#its about to be a month of this i think?? may be exaggerating | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sprout-fics · 11 months

Text

Ghost and Gaz have barely any interaction in MW2022, and it makes me curious about what the relationship is like between them. They’re both part of the same taskforce, and based on the way Ghost immediately recognized Gaz, they’ve met at least once before. Based on the missions in the game, it’s possible that they’re almost never worked together before. Still, I like to imagine how they might interact off-screen or in a more casual setting. This is a bit of my interpretation of these two.

Personally, I think Gaz heard about ‘The Ghost’ long before he signed on with Price. The rumors about Ghost were often exaggerated, and Gaz could tell that. As a result, he probably dismissed Ghost at first as some type of arrogant prick or a gritty edgelord. To his surprise, Ghost was neither of those when they met. Instead he was this huge, silent, lurking man with a clear respect for Price and a cold, leveled stare for Gaz. Quiet, abrasive when he talked, but incredibly skilled and dangerous.

Still, I imagine that Gaz, perceptive as I like to imagine him, had a moment where he and Ghost met eyes for the first time. It was then that Gaz realizes those rumors weren’t just fiction. The cold, unflinching weight of Ghost’s stare on him, devoid of life and yet promising a distant, imminent end has a shudder running up his spine.

Bloody hell. He thinks. He’s actually dead.

It may not have been the case canonically, but I like to think Ghost and Gaz ran a few missions together pre Las Almas. Same with Soap, though that’s a different story. It was through these missions that Gaz was able to witness Ghost truly in action and see the full, lethal effect of him in action. The man uses a blade like a butter knife, doesn’t flinch under fire, can snap a man’s neck like twisting a bottle cap. I think it both startles Gaz to see, but damn if it doesn’t instill a healthy amount of respect (and fear) in the sergeant.

On Ghost’s end, I imagine he sniffs at Gaz at first the same way he does with Soap. A young, lucky, upstart sergeant that has some experience under his belt but has yet to see the full and startling scope of war that he and Price have. He’s seen the man’s file though, and the fact alone that Price trusts him to such an extent is good enough for him. Besides, on those first few missions Gaz does more than haul his weight. He demonstrates his aim, shows his clean, practiced maneuvers, obeys orders with little question, drags a marine from the line of fire and compresses down on his wound, and tosses a frag grenade right back to its sender.

Yet it’s after the successful mission that Ghost sees Gaz bump against Price with that big, pleased grin that Ghost gets it. While Price was the one to drag him back, to help Simon put himself together again into something mildly resembling human, it isn’t the same. There’s a warmth between Gaz and Price that he feels almost like he’s intruding upon, a bond that goes beyond mentor and mentee and easily passes into the realm of friendship. The more Ghost looks at it, the more he sees what Price sees in Gaz. Intelligence, drive, dedication, but above all loyalty.

It’s something Ghost wishes he had more experience receiving.

Ghost goes off on a number of solo missions, Gaz continues working with Price.

Then there’s the missiles. Hassan. Las Almas. Shepherd. Graves. The mask. Chicago.

When the dust settles, there’s Makarov.

I don’t know how all of the team recognizes Makarov, and honestly I think it’ll be more interesting to see how that happens. I do like to think the team starts working a little more closely in the months that follow in-game. Ghost and Gaz start getting used to each other, start learning each other’s habits.

Ghost knows that Gaz is an early riser, that he likes his coffee black. Gaz knows Ghost likes to have his meals in his room where he can not only eat in peace, but without others staring at the litany of scars that snake from his jaw up to his eyes. Ghost learns to take Gaz’s needling jokes, and Gaz gets easier at offering them. Gaz learns Ghost hates certain foods, and realizes it’s because they all have the same kind of grainy, sandy texture that brings back bad memories. Ghost helps patch things over with Price when he and Gaz have a disagreement, and Gaz recognizes when Ghost is slipping back into old, bad habits that drag him down into something rotted inside him.

They start leaning on each other more often. Ghost patches Gaz up after Gaz takes a bullet to the thigh on a mission, and easily tosses him over his shoulder to carry him to safety. Gaz gets better at seeing the fractures that belong less to Ghost and more to Simon, and begins to understand the man underneath the mask. He learns to recognize Ghost’s silent and dangerously subtle ups and downs, and knows better than to show his surprise when Ghost starts wearing his mask less often just around the team.

Gaz gets Ghost Kentucky bourbon for his birthday, giving him space on the anniversary of his family’s death. Ghost learns about Gaz’s family, his two nagging older sisters and his dad, retired from the military. He sees Gaz’s smile when he talks about the people waiting for him when he gets home, and Ghost silently vows to himself to make sure he gets Gaz back safely. The bond there never runs as deep as Gaz has with Price, or Ghost has with Soap, but there is trust there built on oaths, brotherhoods, bonds, and the same loyalty Ghost always craved from the people around him.

Gaz learns to recognize when Ghost smiles under the mask.

#simon ghost riley #simon 'ghost' riley #kyle gaz garrick #kyle 'gaz' garrick #mw22 #cod mw22 #ghost/gaz #drabbles #headcanons #and scene #I could say more but honestly this is probably enough for now

447 notes · View notes

gojot-t · 2 months

Note

Hihi!! I'm here to place my order for the valentine's event!! I'd love to request an arranged marriage w topping 22 + gojo please!! Like they needed to rehearsal the "you may kiss the bride" kiss and he just kind of messes it up in purpose so they can do it again and again! KSJDJFJS AAAH I LOVE THIS EVENT SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS!!!!!!!

from the valentine's day event! ⊹ ࣪ ˖

gojo satoru + arranged marriage + “Wait, that wasn’t good enough. Let’s do another take.” “…It’s been the fourth take already. Just admit you like kissing me, it’s fine.”

tags :: fem!reader, gojo is down bad, fluff, i ended up going in a slightly different direction and this probably wasn't what you had in mind, but I hope you like it anyway ><

“You really are an idiot.”

“Hey now, that's how you treat your future husband? tsk tsk.”

It's funny to think how just a few months ago if someone mentioned the slightest possibility of having something romantic with Satoru, you would choke in the most exaggerated way you could before denying vehemently, unaware of destiny's plans for you.

Even if you knew Satoru since you were a child, being each other's escape from the so boring and extraneous clan meetings and messing around until some wrinkled-faced old man lost his temper and yelled at you two, you wouldn't marry him.

From the sullen boy who would always hold your hands to the energetic teenager who would pull your hair if you didn't pay attention to him, you saw all the facets of Satoru, always by his side. Still, for you, satoru is like a flower in a garden – its beauty making you momentarily forget about its thorns.

“hey, I'm feeling kinda neglected here.” a pouty satoru meets your view. “If you have so much time to get lost in that pretty little head of yours, maybe we should practice more?”

“I'm starting to think you set this all up, you know. to play prince charming on me." you narrow your eyes and accuse him softly with your finger on his chest, the sight of satoru in a suit – just before marrying you – it's not easy to resist, after all.

the firm hands on your waist start to go down and you pinch his (stupidly strong) bicep before they can wander any longer. “hmm, why do you think so?” he teasingly moves his face close to yours – warm breath just above your mouth – lips close but never touching. you already know his little games.

The last conversation you had with him before the whole marriage thing was during a night out for drinks, “for the good old’ time sakes” he had said. You weren't planning to ruin the night with your personal problems, but a few drinks later and the heat of his body close to yours seemed to inebriated you enough to make your mouth run faster than your thoughts.

Originally, you would marry a big shot from the Zenin clan. You were not happy about it, still there's little to nothing you could do. The preparations are already being made and the Shiromuku you had to try felt like a cage against your skin, a warning of what your life would be like from then on.

As those slurred words left your mouth, Satoru's entire body seemed to tense up for a moment and for the rest of the night he seemed distant, furrowed eyebrows and thinking about something. He had ended your little hang out earlier than you expected that day, saying he had "important business calling", leaving you back at your home and saying goodbye with a hug and chaste kiss on your cheek, seemingly back to his usual silly self.

You’re never sure what’s on Satoru’s mind, so you decided not to question him despite the strange behavior. He wouldn't tell you anyway.

A week later your wedding was canceled. You would be marrying Gojo Satoru instead.

“Like, the deal being canceled so suddenly, what happened?And- wait, is my father in debt?" your body stiffened against his arms, worried. You try to move away from him a little, but satoru just pulls you closer.

By the way he just giggles in response you know he's not really listening to you. He trails kisses from your jaw to your neck, teasing lightly with his tongue before burying his nose deep in your hair. “You smell so good…” He seems strangely happy today, all smiley and clingy. “But, no. You can try to guess one more time, though.”

The same second you open your mouth to respond, muffled footsteps can be heard outside the room you're in and you know it's the maids returning with the final jewelry and makeup. Satoru took advantage of the small gap in their presence, basically barging into your room and demanding that the two of you practice kissing for when the two of you finished your vows, apparently too eager to keep his hands to himself.

he groans and drops his head on your shoulder, before looking at you with expectant eyes, just like a child would with their favorite candy in a store. "How about just one little kiss, huh? to be sure that everything will turn out well, you know, that's very important!”

you should say no, you really should, you don't have that much time anymore and one kiss with satoru easily turns into two, three until you're both out of breath, mind clouded with desire, but the protest dies in your mouth when satoru’s soft lips meet yours.

you were half expecting him to mess up again, just like every time he asked for "just one more kiss", turning his face at the last second for you to kiss his cheek or nibbling on your lips before pulling away completely, but he doesn't do any of that, instead, he kisses you, lips dancing against yours, feeling you, appreciating you.

this time, you're the one pulling him closer, hands on his nape and feeling his skin react to yours. Despite your desperation for each other, the kiss is nothing but slow and gentle, a shy waltz between two lovers. If before you couldn't imagine marrying satoru, now you think that a life without the weight of the ring on your finger, sealing him to you, would make no sense.

Satoru tongue caressing yours brings you back to reality and you pull away, before you both really get lost in the moment. "satoru-”

“wait… that wasn’t good enough. let’s do another take…” he chases your lips again, hands on your cheeks and his eyes, normally so bright, are almost dark blue, clouded with desire for you.

the sight of him now, flushed and with swollen lips, makes your face heat up and you cover your nervousness before he can tease you. “…It’s been the fourth take already. just admit you like kissing me, it’s fine.”

“huh, bossy, aren't you?" there's a knock on the door but satoru just smirks and winks at you. "but it's okay, I really like kissing my bride.” the handle turns and he connects your lips with his again.

“my lady, i'm coming-” when you open your eyes, satoru's has completely disappeared from the room, the only trace of his presence being your messy appearance and tingling lips.

“-in. I have returned with the final preparations and- oh… my lady, do you feel alright? you seem kind of... nervous?”

you swear you can still feel the warmth of his hands against your body. "a-ah? oh, y-yes! yes, I'm fine. umm, where did we stop again?”

#jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojot t valentine's day event! 𓍯𓂃

69 notes · View notes

brucebocchi · 1 month

Text

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 doubly 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 really 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

60 notes · View notes

denim-mixtapes · 2 years

Text

My Brother's Best Friend - (Steve Harrington/Reader

I had 2 drabble requests for a Henderson!Reader, so I decided to smoosh them together to make one longer fic! Hope neither of these anons mind!

Word Count: 1.3k Pairing: Steve Harrington/F!Henderson!Reader Tags: Fluff, secret relationship, Dustin being the ultimate little brother Summary: You're headed out for a date with your boyfriend, who also just happens to be your younger brothers older best friend. He decides its time for them to find out.

“What are you even doing with him?” Dustin asks, leaning his cheek on the bathroom door jamb, hunched over, his arms dangling freely below him. He’s been bugging you from this position for far longer than you can imagine is comfortable while watching you curl your hair. “He’s my friend.”

