him turns out to be several hundred years old, which especially gave me pause because we all know that unfortunate trope and the type of person who hides behind it. Before progressing any further, I found out that the light novel series upon which this show is based was written by someone with the pen name “Buncololi,” which told me the rest of what I needed to know.

That part made me increasingly uncomfortable, and I became less and less convinced that this show was capable of sticking the landing as it continued to pile on new, contrived ideas. This was a waste of an excellent voice cast, but more than that, a waste of time.

Tales of Wedding Rings (dropped after nine episodes)

I can’t believe how much goddamn isekai I ended up watching this season. That Tales of Wedding Rings wasn’t the worst one (see above) was a minor miracle, because boy howdy was this one a dud.

Satou is just a normal high school boy, blah blah blah, his childhood friend he’s in love with is actually a princess from another world and she has to go back to fulfill a political marriage, he follows her into the portal to pull a Benjamin Braddock. But then, gasp, the palace is under attack, so the princess (her native name is Krystal, but growing up in Japan she was known as Hime, which means… princess) instead decides to marry Satou, bestowing upon him her kingdom’s ring, which gives him powers that he uses to fight back the demons. It turns out that her ring enables him to use one elemental affinity out of five, so of course now Satou has to collect the rings held by the other four kingdoms in order to become the Ring King and save the world, and to do so he has to also marry each corresponding princess.

This is basically Tolkien’s Rings of Power but as a harem isekai with bonus nudity. What I saw of the season was basically a MacGuffin hunt that had waifus of various fantasy races attached. Fine character designs for each, to be fair, but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. It’s funny on paper that (to paraphrase Geoff Thew) our protagonist’s power level scales with the size of his harem, but Tales didn’t do enough to make me actually care what was happening. And I wanted to! There were elf titties and I didn’t care. That’s criminal.

What makes Tales especially difficult to watch is that this show is fuck ugly. The color palette is muddy and unappealing, everyone looks uncannily shiny, and there’s a smudgy Vaseline filter over everything. The action sequences are uninspiring, the animation is lousy, and every character looks terribly off-model unless they’re naked. Watch the OP I linked if you don't believe me; that's the best of it. The aural element isn’t much better; ecchi scenes are punctuated by a Cinemax-caliber smooth jazz score that I pray was chosen ironically, and most of the show’s humor consists of “an old guy is screeching.” And if you’re wasting Shigeru Chiba’s talents on that one lousy joke, you’ve fucked up catastrophically.

What completely pushed me out of wanting to see any more of this show, though, was how hard it doubled down on the worst elements of harem anime by having Protag-kun be a wishy-washy little ninny even though he’s openly declared his love for and is literally married to Hime/Krystal. And I wanted to care about her; the narrative made me want to care about her, and her jealousy of the other princesses is warranted, but alas, the harem demands bodies. To his credit, Satou recognizes her mixed emotions and makes extra time for her to make it clear that she’s forever number one in his heart, but every single time their shared romance and emotions actually push them towards consummating their (all caps for emphasis) MARRIAGE, the show goes Rent-a-Girlfriend on us and finds a cheap excuse to ruin the moment. No thanks, I’m out. Nothing else about this show is good enough to make me wade through that shit.

Honestly, the only thing that had me coming back after my Persona 3-induced hiatus was that I wanted to see the dragon girl, and that alone was almost worth it, but there really isn’t much of a draw otherwise. There were better isekai, better romances, better fantasy settings, and even better uncensored harem shenanigans this season. I might pick this back up as the second season approaches, but I’m not in any hurry.

#anime reviews

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litfeathers · 2 years ago

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I hope it’s ok to add on to your amazing catches and analysis, op!

In regards to your cloak question, I think you are 100 percent correct that it’s a witch’s wool cloak that Evelyn summoned to protect herself when she and Caleb got jumped by a “monster.”

When Philip killed Caleb she could have gone berserk, and chucked the cloak in a fit of anger. It was probably that traditional dramatic fight scene where someone screams and throws off their cape/jacket when they are super mad!

I think before Caleb was killed, Evelyn was just trying to incapacitate Philip in their little cage match; not really trying to hurt him or anything, just trying to hold him off and protect herself. But once Caleb jumped in and got killed, all bets (and the cape) were off.

Okay, so, I usually see people depicting/thinking of this interaction where Caleb hugs Philip -

- and this one where Philip approaches him and Evelyn with a knife -

- as two separate ones, and that Philip reunited with Caleb first and then later met Evelyn.

However, I started thinking they might actually be the same event, and as I was editing the images for this post, I realized they definitely are!

It’s hard to see, because the image is very blurry, but Evelyn is actually in that memory where Philip, as a silhouette with glowing blue eyes, approaches Caleb:

I missed this before, probably assuming her head was just part of Philip’s shadow.

