#damn izo...... can we get back to that i do not care that much about raizo and this guy...

[hauntingblue]

Can't believe I spent so much time thinking kiku and kinemon were dead... they really got me there...

[basedkikuenjoyer]

We have Academy Episode 44 and I already want more. So we do resolve the stuff with Corazon, he's fine and after a couple of days to heal we get everyone together to debrief. (Can I see them? Yohohohoho) Seriously though, we do get an update on the Oni Middle Recon Team. Not too much though because they couldn't hear over Queen's Zoomin-Zoomin-Zoomin. Y'all should know by now I'm being serious when I say things like that. Sadly no Kiku, the mention Yamato not being there briefly, but it is very similar to the scene where we came back from Wano setting up there was stuff with Kiku we didn't see. Very short recap.

They saw a meeting with the Tobi Roppo assembled where Vergo shows up. Keeping up this trend of a jumbled New World Saga plotline. What I do find legitimately interesting is how we put the uniform game on display here. You can see Ulti very visibly in the very different Oni girls' uniform. Vergo also has a scene of switching them. Recall that was the fun little "read between the lines" thing with Kiku when this started. We had no way of knowing they were different yet, but she was wearing a New World Middle uniform which makes sense through context we cement in all this with Law/Cora. We've seen Izo a few times, people tend to live with their first family in this verse. Ergo, Kiku & Izo might still be like, at a dance school and it wouldn't be unrealistic for Kiku to be in a situation like Brook studying abroad at a music school. Working part-time as a model or something. There's one more thing here that makes me think of that even if she's not in this chapter directly:

I'm as incredulous as Luffy is to see Cora without his hat. So he can take it off...

This conversation is all about big brothers, weirdly enough it's Luffy who has the most faith in Doffy to do the right thing. But Cora goes off on a tangent during about how he's coming back to school and you can think of him as a 2.5 year student because does anyone actually care about the school part of this? That does actually play well with how Yamato described Oden & the Akazaya several chapters ago. That they were students in the past but delinquents who hopped between Oni/New World. All that to say we got our update on the Oni Recon team, it played back into making sense of our Marine side ventures, and just so happens to do it in a way that plays nice with our girl's cryptic shit in the background. All set up to come to a head with a promise Doffy will show up in time if Kaido attacks...

Well damn, that was fast. So we gonna get Monet in here or are we being exclusive with the big brothers theming? Her and Sugar finally getting to be together would be a treat. Check Dellinger's outfit, lil psycho Momiji Sohma over here. Baby 5 is one of my absolute favorite designs in this series. The headband and extra frills on her skirt. I assume the flames on Doffy's pants make him go faster.

Uh yeah...looks like this may be all coming to a head soon! Academy has really matured into telling a compelling narrative in its own right on top of making excellent use of a known cast in a different setting.

[nasuversekinkmeme]

Weekly Roundup: Prompts

FSN

Luvia Edelfelt/Emiya Shiro For some reason Luvia is one of the only women in fate Shiro isn't shipped with. I will fix this by force if necessary, but would rather just do this. threesomes are acceptable.

FGO

Penthesilea "I will literally murder you if you call me pretty" x Medb "I am horny for everyone that is heroic" I think they'd make a weird but cute couple

anyone done sakamoto ryouma / possessed ryouma? the idea haunts me. evil ryouma's hot. sfw or as nsfw as you like, i'm not picky, but it's nsfw in my heart.

smut, Caenis pounds Altera into the bed

Oryou and Ryoma are called Fujimaru parents while out. Oryou takes the rolled very seriously whiles Ryoma just laugh it off. But when Fujimaru asked them to be his parents both agree to do so right of the bat.

Izcalli and Tlaloc having straight yuri energy, maybe reminiscing their time back when he was king and the garden he loved. I just want more melancholic and nostalgic servant interactions. This can be romantic or not it is up to you.

I want Jinako to let slip one day the her parents died when she was young (we can assume it’s understood that she means “her” parents and not Ganesha’s parents) and Salieri hears this and just goes “Alright, guess I’m your new father now.” And she think he’s joking but he absolutely is not, she is his daughter now and that is final. Salieri was a father when he was alive, and he wrote about how much he loved his kids, so I just think it could be nice for Jinako to have a loving and supportive father figure. Also they both really like sweet things, and it’d be nice to see them bonding over it, especially since Salieri probably wouldn’t be judgey about Jinako having sweets. He can platonically co-parent with Parvati, Durga, and Kali

smut, Izo is allowed into Ryouma and Oryou’s relationship, as their cuck. And watches them have sex.

smut, After Takasugi is followed following the events of Guda6, he makes good on his dying wish to hook up with Okuni. She graciously accepts and the two fuck nasty. The flirtier and more intense things get before the bedroom the better. That's all.

Just finished lb4, can I get some Ganesha being unable to return to her shut-in lifestyle bc of the thousands of years she spent alone, and (character of your choice) helps make sure she knows she's not alone anymore?

"Wait, what do you [servant couple of writers choice] aren't married?" Cue all of chaldea arranging a wacky but personal wedding ceremony

smut, Castoria is Excalibur, right? Ergo, I want to see someone polish her (because she's literally a sword) (gone wrong) (gone sexual) (gone right)

Martha tells the Christians of Chaldea, along with anyone willing to listen, what sort of wacky shenanigans Jesus got up to. Apparently, one such thing was Jesus being so good at being a carpenter that anything he worked on could be considered an angel of heaven because of how well done the job was and not because he was the Son of God.

Izou gets some tender love and care and appreciation

smut, man idk i just want izo and oryou to spoil ryouma and give him a wildly fun and hot and tender night that leaves his face hurting from smiling, his ass hurting from taking them both, and everywhere else hurting from bites. man works so damn hard Please he needs a break and a nice fuck. also oryou and izo bonding over their love for this man is always 👌

smut, Any one/robin hood, but mlm is preferred! Robin with a praise and humiliation kink being showered with love and praise. I'd love to see his low self image and self defeating attitude be bludgeoned with love. ☺️❤️

Guda and Castoria kiss for the first time. It would be a great, intimate moment... except they quickly discover that Castoria has a barbed tongue like a cat. It doesn't have to be a dealbreaker, but I do want the fic to have an emphasis on how different (and slightly painful) that tongue feels compared to a normal one.

smut, All the artoria variants (except for lily ofc) have an orgy, bc that girl deserves some self love

CROSSOVER

Izo talks about stabbing a british guy who had a blue policebox with him and being scared off when he started shooting fire out of his arms and head as everyone listens on in horror as they realize that not only did he nearly permanently kill The Doctor from Doctor Who, but also that apparently The Doctor is a real person and was nearly killed by Izo of all people.

ANY

A perhaps annoying patron asks one half of a romantic couple (doesn't matter which canon or even if its canon) for a good time. What leaves after can no longer be identified

The backlog of unfilled prompts, framed like pets in an adoption center.

[usopp-writes]

Just saw your pride month questions and they look fun. So ofc I had to ask a few of them, pls forgive me for spamming your inbox with them. Okay, here we go.

May I please get answer to the following questions? Thank you :)

If Roger could date anyone, who would he date and why?

What is Benn Beckman's sexual orientation?

What is Haruta's pronounce/gender identity?

Do Thatch have any embarrassing experiences after coming out?

Who did Buggy first confide their sexuality to?

Do Sengoku believe that polyamory could work?

If Sanji felt confident enough to wear anything he wanted, what would he wear?

Have fun and I won't be upset if you don't answer all the questions.

Happy pride month

Pride month questions

Whoa, that's a lot of questosn for different characters. Thank you so much and I'll love to answer them all.

Enjoy <3

Gol D. Roger

If Roger could date anyone, who would he date and why?

Let's go off canon. If he could have anyone, he would probably date Rayleigh. The way Rayleigh speaks of him, tells me that the man admired and loved his old captain, their bond deeper than what I think Roger had with Rouge. There could have been something there, who really knows? Personally, I love the RogerxRayleigh ship, so I wouldn't mind to know that there had been something there.

Benn Beckman

What is Benn Beckman's sexual orientation?

He's definitely gay. This man has only eyes for his captain and will always have his back, no matter how much Shanks flirts or screws around with others. Part of me wants him to be bi (bc I have the hots for him XD), but I mostly see him as gay and totally devoted to his captain. You can't win over his heart that easily ;)

Haruta

What is Haruta's pronounce/gender identity?

They/them. Haruta might be seen as a son and man in the eyes of many, but this little gremlin identifies themselves as non-binary. They still correct their family members about it, pulling pranks on them that are on the boundary to be mean.

Thatch

Do Thatch have any embarrassing experiences after coming out?

Yes. Most definitely yes. He came out to his closest friends first and they just looked dumbfolded at him and told him they already knew. Poor cook had built up so much courage and they simple told him they didn't give a damn. Cue Thatch sobbing in the corner, while Marco and Izo had to comfort him.

Buggy

Who did Buggy first confide their sexuality to?

Believe it or not, but Buggy have never actually voiced hissexuality out loud. He never thought that he needed to tell it to anyone, he just went with what he wanted at the moment. Be it a man or woman, he doesn't actually care, as long as they can take care of his itch and he feels attracted to them. This clown doens't need to label himself, others do that for him.

Sengoku

Do Sengoku believe that polyamory could work?

Deep down he hopes so, as his secret dreamisbased on it, but being part of the older generation and having worked in the marines, his point of view is that a romantic relationship is between two people and that's that. He might at som epoint realize that the world isn't black and white when it comesto relationships and sexuality.

Sanji

If Sanji felt confident enough to wear anything he wanted, what would he wear?

I think you hope I would say a dress, but no. If this man could confidently wear anything he wanted, he would still wear his suit and tie. It's just what he feels most comfortable in, though he doesn't mind wearing shorts and a shirt either. The kinomo he wears in Wano is also something he feels comfortable in, though he prefers something that allows him to use his legs freely, without restriction or clothes falling down to his face, when he's on his hands.

[httpjeon]

SEHEBON ― KTH (M.)

synopsis. you find yourself on izo huen, home to the sehebon. luckily for you, you've arrived at an interesting time.

pairing. taehyung/reader genre. angst, fluff, smut au. alien!au wordcount. 16,580 contents. Huge Dick Tae, cocky!tae, soft!tae, protective!tae, lowkey possessive!tae, human!kink, slight harrassment, dom/sub themes, size kink, size difference, sensitivity kink?, orgasm kink?, cunt slapping, breath play, dry humping, cunnilingus, fingering, cumflation, belly bulging, lowkey consent kink, unrealistic sex but it’s aliens what do u expect, lots of mention of humanity note. tae just wants to learn human things ):

blog masterlist. made of stardust masterlist.

© httpjeon 2020. do not repost, modify, or translate.

It had been a little over a half a year since your move to the Vela System of the Fanet IV Galaxy courtesy of the Interplanetary Relations Commission had begun. You were still adjusting to your new environment, Izo Huen being a vastly different place compared to Earth in terms of culture and climate.

"So, to wrap up the events of this past week," you shifted in your chair, staring into the lens of the camera you used to send reports to your superiors, "I met with the head of the Embassy for a dinner in order to meet the head of Izo Huen's military. The only way I can describe the whole interaction is...tense. Warrior Sehebon are truly another level of terrifying. Horrible burns across their bodies correlate with the information we had about their rituals. They wear the burns with pride, however ― a mark of bravery I suppose. The middle of the week was rather uneventful," you shifted in your seat, leaning over just out of frame to take a sip of your water. You stared at the arched ceiling, thinking of anything that could come to mind of importance to note. Outside your window, you could see people walking through the streets, laughing and chatting with one another.

"Oh!" you sat up straight again, "The monthly market came back once again. This time it was mostly vendors from Liana. They had the most amazing fruits I'd ever seen ― nothing like Earths. They were delicious too, so sweet. I wish I could send some back for everyone to be able to taste. You know," your gaze shifted out your window again, to the people bustling about, "Things got really hectic here in Fia recently, I don't know what it is. They're hanging banners up and there seems to have been an extreme increase in population of the city. I'm not completely sure what's going on."

After ending your weekly log and sending it to your fellow researchers on Earth, you downed the rest of your water and groaned. Izo Huen was sweltering hot, the two suns that hung in the sky upping the temperature past comfortable.

You couldn't wait for night to come, the freezing cold giving you a wonderful excuse to cuddle under the wool blankets.You decided to take a bath to pass the time, as it would be night in just a few hours. Plus, you desperately wanted to wash the days grime off your body.

By the time you woke up the next day, you were acutely aware of how incredibly loud it was outside. Shouts and cheers emanated from just outside your window. So with sleep-filled eyes you hurriedly dressed yourself and rushed out to see what the fuss was all about.When you stepped out of the door, you were shocked by the incredible crowd of people filling the streets.

Banners and streamers, even balloons, decorated every inch that could be covered. The alphabet was one you hadn't yet learned to decipher so the meanings were completely lost on you.

"Excuse me?" you asked a nearby woman. She was much taller than you ― a key trait in both men and women of their race. She turned and looked down at you with surprise in her eyes, "What's going on?"

"It's the pre-celebration," she answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She turned her back to you once again and quickly disappeared into the crowd and you sighed. Sehebon citizens were still getting used to their planet being visited by other races outside their own solar system ― they were the newest planet to be opened for visits by the Interplanetary Commission.

It unfortunately resulted in some of the citizens to hold ill feelings towards those entering their cities.

Sighing, you decided to follow the flow of the crowd to appease your own rabid curiosity. A lot of the cultural information on Sehebon had yet to be discovered or disclosed, as a race that held their own traditions close to their hearts.

You were surprised that the place everyone was flocking to was the massive Colosseum that was centered in the very middle of the city. Larger than any stadium found on Earth, you'd never had the opportunity to find out what it was for.

In your excitement to get through the crowd of large Sehebon, you stumbled over your own feet and hit the ground hard ― knocking the air out of you. The crowd didn't wait, stepping over you and for a second you were scared you would be literally crushed under a stampede.

However, strong hands grabbed your arms and lifted you up, grabbing your wrist and dragging you out of the crowd. You stumbled trying to catch up, with his large steps while trying not to end up slammed into unsuspecting people.

The person tugging you pulled you out of the crowd and rounding the stone walls until you realized the amount of people had dissipated. You had the opportunity to look at the person who had helped you ― a male Sehebon finding a safe spot for you and finally slowing down.

"I...thank you," you muttered when he didn't say anything, his back still facing you.

"You're a human right?" he asked, finally turning to you. You choked on your own spit at the sight of him ― black hair hanging over two pretty dark eyes. He was tall, probably a little above average for his race and he was absolutely gorgeous, "I heard there was one staying in Fia but...damn."

"Uh...I'm an advocate for the Interplanetary Commission," you sputtered out, unable to break your gaze away from his face. He had tanned skin, smooth as could be with a jaw so sharp it could cut glass, "I'm from Earth, yes. My name is _____."

"Incredible," he moved closer, having to lean down to look at you how he wanted. You could feel his breath on your face and you could see the way he had one mono-lid and one double ― which was absolutely adorable, "My name is Taehyung...you know, you're so...small."

"I-I'm actually quite average," you refuted, glancing away under the power of his gaze.

"Maybe by human standards but..." he straightened up, looking around, "You should be careful. You can get hurt easily, you're lucky I saw you fall and bothered to help you."

"Bothered..." you whispered with a soft scoff. You could still feel his eyes on you, burning into you as if he was analyzing every inch of you, "Hey, so what's going on anyway?"

"You don't know?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow when you shook your head.

"I asked someone and she just said it was a pre-celebration," you shrugged.

"Yeah sort of," Taehyung gnawed at the inside of his cheek, jaw cocking to one side at the action, "It's gonna be our lottery in a few days so we come to the stadium to get our tickets."

"Wait...lottery? Like a money thing?" you asked, "You guys have that?"

"What?" Taehyung shook his head, staring at you like you were stupid and you suddenly felt embarrassed.

"O-On Earth we have this thing called a lottery and...you scratch these little papers and you can win money," you explained, hoping to help him make sense of you assumption.

"Huh, that's interesting," he actually did seem interested and maybe a little impressed, making you feel weirdly proud, "But no, that's not what we have. Once a year the government holds a lottery here in Fia, in the stadium. You draw and if your number is picked you gotta fight."

His words made you blank out.

Fight?

They had to fight?

"What the hell?" you sputtered before you could stop yourself and Taehyung cocked his head to the side.

"Have you not read any of the banners and information sheets floating around?" he asked, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, "They put them up to inform new visitors of what's going on, you know."

"I..." you cleared your throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed again, "Can't read the alphabet."

Taehyung went quiet for a minute before he snorted, beginning to laugh way too much for the simple problem you had. Your cheeks burned as he held his stomach, no doubt aching from how hard he was laughing.

"Oh my gosh!" he choked, wiping under his eyes, "Y-You're illiterate!"

"I am not illiterate!" you gasped, ears beginning to burn now at his accusation, "I-I just haven't had a need to read the alphabet! Since we speak the same language, you know?!"

"Okay, okay," he sniffled, finally calming down from his outburst. He looked down at you and cooed, placing his hand on your head, "Aw, don't-don't pout, I'm sorry. You're so cute!"

"St-Stop making fun of me!" you whined, petulantly stomping your foot which just made him coo more at you, calling you cute.

"I'm not making fun of you!" he argued, standing at his full height again, making you look up, "Isn't it only natural that I find the small little human girl cute? You're so...small."

