#anyway Bullet Train is fun go watch it

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: Bullet Train

I've been missing a few Film Fridays lately, partially because mental health has just kinda been like that and partially because I've been struggling with a slightly more meaty analysis that my brain just won't let me figure out properly. As such, I'm going to get into the swing of things again with a movie that is pretty stupid, and I say that with all possible love and admiration.

Ladybug isn't really comfortable with the title of hitman anymore, he's trying out a more harmonic life, but even so he does find it in himself to undertake what should by all accounts be a simple last-minute job. Board the eponymous train, grab a suitcase, and get off at the next station. Oh, were it only so easy. Turns out said bullet train is flush with kooky assassins and hitmen who are either out for the suitcase, the lives of one or more of each other, or have larger and more ominous designs.

There's Ladybug, of course, the quirky pair of British wetworks men Lemon and Tangerine out to escort a drugged-out VIP and a suitcase full of money, notorious and sneaky The Hornet who's skulking about somewhere, the megalomaniacal but brilliant Prince playing a larger game with the life of desperate father Kimura's child as ante, as well as the hot-headed Wolf who is out for vengeance and a paycheck, but mostly the vengeance thing. It's quite the web of coincidences, interferences, and merry chaos as these murderers navigate the crowded train.

It's chaotic, but one throughline that honestly makes the constant shifting priorities and allegiances of Ladybug and the other hitmen work is that it's all a job to them, a very messy job that may or may not be arranged by a Russian usurper of the Yakuza crime syndicate known as White Death, but still a job. Whenever it's expedient for our heroes and antiheroes to not kill each other, they'll show professional courtesy to each other, bantering in that "a little bit too cool" stylized way that's second nature to Hollywood assassins.

What sets the banter apart, though, is a distinct sense of humor. Lemon, much to Tangerine's annoyance, has a theory of human personalities and moral character based on Thomas The Tank Engine. Ladybug has luck that fluctuates wildly between being impossibly good and impossibly bad, and he has a problem with remembering faces which makes some of the networking with his fellow killers challenging. Wolf's role in the movie is short in a way that feels darkly comedic yet apt, and I was surprised to learn this was, in fact, a cameo from musician Bad Bunny (listen, I'm old, ok?)

It's all breezy fun. The movie takes itself about as seriously as any movie that features a Japanese-language cover of "Holding Out For A Hero" in a moment of high drama, but that's fine, the movie expects you to chuckle along, knowing full well it has your heart in a vise by the third cover of "I'm forever blowing bubbles." Not a joke by the way, the few moments that Bullet Train allows itself to express emotion more complex than "holy shit" and/or laughter, it's acted well enough and with enough genuine skill that it actually gets to me a fair bit.

It'd be an act of overstatement to call Bullet Train all that deep, but it adds up to more than the sum of its parts. It ends up saying some fun things about fate. I wouldn't exactly cite it in a philosophy paper or anything of the sort, it is fun to sit at the end of the "Michael Shannon plays Russian roulette in an oni mask to look badass" movie and go "You're right movie, maybe human misery DOES come from the hubris of believing ourselves to be masters over fate." I don't know, it's just nice for a crowd-pleasing action movie to go out on a note of what seems like a genuinely held belief and not "welp that happened" glibness. It reminds me a bit of Mr. and Mrs. Smith like that, a movie I'll probably end up talking about here one of these days.

[middlingmay]

“Honey, have you been crying? What is it? What’s wrong?” buck x bucky?

Hello! Do you know you're my very first Anon ask in my inbox? Thrilled to have you!

Anyway, I had fun with this one. Please enjoy this wee Modern Gale/John, with echoes of a past life. I hope you like it, and thanks for being so patient with me :)

“You look just like my friend Buck from Manitowoc.”

The kitchen table was cold, but it barely registered against the chill those dreams left behind

God, John was so damn sick of those dreams. He was so sick of being paralysed by sleep and being force to watch the same reel he’d dreamed of time and time again flicker through his head.

He had no choice but to watch these two men meet over and over again; to watch a friendship roar to life through immediate unbounded affection and unfurling gestures of trust. He watched as smiles helped to alleviate the hardest days of basic training; as quiet moments together gave them a space to sort out their thoughts away from the rest of them; as spirited discussions led to better strategies, better leadership, and endless respect between these two men.

He watched as physical affection grounded the men when they needed it most: arms thrown over shoulders, hands squeezing thighs, gentle chucks to the chin.

“Don’t you die on me before I get over there.”

John had to watch something in Bucky change after that first combat flight.

“I got a nickname for you and it ain’t Buck!”

No. No one was Buck. Why couldn’t he just say that, though? John tried to yell at Bucky as he dreamed - tried to scream at him - just tell him!

“I don’t feel a thing.”

In these strange and awful dreams, John had to watch Bucky lose his men and go out of his way to get himself hurt because it was the only way he could let himself acknowledge the pain without crumbling to dust underneath it.

“We’re gonna get through this. Come on. Don’t you stop believing that.”

John had to watch Bucky package away all his fears, his frustrations, his doubts, and hide it all the way out of Buck’s sight. He’d believe enough for the two of them. He’d get them both out of there if it killed him.

“London. Let’s do it up. Paint the town red.” “Maybe next time.”

John had to watch Bucky watch Buck dance away with Meatball - so utterly ridiculous and endearing and he feels the grief start to flare to life in his chest. Don’t go. Don’t you goddamn leave him again. Go up with him. Fly with him. Don’t let yourselves go alone!

“Did he have a good game?”

John had to watch Bucky lose Buck all over again, and saw the angry, violent grief wash over this man and drag him down, passed the man he used to be; down in the esteem of his men; and down into enemy territory and the horrors he had to feel and flee and flee again.

Until:

“Do any of you know if Buck made it?” “John Egan! Your two o’clock!”

John finally got to see Bucky feel the smallest flash of incandescent joy as he realises Buck is alive and he might be able to keep his promise after all. But soon after, when time starts to pass in the Stalag, he has to watch Bucky spiral, and he sees Buck watching and trying to keep the men and himself together so they can keep Bucky together. But it’s like keeping water in a cracked vase. John had to watch Buck witness Bucky lose himself until he was so unrecognisable that he hurt Buck and Buck punched him -

And John had to watch that awful march in the cold and the dark, and see the terror both Buck and Bucky feel when the other stumbles or slows.

And then it’s the night in the village when Bucky sacrifice the only two things that kept him breathing - Buck and his freedom - without a second thought. So long as Buck got out. John had to watch Bucky throw himself at the German with the gun and knock the rifle away because he couldn’t risk a stray bullet.

“Go! Get out of here!”

And when John finally got to see Bucky and Buck reunite, all they get to share is a handshake, which they clutch to like a lifeline, and later a flask. Then he’s watching Buck and Bucky go their separate ways until Bucky is at Buck’s back as he gets married -

“John? You in here, baby?”

John returns to the present, and his eyes latch onto the sleepy posture, messy hair, and concerned gaze of his husband standing in the kitchen doorway. His Gale. Who pads over on bare feet and John feels the heat of his long, strong hands cupping his cheeks.

John always felt overwhelmed by his love whenever he looked at Gale, but tonight he burns with a love, a desperation, that feels more than his own; more than he could fit into one lifetime. And the edges of the dream still toe the boundaries of his consciousness.

“Honey, have you been crying? What is it? What’s wrong?”

John only feels the tears now, as they roll fat and slow down from the corners of his eyes. His nose stings and his throat feels thick.

He whispers brokenly, “Buck…”

Gale’s face crumples as he recognises the name. John only ever calls him that after those dreams. Those awful, heartbreaking dreams of Buck and Bucky, gifted the joy of knowing each other, loving each other, and torn apart time and time again.

Gale grabs handfuls of John and switches places, so he can sit down and gather and tuck John into his lap, until all of him is curled and curved and protected in his embrace.

Buck might not have been able to do this for Bucky, but Gale can do it for John. And be grateful for the privilege.

He places slow, heavy strokes down John’s side as he shakes.

After a time, he mumbles against Gale’s chest, “Do you think they ever got to be happy?”

See, John is convinced they were real, Buck and Bucky. Gale has even offered to look them up, see if he can find some kind of record in the archives. But something about getting that confirmation, seeing the faces of two men that John sees as echoes of them - it's too much. He doesn't want to know.

“I don’t know,” Gale answers truthfully. “But right here, now, we can be happy enough for both of ‘em.”

[trying-something-n3w]

Dracule Mihawk X Archer!Fem!Reader

Summary: After almost bleeding to death going up against an admiral you find yourself on a dark and gloomy island where your injuries get the best of you. Making your way through the ominous land and standing off with a baboon on steroids you stumble upon a seemingly empty castle. Little did you know that not only was the castle occupied but occupied by a warlord, the world's greatest swordsman in training, and... A ghost girl?

word count: +5k

Warnings: blood, fighting, Zoro being Zoro, ooc Akainu, reader gets a bounty eventually, stealing from the marines, intrigued Mihawk, unsuspecting Kobe, feels for Mihawk, slow burn

Author's Notes: I'm SO happy people seem to like Chapter 1 of Learning Curve (Katakuri x Valkyrie!Fem!Reader) Updates will be slow but I promise it'll be worth the wait! If you ask to be tagged in the series I will def tag you! Anyway! Here is my first Mihawk writing, not sure if it will continue but let me know if you want more!

The waves were aggressive in these parts of the sea and you knew it, you just didn't want to admit you didn't know how to sail on your own, especially in the grad line. The blood running down your abdomen wasn't helping either. You hiss trying to tether the sails so you don't drift off course in your little boat. With the rain pelting your face you genuinely didn't know which direction you were going you just knew you had to get far away from here. In the distance behind you, there sits a smoking marine ship up in flames with the distinct shouts of everyone trying to give hurried orders. Your bow lay thrown on the deck with your arrows scattered at your feet. Escaping was particularly hard not knowing a fleet admiral was on board.

 What was meant to be a small robbery turned into a wild goose chase the second you crawled over the port side where said admiral was enjoying his tea. You both stare at each other for a solid minute before you laugh, smile, and book it. 

Running through the ship grabbing anything that looked of value, your dodging skills came in handy when the bullets started whizzing by your head. You didn’t mean to catch the ship on fire, honestly, that was the admiral's fault.

All the halls look the same to you as you dip in and out of doors. Some meeting rooms, some with bunk beds, and some supply closets.

 As you make your way through a kitchen you snag a tasty-looking roll then come face-to-face with Akainu blocking the only other exit in the room. You turn to go back the way you came when three more lieutenants block your way. They bring up their guns as you raise your hands and slowly turn back to the admiral.  

“If you give up now we won't have to do this the hard way.” Akainu tried to intimidate you, tried to give you an out but to no avail, you only smirk in response. 

“Now where’s the fun in that admiral?” In seconds you draw your bow and an arrow of your creation to send it straight through Akainu. He turns part of his abdomen to lava to avoid the arrow, exactly what you hoped for. A thick wire was attached to the arrow you shot connecting it to your wrist brace. Hitting a switch on your bow the wire starts to coil around the arrow pulling your light frame through the air. Due to Akainu melting half his abdomen to avoid the arrow, you fly through him. You hit the wall hard outside the kitchen with a grunt. That'll bruise for sure. You cut the wire with a blade attached to your thigh and bolt to your left hoping to be heading toward an exit. Unbeknownst to you back in the kitchen the three lieutenants are panicking watching the lava eat through the floor, the hole getting bigger by the minute. 

“Well, what are you waiting for go after her!” Akainu’s voice booms. The three lieutenants scatter out the door they were blocking, one dropping his rifle and going after you. 

Continuing through the halls you bound past two smaller marines, one with pinkish hair and glasses, the other one with yellow hair and a weird bullcut. With the roll in your mouth,  you make eye contact with the pink-haired marine and wink. His face flushes but does nothing to stop you. Rounding through the corridors you come in contact with a few more trainees but you take them out easily. One you knocked in the head with your bow and another you choke tell he passes out. The last one was a little harder engaging in combat with you. His moves were slow, not aiming for any of your vitals so you swiped his legs and carried on.

 The alarms start to blare in your ears when you notice the smell of paint burning. You make it to the front deck of the ship, slamming through a door, when you turn to see smoke billowing out from one side of the ship. While fighting off a handful of men one tries to pull your hair. You grimace while giving him a crazed smile as you cut your hair severing his hold on you. To be fair he didn't have a good hold so thankfully there was more length left than you thought. You kick his stomach with your heavy boot and run to a dingy attached to the side of the ship. 

Before you can safely lower the small boat you hear a deafening voice calling for more backup on the side you were trying to escape from. You look up and see Akainu standing on the tallest deck, face contorted in anger. You panic and start cutting the rope with the dagger to get as far away as possible. Right before you cut the last line Akainu sends some of his lava in your direction shaped as, who would have guessed, the arrow you shot earlier. You lift your arm swinging hard trying to get through the rope before it hits you. As the line severs and the boat drops you get hit directly in the abdomen, straight to where you aimed at Akainu. The impact of the water was bruising, and the added sting from the wound made you groan in agony while trying to set sail. Thankfully it was not a direct hit, most of Akainu’s shot hit the railing of the ship as you fell. 