So here’s the order of the memories, and my interpretation of them:

Keep reading

#I thought this string of paintings might have been the same event too (since ttt)#but holy shit NICE CATCH FINDING EVELYN’S SHADOW OP that all but confirms it!#this catch and series of thoughts is seriously great #I love how we are still discovering new things in those dumb paintings!#we gonna rock this queue

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rascal-xo · 2 years ago

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TF141 when they smoke weed with the reader for the first time >:)

i just love the idea of these big ass military guys acting like stupid fairies, munching on whatever they see and listening to some rock anthems ykyk. Even better if the reader smokes more than the other and has to show some of them how to use a bong or something 😭

If you see this and write it I will be your slave for the rest of your life🛐🛐🛐

No pressure YOU DONT HAVE TO WRITE THIS HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT MWAAAA

When They Smoke Weed For The First Time | 141 x Reader |

Summary: The 141 boys get well acquainted with some mary jane

Warnings: Drug use (Weed), Language, pure comedic chaos (mostly)

Tags: @glitteryeggalmondherring @fiveshelmet @madamemelancholysstuff @myguiltypleasures21 @pukbadger @boniscute

A/N: I had so much fun writing this!! ty for the request :)) All the gifs I used were from the gif maker app and did not have the OP listed for anyone wondering 😭

————————————————————————————

You step into the base, sweat dripping down your forehead after an intense workout session. The familiar scent of camouflage and gunpowder fills the air, mingling with the faint aroma of something else entirely.

As you make your way through the corridors, you notice Soap and Gaz gathered near the kitchen island. Curiosity wins, you approach cautiously, only to find Soap himself standing there, holding a small poorly decorated box with your name in big bold letters.

You almost laugh out loud seeing Johnny’s confused face.

You step closer, trying to suppress the grin threatening to spread across your face. Soap's brows furrow as he examines the box in his hands, turning it this way and that, as if expecting some hidden treasure to appear.

Gaz looks up from his cup of coffee, his eyes widening as he spots you. "You smoke?!" he says, pointing at the box with a mix of amusement and disbelief.

You let out a chuckle, unable to contain yourself any longer. "Looks like you met Mary Jane." you say, feigning seriousness.

They both stare at you with eyebrows raised, not expecting you of all people to have a stash of weed on base. “Oh what the hell, wanna try?”

———————————————————————————

🍃Soap 🍃

- Coughs uncontrollably after his first inhale, much to you and the rest of the teams amusement. You pass him a glass of water, trying to hide your laughter as he gulps it down, desperately trying to regain his composure.

- Soap's appetite goes into overdrive, and I mean like he raids the kitchen like a man possessed. He devours snacks with an intensity you all have only seen from him on the battlefield, munching on everything from chips to cookies, all while you all watch in both terror and amusement.

- In a surprising turn of events, Bro will become incredibly philosophical, sharing deep and profound insights about life, the universe, and what disney princess he thinks is Ghost’s favorite.

- Will try to steal Ghost’s balaclava and then proceed to get smacked down WWE style

🍃Gaz 🍃

- Don’t let him out of your sights or he will start to wonder around base high off his rocker.

- You definitely have to show him how to properly inhale or he’ll somehow end up getting himself hurt.

- His normally stoic demeanor slowly starts to slip away, and he becomes increasingly giggly and carefree.

- Will stare at his hands in disbelief of his own existence

- “Woah mate…” As he stares at a pile of sticks on the ground

- Gaz's giggles become contagious, and soon all of you are laughing along with him, finding yourselves caught up in his infectious joy. Even the most Ghost can't help but crack a smile at his antics under his mask.

- You bring up the suggestion of using a bong and he almost passed out. Like fully the color drains from this poor man’s face.

- Soaps high ass is 1st and only one lined up to hit a bong. He’s a munch and gaz makes fun of him for it 💀

🍃Price🍃

- Price is an avid smoker. There probably hasn’t been a time you’ve seen him off duty where he doesn’t have a Cigar hanging out of his mouth.

- In all honesty he probably isn’t all too affected by the weed. At most it’s a little buzz

- Might make himself seem like it’s his first time smoking pot but has definitely done it before with Laswell on the lowkey

- Soap and Gaz will look at him in shock as to how he’s handling the effects so well so he’ll promptly let out a forced cough to make them feel better about their struggles 💀

- Will attempt to disguise his high if he does begin to feel the blunt doing it’s job correctly.

- Bro has academic RIZZ and trust he will be telling you about the history of weed.

- If be decides to completely let loose this man is 100% singing every word to an 80’s rock song and is forcing you to do karaoke with him.

🍃Ghost🍃

- Is not affected by the weed at all. At least not visibly…

- On the inside tho? Bro’s emotional hard drive is going HAYWIRE

- If he trusts you enough he has his mask rolled up with a blunt in his hand.