"So you keep saying," you mumbled, crossing your arms over your chest, "Are you going to go into the stadium?"

"Yeah, probably a little while later," he shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets, "It'll calm down soon enough and it'll be less hectic. You're welcome to wait with me, if you'd like."

"I might as well," you sighed, leaning back so you rested your shoulder against the wall, "I'll probably literally be killed if I try to go in there at this point."

"Probably," he agreed, looking away from you when you squinted up to glare at him, "Say..." He looked back at you, head cocked to the side curiously, "Is it true Earth has a lot of oceans? And only one Sun?"

"Eh? Yeah, that's right," you nodded, making him hum, "You've never been to Earth?"

"Nah, can't afford to make that trip," he sighed, sliding down the side of the wall to sit on the ground, "I read about it when the news that we'd be open for visits from them, though. Here sit," he tugged your hand until you were finally sitting beside him.

"About this...fight," his head lulled to the side as he gazed at your through his lashes, "What...why do you guys do it? How's it work?"

"Well," he rested his hands on his bent knees, head resting against the wall behind him again, "You know majority of our planet is uninhabitable right?"

"Yeah, dominated by deadly deserts that will kill even Sehebon," you replied mechanically, having studied their landscape immensely on your voyage from Earth.

"Then you also know there's only a few, select places suitable for us to live," you nodded and he continued, "We have three cities on Izu Huen, Fia our capitol, Veles, and Holis. That isn't a lot of room for an entire planet to live, right? We have to stay within the habitable zone and fit every person on the planet in the cities. Excluding those that have the means to move to Vimoldara, that is. That's a lot of people, isn't it?"

"Wait," you sat up straighter, jaw dropping open, "You mean, it's a form of population control?"

"That and," his gaze turned much darker, sending a chill up your spine, "It's a chance for us to show each other how strong we are. That we're the best and we deserve to live, we offer more. Those who lose are killed and only the winner can stand."

"That's..." you cleared your throat uncomfortably, "That's scary."

"Not for us," Taehyung shrugged, casting a sideways glance your way, "It's a celebration. We're all excited and ready to do it. We get to make our families and ancestors proud as we fight."

You hummed, still weary of the lottery but kept the rest of your opinions to yourself. You and Taehyung dissolved into talking about things he was curious about on Earth, deciding it would be worth it to travel there simply after hearing what a cheeseburger was.

The suns began to set when Taehyung stood, helping you to your feet.

"We should be able to get in easily now," you followed him to the large entrance that you'd been unable to see past when you had first approached.

With the smaller influx of people, you could see fully inside the stadium. There were banners and decorations strewn about everywhere, a wash of white, red and black colors seeming to be the theme. In the very center of the stadium was a booth with a man standing inside, handing things out to the people in line.

"I hope he doesn't think I'm here to pick a lottery," you mumbled to yourself as you stood in line with Taehyung. He was still holding onto your hand as you waited, large fingers wrapping completely around your wrist, making the size difference more apparent.

He really was right when he said you were small. But his hand was so warm and comforting against your skin that it made you feel...cute.

"Nah, they won't assume a foreigner is here to participate," he said, not breaking his gaze from the booth.

By the time you reached the booth, the suns were down to just peeking over the horizon and the moon was, instead, shining large in the sky. The temperature was dropping and you couldn't help but move closer to Taehyung for warmth. You weren’t dressed to be out at night, you’d only anticipated spending the daytime hours out.

"Thank you," he said, tucking a slip of paper into his pocket after folding it up. The man behind the booth nodded, waving the next person forwards.

He began to walk when he paused, looking down at you with wide eyes. You scrambled to detach yourself from his side, not realizing just how close you were to him. However, you were quickly brought back when he pulled you flush against him again with a small smile.

"You humans are so fragile," he breathed, beginning walk, keeping you tucked into his side. Your face was burning with embarrassment but you also felt a strange sense of pride flowing through you at the prospect of such a good looking man treating you like he was.

"I-It just gets really cold here, you know?" you mumbled, trying to defend yourself albeit weakly.

His chest vibrated with his laughter, tightening his hold around your shoulders, "I guess if you're not used to it. You live around here?"

"Uh yeah," you pointed in the general direction of where you were staying, "I live down this road a ways."

"Alright, I'll walk you there," he offered, though he left no option to refuse.

You both fell silent as you walked, every once in a while another person would pass and stare at the two of you. Their eyes followed you even as you passed, turning back to stare at you and you began to feel strange about it.

"Why is everyone looking at us like that?" you asked suddenly, making him look down. The moonlight cast a soft glow on his face causing the shadow of his lashes to dust his cheeks.

"Probably because you're a human and you're with me," he answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "It's not exactly common for Sehebon and foreigners to be together yet."

You swallowed thickly, cheeks burning for the thousandth time that day it seemed.

It wasn't long before you reached the stoop of your house and you dislodged yourself from Taehyung, wrapping your arms around yourself to keep in the warmth you now missed.

"Um thanks for walking me home," you said, shrugging your shoulders self-consciously as his eyes scanned over your body.

"It was my pleasure," he leaned closer to you, "Hey, why don't you come to the celebration in a couple days, hm?"

"You mean the fighting?" you asked, feeling uneasy at the invitation. He nodded eagerly, eyes bright in excitement, "Taehyung, I do understand it's an important practice for you...it's your culture. But humans and Earth...it's punishable to kill someone. It's against the law. We find the concept of death scary...you know?"

His head cocked to the side, brows furrowed and the excitement in his eyes gone, "You're scared to die? And you don't like to see others die?"

"Exactly, it's...it's a very negative thing for humans," you attempted to explain while trying not to upset him.

"You know being invited to a fight is a very special thing," he muttered with a frown, leaning close to you so his nose was touching yours. Your eyes grew wide at the fire burning in his eyes and you swallowed nervously, "It's very offensive to reject an invitation to a fight. I want to show you how good I am, how well I can fight. I want you to be proud of me. Impressed by me."

Your mouth grew dry at his words and the way he uttered them, deep voice dark and no hint of the gentleness he had spoken with before. You attempted to move back but found your back pressed against the door. He loomed over you, leaning on his forearms above your head ― caging you in. Strangely, the only thing you could think of was how good he smelled; like the fruits you'd eaten a couple days ago.

"I-I'm sorry, Taehyung," you whispered, licking your lips in an effort to rid yourself of your nerves, "I just...Y-You don't need to kill someone t-to impress me, you know?"

"Then how can I?" he squinted, "I find you fascinating. A cute little human girl, smart and charming. I want to...what is it you humans call it...court you?"

You wanted to smile at the sound of the outdated term he used. But it was stopped by his confession, of what he thought of you.

"W-Well...you're trying to court a human girl..." you spoke slowly, meeting his eyes in faux confidence even though your heart was beating a mile a minute, "Why don't you try...a human method?"

"A human method," he gnawed on the inside of his cheek ― apparently a habit he had while thinking, "What are human methods?"

"Well um..." you noticed that with his body covering yours like it was, you weren't affected by the cold and that your trembles were no doubt excitement, "Like...dates. Do you guys have dates?"

"Usually an invitation to fight for someone to see is sufficient enough to begin a relationship," he explained, making you sigh. He frowned at the sound and leaned closer to you to meet your gaze, "Tell me what to do and I'll do it."

"F-For humans usually a man will ask a woman on a date," you explained simply, "Like...you would ask to take me to see a movie or take me to dinner."

"A dinner," he repeated, seeming to mull it over for a moment before nodding. The dark look was gone and he smiled the cutest boxy smile you'd ever seen in your life, "Then I'd like to take you to dinner, _____."

"I'd like that, Taehyung," you smiled, feeling your cheeks burn under his soft gaze.

"After my fight, to celebrate my win I'll take you."

"Alright, Taehyung, I look forward to it," after what seemed like an eternity, his eyes flickering from your lips to your eyes, he finally stood up straight. The cold immediately began to sink into your bones and he stepped back off your stoop.

"See you soon, cutie," he waved, twiddling his fingers before spinning on his heel and walking in the direction you both had just came from.

You opened your front door, slipping inside and relaxing once the warmth hit you. Leaning back against the door, you pressed your hand to your chest and sighed.

"Not how I expected my day to turn out," you mumbled, taking a seat at your chair in front of the camera, turning it on so the red light blinked indicating recording, "I know it hasn't been a week yet but I've found something interesting. I met a man named Taehyung and he told that they're about to begin a planet-wide lottery. Everyone draws a number and they're picked to fight. It's a...form of population control and some kind of cultural flex on each other to show who is the toughest and bravest. The fights are set to take place in a few days and I was invited but...I had to decline. The prospect of watching it was just too much for me to consider so I apologize for that."

You went quiet for a second, deciding to leave out the fact that the invitation was an attempt to ask you out. You greeted the people who would be watched goodbye and shut off the camera, turning to your computer monitor and hurriedly sending the video before shutting everything down.

The city was quiet for the next few days, everyone packed into the stadium. You would frequently hear the thunderous roar of the crowd but ultimately did your best to block out the prospect of the death no doubt going on.

You laid on your bed, reading a book you'd read several times already but lacked the means to acquire a new one. You wouldn't be able to read the books in an alphabet you couldn't read. Though you could take the time to learn but, you were in no mood to study.

As expected, you found yourself thinking of Taehyung. He was charming, no doubt, and you were surprised by how much you ultimately enjoyed his company. It was quick that he decided he wanted to date you, by human standards anyway, but Sehebon were very fast-moving people as more than half their race were warriors who could be killed in the blink of an eye. No doubt a cause for Taehyung's rush to be with you.

You couldn't deny the complete attraction you had for him; he was incredibly good looking and had the cutest smile. His voice was hypnotic, smooth as whiskey and as deep as the ocean. Dating someone of a completely different species wasn't the strangest thing by far ― plenty of humans had counterparts from different races. Dating a Sehebon, on the other hand, was different since the brand new introduction of their race to humans.

There was no fear that Taehyung would bring you any harm or have ill intentions, there was just a lot of confusion about him. You didn't exactly know much about who he was as a person rather than his race.

The date would no doubt clear things up and open doors for you.

Remembering the fact you would be going on a date with him set butterflies off in your tummy and you bit your lip to hold back the gleeful grin that threatened to spread across your face.

It was a full week before the streets became the same again. The population of Fia went back to normal as visitors from other cities left and went back home. The banners were taken down from around your street and before long everything seemed to have returned to the way it was.

Unfortunately, you were running out of food so you needed to go food shopping. As the suns were beginning to set, with the temperature steadily dropping, is when you decided to go shopping.

You slid a sweater on to keep you warm before stepping out the door. It was still a little warm but you knew you'd be grateful for your choice later.

In the past, you'd made the mistake of forgoing something warm and had to quite literally run home before you froze to death.

You carried a bag, an effect from when you lived on Earth and refused to use plastic bags in fear they'd end up in the oceans. When you first presented the bag at the local grocers, the cashier had looked at you like you were stupid ― making you feel just a tad self-conscious.

Fortunately, they'd now grown used to your practice and barely batted an eye in response when you brought.

The shop wasn't busy during that time of day and you were thankful to be able to navigate the aisles without having to avoid the giant Sehebon people that easily blocked your shelf access. You packed your bag with things you were vaguely familiar with. There was a lot of food you didn't dare try ― you couldn't read what it said or it was just gross looking.

Unfortunately, however, the shelves were so damn tall that you sometimes had to scale them to actually reach the things you needed. Standing on your tippy-toes using one of the shelves to grab a simple box of noodles ― something you were very pleased to find on Izo Huen.

You chose a lot of fruits and vegetables ― trusting them more than their alien-meats. You were basically the alien version of a vegetarian at that point.

When you stepped outside, you were immediately grateful of the sweater you wore. The cold still seemed to seep in a bit but it was tolerable despite the light shivers that took you. Carrying your bag, you hummed a tune to yourself as you navigated the darkening streets. The lamps were lit to illuminate your way but there were no other people in sight, making you feel calm.

"Hey, you a human?" scratch that, there were people.

You paused, looking into an alleyway separating two residential streets. A small group of young men were smoking cigarettes. Part of you wondered if they were cigarettes or some Izo Huen-version.

"Yes I'm a human," you replied, pulling your bag off your shoulder to hold it in front of you.

"You want a hit?" one of them asked you, offering you what he was smoking off of.

"N-No thank you," you backed away slightly to get away from the smoke emanating off the burning end, "I really should be getting home...I have things to put away."

You turned to walk away but a hand aggressively gripped your arm to stop you, startling a gasp out of you.

"Hey, that hurts," you mumbled, attempting to tug your arm free but he tugged you closer to him, "Let go!"

Before he had the chance to speak, a hand was violently wrapped around his throat and slammed him back. He pulled you with him slightly, knocking you to the ground as the man was pinned to the wall. Looking up, you could see Taehyung leaning close to him ― whispering something that had the man's eyes widening.

"Do you understand?" Taehyung growled, loud enough for you to hear. The man nodded so hard you were sure he was going to give himself a headache. Taehyung held him still for several more seconds, looking over him to make sure he was telling the truth.

When the man was dropped, he took off down the alleyway with his friends following, none of them daring to look back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, crouching down to where you were sitting on the ground. He cupped your cheek ever so softly, thumb grazing beneath your eye, "I didn't mean for you to get knocked down."

"It's alright," you muttered, using his shoulders to pull yourself back to your feet. He remained crouched for a moment, just gazing up at you silently, "W-What is it?"

"You should be more careful, _____," he said, picking up the bag of groceries you had dropped, tucking some of the things that had been knocked out back in where they belonged, "Didn't I tell you that you could get hurt?"

"W-Well yes but that was different― "

"It wasn't," he snapped, moving close to you once again. Fingers hooked beneath your chin to make you look at him, "Don't you understand how much people want you? How they look at you when you walk around?"

"N-No..." you blinked as you tried to recall any staring while you were on your own.

"Everyone finds you alluring here, _____," Taehyung's voice dropped and he stepped even closer so your foreheads were just barely touching, "The cute little human girl. And I'd be very disappointed if I had to kill someone for hurting you."

You were speechless, lost staring in the fiery blaze within his eyes. He held your gaze for several seconds before stepping back and smiling.

"I'll walk you home, I was on my way to see you anyway," you sputtered in shock as he tugged your hand in the direction of your home ― his rapid change of demeanor no doubt going to give you whiplash.

Your feet pounded the pavement as you struggled to keep up with his large strides. You were running out of breath and stamina, though he appeared unaffected.

"T-Tae...can you s-slow down?" he halted in his tracks so suddenly that you fully ran into his back.

"What did you call me?" he looked over his shoulder, staring sharply down at you.

"I-I..." you pulled yourself away from his back and stuttered, "I called you Tae. I'm sorry i-it just slipped out...h-humans like to make n-nicknames, you know?"

He was quiet for a second before he turned around completely, cocking his head to the side.

"Say it again," he commanded.

"Uh...T-Tae?" the name sounded more awkward than it had before coming out of your mouth.

"Hmm," he made a noise akin to a moan, rolling his head back in response before looking down and smirking, "I like that. You're the only one allowed to call me that, yeah?"

"A-Alright," your heart was racing from the way he had reacted to the nickname but you didn't get to dwell on it long before he was tugging you along once again.

You stood on your stoop again, looking at Taehyung, a small smile on his lips as he watched you. He held your bag of groceries out for you and you had to hold back a gasp when your hand brushed his.

"Shit, your hands are freezing!" he gasped, taking one of your hands in his and bringing them closer to him.

"U-Uh yeah it's...pretty cold," your words came out a whisper, reveling in how warm his hands were against yours.

"Poor thing," your eyes widened as he pulled your hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against your fingers.

"T-Tae," the nickname had his eyes flicking up and he hummed, pressing another kiss against them.

"Did you like that?" he dropped your hand from his lips but continued to hold it, smiling at you, "I read in a book about common human practices for courting and it said a kiss to the hand will make her heart flutter. Did it work?"

"I..." you swallowed thickly, nodding your head ever so slightly, "I-It was nice, Tae..."

The two of you fell quiet, his hand enveloping yours and his soft gaze fixated on you. Your groceries hung in his free hand and he slowly reached out to hand them to you once again. Once the bag was in your hands, he released your hand from his hold and shoved his own into his pockets. He stepped backwards off the stoop but continued to stare at you, bottom lip tucked in his mouth.

Your eyes danced over his body ― never really looking him over that much besides his face. He had a black button-up tucked into tight fitting jeans and boots that made him even taller than he already was. It surprised you how thick his thighs were but how small his waist was ― it's like he was sculpted by actual gods.

"Well," he smirked, no doubt having caught you staring, "See you around, cutie."

"Hey, Tae wait!" you called before you could stop yourself.

He halted immediately, turning to look at you once again, "You alright?"

"I just..." he jogged back to the stoop, stepping up and moving close to yours.

He cupped your chin between his fingers and made you look up at him.

"You can tell me, sweetheart," his brows were drawn together in concern.

The pet name causing a shiver to go down your spine, "What is it?"

"C-Can...Would you...like to stay for a while?" your cheeks were on fire and you couldn't meet his gaze after whispering the words.

Taehyung's eyes softened and his lips quirked up, running his thumb over your lips for a split second ― so light you almost missed it. He stood up straighter, removing his fingers from your face. You found yourself missing the touch and your heart was pounding at the possible rejection you could face.