You drifted from the smoky ship, shooting your head up when you started to hear guns fire. Once the small sail was finally set you paddle to add the extra distance. 

This is where you find yourself now, struggling against a storm that came out of nowhere. The Marine ship is now a small dot in the distance as you struggle to tie a piece of ripped cloth around your burned stomach. After, you try to make-shift some shelter from the emergency kit on board to protect yourself from the storm. You tie one last knot in the rope holding the sail then take cover as much as you can. You take a moment to assess your wound before hissing and pulling your shirt back down. Becoming exhausted from your little adventure (disaster) the sound of the thunder becomes a thought in the back of your mind as you drift farther into a warm darkness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up who knows how long after your extravagant exit you find your undersized rig beached on a gloomy island. You try to sit up but hiss at the pain shooting through your torso. You quickly squeeze the wound trying to stop not only the bleeding but the pain. Slowly as you hold your breath you use the side of the boat to lift yourself to your feet. In the distance can be herded wild screams from an animal you hope not to run into. You sway as you take in your surroundings looking from left to right. At the top of a mountain sits an old-looking gray brick castle. Occupied or not you knew you needed to get to some safe cover. Trying and failing to pull the dingy more onshore you give up and hurry to grab your bow and arrows from the makeshift tent on board. Turning to the line of the forest you hesitate only for a second listening to the monstrous noises. The burning in your abdomen makes you take the first step.

Pushing past the first couple of bushes and trees the light becomes scarce with how dense the woods are. You pick up a stick and start taking out spider webs before you run into them venturing forward. With your other hand holding your wound you hurry in the direction of the castle.

The ominous sounds become closer the deeper you go. Noticing a branch snapping and the rustling of leaves you believe something is following you. You pause for a brief moment and hear it again but this time from above you. You turn to look behind you, the shore a small picture in the distance. As you turn to take a step to move on your head gets dizzy and your vision tunnels. For a split second, you thought you were gonna pass out from blood loss but something else kept you awake. A blood-curdling screech sounds from above you confirming that someone or something was tailing you. 

You lurch forward and roll on the ground with a deep painful grunt before taking your bow off your back, pointing an arrow at the beast that made contact with the ground behind you. The earth shakes with its landing and your balance almost wavers. The beast stands tall on two feet with a sword in hand. It resembles other monkey species you've run into before but you still don't know exactly what you were up against. 

Before it leaps for you, you let an arrow fly at its face. You turn quickly and flee before you can see the arrow burst into a powder on the creature. You glance behind your shoulder not stopping while clutching your side seeing the pinkish hase dissipate and the beast falls forward looking very sleepy. You let out a breath you don't realize you are holding. You haven’t tested the sleeping powder before now so you are very satisfied it seems to work! Before you can fully celebrate you start to hear even more loud beastly calls from the trees above you. They swung from tree to tree after you causing your stomach to drop, they were gaining on you. You pick up your pace hoping it's not too long before you reach the castle. Pushing past some thick shrubbery you almost fall forward as you come across a wide opening. You realize it's a stone path leading to the front doors of the castle. 

Still clutching your bleeding abdomen you rush forward not realizing the sounds of the beasts fade the closer you get to said castle. This time when your vision tunnels and your limbs get heavy you fall against tall double doors. You reach your bloodied hand up and start to pound, it may look abandoned and you may be dying but you still have decent common sense no matter how fast you are fading. Knocking was polite. Your blood was a stark contrast to the clean wood of the double door. Just when you think the castle is indeed abandoned you hear a female voice call from within. It didn't sound like it was directed to you but to others inside. You take a stumble back hearing a lock click before the door creaks open. Before you see anyone you hear the female voice speak again. 

“This better be good enough to interrupt my baking sesh otherwise I swear-” Cutting in you feel warmth fill your mouth. 

“Help ple-” Instead of finishing the sentence blood pools your mouth and spills over. You lift your hand trying to stop it from leaking out but there is too much. 

The younger girl with pink hair and frilly apron gasps, eyes widening as she yanks the door wider. 

“ZORO!” She shouts and before you can comprehend it there is a male presence next to you. Your eyes water with the realization that you might not make this one out alive. 

The green-haired male lifts your figure and halls you inside. Passing the threshold you become limp in his arms.

“Perona get Mihawk now.” Zoro says sternly yet he stays calm overall. The pinkette disappears down some hall as Zoro walks you down some corridors. The lights overhead are fading with every blink. You clutch onto Zoro’s shirt trying to stay conscious. He eventually kicks a door open and walks into a well-lit room. 

Zoro is talking to you, asking you questions trying to keep you conscious. You don't understand the words he says but you can still see his lips moving. Zoro lightly sets you on what you assume to be a bed before he rushes over to a table with some drawers on it. 

Turning your head you try to speak but nothing but blood splatters the white sheets. 

“Don't do that you'll make it worse.” You hear in the distance. Zoro is back with rags, gauze, and other things you didn't quite recognize in your hazy state. You hear more than feel Zoro rip your shirt open before pressing a rag to your wound. You don't hiss or react only close your eyes and let the tears flow. In the distance you hear the sound of clicking heals and heavy footsteps. A minute or so later the door to what you assume to be a medical ward opens swiftly. The pink-haired girl stands in the doorway with a tall and intimidating figure behind her. 

The first thing you notice are his striking golden eyes. If you weren't dying you'd be blushing because of his intense stare. The second thing you notice as your eyes drift is the pinched look on the girl's face. Did you look that bad? 

“What is going on here?” The taller figure asks with a clipped tone. Perona, as Zoro called her, glances at the greenette and then back up at the man beside her. 

“We aren't 100% sure, she was banging on the front door and this is how we found her.” Zoro removes the bloodied cloth from your wound to examine it. 

“Mihawk this looks bad, it's a major burn wound and it won't stop bleeding from the main laceration.” Zoro turns on his heels to face the two. “If we don't do something she is going to die.”

Perona looks up to who you now know as Mihawk, his face is blank. You don't recognize the name at first in your state but you feel like you should be more scared of the man in the doorway. His eyes shift down from Zoro’s face to yours. You hope your eyes were expressive enough to get across your plea for help. Perona shifts uneasily as Mihawk stays still, unmoving. With a deep sigh, he uncrosses his arms and steps in. Rolling up his sleeves he proclaims, 

“Fine but you are in charge of her when she wakes Perona.” Some type of relief falls over your body and you sag with exhaustion. 

“Me!? Why me?!” Perona shouts at Mihawk for assigning her to nurse duty. Zoro gets out of Mihawk's way as he sits down to examine your wound. He feels your forehead, eyes slightly scowling knowing you are likely running a fever as well. Mihawk starts listing off things for Zoro and Perona to get for him to work on you but your consciousness is fading fast. Mihawk notices with a side glance and tilts his head to you. 

“Sleep. You won't want to feel this.” These are the last words you remember before the darkness takes hold of your body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days pass unbeknownst to you. Your sleeping figure fighting against the wound and the fever. Zoro goes about his business training though stopping by whenever he seems to stumble upon the medical ward. His straight face was easily readable to Perona, knowing he was worried about the stranger lying unconscious in the bed. Perona was bouncing around the infirmary rinsing cool rags and setting them on your head, she also changed your wound dressings when she noticed them getting a little too red. Most of the bleeding stopped by the first night but every once in a while you would jolt in your sleep and a new gush of blood would slowly seep through the dressings. 

If Perona wasn't taking care of you she was sitting next to you reading and sipping on some tea. Mihawk hovers only to see when you would wake up. On the second night, everyone retires for the evening when you wake up with a start. You gasp with wide eyes as you try to remember where you were. The room is dark with only the moonlight and a single candle illuminating the wide space. Your hand makes its way to the throbbing of your side to find newly wrapped gauze and padding. You slowly move the blankets and shirt to look down at yourself. Admiring a job well done you try to sit up. The pain that shoots through you makes you hesitate but you push yourself. You swing your feet over to have them land on cool tiling. You notice you weren't in your original clothing, now sporting loose joggers and a loose-fitting top. You take a deep breath almost gagging at how sterile the room is, you could almost taste it. 

Taking small light steps you make your way to the door opening it slowly. You lean heavily on the door frame when entering the hall. You look both ways before you notice a very faint light coming from the end of the hall around the corner. Relying on the stability of the wall you make your way past paintings and doors. Once you reach the end of the hall you turn to find an archway about a quarter way down the corridor. Hissing at the sharp pain when you try to stand straight you step forward anyway. Reaching the warm light you now see a cozy yet large library with a fireplace burning on one side of the room. Your eyes widen at the vast collection of books. You take one step inside before you feel a hand grab your left arm. 

“You are supposed to be resting little one.” You gasp at the light hold and deep voice. Whipping your head to the side you meet the same piercing gold eyes with the same intense stare. You have to crane your neck to fully meet his gaze. You stutter trying to respond but before you can Mihawk is leading you to a sofa in front of the fireplace. A book lay abandoned on the arm of the couch which you assume he was occupying before you interrupted. He sat you down gingerly before taking a seat in the chair diagonal from you. You clear your throat when you finally find your voice.

“Thank you… For everything. I wasn’t aware this castle was occupied when I landed here but I am very grateful it was. All of you saved my life.” You stare into the fire mesmerized by the dancing flames. You glance at Mihawk nervous now conscious of who he was. First an admiral and now a warlord. What next? The king of the pirates? 

Mihawk sat frozen with his legs crossed and his hands conjoined above his mouth just observing you. You shift under his gaze and look back to the fire. Before you find the words to continue Mihawk breaks his silence. 

“The other two showed up in similar states. At this point, it's like I’m running a hospital.” You turn away and grimace. You knew you were being a burden but he didn't need to say it so coldly. As if reading your thoughts Mihawk continues seemingly unbothered. 

“Perona will be taking care of you as you burn heals. From the looks of your abdomen, you probably won't be able to sail for at least two weeks.” Your eyes widen at his words, just how bad did Akainu get you? Your eyes drift down to your wound where your hand already sat. You were in a good amount of pain right now all things considered. Probably not the best idea to wonder for too long. 

“Either way, thank you for your hospitality and I’ll work hard to get out of your hair soon enough Sir.” You don't meet his eyes but you can feel his gaze on you, his eyes raking over your body. To you, he’s analyzing if you were to become a threat. In reality, he was wondering how much longer you would stay conscious. You have some pretty heavy pain meds in your system now so for you to be holding a conversation was impressive. Not that he would admit that. 

“Mihawk is fine.” This is when you finally meet his eyes. Expecting his intense and methodical stare you were surprised to see curiosity and interest. You turn your head back to the fireplace in hopes the glow of the flames could mask your slight blush. His eyes were gorgeous when not giving someone the death glare. 

“Since you seem fine enough to hold a basic conversation, I am intrigued to know how you stumbled upon my land and home. Do tell little one.” Mihawk uncrosses his legs and stands. He walks over to a wine rack and picks a bottle easily. “Wine?” He questions without turning around. You take a chance to admire his back muscles while you can. 

“Please. That sounds fantastic. And the names (Y/n) for your information.” You wear a hint of a smile enjoying your banter with the warlord. Mihawk walks back to his seat across from you and sets down two wine glasses. He fills them equally and leans back taking a long sip. You grab yours and smell, you’ve always enjoyed a nice aroma to your wine. Taking a sip you lean back as well, relaxing on the sofa. 

“Well, where do I even begin? First and foremost, I am a traveling merchant. I get hired to do odd jobs as I travel around from island to island. My skills are a wide variety from handling a bow and arrow to basic construction to hunting people down. I like to keep people on their toes. Currently, I am between jobs, I was sailing to Water 7 when I came in contact with a Marine vessel. It was smaller, maybe a cargo ship. I thought since I am low on funds, what's a little scavenger hunt gonna do?” You take another sip of your wine before setting down the glass on the low table in front of you. Resting your elbows on your knees you warm your hands up and rest them against your face. 

“I didn't know there was a fleet admiral on board at the time. Let alone know it was Akainu.” You side glance at Mihawk and see the barest twitch of his eyebrows. You take that as a queue to continue. 

“I climbed aboard not thinking much of it at the time but I should have scoped it out more beforehand. I should have absorbed my surroundings and should have followed the ship for a while before boarding. There was plenty I could have done at the moment to prevent what happened but… I slipped up. I was starving, being out at sea for so long without food and water will do that to ya I guess.” Your shoulders slump as you sag backward. “At first when I got past him I thought I was in the clear. I should have known from the moment I set foot on the deck that I wasn't getting away unscathed. After running around for a while and tumbling through marine after marine he finally spotted my getaway. Before I knew it I was dropping a dinghy into the water and my abdomen was bleeding. My goal was Water 7 but a storm swept in. My old rig being left behind I set sail and hoped for the best.” 