- If it’s just the two of you he’ll begin talking about random things, just rambling on and on. But if he’s around everyone else he’ll just stare ahead and let the buzz stay contained inside

- Will stare down at the ground, digging his heels into the dirt under his boots with tears threatening his eyes.

- Even he’s shocked how his emotions have a mind of their own once he starts smoking weed.

- I imagine him to get a sad/somber type of high :( bbg has been through it 😭

A/N: AHH I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND TY FOR THE REQUEST!! 🩷🩷 My requests are still open btw :))

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty smut #task force 141 #captain price #kyle gaz garrick #simon ghost riley #soap mactavish #fanfic #ghost x reader #simon riley imagine #ghost x female reader #simon riley x you #ghost x you #price x you #soap x you #gaz x you

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nwheregirl · 1 year ago

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Pov: you are Johnny Silverhand’s punk rocker wife with a “rockstar gf” aesthetic. (AU in our reality and not cyberpunk’s?? NSFWish, just a stupid idea don’t take this seriously!! Also, English is not my first language!)

This is your aesthetic:

This is your relationship’s vibes:

being two anarchists who hate capitalism

free, wild, hating any form of racism

donating lot of money to charity

being humble and not money-driven

love to interact with very young fans bc they are so cute!!

adoring each other and being extra loyal, you will probably never have kids tho. johnny doesn’t like the idea of such a big responsibility

VINTAGE SHOPS!!! VINTAGE CLOTHES!!

TATTOOS! TATTOOS! TATTOOS!

PARTIES, ALCOHOL…johnny smokes too much!! smoking joints together!

he teaches you how to play guitar

MATCHING TATTOOS MAYBE?

he loves when you wear short skirts, of course. anything tight and skin showing, to be honest

calling you his little punk, his doll, “doll face”, “baby”…

he makes you laugh so much!

lot, lot of sex

no really, you can’t take your hands off each other

you fucked in his car, on his motorbike, on every surface of the house, in the studio, in the bathroom of your favourite pub…

getting along with all the members of the band and being friends!!

ofc u support every project and you never miss a concert but that’s obvious

being jealous of his groupies…ops…

“you know you are the only one i want, babe”

wearing his shirts around the house, and only that ofc ;)

teasing and making fun of each other because you are two idiots

you both like classic rock especially the beatles and led zeppelin

he sings “michelle” to you ):

speaking of classic rock, you two met some of the still living legends like paul, ringo, jimmy page, robert plant…

he can be a big softie with you but he will never admit it and if you tell him you’ve noticed how sweet he is with you when you two are alone, he will become his mean and sarcastic self again for the whole day! like he is with every other human expect you, lol

ofc you wore vivienne westwood for your wedding

its your fav brand!

DRIVING VINTAGE BADASS MOTORBIKES TOGETHER??!!

he secretly wrote a song about you, but he never told you which one it is

you both like to sleep a lot on your free days, johnny could sleep literally anywhere

ofc you two have a badass dog like a dobermann or anything big and scary

and you wanted a cat!

“i found this bitch in a dumpster” johnny once told you, a small female black cat in his hand ☠️☠️

he doesn’t like social medias so he doesn’t have an account on any social

you do! fans follow you! you post a pic of him or you two together sometimes.

he only uses messages to talk to you and his friends

he uses phones and writes like a boomer, obviously

PLS FEEL FREE TO ADD ANY IDEA OR FEEL FREE TO WRITE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS IF U LIKE IT! 🖤

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves characters #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves x you #johnny silverhand #johnny silverhand x reader #johnny silverhand smut #cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 #alternative universe #headcanon #idk what else to put in the tags #idk what this post is #idk anymore #john wick #john wick x reader

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chaosbarelycontained · 6 months ago

Text

This Must Be Some Kind Of Fear

North Country Boy Chapter 8

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x AFAB!OC

TW: Swearing, fear of heights

Words: 2.7k

Synopsis: The team arrive at the safe house and Soap starts to put two and two together.

The flight to Dushikistan was uneventful. Each member of Bravo company dealt with the growing pre-mission apprehension in their own ways. Price hunched forward, elbows on knees as he reviewed the details of the op on his tablet, his bottom lip pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Roach and Gaz were playing rock, paper, scissors for some indiscernible reason, and Soap, as usual, was turned towards Ghost, a devilish grin painting his features as he mercilessly poked fun at his Lieutenant. Jules turned back to her own tablet and studied the blueprints it displayed. She marked a couple of areas that sparked her interest and then pinged the file across to the Captain, who frowned a little before looking up with a raised eyebrow. Jules shrugged, her mouth turned down in question and Price inclined his head in agreement.