"Were you nervous to ask me that, baby?" your core lit on fire at the new pet name and you held in a whimper, "I'd love to stay with you."

"O-Okay..." you reached behind you, turning the knob and pushing the door open.

Warmth hit you from the inside and you scurried out of Taehyung's view as fast as you could to the kitchen. You could hear him walking, the sound of his boots on the floor seeming deafening in the silence of the house. Leaning against the counter, you took a few deep breaths to steady yourself.

You began putting your groceries away in their designated places, noticing that Taehyung's footsteps had gone silent.

"This place given to you by your job?" he asked suddenly, making you jump.

"Um...yeah," you cleared your throat, "It's nothing special but it's cozy."

"It's nice," he muttered before falling silent.

You placed the box of noodles in your cabinet, steeling yourself before moving to the living room. Your brain nearly short-circuited at the sight before you.

Taehyung sat on your couch, legs spread wide and arms stretched out on the back of the couch. His head was tilted back, exposing beautiful expanse of throat. The way he sat was so confident and commanding that you had to clench your thighs together to control yourself.

"Um...are you okay?" you whispered, stepping forward as he lifted his head to look at you.

"I'm perfect," he responded, scooting to the side to allow you to sit beside him, "I think I've figured out a place to take you on our date."

"Oh?" you'd nearly forgotten about the date, "So you're ready to take me?"

"I'm thinking tomorrow, if that's okay," he looked down at you and you smiled.

"I'd love that," your gaze fell to your thighs, noticing the size difference between his and yours ― reminding you of how large he was.

Flicking your eyes up, you were frozen by the sharpness in his own as he stared at you. As you kept his gaze, you felt one of his hands find its way to your thigh and you bit your lip to keep from outright whimpering at the feeling.

"You're so soft," he muttered, shifting to turn more towards you, "And absolutely breathtaking..."

His lips drew closer to yours, his hair brushing your nose as he dipped down. When he pressed them completely, his hand tightened around your thigh. You whimpered, seeming to set Taehyung off as he cupped the back of your head with his free hand ― deepening the kiss.

Your hands clutched at the front of his shirt, losing yourself in the feeling of his lips and hands on you. The hand on your thigh traveled up, grazing your hip, drifting up your stomach and over your breasts before wrapping around your throat. You gasped at the feeling, lips parting from Taehyung's just slightly before you surged back forward to reconnect them.

He groaned against your lips, giving your neck the lightest squeeze before he released you and reached lower to cup your breast through your sweater. You arched your back into the muffled touch but he didn't linger for long because his hand was diving between your legs.

Your jeans impeded you from feeling his touch properly and you whimpered, grinding your hips forward in hopes to remedy the problem. You reached down, holding his hand against your core as you whimpered into his lips.

"Do you want me to touch you, pretty baby?" he asked, kiss parting until your lips just barely brushed his.

"P-Please Tae," you whimpered, feeling your eyes sting with tears of desperation ― having never wanted to be touched so badly in your life.

Taehyung didn't reconnect the kiss, instead he tilted your head back to press his lips to your neck. His long fingers unbuttoned your jeans and hurriedly tugged them off your hips until you finally reached down to pull them off completely, tossing them away.

The way you cried out when his hand cupped you again, this time through your panties, was nothing less than lewd. He tugged your thighs open further, one of them resting across his own, leaving you completely open to his fingers.

"Sound so pretty," he mumbled, teeth grazing your neck where he continued to mouth at you.

You wrapped one hand around his wrist, dragging his fingers up ever so slightly until you were able to push them past the band of your panties. He immediately took over, fingers diving between your folds to find just how wet you were for him. He groaned, pulling away from your neck to meet your gaze, his lips open just slightly as he brushed against your clit. Your hips twitched and you found yourself clinging to his arm as you whined.

"So sensitive, little one," he whispered, wrapping his free hand around your thigh to pull you even closer to him until you were completely in his lap with your back tucked to his chest.

"Tae..." you whispered, eyes fluttering closed when he began to press kisses to your shoulder ― the sweater not allowing you to feel it properly but enjoying it nonetheless.

"Yeah baby?" he cooed, resting his chin on your shoulder to watch his hand move beneath the fabric of your panties.

"C-Can..." you trailed off, feeling your cheeks burn and he tsked.

"Tell me what you want and I'll do it, baby," he assured, fingers now running across your folds without dipping between ― teasing you.

"Can you...take them off?" you asked, turning your head slightly to meet his gaze.

"If that's what you want," he pulled his hand out of your panties and you whimpered at the loss, making him chuckle, "So needy, huh?"

His thumbs hooked into the band and he pushed them down your thighs. You pulled your legs up to help him take them off ― tossing them off somewhere else to join your jeans. He gripped your knees, roughly tugging them open until your cunt was completely exposed to him ― glistening in the dim light and flushed swollen with your arousal.

"Fuck, babygirl..." he breathed, reaching down to run his fingertips through your parted folds, "Such a pretty little pussy, hm?"

Deep in your mind, you wondered where he learned such delicious dirty talk from ― seeing as he didn't even know the proper word for courting. The thought was completely wiped from your mind, however, when he used two fingers to spread your folds open. Your hole clenched around nothing and Taehyung let out a choked groan.

"St-Stop staring!" you whined, snapping your thighs closed around his hand.

Taehyung growled, wrapping his hand around your throat again and pulling the back of your head against his chest. You whimpered, eyes flicking up to briefly catch his glare. His jaw was set, glaring down at you with a gaze that made you feel incredible small.

"Spread your fucking legs," he ordered, tone making your eyes flutter slightly. When you hesitated to do as he said, he leaned closer until his mouth brushed your ear, "I said...spread your legs."

You whimpered, bottom lip trembling as you pouted, slowly opening your legs back up. Too slow for his liking, he jerked one open and pinned the other down until you were just as exposed as before. His hand cupped your entire core, middle finger sliding between the folds.

"That's more like it," he sighed, finally releasing your neck, "You better act right, baby, or else I'll have to punish you."

His words made you tremble, thighs twitching ever so slightly. He raised a brow at your reaction, an almost detached look coming across his face.

"Would you like that? To be punished?" when you only whimpered, he smirked, "I see...how would you like it, hm? To be choked until your lungs burn for air? Or maybe if I spanked your little cunt?"

"Tae..." you felt your hole clench, sending a gush of arousal to meet his fingers.

"Oh?" he chuckled, making you cheeks burn, "You'd like to be slapped, huh?"

Before you could even think up a reply from your foggy brain, a sharp pain right against your clit had you crying out. Your eyes found his face but he was watching as he smacked your cunt again. His fingers ran over your folds to soothe the sting and he laughed.

"Interesting..." he hummed, middle finger circling around your clit. Your eyes fluttered and your hips arched into the touch more.

His index and ring fingers spread your folds, his middle finger swirling over the hardened bud until you were moaning. He pulled the hood back, exposing it even more to his sensitive touches. Your eyes rolled back in your head and you choked out his name.

"Does that feel good?" he asked, pressing a kiss to your shoulder, "Does it feel nice to have your little clit touched?"

"Y-Yes!" you squeaked, reaching down to take hold of his wrist. Your body was practically vibrating as you trembled beneath the almost too much stimulation. Suddenly, his touch was gone and you were left still trembling with the remnants of his fingers lingering.

"It's alright," he cooed, wrapping one of his arms around you to hold you tighter against him, "I've got you, little one."

"Please, Tae," you begged, burying your face into his arm, thighs trembling still spread.

"What is it?" he asked, voice soft as silk.

"Your...Your fingers," you canted your hips up ever so slightly and he hummed.

"Want my fingers inside?" he asked, although he already knew before you nodded.

He hummed, two fingers finding your spasming entrance, coating them in your juices. You held your breath as he finally sunk them inside you, stretching you deliciously even though you were plenty wet enough. His fingers were big, filling you up nice and deep. Gasping against Taehyung's arm, you mindlessly ground your hips up as he slowly pulled them out. You didn't get to mourn their loss for long because he was quickly pushing them back in ― slick sounds accompanying the movement.

"You're so fucking tight," he muttered, "So small...Shit, how long has it been since you've been fucked, pretty girl?"

"Ah-Never..." you gasped, hand circling around his wrist as you squirmed.

His fingers paused, halfway inside and you whined, "You've never been with somebody?"

"N-No, Tae," you whined, using your hand on his wrist to push his fingers back inside, "J-Just you...only you!"

He cursed under his breath, wrapping his arm tighter around you before he began to finger fuck you wholeheartedly. The sounds pouring from your lips only spurred him on, your cunt tight like a vice around just two of his fingers.

"This little cunt won't ever be able to take my cock, sweetheart," he growled, crooking his fingers up to nail that little spot that made you sob, "I'm gonna be too big for you."

"W-Want it a-anyway, Tae," you cried, nails digging into his wrist. Tears welled up in your eyes, trickling down your cheeks as your body was sent into overload.

"Yeah? Want me to fuck you open until you can't take anymore?" he groaned, "Watch your virgin cunt get stuffed full of a cock you simply can't handle...have you make those pretty noises while you cream all over me..."

His words seemed more self-indulgent than aimed at you but you whined and nodded anyway. His palm ground against your clit as his fingers filled you up so nice and you found yourself teetering on the edge.

"I-I'm gonna cum," you panted, thighs twitching erratically in response to your pleasure."Go ahead, cum for me," he commanded, groaning alongside you as you tightened up around his fingers.

"Tae! 'S so good..." you slurred, eyes closed as you buried your face in his arm to ride out the pleasure he was giving you.

"Coming so prettily, little one," he whispered into your ear, fingers beginning to slow as your orgasm died down, "You're such a good girl."

"Ah...Tae," you whimpered as he pulled his fingers from your still-clenching pussy, sensitivity hitting you like a brick wall. Your thighs clenched shut, trembling uncontrollably in the aftermath of the most pleasure you'd ever received.

Taehyung slid his cum-soaked fingers into his mouth, eyes rolling back at the taste of you on his tongue. His arm still held you tight as you continued to whimper against him.

"Taste so so good," he whispered, mostly to himself.

Once his digits were clean, he glanced down at you. It was clear you were still a bit overwhelmed and he cooed, shifting you in his lap until you were facing him. He pulled you into a hug and couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Humans are so fragile," he whispered, "So overwhelmed...even that was too much for you, huh?"

You didn't respond, simply tucking your face away in his neck. You let your weight drop fully on his lap but froze immediately. You hadn't realized while you were being touched, how hard Taehyung's cock was against you but with a clear mind you could.

He was fucking big.

He chuckled darkly, lips finding your neck as he slowly made you grind against his covered length, "I told you, babygirl, I'm too big for your little pussy."

When you whined and tightened your grip on him, wanting to avoid the painful overstimulation, he simply chuckled. He let you cling to him and lay with him until your eyes fluttered shut ― sleep quickly and eagerly overcoming you.

Just as you sunk into darkness, you felt him press the softest of kisses against your forehead.

"My cute little human," he whispered, voice fading out as you finally fell asleep.

When you woke up, you were tucked cozily in your bed beneath your wool comforter. The sun was up and you groaned, kicking the blankets off as you grew warmer with every passing second.

You had on your sweater from yesterday and a pair of panties you hadn't been wearing. Looking beside you, you found the bed empty and sighed.

Despite yourself, you found yourself feeling disappointed he hadn't stayed the night. He had shown you such a sweet, caring side before you fell asleep. It had made your heart flutter, how he treated you so delicately yet used such a sharp tongue to fluster you.

"He's such a strange dude," you muttered, staring at the ceiling as you spread starfish on your bed.

There was a dull ache between your legs, reminding you of the night before. Feeling your cheeks flush, you sat up straight and hurriedly crawled out of bed intending to take a cold shower.

Drying your hair with a towel, you hunted around your closet for a cute outfit for the date. Briefly, you wondered if he was still planning to take you out. Excitement thrummed through your veins, a giddy smile lighting up your face and making your cheeks ache.

After choosing your outfit, you took a seat in front of the vanity you had set up. You had found a mirror at the monthly market a few ones back and decided it was the best purchase ever. You hadn't known mirrors were scarce on Izo Huen for whatever reason until you desperately needed one.

Deciding to leave your hair down, too lazy to try and make anything of it, you mindlessly spun around in your chair.

A strange feeling bubbled up in your chest that made your heart race. Leaning your head back against the back of the chair, you ran your hands over your face with a groan.

"I actually miss him," you scoffed, leaning forward to rest your head on your vanity counter, "What is wrong with me?"

The day seemed to drag on longer than any other as you waited for Taehyung to arrive. The heat hadn't even bothered you, your mind too muddled with thoughts of your date. You wondered if he would hold your hand and where he planned to take you.

As the sun finally sunk beneath the horizon, you were more antsy and began to pace your living room. Every once in a while, you'd glance out your window in hopes a passing man would be Taehyung. Unfortunately, you were mistaken every time.

Before long, you began to realize that he simply wasn't going to show up. You changed into your pajamas, rejection burning in your veins before sitting on your bed. The streetlights and the moon cast a decent glow around you.

Your feelings were hurt. You’d been stood up by an alien.

Your heart ached and you felt your eyes sting with unshed tears. You flopped over, covering your face with a pillow before screaming into it.

"What a jerk!" you shouted in the material.

By the time you went to sleep, your simmering anger gave way to pitiful dejection. Your eyes were wet with tears as you closed them.

He was polluting your mind, everywhere you went you found yourself hoping that he'd turn up around the next corner. You’d hoped he would come knocking on your door with a sheepish smile, apologizing.

Though as the days passed and you had seen neither hide nor hair of him, the prospect of an apology made you angry. You didn't want his stupid apology anymore.

A week lapsed and it was time, once again, for your weekly log.

Sitting in front of the camera, you sighed, "The...friend I had made seems to have disappeared. It's weird, I was perfectly content by myself but once he showed up and vanished ― it's made me lonely," you gnawed on your bottom lip before sighing, disappointment becoming a common feeling in your life by then, “Maybe I need to make some friends but...I can't explain it; the Sehebon are such a strange race that it feels like it's going to be really difficult to make friends. There's really nothing eventful that happened worth logging besides my own problems so...I'll sign off."

A couple clicks on your computer had the log sent. You'd be getting paid again soon, perhaps you'd be able to go out and find something to do for yourself. Maybe you'd hit the jackpot and find someone who would want to be your friend.

It felt childish, the need for friendship you had. But with Taehyung's absence, your loneliness was at an all time high.

It was beginning to get dark and you decided to say 'fuck it' and get dressed. You'd find something to do ― you hadn't really checked out nearly all the districts of Fia and you knew there were some popular places to hang out.

It was a long walk to the area they dubbed the Social District. The second you stepped onto the rowdy street, you were blown away by the flashing lights and heavy bass emanating from the various buildings.

They had their own clubs.

You suddenly felt out of place and awkward, weaving through the giant people blocking the streets as they talked with friends. It seemed like no one saw you, as if you were just invisible to them. You moved to the sidewalk, being able to squeeze by the people and avoid the large crowd that filled the street.

You slipped into a pub ― judging by the tables and bar. You couldn't read the sign but you still walked in anyway. It wasn't very crowded, a few tables still open. The vibe inside was much cooler and calmer and you felt yourself begin to relax.

Walking up the bar, you took a seat, grabbing a menu without thinking about it.

"God dammit," you muttered, staring at the alphabet you still couldn't read.

"Can I help you?" the tender asked, moving to stand in front of you.

"Uh...I can't read this," you admitted, feeling your cheeks burn.

"That's alright, what do you like?" she pulled the menu from your hands and looked over it herself.

"Do you have any good alcohol?" you slumped against the counter, chin resting in your hand.

She regarded you with furrowed brows, closing the menu, "You do know alcohol is poisonous, right?"

"Wait what?" your head snapped up and the woman laughed.

"Alcohol is poisonous to us. We don't drink it," she placed the menu back where you got it and smiled, "We have some Soda."

"You do?" you perked up at that, not tasting soda since you'd left Earth. You watched eagerly as she filled a glass with brown liquid, placing it in front of you.

"It's not...Earth's soda but it's basically the same," she smiled, "It's got seltzer and sugary syrup in it."

You thanked her before she was whisked away to take care of another customer, leaving you by yourself. You sipped out of the straw, sighing at the taste. It was slightly off compared to the soda you were used to but bubbling seltzer had you smiling.

"_____?" you jumped at the sound of your name, choking on your drink and erupting into a fit of coughing. A hand carefully patted your back until you calmed down, "Are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you."

"I-It's fine," you choked out, clearing your throat and swallowing a few times to rid the feeling. Your eyes flicked up to meet Taehyung's and you felt a frown fall over your face before you realized it, "Taehyung."

His brows furrowed at your using his full name but he didn't say anything, "I uh...didn't know you came around here."

"It's my first time," you muttered, turning back to sip on your drink. When you didn't offer another opening for a conversation he let out a sigh and slid up next to you between the vacant seat beside you. You didn't have any choice but to interact, seeing at he wasn't going to back off.

"I'm sorry I missed our...date," the word still sounded foreign on his tongue, "I had urgent business to attend to in Holis."

"You don't owe me anything Taehyung," you muttered, failing to mask the hurt in your voice.

He sighed again, "I had to go visit a friend of mine, he was stranded and couldn't get home on his own. I promise that's all it was, _____."