You were leaving out key details like the amount you got off the ship or how you got jumped by a baboon on steroids on your way to his castle but he didn't need to know that. You open your eyes to look at the man beside you and notice he is looking into the fireplace. You couldn’t recognize the emotions you saw in his eyes but you assumed it was nothing bad considering you were still sitting next to the warlord. For a brief moment, you didn’t think he would say anything but he surprised you by setting down his now-empty wine glass and standing. You follow his movements out of your peripheral and take the last swig of your wine. Before a second thought crosses your mind Mihawk then extends his hand in invitation. You glance at his hand and then up to meet his eyes but he still looks towards the fire. You set your wine glass down next to his and proceed to stand. Or, attempt to stand, that is. As you flex your abdomine to gain balance a sharp pain runs through your stomach. You hiss as you drop back on the sofa. You look up to Mihawk again now understanding his gesture. You take his hand without looking at his face and he helps you stand on your own two feet. 

“You must be hungry. I always say a good wine requires a good snack.” Mihawk lets you lean some weight onto his arm as he leads you out of the library. 

“A snack sounds fantastic right about now.” As if in queue your stomach lets out an atrocious growl that reddens your face. Mihawk peeks at you while you look at a very interesting painting as if your stomach didn't drop an atomic bomb in the hallway. 

“With the looks of it, I’m surprised you lasted this long without collapsing. Undernourished and injured do not mix well.” It’s as if the briefest hint of a smile crosses Mihawk’s face. You barely catch a glimpse as your eyes dart to his. 

“As small as I seem I am one tough cookie thank you very much.” You retort as you raise your head high. “My skills with my bow did not come easily.” You say almost to yourself. Mihawk does not miss this. The rest of the walk to what you assumed to be the kitchen was silent. A comfortable silence as you admire the decor and photos. Most are of landscapes and waterfalls but one in particular caught your attention before you walked past a threshold. 

Sitting upon the bleak wall was a massive photo of Yoru, Mihawk’s beloved sword. You pause admiring the beautiful craftwork and detail in the painting. Mihawk glances at the painting before down at you. His gaze sweeps your face admiring the awe in your eyes. He’d never admit it but the look on your face now was almost as beautiful as the painting you admire. With your mouth slightly open and eyes wide you take your time to absorb the scene. Yoru stands tall in the center, leaning up against gold and jewels. The gold cross-guard somehow shone brighter than any piece of jewelry in the painting. The black blade is a contrast to the vibrant colors of the gems surrounding it. Your breath catches in your throat as your memory is thrown to your beloved bow and arrows. 

“My stuff. Where is it?” Your voice was slightly colder in tone when you spoke. Mihawk lets you lean against the wall next to the painting of Yoru and takes a step away. He turns and crosses the threshold to the kitchen before responding calmly.

“Your things are in a guest bedroom you will be moving to after you eat.” You visibly calm, the tension leaving your body. You take one last glance at Yoru before proceeding. Your bow and arrows were your most valuable possessions, a gift that could never be replaced. You support more of your weight on your feet as you follow Mihawk. You venture to the island in the middle of the room and sit on a bar stool. Mihawk opens a pantry pulls out a loaf of bread and makes his way to a refrigerator. He proceeds to pull out some ingredients and begins to make you a sandwich. To your amazement, you find a delicious meal presented to you on a porcelain plate within a minute or so. 

“Again, thank you…” You glance up at Mihawk before you continue. “You know, for a terrifying warlord you’re very sweet.” 

You look from the food to him again. He stands across from you leaning up against the opposite counter. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and you can't help but notice the veins running down his forearms and into his hands. A shiver runs down your spine and you take a big bite of the sandwich averting your eyes. Before you can question if Mihawk saw you staring he takes a couple of steps forward resting his hands on the island you sit at. He acts as if your last comment was never said.

“For the next few days, I don't expect you to be up and walking as much. Once you are however we can discuss payment options for my… Services.” Mihawk says with an earnest gaze. Swallowing hard you set the sandwich back onto its place in front of you. Trying to sit up as straight as possible you meet his eyes head-on, trying not to seem intimidated or nervous even when your stomach was in knots. However, you couldn't tell if it was from hunger or anxiety.

“Of course, I understand. Whatever it is I’ll do my best to pay you back. You did save my life after all.” Mihawk just hums in reply and stands. 

“Finish your food and I’ll assist you to your room.” With that, he steps out of the kitchen for a moment. 

Taking this opportunity you shove your face with the delicious sandwich. Nothing has ever tasted so good after weeks of no food at sea. You slow down reaching the last few bites of the sandwich wanting to savor the flavors like it's your last meal. With your life, you never knew when your last meal was going to be. Licking your fingers and patting your stomach you sigh. With the food now in your full stomach you take a moment to look around the Kitchen. It's a decent size even with the island in the middle of the room. Plenty of cabinets lined the tall walls and a pantry sits in one corner. You wonder if Mihawk likes to cook. With the look of how clean it was he either loved to cook or never did. You stand gingerly trying to walk without the support of a wall or counter. You felt confident the first few steps to the sink but right when you thought you were in the clear a stabbing pain flew through your abdomen making you cringe and fall forward. You were able to lightly toss the plate onto the countertop before hitting the ground on your knees. Before your face falls flat on the hardwood an arm comes across your chest. Even with your hair now blocking your face you knew it was Mihawk from the solid frame and sweet red wine breath. One hand clutches his arm as the other goes to your wound. You inhale sharply feeling yourself start to sweat from the pain. 

“Let's get you to your room shall we?” Mihawk’s warm breath fans the top of your head, you squeeze your eyes shut trying to will away the pain.

“Give me a second to catch my breath and I-” 

Without warning you are lifted into the air and pressed against a warm chest.

“Please, if you walk now you'll reopen my stitching.” Mihawk begins to walk gently out of the kitchen to a tall set of stairs by the front double doors. You can’t say anything with the warmth that spreads across your face. Hawkeye freaking Mihawk is carrying you up to a guest bedroom and you think your heart is about to jump out of your throat. Whether it is from butterflies or anxiety you couldn't tell. 

Mihawk observes you for a brief moment noticing you hiding your face with your hair but chooses not to say anything. He knows his presence is intimidating and even though that is not his goal he can't help it. The persona he has built over the years as an intimidating warlord has protected him and haunted him. Yes, he may not be actively trying to participate with a group of pirates but no one ever said he never got lonely. With Zoro and Perona around, their presence has helped him realize he wouldn’t mind having someone around permanently possibly. Someone he knows is always going to be at home when he returns. What circumstances of the relationship with that person were still unknown to him but having another body around would be nice, to say the least. 

Reaching the top of the stairs Mihawk turns to the right and passes a couple doors before stopping in front of one that was slightly ajar. Using his elbow to open it all the way Mihawk turns to not hit you on the door. He walks over to the king-sized bed that was situated at the far wall of the room and lies you gently on the covers. You take in the room, your head on a swivel when you notice all of your belongings on the desk up against a wall. You visibly relax as you turn your attention to Mihawk who is now at the end of the bed. He gestures to a small tray lying on the trunk stationed at the end of the bed.

“If the pain gets any worse take these and they will help you sleep. In the morning I’ll let Perona know you woke up late in the night and she will meet you for breakfast.” Before Mihawk could turn away and exit he gets caught frozen in place. You sat situated in the middle of the bed now, hair frazzled from days of not being washed yet the look you give him makes his heart skip a beat. Your appreciative gaze is crinkled by the wide smile you show him. You look younger, not injured. Your cheeks are rosy from the cool night air and your nose scrunches with your now Cheshire cat smile. 

“Thank you Mihawk, truly. I look forward to speaking with you again.” You open your eyes once more and you could have sworn you saw the tips of his ears turn a shade of pink. Before you can see, Mihawk is turning towards the door and making his exit.

“Likewise little one.” 

[maritotoy]

MAUGA X READER (GENDER NEUTRA)

Warning: Violence(Slight) & A bit of swearing

- A Little Bit of Mistake…

You are a part of the team of Overwatch team.

You are a healer and a sniper. This means that if anything ever happens to anyone on this mission, you have to take action fast so they can live. But what about if something happens to you instead? The mission will be compromised, no matter what.

Although you were a skilled healer, some think you were the next Ana, the former army sharpshooter, who is still active out there today.

You’re not sure if it’s because your skills came from Ana or if your abilities evolved in response to your situation. Either way, everyone on this team has been through some shit, so maybe you just need some help too.

Anyway, you're on a mission at the Coral Museum & Learning Center in a museum at Samoa.

It's where you meet your teammates.

The place is crowded with students as well. As you're walking through the exhibit halls, you hear explosion somewhere close by.

The building shakes violently, like it is about to collapse. You see a student running towards you screaming for cover. She bumps into you and falls down as her backpack falls onto the ground with a loud thud. You quickly grab her backpack and lift her up, before she gets hurt.

"Get to the nearest and safest exit," you say. "We have to get you away!" The young lady nods her head before you carry her over to one of the doors. It slides open easily and you quickly usher the girl out, shutting it behind you. After ensuring she is safely on the other side, you ran towards where the explosion had occurred. The area is littered with debris everywhere. Some people lie unconscious on the ground and others seem fine.

The only casualty seems to be an older guy laying motionless on the ground. He looks pretty beat up, but alive. Maybe he'll make it. You quickly run over to him and check his breathing. It's normal. Thank God...

You sighed in relief as you heard gunshots and your teammates' voices yelling from farther in the distance. Good. Now it seems you have found where your team went. Now you just have to go and find them and help them.

Hopefully, that didn't cost too much effort. You just have to hope your friends weren't hurt too badly while you were gone.

With your shotgun in hand, you took off running, towards the direction you heard your friends shouting in. Once you got past the rubble, you saw the group of four fighting against four different Talon soldiers. They were holding back their assailants by using various weapons.

That is impressive.

You admire their teamwork. Their teamwork might have made the difference between their survival and theirs.

You hide into a corner of the room and take aim with your rifle. Your finger tightens around the trigger and you pull, watching as your shot hits a Talon soldier squarely in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground dead immediately. You smile to yourself as you remember what that felt like during training. You don't know why you enjoyed shooting so much, or what it would do to someone else, but right now you were having fun with it. It seemed that every time you pulled the trigger, there was a new person that you shot down.

You hear your teammates calling out for assistance but the Talon soldiers are getting bolder and you can tell they aren't going to give in.

You start reloading your shotgun, which seems to have gotten heavier. Before, you had only managed two bullets each. This time it felt like three. You guess this gun does have more power than it lets on. As you fire multiple shots, more Talons fall on top of their comrades.

It feels exhilarating firing these bullets. Even though they don't seem to affect you directly, it makes you feel powerful in a way that nothing else could possibly do.

When you don't see your enemy anymore, you lower your weapon and ran towards your team as their medical support. They look quite shaken up, but none of them seem to be bleeding anywhere. Thank goodness. You're sure the wound isn't as severe as it seems.

You reach them, ready to assist them.

"Y/N, We still can't back down just yet! Our mission is to stop Talon!" You sigh, but agree with them nonetheless.

It won't do any good to turn tail now. Besides, if you really want to help, you may as well do everything possible. You can handle your own injuries if need be, but they will still be safer here with you instead of being alone. "I will continue to remain vigilant. If something else occurs, I will act accordingly." You reassured. Although you'd rather be doing your job with them, that is your decision to make.

You see them nod in agreement, and they both leave after thanking you profusely for sticking with them through everything, even though things seemed to be getting desperate.

The team continues to fight off the remaining Talon soldiers.

Eventually, one Talon soldier manages to follow you and laughing at the sight of your team members fighting back to back, and then face your back and yours alone as you run.

This gives him the upper hand since he saw you running alone. So, he slowly advances towards you with his two devastating guns.

"HaHa! Coming for ya!" He taunted before raising his gun.

He shoots, but you manage to dodge.

One bullet grazes your arm, making it sting. You hold back your scream and force your adrenaline to push through the pain. You quickly move forward to finish this bastard once and for all.

As you're rushing towards the man, he swings his guns at you and fires several bullets. Luckily, you were able to dodge them, but a few graze your shoulder when you move back.

You try hard not to let that bother you, but it's starting to get harder to keep your composure.

You hide behind one of the fallen buildings, trying to steady your heartbeat.

"Motherf*ck*r..." You whisper to yourself, panting.

At least you were able to dodge most of his shots and his bullets missed you by a wide margin. Still, you were injured by them.

You hear loud footsteps and loud thuds and you were certain it was the guy who's been chasing you.

You peek around the wall, and the man in question appears.

"Hey. Where's the rest of your teammates? I was hoping we could play together," the man smirks, clearly wanting revenge.

His face was covered with dirt and was clearly looking for you, so you decided to stay hidden.

After all, it wasn't worth provoking him. You couldn't afford to risk a fight with him.

