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arataka-reigen · 6 months

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Fall Anime Lineup Review by yours truly 🙋‍♀️🍄🌻

This season, I decided to watch as many anime as I could just for funsies :^) in total, I have started 19 shows, and I will be reviewing most of them here to help you decide whether to give any of them a go or not.

(This review will include exclusively animes that debuted this fall, so no second seasons or continuing shows from the summer season)

I will be classifying these anime in three categories: "definitely worth the watch," "anime i've dropped," and "not a masterpiece, but check it out if you like the premise"

Reminder that this is my personal list, and as such it 100% reflects my personal tastes (like my preference for female main characters and yuri shows)

So I might give 5 stars to shows other people would find bad, and that's okay! I invite others to make their own lists as well <3 (insert lets take ibuprofen together meme here)

(Last thing: i've added cw for only a few shows, and this is by no means an extensive list of all possible triggers for any of these shows, so watch at your own risk and if you want more info you can always ask or dm me)

Without further ado, let's get on to it (under read more because im not a jerk to make you scroll past All That)

Definitely worth the watch / Top 5 Shows of the Season

The Apothecary Diaries

Summary: Drama, Historical, Medical, Mystery. An apothecary gets kidnapped and forced to work in the emperor's palace as a low-level servant. She is determined to quietly work until her years of servitude are over, but when the emperor's infants fall ill, Maomao uses her medical abilities to solve the mystery of their illnesses and accidentally attracts attention to herself, being brought to work in the inner palace instead.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: This show is incredibly well animated and voice acted. The characters are brilliant and the stories are beautifully touching. It appears to be slightly episodic so far, with Maomao having to solve a new mystery or save someone's life every episode, but there is still a sense of a continuous story being told and I can't wait to see where it goes.

The strongest part of this show is definitely the MC. Maomao is incredibly competent, self-assured, and a no-nonsense person, but she is also completely obsessed with drugs and poisons, going so far as to test them out on her own skin and become completely giddy when she is presented with the opportunity to work with drugs in the inner palace.

Another great quality is the sorority between women, Maomao was raised in the red light district, and the courtesans there taught her a lot about life, which Maomao applies to her everyday life.

If you only have time to watch one anime this season, this is the one I'd tell you to watch.

CW: self-harm, child death, kidnapping, classism.

Edit to add one more cw: pedophilia (it is treated as a bad thing and not endorsed, but it caught me by surprise while i read the manga so i thought to warn this is an upcoming topic that will probably appear on ep 6)

Sousou no Frieren

Summary: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy. What happens when you are a 1000 year old elf who has to live on after your friends' death? For 10 years, Frieren and her companions fought against the demon king, disbanding after he was defeated. The story accompanies Frieren after Himmel, the Hero, dies, and she has to come to terms with the fact that the short 10 years she spent with him have made a big change in her life.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: Much like The Apothecary Diaries, Frieren's tale is not full of battles and fast paced episodes, actually it is slightly episodic, accompanying Frieren as she goes around collecting spells (that's her hobby) and traveling around the land through all the places she went with her party back in the day, seeing their statues and getting to experience new things while trying to figure out what those 10 years of adventuring meant to her.

This is MadHouse we are talking about, so of course, the animation is one of the strongest attributes. Sound design is also very good, you get to feel the quiet moments and appreciate them. The ending song is so good.

Also like Apothecary, Frieren's greatest qualities are the characters, especially the MC and the feelings they have to face.

Tumblr loves characters haunting the narrative right?? You guys are gonna love Himmel, the Hero istg

CW: death, grief, mild violence.

My New Boss is Goofy

Summary: Iyashikei, Workplace, Comedy. Momose used to be harrassed by his last boss so he decided to quit his job and joing a different company. Momose's new boss, Shirosaki, is an airhead and being in his presence is a fun and healing time for Momose

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: SALARYMEN YAOI. This show will heal your soul. The animation is simple but pretty, the cute effects like the ones on the gif above really help set the mood of a cute show. You've heard of cute girls doing cute things on anime, now get ready for cute salarymen doing cute things such as adopting a cat and naming it their shipname, riding the merry go round together, etc.

Also, may I offer you a canon bi/pan male character who is not embarrassed to come out?

Btw this is iyashikei, so nothing really happens, that's the whole premise of this genre. No drama, only healing. Idek if there is anything i could put as content warning. CW: cuteness overload.

I'm in Love with the Villainess

Summary: Isekai, Fantasy, Comedy, Girls Love. Rei wakes up in the body of the hero of her favorite otome game. Her favorite character in that game happened to be the villain, though, so now she is determined to dedicate herself to pursuing the villainess.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: I debated a lot whether or not to include this on my top 5, but the incredibly deep and honest discussion about sexuality on ep 4 definitely swayed my decision in its favor. The animation is nothing special tbh and at times can feel very static, but the character design is good enough for me.

This anime is like if Maria from Hamefura was the one who got isekaid and then fell in love with OG Katarina, so... yeah, of course I love it.

It seems that this anime will go in some interesting and unexpected directions as well in the future so I consider this is a must watch of the season.