You sighed, feeling your hurt and anger soften. Turning to look at him, you opened your mouth to reply but were interrupted.

“Whoa, is this the little human?” a loud voice from behind you made you jump. Twisting around, you saw a large man with biceps so big his t-shirt was stretched taut, “Oh you are a cutie!”

“U-Um...hello,” you greeted timidly.

"Uh yeah," Taehyung smiled, placing his hand on your shoulder, "This is _____. And _____ this is Wonho."

"N-Nice to meet you," you held out your hand, gasping when he leaned down and pressed a kiss against your knuckles.

"It's my pleasure," you could hear Taehyung let out a long sigh, "Bartender, I'll take a Blue Ice please. I gotta take a leak," he muttered the last part to himself, fingers lingering on your shoulder before he disappeared.

"You drinking a soda?" Wonho asked, peering into your glass, "Mind if I have a sip?"

"I guess not," you shrugged, watching him wrap his hand around the glass and bring it to his lips.

He was good looking, you couldn't deny. He had cute ears that stuck out just slightly and pretty teeth as he grinned at you. You found yourself comparing him to Taehyung ― deducing Taehyung definitely set your heart racing the second you looked at him.

"You know," Wonho placed your glass back down in front of you, "I was surprised to hear Taehyung was fooling around with a little human. I never thought he'd be the type."

"What do you mean?" you asked, brows furrowing as you mindlessly stirred your drink with your straw.

"Well I just can't believe he's actually giving in to it," Wonho said, pulling out a menu to look over it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," you muttered, quite blunt.

He seemed surprised, chuckling and waving his hand, "Just the whole human kink that's going on. You know, since humans have started coming here it's become like a game to see who can actually manage to bang one. Can't believe Taehyung managed to snag one."

Your eyes drifted to your glass, the ice melting in your soda ― watering it down. A human kink?

"So...I'm just a conquest?" you whispered, though you were sure Wonho didn't hear as he was ordering a drink.

So many things bubbled up inside you; anger, humiliation, shame. Humiliation at the fact you'd been used, shame over the fact you fell for it and were so close to giving in, and anger of the audacity he had to do such a thing to you. Tears stung your eyes and you bit your lip to hold them back.

"Oh man, that looks delicious," Taehyung groaned, grabbing his tall glass of blue drink and taking a sip.

"I'm leaving," you muttered, sliding off your stool and moving to walk away.

You were stopped by a hand grabbing your elbow. Taehyung stared at you, brows drawn together.

"You just got here," he muttered, obviously confused by your sudden change.

You scoffed, "I'm going home, Taehyung."

You snatched your arm out of his grip and stormed out the doors and onto the busy streets. You could vaguely hear your name being shouted but it was quickly covered by the noisiness of the people. Crossing your arms over your chest, you weaved through the bodies. Tears were burning your eyes but you held them back.

"Hey a human!" you heard someone shout but you didn't stop, "Why don't you come party?"

'The whole human kink.' Wonho's words echoed in your mind, making it harder to fight your tears. 'It's become a game to see who can bang one."

By the time you reached your front door, your jaw was aching with keeping your tears in. Slamming the door behind you, you immediately burst into tears ― bringing your hands up to cover your eyes with your sleeves. Sniffling, you dropped onto your couch and let your sobs out freely.

Hugging one of your throw pillows, you attempted to calm yourself down. Just as you were about to drift off to sleep, eyes fluttering against your will, there was a series of sharp knocks against your door. You didn't move, silently waiting to see if they'd go away.

Unfortunately, the knocks became harsher and more frantic. Deciding that they weren't going to go away, you stood up and dragged your feet to the door.

You already had a feeling who it was and you weren't wrong ― Taehyung standing on the other side. His fist was raised like he was going to knock again and his hair was a complete wreck. His shirt clung to him with sweat and his breathing was a little heavy.

"What do you want Taehyung?" you muttered, crossing your arms around yourself.

"You've been crying," he whispered, moving to step forward but stopped when you moved back, "I knew you were upset. What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"Don't!" you snapped, turning on your heel and storming into your house.

"What?" Taehyung whispered, closing the door gently behind him.

"Don't call me that," you said, keeping your back to him so he wouldn't see your tears.

It felt so nice to have him call you pet names so gently. But you remembered it was just a ruse to lure you in ― and it was so hard not to fall.

"Why not? I thought you liked being called that?" he sounded so confused and you could imagine he looked akin to a kicked puppy.

"Because it's not fair!" you shouted, finally turning around, "You can't just play those games with me because I'm a human, Taehyung!"

"I really...What are you talking about?" his voice was so soft, so gentle. He took a couple steps towards you, hands outstretched, "I'm not playing any games."

"Oh yeah?" you scoffed, wiping away a few stray tears from your cheeks, "Wonho told me about your disgusting kink! You don't care about me, you just wanted to be able to say you fucked a human!"

"Wh―" he stumbled over his words, irises desperately scanning over you, "That's not...true."

You scoffed, shaking your head., "You're so unfair, Taehyung." he cocked his head to the side curiously, "You made me like you and I trusted you. But you just...you really aren't any different from men on Earth, huh?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm different!" he argued, his own eyes growing glassy, "I never lied to you, _____. I promise!"

"You just wanted to use me as a conquest, something to brag about," you breathing stuttered as you sobbed, "And I almost fell for it!"

"Would you listen to me?!" he snapped, suddenly moving and pinning you against the wall.

He was caging you in, scent overwhelming you and making more tears fall from your eyes. You refused to meet his gaze, even though you could feel his eyes burning into you. You sniffled, staring down at your cardigan sleeves that were functioning as sweater paws.

"I never once intended to use you like that," Taehyung growled, voice giving away his frustration, "Everything I have said and done for you is real and not because you're a human. I don't want you as a...a...conquest," the word sounded foreign on his tongue, "And I certainly am not like your pathetic human men on Earth. I am better in every single way."

"Taehyung..."

"Stop calling me that!" he snapped, making you jump, "I-I want you to call me Tae!"

"I don't think..." you shook your head.

"Why won't you believe me?" he sighed, voice going soft, "Is it really so easy to lose trust in me when I haven't even done anything? You heard my friend say some stupid nonsense a-and you're suddenly convinced I'm evil!"

When he put it like that, you felt silly. Your own insecurities caught up with you and you shifted awkwardly in your place against the wall. You sheepishly looked up to find him staring at you, eyes dark beneath his long bangs. They were damp from sweat and you swallowed thickly at how good he looked.

"I'm sorry Tae..." you mumbled, nibbling on your lip beneath his glare, "I just...I really like you and I don't want you to―

"Listen to me," he tilted your head up, making you look at him directly. His eyes were much softer now and your eyes felt hot once more, "I have no intention of hurting you. You can trust me, _____. I promise."

It felt like all self-control slipped through your fingers as you suddenly surged forward to press your lips against his. Standing on you tippy-toes, you wrapped your arms around his neck. He eagerly kissed you back, arms wrapping around you ― teeth nipping at your bottom lip to make you whine.

One of his hands traveled lower, cupping your ass and pulling you closer to him. You could feel his length hardened in his jeans ― and it was just as big as you remembered. It made you whimper, feeling him so hard against you. You squeaked when the floor was suddenly pulled out from beneath you and you found yourself pressed against the wall with your legs wrapped around his waist, his weight supporting you.

You whined when his lips found your neck, trailing his lips over the sensitive skin beneath your ear. He smirked at the feeling of you shuddering against him.

"Are you wet for me, baby?" he asked against your skin. You whimpered and nodded, feeling your pussy clench and gush into your panties, "Do you want me to touch you? Tell me."

"Yes please, Tae," you begged, blushing when he chuckled at your desperation.

The wall was pulled out from behind you and you scrambled to hold onto him around his shoulders, "I got you," he reassured, turning to walk through the open doorway of your bedroom.

You were deposited onto your mattress, making you bounce slightly on it. Taehyung was covering your body once more, however, as he met your lips for another kiss. Resting his weight on one forearm beside your head, he used the other to push your shirt up.

Getting the hint, you pulled your cardigan off and tossed it off the side of the bed before tugging your shirt off as well. Taehyung groaned, his lips kissing the swell of your breast above your bra. His fingers trailed over your bra ― cupping you and sighing softly.

You were surprised by your own boldness as you reached behind you and unclipped your bra. Before you could tug it off, however, Taehyung pinned your arms above your head and growled.

"Why are you so eager?" he asked, making your blush further.

"I-I just want you to touch me..." you confessed, lashes fluttering when he leaned down to brush his lips against your lips once more.

"There's no rush, little one," he cooed, "I'm not going anywhere until I've made you cum for me."

You clenched your thighs with a whimper at the pressure in your core. He pulled off your bra, finally, tossing it away and sitting back to admire your body. You were laid out beneath him, breasts heaving in your arousal.

His head dipped down and you held your breath as he enveloped a perked nipple into his mouth. Your hands flew up to clutch at his hair, back arching. His teeth grazed the bud, and groaned at the way you whined.

"Fuck, you're so responsive to everything I do," he gasped, pulling his lips away from your nipple. His fingers found it and brushed his thumb nail over and you choked out a sob, "I love it so much..."

"T-Tae please!" you whined, arching your hips up.

"Alright, baby," he cooed, flicking the button of your jeans open and tugging them down. Your panties went with them but neither of you cared, "Look at that. So wet."

"Please touch me, Tae," you begged, spreading your legs wider around him.

"You ever been eaten out, sweetheart?" he asked, watching the way your breath stuttered at his question. When you didn't answer, he gave your cunt a swift smack. You cried out, clutching at the blankets desperately, "I asked you a question."

"N-No I've never― " you were cut off by his fingers sliding over your clit softly.

"Do you want to?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, yes please, Tae!" you gasped, eyes wide when he shifted down the bed until his head was positioned over your core.

"So pretty, baby," he sighed, spreading your folds open to expose the pretty wet hole that clenched desperately around nothing.

Your mouth fell open, a stuttered breath escaping you when his tongue slid over your entrance up to your clit. He hummed, licking his lips to chase the taste. He looked like he was in heaven, swirling his tongue over your bud and chuckling when your whole body trembled.

"Love how you react to me," he whispered, mostly to himself. He tongued at your hole to taste your juices once more before dragging up to your clit once again, "I don't think I'll ever get enough of you."

"Tae!" you cried, tugging his hair harshly though he didn't seem to mind.

His lips wrapped around your clit, sucking the bud into his mouth. You keened, eyes rolling back into your head at the stimulation. You nearly screamed when you were suddenly filled with two long fingers.

"Fuck!" you cried, back arching. You abandoned your hold on his hand to wrap your hands beneath your knees ― keeping yourself open for him.

"Good girl," he praised, making you smile down at him.

He pressed a kiss against your thigh before diving down to take your clit into his mouth again. His fingers stretched you open, catching your g-spot every chance he got. He reached so deep inside you with just his fingers and you suddenly remembered how big his dick was. Just the thought of it had your walls clenching around his fingers. He groaned in response, the vibrations against your clit making your thighs twitch.

"A-Another finger, Tae, please," you begged, voice not above a whisper.

"Can you handle that, sweetheart? Your little cunt’s already stretched around two," he teased, his index finger beginning to nudge against your entrance.

"N-Need it," you gasped, "Need to take it for you cock."

His fingers froze and you felt him exhale sharply against your core ― as if the air had been punched out of him. Glancing down, you saw his jaw was clenched and his brows were furrowed.

"Don't say things like that, little girl," he growled, finally pushing the third finger into you, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Tae I― " your words died on your tongue when he enveloped your clit once again.

You felt stuffed with his fingers, the digits making your entrance stretch deliciously. You lost your grip on your knees and let them fall open once again. Taehyung's tongue danced over the sensitive nerves, eyes closed as he relished in having your cunt wrapped around his fingers. You were gushing, coating the digits in your juices and he couldn't wait to have them in his mouth.

"W-Wanna cum, Tae," you gasped, reaching above you to grip desperately at the pillow.

He reached up, pulling on one of your hands until you released the material. You felt your walls clench tight when he urged you to put your hands on his head.

He wanted you to pull at his hair.

Not one to reject such an offer, you tangled both your hands in the soft locks as he began to fuck you with his fingers eagerly. The wet noises were obscene, mixed with your moans made an incredible melody for Taehyung.

The fact he was the only one who had ever had you like that made his cock throb. His hips moved mindlessly against the bed beneath him to get some stimulation. His cock hurt in the confines of his jeans but he didn't dare try to pull it out.

Suddenly, your walls clenched tight and the grip on his hair began to sting the harder you pulled. Sobbing out his name, your entire body began to quake beneath him. The pleasure was overwhelming and you snapped your thighs closed around his head. He didn't pull away, however, keeping his lips attached to the throbbing bud through your orgasm ― milking every spectacular second until you were whimpering from overstimulation.

He gasped as he pulled away, sitting back on his heels before pulling his fingers out of you. He spread your folds, groaning at the way you gaped slightly from being stretched open. Sliding his soaked fingers into his mouth, his whole body trembled and he reached down to palm himself through his jeans.

The feeling of a smaller hand covering his had his eyes snapping open. He pulled his fingers out and stared down at you as you shyly palmed him through the material. He groaned, head falling back.

"C-Can I..." you trailed off, not quite sure what you were asking.

"I...I don't know..." he bit his lip, apprehensive.

"Please Tae?" you pouted, looking up at him through your lashes.

"Shit, alright," he whispered, switching your positions. He scooted up until his back rested against your headboard, shoving your pillows aside to make room for himself, "Come here. Sit on my lap, pretty girl."

Your hands were trembling as you did what you were asked, swinging your leg over his lap until you were straddling him. As you pressed your full weight on him, he tossed his head back in a groan. The pressure of you sitting on him felt spectacular.

Gripping his shoulders, you suddenly felt shy with his eyes on you. He gazed at your body on top of him like you were a goddess, hands drifting up your sides and cupping your breasts. Thumbing your nipples, he smiled crookedly when you shivered at the feeling. He cupped your cheeks, finally, and pulled you down for a soft kiss.

"Go ahead and grind on me, baby," he cooed, gripping your hips to urge you to move.

The first grind against him had him releasing the most beautiful moan that you felt yourself gush in response. His head leaned back against the headboard, watching through lidded eyes the way your cunt ground against his cock through his jeans. He wishes he could take it out and feel your wetness drip all over him ― to feel you cream against him as you came. He swallowed the urge down and continued to guide you.

"D-Does it feel good?" you asked, biting your lip as you watched his jaw tense as he held back his moans.

"So good, babygirl," he groaned, feeling his heart stutter when you proudly grinned down at him, "You're so fucking cute."

"D-Don't call me cute when I'm doing this," you hissed, narrowing your eyes at him.

"Doing what?" his head rolled against his shoulder and he smirked at you, "Go on and say it."

"No..." You whispered, clutching his shirt. Leaning forward, you wrapped your arms around his neck and held him close.

"Why so shy, little one?" he chuckled, kissing your temple and trailing his hand up your back before cupping the back of your head, "Grinding your wet little cunt against me like this...wanting to make me cum. And you want to act shy?"

You whimpered, gasping into his ear so prettily that he shuddered. He felt his orgasm coming and he groaned through clenched teeth.

"Close..." he whispered, fingers digging into the soft skin of your waist while he other clenched in your hand, "You're gonna make me cum, baby."

"Please cum, Tae," you begged, gasping when he wrenched your face out from where you were hiding in his neck.

"You want my cum?" he panted, mouth falling open as you fastened your pace. You nodded as best you could with his hand in your hair, "How about you cum first for me?"

Your eyes fluttered, realizing with his words how close you were to another orgasm. You leaned forward, pressing your lips against him. He hummed in response, smiling in the kiss when you started trembling in his lap.

You pulled away from the kiss and tossed you head back as you cried out his name, gushing against his jeans. Taehyung cursed, his own hips stuttering beneath you.

By the time you came down, you realized how wet his jeans were beneath you. You whined, falling off the side of his lap. He still sat up, chest heaving as he caught his breath. With his eyes closed, he didn't see you cupping his softening length through the wet material. He hissed, brushing your hand off of him.

"I-Is that all your..."

"I should get home," he interrupted. You frowned, watching him stand up and shift uncomfortably.

"Can't you stay?" you asked, finding yourself not wanting him to leave.

"Sorry, baby," he leaned down and pressed a kiss against your forehead, "Maybe another time." With a final, departing kiss, he turned and stepped out of the door. He paused, however, and looked back at you, "Be ready tomorrow, 8PM. I'll take you for dinner."

You were left alone on the bed with a little smile on your lips ― the promise of seeing him tomorrow making you giddy.

You felt apprehensive when 8PM rolled around and there was no sign of him ― the time blinking on the screen of your computer. You sat on your desk chair, watching the moments tick by.

It was nearing 8:30 when there were a series of knocks on your door. You jumped to your feet and raced to the door, pulling it open to see Taehyung with a guilty smile and a handful of flowers.

"Sorry I'm late I uh..." he cleared his throat and held the flowers over to you, "I had to go a bit out of my way to get these."

"Oh Tae..." you smiled, taking them from his hands and bringing them up to your nose to smell, "They're beautiful."

"They're imported from Liana," he smiled, shrugging sheepishly.

"How'd you think of this?" You asked, motioning for him to enter your home as you went to your kitchen to put the flowers in water.

"Well..." he cleared his throat, "I just...I've been reading about human dates and just human things like that, you know?"