You whine his statement back at him, mocking, and try to close the door, but his foot stops it. “Yeah, well, he’s my age, so I don’t think I need to explain why it makes more sense for us to hang out than you two.” Ignoring your attempt to shoo him away, your brother pushes all the way into the bathroom and takes a seat on the lip of the tub. You drop your defensive tone when you continue, “And ignoring the sarcasm in your first question, we’re going to the movies. Nothing weird about that. I’m sure Robin and Nance will be there too.” A blatant lie, you know they’re not. Unplugging the curling iron, you lean into the mirror, fluff your hair, and wipe absently at a dried fleck of mascara under your eye. Dustin groans and makes a face of disgust when you do, mumbling something under his breath about why you want to look so nice to sit in a dark theater with Steve Harrington anyway, but you don’t quite catch it.

The truth is, you’ve been dating Steve for quite some time now. At first, you didn’t tell Dustin because you weren’t so sure it would go further than a curious date and an awkward night at Lover’s Lake…but it did, and you’ve been going steady for over two months. Your friends all know, and it’s not like you’re keeping it a secret, but you also haven’t made much of an effort to tell your brother because he’s been known to have a pretty dramatic flair, and Steve does mean a lot to him. The last thing you want to do is set him off and be the reason he loses that relationship or any part of it.

There’s a knock at the front door, and some muffled conversation as your mom answers it. Then, she calls up the stairs. “Dusty! Your fully grown man friend is here!”

Another groan, and an exaggerated “HA-HA.”

You take the opportunity to shove him lightly in the center of the chest, laughing as he falls back into the bathtub, and rush downstairs before he can retaliate.

“He’s actually here for me for once, Ma,” you laugh, brushing past her in the doorway and kissing her briefly on the cheek on your way through. “I’ll be home late, don’t wait up.” She smiles and nods, and you pull the door closed behind you, grabbing Steve’s hand to pull him swiftly toward his car, no greeting to be heard.

“Whoa whoa, hey, hey,” Steve laughs, digging his heels into the sidewalk and squeezing your hand. “Where are you goin’? What’s the rush? We’ve got all night.” When you allow him to drag you to a stop and turn to him, he flashes you his signature charming smile and brushes your already blushing cheek with his knuckles.

“Maybe I just want you all to myself already,” you admit, squinting against the sun. Steve’s smile softens as he runs a finger down the slope of your wrinkled nose. “I…may not have told Dustin about us yet. He thinks we’re meeting the girls at the theater.”

Steve stares off behind you, mischief sparkling in his eyes as a smirk pulls at his lips. “No better time than the present,” he insists. You follow his gaze over your shoulder to see Dustin not-so-subtly watching you from his bedroom window though a squint. “Come on, you haven’t even given me a proper hello yet.” His brows raise persuasively, his other hand grabbing yours and his thumbs stroke the back of your knuckles.

You can’t help but shake your head, rolling your eyes at your brother before turning back to your boyfriend. “Can’t you wait till we get in the car?”

He crinkles his own nose, mirroring your expression from before. “Don’t think so.” His hands are tugging you forward and his eyes are fixated on your bottom lip caught between your teeth.

“You’re a freak for wanting Dustin to see this, you know that right?” Despite your teasing, you allow him to continue pulling you forward, leaning up onto your tiptoes to close the distance even further.

A soft mumble of, “don’t care,” tumbles from his lips before he closes the gap entirely, meeting your lips eagerly.

You drop his hands to wind your arms over his shoulders, holding yourself steady in his embrace, while his own snake around your waist to tuck affectionately in your back pockets. You giggle as you pull away to look pointedly over your shoulder to his hands resting on your behind, letting out an exasperated, “really?”

His only response is a fond squeeze of your cheeks and a quick, tight nod that sends tufts of his hair falling into his face.

In the background you can hear Dustin in the house, yelling, voice squeaking, a distinct “Mom,” and your name, and "STEVE," then more unintelligible words. Both you and Steve laugh, and you reach up to sweep back the hairs that fell into his forehead, tucking them into place.

Yards away, the front door wrenches open and your brother leans out, shielding his eyes and yelling nonsense at you, speaking so quickly you can’t make out his words. Your mother, bless her, is trying to coax him back inside. She wraps an arm around his shoulders to slap a hand over his mouth, taking advantage of his silence to call out her own. “Now how long has this been going on?”

You shy away from their attention, your hands falling to rest on Steve’s chest and your cheeks warming as you turn in his arms to face your family. He brings one hand to stroke your forearm comfortingly.

“Officially? ‘Bout two months.” You say back, then beam up at the man holding you with a flutter in your chest and shaky breath. “But it’s a sure thing, Dustin. I really like him.”

Steve’s grip on you tightens protectively. He knows your brother just about as well as you do and he’s prepared for just about anything to come out of his mouth. Adding to your promise, he nods. “Yeah dude. We wouldn’t be telling you if we both weren’t in it for the long haul.” Turning his attention to you, he still speaks loud so Dustin can hear, but the warmth in his eyes and faint redness in his cheeks tells you this next part is directed at you, and you alone. “I’m not going anywhere on either of you.”

You melt at his words, leaning your head on his chest as your mom says, “well, honey, I’d say welcome to the family, but you know you were welcomed when you started treating Dustin like a brother.” When it seems like Dustin has finished putting up a fight, she releases her hold on his jaw, but keeps her arms wrapped firmly around him just in case. Nodding toward Steve’s car in the drive, she urges you to go. “Go on and have fun now, you don’t want to miss your movie time!”

You both nod, mumble your respective thanks, and Steve takes your hand to walk you to the car at a much slower pace than you first started toward it. You wave to your family, eyeing Dustin warily to gauge his reaction. He seems annoyed, but not angry, like he just got a lot of new information but doesn’t know how to process it, which makes sense. You only hope once the shock wears off that he will come around. Steve holds your door open for you like the gentleman he’s always been, and just before he closes it, you hear Dustin yell his final word from the porch.

“You better have her back to this house by 11, Harrington!”

#steve harrington/reader #steve harringron reader insert #steve harrington imagine #stranger things imagine #stranger things reader insert #stranger things x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #fluff #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things fanfic #henderson!reader

1K notes · View notes

michaelsheens · 8 months

Text

✨ GOMENS FIC RECS ✨

i asked for people's favorite fics and sharing is caring :)

(i included my own recs as well)

feel free to reblog and add more!

❤️ recommended by @oldzhishen ❤️

Crown of Thorns series by irisbleufic (rating G-E)

This series was never intended to be a series as such: I wrote "A Better Place" in the wake of rather accidentally getting to ask a certain question (What are Aziraphale and Crowley doing on the South Downs, anyway?) of both authors within a week of each other back in 2005 and actually getting an answer (Sharing a cottage), thinking it'd just be a happy little one-off. But something curious happened when my Good Omens Exchange 2010 assignment resulted in "The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse." From that point onward, interest in this little 'verse slowly, but steadily picked up momentum, and I kept finding more stories to tell. Some of the characters that appear herein (Phillippa [Pippa] Morrison, the Mouse, Amanda [Mandy] Tomlin, Uriel, Raphael, et al.) first turned up in my one and only attempt at a second-Apocalypse dark mirror universe, A Crown of Stars (AO3 posting of same) and its follow-ups, which predates this series considerably. The two universes parallel each other, but this one is, for our purposes, post novel-canon and set in our reality. That's pretty much what you need to know. Thank you all for continuing to read and also for giving this project life. I'll continue to add stories and ficlets until I run out of ideas or until my heart stops (whichever comes first)! The current existing pieces are complete; the series overall is ongoing on an as-and-when basis, which means that the time between additions may be weeks or months or, in rare instances, up to a year.

Madman and a Fool by loserchildhotpants (rating E)

God considers Crowley's unyielding pining for Aziraphale, his acts during the End of the World, and his very genuine desire to protect Aziraphale, worth rewarding. She can't make him an Angel again, but She can nudge Aziraphale in the right direction. If nothing else, She'd really just like Crowley to stop using Her prayer inbox for endless soliloquies about Aziraphale.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm (rating T)

As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. At first glance, she paid attention to the following: --His clothing was expensive and stylish; --He wore very strange but noticeable cologne; --His relationship to the seat he occupied could only, very loosely, be described as “sitting;” --He looked angry; --He was wearing sunglasses. What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?

A Home at the Beginning of the World by stereobone (rating E)

"Oh," Aziraphale says. "I think Crowley might have moved in with me."

For the Angel Who Has Everything by triedunture (rating E)

Crowley likes giving Aziraphale things. Whatever he wants, actually. Which, happily, includes Crowley himself, as it turns out.

I'm the treasure baby, I'm the prize by stereobone (rating E)

"Are you working for Mrs. Sandwich?" Nina asks. "No," Crowley says. "Well, yes. Well, define 'working'." -- Or, Crowley is very good at faking sex work, as it turns out.

🧡 recommended by @reloha 🧡

let me feel your heartbeat (grow faster, faster) by thehoyden (rating T)

Aziraphale saw him sometimes in all-staff meetings, sitting toward the front but off to the side, lounging against a wall. Even then, he’d had style—wings tipped in gold and face painted with gold flakes in the pattern of the first constellation he designed. He was amazing, and eye-catching, and it was no exaggeration to say that he did not know Aziraphale even existed.

You'll Find Something Waiting (Right There Where You Left It) by PrimalBeatsOurHearts (rating T)

"Lets go in the Garden, "You'll find something waiting" "Right there where you left it" "Lying upside down" ------------ Or What if Crowley was Erased from The Book Of Life?

Moving Forward While Standing Still by Justanothernerdsstuff (rating G)

“Uh, yeah, sure! Thanks,” They replied and walked away, not sure why this specific book was so important to the angry man, but they were £50 richer, so they didn’t really care. Crowley flipped through the book, stalling making the decision to go into the bookshop to confront Muriel. He turned to walk away, stopped, groaned, and stalked his way into the bookshop. *** Crowley finds himself at Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death a month after Aziraphale left to run Heaven, and ends up back at the bookshop, something he never planned to do again.

7 minutes in heaven by waddlesthejoghog (rating T)

"If Crowley and Aziraphale couldn’t figure it out, Muriel would have to take a different approach. It wasn’t enough to put them in the same location. They had to plant some seeds of conversation. They had to come to a conclusion naturally, but with a push." OR Muriel reads every book in the shop, then comes up with a plan to get Aziraphale and Crowley back together.

In the Pocket of the Universe by indieninja92 (rating E)

Immediately after the church scene (and The Slow Zoom of Homosexual Panic), Aziraphale takes Crowley out for dinner in the only place still open in the middle of an air raid. Feelings closely follow.

How to Run a Bookshop by IneffableDoll (rating T)

Muriel has been running Aziraphale’s bookshop ever since his promotion Upward. Mr. Crowley seems intent on sticking around, and Muriel has no idea what to do about that. Then, Muriel stumbles upon a collection of sketchbooks full of a familiar redhead. Did…Aziraphale draw these? Has Mr. Crowley seen them? * (“No. No. Put that back.” “Oh, but isn’t it cute? A little cup with wings! I don’t suppose it can fly like those birds can? I don’t see what a cup needs wings for, really.” “You can’t use that.” “Of course not! These wings are too small for me, and I have my own if I want to get around.” “Wh – okay, first off, you can’t go flying about London. You’ll freak people out, cause a bunch of chaos – actually, you know what, do what you like. Heaven if I care. But don’t touch that mug.” “Is it dangerous?” “…No. But it’s not yours. And it’s not polite to use something that’s not yours. Not very angelic of you.” “Oh! Of course. I knew that.”)

💛 recommended by @cheeekycharchar 💛

Together We're Golden series by Guardian_Rose (rating G-T)

Crowley & Aziraphale move to a small town, into their own little cottage but it's not without its difficulties.