CW: classism, discussions of homophobia, mc can come off as a bit of a stalker,

To complete my top 5:

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness

Summary: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy. Despite being innocent, Charlotte is accused of evil deeds, has her engagement annulled, and is forced to flee her country. While crossing the forest, running away from royal guards, she collapses near the residence of one man known as "The Demon Lord"

When he hears her story, said Demon Lord decides to let her live with him and teach her all about the naughty things in life (such as splurging on clothes, eating dessert instead of dinner, and playing games all night long).

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: EXTREMELY WHOLESOME. You'll be cheering for these two to get together in no time at all.

It's kinda like My Happy Marriage, but with less drama lol the female lead was raised as a servant in her own home, much like Miyo, and then gets rescued by a male lead who wants her to learn how to assert herself and live for herself, pursuing her dreams and valuing her own life.

Not a single moment with the male lead so far has been anything but incredibly wholesome and funny, Allen is genuinely a good person who wants Charlotte to heal for her own sake. He gets incredibly happy when she hides a secret from him because it means she is becoming her own person.

So far, this anime hasn't had a single problematic trope this type of romance anime usually has, and i don't think it will. What it does have are fun tropes like: "and there was only one bed", side characters hardcore shipping the MCs, male lead who is genuinely a good person but laughs and talks like a villain, etc.

ALSO, this series has not one but TWO catgirls <3

I could genuinely talk about all five of these animes for hours, but I still have lots of others to review. Hit me up if you want to talk abt any of them, though, i'm gonna be super happy.

Honorable Mention:

Spy X Family Season 2

Rating: ★★★★★

Anime I've dropped or will probably drop soon

The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess

Summary: Comedy, Fantasy, Vampire. Komari is a shut-in vampire who is weaker than most vampires because she refuses to drink blood. One day, she wakes up to the news that she was appointed as commander of a unit of the imperial army and must now do her best to win wars and survive while all the vampires under her command fight for her position

Rating: ★½ (a full star is too much, so I'll give it half a star)

Review: This one is bad, fam. The reason I found why it is so bad can be summarized in a 3 words: the male gaze.

Komari is filled to the brim with yuri bait, with every female character being into the MC, but all of it is 100% targeted to male audiences. This show is NOT classified as shoujo ai, so i wouldn't get my hopes up and ultimately dropped it after only the first episode.

If you need one more reason to Not watch this, I'll let you know that in less than 10 minutes of the first episode the MC almost pisses herself because that's a thing they decided to include for no reason at all.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-rank Adventurer

Summary: Adventure, Fantasy. After losing his leg as a newbie adventurer, he retires and returns to his hometown, becoming a handyman for the village. One day, while searching the mountains for herbs, he finds a child and raises her.

His grown-up daughter leaves to become an adventurer herself, and after years, she hasn't returned home not even once...

Rating: ★½

Review: Oh, I wanted this one to be good so badly 😭 it was one of the animes I was most looking forward to after reading the premise. Actual dilf character who is in his 40s and not in his 20s? I wanted it to be good. But, alas, it is bad. There is nothing problematic with it at all, the anime is straight up just bad. Bad animation, horrible pacing, terrible exposition, abhorrent setup of the story, not enough moments dedicated to setting up the story and making the characters interesting at all.

I Shall Suvive Using Potions!

Summary: Isekai, Fantasy. The God of Earth accidentally kills Kaoru and, as compensation, offers to lead her to a new life in another world with any power buff she wishes for. She chooses to be able to make potions with any effect of her choice, infinite storage space, and other stuff

Rating: ★

Review: ngl the first half of the first episode was pretty interesting, with Kaoru dying and then bargaining for compensations, but after this it just gets very very very boring. Nothing too bad about this one, it's just not worth anyone's time.

Tearmoon Empire

Summary: Fantasy, Time Travel, Comedy. Following her execution at the guillotine by the hands of the revolutionary army, Mia Luna Tearmoon wakes up to learn she has returned to when she was 12 years old, before the downward spiral and decline of the empire that led to her death. She finds her bloodied future diary, and decides to use it to change events to ensure she doesn't end up at the guillotine once again.

Rating: ★

Review: i honestly still don't know where i stand with this anime. It's got an interesting premise, but the development of the story is not at all interesting. This and the S-rank Daughter anime are under a category of "animes i wish had better writers."

CW: death, torture

The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch

Summary: Fantasy, Comedy, Gag Humor. Alyssa, a witch who lives alone in the forest, picks up an abandoned human baby one day. 16 years later, Viola had not only grown into a daughter who adores Alyssa, but also into a woman of exceptional proportions, and the people around them mistook Viola for Alyssa's mother

Rating: ★★

Review: it pains me to drop this one ngl, as it is a very sweet mother & daughter story and I feel like we don't get enough of those. The story can be very wholesome at times, and i've had more than a few good laughs with it. But it's just not interesting enough to keep you watching, and most of the jokes get old pretty fast. I'd recommend watching just the first episode because it is cute and funny enough by itself

Not a masterpiece, but check it out if you like the premise

Hoshizuku Telepath

Summary: Comedy, Girls Love, Supernatural. Fifteen-year-old Umika Konohoshi, with a love for aliens and space, is having a hard time socializing at school, but she hopes her words will someday reach other people. When self-proclaimed alien Yuu Akeuchi enters her life, Umika will learn more about being open.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: Just cute girls doing cute things + this one is actually classified as Shoujo Ai, so i have high hopes for a bit of romance. So far, it's just been very, very cute, wonderful animation, cute characters, cute interactions, cute everything

None of these characters are neurotypical btw.