As the plane readied for landing, Jules stowed her tablet and leaned her head back, closing her eyes against the roar of the engines and the lurch in her stomach as they began their descent. Her fingers flexed around the straps of her safety belt and her breaths developed a subtle tremor.

“Y’ok there, Tiger?” Soap asked, accompanying his question with a kick against her foot.

“Yeah, just tryin’ to drown out your whiny little voice,” Jules snipped back, just a tad too sharp to be called banter.

“Fuckin’ hell, who pissed in your porridge this mornin’?”

“Leave it, Johnny,” Ghost growled, his eyes fixed on Jules and her uncomfortable frown.

“I was only-”

“I said, leave it.” The command in his tone brooked no argument.

Jules opened one eye a crack and found the Lieutenant still staring. When he noticed her scrutiny he raised his eyebrow, causing the headset he wore to lift slightly. Jules said nothing, merely tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at him, before focusing on the view from the window.

The ground loomed closer and Jules screwed her eyes shut once more, her knuckles white with the strength of her grip on the straps crossing her chest. She swallowed forcefully and almost swore out loud when the plane hit a patch of turbulence and lurched dramatically. An unexpected pressure on the top of her right boot drew her attention but then the plane lurched again and a quiet whimper escaped from her lips. The pressure on the top of her foot increased, almost to the point of pain and, startled, her eyes flew open to see another boot crushing down on hers. Ghost ground his foot down once more and Jules hissed, pulling away with an angry grunt - just as the plane touched down. If she didn’t know better Jules would have sworn she saw concern beneath the smug glint in his eyes but she refused to let the thought find any purchase in her mind.

There were two men waiting for them at the small airstrip, standing alongside two off-road, Jeep-style transports. Jules recognized one of them from the communication she’d been sent from her contacts in the SRR and stepped up to Price and Ghost as they checked over their equipment.

“Sir, man on the left should be Ilyos, he’s our main contact. Second man is expected but name unknown. Handshakes are common here.” Jules offered the information, hoping to make the initial contact as smooth as possible.

“Roger that, Tiger,” Price acknowledged with a nod.

As if there had been an unseen signal, Bravo Company gathered in formation behind their Captain and Lieutenant and the six of them moved as one towards the waiting figures. Price held out his hand as they drew closer, a gruff but friendly smile on his face, but the rest remained stoic and all of them projected an aura of seriousness and thinly-veiled intimidation. Even Jules kept her hands on her rifle, constantly assessing the situation for any signs of danger.

They needn’t have worried. The man whom Jules had identified as Ilyos stepped forwards and took Price’s hand in his, a smile splitting his dark beard.

“Assalomu alaikum,” he rumbled, shaking the Captain’s hand and nodding towards the others.

“Va alaikum assalom. You’re Ilyos, I presume?” Price asked before turning to shake the second man’s hand also.

“Yes, and this is my brother, Fozil. I would say welcome to our country but it would be better served for a visit under less…disagreeable circumstances.”

“Definitely,” Price agreed, “although from what we’ve seen from the air it looks like a beautiful place.”

“Oh it is, it is,” Ilyos said. “Now come, we will transport you to the safe house.”

The team split into two, with Price, Roach, and Gaz in the first vehicle with Ilyos, leaving Jules, Ghost, and Soap to ride in the second with Fozil. The impish Sergeant managed to keep up his straight face and all-business attitude even whilst deliberately rushing to take the passenger seat, leaving Jules to wedge herself in the back with Ghost.

“Y’little twat,” she hissed under her breath, shooting the Scot a black look as he threw her a one-fingered salute behind the seat.

Ghost shifted in his seat, spreading his knees wide in a vain search for more comfort. Jules tried to put as much distance between them as possible but it was futile and so, with a frustrated huff, resigned herself to an hour of attempting to ignore the hulking presence beside her.

The Dushiki countryside was wild and beautiful. Giant, snow-capped mountains bordered lush green plains, bisected by a single track road of grey asphalt that matched the colour of the natural rock formations. Spring flowers were in bloom and the weather in the valley they travelled through was warm and bright. Jules almost gasped in delight when they crested a small rise and a vast lake of turquoise blue water stretched out before them.

“We’re climbing into the mountain passes now,” Fozil informed them, raising his voice to carry over the noise of the engine. “It will get a little colder before we reach the edge of the village.”

Jules offered him a small smile and the Dushiki man returned to his conversation with Soap, who peppered him with questions about the landscape and terrain.