"You've been studying for our date?" you giggled, putting the flowers on your counter before turning to him. He looked shy, keeping his eyes averted from you, "I really appreciate it, Tae."

"Really?" his eyes lit up and he grinned his adorable smile.

"I think it was very thoughtful," you led him back to the door and out into the cool night.

"There's this place I really like around my place," he suddenly explained, taking your hand in his as he helped you down from the stoop, "I like to go there with some friends. I think you'll like it!"

"I'm sure I'll like anything, Tae," you admitted, smiling when he squeezed your hand in response.

The two of you made simple talk as you made your way to the restaurant. You hadn't had the opportunity to go to one in the time you'd lived on Izo Huen.

It was a simple, small building with an Open sign in English. You grinned, bouncing inside tugging Taehyung by his hand excitedly.

"Pick a seat, little one," Taehyung cooed, nudging your back.

It was set up exactly like a restaurant on Earth and you slid yourself into a booth, grinning. Taehyung took the spot across from you, lounging back as he looked at the menu. You followed his lead and opened the menu yourself. Eyes wide, you realized you were able to read everything.

"Hey...It's in English!" you muttered, eyes scanning over the words. They were translated underneath into what Taehyung could understand ― the characters and symbols lost on you.

"Yeah it's the only place around here that does it," he shrugged, "I figured you might enjoy that."

"You're..." you grinned, shaking you head, "You're so thoughtful, Tae. I really appreciate it."

He shrugged, though you could see that his ears were tinged red.

You both ordered drinks and food, the atmosphere dissolving into one of calm company. You both chatted idly about anything ― Taehyung asking a lot of questions about Earth and him trying to teach you the different characters for his alphabet. He gave up when you just couldn't get a hang of it ― teasingly calling you illiterate and cooing when you pouted.

"Hey Tae," you muttered, picking at the salad you had ordered. He hummed, mouth full of some type of steak ― though the meat was of a consistency that made your stomach turn, "How did you learn to speak so...casually?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sipping his soda.

"You know..." you blushed, realizing the question wasn't really something to ask over the dinner table, "When you talk you use a lot of slang terms. Like...in bed," You whispered the last word and picked at your salad again.

"Oh," Taehyung chuckled, "See, I have a friend who has been to Earth a few times. He has a lot of...interesting material that he let me read. And he kind of taught me some popular slang on Earth."

"You didn't have to go to so much effort, Taehyung," you whispered, although you were grinning. Your heart fluttered in your chest nonetheless.

"I wanted to," he suddenly set a hard gaze on you, "I want you to like me and I want you to feel comfortable around me. I want to be good for you."

"Tae..." you reached across the table and cupped his hand in yours, "I already like you very much. You make me feel comfortable and you make me feel very happy."

He grinned, looking away from you shyly but squeezed your hand tightly.

The walk home was peaceful, you found yourself wrapping your arms around one of Taehyung's ― wanting to be close to him. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest, squeezing your hand tightly and staring down at you with sparkling eyes. It felt like he looked at you like you hung up the moon ― it made you feel fluttery inside.

"Do you want to come inside, Tae?" you asked, opening your front door.

He hesitated for just a moment before stepping inside. He kicked his boots off along with you, watching as you tucked both of them away in the corner. You went to your bedroom to change into something comfortable ― settling on some pajama pants and an oversized sweater. When you walked back out, Taehyung was sitting at your desk looking at your computer.

"What's this?" he gestured to your setup with your camera.

"It's where I record the logs needed to send back to Earth," you explained, "I update my superiors every week on things that are happening. When I learn something new about the culture or something interesting happens."

"Interesting," he muttered, sitting there for a moment before standing up and navigated over to your couch.

You dropped into the seat beside him and molded yourself against his side. He wrapped his arm around you and pressed a kiss against the top of your head. The silence was comfortable and you rested your head on his chest ― listening to his heartbeat.

"Hey Tae?" he hummed, looking down at you when you looked up at him, "Can I have a kiss?"

His gaze softened and he quickly leaned down to press his lips against yours. He went to pull away but you followed him, pulling him into a deep kiss making him moan. Swinging your leg over his lap, you straddled him boldly. He seemed surprised by it but didn't say anything, just moving his lips against yours.

"Tae," you whispered against his lips, "I want to touch you, please?"

"_____― " he pulled away from the kiss, pushing you back slightly by your shoulders.

"You keep saying I can't handle it, but I can!" you argued, pouting at being pushed back.

"I don't want to hurt you, _____," his brows came together in a deep furrow, "It wasn't just talk when I said you couldn't handle it. It's too much, you're too...small."

"It turns you on though doesn't it?" you teased, noticing how he was growing hard beneath you, "Can't we at least try, Tae?"

"I-I..." his head fell back when you ground against him, "Fuck, we can try."

You held in a squeal of joy when he scooped you up in his arms and carried you to the bedroom. He dropped you on the bed and stripped his shirt off.

It was the first time seeing him naked and you sat up to admire his body. He was fit, as you expected. His stomach was flat with a small trail of hair leading beneath his jeans. On his shoulders were patches embedded in his skin that reflected off the dim light of your bedroom.

"What..." you sat up on your knees, brushing your fingers over them. It felt like normal skin, and you hummed in wonder.

"They're...light-sensitive patches that we just...never evolved out of," he explained, "They were useful for survival when we dominated the deserts. Now they're just...here."

"Interesting," you muttered, trailing your hand down his chest and stomach to the button on his jeans.

Before you could flick it open, however, he grabbed your wrist and pinned you back to the bed. His gaze was dark, making you shiver underneath it. He smelled wonderful and you reached up with your free hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes.

"You've got another thing coming if you think you'll get anywhere near my cock before I think you're good and ready, little one," he growled, making your thighs clench at the sound.

You whined when he rushed to discard your clothes, not wasting a single second in getting you bare for him. He palmed himself through his jeans as he looked down at you, licking his lips.

"So pretty," he whispered, smoothing his hand down your body. Smirking, he pinched one of your nipples to hear the way you whined, "Spread your legs for me."

You hurriedly did as you were told, shame and inhibitions thrown out the window. You felt nervous under his gaze but with every compliment and soft touch ― you began to feel better. Mouth falling open, you gasped when his fingertips brushed against your folds.

"You're so wet," he mumbled, more to himself, "Are you always so wet, baby?"

"Y-You're the only one ― "

"I know that but when you touch yourself, pretty baby," he glanced up when you tensed, "I know you do. Tell me do you get this wet?"

"O-Only when I think of you," you admitted before you could think twice about it. You felt your cheeks burn at your own admission but Taehyung cursed and grunted as he squeezed his cock.

"You're such a good girl," he praised, fingertips trailing up your body again. Goosebumps ignited across your skin and you arched your back to get more of the feeling of his touch.

His fingers eagerly dipped back between your thighs to find your entrance. You whimpered when he immediately slipped a single digit inside. It felt nice but unfulfilling.

He pulled his finger out and circled it over your clit ― using your own juices to lubricate the movement. You hummed, eyes fluttering as he circled the bud several times. When your thighs began to tense, he pushed his finger back inside.

He continued the teasing until you were whining beneath him. Suddenly he pressed his thumb against the bud, circling and pressing against it relentlessly.

"I'm gonna cum!" you warned, your eyes squeezing shut.

"Go ahead, pretty baby," he urged, not pausing in his torture of your clit.

You came quickly, arching and trembling on the bed. Your cunt was empty, gushing and clenching around nothing. His touches on your clit slowed until they stopped all together.

You figured he'd give you a moment to recover but, he was suddenly sliding two fingers inside you. You were so wet from your orgasm, your cum slicking down his fingers and onto the bed. You sobbed, grinding your hips into his touch. He didn't try touching your clit or your spot, showing that much mercy. Instead, he leaned down to envelop a perked nipple in his mouth while he scissored his fingers, stretching you a bit more.

You hummed, cupping the back of his head to keep him in place. He didn't seem to mind, beginning to fuck his two fingers into you faster.

"A-Another, please," you requested, whimpered when he immediately did so.

There was a slight, tiny burn that immediately gave way to pleasure. His palm pressed against your clit ― still so sensitive that it made you tremble. As he fucked you with his fingers, he switched to give your other breast attention.

Your hips jerked with his every movement, following the pace he'd set. Every time he brushed your g-spot and you whined, he would laugh.

He took so much enjoyment in your pleasure it was almost baffling. You were always sure that men would be selfish and unsatisfying in bed but Taehyung was nothing but attentive.

Perhaps he was right; he was better than any human man.

"Cum again for me," he purred, swiping his tongue along your chest before meeting your neck.

The feeling of his fingers and teeth on your neck had you inching closer to the edge of the abyss.

"T-Tae, please," you whined, grinding your hips down, "T-Touch me, please."

He hummed, moving his thumb to press against your clit. The simple touch set you off and you were coming once again beneath him. Your body was on fire, sweat sticking to you and making you pant. It crested beautifully and faded out into trembles and whines.

He didn't remove his fingers, instead beginning to nudge a fourth into you ― his pinky finger. His eyes met yours, keeping his eyes on your face as he stretched you further than he had before. The width of his hand was bordering on painful but you found it highly enjoyable. His thumb continued to circle your clit even as you sobbed in overstimulation. Your spasming walls eagerly accepted the new stretch and you found yourself relaxing into it.

He was quickly going to send you to another orgasm but before you could fall off the edge again, he removed his thumb. You whined, grinding your hips to chase the feeling. His eyes drifted down to where his fingers were buried into you, smoothing two of his fingers from his free hand over your folds.

"Stretched so wide," he muttered, scooping up some of your cum on the digits and popping them in his mouth. Your walls squeezed his fingers in response to his display.

He suddenly pulled his fingers out and you cried out at being empty so fast. Your walls weren't able to close properly and you closed your thighs at the feeling.

Instead of stopping you, Taehyung stepped off the bed. Your mouth went dry when he unbuttoned his jeans and began to shuffle them down his thighs.

You realized he wasn't wearing underwear when his cock popped free ― flushed incredibly red at the head and leaking precum down the shaft. He visibly shuddered when his cock was free from its confines and he quickly wrapped his hand around himself ― giving himself a few good squeezes.

He was just as big as you thought. His fingers didn't meet when wrapped around the girth. He was wider than his four fingers and so long that you found yourself whimpering at the thought of him drilling into you that deep.

"You still think you can take me, little one?" he asked, crawling on the bed to kneel in front of you still clenched thighs.

"Y-Yeah...want it," you let your legs fall open, showing him your flushed and swollen cunt.

Her cursed, tapping the fat head of his cock against your cunt. You whimpered when you saw just how big it was compared to your own pussy. He was surely going to rip you in half but damn if you wouldn't enjoy every second.

His precum mixed with your cum as he slid his shaft between your folds, getting the underside of him nice and wet. You whimpered, feeling him grinding against your clit bringing you close to the orgasm you'd been denied.

Before you could fall into it, he positioned his tip at your entrance. Prodding ever so slightly, he sighed at the feeling of your heat against him. You spread your legs wider for him as he began to press inside.

You cried out, clutching the sheets beneath you as he stretched you wide open. The head of him was so thick, bordering on painful. You reached out to stop him from going any further, gritting your teeth at the feeling.

"You're okay," he whispered, shifting back so he pulled out of you.

You breathed heavily, relaxing once more as he circled your clit with his thumb. As your eyes fluttered, he began to press back inside. You whined as he pushed past what he had been, thumb not letting up on your clit. You walls spasmed around him, making him groan as you began to tremble.

The head of him popped inside and you cried out as you were sent over the edge. Taehyung's body fell over yours, catching himself on his hands beside your head. You sobbed, tears filling your eyes at the pleasure of being stretched as you were.

Taehyung's mouth fell open as he felt you cum around the head of his cock. When you calmed down to just little sniffles and whimpers, he leaned down to press his lips against your neck.

"You okay, baby?" he whispered. You nodded, reaching up to cup his cheeks and pull him into a soft kiss.

He took that as his cue to sink further into you. The flare on the head of his cock was the thickest part of him and it felt much easier for the rest of him to slide in. He nudged your cervix and when you flinched at the pain, he pulled back slightly.

"Look at that," he chuckled looking between your bodies. Following his gaze, your eyes widened, "You can't even fit all of me inside you, little one."

He was right, you'd only managed to fit half his cock inside you. Your walls clenched around him at that.

"Feels so good, Tae," you whispered, feeling his cock twitch against your walls.

He grinned, moving his hips gently, sinking in as far as he comfortably could before pulling back out. Although he wasn't able to fit in you completely, he still found himself groaning against you

"Such a tight little cunt," he growled, nipping at your jaw, "Took me so well, like a good girl."

You began to grind your hips up as he sunk into you and he growled. Sitting back on his heels, he soothed his hand over your body to soothe you.

You cursed loudly when he snapped his hips much harder into you ― testing how much you could take. When you gushed and spasmed around him, he took that as a sign to keep going. You moaned so beautifully for him, body reacting like a dream to his every touch and movement.

Cunt stretched wide and stuffed full of cock, you couldn't even think of anything else. You felt drunk, dizzy and lightheaded. Taehyung cooed when you slurred out his name, swiping his thumb over your bottom lip to collect some drool there.

"You're so cute," he grinned, breaking out into a moan when you clenched him tight, "All you can think about is my cock, huh?"

"'S so good..." you whispered, the words coming out almost breathlessly.

"I know, baby," he replied, licking his lips as he moved to his cock pounding you open wider than you should have been able to take, "You're gushing and squeezing me so nice. Are you gonna cum? Can you cum for me?"

You swallowed and nodded, whining when he hit your cervix. It hurt but it blended in with the pleasure. Mindlessly, you reached down to find your clit ― intent on sending yourself over the edge.

"No, no baby," he cooed, brushing your fingers away, "You'll cum without touching your pretty clit, yeah?"

"C-Can't," you sobbed, tears leaking out of the corner of your eyes.

"I think you can," he muttered, smoothing his hand over your lower stomach. "Fuck, look at that, babygirl."

You lazily followed his gaze to where his hand laid. Your cunt clenched at the sight of your stomach bulging every time he sunk in ― his cock literally molding you around it. You gasped, your high bubbling in your stomach.

"Wanna cum!" you cried, attempting to reach down and circle your clit again only to be stopped once more.

"I said no, little one," he snapped, pinning your hands above your head as he loomed above you, "You can do it. Cum for me."

Your body went still, focusing on the feeling of his cock filling you and stretching you. His cock was so big that he didn't even have to try to reach any good spots within you.

Astoundingly, you shrieked as your orgasm finally washed over you. Taehyung cursed in your ear, fucking you ruthlessly through the high. Distantly, you felt wetness splatter between your thighs and coat both of you. You chanted his name as you squirmed and writhed at the overwhelming pleasure.

"Shit, I'm― " Taehyung's warning was cut off by a groan.

His weight fell on you fully and he hid his face in your neck as he came. You hugged him against you, still trembling as he pumped his hot cum into you. There was so much, his cock keeping his cum plugged inside you. You gasped and twitched as you felt your stomach bloat over so slightly. You walls clenched around him, the idea of him filling you so much sending you into another quiet orgasm.

It was less spectacular than the others, but still left you gasping of air. Taehyung groaned in your ear as he felt you cum around his sensitive cock once again ― forcing a couple more spurts out of him to add.

It seemed like forever until his body finally relaxed. He continued to hold you, pressing kisses against any place he possibly could.

"That was...nice..." you muttered, making him laugh as he rolled off of you.

Your mouth fell open as he pulled his cock out ― it ached, there was no denying it. There was a gush of his cum, so much of it that it formed of pool beneath you. Your cheeks felt hot as Taehyung watched his cum pour out of your abused hole.

"Who knew my little human girl could take so much?" he teased, enjoyed the way you squirmed in embarrassment, "Want to take a shower?"

"Only if you will with me," you offered with a tired voice, watching his face morph into an expression of confusion.

"Is that some type of human thing?" he asked, sitting up and stretching his muscles.

"Apparently so," you whispered.

"Hey..." he paused from getting off of the bed. "You...you'll be here a while, right?"

"What do you mean?" you asked, clenching your thighs shut as you felt your core begin to burn and ache as you came back to yourself.

"Like...you won't have to go back to Earth any time, right?" his voice sounded small, almost fragile.

"I'll stay as long as I want to," you reassured, leaning over to kiss him but freezing before you could.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm just really fucking sore," you mumbled, flushing when he burst out laughing.

"Ah, my cute little human," he cooed, kissing your nose.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1017 - Initial Thoughts

Back from another break but the fondness is the same

more One Piece is good One Piece and we were left on the cliffhanger 2 Tobi Roppo down, Sanji squaring to Queen, Yamato squaring to Kaido and Tama has the floor

Now let's see how we develop

Spoilers below and Support the Official Release

A Buggy cover page today, looking like something from Cubix...who's old enough to remember Cubix?

Tama has the stage, but she also has the stage fright. Queen having a go at her isn't helping either

Finally over to Jimbei and Who's Who is using his cat harem to pick away at Jimbei too

We also cut to Franky but he's not fighting Sasaki, being chased by grunt forces makes you wonder how that went down

Inu is being outnumbered too though, because Jack is a bitch

And all the grunts and gifters have come to fight the ones who turned on Queen for him not caring about their lives

Oda really highlighting the numbers advantage huh?

