Saturday Afternoon Cartoons

Once John had made the first two beacons, finding Vivian’s assessment that zilhavrum would increase their resistance to magical interference to be a correct one, they adjourned to the tv couch, Senka manifesting as they went.

The spirit stretched dramatically, then turned to Beth and asked, “So, what is this pirate show you want to share?”

Beth grinned widely. “Only the greatest story ever told.”

“A pretty big assertion,” Vivian remarked as she turned on the tv and handed Beth her phone. “There’s a lot of fiction out there.”

“Ok, it’s my greatest story ever told,” Beth amended. “And it isn’t even done. Enjoyable drops every week.”

John put two and two together and asked, “Are you putting on One Piece?”

“Bingo,” Beth replied. “Surprised you didn’t pick up on that right when I suggested it.”

John shrugged. “I tried it once. Didn’t like the voices.”

“Was it one of the dubs?” Beth questioned seriously.

“Um, yeah,” John answered, feeling like he was walking into a minefield. He’d seen the various dub vs sub debates on the net for as long as he’d been allowed unfettered access.

“4Kids or Funimation?”

“There are more than one?” John asked. “And I don’t know. All I saw were some clips. Some blond guy with a lollipop and a bad Brooklyn accent. Between that and the length, I didn’t jump down the rabbit hole.”

Beth’s face went sour. “Yeah, that was the 4Kids one. They really went out of their way to scrub anything controversial out. Don’t have to worry about that with subs.”

“Didn’t take you as someone who’d watch this kind of stuff,” Aeolia remarked, gesturing to the phone where the image of a grinning man in a straw hat was displayed.

“I mean, I wouldn't call myself a fan of anime in general.” Beth shrugged. “It’s just, I watched the first few episodes on a whim and it spoke to me.”

“Well, we won’t get to see what this is about if we don’t hit play,” Vivian said, sitting down on the couch. Aeolia followed her, pulling her wings in close before settling down on the redhead’s lap.

“This seat taken?” the winged woman asked cheekily.

“No,” Vivian answered, wrapping her arms around Aeolia’s toned midsection. “I suppose this is a solution to the couch issue.”

“Yeah,” John said, recalling how tight a fit the couch was when it was just him, Aeolia and Vivian to say nothing about yesterday’s arrangement when watching the movie. “I guess I can take the floor.”

“Or,” Senka said in a low voice, gently placing her hand on his arm, “we can take Vivian and Aeolia’s example. I think we all can enjoy the show in comfort that way.”

Without letting go of John, Senka turned towards Beth, smiled and placed her other hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Sitting between us like that won’t be a problem for you, right?”

Beth let out an undignified squeak and she sputtered out, “Y-yeah. That won’t be a p-problem.”

“Perfect,” Senka purred, tightening her grip on Beth before pushing John onto the couch, a space wide enough for Beth between him and Vivian. She then ushered Beth into position and **** her into the open space, the short girl letting out an ‘oof’ as she bounced on the plush cushion.

Senka regarded the couch for a second before she deftly and daintily settled down onto John’s lap, his arms coiling around her waist. She let out a low hum that reverberated in his chest as she snuggled into his embrace, her head lolling onto his shoulder and hair tickling his ear.

“Nice and comfy, hm?” she remarked.

“Y-yeah,” John answered, tightening his grip slightly. She was at a slight angle so his view wasn’t blocked though that meant her legs were dangerously close to brushing against Beth’s, something the spirit was aware of.

“I’ll try to not bump into you,” Senka said to the still somewhat stunned Beth.

“Don’t worry about it,” she muttered, pointedly avoiding making eye contact with the people flanking her. “Anyway, how about we start watching. I think three episodes makes for a good first watch.”

“The last beacon will definitely be done by then,” John said with a light laugh. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Beth hit play and cast the video to the tv, and everyone settled into watching as a narrator began to set the stage.

---

Despite the number of times she had watched or read the start of the series, Beth always found herself engrossed at seeing the first steps of the would-be pirate king. Of course those repeat viewings happened when she was alone. And not sandwiched between people she was starting to develop feelings for.

Her eyes drifted from the screen to her companions, hopeful that they were being taken in the way she was. All of them were watching the screen with various levels of attentiveness. John’s gaze was the most focused, as if he was trying to commit everything to memory. Vivian’s was slightly less intense but it looked like she too was trying to take everything in earnestly.