There was no glass in the windows of the vehicle and Jules breathed deeply of the fresh air that rushed past them. It carried a faint scent of the herbs that grew on the mountainside and, not for the first time, she was grateful for the chance to visit places like this, despite her reasons for being there. Whilst her eyes were still sharp on the scenery her mind began to wander, lulled by the motion of the vehicle and the once-familiar presence beside her. She thought back to Ghost’s actions in the plane, when her old fear had almost got the better of her, and then she realised…

* * * * *

Her hand felt so delicate in his as he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled her slightly to the left, in the direction of Piccadilly Gardens.

“Thought we were getting the bus back?” Jules asked, surprised.

“Yeah, in a bit, I just…I really wanna go on there,” he pointed, leading her gaze towards the large ferris wheel that had taken up residence in the open space.

“Oh,” she breathed, a knot of nerves forming in her stomach as she registered the height of the structure.

Looking back at Simon’s face, at the child-like anticipation that sparkled in his eyes, Jules found herself giving in despite her fear. It was so rare for him to want to do something for himself that she couldn’t say no. With a tight smile she nodded and the two of them made their way over to the ride. There was no queue, which wasn’t exactly surprising for a Wednesday afternoon, so they managed to get a whole gondola to themselves.

They sat close to each other and Simon stretched out, his long legs reaching almost all the way across to the opposite seats, but when the gondola began to move Jules let out a yip and her hands, tucked inside her sleeves, flew to her mouth.

“Aw, shit Jules, I’m sorry, I forgot. We can stop and get ‘em to let us off. I should’ve thought,” Simon swore, looking down at her with concern.

“No, it’s fine, I’m OK. I can do this,” she squeaked, screwing her eyes shut as they ascended higher and higher above the Mancunian streets.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, squeezing the top of her bicep in a gesture of comfort but it wasn’t enough and Jules was sure he could feel how much she was shaking.

With a tut of self-admonishment, Simon twisted slightly, changing his grip, and then pulled her up onto his lap. She let out a yip and buried her face into his neck when the gondola juddered and stopped again.

“What’s happenin’? Is it broken?!” She whimpered, clutching on to the collar of his Adidas jacket.

“Nah, Princess, they’re jus’ lettin’ some more people on, that’s all,” he soothed. “See, we’re movin’ again now. Next time we stop we’ll be at the top.”

Jules was embarrassed by the pathetic whine that left her throat but she couldn’t help it and burrowed even further into him.

“Shh, it’s ok,” he soothed, one arm around her waist whilst his other hand cupped the back of her head, pressing her to him.

“‘M sorry, Si,” she mumbled into his neck. “‘M such a shithouse.”

“‘Ave a word,” he chuckled. “You twatted Debbie for me, I’d ‘ardly call you a shithouse.”

“For you?” Jules scoffed, pulling back slightly to give him a disparaging glare. “As if.”

The gondola lurched to a stop once more and Jules grimaced before gnawing on her bottom lip, her eyes wide. Risking another moment of fear, Simon shifted, pulling Jules around so that she straddled him and she immediately clung to him like a koala, her fingers scrabbling for purchase against his back. She seemed to settle just a little when she realised they weren’t moving but her heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his chest.

Pushing her back slightly he gripped her chin in one hand, titling her head up so she was forced to look at him. The smile he gave her sent a thrill down her spine and before she could even think, his lips were on hers. The kiss was bruising in its intensity and Jules gasped as Simon swiped his tongue against her bottom lip before nipping at it. She moaned desperately, displaced adrenaline making her sink deeper into him as she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with just as much fervour.

“Simon, what-?” She panted, breaking away, her heart pounding for an entirely different reason.

“Gotta distract you somehow, Princess,” he murmured, pressing soft kisses against her jaw.

“But what about the view?”

“Fuck the view,” he rumbled, capturing her lips once more.

* * * * *

Jules swallowed audibly and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Clearing her throat she listened to Soap and Fozil’s chatter for a moment before turning just a fraction towards Ghost. Even that slight movement drew his attention and he looked over at her, his raised eyebrow visible even beneath his balaclava.

“Thanks,” she croaked quietly. “For the distraction. On the plane.”

He stared. Long enough for Jules to begin to regret saying anything at all and for her anger to begin to rise again but then there came a jerk of his chin and a huff of acknowledgment before he turned his head to scan their surrounds once more.

Fozil guided the vehicle around ever-tightening hairpin bends as the road they travelled climbed up into a mountain pass. When they reached the top and saw the whole valley roll out before them, like an emerald carpet, Soap let out a whistle of appreciation.

“Och, would ye look at tha’ view, Lt, Tiger? S’almost enough to rival the Trossachs, aye?” He turned back to them with a wide grin and Jules nodded her agreement - it truly was beautiful.

“Fuck the view,” Ghost muttered as they began their descent, so quietly that only Jules could hear him over the noise of the engine.

Their two Dashiki contacts dropped Bravo Company at the safe house on the outskirts of one of the mountain villages, bid them farewell, and then departed on motorbikes, leaving them with the two vehicles. The house itself was of traditional Dashiki construction, meaning that it was a simple mud and stone rectangular-shaped building with a flat roof and small windows.