A hulking figure with a heavily armored exoskeleton. His imposing presence and intimidating stature make him a force to be reckoned with.

He towers over everyone and almost always has his eyes locked on something specific, including you.

He grins and chuckles before saying, "What's wrong little rabbit? Don'tcha wanna play with me? I know you can fight! Everyone can! Come on, it wouldn't kill you to show me a trick or two." He laughs loudly and raises his arms up. "Come on, show me something amazing~"

You knew better than to fight with a giant, dangerous loose cannon, who is very likely more stronger than you are.

Mauga grins. He takes a step forward to your hiding spot as he lifts up his chaingun, "I know you can do it, little bunny. Show me what you've got~" He smiles widely at you.

You see how much he's enjoying this and he is f*cking annoying in your point of view.

As Mauga was to take another step forward to your hiding spot, you jump up from your spot and attack him in hopes that it will scare the crap out of him.

But unfortunately for you, Mauga doesn't flinch or look scared in the slightest. He simply shrugs your attack off.

As if his body is immune with bullets.

Then he uses his loud and huge jump to knock you back, causing you to tumble down and fall to the ground. You quickly scramble to get your feet underneath you very weakly.

You quickly turn and point your gun at him, aiming at his throat. Unfortunately, he just stands there.

He looks down at your gun and laughs, "Oh no, you little bunny. No need to worry about that. I'm too strong to be killed with a toy gun."

Your eyes opened wide in shock and your gun lowers slightly.

That was a stupid mistake.

"Well then." Mauga begins to move his body closer to you.

You quickly raise your gun and prepare to shoot again but there was a loud earthquake as the building around the two of you shook violently.

A large piece of metal and rocks falls from the ceiling, crashing on top of the two of you.

You feel your head hit the concrete floor hard, causing you to lose your vision momentarily for a second.

Once your vision recovers, two of you were trap under a huge sheet of metal. You begin moving your hands beneath the heavy metal as you try to break free of it. You hear Mauga grunt beside you, and you quickly face him with his leg trapped under the sheet of huge rocks.

Mauga looks up at you with an evil grin on his face as he starts laughing, "Awful, isn't it?" You growl in anger, "Do you not experience even a tiny bit of pain?" you said unbelievably.

"Maybe that's your issue with my game...maybe you shouldn't play my game so often.." He says, obviously enjoying himself.

His laughter makes you even angrier and soon you were trying to get off the huge mess but it was proving difficult with how tightly wedged you were underneath the weight of the sheet of metal and rocks crushing you together. Mauga watches your attempts to break free with amusement as you groan under the immense pressure.

You sighed loudly.

"I hate you." You spit(not literally) at him.

"Yeah, I can tell. That's one hell of a lot of hatred." Mauga replies, amused.

"How is this funny?! Do you understand how horrible you are!?" You shout, frustrated and upset that he was having such great success while you struggled to break free.

"Why don't you ask your teammates about that. Maybe they can teach you some real compassion." Mauga suggests smugly, laughing.

You stared at his smug grin as he laughed and he continued to tease you. You didn't say anything as you just clenched your fists and glared daggers into him. Once the shaking stopped, you removed the pieces of rock that had landed on top of you and looked at him dead in the eye.

You called for help, but there was no response. Your teammates must be far too focused on killing the other Talons and saving the others. Well, fine. They should concentrate on that anyway.

You had bigger problems to deal with anyways.

You exhaled deeply, relieved that at least his leg is stuck in a massive pile of boulders, even if you were both bound together alone on the trapped broken building. As you tried to break out of the debris, your arms began to hurt. The rocks were too heavy for you to lift them up with your physical strength.

"Tch!" You grumble quietly in annoyance as you start to lift up your left arm, pulling at your shoulders and neck. Nothing. It only hurt more. You pull with all your might, trying your hardest to break free, even though that's not really helping at the moment.

"Your trying awfully hard there, little bunny. You think those rocks have grown legs? I don't mind waiting for the right time to make myself known~" Mauga smirks evilly at you and you grit your teeth to try and hold onto the stubborn rocks as long as you can.

But after a couple minutes, you finally give up. It' no use anymore. The rock is too heavy. You sigh dejectedly and stare angrily at the giant man who caused your current predicament.

"You won't last much longer like this." He states.

"No shit. You can keep dreaming, asshole." You sneer at him angrily.

Mauga's smirk grows even wider. "Ahahaha, you're right. You'll be dead within the hour." He chuckles. "But I don't mean that figuratively. Believe me." His sinister voice sends chills down your spine.

He stares. "I'll be quite literal with you, you see, so don't worry."

He stops right in front of you and stares you straight in the eye. His dark, glowing eyes were staring down on you intently, making shivers run up and down your spine. You wanted to look away, but you couldn't. Those eyes were unnerving you and sending a deep sense of fear into your heart.

"Now, let me introduce myself~ My name is Mauga. And you are?" He asked.

He seemed excited to meet you. He wanted to see how strong you are before killing you.

What an Irony.

You shake your head at his stupid question before responding with an answer, "...Y/N." You watch as he tilts his head to one side curiously, "Yes, my name is Y/N. That's all you need to know, asswipe." You spat.

"Wow, such a big mouth." Mauga chuckles. "Let's see, what else should I know about you.."

He pauses and grins. "Oh yes! Let's see. What was your favorite color?" He asks.

You narrow your eyebrows. Why is he asking such random things? Does he seriously want to know about your life story? You're already pretty fucking traumatized by everything going on. It's not like you're gonna talk about the color of my favorite candy bar or the fact that I used to eat marshmallows during the summers. You think.

Before you can respond, he adds, "Hmmm, maybe your favorite season? Spring, summer...Autumn? Winter?"

"Ughhh, why don't you just f*ck off and go die?!" You yell angrily.

He laughs loudly at your choice of words and responds to your comment, "It's pretty rare for a bunny to call me 'F*cker' instead of 'Oi, Handsome~'."

You glare at him and bite your lip as you close your eyes. After few moments, you sigh softly before looking over to Mauga, feeling yourself calm down a little and a small smile forming on your face,

"How is your leg?" You asked, focusing on the rock blocking his leg.

"Not too bad~." Mauga answers happily, clearly pleased with the question.

You fakely snort and roll your eyes lightly. It seems like every word he says is going to piss you off.

"For someone your size, you seem quite weak." He chuckles.

"Is it just your way of talking or do you actually mean that? Because that sounds so f*cking dumb." You reply.

Mauga merely laughs. "Don't you dare insult my words, rabbit...you may think they're pretty silly to me but I swear, when you're as tough as I am, you learn not to judge a book by its cover, ya know?" He responds sarcastically.

You roll your eyes at his stupid remark and huff angrily, "Whatever, idiot. I don't care what you think, I have bigger things to do."

"Like defeat me?" He asks.

"Or kill you." You correct, "But since we're already here, I guess we could try."

The two of you stare each other down with an intense gaze, waiting for the other to make their first move.

Eventually Mauga breaks the eye contact first and laughs, "Good luck~" and his massive frame simply laid there, unconcerned about his leg becoming entangled in the debris.

You glare at him in frustration and then turn your attention back to the huge mess that trapped you with him.

You try to lift it up with all your strength but it wouldn't budge, it was like trying to lift up a mountain.

You let out another frustrated noise and grab one of the small rock nearby and toss it towards Mauga, hitting him on the back.

He seems unfazed, turning to look at you and then grinning, "Ah, come on, don't waste your energy, Y/N~ Just kill me quickly, I'm bored and impatient."

You glare at him again, "You're not getting any pity from me! Not ever." You snap.

You felt your blood begin to boil and you weren't sure whether you were angry at him or at yourself.

There's no telling how badly your injuries are hurting but you're struggling desperately to get these stupid rocks off of him and the ones that trapped you both.

You were a medic, support, and also the team's backup but, even healers like you needs medical assistance too.

You were badly hurt and this time.

YOU COULDN'T HELP YOURSELF.

Mauga sighs and runs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head at you, "You're so stubborn, Y/N..."

You scowl at him and continue to struggle, refusing to give in. You didn't want to give up so easily, despite the pain that you're in, but you've never been good at resisting a direct order.

Mauga extends his gigantic arms at Y/N and gestures for her to come forward. You raise your eyebrow at him skeptically and cross your arms in front of your chest, defiantly glowering at him.

"Come now, little bunny," Mauga taunts, "Don't make me force you~."

"Go ahead, make a fool of yourself." You say in a cold tone.

"Very well. Let's see how well you react to pain then." He smirks evily and you instantly feel your body tense up, ready for him to push you aside while he uses his muscular and giant arms to choke you but instead he throws his big hands forward, making you fall on top of him while grunting in surprise.

"Hmph, I knew that would work!" Mauga exclaims triumphantly as he picks you up in ease.

As you sit there, stunned, still dazed from the sudden blow, Mauga holds you against his large body with ease, as if you weighed nothing at all.

He leans down so that his face is only inches away from yours, almost whispering to you so that only you can hear him.

"Do you know what it feels like when you fall into water? It feels like being caught in slow motion and unable to stop, but you can't, either. You can only move your body slowly, but slowly enough so that you don't drown."

Mauga's grin widens into a full blown grin of mischief.

"I don't understand... what does this have anything to do with me?" You whisper back. Mauga chuckles and shakes his head.

"Nothing~ I'm just playing with your mind, Y/N~ You're gonna find out soon enough~." He replies.

He looks directly into your terrified eyes for a brief moment, before he starts laughing hysterically.

"What? I am confused." You ask. He bursts into laughter once more. You look up at him confused, unsure whether he's being serious or not.

"HahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He laughs very loudly that sooner or later the place will crash you both to death, tears beginning to fall from his eyes from the overwhelming laughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

His laugh eventually subsides as he wipes away his tears. He glances down at you and smiles, "Don't fret, little bunny! Your death won't be so tragic after all~"

"I'm not dying! And even if I did die, you'll still be alive!" You shout angrily, clenching your fists tightly.

"That's true~ But then again, what's the point in living if I'm still going to have to deal with your pathetic attitude right now. How boring~ I wonder what kind of fun you'd be without this annoying attitude."

He smiles at you, a sickening sweet smile.

The smile makes your skin crawl but you felt your anger start to fade, your heart skipping a beat and your breathing becoming shallow.

The way he was looking at you, you couldn't help but feel vulnerable and exposed.

He takes notice of how quiet you were becoming.

A soft smile forms on his face. "You're finally listening~" His dark tone turns into a sinister chuckle.

"Yes! Now I get it! You're a crazy psychopath!" You scream, throwing your arms in the air exasperatedly. He cackles madly at your reaction.

"Now that was satisfying, little bunny. You really did grow on me!" Mauga continues to laugh.

"Now let' me finish my sentence. I'm sorry about not telling you earlier, I know that you probably thought that I was just trying to annoy you and my leg might be injured but the truth is..." He grins mischievously.

He was trying to hold of his laughter and lifts the huge boulder that had been trapping his leg.

He completely destroyed the boulder into a complete dust making you shock and flabbergasted.

"What the fuck!?" You exclaimed, jumping up onto your feet. You were shocked.

"Well, if you must know, I was saving that for later." He responded smugly, walking toward you, his huge hands reaching for your waist.

You immediately tried to pull away from him but he catches you before you could. Your face goes red and you struggle wildly to get away but to no avail. "Relax, I'll let go of you once you do something I ask~" Mauga said.

"Fuck you." You hissed, glaring daggers at him, "Just give me one reason why I should trust you."

"Because I said so~" He replied, smirking down at you.

"So you were bluffing then.." You mumble, glaring at him.

Mauga shakes his head, "Oh no~ which part? That I lied about killing you or that I'm gonna let go of you anytime soon...?"

You blushed hard but at the same time, your heart started beating faster.

"No. No. No! NO!! YOU ASSHOLE! Don't you fucking dare touch me you perverted bastard!" You yelled, squirming beneath his grasp.

Mauga watched them squirmed, lifting them and smiles as he watched them contently.

END OF PART 1

Please pardon me. I've never published a writing tale on Tumblr before. I'm not sure whether I still have that talent, ughh.

[notemaker]

Listen if you’re going to give us a first born anyway I want hiccup an jacks, insufferable dads is my white whale and oh boy I’ve been on this ship for months

I gotchu. Thank you for the ask btw! It gave so many ideas!

Meet KIID! A shipwrecked child found by dragon-trappers. She's 14 now, but when she was taken in by some Dragon Trappers five years ago, no one knew her name, not even herself. So, they just started calling her Kid. She made the name her own, though, and added an extra 'i' to make things interesting. Pronounced Keed.

She's very fun to draw, ngl!! Might bring her up again.

Have some more character info!

Meet Kiid, the human personification of Everything All at Once!

-The particular group of dragon trappers that found her wasn't a hard-core one. Most of the people in the group were there working mostly as a necessity. Meaning, that while she didn't grow up in the most peaceful environments, it wasn't all bad. There was some sort of support.