I highly recommend this one, it almost made my top 5.

16bit Sensation: Another Layer

Summary: Time Travel, Workplace, Comedy, Otaku Culture. Konoha is an illustrator who loves beautiful girls and bishoujo games. She works at a video game studio and dreams of making bishoujo games. However, in the present, where mobile games are all the rage, Konoha spends her days as a sub-illustrator just coloring the back of background characters.

One day, after some happenings, Konoha got her hand on a masterpiece of a bishoujo game, and upon opening the package, she is suddenly taken back in time to the golden age of bishoujo games (the 90s). She joins a company named "Alcoholsoft" in pursuit of her dream of making games.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: Main character loves infodumping about her special interest so much she manages to get herself a time travel deal after infodumping on a random old lady.

This is another anime that almost made my top 5. It has a slow start and the continuity sometimes makes no sense ngl, but the premise is still very interesting. I was used to stories where characters get isekaid into a completely different time and space, but this girl is just sent back 30 years in time so she can witness the boom of her beloved bishoujo games.

The MC can get kind of annoying sometimes, but it isnt too unbearable, I still highly rec it.

Shy

Summary: Action, Super Powers, Drama. As the planet approached its third World War, individuals with superpowers appeared from around the globe to maintain peace. They became the symbols of their respective nations, striving to limit crime and bring evildoers to justice. Teenage heroine Teru "Shy" Momijiyama is Japan's representative in the world of heroes. When a mysterious threat called Amalareiks emerges, Shy must work together with her fellow heroes to stop them at all costs, all while dealing with her own feelings of inadequacy and shyness.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: a lot better than I expected, the myanimelist score does not do it justice istg. This season is full of shy and reserved main characters, but I feel like they get to be a lot more interesting than your usual shy characters. Both Hoshizuku Telepath and Shy deal with their shy characters in interesting ways and I rec both.

I also absolutely adore Iko, who is one of the first people saved by Shy in the anime, but she ends up badly hurt, which sends Shy into a spiral of doubt and fears.

CW: mild violence, death, grief, self hatred and suicidal thoughts

Migi and Dali

Summary: Comedy, Mystery, Suspense. Osamu and Youko want to adopt a child, due to their increasingly old age, they decide they can only take one kid. They decide to adopt Hitori, a gentle and beautiful boy.

However, Hitori's humble and overly polite exterior is merely a facade. In reality, Hitori is a carefully crafted character played by identical twins Migi and Dali. They did all that to be able to infiltrate their childhood town and uncover the mystery of their mother's death.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: This show is batshit insane and absolutely hilarious. These twins mistrust everyone around them and are constantly on edge to maintain the facade of being only one person, the extents they go to keep this up make for hysterical situations and I just couldn't stop laughing while being absolutely horrified by everything that goes on in this. This is a very disturbing anime, though, and the cw for this is gonna make you question whether or not you can trust my opinion, and you know what? I don't know if you should trust me either. But like,,, it really is that fucking funny. It is also just incredibly disturbing and fucked up as well, so watch at your own risk.

CW (this one is very problematic, don't say i didn't warn you): non sexual forced infantilization, non sexual forced pet play, non sexual groping, forced partial nudity, forced eating, minor incest vibes, implied murder, invasion of privacy, surveillance, classism, fursona, bullying, kidnapping and imprisonment. Most of these things happen to a minor, so.. yeah... not great...

If you would like more info on these cws before starting this anime, feel free to send an ask or dm me.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions

Summary: Mystery, Detective, Comedy. Totomaru wants to solve murders and help people, but lacks the skills for it. Following the advice of one of his seniors, he ventures out to enlist the aid of the reclusive Ron Kamonohashi. Five years ago, Ron was the most promising detective from the illustrious Detective Training Academy Blue; yet for reasons unknown to the public, he sank into obscurity.

The true reason Ron withdrew from the detective world was not from lack of desire, but rather from something out of his control—and Totomaru might just be the key for his return to his former calling.

Rating: ★★★

Review: This is the classic sherlock ripoff that comes around all the time. Not saying it is bad tho, it is quite fun and the dynamic between Toto and Ron is very good. The animation is pretty decent as well. I have only seen one episode so far, but I already like it.

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me

Summary: Romance, School. As part of a punishment game, Ryuuto is forced to confess to the girl he likes, Runa Shirakawa, a very popular student.

Runa doesn't have a boyfriend at the moment, so she simply agrees to date him.

They have different friends and ways to have fun, and they are different in almost every way. Nonetheless, they begin to relate with each other.

Rating: ★★★

Review: this romance is quite fun and cute, Runa is very carefree about her relationships and isnt embarrassed by things like sex or whatever, she is quite experienced (as the title says), but she has never experienced real love so she just goes around dating in search for it. Ryuuto is very different and gets embarrassed just thinking about holding her hand. He also wants to make her feel appreciated and figure out what her interests are, so he is one of the first dudes to actually treat her like a human being, which, god, it is so real how men take women for granted and this anime shows that by the juxtaposition of Ryuuto being an actual decent person.

Anyways, it doesn't get a higher recommendation from me because the main source of conflict so far in this anime is another female character, who hates the female lead. And that. Uhh. I don't like stories like this. Im a women loving eomen. Im a yuri enjoyer. Im a girl's girl. So, i'd enjoy it more if the antagonist wasnt a girl who hates the female lead. But it is good enough so far to give me hope that this will change in the future.