Aeolia looked a bit less interested. Beth wasn’t sure if it was because the show just wasn’t reaching her or because the winged woman didn’t have the personal connection to her to be invested for her sake. Not that she could blame Aeolia for not being all that friendly to her nor did she care as much if the winged woman did become a fan of the show.

‘Man, maybe I should just quit while I’m ahead,’ Beth thought, doubt sneaking into her mind as she regarded the content pairs beside her. ‘Aeolia and Senka are ok, but I really don’t know them. Not as well as John or Vi and they don’t really give me that spark.’

Beth was jostled from her thoughts when Senka’s foot made contact with her leg.

“My apologies,” the spirit said quietly.

“Nah, it’s ok,” Beth muttered. Seeing that the episode had ended and the ending theme was playing, she asked, “How are you guys liking it?”

“It’s a little absurd,” Vivian answered. “Not in a bad way, just rather unique. The character designs are very varied.”

“I think I may have judged the show too harshly the last time I took a look at it,” John confessed. “It’s got a lot of energy. Kind of hard to not get pulled in.”

Beth grinned. “Yeah it does that.”

“Eh, it’s ok,” Aeolia remarked. “Maybe it’s because I’ve been around a lot of people with different powers but this kind of fantasy stuff just doesn’t hit as hard as it could.”

“An interesting point of view,” Senka murmured. “Is there the same sort of media institution like Hollywood in the Abyss?”

Aeolia shrugged, the action causing her wings to tickle Vivian slightly. “Don’t know. Maybe. There are enough people out there to do it. Effects would look better since they’d be real.”

“I suppose so,” Senka said. “Still, there’s the matter of story. Flashy explosions and the like are a bit hollow if there isn’t a purpose to them beyond looking ‘cool’. On that note, I wonder how much of mundane fiction is inspired by the Abyss? Obviously mythology has its roots there, but do modern authors know more about the Abyss than they should or are they secretly a part of it and are selling people repurposed tales?”

“I’d rather they be mundane and come up with everything,” John answered. “I really don’t like the idea that people can’t dream up the fantastical and it’s all just something they heard or saw.”

“That does sound kind of dull, doesn’t it,” Vivian agreed.

“Yeah,” Beth said. “Be boring if everything is just some retelling.”

“You know historicals are a thing, right?” John asked with a teasing grin.

“I know that,” Beth testily answered. “But everything just being history just sounds so dry.”

“And sometimes truth is stranger than fiction,” Senka intoned. “But I can see your point. Let’s hope people’s imaginations truly are limitless.”

Beth couldn’t keep a grin off her face. “Ya know, there’s a line from later on in the show that kind of sounds like that. ‘People’s dreams never die’.”

“That sounds like a good quote,” John said, his tone thoughtful. “One Piece’s been going on for a while, right? Got that never die thing going.”

“Like twenty years,” Beth said. “And it’ll be a while before that line. Assuming you want to keep watching.”

“Episode one didn’t put me off,” John remarked. “I’m good for more.”

The others voiced their agreement and Beth queued up episode two. Happiness warmed her as the opening began to play. She was glad she could share something like this and have them at least understand her enjoyment of it.

Senka’s foot once more brushed against her leg, but unlike before where the spirit pulled the offending extremity back and apologized, she instead rubbed it up and down her limb for a few seconds before withdrawing. Beth couldn’t look directly at her but she caught the spirit smiling out of the corner of her eye and she didn’t think it was because of the antics of the characters on the screen.

Beth’s mind drifted back to the smile the spirit gave her earlier when she purposely exposed herself to reveal her addition to John and the girls’ relationship.

‘Is Senka pushing me to joining them?’ Beth thought, her mind racing over that angle. ‘Did she make the moves on the others?’

She could see that. Senka definitely wasn’t shy, the spirit made that clear by exposing herself earlier.

‘I need to talk to her,’ Beth decided. ‘Figure out if she really is trying something or if it’s just me picking up signals that aren’t really there.’

Beth resisted the urge to rub her temple. She wasn’t used to such complex situations like romantic relationships, especially not one as populated as the one currently sandwiching her.