-Helped around back when she lived with the Trappy Guys. Multitasking is just tasking.

-Moves a lot. Talks a lot. Adhd vibes. Hiccup and her bounce ideas off one another like a bullet train. Jack thinks its very fun to watch.

-HER SPEAR! She made it. She started off with plain pine sticks, using it to jump around from place to place and smack the occasional weirdo and/or fish. Eventually, she developed a technique for jumping longer distances, and crafted her spear to aid her. It serves as a weapon and for traveling causes. She loves feeling the air and the rush of her speedy travels. Jack and Hiccup saw her jumping once, sixteen feet down as she cackled, and thought, Yeah, She is One Of Us alright. Jack asked her for pointers with his own staff.

-She's been taught a couple of things here and there with the help of The Trapper Guys, but she hasn't got anything 100% mastered. Prob because she didn't have someone to help her master something in particular. She makes do with what she has. Always willing to learn.

-Couple of scratches on her face from a dragon on a rampant from a couple years ago. She thinks it makes her look more menacing and kinda cool.

-Kinda weird at times. A lil' crazy. A lil' wild. A lil' maniac with mostly good intentions. The bad ones come in the form of some pranks here and there which Jack and the twins adore. They are quite the duo/trio. Hiccup joins her pranks sometimes. Those times are the most impressive, destructive, yet funnier ones.

-Hiccup gave her a notebook she carries everywhere, all the time. Doesn't let anyone see. Punched Jack once on reflex when he went to check it out.

-Right side of her hair more cut out than the right. She has a couple of braids at her sides.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

Ooo can I please request a Dad!Tangerine x daughter!teen!reader where when he was younger, he had a daughter but he didnt/doesn’t know she exists until she goes looking for him and finds him and Lemon on the Bullet Train. Lol imagine Y/n nonchalantly (but also excitedly) running up and sitting across from Tan and Lem, Tan being like, “Who the f are you??” And y/n being like, “I’m glad you asked… Hi Dad!” I imagine the Twins being SHOOK… Anyways, later on Tangerine being like “What are you doing here???? You can’t be here!! It’s not safe!!” When Tan is confronting The Prince and Ladybug intervenes, instead of Tan getting hit by the bullet, Y/n gets hit because she pushed him out of the way after it was accidentally set off? (She lives but it’s all super emotional and Tan is a panicked dad) Tan being like, “Why would you do that??” Y/n just didn’t want to lose her Dad after only just finding him + Lem being the best, most fun Uncle🥺

I kinda based her off of nimona, I’m obsessed with that movie rn omg 😭

Readers adopted so everyone can read!!! (: Blood, gun wounds

Chance

You quickly boarded the train, looking down at your phone again. It was quite easy to hack into his phone.

You followed it, until you bumped into a tall man.

You looked at him, back at the app, and then him.

“What the fu-“ he started, until he realized that you were a girl, a young one, probably around a teenager. “Excuse my language. You alright? You should really watch where your going.” He said.

“I’m- Im fine. Yeah. I’m fine.” You said, with a small smile.

“Right well.. sorry bout’ that.” He said, and continued to walk. You followed him, beaming in excitement.

You followed him and another man as well, then they both sat down. You sat on the other side, watching them with a large smile.

“You? What do you want?” Tangerine asked, jumping when he saw you.

“Well, I want you to know something.” You pulled out the rolled up papers in your pocket, when they both pointed guns at you.

“Relax.” You rolled your eyes, showing him the paper in your hands. You handed it to them.

“The… freak is this?” Tangerine asked, grabbing it. He stopped himself from cursing.

“You can say fuck you know. I’m not like 10.” You sat back and rolled your eyes.

“Right.. the fuck is this?” Tangerine said.

“It’s adoption papers. You and my mom adopted me.” You shrugged.

“What.. I didn’t agree to any of that shit-“ he said.

“Well that’s not fucking creepy.” Lemon said, looking at you.

“Oh no, it is. But he’s my dad! My adoptive dad technically… If you couldn’t understand all the smart people language on the paper.”

“I’m not your damn dad.”

“Your name is Aaron, you live on 78th street in-“

“Look, lady, I don’t know who the fuck you are honestly, and I don’t know why you’re stalking me-“

“The both of you technically.”

“That don’t make it any better.” Lemon said.

“Right.. well don’t know why you’re stalkin’ us, cause I’m not your damn dad, but if you don’t get away and off this train-“

“You’re gonna stab me? Blow my brains out? Poison me and make it so only a hot way older prince could save me like in Snow White? Cause if you’re gonna do any do the third one. It sounds more fun.” You said with large eyes.

“You’re a fuckin’ nutcase. Jus’ please, let us get out jobs done-“ tangerine started, when Lemon showed him something on the adoption papers.

“That is your signature. Right there. Aaron-“

“I didnt… did I?” He said.

“Not that I remember.” Lemon said.

“My mom said that you left us after you adopted me. I was a baby but… yeah! And she then gave me the papers, and she didn’t want me to go find you but I did anyways. I hacked into your phone, got your location and followed it.” You shrugged.

“I didn’t sign no fuckin’ adoption papers. They must’ve been forged.”

“Well, whether you wanted me or not isn’t why I came. You’re still legally my dad. Your signature on that paper, no?” You pointed to it, and pulled out your phone and showed him a picture of him and your mom.

It was high school prom. And then you scrolled and showed him a picture of her holding you as a child, father not in sight.

“Fuck. She forged my signature? Fuckin’ course she did.” Tangerine mumbled, rubbing his temple in frustration.

“So, dad, what are you doing on this train?”

“We’re working. Where’s your mom? You should really get off. It’s not safe-“

“Oh, relax. It’s a train, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Tangerine and Lemon looked at each other knowingly.

————————————————————

“We needa get you off this damn train.” He mumbled when the white death had hung up, grabbing your hand and pulling you along. He stopped when he came across a girl. He quickly pulled you behind him.

“Oi, I know you! You’re that girl, aren’t ya?” He said, pointing to her.

“Oh my god.” She whispered.

“I never forget a face, me.”

“I’m so happy to see you both. Please.” She said as he walked towards her, gun still in hand. You quirked an eyebrow and peaked your head out from behind Tangerine.

“There’s this man and he was holding me hostage, he was wearing glasses and… he killed my uncle, and he also killed this other man who I don’t know, just kept talking about Thomas the trains and-“

“Tank engine.” Tangerine corrected, remembering how his brother had always corrected him.

And even though you just met Lemon, you really liked him. He was fun, and he labeled you a character even.

“Right, he killed them both, and then he said he was going to get away with some sort of money. I don’t know.”

“I’m- Im sorry darling, I don’t know who the fuck you are.” He said.

“I’m just a girl who was supposed to get off at Nagoya and then this man-“

“That was fuckin’ ages ago!”

“I know but this man, he just said that he would be a good backup plan and a pretty girl makes a good hostage.”

“Yeah, well he ain’t wrong there, but look keep your fucking knickers on alright?”

“Please just help me, please!”

“Alright, alright, calm down. Get off or do whatever the fuck you like, you’re free to go. Don’t know what you’re doin’ here anyway.” He moved past her when you noticed something on her back.

You looked at the sticker and then handed it to Tangerine who was about to leave.

“It was on her.” You held your hands up in defense when he gave you a weird look.

He looked back at her and turned around.

“Diesel. The absolute fuckin’ worse. Lil’ shit stirrer.” He sighed, you were behind him again now. “Lemon, God rest his soul, could read people, see em’ for who they really are. He was right, there’s been a diesel, running up and down this train, causin’ all sorts of fuckin’ havoc, and it was you the whole time! You dirty little diesel!” He pointed the gun at her. “You made lemon bleed, and lemon never bleeds.”

“Oh my god mr please help me!”

Ladybug looked at you then Tangerine, quickly pulling out his gun and pointing it at him. You looked at Tangerine and back at Ladybug, and you quickly pushed tangerine out of the way, before you could get out of the way, the bullet hit you. Your arm had a fiery pain, and blood seeped through your shirt.

You groaned and sat up, Ladybug staring in shock.

“Oh fuck. I didn’t really mean to do that-“ he said when he noticed Tangerines angry face. As much as he didn’t really want you, or even know you existed, he was responsible for you and he was technically your dad. He quickly attacked Ladybug, and the prince made a run for it.

“You bellend! She’s the one who did all of this!” He said, as he pinned Ladybug down.

“The girl?”

“Yes- obviously the fuckin’ girl!” Tangerine said, you groaned in pain, and that quickly interrupted his fighting. He stopped what he was doing, and turned back to you.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to shoot you, shooting kids isn’t really my thing. Or anyone for that matter anymore.” The man shrugged, sitting across from you. Tangerine was looking around for anything to stop the bleeding.

“Here.” Ladybug mumbled, handing him a roll of guaze he just happened to have.

Tangerine grumbled something under his breath.

“This might hurt, yeah?” He said, looking at you.

You nodded and squeezed your eyes shut, he as carefully as possible, wrapped the guaze around your arm. He tried to stop the bleeding first, then when he found things to, clean the wound, and hopefully get to a hospital or something to get the bullet out.

You held your arm, and he looked at you, sitting next to you.

“Why’d you do that?” He said, trying his best not to sound angry.

“I… I dunno. I just.. didn’t wanna lose you after I just found you.”

Ladybug stared as if it was a movie, a very interesting and heartwarming movie. You both just ignored his existence.

And you missed the way his eyes softened, it was almost as if he was a kid again.

He stared, not knowing what to say.

“Well it was dumb. Don’t do it again.” He paused. “But thank you.”

You smiled widely “So you’re not mad?”

“I’m mad that you would do that-“

You shrugged “You’re my dad whether you wanted me or not.”

“I’ll give you a chance.” He shrugged, you smiled again.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s not your fault that your moms a psycho.”

You laughed quietly.

“Does that mean we can get ice cream after this?”

“After a hospital, you mean?”

“Yeah, I guess.” You sighed.

He laughed quietly and stood up again, grabbing your hand and helping you up.

[dreamsgazer]

A Piece of Cake

Warnings: No use of Y/N, some light cursing, post Bullet Train (obvious canon divergence), no spoilers

Tangerine x You

_____________________________________________________________

You are not angry. Oh no, you have passed that stage two hours ago.

Now you are fuming.

“It will only be a couple of hours, love” you snicker out loud imitating his cockney accent as badly as you can “and when I am back, we are going to have dinner and watch a movie. Ok?”

You said ok because what else were you supposed to say? Don’t go? Do you really need that money?

First, he would never send Lemon by himself to do a job, and Lemon wanted some extra money. Second, you wouldn’t want Lemon to go by himself either.

Third, this was such an easy job, according to both of them. A piece of cake. Something they could practically complete in their sleep, Lemon reassured you with a wink, waiting for his brother to dress appropriately - because to go and beat the living life out of some thugs who irritated some other thugs who wanted the job done but not direct involvement, dark jeans and a white blouse wasn’t the right attire.

You bit your lip, leaning against the doorframe “I thought you two were accepting only a certain... type of job.”

“Tangerine would for sure,” Lemon grimaced “because he has standards, our little princess.”

“Why don’t you fuck off, Lemon?” Tangerine shouted from the bathroom, no doubt smoothing his moustache with expert gestures.

Unfazed Lemon shrugged “International stuff is fun and pays well, but I personally think that money is money, and every once in a while, it’s good to show our faces around certain parts of London. It prevents some pricks to think they can be pricks in our city.”

Tangerine kissed you tenderly goodbye, before leaving “Pick a good movie, alright, darling?”

“Oh, do you think I can stay for dinner? Are you making a cake?” Lemon interjected, with a hopeful smile, stopping the wooden door from closing after his brother. He must have seen the custard and the other ingredients on the counter.

Clearly, you consented again, because he is sweet and fun to have around, but most importantly because he is part of your little family. You can’t deny a good dessert to anyone you love, let’s be real.

So off they have gone, leaving behind a worried you, who has busied herself cooking dinner, of course, and putting an effort into making a special cake you hope they’ll like.

You wanted to wait for them and eat all together.

And then you have waited a bit longer. And longer.

The food has gone cold and so did you, but the Twins haven’t even sent a quick text to let you know they were going to be late.

The scent of cream and baked butter makes you slightly nauseous.

They have gone for seven hours. Seven. Fucking. Hours.

The bothering clock on the wall of your tiny apartment is happily letting you know it’s 2 in the morning.

You are half tempted to go out and search for them yourself, but it's a stupid idea. Even if you moved to London from your Country a couple of years ago, you still can’t say you know the city that well.

And where would you start your research anyway? Surely the kind of neighbourhood they are visiting isn't one you have gone to, at least not alone, at night.

You huff as strongly as you can. There is nothing else you can do. Nothing can stop the horrifying scenarios your mind is playing in a stressful loop.

When you hear the key turning in the lock and see the door opening, you are in between a breakdown and a screaming match.