The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons

Summary: Slice of Life, School. The Yuzuki family, which consists of four brothers, lost their parents two years ago. Hayato, the eldest son, is a hard worker and the pillar of the family. Mikoto, the second son, is calm and collected, but he has a soft spot for his younger brother Minato, the third son, who is energetic and lovable, but clumsy and awkward. Gakuto, the fourth son, is a studious and mature first-grader who is often referred to as a "wise man." The story follows their daily lives.

Rating: ★★★

Review: this is the only actual shoujo of this list. The rest is either shounen or not classified as either. I have only watched one episode so far, so I can't say a lot about it, the first ep was cute and wholesome, as most slice of life is. I say go for it if you want some wholesome family.

Undead Unluck

Summary: Action, Comedy, Super Powers. For the past 10 years, Fuuko has been afflicted by a condition that brings extreme misfortune to anyone who touches her. This has resulted in the deaths of her parents.

As she stands on a bridge above train tracks, Fuuko is touched by a strange man, causing the footing underneath him to break and dropping him in front of an oncoming train. However, when Fuuko finds the man's corpse, she discovers that his body is regenerating and that he is coming back to life.

The man is immortal and wishes for death. Together, the two will look for the best death possible.

Rating: ★★

Review: god, this one is absolutely insane and so full of blood and death, help. But it is good, I had A Lot of fun with the first ep and I'll give it a chance because I can see myself getting really into the main couple. This is a hardcore shounen tho, so it does include some classically annoying tropes, especially since the dude has to touch her to be hit by her unlucky powers.

This season only had 2 shoujos, and one of them had a classic shoujo problem (problematic age gaps), so i didn't watch it. Here is to hoping next season has more shoujosei.

Thank you for reading until the end (wtf, are you crazy) and happy watching <3

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cozage · 11 months

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The Daughter's Return: Chapter Three

Some Friendly Advice

This is a fullblown multichapter fic now. Get ready for a slowburn mutual pining fic full of love and angst and so much drama. I'm sorry in advance (if you want to be tagged in any follow up just reply to this post or send me a message!) Characters: female reader x Portgas D. Ace Word Count: 5k

Part One | Part Four | Table of Contents | Read on A03

You woke up in a bed that wasn’t yours and a room that was much too dark to be a bunkhouse. Marco must’ve brought you back to his cabin after you fell asleep at the party. How embarrassing. You hadn’t even drank that much. Yesterday must've been more exhausting than you realized.

You stretched out your arms, trying to push the sleep out of your body to start the day. Your hand pushed against another body, which was odd. Marco didn’t usually share a bed with you, but it happened sometimes.

“What time is it?” You groaned.

“Not sure.”

The voice that definitely didn’t belong to Marco made you pause. It was hoarse, so it took you a few moments to place it.

“Ace?” Your voice caught in your throat as you spoke.

“Hi.”

You suddenly felt very claustrophobic, sharing such a small space with your commander. When it was Marco you never minded, but this was Ace. And you shared a bed with him last night. You didn’t even remember leaving the party. How on earth did you end up here, in this small and very private room?

Ace must’ve sensed your discomfort. “Nothing happened,” he quickly assured you. “Marco’s door was locked, so I brought you in here to sleep.”

You raised your eyebrow, even though he couldn’t see it. You didn’t believe him. Not completely.

“So why am I in bed with you?”

“Oh. Uh, well-” He sounded abnormally nervous as he stammered on his words, trying to find an explanation. “Uhm, you…kind of asked me to join you?”

Your mouth dropped open, unable to hide your shock. “Bullshit,” you hissed.

“I swear!” Ace said. “I was going to sleep on the floor, I-”

A sharp knock cut him off, and both of your eyes cut to the door.

“Ace!” Marco’s voice called from the other side. “Wake up, man! Pops wants to talk to you.”

You could feel Ace tense at Marco’s words, and you found yourself concerned as well. Nothing happened on the Moby Dick without your father knowing about it. You weren’t sure if that included who spent the night in which rooms, but you prayed that your father didn’t concern himself with things so trivial.

Ace cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room nervously. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.”

You scowled at him and his nervous behavior. “If we didn’t do anything, why are-”

You had been whispering, but Ace clamped a hand over your mouth and threw a finger to his lips, silently begging you to be quiet.

Marco’s voice hummed disapprovingly from outside the door. “Ace? Come on.”

You heard the door knob jiggle as Marco tried to enter the room, but thankfully Ace had locked it last night.

“I’ll meet you there!” Ace called out, slight desperation in his voice. You knew that wouldn’t go unnoticed by Marco.

“No way,” Thatch’s muffled voice came from outside the door. “Hurry it up with whoever you got in there and let’s go.”

So it wasn’t just Marco waiting outside. You squinted your eyes in suspicion at Thatch’s words, but Ace just shook his head at you, begging you to be silent.

“I promise I’ll explain everything later, okay?” he whispered as softly as he could. “But I swear on my life, I would never-”

“Ace!” Marco’s voice came again, and you heard a chorus of laughter outside the door.

“Coming!” Ace yelled to the group congregating outside your door. He redirected his attention to you and whispered one last thing. “I would never take advantage of you, or anyone, like that. I swear. We’ll talk later, just stay hidden until we all leave.”