True Disaster by NuriaSchnee (rating E)

After Crowley saves him in 1941, Aziraphale realises he's fallen in love with the demon. Scared this dangerous feeling of his will cause problems to his friend, he tries to break their relationship. However, his plan to push the demon away fails and they end up admitting their feelings to each other. To be able to be together and keep it a secret, Crowley stops time every time they meet. However brilliant this seems at first, it doesn't take long to backfire, opening new wounds and raising more barriers between them.

Nanny Knows Best by DictionaryWrites (rating M)

Being a nanny, that should be simple. Simple. Easy as pie. Crowley wished that were true.

💚 recommended by yours truly 💚

Strange Moons series by racketghost (rating G-E)

“At least they were together for a time,” Crowley says, staring at the lit end of his cigarette, “maybe that’s enough.”

tales from a bookshop by Rizandace (rating T)

Post-season-two. Crowley's moping, Aziraphale wants to fix things, and turns out, there's enough blame to go around. ----- "You're being ridiculous." Crowley very nearly falls over. Like, actually. He very nearly loses balance for no reason at all and tumbles to the sidewalk next to his car. He’s been playing Aziraphale’s voice in his head for weeks, he’s been trying very hard to drown out the sound of it, in fact, and now suddenly, abruptly— “What are you doing here,” is all he can think to say. He whirls around, and there he is. on Crowley’s right, standing there like he’d never left. Where he belongs, Crowley’s mind helpfully supplies. He wishes he could punch himself in the brain, knock the thoughts right on out of there.

Meanwhile the World Goes On by lineslines (rating G)

Crowley looked at him. He was still wearing his suit, there was tartan in it, but it had become polished, the worn edges returned to pristine, boring perfection. He looked prim. Proper. Perhaps this hurt most of all. (Crowley is on earth, Aziraphale is not. Meanwhile the world goes on. Plans, great and possibly ineffable, are set into motion. They are--always, inevitably--drawn back together. Long before reconciliation, long before they can bear it. The only thing they can bear less is staying apart. Oh, and Heaven seems to have misplaced Jesus.)

So You Need To Get Into A.Z. Fell & Co.; Now What? (A Guide For Unfortunate Bookworms) by c4llistrad (rating G)

London’s antique enthusiasts and rare lit nerds alike know that if you’re looking for a specific vintage or antique book, you have a good chance of ending up in A.Z. Fell & Co. as a last resort. And if you’ve ever been in (or are currently in) this predicament, you know how much of an absolute nightmare it is trying to even get in the door. Luckily, this handy guide, the fruit of a months-long collaborative effort to create the perfect formula for gaming the A.Z. Fell system, will tell you everything you need to know, complete with a comprehensive breakdown of what, exactly, the opening hours are. Compiled by pageknight and inky of the Rare Antique Forums.

Like Icarus Before Me by Arokel (rating T)

If Aziraphale were a Good person, a virtuous person, he wouldn’t have taken Crowley’s hand at all. Aziraphale muses on the nature of Goodness, and finally shares those musings with Crowley.

It's Something Like a Corkscrew by Arokel (rating G)

“How do you live with this… this inevitability? This knowledge of what’s to come?”

So let us melt by Arokel (rating G)

Of the two of them, Crowley thinks Aziraphale has held on to more of his faculties than Crowley has, but then again, he is putting off angelic heat like a particularly virtuous furnace.

So Much to be Consoled as to Console by Arokel (rating T)

“What are you,” Crowley drawled, “the patron saint of queer kids?” A series of lost souls over the centuries who prayed, whether they knew it or not, to the Angel Aziraphale.

Factory Settings by Anonymous (rating T)

Crowley gets reinstated as an angel.

such surpassing brightness by bibliocratic (rating G)

The revelation that Aziraphale might have been in love with him for thousands of years is surprising. The fact that literal books have been written on the subject comes as even more of a shock.

knowing this will I reach for you by Aria (rating E)

It wasn't as though his interest in Aziraphale was entirely appropriate. Of course it wasn't bloody appropriate. He was consorting with the Enemy, nothing about it was appropriate.

The Sandford Flower Show by Mussimm (rating E)

Crowley had waited six thousand years, kept it all in check. But this was the slipperiest slope he’d ever set foot on and as soon as he’d indulged in a few discretionary acts of kindness he was falling face first into pining, tumbling into flirting, about to dislocate his knees on the sharp rocks of intimacy. Was this really it? What he had waited six thousand years for? A stupid flower show? Aziraphale wasn’t pulling away from him. Maybe… maybe this time he wouldn’t? Maybe they’d hold hands again. Maybe tonight with a bottle of merlot in them he’d finally work up the courage and just kiss him and he wouldn’t pull away. The very moment he’d thought it he spotted the problem at the flower show.

you knew my name on sight by brinnanza (rating G)

“This wasn’t me, you know,” Crowley says, the words out of his mouth before he’s made the conscious choice to utter them. “Not just the library, but the whole civil war. You know me; I’ve mostly been getting drunk at Bacchanals.” “I know,” says Aziraphale.

The Longest Night series by charlottemadison (rating T-E)

The night the Apocalypse doesn't happen, an angel and a demon share a bus bench on the way home to face their fates. This is the story of their evening spun out line by line, all the little moments that carried them through the night they knew might be their last.

Witness the Fall by Waifine (rating G)

Crowley never talked about his time as an angel. Aziraphale never asked. But when Hell sends Crowley a package containing his most painful memories, it is Aziraphale who is plunged into the nightmare history of when his beloved friend, the angel who had once been Crowley, was hurled from the Heavens into the bowels of Hell.

An Angel who did not so much Fall In Love as Settle Into It Gradually by TheLadyZephyr (rating G)

Crowley was standing in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets, looking a little lost. Aziraphale eyed the distance between them. Five steps. Five steps, and six thousand years, and a battlefield spanning an eternity. The story of the little moments over the millennia that shape an angel’s regard for a demon, and the way he slowly, with great reluctance but inevitable surety, falls in love.

This Soul Outstreaming by Rend_Herring (rating E)

“Why did you come here?” Aziraphale interrupts. “Why do you keep doing this?” All the saving, he means, all the chasing after Aziraphale he does. It can’t only be that he’s not keen to endure a replacement. That can’t be it, not anymore. He’s going to get himself in trouble, and then it’ll be Aziraphale’s fault. Crowley’s mouth shuts with a click. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, reaches for the handle of the fork and taps his fingertips against it before setting his hands in his lap. When he speaks, it’s very soft. “Don’t you know?” he asks. Aziraphale, unnaccustomed to his heart refusing to translate why it throbs with such haste, shakes his head.

a lighthouse (burning) by books-and-omens (rating M)

In good weather, one can see the lighthouse at the Rock from the shore: a dot on the horizon, a distant star flashing red and white and red again. It’s been dark for a fortnight, of course—ever since the incident that every newspaper had breathlessly written about, that the paper-boys on the corners had shouted themselves hoarse over. This is where Aziraphale is headed: it is his duty, after all, to find out what happened, to make sure that the beacon can be safely lit once again. He does not expect Crowley to follow him to the windswept isle, to the lonely lighthouse at what could just as well be the edge of the world. Crowley follows him anyway.

paint the skies by ToEdenandBackAgain (rating G)

“This was one of yours, wasn’t it?” Aziraphale remarks casually, and Crowley feels like the warmth of the room has been sucked into space. A cold, uneasy feeling begins to creep into his gut. One of yours thrown out so casually. One of yours said like he... like he knew “What.”

Good Endings by WyvernQuill (rating T)

A Narrative of Certain Events following the Ending of the World (Except Not Quite), as vaguely hinted at in The Slapdash and Not Very Helpful Prophetic Tidbit of Agnes Nutter, Witch (And Matchmaker.) "Their lives are in horrible, terrible danger that only we can save them from!" Anathema held up the Prophetic Tidbit. "It says so. Right here." Madame Tracy peered at the page. Raised a meaningful eyebrow. "Dearie, as a woman of, well, considerable experience, I really don't think that's what 'the lyttle Deathe' means in this context..." "Huh." Anathema squinted. Flipped the page. Read another bit. "....huh." (Or, alternatively: Eight - give or take - matchmakers trying really, really hard, honest; two clueless ethereal/occult beings mutually pining their endless days away; and one witch, who can't leave well enough alone when it comes to matters of the heart, no matter how many centuries ago she died.)

If We've Got Nothing (We've Got Us) by Kedreeva (rating G)

Two months after the failed apocalypse Aziraphale finds the first dark feather growing in his wings. A story about middle grounds, ineffable plans, and what happens when the world doesn't end.

lit in the darkness by ToEdenandBackAgain (rating M)

Aziraphale returns to Crowley's flat for the night after Armageddon. After all, it's hardly the first time they've shared sleeping arrangements. Or: Times throughout history Crowley and Aziraphale have shared a bed.

💙 recommended by @vonlipwig 💙

Petrichor & Parchment by MrsNoggin (rating E)

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face?

💜 recommended by @darthbreezy 💜

post-professional endeavours by darcylindbergh (rating T)

Retirement is a four-letter word.

💗 recommended by @thegeekyartist 💗

Fire, Bridges, and other Sensible Idioms by KiaraMGrey (rating E)

To: The person who stopped the washer in the middle of my wash cycle and took my clothes out just to wash your own… You are an arsehole! Unfortunately for you, so am I. You can find your wet clothes frozen outside in the snow. If you have any problems with this, come see me in 301. or Aziraphale has a new neighbor, and they certainly don't start off on the right foot.

❤️ recommended by @weiwnxian ❤️

Any Other Name by mostlyanything19 (rating T)

“The Angel of the Eastern Gate.” Crawly grins. “What’s your name, anyway? You never said.” “Oh...” Apologies, Aziraphael almost says, but then he doesn’t. That would be taking things a bit too far. This is still the Enemy. “Aziraphael.” “Aziraphael,” repeats Crawly—or tries to, because halfway through the word he chokes. Quite badly. Or: What if Aziraphale’s name was originally "Aziraphael", in keeping with the conventional spelling and pronunciation of angel names, but because of its divine nature Crowley is physically unable to say it out loud.

106 notes · View notes

nonsensicalramblings79 · 7 months

Text

Dead Seagull: Do Not Eat – Albatrosses, Seagulls, and Guilt in Our Flag Means Death

(for future reference: written 10/6/2023, ~36-48 hours after the first 3 episodes of S2 were released)

Hi, all! I, like many of you scrolling the #ofmd meta tag, have a head filled with nothing but the Gay Pirates. This has been the case since 12am PST on 10/5/2023 and will remain the case for several months to come. On my 3rd watch-through of the first 3 episodes of season 2 of OFMD, I started paying closer attention to potential symbolism so that I could maybe predict how the rest of the series is going to play out and get a better idea of what’s going on in these little guys’ brains. This post is the introduction to a short series of long posts wherein I rant about symbolism that may or may not be in the show. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I haven’t written anything even close to a literary analysis since high school, and I generally don’t know wtf I’m talking about. I’m just having a lot of very normal thoughts about The Pirate Show and I need to put them somewhere; if anyone has more ideas relating to this please add to it!! And to the best of my knowledge, the thoughts I express here are my own – please let me know if there are other analyses that say similar things that I should link to.

TWs: animal death, blood, eating animals, starvation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gunshot injuries, suicidal ideation, canon-typical mental health problems

MAJOR OFMD SPOILERS THROUGH S2E03!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What originally prompted this whole rabbit-hole exploration was the conversation that Ed has with Frenchie at the end of s2e01.

…

You know there's a bird that never touches ground?