Tangerine is flaunting a black eye and a cut on his upper lip. His clothes are a bit rumpled, and sure enough, there is a cut on his right hand. All in all, though, he seems in pretty good shape.

With relief comes fury and with that the need to let him know exactly how you feel.

The grin on his face does not help diffuse the situation.

The motherfucker is trotting towards you, you think stiffening in disbelief right in the middle of the living room.

Tangerine stops as soon as he realizes your frown is so deep it could be carved directly into the bones under your skin.

“Let me explain before you strangle me,” he starts, lifting the uninjured hand “The assholes were a bit more numerous than expected and then we had to straighten things up with the people who supposedly should have paid us. Which they tried not to do.”

He smiles at you and then the smile drops. Even if you know he won’t ever admit that out loud, your furious silence makes him feel uneasy. When you are silent, it’s time he starts to worry for real.

“Look, love, I know it’s late...”

“It was late three fucking hours ago!” you finally thunder, hands on your hips “You two morons couldn’t be bothered to send a message, could you?”

Tangerine legendary temper makes an appearance “Well, we weren’t exactly frolicking around picking daisies, were we?”

“Don’t mock me, Tangerine,” you bark back, pointing a finger at him “Do you have a slight idea of how preoccupied I was? I thought I was going to see the two of you tomorrow on the news, face down in the damn Thames!”

“Well, darling, thank you for your trust! I am fucking moved that you think so highly of me!”

You want to slap him “I don’t give a damn about your stupid pride, Tangerine! I don’t see the point of putting you - and your brother - in danger for a couple of quids!”

“Too bad then because this is exactly what my line of work is! Putting our lives on the line for a couple of damn quids!”

You stare at each other with a mix of anger and regret and something else that makes you want to sob and scream and leave the room, but also stay and make sure he is alright.

It’s so intense and confusing you are not even sure who is right anymore. Perhaps both and neither of you.

You feel exhausted, all of a sudden. Rubbing your eyes, you really try not to sniff “I know that this is your life, Tangerine. I just wasn’t prepared to experiment with it tonight, all of a sudden.”

The breath you take is shaky when you look at him “I try to be as strong as I can, but this doesn’t mean I can quietly accept all the time the thought of you being in danger.”

He takes two strides towards where you are standing, his own face deflated and envelops your body in his strong, bruised arms. Bending slightly over you, he presses his forehead to the top of your head.

His presence completely envelops you and you fucking love it, even if for a brief moment you want to push back and tell him that he can sleep on the sofa.

It’s only a fleeting thought, though.

You could never bring yourself to waste the time you have together holding on to silly grudges. Not when everything went smooth enough that he is wrapped in your arms and in no need of a doctor.

“I am really sorry I made you worry so much, love,” Tangerine whispers, pressing his lips in your hair, once, twice. You can sense his regret as much as he can feel the tension finally running out of your body.

So, you let him hug you. You think you are a bit pathetic to be that happy about a simple hug.

You are not, though.

You are just desperately and irrevocably in love with a man who has a terribly dangerous job.

When you lift your face to look at him, you know he’s going to kiss you. It’s a long, slow, I-am-so-sorry-I-fucked-up kind of kiss.

Your lips open when his tongue gently pushes past them, and you grip his shoulders, arching slightly against his chest.

“Did you have dinner?” he asks once he needs to break contact to breathe.

Pressing his lips against the corner of yours, he smiles when you do “No, but if you are hungry, I can heat the food up. Oh, and I baked a cake!”

A sigh escapes from you “I’m sorry Lemon is not here to try it, it’s pretty tasty. What?” you ask when Tangerine looks at you with a touch of mischief.

“Actually, if you want his opinion about your cooking, he’s downstairs in the car.”

“What...? For heaven’s sake, why did he not come up here with you?”

He grins, stealing a quick kiss “I think he was scared you were going to rip him a new one as well. Also, I thought I would need a lift.”

Tangerine kisses your hand, sweetly “I love you, pet, but no way in hell I was sleeping on that thing you insist on calling a sofa. My back wouldn’t forgive me if I tried.”

You gently slap his shoulder with your free hand “Tell him to come upstairs, I will prepare the food. And I think we all deserve some cake, after.”

Lemon has the decency to look sheepish when he enters “Uhm... so, he told me you got cake?”

After all, 2 am is a perfect time for a dessert with your loved ones.

________________________________________________________________

If you liked my little fic, please do reblog, comment, like!

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ivy Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what’s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Morganatic Idol belongs to Cybird and ABC Frontier, Inc.

A few days after deciding to support Ivy-san by reducing his workload, the team was ready for the next step.

This time, I was taken to Macau on business for the office.

The photo shoot will take place for an international music magazine.

The weekend schedule was a bullet train ride, making full use of airplanes, helicopters, and location passes.

Ivy: I'm glad it's sunny. It's a great day to be on location.

Hugh: The sunlight ... so sweet.

Jace: It's a little windy, I need to adjust my hair more often.

Finn: It's a pity that we can't swim as we like when we come to the beach, isn't it?

Xeno: It's natural. We're not here for fun.

The local staff joined us, and the shooting began at last.

I actively supported the team members during the filming.

Jace: ... I'm running out of hairspray.

Ivy: Is the spare hairspray on the location bus? I'm just going back to the bus. I'll get it.

Jace: Don't worry, she has already brought it. Aegis-chan, get the spray!

Rina: Yes, I'll get it right away!

Ivy: Huh ...?

Hugh: Waiting, long ... makes me sleepy ...

Ivy: Hugh, don't sleep in the shadows.

Rina: Hugh-san, why don't you listen to some music while you wait? I've brought some earphones.

Hugh: Yeah, I will ... Thanks, Housekeeper-san.

Ivy: ...

Xeno: Is the atmosphere of this photo a little too bright? Does it fit the theme of the shoot and the image of the magazine?

Ivy: I'll just check it out on the proposal. I have it with me ...

Rina: Yes, Xeno-san, here is the most important proposal. I also have a back-number for the magazine.

Xeno: All right. ... You heard it, Ivy. I don't need a hand.

Ivy: Ah ... hm.

Finn: It's hot by the sea. I'm thirsty.

Ivy: Maybe we hould take a short break. Bring us some drinks too ...

Rina: Everybody, I've asked the photographer to take a break!

Rina: Here is your drink. Please drink it and keep yourself hydrated.

Finn: Thank you, Rina. Drink some too, Ivy.

Ivy: ... Ah.

Jace: Aegis-chan, help me out here!

Rina: I'll be right there!

... And it continued like that, running around with everyone's support.

(Hah ... It's a lot of work, even if they're only small things ...)

It is mind-boggling to think this is what Ivy-san was usually doing while keeping up with his busy schedule.

(I hope I'm easing your burden a bit.)

Ivy: ...

Sakura Eito: Get back on the bus. We're moving into town next.

We moved to a new location and started shooting with Ivy-san, Jace-san and Hugh-san.

(This kind of thing is also new to me ...)

As I was watching the preparations from a somewhat secluded spot, one of the local staff members spoke to me in Chinese.

He's rambling on and on about something in a panic, but he doesn't understand ...

(What should I do? I have no idea what he's saying!)

Ivy: !

Jace: Ivy, what's wrong?

Ivy: Rina-chan seems to be in trouble. I'd like to help her, but ...

Jace: Aegis-chan will be fine. ... See, he's gone.

Ivy: Eh? Ah ...!

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't communicate with the staff member that I looked around in a panic.

(The other staff is in a remote location. Could be trouble, I have to do something ...!)

And then.

Finn: What's wrong?

Finn-san approached me.

Rina: This person is trying to tell me something, but I don't understand Chinese ...

Finn: I see. Hold on a minute.

Finn-san turned to the staff.

Finn: What's wrong?

Chinese staff: Important call for you.

He began conversing in fluent Chinese.

(Wow! I remember that Finn-san's language skills are outstanding!)

After a few moments, the conversation ended and the local staff left. Finn-san turned to me.

Finn: I heard that the time allowed for filming on the street here is less than planned.

Finn: We have room in our schedule, but we have to make sure that the whole thing is rolled up and we don't go overboard.

Rina: Well, I didn't know that's what he meant ... You're very good, Finn-san.

Finn: It's no big deal. I mean, shouldn't we tell the rest of the staff.

Rina: I really appreciate it! Thank you very much!

(Thanks to Finn-san for the help ...!)

With a pang of relief, I ran out to relay the message.

Ivy: ...

Jace: She was fine. You can count on Finn at times like this.

Ivy: ... I see. Rina-chan seems to appreciate it.

Ivy: ...

Jace: Eh, what's wrong, Ivy?

Hugh: ... You not feeling well?

Ivy: No ... it's nothing. Nothing like that. It's normal.

Ivy: ... I think we're ready to shoot. Let's go.

Jace: ... No, no. It's definitely out of the ordinary.

Hugh: ... very strange ...

Jace: Is it because he feels inferior to us?

Hugh: ... Maybe ...

Jace: That's definitely true. Oh man, if things continue like this, it's bad. We have to do something!

... After a successful shoot in the city, it's time to move on to another location.

Jace: Aegis-chan, come her for a second.

Jace-san called me in a whisper.

Rina: What's wrong ... woah.

He pulled my hand and four serious-looking people surrounded me.

Rina: Wha-what's going on?

Xeno: Keep your voice down.

Hugh: Ivy ... notices ...

It was somewhat strange because everyone was speaking in hushed tones.

Finn: I heard that Ivy was really depressed just now. I couldn't leave it like that.

Rina: ! Really?

(I didn't notice it, but something must have happened. I certainly can't leave it like that.)

Jace: So we're going to have an emergency meeting. Meet us at Xeno's room tonight at 10.

Xeno: Why in my room ...!?

Finn: No one would guess we're all gathered in your room. It's a good place for a secret meeting.

Xeno: Tch ...

Hugh: And Housekeeper-san ... comes too ...

Rina: I understand.

(I didn't expect a meeting on the road, but I guess everyone is that worried about Ivy-san.)

... and just then, a voice called out to me from behind.

Ivy: Don't you guys get on the bus?

Rina: !

Xeno, Jace, Finn, Hugh: !

Ivy: What are you so surprised about? What's wrong?

Finn: I-it's nothing!

Jace: That's right. We were just talking about how hungry we are. Right?

Rina: Y-yes.

Hugh: I don't know ... either ...

Xeno: Don't worry about it. Just get on with it and let's get to the next location.

The members quickly boarded the location bus.

Ivy: Oh, hey! What are you ... what were you saying?

Rina: Umm, I guess I'll run, too.

I ran to the other staff members, feeling Ivy-san's suspicious gaze on me.

(I hope he doesn't find out ...)

(We're meeting tonight at 10. I'll try not to forget.)

After that ... the filming finished safely until late into the night.

After the entire group, including the staff, has finished their meals, we arrive at a luxurious hotel.

Sakura Eito: Good work, everyone. Let's break up here for today.

At the order of Sakura-san, everyone disperses to their room. The clock says it's past 9:30.

I was about to go to Xeno-san's room to be inconspicuous when I was approached by Ivy-san.

Ivy: I wonder if you'd like to come to my room with me afterwards.

(Finn-san and the others said he was depressed ...)

Rina: What's wrong?

Ivy: Oh, it's not like I'm in trouble. Don't look so worried.

Ivy: I want to talk business.

(I have a meeting ... but I can't turn him down if it's about work.)

Rina: I understand.

Ivy: Thank you. Let's go then.

As soon as I entered the room, he offered me a seat on the sofa.

Ivy: Make yourself comfortable. Do you want a drink?

Rina: Eh ...

Without waiting for a reply, Ivy-san opens the refrigerator and starts making drinks.

(Drinking? I thought we were talking about work ...)

A glass was offered to me in front of my bewildered eyes.

Ivy: It's a champagne cocktail. You liked it before, didn't you?

It must have been when I had dinner with him.

Rina: You remembered it?

Ivy: Of course. How could I forget?

His smile and thoughtfulness make me feel happy.

(I shouldn't drink it, considering what will happen afterwards, but ...)

Rina: Thank you very much. Okay, just a little bit.

I couldn't refuse, so I accepted the glass.

Ivy: Good. It's a special night in Macau, so let's relax together.

Ivy: But I'm not going to drink too much and get drunk like I did the other day. Don't worry.

Rina: O-okay.

I remember his drunken hug and almost kiss, and my hearts starts pounding.

Ivy: ...

He sat down next to me, not across from me, with his glass.

Rina: ...!

The unexpected close proximity makes me concious of the fact that I can't help but be aware of it.

(... Ugh, how embarrassing.)

I couldn't bear the staring eyes, so I looked away and took a sip of my glass.

Ivy: Delicious?

Rina: Yes. Very ...

Ivy: Yeah? ... I'd like to try it. I'd like to have a taste, too.

Ivy-san clutched my glass in his hand.

Rina: !

He took my breath away and brought the glass straight to his own mouth.