“Eyes open, lads,” Price muttered, cautious despite the obvious isolation and lack of civilians.

There was only one story, with an open living space and kitchen area. Low, padded, couches obviously doubled as beds and there was a wooden staircase along the back wall that led up to the roof. Another wooden door opened out onto the back of the property and the only other enclosed space was a small bathroom. Although the house was a decent size, with the six of them in there it felt small.

The old-fashioned wood-fired oven was already lit, kicking out enough heat to keep the room tolerable in the cooling air of the oncoming evening. Gaz cautiously took the stairs to check out the roof, whilst Roach cleared the bathroom. At their signals, the team began to relax slightly and Jules dumped her pack next to one of the sofas and wandered into the kitchen area. There was a small electric cool box that held some milk, hard cheese, and eggs, for which she silently thanked Ilyos and Fozil, and a tap for cold running water.

“First thing’s first,” she muttered, filling a large pot with water and setting it atop the stove to boil.

Having raided the ORPs for teabags, Jules furnished everyone with a cuppa and, with Soap on the roof as first lookout, they sat around on the surprisingly comfortable sofas and ran through their brief once more.

The sun had almost set and there was a distinct chill in the air when Gaz rose to take over from Soap on the roof and the Scot came down the stairs with the creak of wood and an audible grumble.

“Am fuckin’ starved,” he moaned, flopping onto a sofa, stretching out his limbs like a starfish.

Jules grunted her agreement and reached once more for the ORP in her pack. All day breakfast again, she grimaced, but not the quality of ones she bought from the camping store.

“Hey, you all got breakfasts in your ORPs?” She asked, encouraged by the noises of assent she received in return. “Mint, fire ‘em over this way. I got a plan.”

“Is it a cunning plan?” Price said with a smirk.

“It’s a plan so cunnin’ y’could stick a tail on it an’ call it a weasel,” she grinned back, catching the Captain’s food packet when he launched it across the room.

Gathering up the six ration packs she fumbled around in the kitchen cabinets until she found a large cast iron cooking pot that would go into the oven. She emptied the ration packs into it and then stirred the mixture around, wincing at the unappetising, congealed, mess. She levelled out the surface and then made wells for the eggs before cracking them into the breakfast mix. Pulling out a knife from her belt, she rinsed it under the sink and then gently began to shave the cheese on top of the dish.

“What are ye…” Soap began but Ghost cut him off.

“That’s not y’Mam’s train smash, is it?” He asked with a hint of awed wonder.

“Not a patch on it but as close as it can be,” Jules confirmed, lifting the pot and sliding it into the hot oven before closing the door with a satisfying snick. “Fifteen minutes, fellas.”

“Nothin’ll ever beat y’Mam’s cookin’ but still, this is better than nowt,” Ghost replied and Jules swore she saw the edges of his mask lift slightly.

“How’d you ken wha’ her Ma’s food tastes like, hmmm?” Soap jumped in, grasping at the thin thread of potential gossip.

Jules and Ghost paused for a moment too long to be innocent, but it was the Lieutenant who gathered his wits first.

“Everyone round our way knew Bev Kelsall’s cookin’. She worked in the caff on the market. Best banjo butties I ever ate.”

“Yeah,” Jules coughed out a laugh. “She were mega.”

Taglist: @aykxz98 @spicyspicyliving

#simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #ghost x oc #call of duty #ghost cod #cod mw2 #simon riley #cod mwii #john price #soap cod

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snailor-bee · 1 year ago

Text

Marco x NB!Reader / SFW / 2.1k Summary: Marco is finally going to confess to you! If only it would stop going wrong... Notes: Written for @op-xreader-zine! All the art is done by the amazing @issatheartist thank you for working with me on this! ;w;

This was it! Marco was finally going to do it. He was going to walk up to you and confess.

He'd been crushing on you for a while now and it was time. He'd dealt with the teasing from his brothers and the nurses for far too long. Originally Marco had held himself back because he hadn't wanted to ruin what the two of you already had.

Friends, nakama, family.

Still, everyone had insisted that he go for it and had completely ignored his reasonings for maybe why he shouldn't—"Marco, you can't seriously use your rank as an excuse; the only person higher than you is Pops"—so that's how he found his hands sweating, wrapped around a bouquet of flowers.

Maybe it was a bit simple but at this point, Marco figured it was better than nothing. His head felt like a jumbled mess and he hadn't really planned out how he was going to do this but he'd wing it as he went along, all Marco had to do was find you and—

So distracted by his thoughts, he bounced off someone's body made a little oof of pain.

"Marco!" Izou's voice broke through his thoughts. "Watch where you're going. What are you doing?"