With those words, he jumped out of bed and threw the cover over you. You heard him shuffling around the room getting dressed, and you were thankful for the blanket covering your face. It hid your reddened cheeks from your imagination going wild. A small part of you wanted to peek out from under the covers, but your morning had already been filled with enough embarrassment.

“Damn, Ace,” Curiel hollered through the door. “Who on earth do you have in there? You must be taking your sweet time-”

You heard the creak of the door opening, and you froze. You were under the blanket and safely tucked away from any outsider’s gaze, but you couldn’t help feeling small in this situation.

“Wish it were you?” Ace teased, cutting Curiel off.

“Dude, you look horrible!” Thatch barked out, a gaggle of laughs emitting from various commanders. “What poor soul kept you up last night?”

“Whoever it is, I bet they’re feeling it now!” Another voice quipped, one you didn’t recognize.

You could feel yourself starting to steam with anger, and you forced yourself to calm down. Steam would alert everyone to your presence, and ruin your current anonymity.

“Shut up,” Ace mumbled. He seemed to be equally as annoyed with their jests. He shut the door quickly behind him as you hid under the covers, leaving you alone in the darkness. The sounds of group laughter was shortly followed by heavy footsteps receding, and you finally breathed a sigh of relief. You were finally alone.

You wanted to believe that Ace had brought you to his room on his own accord, but the end of the night was becoming clearer to you by the second. You had asked Ace to go back to his room, asked him to lay in bed with you. You might’ve even taken it a step further and actually slept with him, if he hadn’t been so uneasy about doing so.

Ace certainly wasn’t the one to blame in your current situation. But it did seem like he had some kind of reputation amongst his fellow commanders. Their words made your chest hurt, though you weren’t sure why. You barely knew Portgas D. Ace. It all felt complicated, and made your head spin just from thinking about it.

You groaned, finally removing the cover and looking around the room. Ace’s room was an organized kind of messy. You could see that everything had a place where it kind of belonged. Even if nobody else understood his system, he would.

He didn’t have a lot of things, but the one recurring thing you did see scattered across his room was, strangely enough, sea shells. All of them were different sizes, shapes, and colors. There were probably hundreds scattered around his room. On his desk, on his nightstand, even along his wall. You would have to ask him about it later, if you could ever muster up the courage to speak to him again.

You needed to leave. You didn’t want to be back here when Ace and the other commanders returned. Your stomach rumbled in agreement, and you decided that the dining hall would be your next stop. You opened the door and slipped out into the hallway as quietly as you could. As you clicked the door into place, you gave a quick glance around to see if there had been any witnesses, and your eyes met Izou’s.

Your eyes widened upon the realization. You opened your mouth, debating between begging for his silence or explaining what happened, but Izou held a hand up.

“None of my business, kid,” he said quickly. “It’s already forgotten.”

Izou darted into his room before you had a chance to form any words, leaving you alone in the hallway.

“Thank you,” you muttered to both Izou and the universe as you started down the corridor.

Anyone else would’ve plastered your scandal on the front page of every News Coo they could find. But Izou had always had your back. You weren’t sure why you didn’t go to him for more things instead of Marco. Maybe you should talk to the sixteenth division commander more often.

It was ending breakfast time in the mess hall, so there weren’t many options left. You grabbed a few pastries and sat down with some of your old friends who were always late risers after a party night.

“You! You didn’t come back to the bunkhouse last night!” Whitey announced as you sat down next to her.

You gave her a side glare, and you saw all of your friends perk up at the hint of gossip.

“I always sleep in Marco’s room on party nights,” you said. Which was the truth, just not the truth about last night.

“Marco, huh?” a girl you didn’t know said, with deep curiosity. She had fiery red hair and purple lipstick on. “You’re into older guys then?” she asked.

“Ew,” you said, disgusted with her implication. “Marco is like my brother.” You took a bite of the raspberry pastry you had grabbed. “Or maybe like my uncle?”

“Your hot brother-uncle,” Epoida corrected.

You wrinkled your nose at the thought. “Gross, Epoida.”

“We all have our own tastes, hunny.”

“Clearly.”

“So what’s yours?” the red-haired girl asked you. She was watching you closely, making you a little self-conscious about your disheveled appearance.

“Y/N is the second division strategist now,” Brew said, sitting down next to the red-haired girl. “That title speaks for itself about what she’s into.”

The group turned to look at you in shock. The news must not have spread yet. You wrinkled your nose in disgust again, hoping they didn’t see the blush appearing across your cheeks.

“You’re one to talk, Brew,” you shot back. “You always loved to-”

“I’m settled down now!” Brew remarked, cutting you off before you could finish your sentence. His arm wrapped around the red-haired girl. “This is Sally, and I’m all hers!”

You gave a soft snicker at that, thinking back on all the times Brew had tried to get with you before you had left. “I guess people really can change,” you said snarkily.

Brew stuck his tongue out at you from behind Sally, which made you snort. At least some things never changed.

“When are we supposed to hit the next island?” you asked, hoping to change the subject away from love interests.

“I think tomorrow,” Whitey said, looking out the porthole to the sea. “I hope tomorrow. I need an island day.”

“Makes sense.” You took another bite of your pastry. “We need to restock before the mission next week.”

Apparently that news hadn’t gotten around either, because everyone’s head swiveled to look at you.