Ivy: ... Mmm, it's sweet. It's fragnant and delicious.

... When I realized that my hand had been released, Ivy-san's glass was now in front of my mouth.

Ivy: Please try mine, too.

Rine: Eh, I couldn't possibly ...

Ivy: You don't have to be. But I think it might be a little strong for you.

Ivy: That's what happens when you drink just one sip of a cocktail mixed with juice.

Laughing, he lightly patted my arm.

Rina: ...

... Even without being told, I could see that my face was turning red.

(What's wrong with him? I've never had anyone touch me like this before.)

My heart is loud. I'm so embarrassed, I can't stand it.

Rina: ... Um, didn't you say we are talking about work?

I couldn't take it any longer and asked deceptively.

Ivy-san then said "Oh", and opened his mouth.

Ivy: ... You did a great job at the set today.

Ivy: I was amazed at how well you were able to work as a staff and how well you supported the members.

Rina: Really?

Ivy: Yeah. I always do that kind of thing, so it was a lot easier today.

I'm happy to hear that, but ... his face is clouded.

Ivy: To tell you the truth, it was a little less than fun.

Rina: What? Why?

Ivy: ... because you're always taking care of the others.

Rina: !

Ivy: They're relying on you. They seem to get along with you ...

Rina: Ivy-san ...

(Does that mean ... you're jealous?)

(No way. But if you put it in such easy-to-understand terms ...)

... My heart beats faster and faster.

Ivy: It's nice of you to take your job so seriously, but it's a lot to take care of the members, isn't it?

His arms gently pulled my hips closer.

Ivy: So take it easy and focus on supporting me ...

His beautiful eyes look into my eyes. His voice, as gentle as the calm sea, makes me feel as if I can't help but to fall in love with him ...

(Ivy-san ...)

... It was then that I heard a commotion outside the room.

Note: The parts in green are spoken in Chinese.

[bee-saucee]

Hello, again~!

I've been doing all I can to not bombard you since last time, so now here I am. I love seeing men and people in general being able to show their ability to cook and nourish their loved ones through food. What does that look like for Shinso and Denki? Are they adventurous in their cooking? What kinds of dishes and foods are always in the fridge? Snacking? Who cooks the most? And when is a time that they would eat food outside the house? Anyhoo, hope you're doing well this first month of the year. And go bonkers sksk wherever your thought train takes you. ^-^

summary: ShinKami’s habits with eating, snacking, and cooking!

word count: 496

warnings: eating/food centered content

a/n: Hello again, friend! I’ll start with the important thing: This request is split up into three separate ones. I have a headcanons (this post), a short oneshot, and a longer oneshot. They have different vibes so I didn’t want anyone to not be able to read something or be put off because of one of these pieces. I’ll link the other posts at the end of this piece as well!

Anyway, I am so sorry I’m getting this back to you so late. I started my new semester at University when you sent this so I’ve been reeling trying to get back into the swing of things. That being said, I wanted to try and write something substantial for you to make up for the long wait. I’m also taking two writing courses the semester for fun so hopefully you see a bit of improvement here!

Hope you’re doing well. Thank you so so much for the request. I’d love to write something for you again.

I think that ShinKami has a lot of fun in the kitchen! When they met, they weren’t the savviest in the kitchen. They’re the type to know how to make maybe 3 dishes well but when they got together they decided to start on the journey of learning how to cook together! Cooking along with YouTube videos every night is a time that brings them together and they love cooking a homemade meal for date night

Even before learning how to cook for one another, Shinsou grew up on homemade soup when you’re sick so he always always makes Denki some chicken noodle soup when he’s sick and it never fails to make Denki cry a bit and get even snottier from the tears

Denki knows he’s not the best chef but he likes baking because the steps and measurements are a lot more clearly defined so he has an easier time with it. For just about every holiday, Denki will make some cookies for his loved ones. They come out lopsided and aren’t fully cooked a lot of the time but it's the thought that counts for these and he’s gotten better over the years.

From watching so much food content on YouTube to learn how to cook they have become hardcore sauce people

Shinsou is by far the more organized between the two of them so he keeps everything in the fridge in Pyrex tupperware they got as a housewarming gift from Aizawa. He also writes the date they made the food on masking tape he slaps on the tupperware because the thought of eating expired food makes his toes curl

They are busy pro heroes so while they like fresh food (especially Shinsou, see previous bullet point), they tend to keep rice ready to go for each night and they usually have pasta sometime during the week because they can never finish it (Denki swears you have to use the entire box of pasta each time. He’s working on scaling it back)

For snacks, I think that they always have peanut butter pretzels and apples in the house but they also love going to the store and trying out new snacks, especially those chips with with odd combos

They really do try to cook together but Shinsou will wind up picking up cooking by himself a bit more than Denki does because he tends to forget about things or tag along for hangouts last minute while Shinsou is a homebody

Shinkami also LOVES eating out! Of course for celebrations but they also love going out to a restaurant for date nights to slow down and get a chance to just talk. They’ll also stop at hole-in-the-wall type places near their work at the end of the day when they don’t have the energy to cook. They’re not super big takeout people because they hate the delivery fees but they will get it occasionally!

Lots of eating batter off the spoon when they bake

Check out the other posts based on this request: short oneshot | longer oneshot

or see my masterlist for more!

[copperbadge]

I’ve been doing more research on ADHD after the diagnosis, specifically watching some channels that you guys and others have recommended, and it’s actually a fascinating process coming at the diagnosis from the far side of forty instead of the near side of twenty. 

I have a ton of coping mechanisms, which I developed because “Well, I’ve got to deal with life somehow”. In the evaluation I had with the psychiatrist, I was basically diagnosed on them. Some of the more simple ones really seemed to fascinate him, like taking the doors off my kitchen cupboards and hanging my keys on the knob of my self-locking door.  

Many of the videos are about helping younger people develop these coping mechanisms -- not relevant to me, generally, although some of the tips are still useful, like the idea that whatever you’re doing to cope, it’s meant to lower the demand on executive function. I’m fortunate in that my diagnosis is inattentive, I don’t have the hyperactive angle, and thus don’t have a ton of need for fidget toys or sensory stimulation in the way the videos talk about. The fidget spinner I have is cool because it’s Captain America, but it doesn’t like...help, per se, and after about two minutes I get frustrated with the fact that there’s no result, it doesn’t produce anything. I do best in meetings and classes when I have something to occupy me, but it can’t be tactile, it has to at least partially engage my brain, and knowing that I need a brain-fidget rather than a hand-fidget will be helpful in coming up with appropriate (and socially acceptable) workarounds. 

Not sure what to do with all the discussion of emotional regulation; I feel like I’ve got that bit figured out but also like maybe my solutions aren’t the healthiest, so we’ll see. 

I think perhaps the most useful thing is the idea of identifying a need or issue and then finding a workaround for it as a conscious process, which is usually something I do instinctively. This one video was about going to Target specifically to shop for products for kids that could still help adults with ADHD, and while most of it was fidget toys, I liked the idea of browsing with the focus in mind of finding tools for workarounds. Which led to the idea of, well, what am I working around? and the concept of consciously identifying ADHD-specific issues. So that’s something to think on for a while -- aside from the Adderall, what are solutions to specific ADHD-driven issues I have? 

I suspect because I am older and well-trained in problem solving I may not get as much assistance from videos or books about living with ADHD as a younger person might, as I might have as a younger person. I think I may look for something more along the lines of a layperson’s medical text; I’d like to know what we know about how ADHD affects function, because that will be more helpful to me in identifying ways my experience of reality is not neurotypical, and then I can come up with my own workarounds. Because it is a trifle frustrating to look for more information and get a lot of stuff -- useful stuff, just not useful to me -- about fidget toys or bullet journaling. :D 

Plus...the biggest hurdle I’ve had is an inability to start and carry-through tasks, and the Adderall does a great job with that, so a huge looming issue is resolved, or at least on its way to resolution. Other than that I don’t really see many problems that are going unaddressed, but that’s where a more thorough knowledge of the actual biology might help me shift perspective.

Anyway. Get in losers, we’re going to Target even if we don’t need fidget toys, because Target is fun to shop at.  

[randomfoggytiger]

"You Don't Know the First Thing About Me"

(Fictober, Day 19)

******

When he was lamentably green, the truth was shut away-- trickled out only to desperate men and only in doses so small as to drive them further insane. He sat, he stood, and he listened, eagerly trying to fill in a patchwork of names and events, the past and the future.

Then he was assigned. Then he had a partner. 

Then they had the gall to wag a finger at him, wrestle him away from his first big break, and stuff him back into a dark closet somewhere until Bill Mulder’s death. 

All in all, Krycek wasn't sorry that his first round with the Syndicate ended with a car bomb and bitter feelings.

*****

Survival, Krycek decided, hinged on which truth you picked-- a lie to the world or a lie to yourself. He chose to fool the world, knowing they changed their truth every 3-5 business days, anyway. Weak, blind, close-minded drones who wanted their 'i's dotted, their 't's crossed, and their worldviews unchallenged by the widening realities of the universe. So, he played their game: caught and tossed back the ball they threw, showed them exactly what they wanted to see, told them exactly what they wanted to hear.

*****

What he learned in the Consortium’s charm school was to win friends and influence people. What he learned from his black-lunged superior was to carpe diem his way into any complication possible. What he hadn't quite learned on his own was how to get out of it. 

Single-minded Mulder, foolish old men, and out-of-touch aliens chased tails, circled each other, and howled at the moon day after day, year after year-- and had nothing to show for it. He was especially disappointed with the vastly narrow-minded scope of his former partner (Krycek had given up old ciggie Spender for loss years ago when he'd stuttered "thank you, yes, thank you" over the phone.) It took Mulder nearly four years to finally stop and listen when Krycek told him what no one else would-- “There is no truth, they just make it up as they go along"-- and by then Mulder didn't want to listen.

The Consortium really did pick ‘em. 

Krycek had to admit, though, that their microscopic self-indulgence had done one thing right. They’d created a woman as warm-blooded and cold hearted as himself and let her loose to wreak havoc on his life.

At the game table of allies and foes, Marita was the master: effective because she was impersonal, believable because she was polished. She’d paid him one compliment in their entire sorry acquaintance: dragged out of a train by Jeffrey Spender and into the getaway car by Krycek, Marita locked her sickly, tortured eyes on his and spat, “They'll die because they don't understand what we do.” He’d let the cryptic compliment slide-- it was probably an accurate though open-ended statement, after all-- but neither was sorry the rest of the ride was in silence.

******

Jeffrey Spender: one of those sudden plays of fate. Pushed in, given a job he hated, pushed back out; and when he resisted, Jeff got a bullet to the skull.

Apparently, not all the Syndicate had been crisped.

His loss.

Funny how Jeffy boy only fumbled around long enough to trade loyalties and die the hero's death. He didn't know the game, didn't care to learn the rules, and got cut out like a rookie.

Better to be a thrill-seeking fool than a virtuous one, Krycek reasoned: virtue grew out of a conscience; and a conscience was a fickle asset, liable to get you killed over the smallest twinge. So, he let the ethical humbugs have their fun fingerpainting with morality, watched them crawl over glass to prove that their tormented existence was bettered by a few lines they wouldn't cross. No need to go out of his way for any of them.

They always come crawling back.

*****

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023, and @fictober-event

[supervillain-smut]

You said I could send more so here we go (Hope it's not too much)

Brahms Heelshire

Lester Sinclair

Claire Redfield

Jill Valentine

Selina Kyle

Peter Maximoff

Kurt Wagner

Dylan Lenivy

(I'm gonna stop myself before I overload you lmaooo)

Oh boy, this is a good mix of known to me and unknown to me! Let's go!

Oh look! It's my favorite brat! 8/10. He would've been a 9, but the childish demeanor that I can't tell if it's manipulative or genuine throws me off.

Cute. But not that cute. 3/10. Personality? Gross and perverted. Physical aspect? Not for me. Just a fun lil guy.

7/10. Very pretty, badass. Don't really know much about her, I'm still getting into Resident Evil. She's kick-ass, though.

Unfortunately same as above. Looks better as a brunette, imo.

LOVE. HER. 9/10. Fun fact; I have a black cat named after her. She's an angel, BTW. Michelle Pfeiffer did an amazing job as her. Meow!

This one. This one was my favorite Quicksilver. (Nothing wrong with the current one.) 8/10. If you liked his actor in this, I'd HIGHLY suggest watching Bullet Train. Funny, a fair warning, gory, and HOO BOY.

Alan Cumming did a great job with him. I really need to write more for him. The things I could write with that tail alone-- anyways. 9.5/10. Liked him since I was a kid.

This one is new to me. Never seen or played The Quarry. Know absolutely nothing about him. 4/10. Too boyish for me. I could see it if I was younger lol.

Feel free to send in another one if you'd like, I'm having fun with this and yall get to know more about me.