It's born in the air. Never once lands. Spends its entire existence in the sky. …

As Frenchie astutely notes, this seems…kind of impossible. How could a bird be born in the air? I could see potentially never landing, but surely every bird has to come down at some point to lay eggs (or to hatch from them), right? So I did a quick Google search for birds that spend their whole lives in the air, and the first result that came up was the common swift, which apparently spends up to 10 months out of the year in the air, never once landing (or only landing very occasionally) during that time. They catch food in the air, sleep while drifting on air currents, mate in the sky, and only land to nest and lay their eggs.

So that seemed…promising? I guess? But not exactly what Ed was talking about. After all, these birds aren’t “born in the air,” and they certainly don’t spend their entire life without landing. And this still could be what Ed was talking about; it matches fairly closely, and it’s possible that whatever Ed heard was either mis-told, misheard, or intentionally exaggerated. But I think there’s a more elegant answer to what bird Ed is referencing here, and it has much more potential for analysis than the common swift: the albatross.

This is the second thing that I found while searching, and this piqued my interest much more than the last result, since - as many of you probably know, spending time reading tumblr metas – the albatross is an extremely pervasive metaphor in literature. It usually represents a psychological burden that one has taken on, most often as a result of having made a mistake that resulted in others getting hurt. I’ll go into more detail about the source of this symbol in a little bit, but the basic gist is that a dead albatross gets hung around one’s neck until whatever guilt they have is resolved – albatrosses are huge birds, so this represents an enormous weight.

Before I go on, I’ll add that, at first glance, the albatross actually seems to fit Ed’s description less well than the common swift does – albatrosses are known for being able to glide for a long, long time, but they do land…on the water. One of the first things that comes up when you search for “birds that never land” is that albatrosses spend years and years never landing on shore. There’s a similar problem here to the common swift in that no bird actually hatches from an egg while in the air like Ed is implying here. But I would argue that the albatross is indeed what Ed is talking about. Whether he misheard, someone misspoke, or a tale got distorted from it being verbally passed down, Ed is referencing the image of an albatross that spends its entire life above (or on) the sea, never once going to land.

And this fits. In the context of the conversation that Ed is having with Frenchie, Ed is lamenting the fact that he can only exist in one place, fulfilling one role – on the sea, performing the role of Blackbeard. He imagines the life of this fictional albatross as quite lonely, I think, never once leaving the place it has spent its entire life (again, this isn’t exactly how the birds behave, but I believe Ed views them this way based on how he’s interpreted whatever he heard about albatrosses). He’s resigning himself to never leaving his habitat, and quite literally never going back to shore.

“…We’re gonna sail…rob…raise hell forever…and ever…without end.”

Right. So, if I am to be believed, we’ve established that Ed is actually diegetically referencing albatrosses. So what?

Well, as another disclaimer, I’m not 100% sold on these ideas myself. Especially only having the first 3 episodes of S2 to go off of, there’s plenty of time for these ideas to be proven wrong in as few as – checks watch – 6 days. There are lots of different, potentially overlapping, potentially conflicting ways to interpret this information. I’m probably going to split this up into parts, for ease of access and reading. Because all this so far has just been the introduction :))

In one part, I’m going to talk about what is probably the most intentional reference: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the original poem that the albatross metaphor is pulled from. Beyond just the link to the “Impossible Birds” conversation, there are some other elements in OFMD that seem like pretty clear references to this poem. Based on references to this poem in popular culture, I suspect that parallels here would be non-diegetic – meant to be apparent to the audience, not to the in-universe characters. Link Here!

Next, I’m going to talk about another poem, simply titled “The Albatross” (French: L’albatros). This particular poem is maybe less likely to have inspired references in OFMD, but if there is an intentional link, this poem reflects a lot of how Ed sees himself and his life thus far. I’ll admit that I’m a bit biased toward this poem since I had to memorize it in French class in high school and it’s stuck with me – but it was also one of the first things on Wikipedia that was linked on the page of the metaphor of the Albatross. Parallels in this poem are what I would suspect to be diegetic – despite it being an anachronism, I think Ed has at some point read this poem, and he relates to the albatross/poet. [Link Here!]

Lastly, there are some loose ends that I’d like to pick up that may not tie into anything, but I feel like they’re worth mentioning, especially as they relate to the albatross metaphors and parallels. This section is going to talk more generally about birds and bird imagery in OFMD, and how these instances can support or refute my albatross theories. [Link will go here: haven't written yet :)]

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd meta #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 meta #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season 2 meta #ofmd blackbeard #stede bonnet #albatross #the rime of the ancient mariner #literary analysis #media analysis #frenchie ofmd #izzy hands #lucius spriggs

54 notes · View notes

thebluemoonjune · 6 days

Text

The Sounds Of A Black Dahlia- Prologue

Summary:

8 years after marrying into a rich but cruel and messed-up family, Michonne, a loving mother and dutiful wife, finds herself in the middle of a brewing storm that may take everything she cares for, all while an unexpected member of the family returns, wanting to cause even more chaos and uproot her already troublesome life. AU Richonne centred. The first chapter is the prologue.

Today was the day—the day that her life would undoubtedly change forever. She ground her teeth in anxious worry, rocking back and forth or side to side as her fingers sought out anything she could hold onto. She looked regal as he stared at herself in the mirror, heart stumbling over its own rhythm. She couldn’t take it anymore. She got up, deciding it was best to work off her anxiety by pacing the room.

Girl, relax! Your heart is beating so fast, it’ll burst!

“Michonne! Calm down! You're getting yourself all worked up over nothing.”

“Me getting married is nothing, Sasha?”

“You told me months ago you loved this man. Your families may have pushed for this, but you told me it was okay because you fell in love with him. So why so nervous.”

“I just turned twenty… What the hell do I know about being a wife? What if I’m not ready? What if I mess up? My brother always says I’m childish. What if he thinks that? He’s six years older than me, after all. What if he changes his mind?” Michonne covered her face as her mind ran a marathon and Maggie snatched them from her.

“Stop it! You’ll mess up your makeup! I am not gonna let my best friend get married looking a damn hot mess! Get your shit together! As Sasha said, you said you loved him; this is something both your families want. It’s good you got feelings for him because you’d still have to marry him if your folks get their way. And could you, being a hopeless romantic, imagine a loveless marriage? You get to marry your first love; your first time will be with your husband; damn, he was your first kiss! He is also from one of the wealthiest families in the country and the world. You are living a fairy tale and you deserve it because you are the sweetest person I know!”

“I what if he’s having second thoughts? I’d be so embarrassed!” Sasha rolled her eyes, and going to her side.

“You told us he is the kindest, amazing, sweetest, funniest, protective, charming, understanding, most patient guy you had ever met. That’s not me exaggerating!” The three giggled as they tried to contain their emotions. “Those are your words. Honestly, Maggie and I were worried. You don’t have any experience, and it was clear your family was pushing this, but to hear how you spoke about him, it gave me relief.”

“It gave us relief.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Really! Do you wanna marry him? Believe it or not, he is not who matters here. Chonnie, you are so young and you may love him, but that’s not all it takes. You gotta be sure about these things.”

“Maggie!”

“Let her answer. Let her think about it. This is a goddamn life-changing decision, and she’s never even had sex. His dick could be small for all we know and she just goes in. We gotta know that she loves him regardless. That this, is what she wants, not her parents’ eagerness confusing her. I don’t want her to make a mistake either way.”

“Okay! Okay, I see your point—”

“I love him. I want to marry him… I do!”

“Are you sure? Think about it!”

“I’m sure, Maggie.”

“Well, you heard our girl!”

“I’m getting married!” Their mouths pulled into a silent O, increasingly as they processed the news. They soon began screaming in excitement.

The three of them held hands. Now that her friends had calmed her down, she smiled so widely, her eyes nearly pinched shut. At the same time, a knock came, and her brother Michael peeked his head in the door.

“You know, Mike, when one knocks, they usually wait for a response.” Michonne threw daggers at him and he rolled his eyes, letting himself in.

“Shut up. I see you guys worked your magic, She actually looks like a person—an adult, even. She ready?”

“She just needs her veil, but emotionally, she’s ready.” Sasha tucked it in Michonne’s hair, letting it fall over her face and she eyed Mike up and down.

“Alright, you guys, go let the others know so we can get this show on the road. My dad will come for her at the walkway.”

“Okay!” The two sent kisses and left.

“You look beautiful.” His eyes softened as he held her cheek. “Are you sure you're ready? I’ll talk to Mom and Dad. You don’t—”

“I’m ready. I promise.”

“Okay, I’m heading back. Meet us at the walkway in ten minutes.”

Michonne approached the mirror, lifted her veil, and observed herself. Her hands were balled into fists, covering her smile, big eyes gleaming over her knuckles. Her heart was still beating, but she was content as she admired her long-sleeved, ivory-stone, lace, round-neck wedding gown. Though modest, displaying no cleavage and merely her neckline, and rather traditional, it was a stunning gown. She realised why her mother chose it. They couldn't allow the media any room for criticism since they married into a white, rich family. She had to be flawless. She considered spinning around to check behind her, but decided against it since her long veil might tangle. It was time for her to leave. She shouldn’t dilly-dally any longer. She hiked up her dress and walked out the door, only to be graced by an unexpected soul leaning on the wall in a brown suit, puffing on a cigarette.

What is he doing here?

“Rick?” Surprised, she couldn’t help calling out his name. He cast his gaze in her direction, allowing their eyes to meet.

“Oh… Hey. Everyone’s waiting for you. Your bridesmaids are already in position.”

“I know; thank you for the information.”

She always wanted to say as little to him as possible. He always made her uncomfortable, like she was an outsider he would never see as anything else. So polite, it came off cold. His eyes were never still, and he only glimpsed at her in passing. Today, however, he seemed more laid back.

I didn’t even know he smoked.

“Congrats, by the way.”

“For what?

“I heard your girlfriend Lori had a baby boy.” He smiled, clearly thinking about his newborn.

“Yeah… His name is Carl.”

“Given that I’ll be his new aunt, I’ll have to get him a good gift.”

She let out an innocent smile in his direction. Rick’s eyes narrow, studying her from head to toe, causing her scepticism to be reflected by a single lifted brow. He chuckled at her reaction. Keeping his blue eyes on her, he put out his cigarette, outing it on the wall, walking right up to her and invading her space.

“Why are you doing this?”

“What?” Her brows formed a deep, perplexed wrinkle as she examined his face for answers she couldn’t find.

“You don’t have to do this, you know? Are you so afraid of Mommy and Daddy that you’d get married without so much of a peep?”

“I—”

“You ain’t one of us. You’re never gonna be one of us… It doesn’t matter who you marry or what last name you got; you don’t got our blood. You ain’t like us and you’re never gonna be like us. You can run right now. I’ll cover for you. It’ll be a little embarrassing for my brother, but he’ll thank both of us when things calm down… Trust me, this is for the best.” She blinked hurriedly, her pupils dilating as she struggled to make sense of the contradicting information.

“What is your problem with me?”

“I don’t have a problem with you; this is just advice.”

“Yes, you do! You treat me like I’m beneath you, like an afterthought.”

“Am I supposed to be friendly with you? We’re not friends; this marriage is all business too. You okay with rushing into a marriage that neither of you want?”

“What do you know! I am getting married, whether you like it or not. You don’t have the blood or the name either! Everybody knows that! So how can you stand there and insult me? I haven’t done anything to you. When I sign that marriage certificate, I’ll have the name since it’s so important to you! My children will have the blood too; that’s more than you. You are a Grimes. You aren’t one of them either…” His vast blue eyes widened in dismay before becoming dark and serious with acceptance.

“You’re right… I’m not.” His lips pulled down in a comical frown. “I—”

“Michonne!”

His expression caught her off guard. Nausea churned her stomach the more she looked at him and the more ashamed she felt. He was about to say something but the sharp voice of her father came from behind, stopping them in their tracks.

“Michonne, your late!”