“Mission?” Whitey asked.

“How do you know about a new mission?” Epoida demanded.

“Oh, I didn’t know it wasn’t public. It’s not finalized yet,” you said. It wasn’t finalized because you hadn’t gotten the list done. Damn Portgas D. Ace for distracting you so much.

“Did you not know it was a secret because Ace told you?” Brew asked. His voice carried a little tune when he spoke Ace’s name, and you had to grit your teeth to avoid saying something sarcastic.

“It’s actually because I’m the strategist,” you said between clenched teeth. Your hand had turned into a fist, crushing your pastry.

“Brew, cut it out!” Whitey came to your defense, rolling her eyes. “Y/N wouldn’t go for a guy like Ace anyway.”

Epoida nodded. “Ace is way too much of a…” she paused, trying to find the right words.

“Man-whore?” Sally offered.

“Flirt,” Epoida corrected, shooting Sally a look. “He still is a division commander, Sally.”

“Only because he took Y/N’s promised position!” Whitey yelled.

Her upstart caused a few people to glance your way. “Whitey,” you hissed. “It’s fine. Really.”

“Really?” asked Sally. “I thought you’d be more upset from all the stories I heard about you.”

“I’m really okay,” you said truthfully. “I like working with Ace.”

All of the girls gawked at you, their mouths wide open. But Brew busted out into laughter at your comment.

“Oh my god,” Brew wheezed out. “He’s already got you wrapped around his finger.”

“Y/N,” Whitey said, her eyes practically bugging out of her head. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him already.”

“What?!? No, of course I didn’t!” you insisted, though it wasn’t necessarily the truth. You had slept in the same bed as him, but you hadn’t slept with him. It was different.

“I swear he’s slept with half the girls on this ship,” Epoida said.

“And half the guys,” Brew added, which got a contemplative nod from everyone at the table.

“Y/N,” Whitey grabbed your shoulders and turned you to stare her straight in the eyes. “You cannot be put under Ace’s spell, okay? Promise me.”

“Whitey, you’re being ridiculous,” you laughed nervously. “He’s not that bad.”

“She’s already been taken,” Brew muttered.

“Poor soul,” Sally said in agreement.

“You guys!” You yelled, shaking Whitey’s grip off you. “It’s not like that! It just-I couldn't-he wanted-”

“She’s hopeless,” Epoida said.

“Would you all stop it!?” you hissed.

“You are going to get your heart broken,” Whitey promised. “Beg Pops to switch divisions. He’ll do it for you. Get as far away from Portgas D. Ace as you can. While you still can. He’s cruel and he’ll only use you. Please trust me on this.”

“Thanks for the advice,” you grumbled, though you didn’t mean it. You had lost your appetite from the conversation, so you picked up your plate and stormed out of the dining hall.

You needed to work. To distract yourself from everything you had heard at breakfast. Unfortunately, those stupid papers were in Ace’s room, and you hadn’t had the foresight to grab those this morning. And after what you had learned at the breakfast table, you weren’t particularly in the mood to go seek him out and talk to him at the moment.

Luck seemed to be on your side at the moment, though. The commander's chambers were empty except for Haruta, who eagerly smiled at you when you entered.

“Hey! How are you?” He asked. “Did you enjoy the party?”

“I did,” you said, politely smiling. “Just have to finish up this report for Pops. Ace isn’t here, is he?”

Haruta frowned at the mention of Ace. “He’s still in the mission meeting.”

“No worries, I think his room is unlocked.” You knew it was; you hadn’t locked it when you left earlier. But you couldn’t tell Haruta that.

You quickly popped into his room, scanning his desk to find the papers he had held hostage last night. They were there, and you scooped them up and left the room. You were about to leave the commander's chamber as well, when you realized something.

“Hey Haruta, can you help me with something?” You already knew what his answer would be.

“Whatever you need!”

You grinned and sat down next to him on the couch. “I don’t know some of these names or their fighting abilities. Can you help me assess them?”

“Sure!” He was practically bouncing from excitement. “I used to be a strategist too, so I know all the info you need.”

“It’s more just a capability ranking, if you don’t mind. I’m trying to keep an open mind,” you explained.

You all went through the two pages of names you were unfamiliar with. You had to admit, Haruta was very helpful in his assessment. It was concise, but included all of the information you needed to know. By the end of your time with him, you knew everyone’s time on the ship, fighting experience, and what devil fruit ability they had. It was extremely helpful.

When you finished the last name, you found yourself sitting and talking with him for a little while. It was refreshing to talk to a familiar face who wasn’t teasing or scolding you. Haruta had been on the ship for a long time. Not as long as you, obviously, but he had joined the Whitebeards when he was a kid. It was the only family he had, just like how you had been.

You both talked about what you learned and how you grew in your two years. Haruta had become a commander right before you left, and it was clear now that your father knew what he was doing when he appointed him. He really seemed to grow into a great person and commander. His appointment had sparked your journey to Wano, though you didn’t tell him that.

“There she is!” Marco’s voice boomed at the entry to the common room.

Both you and Haruta turned to look at him and the others coming into the room.

“There’s a strategy meeting tomorrow morning! I’ve been looking all over the ship trying to find you.”

“That’s my cue,” you mumbled, gathering up your stuff.

“You don't have to go!” Haruta pleaded. A part of you didn’t want to go either, but you had work to do and distractions to avoid.