Encouraged by Nami and Usopp though, Tama makes the call, the Dango Gifters are on our side now

Momo's still got his heights problem, seems to imply that they didn't drop to land, they're still on Onigashima

Luffy though is just getting the water out of his lungs, still not physically conscious so we're not getting answers about what he did anytime soon

I dunno why but 'Briscola-san Why!?' tickled me

If he can't punch you the gorilla on his hand will!

The gifters are now evening the numbers for Jimbei, Inu and I'm guessing Franky

White-eye from CP0 is sensing the shift, while Tama's getting some much deserved hugs

Sanji stops Queen from attacking her though, Monster Trio all having protected the precious child

Sanji also doesn't like that Queen keeps calling him Judge's son, turns out they were in that science team, which is apparently called MADS, which also means that Queen worked with Vegapunk

Into the hybrid form now, but with some extra cyborg claws and a sword that appeared out of nowhere, Sanji ain't fussed

OH MY GOD TINY CHOPPER!

'Baby Gramps' is a weird name, I wonder if it has to do with the formality of Chopper's speech in these scanlations. Watch the WG only see this and up his bounty to like 200 because the pet can shri-TINY TINY CHOPPER! That's it, that's his new nickname, Tiny Tiny Chopper

They've got a drug for Cactus Zoro to take, he wants it even though it'll add to his pain later, they can recover when the fight's over

Though we should probably be worried what happens to Zoro's body after this, irreparable damage is not what we want from him

Back to Who's Who though, and his big sword is ...a tiny dagger

Huh, Blade Pistol, kinda like Shigan...

Then Soru and Rankakyu...this dude knows Rokushiki, he must've been Cipher Pol

Tekkai too, and now he's in his hybrid form

Ah, a rogue CP9 agent, busting out of prison too - must've been well away from Impel Down then

A rival to Lucci as well, that's high praise and explains why they both got Carnivorous Cat Zoans, wonder how things are now though since Lucci is CP0 and CP0 are dining with him

Fang Pistol now? What's next, the Rokuogan? But joking aside I do like that Rokushiki is coming back as relevant, it was such a big deal in Water 7 not fully explored outside of Geppo, I mean Tekkai got made redundant by armament Haki and nobody talks about Kami-e so it's nice to get a variant showcase

Turns out Who's Who was arrested 12 years ago from a mistake he made

Wait, WHAT!? He was guarding the Gomu Gomu no Mi!?

This changes things

For one, it means that the Gomu Gomu no Mi is a commodity for the World Government, something they wanted kept away from people. Part of me does worry that they're gonna make it some OP thing because I think a lot of Luffy's charm is the absurdity of his powers. I have faith in Oda to know that though, perhaps an enemy of theirs had it in the Void Century and there's the potential to inherit something from it - like how Sabo refers to his flames as Ace's will. Secondly though it means that Shanks stole it, Pre-Yonko Shanks stole this from a Government Ship which screwed over Who's Who, and went to Dawn Island where Luffy ate it. We have to ask ourselves what Shanks' original intentions for the fruit were much more intently now, you don't steal from CP9 just to make some booze cash. Who's Who may be someone we'll see beyond Wano because of this Shanks connection - I wonder how that encounter went during Marineford? - maybe via CP0, it also makes sense now how he could sniff out Drake's Deception (yes I know that's an Uncharted reference), but I still want Jimbei to kick his ass and steal his cat harem.

But I did like the more setup we have with Sanji vs Queen too, more to be told from MADS but I think the main thing to wonder is when Sanji opts to use the Raid Suit again. Tiny Tiny Chopper is a highlight, kinda means his new Rumble Balls have a Gear Third limitation on them, I wonder how long it does last. And Zoro getting back in the fight could imply a stand off with King - who has been very quiet along with Marco.

With Chopper tiny it means that he will probably not fight anymore, but the heroes still outnumber the villains in terms of named characters; Usopp hasn't had his fight, Apoo has just fell off the map with Drake, Neko has had a bit of Zoro-brain in his directions and Kawamatsu and Izo are probably just chilling wherever Marco is. We do need more enemies for them to get fights, Luffy's still needing time to undo all that drowning he did, also we kinda need a status report on Sasaki because it isn't really clear what happened between him and Franky, and where's Denjiro?

Thankfully there's no break this week but damn do the questions pile up

[yukipri]

Marco’s Bauble Part 4 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Next part of Marco’s Bauble! Was posted in advance on Patreon ^ ^

In which the Whitebeards gossip

Contains mention of Marco x Luffy.

Continues off of, and should be read after:

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 1

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 2

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 3

~~

Namur values his crew's privacy. And given that he doubts he was even supposed to see Marco's secret, he absolutely can't disclose it to anyone.

Which is why he's snuck into Izo's room at ass o'clock in the morning, when everyone but the morning shift is asleep, but Izo's awake because he takes a few hours doing his hair and makeup.

"This had better be good, I don't usually enjoy an audience before I'm presentable," Izo says.

Namur doesn't really get what's unpresentable about Izo now. Sure he looks different, with his ridiculously long hair still loose and spilling to his waist, pulled back from his face with a seemingly simple band that Namur saw Izo drop a small fortune for. Izo's plucking up various bottles of liquid lined up on his vanity, methodically shaking a few measured drops into his palm before patting them into his face. Namur doesn't see any difference before and after the drops are applied.

"It's...it's not my secret to tell, but no one else seems to know, and I need to talk to someone, it's too big for just me," Namur says, reluctantly. "But you can't tell anyone, Izo, I mean it."

Izo just hums in response, and Namur sweats. He seems to be doing a lot of that these days. Maybe he needs to take a few days to just swim, being above sea level for too long can be stressful for fishmen.

Because this is already seeming like an increasingly bad idea. Izo isn't known for being particularly good at keeping secrets; if anything, he's a known gossip. That being said, he's also one of the best listeners aboard the Moby (it's how he gets his info), and more importantly, is the third best person to go to for good, thoughtful advice.

The best person to go to for advice is, of course, Pops, but Namur wilts at the mere thought because it really, really isn't his place to talk to Pops about this without Marco's consent. And unfortunately, the close second for Best Person to Go to For Advice is none other than Marco himself, everyone's Big Brother and caring Mother Hen Supreme.

And, well. It's not like Namur can go to Marco to talk about Marco.

"Well, I'm waiting," Izo says, and apparently he'd gone through his entire lineup of six little bottles of mysterious liquids, and is now blotting some paste onto his skin with a weird brush-like contraption. Namur squints, but can barely see any difference between the areas with the paste and without.

"Please don't tell anyone, unless they already know," Namur stresses again, praying.

"Yes, yes." Izo continues blotting.

"Marco proposed to someone."

Izo continues blotting.

Namur sweats.

Izo's hand gradually slows, and Namur realizes he's finished covering his entire face. Namur sees zero difference.

"Just so we're clear," Izo says, as he finally turns to face Namur. "When you say 'Marco,' we're talking about the fire chicken one, and when you say 'propose,' we're talking about the marriage, weddings, and babies type?"

"Babies?!"

No, no, that actually hadn't crossed Namur's mind, but it's there now, and he knows logically that devil fruits don't work like that, but his mind is suddenly filled with the image of an entire school? flock? of tiny colorful winged merbabies, and he's oh, oh NO they're so cu--

"Namur! Focus, please!"

Namur blinks. He doesn't know when it happened, but one of Izo's eyebrows is more defined than the other now.

"Yeah, that Marco," he confirms. "And I, I don't know about...the last thing, but yeah, if successful, usually the kind that results in marriage type."

Izo's oddly calm, and is facing his mirror again. He frowns momentarily, but then smooths his expression and begins applying his other eyebrow. Namur realizes that Izo's able to keep his face so smooth because he wants to draw on his face evenly, and that's actually quite impressive. Though, he has no idea why Izo needs more eyebrows, when he already has perfectly normal ones growing on his face.

"Who's the boy who stole the stupid pineapple's heart, it must be someone we know," Izo says, voice light.

Namur wasn't exactly planning on disclosing this much, he'd just wanted someone else to help him think of how best to support their brother's potentially upcoming union, but Izo's definitely not taking no for an answer, and that's a fight he knows he can't win.

"It's Ace's little brother, the one Thatch went to go fetch," he says reluctantly. "And even though she's his 'little brother,' she's apparently a girl, and a mermaid."

There's a clatter, and Izo curses. Namur tries to peer at Izo's face in the mirror, and notices a weird black blob by his eye that Izo's now trying to delicately smudge off. It wouldn't have been there in the first place if Izo hadn't been trying to poke himself in the eye with the weird brush thing. Namur really doesn't get this makeup business.

"You're telling me," Izo growls, and Namur flinches at the irritation, though he gets the feeling it's directed mostly at the eye blob. "That Marco's straight? I could have sworn he was gay!"

Namur blinks at Izo.

Izo blinks at Namur through the mirror. The eye blob makes his face look slightly crooked.

"Oh, right," Izo mutters, picking up his brush with face distorting ink again. "I thought Marco only liked guys like that, so it surprised me that he likes a girl. Maybe he's bi. Don't worry about it, it's a dumb human thing."

"Oh," Namur says, and yeah, he's heard vaguely about humans being weirdly obsessed with only liking a specific gender or two. It's a very foreign concept that Namur doesn't really get because it doesn't exist on Fishman Island, and romance stuff rarely comes up on the Moby, shockingly enough, or at least in front of Namur. But he's glad Izo doesn't seem too upset, because that would upset Namur. Namur's never met Ace's little brother, but he imagines she'd look so very charming next to Marco, given how in love Marco looked when he was sending off his proposal. He wants to root for them.

"Although, hm, does Ace know? I doubt he'd be very happy about Marco sweeping his dearest little brother off her feet, er, fins," Izo says, seemingly more relaxed now that his face distorting paint is cooperating. His face is now even, although his eyes actually do look different now, more like the Izo Namur usually sees. It's fascinating.

"I don't know," Namur confesses, and he's suddenly feeling very glum at the thought of their little fire cracker baby brother not being happy. Even though Ace didn't formally join, he's still their littlest brother, and Namur's very fond of him, and has honestly lost track of the number of times he's dived into the sea to fetch the reckless kid. He was honestly devastated when Ace said he was leaving. It's alright now, now that Namur knows it was just to bring home Marco's future bride, but he hopes Ace will be supportive too.

"And how did you know he was proposing?"

At this point, what does it matter what else Namur shares? "Well..."

By the time Namur's done answering all of Izo's questions on Fishman Island courtship and Marco's respectful application of it, Izo's done with his face.

"Well, that was certainly a fascinating talk," Izo says with lips the color of a raw fish's innards. "Now I'll have to kick you out before I do my hair. At least I finished my face."

Namur knows he's been excused. "Thank you for your time. Also, it looks very nice, your face," he says politely as he gets up. It seems awkward not to comment on it, after having watched Izo work so hard on it for the past half hour. "Although it looked nice before too. I like the eye paint."

Izo pauses contemplatively, then nods. "That's an acceptable compliment. Thank you. Now, shoo."

~~

"So, who's the wedding for?"

Izo jolts as Haruta settles his tray on the other side of the table.

"What wedding?"

"Don't play dumb. You're planning a wedding. I noticed some of our books were moved in the library, and you were the only one who was in there before me. You were looking up Grand Line marriage traditions, and going through shitty wedding magazines that no one's touched in a decade," Haruta rattles off as he stirs his soup, and Izo inwardly curses.

He thought he'd placed them all back where he'd found them, but alas, apparently nothing gets by Haruta's observation skills, and his talent for butting into business that has nothing to do with him.

"And given the selections, I'd say it's not for you." Haruta continues, as though he knows Izo's tastes by heart and sadly, he probably does, and not just Izo's but the whole crew's. "So someone's getting married, or they're thinking about it, and you're planning. I want to know who."

"You're a nosey little shit," Izo says, because he knows there's really no point in denying it to Haruta without tangible evidence, which he lacks. He's also too tired to deal with this shit, because he did his hair in a hurry in order to make it to the library before everyone woke up, which means it's slightly less perfect than usual. And being anything less than perfect is a truly exhausting business.

"Mm-hmm," Haruta says, and momentarily seems distracted by his plate. There's a tiny, almost imperceptible frown on his lips, and Izo only recognizes it because he'd had the same thought.

The food's by no means bad, and they have many fine cooks on the Moby. It's just, it's a little different, without Thatch's personal touch. Izo hates that their brother's temporary absence is so tangible. Damn him for going on his little vacation.

They continue their meal in silence, and Izo hopes that Haruta's forgotten, his mind having moved on to terrorizing other innocent brothers. Izo thinks he might be able to get away, when Haruta gets up right alongside Izo to return his tray.

"So who is it?" he repeats, as though they hadn't just sat in thirty minutes of silence, and Izo wants to tear out Haruta's hair in frustration, because Izo would never tear out his own hair for any reason.

"It's none of your business, don't you have work to do?"

"My work is knowing stuff. Tell me."

"This isn't something you need to know. That's what I'm telling you."

"Nice try. Lemme guess. Is it Marco?"

Haruta laughs at his own joke, and promptly walks into Izo's back. Izo tries to get over his momentary freeze, but the damage is done.

"Holy shit, it's MARCO?!"

"What happened to Marco?" Vista has the absolute worst timing in entering the cafeteria, because he's standing directly in front of them. He already has his sword sheaths removed from his belt, no doubt so he can polish them in a corner after he's done eating, as is his usual ritual.

Haruta's eyes are blown wide, and Izo wants to stop him but no one can out-talk Haruta when he wants to talk, so it's like watching a cannonball hurtling towards an inevitable collision.

"Marco's getting married."

Vista never drops his swords.

Vista's swords clatter to the ground.

And now everyone inside the cafeteria, and those in the line forming outside behind Vista, all stop to stare.

~~

~~

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

And as always, comments/reblogs/tags always immensely appreciated!!! People sharing their thoughts with me motivates me to write so much more, and update more frequently, so thank you so much for everyone who’s so kindly done so in the past!! ;A;

(The next part’s already up on Patreon if anyone wants to read in advance <3)

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

Read the next part: Marco’s Bauble, Part 5

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

[tsukihotaru]

Laser Tag

Summary: Ace and Sabo go to Laser Tag together with a few friends and Luffy. Things happen and needless to say Sabo is a little shit and Ace is a flustered mess.

Relationship:  Sabo and Ace

Tags: make out/slightly heavy make out

Notes: While I was dealing with some medical issues, I asked @lovelybutnot-ablankcanvas to give me a prompt to write while I was waiting for some answers. And they send a prompt of 

“Take me laser tagging and then push me into a corner and kiss me. Then shoot me and walk away.”

This was the result :)

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

It was actually Sabo’s idea to go to Laser Tag. Ace wasn’t against it, it seemed fun and honestly he’s always wanted to go. They invited a few others to tag along, Luffy was first since he was in the room with them when they made the plan. The others being Thatch, Izo, and Koala. Izo didn’t want to go at first but Thatch convinced him somehow. They did try to get Marco to come along, but he had work and wouldn’t be able to make it.

At the laser tag building, Sabo and Ace were waiting at the entrance for everyone to get there. Luffy had already went inside to play some of the arcade machines scattered around the place. Ace was on his phone, leaning against Sabo who had his arm resting around Ace’s shoulders.

“Just got a text from Thatch, they should be here soon since they got Koala a couple of minutes ago.” Ace explains and Sabo hums, gently rubbing the freckled mans shoulder.  

“Sounds good. I bet Luffy’s going nuts in there waiting to run around in the arena.”

“I’m sure he’s ok. He has plenty of games to keep him company, I’m just worried about the mini food court. It ain’t gonna last long with us three in there.” Sabo couldn’t help but grin at his boyfriends comment. Knowing it’s so true.

“Better hope Thatch is bringing snacks. While me and you are bad, Luffy is a whole other problem.” Ace laughs at this, leaning closer into Sabo’s side.

“He’s the reason why we need a damn bank account dedicated to food cost.”

“And one for medical bills…” Ace just rolls his eyes at that.

“He’s such an accident hazard..” Sabo rubs his face at just thinking of the amount of times Luffy has ended up with a broken bone or needing stitches.

“Hey guys!!” Looking over they see Thatch, Izo, and Koala walking over to them, Thatch waving at them. Ace waves back, but doesn’t move out of his spot next to Sabo.

“You guys didn’t have to wait out here for us. Where’s Luffy??” Koala asks once they get over.

“Inside playing at the arcade, it was better than him sitting with us and risk him running off to do who knows what.” Ace explains and the others laugh. He pulls away from Sabo’s side, but takes his hand to replace the contact. The group starts to head inside and to the floor Laser Tag was on, having some small talk about things that have happened at work and such. Once inside Ace looks around for their brother, praying the boy didn’t do anything stupid when they were away. Luckily he was just sitting on top of the race car games. Letting go of Sabo’s hand, he heads over to Luffy.

“Go get our rounds set up while I get Luffy.” He calls out to Sabo, getting a ‘alright’ before getting close to Luffy.

“Yo Luffy, you ready for some Laser Tag?” Luffy instantly jumped up at this with a large grin.

“Hell yea let’s go!” Luffy jumps off the fake bike an grabs Ace by the arm, dragging him over to the others at the counter.

“Jeez Luffy relax! You haven’t been waiting that long!” Ace protests but goes nothing to pull his arm away from his little brother. Once at the counter Sabo looks over and chuckles at them.