“Sorry!”

Michonne hurriedly snatched up her dress with all its weight and dashed to her father’s side, who assisted with the train. She took a couple of steps forward and twisted her neck to catch a glimpse of Rick. He was leaning against the wall, a new cigarette in his lips, and looking aimlessly at the floor. She could not focus on him right now. She was set to get married. She pushed those strange thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrated on what lay ahead. Her father tucked her hand under his arm as they approached the chapel.

“Michonne.”

“Daddy?”

“You have to remember to do your wifely duties. You listen to your husband and honour his parents. Always remember your place. After today, you are a Walsh. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Daddy…” She understood exactly what he meant. From today on, she was not their concern and she shouldn’t make mistakes that would reflect badly on them, regardless of whether she lived well or not. Her typically bright visage had darkened and become withdrawn.

“Good.” He tapped her hand repeatedly in acceptance, and his lips curled into a sneer.

They finally entered, and seeing her soon-to-be husband, all those bad thoughts faded away. He gazed at her with a light smile on his face. She had a maid of honour, Sasha, who clarified that the position was hers and Maggie was her bridesmaid; she had no others, not even her sister. Shane’s party also had two people, including his brother Monty, who served as his best man. He originally hoped for Rick, but he rejected it for unknown reasons. It didn't matter; everything was marvellous. Going down the aisle brought everything into perspective for her. Even with Sasha and Maggie’s assistance, she could feel the train of her gown and veil trailing behind her. They made it after what felt like a long journey. Her father handed her away, and her fiancé placed her hand in his. The chaplain delivered his sermon, and she was in a daze until they exchanged vows and said, ‘I do’ to cap it all off. The couple signed their papers in front of the media.

“Alright, I need the married couple. Mr. and Mrs. Walsh, I need a picture of you cutting the cake, then we’ll go to the gardens.”

They followed the photographer’s wishes. They fed each other cake and Michonne grinned ear to ear the entire time. She didn’t know why she was so nervous in the first place. During it all, her newlywed husband was quiet during all of it, He was never much of a talker so she paid it no mind. He held her lower back and lifted her dress as he guided her to the garden. They took various photos. There was one particular one that stood out. She was standing next to him under a large, royal white-flowering redbud tree. Its sweet pea scent filled the air with a gentle, lovely fragrance. Michonne closed her eyes and inhaled the soothing scent that brushed across her nose. They were supposed to look ahead but it didn’t work out that way. Next to her husband, a baby duck had fallen behind, drawing his attention from the shoot and causing her to gaze at him. The photographer was going to delete it and try again but Michonne went to see it as she had done with all the others. His eyes looked sad, staring at the baby duck, which made her giggle. She was staring at him, basket in concern, with an outstretched hand

So sensitive! But it’s adorable. I want it.

“I like it; let’s keep it!” She called him over to show him. “Cute, right?”

“You don’t gotta keep it… We can take better ones.” She shook her head in protest.

“Nope, I’m keeping it. We can show our children how sensitive their daddy is.” She let out a sweet laugh. “Are you embarrassed? Is that why you don’t want to?” He looked at his feet for a moment before returning eye contact with her with a soft smile.

“If it makes you happy, we’ll keep it.” Her eyes were alight with joy as she giggled uncontrollably.

“I love you, Shane.” He took her hand, placing a gentle kiss on her fingers. “When we’re done, we can go to the pond and feed the ducks.”

“Hmm.”

“Redbud trees look nice.” She reached out to him, straightening his tux.

“Hmm.”

“There is a longstanding myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species... And yet, since the leaves are heart-shaped, it makes for a beautiful symbolic display of love that everyone has come to associate them with… Funny, isn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

“Is grunting all you’re going to do, my dear husband?”

“No.”

“Well, then, talk with me. What do you like and what do you hate? Did you enjoy the cake?”

“I enjoyed the cake... Today is your day; it ain’t about me.” His eyes dropped again. “It’s our day—it’s our wedding. Shane, it’s about the both of us; don’t forget that.”

“It’s time for the family portrait.”

Both sets of relatives gathered in the sea of royal white-flowering redbud trees. Sasha and Maggie fixed her gown, and the photographer positioned everyone right away. In the mids of things, Michonne caught that some people weren't present. She scanned the surrounding area and noticed Rick standing by the side, under a tree, with his girlfriend, Lori, as she held their baby boy.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Rick isn’t here. He’s your brother; he should be here. Same as Carl and Lori.” Shane came to a realisation when he heard his wife’s words. His little brother wasn’t there. Following Michonne’s line of sight. He caught him in his view and waived him over.

“Rick! Come on, man! Don’t keep us waiting!” Rick stood there, unwilling to move. It was Lori who forced him over. “Alright! Now that lover-boy is here, let’s do this.” Shane slapped his brother on the back.

Since the reception was held in the gardens as well, they evacuated the media so Michonne could finally relax and not worry about how she looked to others. Everyone was having a merry old time. Sasha was harassing her brother Mike and Maggie was down drinking. Shane had gone with his father and brother, talking to business associates. She was sitting at the table alone when her mother-in-law Eleanor, sat next to her.

“Not taking part in the festivities?”

“I’m okay.”

“Mhmm. You know, Michonne, I like you.”

“Huh?”

“I see a lot of myself in you.” Eleanor reached out and played with Michonne’s diamond earring. “You’re a sweet, young girl, yes, even naive. No doubt your parents had you under lock and key. I’d say that you’d be eaten up and swallowed whole, but I see this spark in you—this resilience, this loyalty… You’ll be a good wife for my son. He doesn’t need some floozie who thinks a baby is gonna make all her dreams come true. You’re a good, smart girl who will learn and survive. It’s why my cunt of a husband and I chose you. My son needs someone like you by his side.”

“I don’t—I don’t think I understand…” She admitted, her voice carrying the resignation of someone who had yet to find answers. Eleanor withdrew her hand from the clueless girl.

“Of course not, dear, but you will, given time. A word of advice, keep your thoughts to yourself; do not care what anyone else has to say and you’ll be just fine. I know a diamond when I see it… I’ve enjoyed this talk.”

Eleanor got up, leaving Michonne spluttering incoherent sounds, as if her thoughts were too tangled to express. Eleanor was always sweet to her. She didn’t quite understand much of their cryptic discussion nor did her mother-in-law wish to explain it. Michonne didn’t know just how valuable those words would come to mean or their weight. She was in thought until her husband came to fetch her.

“Are you ready?

“Mhmm.”

...

8 years, 9 months later

They stood over what seemed to be a lifeless corpse, Michonne’s white heels stained with fresh blood. Time slows as the gravity of the situation weighs it down. She grabbed her chest, her fingers quivering, as if attempting to keep her pounding heart from escaping. Then she put her quivering tips against her temples, attempting to calm the frenetic ideas racing through her skull, each one a teasing reminder of her rising terror. Their breath came in jagged, uneven gasps, as if their lungs strained to suck in oxygen within the crushing grasp of dread, each inhaling a war against their own panic as their eyes met. They were fucked.

...

Now that the prologue is complete, the key points to properly understanding this story are colour, styling, clothing, relationships, and references to sayings and myth. The colours will tell you a lot or lead you astray. I put both negative and positive for a reason. Sometimes one will apply, and sometimes both will apply. I was listening to the succession theme the whole time I was writing Chapter One while listening to Jon and Daenerys love theme/suite, plus it was also an element mix of the Og Dynasty and Bold and the Beautiful. Og characters will be in this as main players, along with Richonne, Carl, Shane, Andrea, Magna, Maggie, Sasha, Beth, Daryl, Negan, Phillip, and Jessie. I don’t know if I missed someone; I probably did. So I have a little chart that will be updated as the story goes on. It is not a necessity but to keep track as the story goes on...if it goes on. you can skip everything below!

Family Chart

…

THE WALSH’s

Original Branch

…

Ronan Lucius Walsh II

Ronan Lucius Walsh III (66), Patrick Friedrich Walsh (42), Cillian Artorius Walsh (63), John (61) Castus Walsh, Joseph Caesar Walsh (58)

Branch 1.1

John Castus Walsh (61), Eleanor Olivier Grimes-Walsh (55),

Shane Johnathan Walsh (34), Shawn Montgomery Walsh (32), Kendall Oliva Walsh {K} (28)

Branch 1.2

John Castus Walsh (61), Andrea Holden (36)

Alexander Malcolm Walsh (18), Andrew John Walsh (11)

Branch 2.1

Shane Johnathan Walsh (34), Michonne Marie Walsh {Chonne} (28)

Andre John Anthony Walsh{AJ} (6), Maliyah Olivier Marie Walsh {Lia} (3)

Branch 2.2

Shawn Montgomery Walsh {Monty} (32), Magna Anders (27)

N/A

GRIMES’

Eleanor Olivier Walsh-Grimes , James Augustus Remus??

Richard Daniel Grimes {Rick} (30), Lori Wayne (30)

Carl Arthur Grimes (8)

HAWTHORNE’s

Michael Mace Hawthorne (59), Michelle Marie Hawthorne (55)

Michael Micah Hawthorne {Mike}(33), Macie Maya Hawthorne (31), Michonne Marie Walsh (28)

Chapter-1

Chapter-2

#michonne grimes #richonne fandom #maggie rhee #sasha williams #richonne #richonne fic #richonne fanfiction #rick x michonne #Rick Grimes #Michonne

14 notes · View notes

frostandflamesfanfic · 1 year

Text

Of Sweets & Sweaters (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Of Sweets & Sweaters (Rated T)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader (gender neutral)

Word Count: 2.1k+

Warnings: Brief language and suggestive comment made by Steve, nothing too crazy.

Summary: Stevemas Day 5- A few months after the Great Hawkins 'Quake, Robin decides to throw a little holiday celebration for the party and the older kids. However, Steve isn't too happy with the dress code. Is there anything you can do to convince him otherwise?

“Hey, babe?” Steve’s voice called out from your shared bedroom.You had to bite back the smile that threatened to stretch its way across your face at his tone of voice. It was fairly obvious what his whining could be about. What was so wrong about having a little fun in the process?

“Yes, honey?” you replied in the sweetest tone you could muster.

“You love me, right?”

You couldn’t help it; a small snort escaped. “Of course I love you. Why would you ask that?”

“Because if you loved me,” your boyfriend’s voice grew louder as he approached the kitchen, “you wouldn’t be forcing me to wear this absolute and utter monstrosity.”

He stepped into the room wearing the brightest red sweater you had ever seen in your life. Covered in pom-poms and tinsel, Steve looked as though he had stepped right out of an offensive Christmas card. To top it all off, there was very exaggerated Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer stitched into the front of the sweater.

You gave a low whistle. “Damn, babe,” you mused. “And here I thought it looked good on the mannequin. This is so much better. I think red really is your color.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Well then, where’s yours? I wouldn’t want you to miss out on sharing this experience with me.”

You smiled and held up your hands, which were currently covered in dough. There was a dusting of flour all over your clothes, making you look as though you had spent plenty of time in the fresh snow from the previous evening. For the last few hours, you had been slaving over a hot oven putting together the fixings for some of your friends’ favorite holiday desserts.

Dustin loved brownies, especially when you folded pieces of Three Musketeers bars into the batter. Eleven had found herself becoming partial to your peanut butter blossoms, although it’s most likely because Mike introduced her to the best part: the Hershey’s kiss. There were cookies for Max and Lucas, who preferred to have their snacks on the go. Nancy always preferred the elegant classics, so you went with a chocolate silk pie, which you knew she would love to share with your queen of sweets: Robin. For Eddie, you made your spiked eggnog meltaways, which you knew for a fact Jonathan always stole a few bites of when no one else was looking.

“My god, it looks like a bakery exploded in here,” Steve remarked, walking over to the counter to swipe some cream cheese frosting that you made for Argyle and Will’s pineapple-banana hummingbird cupcakes.