“Ace will be here in a second,” Marco said. “Pops asked the three mission commanders to hang back.”

You ignored Marco, choosing to address Haruta before you left. “It was lovely catching up with you. Let’s do it again soon?”

You hadn’t meant to say it loud enough for all the other commanders to hear, but you could see them all exchanging glances in your peripheral vision. You chose not to comment on it, and instead walked out of the room, heading for the library.

You stopped at your bunkhouse to change into a fresh pair of clothes and freshened up before you went to work for the day. As Haruta had explained each person’s abilities, you made plenty of notes about where they should be positioned, now all you had to do was write it up into a formal report.

By the end of the day, your strategy report was 4 pages long. You had the fourth division flanking the left side with an additional twelve members from the second division, and the eleventh division flanking the right with fourteen members from the second division. The rest of the second division would hang back and assist as needed, with communication being made through transponder snails.

It would work. You were certain. It was the safest maneuver for everyone involved, and it allowed extra security if there were any surprises or change in plans. It gave flexibility and a solid offense. Satisfied with your work, you took your papers back to your bunkhouse and placed them in your bedside drawer.

You had managed to successfully keep Portgas D. Ace off of your mind for the entire day. Until you walked into the dining hall. Your eyes managed to instantly find him, and he smiled at you, giving you a little wave to come join him in the dinner line.

You quickly averted your eyes, pretending you didn’t see him. Trying your best to ignore the heat rising to your face, you looked for Whitey, and found her further back in the secondary line. You walked over to join her and Epoida, laughing and chatting with other crew members.

“Mind if I join you?” you asked, stepping in line with them.

The two individuals you didn’t know stared at you, but Whitey and Epoida smiled at your arrival.

“Still mad about this morning?” Epoida asked cautiously. Her eyes flitted over behind you to where Ace was standing, and she smirked.

“This morning?” you asked, trying to remember. You were certain she didn’t know about your night with Ace, so she must’ve been talking about breakfast.

They had made you angry in the moment, but you had time to cool off. Reflecting now, they were only trying to warn you about the kind of person Ace was. You were grateful for that.

Epoida leaned in close to you to whisper in your ear. “He’s watching, you know.”

“You think he likes the show?” you sarcastically responded, trying to show it didn’t phase you.

The act would’ve worked, but your devil fruit ability betrayed you. You could feel the tips of your ears burning, and your hair around them started to singe. Epoida bursted into a cackle at your embarrassment, and you shoved her away from you. You had to resist the urge to glance over at Ace, knowing that’s exactly what Epoida wanted you to do.

Your back was to the room, so you didn’t see him approaching. But you did see everyone else’s eyes getting big, and then you heard Ace’s cool voice from directly behind you.

“Hey ladies,” he said, his hand resting on your shoulder. You flinched at the closeness of his voice, and ignited your skin where he touched you, causing him to pull back in pain.

“Sorry. Forgot,” he mumbled, rubbing his hand. “Do you mind if I steal this lovely lady away from you all for a moment? Got commander stuff to talk about.”

“Commander stuff,” Whitey mocked. “Right.”

Ace gave Whitey a nervous glance and flashed her a smile, but it wasn’t as confident as usual.

“You can talk to me here,” you stated. “We’re amongst allies.”

“Right..” Ace said, looking around the circle.

It appeared that even though you were among allies, Ace was not. All of the others in the circle were glaring at him as if he had kicked a puppy on his way over here.

“So what’s up?” you asked, trying to ignore your friend’s gaze.”

“Oh, right.” Ace turned his attention to you, and you struggled not to get lost in his spotted freckles or his dark eyes. “There’s a strategy meeting tomorrow. Figured we could go through the names of the divisions and I could help you write up a report for it.”

“Already done,” you said coolly. “Haruta helped me out this morning and I got the report written.”

“Oh,” Ace said. He was staring at you with a confused look on his face, as if he were waiting for something more. You could hear the girls next to you stifling their laughs.

“You can look at it if you want,” you offered, unsure of what else he needed.

“No.” Ace blinked, as if he were trying to comprehend what to do next. “No, I trust you.”

“Cool.” You turned your attention away from him. “So anyway Epoida, this morning I was just in a bad mood. Better now, thanks for checking.”

You could still feel him behind you, just out of your view. Everyone else in the group kept glancing at him.

“Ace?” you asked, turning back around to face him.

“Yeah?”

“Did you need something else?”

“No,” Ace said, looking at the rest of the group. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Sounds good. Bye.”

You waited for him to walk away before you turned to face your friends again.

“Dude,” Epoida said. “He’s trying to get with you so hard.”

“He is not.” You rolled your eyes.

“He definitely is,” one of the girls said. “When he puts his hands on people’s shoulders like that…”

“The Mark of Portgas D. Ace!” the other girl said, giggling. “You have to sleep with him now. It’s only a matter of time.”

“And then he’ll leave you,” Whitey said bitterly. “Onto the next shiny thing.”

“You guys are being dramatic,” you said, but you felt a knot of jealousy forming in your stomach.

“Happened to me,” one of the girls said. “And Whitey.”

“It did not!” Whitey said. “We did not-”

“Oh right,” the girl waved Whitey off. “You never made it home with him.”

“Shut up!” Whitey hissed, her face flooding with pink. “That was a few months ago! It doesn’t even matter!”