“Excited Luffy?”

“Yea!! This is gonna be so fun, come on let’s go!” Luffy starts running for the entrance but both Sabo and Ace grab him before he can.

“Hold on Luffy, we still have to wait for our time.” Sabo explains, holding up some small papers in his hand.

“How long do we have to wait??” Luffy tilts his head with a pout. Sabo chuckles and ruffles his hair gently.

“We only have to wait a few more minutes, the next game is very soon you just have to wait a little longer ok?” Sabo hugs Luffy to calm him, but also to make sure he didn’t run off. Luffy, still pouting, returns the hugs regardless and cuddled against the blond. Ace just rolls his eyes but smiles at them, pulling his boyfriend and brother close for a group hug.

They wait a couple of minutes to be called and then are lead into a small room with a bunch of other people to play. The workers there explain how to play the game and how to put on the vests and how to work the guns. They explains how you can pick names for your vests and change the colors as well. Once everything was explained then the workers opened the door to the room with all the vests, letting everyone inside.

Sabo grabs a vest with a blue color to it, while Luffy grabbed a yellow one. Koala followed Sabo’s lead and grabbed a blue one. Thatch, Izo, and Ace all grabbed a red colored vest, thinking it would be fun to be on a team since Luffy wanted to be on yellow alone. They get in line to change their names, the others just used the normal names while the brothers used fun names. Ace went by “Fire Fist”, Luffy went by “Straw Hat”, and Sabo went by “Blue Dragon”. Once all the names were given they all rush inside and split up, going to different areas and corners of the arena.

Ace waits alone in a corner hidden away from everyone for the countdown to begin. He split up from Thatch and Izo cuz he wanted to go wild and run around without having to worry about losing them. He heard the countdown start and he grins, peeking around the corner from where he was to see if anyone was around. He heard others running up and down the slopes and halls, it was dark but still illuminated by the black lights around the arena. The moment the countdown stops, Ace smirks and runs out from his hiding place.

Running around the corner he sees a group with their back turned to him, they were colored orange and Ace instantly starts shooting at them. When one of the vests shuts down and beeps, the other two freak out and turn to shoot him, but he got them instantly before running off.

Ace runs around shooting everyone he sees that’s a different color. It might be his first time but he thinks he’s doing pretty good, and having a blast while at it. Suddenly the freckled man sees Luffy jumping OFF the second story platform to the first and he nearly heart attack.

“LUFFY DON’T FUCKING JUMP OFF TO THE FIRST FLOOR!” Ace yelled out to him, shooting him and making Luffy’s vest shut down for a little bit as payback for scaring him half to death. Luffy just laughs and keeps running off.

“SORRY ACE!~” He then turned a corner and was gone. Ace just huffed and went back to running and shooting people he saw. Thinking up ways to kick Luffy’s ass once they were home.

Running past a secluded hall with small but deep rooms imbedded into it, Ace wasn’t paying attention much since he didn’t hear anyone around him. But then his vest was grabbed and he let out a yell as he was pulled back into one of the rooms and slammed against the wall. He was about to shout and kick the person pinning him against the wall with the body, till he sees it was Sabo with a large smirk. Ace’s body relaxed and huffed.

“Fuckin hell Sabo why did you grab me like that?” Sabo just let out a soft laugh and wrapped an arm around Ace’s waist.

“Aw lighten up Ace.. come on you’ve been running around all this time.. and we still have about half an hour left so why don’t we take a few minutes and relax together..” Sabo gently places a kiss onto Ace’s lips with a grin. Ace gives Sabo a questioning look. Neither of them needed a break, they could go on for hours and barely break a sweat. But who was he to deny alone time with his boyfriend?

“Alright then Sabo.. What do you have in mind to ‘relax’ hm?” Despite it being very dark, lightly illuminated by the black light in the hall, Ace could see Sabo’s grin grow. He nudges Ace’s head to the side when he went and gently starts kissing at Ace’s neck. The ebony lets out a small sigh and relaxes against him, closing his eyes, as Sabo keeps kissing his neck.

The blond trails small kisses up his neck, lightly biting at it before placing soft kisses on his jaw and cheek. He pulls away slightly before presses a kiss to Ace’s lip again. Ace hums against his lips bringing his hands up and threading them through Sabo’s blond locks, tugging at them lightly.

The kiss gets heated fairly quickly once Sabo tugs at Ace’s lip lightly and Ace just opens his mouth for the other. Sabo pushes his leg in between Ace’s and grinds against him lightly, causing out to let out a small moan. Ace was glad no one was running down these halls all too often, he didn’t want to deal with the staff finding out about this. Not that they cared if they were found, it would just be annoying.

Pulling Sabo deeper into the kiss by tugging his hair a little harder, getting a small noise from Sabo clearly enjoyed it. It was going like that for a while that Ace was so focused on it and unaware about their surroundings.

Till he heard a gun go off and his vest make a loud beeping noise. Ace full on stops and snaps his eyes open, feeling Sabo’s lips slowly grow into a smirk. Sabo pulled away from the kiss with the biggest shit eating grin against his lips.

“Thanks for the points babe.. Maybe we can finish this later at home yea?~” Sabo ducked in quickly and bite Ace’s neck fairly hard in his sensitive spot, causing him to let out a small yelp. Then Sabo instantly ran out of the small room and down the hall.

Ace was in shock for a second, blushing brightly and a hand on his neck where Sabo bit him. That was, till rage took him over and he bolted right after Sabo, holding his gun as he ran.

“SABO I’M GOING TO KICK YOUR KICKING ASS!!”

The rest of the time everyone heard angry yelling and loud laughter.

~~

After the game Ace was still chasing after Sabo all around the Laser Tags Arcade area. Sabo got first place but Ace somehow got dead last.

But Ace got his revenge later that night when the two were home alone. Needless to say Sabo had a hard time walking for a couple of days.

[thewildomega]

Second Chance Ch.14

A/N: Ya’ll can’t tell me this man isn’t a hunk! Props for the awesome fanart goes to @insect_candy on twitter. I found it on pintrest. As always if the artist sees this and wants me to remove it just send em a message and I’ll take it down asap. I do think it’s really good though. Especially the eyes. If anyone gets a chance go check out their page. Link is in the name. Hope everyone likes this update. How much longer should this story go on? Is it still interesting and enjoyable to read?

Sitting quietly in your chair beside Ed you listened as they all spoke, Ed telling his sons what had happened when he had arrived in your world. You couldn't help but blush when he talked so fondly of you, telling his sons how you had helped him, taken care of him. 

"Then it would seem we are in your debt Y/n. Thank you for helping our pops." Izo spoke to the woman who had remained quiet throughout dinner.

 Looking to the man you shook your head. "Oh no, it's okay really it was no problem I..."

"It's okay Y/n you don't have to lie to us, we know how much of a handful the old man can be." Marco said making his brothers laugh. 

"Agreed, I think we should congratulate her on not killing him in his sleep." Vista grinned. 

"I am not that bad." He grumbled when he saw them all laughing. Looking beside him he even saw his lass giggling lightly at his son's teasing of him. All in all though he couldn't be mad, it was nice having some of his family all together again, even more so now that Y/n was here with him. Chewing a bite of his food he watched and listened as they went about asking Y/n about her world. Already his son's were starting to warm up to her and the sight made him smile softly. 

........................

After supper you and Zella had moved to clean up while the men all talked and caught up. It made your heart warm to see Ed happy with his sons. Once everything was all tidy Zella had told you she was calling it a night. She had been very sleepy the past few days and while you wanted to ask her if she was okay you also didn't want to seem nosey. Drying all the dishes and putting them away you looked over everything and sighed. Walking out of the kitchen and into the living room you saw no one here as well, you could hear their voices from outside though and guessed they were all out there. Not wanting to intrude on their family time you looked down to your hand which you had successfully kept hidden the whole night. Walking to the guest bathroom you closed the door and finally unwrapped the dishcloth from it. Looking down at the bloody cut you winced. It wasn't that long, only half of your palm length, going from the middle of your palm to the space between your thumb and forefinger. It was decently deep though, especially the skin between your fingers. Setting the bloody dishrag in the sink you turned on the hot water and filled the sink so you could let it soak. Turning on the shower you pulled off your clothes, trying your best not to get any blood on them as well. Stepping into the shower you rinsed your hand, grabbing the soap you started washing, biting your lip and whimpering when it felt like you had poured salt into your wound. Washing your hair was annoying as well but you made it work. Quickly shaving and then getting out you grabbed a towel and started drying off.

Opening the closet door you moved to grab your clothes from the basket but when you looked down to the floor where they had bene you saw nothing there. "What... where..." you said out loud. Knitting your brows you looked all in the closet but didn't find anything but the spare towels and washing machine. Where the hell were your clothes? You had just did laundry the other day so you knew they weren't dirty. So where the hell... Ed. Closing the door you wrapped the towel tightly around you, thankful they were made for his size. Running your fingers through your hair when you also noticed your hairbrush not in the drawer or any of your other items he had bought you you sighed. Opening the door you peeked out to see no one in the house. Licking your lips you walked towards his bedroom which was the only other place you could think your things would be. Glancing around the room you tried to locate your basket. Seeing it on the dresser you moved over to it but saw it empty. "Where in the hell..."

"Darlin' are you back..." 

Freezing when you heard his voice you looked up to the door to see him standing in the doorway, looking at you. Snapping your eyes down you felt your face, ears and neck catch fire. 

"...here." he finished. Seeing her standing by the dresser in nothing but a towel he closed his mouth when he realized it was still open. The white towel that she had wrapped around her ended at her knees. While it revealed nothing but her lower legs, shoulders and arms he felt his manhood twitch all the same. She was naked, the only thing on her being a towel. 

God you were so embarrassed. You both had only slept in the same bed for one night and now here you were just walking around his bedroom in nothing but a damn towel. What the hell would he think of you? "C..clothes?" you asked in a whisper. 

She wouldn't look up at him but he could see the tips of her ears sticking out of her wet hair and noticed the blush on them immediately. "Right." Walking over to the dresser he opened the drawers where he had put her clothes in with his. Grabbing the black lace panties that she had on when they came here he clenched his teeth when his imagination decided to take over. 'NO'. Shutting the drawer he moved down to the next and grabbed one of his shirts that she was keen on wearing for a nightgown. Black lace panties and his shirt. God his pants were already tightening at the thought. Taking a deep breath he went to hand them over to her. "Here ya go lass." he said, his voice deeper than usual. 

Keeping your eyes down some you went to take your clothes when he suddenly grabbed your wrist. 

"What's that?" 

Remembering your cut palm you looked up to him and shook your head some, "Nothing." 

Refusing to let go of her wrist he turned her hand up and knit his brows when he saw the deep cut on her palm. "Sure does look like something to me darling. What happened?"

"I just nicked it when I was washing dishes earlier." you told him. 

Humming he frowned. "This is more than a little nick lass. Why didn't you say something about, did Zella see it, she could have said something to Marco." 

"No she didn't see it, it happened before..."

"Before when?" he asked and then shook his head and looked to her eyes, "Before supper? You did this before supper and you didn't say anything?" he asked in a disapproving voice. Now that he thought back he did think it was strange she had been keeping her hand under the table in her lap. 

Sighing you took your clothes and moved towards his bathroom to dress. "It's fine Ed." 

Walking behind her he crossed his arms over his chest. "Until it gets infected." 

"It's not going to get infected, I cleaned it." you told him, pushing the door closed so you could dress. 

Standing just outside of the door he waited for her to dress which only took a moment. Once the door opened and she went to step out he moved forward, scooping her up and sitting her down on the bathroom counter. "That's what everyone says. Trust me I have seen my fare share of injuries, little cuts that no one thought nothing of until it turns septic and then has to be chopped off." 

Listening to his lecture you watched as he moved to grab something from under the vanity. Seeing him set a first aid kit on the counter next to you, you looked up to him. Placing your hand in his when he held it out for you. "How did you get those scars from your pictures, the ones on your chest?"

Beginning to clean the cut with alcohol he saw her fingers twitch but not snatch away. "Different battles. One from my old Captain, Rocks. Got one from fighting Roger and another from an old crewmate, Shikki." grabbing the roll of bandages and tape he applied a bit of cream to it to both help with pain and quick healing. "What about you, any scars on that pretty body?" 

Blushing again you saw him noticed this time and heard him chuckle lightly. "That gunshot one..." you started but heard him grunt. 

"Don't like the story of that one." he growled under his breath. 

"I do, that's the night I got to come here with you." 

Seeing her smiling softly at him he sighed. "While that may be true, it still should have never happened." taping down the bandage he lifted her up again to take her to their bed, cutting off the light to both the bathroom and bedroom on the way. Sitting on the bed he rested against the headboard with his feet stretched out and her straddling his lap. "Anymore?" he asked, knowing if he wanted her to relax he needed to keep her talking. There wasn't any light but that of the candle on the side table but he could still tell she was blushing. 

Humming you tried to focus on the question he asked and not the fact you were currently straddling the lap of the man you loved. "Um well there's the one where Smoke bit me."

Looking down to her leg where she was looking he tilted his head at the faint scar on her thigh. Licking his lips he moved his thumb under the hem of his shirt and pushed it higher up her left leg, feeling heat pool to his pelvis at the feel of her soft skin. Seeing the bite there he huffed. "He got you good didn't he?" It wasn't a nasty scar but he could tell by each individual mark that the wolf had sunk his teeth in deep. 

"Yea." you sighed. 

Stroking her thigh with his thumb he glanced over the rest of her skin, looking for any other scars. "That it?"

"n..No. I have a 'W' on my right hip from where Keith branded me." you told him, having to steady yourself, the feel of his warm hands on your thighs making that tingling come back. 

"He branded you?" he asked in a deep voice, a frown on his face as he lifted his eyes to hers. 

"He didn't do it intentionally. He was making that new sign at Mel's bar for his dad and kept messing around. The letters that you use to burn the wood, he kept poking the 'M' towards me asking if it was hot. He wasn't trying to actually touch me with it but Trish came in and bumped into me and well yea." Seeing his brows knit together you took a deep breath, "It was definitely hot. Burnt straight through my shirt and everything. Keith felt horrible for it, he bought me dinner for the next week." 

Looking down to her hip he thought for a moment before asking, "Can I see?"

Swallowing hard you felt your heart beat a little faster as you lifted the bottom of the shirt up enough to show him the 'W' over your left hip bone. 

Forcing his eyes to focus on her hip and not the part of her covered by black lace that he wanted so desperately to look at he indeed saw the 'W' scar on her skin. He didn't like the idea of her being hurt like that and furrowed his brows. Rubbing his hand up her thigh and hip he held her with his hand over her side, feeling the material of her panties under the bottom part of his palm. Genty tracing the mark with his thumb he swallowed hard when his eyes dropped to the apex of her thighs for a fraction of a second. Instantly he knew that was a bad idea when he felt his cock come to life. Fuck he could make out the silhouette of her womanhood through the weblike pattern. Raising his knees some and spreading his legs so it wouldn't become too obvious he was aroused he held her steady as she slipped forward. Catching sight of the scar on her chest when his shirt moved some he furrowed his brows. Keeping his one hand under th ebottom of the shirt on her hip he raised his other one to touch the circular scar. It wasn't too bad since Marco had healed her with ihs power but it would probably stay there for the remainder of her life. To him it would be a constant reminder of how she had saved him, while noble he couldn't get the image of her lifeless body out of his head. Even now it made his heart clench painfully. 

Seeing his brows and lips turn into a firm line as he looked to the scar on your chest you gently took hold of his hand that was stroking the area. Looking into his warm yellow eyes as when they lifted to yours you watched his face relax. 

"Why did you run after that man lass? You knew he had a gun, knew that he wouldn't care if you got hurt." he asked her and saw her eyes shoot down. 

"He took all the money that was in the safe, that was everything Mel had..." you shrugged.

"Money isn't that important darling." 

"Mel is sick, he's dying. I know money isn't the most important thing in life but when they were barely making it as it was that money could have meant life or death for him when it was paying for his medicine. After everything that family did for me I couldn't just sit there and let that asshole take everything from them like that."

Hearing this he sighed softly, stroking her hip with his thumb. He fell more and more in love with her everyday. "How the hell did this old pirate get lucky enough to have an angel like you as his soulmate?" he spoke in a low voice. 

"Soulmate?" 

Just realizing what he had said he blinked and felt his mouth go dry. "Ah... well yes..." Clearing his throat he tried to think of a way to explain their destined love to her. "You see lass here in this world soulmates are a thing... a ah... a natural connection. Not everyone has them but some get lucky enough. It's when two people are destined to be with each other and they have this... well this pull and..." Seeing her smile grow and her teeth bit down on her lip some he stopped, feeling a blush over his cheeks and neck. 

"It's okay Ed, Zella explained them to me last week." seeing him furrow his brows as he looked down to you, you grinned nervously. "I wasn't sure you felt the same way and I didn't want to lose you so I never said anything."

She had been afraid he wouldn't love her back. She felt their connection as well? The knowledge made him smile. Still he could tell she was a bit nervous. "So you knew what they were and still you let me suffer through that horrible explanation like an idiot." 

Seeing him cut his eyes at you playfully, a smile still present on his lips you tilted your head. "It was fun to watch you be the nervous wreak for a change." you admitted with a small shrug.