"I, uh," he couldn't bring himself to say it. Izou was the ship's gossip and if Marco said he was looking for you in order to confess then you'd hear about it before Marco even got to you. Sweat beaded at his brow as Izou's sharp gaze took him in. Uncharacteristically, Marco knew he looked nervous.

Which might as well have been blood in the water for a shark, when one was dealing with Izou.

Then all at once, Izou's posture softened and he smiled. "Are those for me?? For my birthday!? Oh, you shouldn't have, these are my favorite too!" Still gushing, Izou grabbed the bouquet and Marco was too stunned to stop him.

"A-ah, yes. I was worried you wouldn't like them, yoi," he said, going for a smile. It was a bit strained but Izou didn't seem to notice. Marco cursed himself internally. He'd been so focused on the almost-not-quite-confession, Izou's birthday had completely slipped his mind.

"No, they're perfect ," Izou enthused happily and Marco sighed fondly, letting the anxiety of confronting you fade. He could always do it later.

The next 'attempt' wasn't really an attempt.

Marco had been walking down a street when his inner phoenix noticed a section of smooth rocks. Without too much thought, he reached out and snatched one up. He frequently did this; the drawers in his office were filled with random bits and bobs, shiny pieces of metal, rocks, and other random things that appealed to his phoenix half for whatever reason. Marco never mentioned it to anyone but a few of his brothers who had been around him for years had picked up on it, though they were kind enough not to point it out.

So, without much thought, when he saw you chatting with some other shipmates, Marco ambled over and handed you the rock. "Here, for you."

You raised a brow and looked into your palm before running your thumb over the stone's surface, feeling out the texture.

Inside, his phoenix cooed and Marco was grateful he wasn't in his half-form. He could tell that his tails would be going wild right about now, watching your reaction.

"...Thanks," you said at last, sounding confused before you pocketed the rock and turned back to listen to the story that Ace had been in the process of telling. It didn't deter Marco at all, you had accepted it!

Feeling thrilled somewhere deep in his bones, he barely felt the jab to his ribs.

"Hey," Thatch whispered, "you know they aren't a bird, right?"

Confused, Marco cocked his head. Thatch gestured at you with his chin. "They probably don't know why you just handed them a rock. Shouldn't you be doing more, uh, human courting stuff?"

There was a few seconds of incomprehension before the meaning hit him and Marco felt like dissolving into dust and disappearing forever. He leaned over to bury his head into Thatch's shoulder to cover up the sound of his groan of pain as his brother laughed and patted his back.

"Don't worry, you'll get them next time, birdie."

Next time ended up being a love letter.

Old fashioned? Maybe. But Marco was getting desperate. At least this would be crystal clear.

He'd gone through numerous editions. The trash can in his room was overflowing with failed attempts, bunched up balls of paper scattered around his desk as he tried again and again until he finally felt he had it all down.

Exactly what about you that made him smile, how the simple sight of you lifted his spirits and the sound of your laugh made his chest tight. He'd bared it all.

Walking across the busy deck, the night breeze ruffling his hair, Marco was barely able to return the greetings he got as he passed by scattered groups. He'd locked eyes with you right away and once you noticed him coming, you'd said your goodbyes and were coming to meet him halfway.

The closer and closer the two of you got, the more and more nervous Marco became. The butterflies in his stomach were making him feel like he might throw up. What if you didn't return his feelings? What if you thought the letter was lame?

What if you went to read it right away? Oh fuck , he hadn't thought this through. He didn't want to watch your face as you read the confession, heartfelt though it may be. If you had to turn him down after he poured his heart onto the parchment, Marco really didn't know how he was going to take that.

Saying it to your face, letting you turn him down gently without realizing the true depths of his feeling was way more appealing.

His step faltered before a rush of heat flashed beside him. On instinct he tossed the letter into the roar of fire. Ace was likely showing off and didn't even notice the slight disturbance.

"What was that?" you asked, finally having made your way to him.

"Nothing," Marco said quickly. "Someone did their report so badly, so I had a bunch of corrections but thinking it over I realized I'll just have them redo it. Makes it easier, yoi."

You laughed. "Harsh. I'd hate to be them, putting in all that work for nothing."

Marco shrugged, trying for nonchalance. "Yeah but I'm sure they'll get over it."

"Wow, Marco, you're not very good at this are you?" Ace asked with a snicker. Marco glared, fork paused midway to his mouth. Thatch elbowed him good-naturedly from his side. They were sitting in the galley, the shipmates talking around them creating a symphony of noise that easily hid the conversation from others.

"Good at what, yoi?" Marco asked, placing the fork down. Thatch threw an arm around his shoulders and shook him lightly as Ace's eyes sharpened with glee.