“Doesn’t it?” the girl taunted. You got a feeling that their argument was deeper and more malicious than either girl was letting onto.

“Can we stop talking about him?” you let out an exasperated sigh. “I feel like he’s all I ever hear about.”

“That’s because it’s begun.” Epoida wiggled her fingers at you like she was putting you under a spell. “He’s all you’ll ever hear about from now on.”

“He’s always been the talk of the ship,” one of the girls said. “Something you’ll just have to live with.”

The girls started talking amongst themselves again, about other crewmates and possibilities of an island soon, but Whitey was unnaturally quiet.

“Whitey,” you mumbled to her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Her eyes were glassy when she looked at you. “He’s no good, Y/N. No good.”

She ran off, leaving you alone with the three chatty girls. You didn’t care for their conversation much, but Whitey’s reaction bothered you. Not many people could make her emotional, especially over something that happened in the past.

Portgas D. Ace made your heart flutter. But apparently he did that to a lot of people, and he had hurt one of your best friends in the process. You wouldn’t let yourself fall into the same fate. You refused to do so. Not just for your own preservation, but for Whitey too.

You grabbed your dinner to go and headed for the library for a quiet space. You needed to go over your plans one more time to check for any bias or oversights. You sat silently, reading over your proposal as you shoveled food into your mouth. The strategy appeared to be airtight with the information you had been given, but you were afraid of missing something obvious.

“Thought you said you were done with that,” a voice teased, and you cursed Ace for finding you so quickly.

“Just going over it one last time,” you replied simply, not looking up from your papers

“Nervous for tomorrow?” he asked, sitting down in the seat next to you.

“No,” you lied, which prompted a chuckle from Ace. You were normally a good liar, but Ace seemed to always be able to know whether you were being truthful or not.

He grabbed the papers from you and glanced over them. It wasn’t nearly long enough for him to read even a paragraph before he nodded and put the papers down. “Looks good.”

You scowled at him, reminded of Whitey and tears she had. “This may be a joke to you, but people’s lives are on the line.”

“It’s not a joke to me,” he said, looking at you with a confused gaze. “I just trust your ability to plan.”

“You don’t know me well enough to trust me,” you shot back. “Read it and give feedback.”

Ace looked at you for a moment, and you held his gaze with an intense stare. He resigned with a sigh and began reading your work.

You were surprised that he did so without little argument, and your heart skipped a little at his willingness to help you. But Whitey quickly came back to your mind, and you steeled your emotions. Portgas D. Ace may be a good commander, but he wasn’t a good person.

He quietly read for a few minutes while you doodled in the margins of some old notes, trying to distract yourself from him.

“I only have one suggestion,” Ace said as he finished up the report.

“Which is?”

“You need to give the fourth division two more members. Or take away two members from the eleventh division.”

You scowled. “But the eleventh division is less skilled. Which is why I gave them more resources.”

“I know that, but it will still offend Kingdew and his subordinates. You give them the same number of people at first to prove they’re equals. Then we’ll deploy more people at the start of the battle when they ask for assistance.”

“But the goal is to make them as even as possible from the start.”

“But we need them to be cooperative. Giving one person less people will cause hostility on each side for different reasons,” Ace explained. “Put Clavis and Mateo under Kingdew, move Iliana to Thatch. Take Philric, Ulster, and Maxie off the initial assault. It’ll even out their abilities and firepower of each side without being too obvious that Kingdew has stronger assistance on his team.”

You hummed, thinking about his suggestion. “I really wanted Clavis to be available for the first rescue team.”

“It’ll be fine,” Ace reassured. “It will spare Kingdew and Thatch any problems with superiority. One man won’t make that much of a difference.”

“You would.” It slipped out before you had a chance to think.

“Well, yeah,” he agreed. He looked up at you, flashing his signature smile. “I am the ace, after all.”

You couldn’t help it. Your heart fluttered. You could feel yourself falling for this stupid boy, and you hated yourself for it. You had to stop this before it got too out of hand.

“Clavis and Mateo to Kingdew, Iliana to Thatch, Philric, Ulster, and Maxie to the first rescue team. I’ll make the adjustments.”

You reached for the papers, but he held them away from you.

“Can we talk about last night?” His voice was low when he spoke so nobody would hear him. Even though there was nobody in the library, you glanced around nervously.

“I know what I need to know about you, Ace. There’s nothing more to talk about.”

He looked hurt by the harshness of your words, and you did your best to act like you didn’t care.

He sighed, holding the papers out. “I just wanted to make sure you knew-”

“Nothing happened,” you finished, snatching the papers back. “I know. Thanks.”

You gathered your stuff quickly and got up to leave.

“And nothing will be happening,” you clarified. You looked down at him, still in his seat. “I’m sorry if I gave you mixed signals, so let me be clear now. I may be your strategist, but that’s all I am.”

God, he looked so sad. It almost made you want to take it all back; to kiss his lips right then and there in that dark and dusty little library. But you couldn’t. You wouldn’t. You refused to be used by your commander, even if you broke your own heart in the process.

#one piece #one piece imagine #one piece scenario #one piece x reader #one piece x you #portgas ace x you #portgas ace x reader #ace x reader #ace x y/n #portgas d ace #portgas d. ace #cozage #the daughters return #✧˚ace✧˚

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