“Hey!” you exclaimed, swatting his hand away after he stuck the dollop in his mouth. You tried your best to shoo him back from your workstation. “You have your own desserts coming. I’ve been baking for four days now. Wait your turn, mister.”

“Desserts, as in plural, hm?” Your boyfriend sidled up behind you and snaked his arms around your waist, face buried into the crook of your neck.

“I may have made that chocolate bark you love so much,” you said with a hum, allowing yourself to melt into his hold for a moment. There was something so special and intimate about these moments with your boyfriend. Steve made you feel like you were the most important person in the world, not just to him, but everyone. You always hated attention, but the love and admiration you noticed in his eyes every time he tells you he loves you makes you overlook that distaste – if only just to see him happy.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve smiled against your skin, his lips pressing against it in the form of many light kisses. You had to refrain from giggling. “What else?”

“And there might be some fresh gingerbread in the oven right now.”

There was a gentle nip to your ear, which was accompanied by wiggling fingers that danced along your sides. “Mmm, nothing else?”

You gasped and turned to swat at him again. “Steven Joseph Harrington!” you exclaimed. “You get your mind out of the gutter this instant! How dare you try to seduce me while I’m baking for the children.”

Steve groaned. “I can’t help it how hot you look in that apron, babe,” he whined. “Just want to eat you up.”

A hot flush burned at your neck as it spread up and across your cheeks. “Well, maybe later,” you stuttered out. “But for now, I have to get back to work on these treats if they’re going to be ready for us to take to Robin’s tonight.”

In preparation for the holiday season, yours and Steve’s shared best friend, Robin Buckley, had decided to throw a little impromptu party for your friends. After everything that had gone on in your small town over the years, she was determined to salvage one of the happiest (or, to quote the great Andy Williams, the most wonderful) times of the years. She had been planning the party for weeks, selecting only the “best” Christmas films of all time and records that would keep everyone feeling the Christmas spirit – even if it meant playing a few Black Sabbath songs for Eddie. Everyone was meant to bring something to eat and you had volunteered to bring the desserts. While you had nothing against the local bakery, there was nothing like the taste of a freshly made baked good that came from the heart rather than a plastic container.

The only catch? The dress code was U.C.S.O.:

Ugly Christmas Sweaters Only, otherwise known as what Steve liked to refer to as his own personal hell.

Speaking of your boyfriend, he sighed and stepped away from torturing you momentarily to run his fingers through his dark brown hair. “Fine,” he relented. “Do you need any help, though?”

With a sigh, you glanced around the warzone of a kitchen and placed your hands on your hips. Everything was pretty much done for the most part. There were a few things in the oven, but everything that needed to be prepped before the party was already set aside and cooling. “I mean, I think I’m just about done. Just have to clean up and get everything out of the oven.”

“If you want,” Steve offered, “I can finish and clean up so you can get ready.”

You felt your heart grow soft as you smiled at the man before you. “Really?” you asked. “You’d do that for me?”

Your boyfriend shrugged. “Of course! How could I say no to my baby like that? I would be, like, the world’s worst boyfriend then, wouldn’t I?”

You giggled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Not the worst. But you would most certainly still be the cutest.”

“Well, shucks, babe,” Steve teased as he began to roll up his sleeves. “I’m flattered.”

With a wink, he pulled on his yellow rubber gloves and procured a sponge from beside the faucet. His outfit reminded you of the old days, back when your relationship was still new and the two of you were battling an alien dog that had eaten one of your babysitting charges’ cat. While you were glad those days were behind you, there was still a part of you that missed the adventure and worried if the quiet domesticity would be enough for Steve.

It wasn’t that you were afraid it wasn’t what he wanted– the two of you had had a lengthy conversation about your futures, with both of you being in agreement of wanting to start a family together at some point. You were more worried about the fact Steve may become bored with the idea of a domestic you, where the most rebellious thing you did each day would be whether or not you cut the crusts off your sandwich.

“Babe?” Steve’s voice cut through your thoughts, snapping you back to reality. When you glanced over to acknowledge him, you noticed the concern practically radiating off of his face. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, yeah,” you tried to console him. “Just…got lost in thought is all.”

Unfortunately, that hardly did anything to lessen the stress your boyfriend exhibited. His frown only deepened as he set down the sponge and pulled the gloves off to cradle your face in his hands. There was an emotion you couldn’t quite place flickering in his expression. It was almost like a twinge of sadness mixed with…guilt?

“Are you sure?” he asked, more urgently this time. “You looked like you were in, like, another world or somethin’.”

Oh.

It made more sense now. Ever since the earthquake, Steve had been increasingly protective over you. He worried about your every move for months, especially since you had become seduced by the siren song of a ticking clock. The same song that took the lives of so many others. It almost took you away from him, too. The night you froze in his arms, shaking in fear with eyes rolled toward the back of your head. They didn’t know your favorite song, they didn’t know how to save you. In an act of blind desperation, Steve had hummed the only song he could think of, which was coincidentally the first song you danced to at the kid’s Snow Ball: Time After Time.

You can still remember how soft and broken his voice sounded as he sang to you.

“If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me,” he whispered between tears. “Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting. Time after time.”

If you didn’t believe in the power of true love before then, you did the moment you broke free from the trace and came face-to-face with Steve’s teary hazel eyes. When he finally realized you had come back, he pulled you into a dizzying and searing kiss you can sometimes still feel if you think about it. It wasn’t just a declaration of love, or the feeling of relief, but a promise of a future he one day hoped to share with you.

“Steve.” You reached up to grab his face with your own hands. “I’m fine, I promise. I was just thinking about things.”

“Are- are you sure?” His voice came out a bit crackly, as though he was on the verge of anxious tears.

“Absolutely one-hundred-percent sure,” you assured him. With a bit of additional height gained from being on your tiptoes, you pressed a kiss onto his lips. I’m here, it said. And I’m not going anywhere.

“Now. I’m going to go get cleaned up and get this flour out of my hair so we can get ready to go. If we make them all wait for too long, Robin’s gunna put us on dishes duty.”

Steve groaned. “But we already did so much…”

“No, I did the baking. You just stood there and looked pretty.”

Your boyfriend playfully lifted a nearby dish towel and proceeded to swat at your butt with it. “Okay, that’s enough outta you, babe. Go get ready.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

About an hour later, you arrived back downstairs feeling refreshed and excited for the holiday festivities that undoubtedly lay ahead of you for the rest of the night. You tugged are your sweater, hoping the material wouldn’t rise up too much over the course of wearing it. When you had washed the sweaters, you had made the mistake of drying yours a bit too long. You were pretty sure it had shrunk, but there was nothing else you could do about it.

“Well, damn,” Steve let out a low whistle. “I think it’s official. My baby can make anything look good.”

Flattered, you blushed and gave your boyfriend a playful twirl. The sweater wasn’t that much different than his. Fashioned from a similar red colored yarn, your sweater boasted more snowflakes that pom-poms. A non-red-nosed reindeer outfitted the front, its grin appearing a little too eager for the holidays. Tinsel adorned the neck and wrists of the top, as well, ensuring that you’d definitely stand out alongside Steve.

“Why thank you,” you teased. “But I still think you wear Melvald’s originals better than I do, babe.”

“Remind me to burn that store to the ground one day.”

You rolled your eyes and slipped on your coat. “It’s not that bad, Steve!”

“Says you!!” your boyfriend argued. “You literally look smoking hot, while I’m over here looking like a very festive tomato.”

“Ah, yes. But you’re my festive tomato.” You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before you picked up a tower of cookie containers. Was this potentially too many desserts? Possibly. But what else are the holidays for if not enjoying sweet treats with the ones you love most?

“Come on, tomato boy!” you called from over your shoulders. “Help me load in these desserts so we can go show the kids just who means business at Christmas trivia.”

==============

Author's Note: Anddd we're back. How's everyone enjoying Stevemas so far? We're almost halfway through at this point, and I have to admit, I'm starting to lose a bit of steam. I have about four unplanned fics left to write, so if anyone has any Christmas (or other holiday season) ideas, please feel free to send them my way!

If you enjoyed this story, make sure to leave a comment, tag a friend who might be interested, and give this post a cheeky reblog! These types of interactions really help me out as a writer. They tell me what you like to see and keep me motivated and writing! I mentioned this last time and I think it helped out a bit with the engagement, so if you want to stay in the loop of all things Stevemas or any of my other fics, don't be afraid to follow or ask to be included in my tag lists. I promise I'm a very friendly person who won't spam you too much with my fandom musings :)

Until next time, my little sparks <3

Taglist: @bakerstreethound

#frostandflamesfanfic #steve harrington fanfic #steve stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington x reader #gender neutral reader #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #joe keery #joe keery imagines #twelve days of stevemas #ficmas 2022 #ugly Christmas sweaters

260 notes · View notes

sstormyskyess · 5 months

Note

hii!! may i request a prompt from your winter prompt list?🥺 i would like number 4 but i cant decide between my comfort men Soap and Gaz.. so i guess whoever you feel like would suit it more?🥰 ((also, let me tell you, i would have requested the found family trope in any other year, but it seems like this christmas is going to be the first one in my life when my dad is not deadass drunk, but as sober as a man can be, and there's peace in my family and everyone is actually looking forward to spending time together!! i am so incredibly happy!!))

Family Matters

author's note: i got your update so i figured i’d mix the two prompts you mentioned, think of this as my christmas gift to you 💜 please enjoy!!

cw: vague familial conflicts, intoxication and drinking, anxiety, fluffy stuff

word count: 1300+

John “Soap” MacTavish / GN!Reader

Your phone clatters to the granite kitchen countertop, your hand coming up to pinch the bridge of your nose. You mutter a few curse words under your breath and yank the closest barstool out to sit in it, its wooden legs scraping harshly against the floor. You press your forehead into your palms. Seems like the Christmas party was going to be a no-go this year.

“Everything alright, bonnie?” Johnny walks into the kitchen and stands at the counter across from you, tilting his head. You don’t bother to look at him when you shake your head solemnly. He takes your hand in his and squeezes it gently, a small frown on his face. He rounds the counter and wraps his arms around you, kissing the top of your head. “Was it your family?” You nod.

He stands holding you for a couple minutes, just letting you rest your head on his shoulder and process. You had warned him that things might happen like this; everyone in your family had been walking on eggshells for a month or so at this point, and it hadn’t been much better than that for even longer.

You let out a shuddering sigh and pull away, looking up at him with a sad, frustrated look on your face. He caresses your cheek with a gentle touch and gives you a comforting smile, his thumb grazing over your cheekbone. “How about this,” he starts, catching your attention. “Let me take you out with the boys and then we come back to watch some bad Christmas movies? The Hallmark ones that everyone hates.”

You smile back at him, the suggestion warming your heart. You had only met his teammates once or twice before when they came by to pick him up for various post-mission celebrations, but they were always kind and respectful. It couldn’t be too bad an idea to come along, right?

“Okay, that sounds nice.” You giggle when he leans down and gives you a big, exaggerated kiss, pulling you close against him. “Go get dressed then, I’ll wait for you down here.” He lets you go on your way, his bright smile still painting his face as he watches you go.

You and Johnny were the first ones to make it to their preferred bar. He has his arms around your waist while you sit in the booth in the far corner of the open space. You told him that you sitting on his lap was inappropriate in public, but he just shot back with, “It’s too dark back here for anyone to see us anyway, bonnie!”

He rests his head on your shoulder, peppering the side of your face and neck with kisses, your face heating up under his ministrations. “They’re gonna get here any minute now, John, stop it—” He shuts you up by turning your face to the side to give you a kiss on the lips, your complaint dying in the back of your throat. All you can do is huff when he pulls away, that silly grin on his face, making you roll your eyes.