‘No, brain, don’t go there,’ she thought angrily to her treacherous imagination as it converted the platonic seating arrangement into something more intimate. Beth took as subtle a deep breath as she could to clear her mind and focused on the show. There would be time to untangle the mess she found herself in later.

---

“I think I could watch more,” John answered Beth’s question of enjoyment after they finished the third episode. “I can see how it’s managed to keep going for as long as it has.”

“It does have a certain charm,” Senka added. “Not convoluted, at least so far, characters that aren’t grating and have grand ambitions. I wouldn’t mind seeing where it goes.”

“Eh, I’ll watch,” Aeolia chimed in. “Nothing about it makes me go ‘pass’ but it’s not exactly racing to the top of my likes list.”

Three opinions given, everyone’s attention turned to Vivian, the redhead looking slightly uncomfortable at becoming the center of the room.

“Well, um,” she stuttered out, her face turning slightly pink, “it was certainly unique. But I think it’s a little too absurd for me. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Beth asked with a good natured grin. “I’m not going to go off on ya for not liking it or **** you to keep watching. You gave it an honest chance and didn’t like it. That’s that.”

“Wow, that’s pretty mature of you,” Aeolia commented with a teasing smile. “There’s hope for you yet.”

“I can be mature if I want to,” Beth said, sticking her tongue out. “Just don’t feel like it usually.”

John smiled at the good natured atmosphere that filled the room.

‘This is nice,’ Senka intoned through her bond.

‘Going private mode?’ John asked.

‘I’d rather not bring the mood down for the others with references to the past,’ the spirit replied, and John caught on to her meaning. Unbidden, his mind flashed back to lonely lunches and tense bus rides. Those thoughts were banished from his mind when his phone blared in his head, causing him to jump slightly and upset Senka’s balance on his lap.

“Dude, you ok?” Beth asked as Senka rose from her seat to allow John to get up.

“Phone’s going off,” John answered, pulling it out of his Inventory. “It’s my mom.”

“We’ll quiet down,” Vivian said.

John nodded and unlocked his phone, picking up the call with a, “Hey, Mom,” as he walked away from the couch.

“Hi, honey,” his mother’s voice replied. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

John felt his face heat up from the way she said ‘interrupting’, her meaning clear to him. “Nah. Actually, we just got done watching some anime a friend recommended.”

Beth mouthed an ‘Oi’ at him, which John ignored and asked, “So, what’s up?”

“Well, I’m doing a bit of shopping and I was wondering if you were going to be around for dinner?” Brenda asked.

“Um, dinner,” John said, feeling Senka probe his thoughts for information. He let his conversation flow to her so she could relay the goings on to the others.

“If you’ve already made plans, don’t worry about me,” she quickly stated. “You don’t have to drop everything for me.”

Before John could retort, he caught Senka whispering to the others, then the spirit said to him, ‘Go have dinner with your mom.’

Aeolia and Vivian smiled and nodded, his three lovers obviously on the same page. Beth looked slightly uncomfortable over the whole affair but nodded in time with the others.

Given an incline of his head back to them, he said, “Nah, no plans. I can head home for dinner. What’s on the menu?”

“Well, I was thinking something light,” Brenda said and John imagined she wore a smile given her tone. “There’s a pasta dish I came across the other day. A fettuccine in a slight garlic sauce. ”

“Pasta sounds great,” John assured her. “Is garlic bread on the menu?”

“Of course it is,” Brenda replied with a laugh. “What good is pasta without bread?”

“Great,” John said. “I’ll probably be home in…” He trailed off as Senka leaned into council with Vivian and Aeolia once more.

‘An hour and a half,’ Senka quickly relayed back, which John quickly said into the phone.

“I might still be out by then but not that far from home,” Brenda informed him. “See you soon, sweetie.”

“Yeah, see ya at home, Mom,” John said and the call ended.

“Any reason for that time or do you guys not want me to go just yet?” John asked as he walked back to the couch.

“Well, we’re not quite sick of you,” Aeolia joked. “But we’ve got to make sure the beacon things are fully operational so you and Beth can take one home.”

“Right, the last one finished while we were watching,” John said, pulling it out of his Inventory, the silvery zilhavrum shimmering in the etched array.

“So, how are we testing this?”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.