#bounce crew

Finally adding more to the sword fighter/running with scissors Marco au that I got going on. With the absolute bombshells of episodes recently, I got plenty to add the this au. *Cracks knuckles* First of all, let's just quickly brush over 'Bounce Lounge' before we get anywhere near the mess of 'All belts are off.' Now we didn't see a lot of canon Marco in the bounce lounge aside from a few brilliant moments here and there, but the whole club atmosphere made me think about SF!Marco's experience with...adult escapades, shall we say? I don't think I was the only one who noticed aged-up!Marco's suave attitude towards Hekapoo, which was a sharp difference to his awkwardness with females in his youth. It makes me think that during his travels Marco became well-versed in trawling the underworld in search of clues about Hekapoo, and thus encountered many informants. Informants who were commonly found in clubs and brothels maybe? It's not to say that Marco especially engaged in many of the illicit activities offered (until later), but he definitely grew comfortable in club scenes and sexual encounters. So instead of Marco dorkily doing some karate moves on the dance floor after prompting by Star, we get all of the bounce crew (and generally the whole club) gazing in amazement at this young teen PROWLING the dance floor. Marco just has an air of sex around him as he slides comfortably about the floor, keeping his body relaxed as he gyrates to the music; every being alike is stunned by his moves (especially Star who still can't wrap her head around this confident and self-assured Marco). Basically the money they earned for the Bounce Lounge was double of that in the show due to people texting friends about the dark-skinned God on the dance floor (every text accompanied by Marco in a tight top and jeans, the cloth sticking to his developing muscles with sweat). And then shit gets real in 'All belts are off.' Marco, the 30-odd dimension-renowned swordsman and general ass kicker, was passed over for some snot-nosed brat who he could break in a second? In this au he's not jealous or confused. He KNOWS Jeremy is basically what keeps the dojo afloat, so he can see the choice from a logical view. Doesn't mean he's not fucking PISSED. Most of the episode is spent with Marco struggling to keep his confidence as he consistently compares himself to what he once was; Jeremy wouldn't have been given a single thought if he still was strong enough. But Marco keeps his cool and trains twice as hard. However when Jeremy basically embarrasses the honour of the dojo in his little show (honestly I would've drop kicked the child away if I was there), Marco politely asks the Dojo Master dude if he would like to see a proper sparring session to see the true potential of the dodo. The man, nearly asleep with boredom at this point, agrees wholeheartedly in hope that things would get interesting. Holy shit they did. Jeremy is completely unaware of Marco's growth in skill (and physique as their loose gear hides Marco's lean muscles) and thus goes into the fight cocky and sure of his win. The crowd never forgot what an absolute hammering the little prat took at the hands of calm and confident Marco. Marco never speaks nor moves in aggression in the fight, unlike Jeremy with his trash talk and dirty tricks. Marco's used to loud mouth street 'villains' from other dimensions trying to pick on him before he became well-known. He's used to keeping a calm head and steady hands as he systematically destroys people's defences. Jeremy doesn't stand a chance. Humiliated, Jeremy challenges Marco to weaponry, thinking that the boy still hadn't touched a weapon (old Marco didn't like the thought of hurting someone that badly). Instead he gets even more soundly defeated, the wooden sword in Marco's hands moving faster than many can see, each strike hitting a deadly point with a soft tap. Needless to say the dojo gets a huge endorsement from the Dojo Master and his company, Jeremy is now terrified of Marco, and most of Exho Creek learns of Marco Diaz, strongest (sword) fighter around, through word of the mouth. Marco feels a little bit better about himself.