“We interrupting something, Johnny?” A rugged voice calls over to you two, your face somehow heating up more from being caught. You shoot Johnny a pointed glare, but he’s got his attention on the man who just walked in on you. “Not at all, L.T., not at all,” he replies. You figure that must be Ghost, if the skull-painted balaclava was any giveaway.

You peek past him and see a shorter man, but he was no less broad and imposing. He stands next to the table while Ghost scoots into the booth seat across from you and Johnny and crosses his arms with a smile on his face. “Is this the one you’re always going on and on about?” He asks Johnny, chuckling when he spots the Scotsman's face turning a bit pink. “Aye, sir.” He clears his throat, trying to hide his bashful look from you as he introduces you.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gives you a firm, professional handshake before sitting down next to Ghost. It’s around that time that another man, who you learned ws Gaz, approached and gave Johnny a jovial greeting before scooting into the booth seat next to him. He had a faded blue baseball cap on and a very pretty smile on his face, a smile that almost topped Johnny’s.

After a little light ribbing between the two of them, Ghost passes you the drink menu and you order yourself some of the spiked eggnog garnished with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg and Johnny follows your choice. It’s ridiculously tasty, and you end up having another round within twenty minutes of the first. And then another round, and another.

By the time everyone calls it a night, you’re honestly wondering if you and Johnny are going to make it home, especially with him clinging onto you at every possible opportunity. Even worse than usual. Ghost suggests taking you two home; Johnny disagrees but you welcome the idea, so you end up in the backseat of his car.

You look down at your lap as you sit. Johnny’s hand was resting on your thigh loosely as he drifted in and out of sleep. Tonight was fun. The most fun you’ve had over the holidays for a while. But that didn’t lock out the troubled thoughts that were playing at the edges of your mind. You sigh softly. All of that could wait for tonight when you’re staring at the ceiling, though.

You pull the bedsheets up over yourself and listen to Johnny doing whatever he was doing in the bathroom to prepare for bed. Your mind drifts off to thoughts of your family and what they might’ve been up to without your presence. It made you sad to think about; it seemed like it was always you causing problems. It felt like, if you would just suck it up, maybe things would be fine with you and your family.

You look at Johnny when he emerges from the bathroom and watch him climb into bed. “What’s wrong, dove?” he mumbles into your chest once he lays down, his face pressed into your side. You look down at him and shake your head. “It’s nothing, baby, don’t worry.”

He huffs. “That’s not the answer of someone that doesn’t have anything bothering ‘em.” He peeks up at you with those pretty baby blues that were practically glowing under the moonlight filtering in through the window. You frown. He knows what his puppy-dog eyes do to you. The bastard.

You run a hand through his frazzled mohawk, looking away from him. “I was just thinking about tonight.” He stays silent, a wordless encouragement for you to continue. “It was great. I kinda forgot how that felt.” You smile wistfully, your words hushed.

You don’t realize that you’re tearing up until Johnny’s hand comes up to your cheek, gently caressing it and causing a tear to fall down your face. He pulls you closer and kisses your cheek, holding you tight. “I’ll take you out with us anytime.” He rolls you so you’re laying on top of him, his lips pressing kiss after kiss on your head.

“No, it’s okay,” you frown before muttering under your breath, “I’d probably just weigh everything down anyway.” That got his attention immediately. He sits up, looking at you with something like offense on his features.

“Don’t you say that, bonnie! You are not a burden, never say that.” His voice is stern in a way that catches you off-guard. It isn’t rare for him to get worked up defending you, but this is the first you’ve been on the other end of it. You’ve never been defended from, well… yourself.

You blink, staring at him befuddled for a few moments, but you eventually feel yourself tear up again, a wobbly smile quirking up your lips. “Okay… okay.” You laugh, and he laughs in return, tackling you in a hug and kissing you all over your cheeks, and forehead, and shoulders, and lips. Maybe next year won’t be so bad.

𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

27 notes · View notes

robynlilyblack · 1 year

Text

Something sweet

Part 1

bodyguard! James x fem! maid! reader

Summary: James lands a new long term position for a rich family in the countryside, however he gets lost on his way there and has to ask directions from a mystery girl and her dog, little does he know he'll be working closely with her in the near future

Warnings: swearing, strangers to coworkers to eventual lovers, mentions of past relationships, cheating (neither james or reader), dangerous work environment, eating, food, and sex, first meetings, mutual pining, Alex being his iconic self, Bruce being the best boy

A/n: 4.2k words, day three of my advent calendar is part one of my bodyguard james fic! part 2 may or not be a later day ;) this is all set in a muggle au, James is in his mid 20s and reader her early 20s

Navigation | James Potter Masterlist

James was stopped at the side of the road, engine turned off to save fuel, eyebrows pinched as he checked the directions he was given against the map. He was certain he had gone the right way; he’d never gotten lost for a job…although this job was a little different than the others.

Usually he was only hired for a few months, a year or two tops, but this one would likely be indefinitely. He wasn’t complaining, though he was never without work he was without a permanent address. You would think seeing the world would be magical, that thrill of seeing something new every day would be exciting, but living in hotels and never settling had slowly taken its toll.

That thrill he once found in it had an expiration date, life became boring as he was never in one place long enough to form any real connections. He still wrote to friends, attended a few of their weddings a year prior, and always made sure to see them every couple of months. Yet it wasn’t enough, hearing them talk about having children and starting families had him earning for it too. He’d tried it twice before but they ended the same, the distance pulling them apart and, on top of that, back then he didn’t exactly take the safest jobs, leading both of his former partners to be in constant worry

They were both married now, he still phoned Lily from time to time and of course he saw Regulus being Sirius’ brother and all. There was no bad blood, the feelings had dissipated yet he envied them just a little for finding their someone, something he’d give anything to have now

“I went down here…and then I remember seeing that school because it was creepy as all feck…so if I go down here…” he extends the syllables as his finger traces the road “...wait” his eyebrows furrow deeper, looking out of his window to see any kind of landmark that can help

Looking around there was deep forestry on his left, some branches at the bottom still coated in snow as the sun hadn’t melted it just yet, lining the road for as far as he could see and ahead there was a bend that seemed to lead him off towards another deep treeline that looked a lot older, which was promising considering he was told the estate was established in the 15th century. He then turned to his right, seeing a small wall running down the opposite side of the road, it was crumpled in places, the gaps revealing more of the lush frost dew field behind it, shining

He reaches down the side of the door, rolling the window down gently, it was a crisp morning, but exaggerated by the cars heater making soft wisps appear as its heat hits the outside air. He pokes his head out a little further, trying to spot anyone he could ask for help in order to save himself returning to the farmer from earlier, who despite being a lovely gent was completely incomprehensible with how thick his accent was

Just as he was about to give up, he hears a giggle, hears perking up at the sweet sound, so much, he jolts his head up to see whoever it was over the wall, only to whack it on the doors roof

“Fuck” he groans, rubbing the top of his head, blinking quickly to ensure he didn’t knock out one of his contacts before he quickly scrambles out of the car and across the tarmac, stopping half way to curse again as he runs back over, dipping in the window to grab the map

“Hey!” he waves at the figure as he turns back towards them, jogging across the road and onto the grass verge, gently leaning over the wall

That catches the figure's attention and they turn around to look at him, that's when he sees you. You looked a little shocked to see him, which he’s not surprised at; he hadn't seen any other cars pass by in the time he’d spent stewing away with his map nor the drive up the road.

The next thing he notices is the dog that companies you eyeing him then looking to you for what he assumes is a command. James figures some farmers daughter, or maybe the daughter of whose estate he was headed too. He hopes for the former as you draw closer, the dogs tail beginning to wag as it follows on behind, gaining a treat on the way for good behaviour

“Can you help me?” he asks, holding up the map “I appear to be a tad lost” he chuckles trying to lighten the mood and let you know he isn’t some weirdo

You still seem nervous yet your shoulders have relaxed, the dog looking more excited now he’s no longer a potential threat. He drinks in your figure as you approach the wall, you look sweet, perfect even in your little bobble hat and scarf, sturdy looking boots at least a size too big adored with thick brown socks poking out at the top, battered jeans littered with old and new paw prints, and finally a woolly jumper under a chunky green parka

“I’m looking for the Roseberry Estate?” he asks when you don’t say anything, trying his best not to smile too much when he looks over the wall and sees your companion staring up at him fondly with big grey eyes that reminded him of an old friend

“Umm” you whisper and he barely hears it, watching as you awkwardly take the map from his hands and shift to the side so he can see it “You’re here” you point to the road and James smiles a little funny, thankful he’s on the right road yet confused as to how he overshot it “You started from the city?” you wonder and he nods, catching your eye for a brief moment before you shy away again towards the map “You’ve accidently taken the long way around, but it’s no harm done, just keep going you’ll find water on your left and look out for the sign, it’ll be on your right. Oh, and if you can’t see the water anymore you’ve gone too far” you tell him quietly with the most charming giggle escaping your lips at the end

He smiles gently re-taking the map, but not folding it up just yet as he traces over the intersection, he made a wrong turn at “So what you’re saying is I managed to get so lost I still ended up where I needed to be” he barks a laugh, thinking of how Remus would dub this with the famous Potter luck as he folds up the map and shoves the map into his back pocket.

As the paper slips in he feels his suspenders shift, laying uncomfortably on his shoulder, however as he fixes it, he misses the way your eyes fixate on his movements, on his hands, but particularly on the slight reveal of his holster under his fleece lined jacket

“I…umm” his eyes drift back to you, noticing you seem a little flustered and wonders if its for the reasons he’s finding himself hoping for “I need to get going” you slowly step backwards, trying to retreat in such a way he wouldn’t notice and it’s kind of adorable

“Of course, thank you for the help” he smiles and you give him a little nod back “Have a lovely day sweetheart” he adds, earning the smallest of smiles back and an even smaller ‘you too’ before you turn away and walk through the field and up the makeshift path, your dog following along behind, tail wagging happily

James smirks, turning around and checking the road before jogging back to the car quickly. He was freezing, only masking the shivers so he would look tough in front of you that seemed used to this kind of weather. He himself should have been, hell he went to a private school little ways south of here in his youth but years of jet setting from hot country to hotter country had left him shuddering now

After rolling up the window and getting warm again he presses his foot to the clutch and begins to the turn the ignition but stops and curses “Shit, her name” he scolds himself for forgetting “Always ask the pretty girl their name…fuck and the dog…dammit why didn’t we pet the dog” he scolds further, knowing his next letter to Sirius was going to earn a chide reply for the latter

You took your time walking back to the estate, breathing in the mid-morning air and enjoying your down time as you would be working again this afternoon. The ground crunched beneath you, the morning sun hadn’t quite hit the trail just yet and thawed the mud, making it easier to traverse. Not that you nor Bruce would ever complain, he was living his best life, so much that you honestly feared his tail would break with how hard it was wagging

He stops about 40 yards ahead at the corner of the path, turning back to wait on you catching up before going again. You smile at that, giving him a signal as you draw closer, causing him to patter up to your right side, around behind you to slow and walk at your pace on your left side

“Good boy”

Dipping into your pocket you grab a treat, gifting it to him and he takes it sweetly, tongue lapping it up before he picks up his pace and wanders out in front of you again. You adored mornings like this, just you and him, but as you reached the home stretch nerves filled you as you thought of the man you met earlier

He was beyond handsome, too handsome to live around here, a pretty face like his should be seen by the world and not the 50 or so people that lived near or in the estate grounds. He dressed like a tourist too, his shoes too nice for the mud, jacket that was quite clearly bought at the store everyone went to when they first got off the plane, and of course, the car that had no place on roads like this during winter