"Now Ace," Thatch said, mockingly sweet, "don't go teasing our resident birdbrain here. He's trying so hard, the poor thing."

"Get off," Marco said, irritated as he pushed at Thatch until he let him go, laughing.

"Think they've even noticed?" Ace asked thoughtfully before shoving something into his mouth and chewing loudly.

Marco opened his mouth to answer but Thatch beat him to it. "Hopefully not, though Marco looking so pathetic has been quite amusing." Thatch batted away his hand before Marco could punch him in the ribs, the bastard.

Grunting with annoyance, Marco looked away just in time to catch you several tables away leaning your head back with a laugh and he stared, heart suddenly in his throat. He couldn't help it, you were just so—

"Plus the whole ships been taking bets at this point," Thatch tacked on and Marco tore his gaze away from you.

"What?!" Marco demanded as Ace hooted joyfully. Thatch shrugged, grinning all the while.

"Maybe you shouldn't look like a lovesick bird all the time and we wouldn't have to take bets on when you finally get your act together. Do not" —Thatch pointed a steak knife menacingly in Ace's direction after a garbled noise had started— "talk with your mouth full. Swallow."

Dutifully, Ace swallowed his barely chewed food and took a second to catch his breath before barrelling on, "Whatcha got planned next, Marco? Anything good?"

"Excuse me? All my ideas have been fine so far!" Two blank looks had his hackles raising but before he could argue more, your voice rang out.

"Hey, Marco!" Immediately he whipped his head up and caught your eye. You waved before you arrived behind Ace, patting him on the shoulder. "I was wondering if we could spar later?"

Quickly, he nodded back. "Yeah, that sounds great!" Embarrassingly, he heard his voice hit a slightly higher pitch, almost as if his voice had cracked. Ace and Thatch did a terrible job at stifling their giggles as Marco felt his face flush traitorously.

"Great!" you enthused, apparently having not noticed. "See you after lunch?"

Not trusting his voice, he nodded and you skipped away happily. Once you were far enough away, Ace and Thatch collapsed into loud laughter, Ace banging on the table as Thatch wheezed out between his laughs, "What are you Marco, twelve ?? What was that?!"

"I hate both of you," Marco grit out between clenched teeth before shoving his half finished tray of food at Ace. "Finish this, I'm leaving, yoi."

"Good luck on your dateeee," Ace managed to yell out before he got too far away. Marco flipped him off over his shoulder.

"So, Marco." You looked uncharacteristically anxious as you fidgeted and looked at everything except him. Marco felt his stomach drop to the deck. What was wrong? You hadn't... noticed had you? Fuck, this was not how he wanted you to find out.

He'd come to find you for your spar after Ace and Thatch had literally laughed him out of the galley. You'd seemed eager enough to see him before dragging him to a quiet part of the deck, mentioning you had something to say first.

Seemingly steeling your nerves, you looked into his eyes and they burned with determination.

"I've liked you for a really long time now. You're literally one of my best friends and more than that you make me feel like I can fly, like nothing could ever hurt me. I didn't really want to mention this and have it ruin our friendship but I can't keep it to myself anymore. Please go on a date with me!"

Time seemed like it stood still as he gaped at you. He could see your cheeks flush, likely with embarrassment at your proclamation but he was still reeling.

Finally, you swallowed. "And if you don't feel the same—"

"No!" he cut in, finally finding his voice. Marco grabbed up your hands, cradling them close. "No, don't. Just, I—" He chuckled with wry amusement before pressing a chaste kiss to your knuckles. "I'm just a little shocked. I've been trying to ask you out for ages now."

"Wait, really?" you asked, mouth dropping open. He nodded with a smile. There was a strange buzzing in his body, from his toes up to the tips of his ears. Everything felt a little fuzzy, a little warm. He wanted to run around the deck like a teenager again, grab you close and never let go, scream over the railing until he ran out of breath. So many different emotions were raging through him, he was beginning to feel dizzy from the weight of all of them.

Deciding to just pick one, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close into his chest, breathing in your scent as he began to chuckle lowly. You joined in and soon the two of you were full-out laughing. When you separated, he brushed a hand against your cheek reverently, giddy that he was able to do so.

"To be honest," Marco began, "I don't think I can spar right now, I feel like my knees are made of jell-o."

You laughed again. "That's okay, I'm feeling the same. Wanna go tell Pops instead?"

Marco ran a hand through his hair, before smiling at you. "Sure. We're about to get the teasing of a lifetime."

You held out a hand and he took it, fingers twining together with yours like they were meant to be.

"We may as well get started," you said back, fondness shining in your eyes and maybe, just maybe, a hint of something more.

#one piece #one piece x reader #marco the phoenix #marco x reader #marco the phoenix x reader #bee writes #bee writing

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