[clambuoyance]

Tag 9 People You Want to get to Know Better

Thanks for the tag @otteritos :D

CURRENTLY READING:

The Young Avengers!!! It's been very enjoyable so far (probably going to start Children's Crusade arc this weekend!) Other Marvel comics I hope to eventually read include: Champions, Kamala Khan books, Runaways, X-Factor or New Mutants, ...just like a lot of stuff.

I've been kind of slacking on my DC reading list but I have way too many to list on there.

I've also been eyeing The Locked Tomb books for aggeeeees now and I've very close to giving in...Gideon my blorbo to be.

FAVORITE COLOUR:

Hmm I think purple is still my ultimate favorite but I just generally enjoy these colors: most pinks and purples, orangey reds, orange, pinkish yellows, and then teal and turquoise :D

LAST SONG:

Escapism by Raye, heard it at my friend's place and went home and kept listening to it. its such a vibe and im addicted to the rhythm and the ending part

LAST MOVIE:

Flushed Away!!! I saw it on Netflix and was like hell yeah I got to rewatch this--I was obsessed with this movie as a kid? Like I loved Rita...It's still pretty funny, but also it's so British lmaooo.

Before that I watched AstroBoy cuz I also saw it was on Netflix and it definitely doesn't hold up as much (there were so many characters the movie could do without, and also its very Anglicized like the character went from Tobio to Toby, etc) but I blame this movie for making me partially obsessed with characters made to replace someone else (coughs)

And before that I watched Bullet Train with my friends! It was so funny and ridiculous I kept laughing. Lemon my beloved <3 Music slapped too

Sorry that was like three movies

SWEET/SPICY/SAVOURY:

Hmm I like sweet and savory stuff...I'd probably pick something savory over sweet though if I had to choose. I'm okay with spicy stuff (I've eaten so much spicy stuff this past month because of my friends ToT) but only if it's like mild...

CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

I don't know--I have like 50 wips :[ Mostly DC fanart (ive been posting less sketches because I want to push myself to color/finish things more)...also got a couple oc things

Anyways that was fun to answer these :D

Im going to tag my moots but feel free to do this if you see it! @legogeek33 @batshit-birds @cowboysorceror @mamawasatesttube @marsipain @tempulian @ethmaron @sunsestart @whitexisneutral

[sunsctrodeo]

@herostatus / rylee asked: ❛ are you thinking what i'm thinking? ❜ (rylee and boothill yippee bc i thought they would be fun together)

asks from the previous blog

ARE YOU? IT'S entirely possible you're on different wavelengths right now— you can't be too sure with someone you don't really know. but something about her, and the way she carries herself, tells you that whatever her train of thought may be, it can only be fun. what kind? who knows, but you're interested anyway.

❝MAYBE, OR MAYBE not,❞ is your easy response, a grin playing at your lips as you watch her over the brim of your glass (not that you even need to drink, but sometimes it's better than chewing on bullets or scrap metal and getting endless questions for it). a gulp or two later, you set it back down on the table and drape your arm across the back of your chair, regarding her with keen interest. the crosshairs in your eyes even narrow slightly, but it's with a sense of delight and intrigue rather than any actual intent to harm.

❝WHY DON'T YOU tell me anyway? or do you wanna instead keep me on my toes an' see if i can keep up with whatever plan is cookin' in that head of yours?❞ you probably wouldn't mind that either— adapting going with the flow in any kind of situation is something you think you've gotten quite good at, all things considered. maybe it'd liven things up around here, too. which, naturally, brings the risk of drawing attention to yourself and ruining your little game, but when has that ever stopped you? if anyone trying to collect your bounty notices and wants to intervene, then let them try.

[mechanicalinertia]

STMPD Reviews Black Lagoon Fanfiction: BigCountry75's Redneck of Roanapur

This one was recommended to me by a dude on the Black Lagoon subreddit, and I clicked on it somewhat reluctantly. It started well enough, I flipped through a few later chapters and it was pretty cool, but it's 288K words, folks. Moby fucking Dick is 209K words. And while it's true that many, many fics are longer than Moby Dick, or indeed most officially published works, there was just something about it. I was reluctant to read an OC-centric Black Lagoon fic, though, because new-guy-comes-into-town-and-fucks-shit-up rarely works in BGC fanfic, so why should it work in this case?

I needn't have worried. Redneck of Roanapur is well-written, fairly competently characterized, and like Bullets, my previous review, relentlessly fun. Reading it over the past two weeks on-and-off has been a fairly good experience, and, too, an exercise in how (in my eyes) to make a fic defined by one Cool Original Character really work.

In that light, if I want to talk about RoR, I have to talk about its main character, a dude from the boonies of Michigan known as Country. No, really, that's the name he gets, nothing else. And, well... okay, the one thing that might sink this fic for you is that when it's told from his first-person perspective, his, uh, accent is written down in the prose. This can be annoying at times, but in all honesty it isn't as annoying as you'd think it would be, because as far as quasi-authorial inserts go, he still describes things clearly enough to make everything work. His spelling's intentionally off, but his grammar isn't. Ergo, I can read it without being annoyed.

So: Country is an ex far-right militiaman who ditched his former comrades in True Patriotism, and in his effort to leave the country stole a goddamn WW2 B-24 and hightailed it blindly to Roanapur. Yeah. That's it. That's his backstory. He gets his hands on another WW2-era fighter plane later, too.

Okay, so compare that to other various OC-centric Lagoon fics which will not be named, ones starring ex-CIA operatives and elite soldiers with more conventionally troubled pasts and their skills mostly centering around the shooting of guns. They're cool in the loosest sense, but I find most of them incredibly boring, and the fic has to work harder to get around that more often than not. (Success is possible, but I've only seen like one guy pull it off.) Country is more interesting to me because a) his backstory is more out-there but still plausible, it's a backstory you don't see every day, and b) he has a unique set of skills that other characters in Lagoon don't have to the same extent.

I mean, think about it. Those two elements are what make an interesting Black Lagoon character in the actual franchise. Roberta with her FARC training and maid getup; Balalaika's Soviet paratrooper glory days and how far she's fallen; Ginji the yakuza who can literally deflect bullets. There's something that makes all these characters more than just ex-spooks or mercs with training. Some eccentricity. Some wackiness. Some small amount of historical grounding. Country has that, even if his backstory isn't super important. Country has his WW2-era planes, which are fun as hell to watch him and Lagoon Company use. So, he fits right in.

Anyway, Country lands in Roanapur, gets hooked up to the Lagoon Company to use the B-24 as a courier aircraft, and pretty quickly things get weird. See, not only does Country piss off the head of a non-canon crime syndicate pretty quickly in a bar fight, but said syndicate head is tied to a nameless Doctor and his equally nameless Benefactor, who are searching for guinea pigs to do immortality / resurrection experiments on. The Doctor resurrects Hansel and Gretel successfully, they escape, they wind up at the airfield Lagoon Company now occupies. So they're hanging out, raised by the team to not be total murderous monsters, and eventually they attract the attention of the Doctor and his Benefactor, who turns out to be a powerful American politician with ties to Extra Order, the Not-Executive-Outcomes PMC from the first arc of Lagoon. Pretty soon, Lagoon Company and their patrons are duking it out with that one non-canon syndicate and EO in short order, culminating in an epic battle for the fate of the city, all of which is just incredibly fun to read in its sheer paramilitaristic ultraviolence.

Anyway the fic swings between that violence and a lot of surprisingly cutesy shipping. Country falls in love with Sawyer, for one, and that doesn't feel weird, doesn't feel self-insert-y, it makes sense for how the characters are being written in that context... Rock and Revy finally get together... Shenhua and Lotton get together, which I'm kinda iffy on but what the heck... Chang and Balalaika hook up in secret... Even Eda and Dutch pair up as secret agents! So everything is very slice-of-life-y when military planning and blowing things up isn't the order of the day. Oh, and Leigharch comes back towards the end, which is great because I always liked him. In fact, I think that's the main flaw in the fic: the ending feels way too cute and tidy for something like Black Lagoon, a franchise where endings, I feel, need to be ambiguous at best and depressing as hell at worst. It undermines the fun one has reading Country and the Lagoon Company operate a bomber to blow the everloving shit out of a PMC submarine base, or drug fields, or mansions, or whatever. It's an ending that feels at once natural for the fic, but not as earned as it could be.

But beyond that, Redneck of Roanapur is a simple, long, but super-fun thrill ride. If you're looking for something silly to read over the long summer months, flip through this and enjoy yourself.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals: Man of Constant Sorrow

Geoff's cover of Man Of Constant Sorrow was uploaded on the 15th of April, 2023 (the birthday of one of my best friends actually - lucky them). Geoff says in the description of the video: "As great as the song is, I always felt like it needed a bridge, so I wrote one. I fully expect some haterade in the comments section for that, but I love you all anyway." As far as I know, he has received exactly zero (0) "haterade" in the comments section for it, and nor does he deserve any! The bridge is great, and so good that those who don't know the original song (like myself and a few of the reactors I've watched) could think that it was just part of the original song (and did in fact think that), and those who do know the original might think it's from a completely different song! (Like one or two other reactors I've watched).

But anyway, enough about the song (and Geoff's mind-boggling ability to just write new lyrics on a whim, apparently), time to talk about the visuals! Let's go!

This video was filmed at "Big Oaks Ranch", which you might recognise as being the same filming location of Geoff's video for Take Me Home Country Roads (which I skipped over I know), as well as Voiceplay's videos for Daddy Sang Bass and Billie Eilish In 3 Minutes!

(Also check out how warm/saturated this shot is!)

A rare occasion of giving each of the Backup Geoffs different outfits despite it not being a theatrical/majorly-story-based video! We got Blue Shirt Geoff (wearing a polo with none of the 3 buttons done up on it), Light Shirt Geoff (wearing what I think is a pale-green shirt, but I'm not sure, with the top two buttons undone), Black Shirt Geoff (surprise surprise 😝😂) (t-shirt, so no buttons to speak of), and Plaid Flannel Geoff (with at least two buttons undone at the top, and open enough that you can see his necklace on full display!)

(Also that reddish brown belt gets a decent bit of usage doesn't it? Same one as two of the Cowboy Geoffs were wearing in Ghost Riders I believe, and I think it's been worn in Sixteen Tons and/or Big Bad John as well?)

Appreciation for the way the camera panned down along the train tracks, then panned up to Geoff, feet to head. We stan (also full necklace spotted here too!)

Sir how does your hair do that, how is your hair so good that you're giving me hair envy? (For the record, I have long, orange, wavy hair, and yet I can't help but be allured by Geoff's hair sometimes! 😅)

Let's talk about "Hat Geoff" for a minute here, because he's clearly the protagonist of this video, but in an interesting and uncommon twist, he's not actually the lead singer in this video - Light Shirt Geoff is!

(Also I'm genuinely wondering if that's an actual photo that he's holding, and if so, what's on it? (knowing him, my bet is that it's a picture of Kathy/him and Kathy <3 ))

Fun fact: Geoff's "guitar-playing" in this video is mostly just him faking it; doing simple strumming and stuff like that. He can't actually play guitar - or not in the typical way at least. For most of the instrumental stuff in his covers, he uses some sort of plug-in that connects to an electric keyboard/piano, iirc.

(Also the strings are barely vibrating as he's strumming, and I don't think he's even holding a guitar pick. I can't play guitar either though so what do I know? 😅)

Well he certainly looks good with it at any rate! 😁

"I can feel it like a bullet, no matter where I tread,"

(On my list of "movements/gestures from a Voiceplay/Geoff that I replicate nearly every time I sing it to myself 😝"_

"All my days I have been running from these GHOSTS within my head!"

The flowers placed next to Geoff's hat here, are known as "baby's breath", and apparently they've long been used as a symbol of purity, innocence, hope, and new beginnings. Their inclusion in this video would not have been for no reason!

(Also maybe Geoff does know a little bit about guitar-playing? Based on the way he changes hand/finger position on the neck of the guitar).

To just throw in an E1 subharmonic like it's the simplest thing in the world, while looking this good... god it's almost too much!

Also a bit of a fan of Plaid Flannel Geoff though ngl 👀

Genuinely some lovely cinematography in this video! (And apparently a lot of that is because of Geoff as well! Although Layne often helps out with the Steadicam)

Neat!

And I feel like it would be remiss of me to not highlight Geoff's message to people at the end: 😁

"I should mention that the train tracks I was walking down were not in use! So please please please don't go walking down any train tracks near you - trains are big and strong, and you are soft and squishy." [pfft, a Very Important Message indeed!]

I enjoy Man of Constant Sorrow for the fact that for the majority of the song, I can stay pretty easily on key with it (though often a couple or so octaves higher, of course). And that bridge is really awesome, and I could not imagine the song without it!

Only got a couple more Geoff videos that I wanna talk about (at the time of me typing this, at least), but they are my two other favourite videos on his channel (other than Way Down), so be prepared for many more screencaps! Stay tuned!