You weren’t surprised when he asked you where the house was, but the thing that did surprise you was the holster. You assumed he must have been one of the family's friends, as there was a dinner later this evening you would be waiting at. So, it was a shock to realise he must be the new bodyguard, the one other staff were raving about. He just looked too sweet. Sure, he was built like a rugby player with broad shoulders and clear muscles, tall too, but his face, hair, eyes, they were all too kind and soft to be in such a profession

“Happy to be home, boy?” You ask Bruce, scratching his ear as he circles you gleefully and of course he is, as the moment he’s in he gets breakfast

You were happy too, over your time working and living on the estate it had become your home, the fellow staff, your family, however as of this afternoon you would no longer be the new girl, despite holding it for the last 3 years, that would go to that handsome stranger

“Y/n!” Your head shoots up to see your best friend, Alex, waving at you before being greeted by Bruce “Sorry boy, hello to you too” chuckling he crouch’s down to give Bruce a proper hello

“Hey” you say softly as you approach, taking off your scarf and hat as you feel yourself heating up again as you approach the side door “He’s just sucking up so he can get extra you know that right?” you remind your friend and he gives you a pointed look before chuckling

“Let me live in my fantasy sunshine, where I pretend, he loves me and not yesterday's leftover beef, okay?” he pleads and you put your hands up, giggling yourself as you head in, but still making sure to kick the frost and mud from your boots off on the last step before entering

“Was it today the new bodyguard is coming?” you check as you take a seat on one of the small chairs just inside, looking up through the double doors of the smaller east wing kitchen as Bruce comes to sit on the floor in front of you, waiting patiently for Alex to return with food as he wasn’t allowed in there

“Yeah” he confirms, coming back out with two dog bowls, one with food, the other water “You think he’ll last longer than the previous one?” He chuckles, placing the bowls down “Good boy” he grants Bruce permission to feast, which he does so promptly

“Hopefully” you giggle

The position for a new bodyguard has been a cursed one, not for any dangerous reason but for the fact one of the family’s children had a rather scandalous habit of cheating on her husband with every bodyguard they had ever hired. Funnily enough your job had the same curse with one of the families’ sons, however you never let anything happen, simply refusing his advances and he never again passed normal flirting which gained him your respect, and yourself that of the families.

“I think I met him” you say removing your shoes and fluffy socks, revealing your tight clad feet underneath

“Seriously?” Alex’s eyes light up, smirking as you stand and slip off your coat, humming in confirmation “What’s he like?”

“Handsome” you feel your cheeks heat bending down to pick up the empty food bowl and half drank water bowl before carrying them through into the servants break room “Too handsome” you giggle, placing the water bowl back down with the food one underneath for now

“For real? You sure it wasn’t one of the investors they invited for dinner?” Alex asks, taking a seat on the bench facing away from your locker

“No, I thought that too until I saw his holster” you say, opening your locker and softly taking your freshly pressed uniform out

“Is he prettier than the last ones?” Alex inquires as he begins petting Bruce “Hey bud”

You feel yourself flush “By a mile, younger too, probably mid to late twenties?” you reply smiling as you see Bruce's leg kicks at Alex’s scratches before slipping off your jeans and jumper

“Yeah?” you hum in agreement “You know I can feel the heat from your cheeks…hey!” he chuckles as you shove him gently “You fancy him” he states

“I barely know him; we spoke for all of one minute” you needless defend as you shimmy into your skirt

“That wasn’t a no…oi…she’s such a meany isn’t she Brucey” he earns another playful hit but his attempts to sway Bruce only earn in a funny look “Wow you’ve got him wrapped around your finger” he notes

“I do” you slid your hands into the sleeves of your blouse “Don’t I boy” you lean over Alex’ shoulder to pat Bruce's head, causing him to yip and shuffle foot to foot, arse wiggling excitedly “He…” you climb over the bench and join your friend, beginning to button your shirt as you do “...he called me sweetheart”

“Sweetheart, eh?” he nudges his nose with Bruce’s “You hear that boy? Your gal might have found a new favourite” he says, making the dogs head tilt

“No” you leave the last few buttons and cup Bruce's face, steering him towards you instead “No one can replace my favourite boy, not even the handsome stranger”

“You replacing me darlin?”

Yours, Alex and Bruce's heads shoot up to see Patrick Roseberry, the family’s youngest son, ages with you, and your main boss, along with…the handsome stranger from earlier

“Sir” you stand bowing your head a little, cheeks feeling hot as the stranger tilts his head, clearly connecting the dots “No sir I mean…sorry sir” you cringe, cheeks on fire now while Patrick just waves it off with a small chuckle

“Mornin’” Alex nods his head with a small finger salute, standing up casually and earring an amused eyebrow raise from Mr Handsome

“Oh hey there Brucey” Patrick kneels down, petting the dog as he approaches “Y/n and Alex taking good care of you boy?” he wonders

You smile at that; Bruce was originally raised to be a gun dog but never quite had the same drive for the hunt as his brothers and sisters. You still remember the day they realised it wasn’t meant to be; you were helping move new produce into the kitchen while they were out training when a small group of hares ran by. Every dog started to chase them while Bruce sat just watched them, not caring in the slightest, Patrick didn’t want to give him up so he gifted him to yours and Alex’s care

“Is that his name?” the stranger finally speaks, drawing your eyes and earning a small smirk from him before he kneels down to pet Bruce, who seems very happy to see him again and gain some ear scratches this time now there was no wall in the way

“Oh” Patrick chuckles, standing back up and looking towards you and Alex “This is James Potter, the new bodyguard, I’m giving him the grand tour”

James? It suits him, you think with a small smile, rocking on your feet as your hands clasp behind your back

“Hi” James looks up, catching your eye once more as he greets you but those fine eyes soon travel down like they did earlier, his smirk widening as he stands up and you suddenly remember the last few buttons

“Sorry” you quickly do them up, turning away slightly as you do

Patrick lets out a small laugh “Sorry darlin, should have knocked first” he cringes, rubbing the back of his neck while his cheeks tint a little while you whisper a small ‘it’s okay’ “We should keep the tour going though, the dinner is in a few hours and I’m sure you wish to get settled and unpack” he tells James as he walks further into the room

“Sounds good…see ya boy” James whispers the last part to Bruce, giving him one last clap before he watches the dog return to your side

“This is the staff break room, you’ll spend most of your down time here. Y/n, Alex or one of our older maids will prepare your clothes in the morning so you never need to worry about what to wear, except for our balls, we outsource labour for those so the staff can join in, my grandmother set it up you see…”

Patrick goes on for a while, explaining some house rules, etiquette, locker assignment and meal times. Alex takes this time to sit back down and pet Bruce before yours and his shift starts and Bruce has to be left on his own. You do the same, your movement catching James’ attention briefly, before he returns to listening and you pull your formal black pumps out from under the bench, slipping them on your feet as you try not to stare too long at James’ arse, those trousers are…snug

“Pervert” Alex whispers and you gasp quietly, gladly not attracting much attention

“Shut up” you hiss back “You’re looking too” you mumble

“Course I am, if he wasn’t already making eyes at you, you don’t think I wouldn’t” he wiggles his eyebrows

“We aren’t making eyes…like I said we literally just met” you defend yourself whilst still stealing glances, eyes a little higher this time, melting at the way the shirt is just that little bit too tight around his biceps and shoulders, the man was perfection

“Exactly, just met and the chemistry is flying…” he whispers back, earning another nudge but that doesn’t stop him or you from continuing to chatter about it whilst you get your little cleaning cart ready

James notices the bickering, eyes flicking quickly over to you, smiling at the interaction. If he hadn’t heard your statement coming into the room, he might have read yours and Alex’s relationship differently. His pride was a bit higher now than you thought him handsome, more so that you felt the need to tell your friend about it to such a degree you had to assure Bruce he was still your favourite boy

“If you follow me, I’ll show you the security room” his attention is pulled back to Patrick, who’s moving towards the single exit door on the other side

“Course” James starts to follow but turns back to say goodbye “See you three around” he gives you, Bruce and Alex a wave, but his eyes linger on you a little longer and flashes you a smirk

As he follows Patrick out, he replays the little smile and nose scrunch that took over your features before you shied away, it was same one from earlier

“I’m glad we ran into Alex and Y/n, you’ll be working with them quite often” Patrick smiles, and James finds himself doing the same “They are based in the east wing, as will you be”

James hums, eyes tracing over all the portraits and random pieces of decor that were most likely worth more than he’d make in a lifetime, he does avert his eyes at the mounted antlers though, for some reason those always gave him the creeps

“Have they been with you long?” he makes light chit chat, returning his eyes to the man before him

“Alex has been here for about 5 years, he’s ages with you…oh sorry Linsey…on you go” Patrick starts, pushing open one of the large double doors and accidentally startling an older woman, adorned in similar clothing to yourself

James gives the women a small smile, which she returns before giving a small ‘thank you’ to Patrick for holding the door as she passes by before they do the same

“Sorry, what was I saying?” Patrick asks himself, turning back to James before his eyes light up “Oh yeah…Alex is great, you need anything go to him”

“Noted” James nods “What about the girl? Y/n” he prompts casually, trying not to seem too eager

Patrick’s smile widens “Y/n was the last person we hired for a permanent position before you, about…hell, three years ago now” he chuckles “Just down these stairs” he directs and James hums “She’s wonderful, treats everyone, especially Bruce well, beautiful too” he rambles a little and James feels just a twinge of jealousy

“Yeah?” he gives him a look, smirk playing on his lips as Patricks turns back to look at him, palm on the door

His cheeks tint, delaying walking through “I may have fancied her a fair bit in my youth” he confesses taking his hand off of the door, stepping to the side to glance back up the stairwell to check no one was there before continuing “When I was 18, we had a flurry of new maids because I well…” he scratches the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle “...you can imagine, young rich bachelor and all that”

“Course” James nods, remembering a certain friend being the same once upon a time “So why did y/n stick?” he wonders, hoping he wasn’t about to be told you and Patrick were secretly an item back in the day

“She got the job despite having no experience since they assumed she wouldn’t last. I, of course, flirted and she’d get all shy but after I tried to kiss her she…recoiled, then she gave me the sweetest and cutest rejection you’d ever seen” he chuckles, his face clear of any malice as he recalls the memory, in fact James could say the man spoke of it like it was a fond one

James joins him “Speaking of openings, I was surprised there was one going” he gently changes the subject as he had wondered why such a position would be available and on such short notice “What happened to the last one?”

Patrick cringes “As I used to have a thing for the maids, my sister has a thing for the bodyguards” he admits and James’ eyes widen

“Oh” he lets out a nervous laugh “Should I be worried?” he asks warily

“Are you going to sleep with my older sister?” Patrick crosses his arms, an amused smirk on his face

James barks a laugh “Nah, not my type” he winks causing Patrick to laugh as well

“You’ll be fine then” he presses hand to the door again “Any other sensitive questions? Ask now or…wait till we’re in another stairwell”

James laughs, thinking for a second “How does the family feel about staff dating…fellow staff members?” he asks a little untoward, hands finding his back pockets

Patricks head tilts “My sister and brother don’t approve, but my parents and myself don’t mind as long as it doesn’t create any security risks or effect the quality of your work, and you disclose it of course” he explains before smirking “The handsome stranger she mentioned when we walked in…he was you, right?”

James chuckles “Hope so, either that or there was another one gallivanting about this morning” he jests but his face soon softens “There just something…”

“...sweet about her” Patrick answers for him with a slight smile and James nods

“Yeah, something sweet”

Thank you for reading ♡

#james potter and reader #james potter x reader #james potter x you #james potter x y/n #james potter and you #james potter and y/n #james potter fluff #james potter fanfiction #james potter #james and reader #james x reader #james potter fic #bodyguard!james #bodyguard!au #marauders fic #robbiesadventcalendar

295 notes · View notes