Growling he grinned as he quickly wrapped his arm around her and flipped her to the bed, holding himself up above her while her hands held onto his back and shoulder. Gazing down at her sparkling eyes he felt that swelling in his heart and sighed softly. "Never thought I'd experience that whole feeling that comes with having a soulmate. My entire life I've always felt like there was something missing. Ever since I was a kid the only thing I've ever wanted was a family. I gathered many sons and daughters over the years, children of the sea that I called my own but it wasn't enough. There was still some part of me that was missing and I could never find that lost piece. When I died in Marrieford I accepted that it would be a mystery that would never be solved. But to my surprise my story wasn't over. I was found by the very person I had spent my whole life trying to find. I knew from the first time I saw you that you were the one, that you were meant to be mine. I don't know which higher power was looking out for me but I thank them for finally allowing our paths to cross." His heart was hammering so hard against his ribcage he was sure it would soon burst from his chest. "Lass you make me feel complete, I will love you forever. Long after the seas dry up and the stars fade in the sky." He was so nervous he thought he might have another heart attack. Staring into her eyes he licked his dry lips. "I promise to care for you. You will be the only woman I ever love. I'll provide for ya and you'll never want for anything..."

"Ed.." 

"Darling I don't have a ring to give ya, not yet at least but I..." Taking a deep breath he swallowed hard. "I'll get you one, anyone you want. I can't wait till then, not a moment longer, I have to ask you now. Will ya marry me lass?"

Four months, three weeks and six days. That's how long it had been since you had found him on the shore of the lake. It wasn't that long really but you felt like you had known him your whole life. Even from the beginning he had always felt like this old friend who had just shown back up from out of nowhere. Somewhere along those few months you had fell head over heels for him but you had said nothing. So afraid that he would soon toss you aside like everyone else had you had distanced yourself as much as possible even when it made your heart ache terribly. He was patient with you, he listened. He made you laugh and cry and he was right about feeling whole because not once in your life had you ever been so happy than you were when you were with him. Almost five months, most would probably say that that wasn't long enough to know a person to marry them but to you, that was all the time you needed. 

Looking up into those warm yellow eyes you smiled, your eyes tearing up a bit. "Yes."

As soon as the word was out of her mouth he felt his face break into what had to be the biggest smile of his life. Without a moment's hesitation he lowered his body to hers, finally claiming her lips. Just as he suspected her lips were soft and smooth. A light sigh left his nose at being able to finally kiss her. Thankfully this time Marco wasn't here to interpret either. There was this strong pulling in his chest that turned into a comfortable warmth as he allowed his body to lower just above hers, still careful not to crush her. She had tensed the tiniest amount when their lips first met but quickly she had relaxed. 

He was kissing you. You were getting your first kiss and it was so incredible. God his lips were so warm and only a bit rougher than your own. You could feel the slight scruff on his upper lip but it didn't bother you. Then there was the heat of his huge body laying over yours and that strange tugging that had turned into a comforting warmth. You could die happy right here and now. The hand holding your hip was gently messaging you while the one wrapped under your head made you feel secure and safe. When the need for air became desperate and he pulled away some you looked up into his soft eyes, his hair falling around the both of your faces making the moment even more intimate. 

"...so what'd she say?"

"Yes of course!" 

"I told you she would." 

"Way to go Pops."

Hearing voices from outside of the window you peeked around his massive arm to look out of the window, you couldn't see anything because of the drawn curtains but when Ed let out a deep growl you knew someone was there. 

Letting go of her hip he grabbed one of the pillows and threw it towards the window his sons were standing by. "If you four don't get the hell out of here I'll toss you all to the sea!"

"He does realize we are on land right?"

"Is that a challenge?!"

Giggling through it all you quickly wrapped your arms around his neck when he went to move. 

Being pulled back down by his little woman he didn't get to say a word before her lips pushed their way back to his. "Overgrown children." he grumbled around her lips and heard her giggle lightly. Continuing to hold himself up with one arm he moved his free hand over to the table to pinch out the wick. Maybe if the room was dark his sons would get the hint to leave them alone. 

..................................

"So what is it for?" Izo asked.

Seeing the three men looking to your phone you tilted your head, "Um well in my world people use them to call one another, like the den den's here. You can also use it to read books on, there's a calculator, a flashlight, a camera..." Showing them each feature you saw their brows raise when you turned on the flashlight. Taking a picture of the three of them you turned it around to show them and saw Vista smile. "Really there is a whole bunch of stuff on it. I can't make calls on it anymore since I'm here but I can still read some books on it and listen to music."

"Music?" Jozu asked. 

Humming you nodded and brought up your music list. Tapping on a song you saw them all look to it in amazement when the song started playing. 

"You'll soon be hearing the chime Close to midnight If I could turn back the time I'd make all right

How could it end like this? There's a sting in the way you kiss me Something within your eyes Said it could be the last time Fore it's over!

Just wanna be Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight Just wanna be I wanna bewitch you all night..."

"I want one of those." Vista said. 

Giggling you held it out for him to take. "Here ya'll knock yourself out. I have to go pick up some stuff from town for supper anyway. Just don't hit anything that says delete okay." When they all nodded but kept their eyes on the phone you smiled again and stood. 

Walking from around the house he looked to see Izo, Vista and Jozu all sitting on the ground playing with his soon to be wife's phone. Wife, the thought of being able to call her that made his chest swell with pride. Hearing the music playing from her phone he chuckled at the smile on his sons faces. Looking down at them with his arms crossed over his chest he chuckled. "So I see y/n has shown you her phone." 

"This thing is amazing. Look at all the books she has.."

"There is over three hundred songs on it as well." Izo added. 

"Yea she loves reading and music." he grinned.

"Marco said she likes cooking too." Jozu spoke.

"I bet Thatch would have liked her." Vista grinned.

"Ace too." 

Sighing his grin turned bittersweet, he would have loved for her to meet the both of his fallen sons. He knew for a fact they both would have loved her. Looking to them all again he raised his brows, "Do any of you happen to know where it is my lass has run off to?"

"Yea, she said she had to go into town to get stuff for supper." 

"Let us borrow her phone while she was gone." 

Humming he nodded, "Don't break it." 

"Yea, yea." 

Huffing out he started towards town. Looking all over for her he didn't find her anywhere and when he finally asked around they said she had already left a little while ago. Knitting his brows he stood in though, if she had already left then he would have met her on the way back home but he hadn't. So where was she? Deciding to let his heart lead the way he started walking out of town and towards the entrance to the town. If she was going to get groceries then why would she need to come out here? Going up the hill and towards the ruins of the old town he had grew up in he looked across to the edge of the cliff where his and Ace's grave was. He had been to it a few times to talk to his son but he found it strange looking at his own headstone. A part of him wondered if there was anything buried there? Marco had told him that they had buried him, hell even that red head had helped but if he was here now was that body now gone or was this a whole new one? As tempted as he was to dig it up he figured he was better off not knowing. 

Getting closer to the top he saw her h/c hair blowing in the breeze and knit his brows, what was she doing up here? Going to call out to her he stopped when he saw someone standing by her, the two of them looking to be speaking. Realizing who it was he clenched his teeth and marched a little faster towards them. As soon as he was close enough he saw Garps eyes shoot to him, his brows raising. Moving y/n behind him he stared down at the man, "What the hell are you doing here Garp?"

"What am I doing here, what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead damnit! And why are you young again?!" Garp yelled. "Wait a minute, am I dead? Did I die and for some godforsaken reason end up in the same place as you? If I did die how come I'm still old?"

"You're going to be dead if you don't get off my damn island!" 

"Go to hell Newgate, I'm here to see Ace..."

"NO! You don't get to pay your respects to my son..."

"He was my damn grandson before he was one of your sons!"

"Don't act like you care so much about him now, you let him die!"

"Ace made his choice, he became a pirate and then he joined up with you! I warned him but he wouldn't listen!" The marine yelled, his face turning red and his veins sticking out in his forehead. 

"What a load of crap! That boy had a target on his back before he was even born! For being Roger's son, something he couldn't even control. Yea he became a pirate and he was a damn good one. Much like that other grandson of yours, that strawhat brat. Are you gonna sit back and watch him die too?!"

"Don't you bring Luffy into this!" Garp growled, his voice dropping even more.

Clenching his fists he sensed his sons coming up behind him. "Take Y/n back home." he spoke in a deep voice, never ceasing his intense stare down with Garp. 

Having stayed behind him the whole time you felt your heart hammering as Ed and the man you had just met who you had heard Ed call Garp argued. You had never seen him so angry looking other than the time he had saved you from that man. There seemed to be this intense aroura coming off both men and it made you nervous. Hearing Marco and the others come up behind you and then Ed tell them to take you back home you furrowed your brows. Tightening your grip on his arm that had been holding you behind his bulk frame you swallowed hard and looked up to the back to his head. "Ed..."

Seeing Garp's eyes glance to the woman behind him he felt his lip lift into a snarl. Giving her hip a small squeeze he rose his chin, "Jozu." he called, knowing the man was bigger than her. 

Being pulled away from him by Jozu no doubt you tried holding onto his arm but he let your hands slip away. Watching as Izo moved to grab the bags left by his father's feet you looked between the two men. "N..."

"It's best to stay out of it Y/n." Marco told her, taking hold of her other hand while Jozu held her arm to pull her back towards the safety of their father's home. 

Getting past the waterfall you heard a loud slam and then a smack, the ground shaking a bit and making you gasp. "B...but will he be okay?" you asked trying to stop and look back towards the man you loved. Yes the other man was smaller but you still didn't want your Ed to get hurt. 

Laughing along with the rest of his brothers Vista pat her arm, "Oh don't you worry about pops Y/n. He didn't get the title of strongest man in the world for nothing."

"Yea and pops never backs down from a fight." Jozu huffed.

Blinking you looked to Vista with wide eyes. "Strongest man in the world?" surely he had to be exaggerating. Seeing them all nod proudly though you could only open and close your mouth, turning your head back to see a cloud of dust flying up here and there, the loud noises still echoing from where you had left. Just who and the hell were you going to marry? You knew Edward but maybe it was time to learn who Whitebeard was.

[mrpenguinpants]

Alright, I finally read Reincarnation no Kaben

AFTER MONTHS (it’s probably been a month? My mind doesn’t keep track of the days) I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO RNK. Ty to Okita anon for the recommendation (*￣3￣)╭💕💕💕 I absolutely loved it. 

After this I’ll start on the other recommendation you gave me. I kept a bit of a log of my reading journey under the read more tag. 

Major spoilers for literally everything in RNK up to ch 53 “Withdrawal”. 

Oh, and I’ll finish answering all my leftover asks and I SHOULD have a fic done by tomorrow. I was so ready to write and then I got up. Now I’m back to bed. 

I’m just gonna write this as a log since I read super super slow and I’m only on ch 7 at the start of writing this but I’m really liking it already. Though to be fair. I love everything okita anon recommends haha. I remember you saying you were simping over Kouu and I haven’t gotten to the part where he appears but I wanted to quickly google what he looked like to prepare myself and I see this:

Well. That’s reassuring. 

I was actually kinda surprised by how many western figures were in the manga since I know there are only like 7? Around 7 western figures that pop up in any anime/manga but seeing people like Albert Fish was kinda surprising but I really liked it. Also, at the end of certain chapters they write little bio’s on them so you get to know more about them was such a nice touch.  I also love that the tradition of making males -> females still stays strong even outside the fate universe hehe.

---

Literally, the next chapter I see him. AHHHHHHHHH. Well maybe not him but his eyeballs. 

This guy lowkey reminds me of the MC’s brother but it’s 99% because he has the same long ponytail. I wouldn’t be surprised if the brother was apart of the the Greats. Honestly, Ein reminds me of those really hard headed girls that are actually really kind on the inside but aren’t good at expressing themselves (maybe because that’s pretty much her character). I also like that Ein doesn’t like males but she’s hiding behind this guy. At least, I’m..99% sure this is Ein. 

I FUCKING KNEW IT. AS SOON AS I SAW HE GOT A THEIF TALENT I COULD FEEL THE SOLO LEVELING VIBES IN ME. HE CAN STEAL TALENTS I FUCKING KNEW IT!!! I’m surprised that Neumann didn’t say anything and  Haito seems to be aware of it.  

Edit: Ah okay, I understand a bit now but it almost seems like Haito is the only one aware of Toya’s second talent.

Edit 2: Okay, as much as I love power hungry MC’s I’m really glad they didn’t make Toya into that. I am such a softie for sympathetic and kind MC’s like these even though it’s been done so many times. I’m really glad this didn’t feel like a rehash. I mean, some points some of the stuff Toya says it does but it’s fine, I don’t mind that. I actually gave a crap about him since I usually prefer the side characters (I UNDERSTAND ANON, I CARE ABOUT KOUU SO MUCH AHHHHH) but HAITO?? AHHHHH. 

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I like that Izo always has the same hat in every adaptation he’s in lol. Istg, cats are always op. Schrodinger seems so strong and the parallel universes are my absolute shit. Sometimes I think, in one universe I did this and in this universe I’m not. Would I rather stay in this universe or be in the one where I am actually productive. Usually I pick the productive universe and actually work but sometimes I’m a bit of a slacker haha. I think this is my approach to a lot of things in life. But I digress, I don’t wanna get too deep into my life. 

I can sorta sympathize with the sinners. At least the ripper guy to say the least. I love love love unhinged characters that just want to basically destroy the world or at least have fun. But then you find out- wait they are actually sympathetic oh no. That’s how I felt about Djoser in “im the great priest imhotep” (please...i beg...someone read this...I’m so starved). 

As much as character development and rooting for the hero is cool and all, I just want to simp for the crazy “let’s burn the world to the ground” kinda character. I’m also so glad Toya doesn’t automatically become evil and try and steal everyone’s talents because he does seem like a good person and I really don’t see him suddenly switching fields so when he saved (I don’t remember names I’m sorry), the undead solider it was really nice. Proves that he still has his humanity and isn’t strictly relying on the branch of sin. 

It makes sense that he wants to steal talents since he never had one (and it was kinda out of left field when he killed Vlad and we just never addressed that ever again haha) but to see him actually consider his actions and if he actually want’s to steal his teammates talents feels right to me. Poor guy doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends so this is the first time he’s ever seemed to have companionship, aside from Haito, so I really hope he doesn’t attempt to steal their talents. I think I’m thinking of the slime? That time I got reincarnated as a slime manga/anime. Where he’s the pokemon catcher of skills. I thought that was where it was going. 

But I do kinda like how selfish Haito and Toya’s talent stealing relationship is (I mean, later it develops but my first draft of writing this I wasn’t there yet). I’m not sure if selfish or like self-gratitude/pride is the right word but it’s kind of a breath of fresh air. Rather than Haito trying to contain or “help” Toya’s inferiority she’s actually encouraging it and using her own talent for her own...acknowledgement? Er, yeah let’s go with that. 

---

This. This interaction. I love this. Like, genuinely love this. We need more of this. Two people from opposite sides finding some common ground and their fight to the death is less about morals or whose on whose side but for themselves. I love that. This is actually some wholesome stuff. 

Edit: AHHHHH CATCH MY UGLY CRYING IN THE BACK BECAUSE ALL THE “SINNERS” ARE ACTUALLY AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. IM DEAD. YOU’VE KILLED ME. 

---

I KNEW IT! YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THESE KIND OF PEOPLE!! I’m going to slap the whiteboard on this but if I see any “goofy” character I’m immediately sus of them. 

As much as I hate that Hitler is getting drawn as a small child I really like this. I know the whole, oh I killed your friends but I’m letting you go because you express humanity but I’m gonna finish my death with a sympathetic line, can be annoying to people but idk I really liked this. 

Honestly this and the undead soldiers death hit me hard ngl. This manga might not have my favourite art style during some points compared to like main stream manga but it has some really beautiful scenes. 

BOOM CALLED IT, though it’s pretty obvious lol. 

THE PONY TAIL NEVER LIES AND HES DA VINCI IT MAKES SENSE NOW

He looks so cute lol. I like that Seiya has the talent of being talented in everything while Toya has the talent to steal other talents. Seiya can probably only cap his power by his own physical/mental abilities with Toya can pull a solo leveling and go further beyond. Thinking of it like jack of trades vs master of none type deals. Though, I might be thinking too hard on this. I like that this man is actually humble but I really wish there was a tiny bit more to him since we only get this one interaction/backstory but the manga isn’t completed yet. I really hope we get to know about Seiya more;; like how he became da vinci or etc. 

Everytime I see Neumann I look at that comic sans type and it kills me on the inside. But I love that her eyes are 01 just, mwah perfection. These little details that aren’t that big but it’s soooo nice. I also ahem, unhinged character heart be still. It’s really nice reading manga in bursts because you can see the art progression and damn does she look good. 

tiny fang appreciation post. 

ngl i’M HARD SIMPING FOR THIS MAN. It’s the pony tail, I have such a thing for guys with long hair (and this is why genshin broke me) but man the art really picked up here. 

I didn’t get into it but OKITA ANON I GET IT. KOUU??? AHHHH. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE??? As much as his whole “war” was a bit questionable in the beginning and tbh I still don’t really get it I like that he knows he’s not the same as the other Greats but still tries to help the other “sinners” in a way only he knows. That’s why Seiya was so important;; I get that he wanted them to have a fun death and to be understood but idk, the whole war idea and having them kill each other (especially the Hitler fights because I understand the others since they reached some kind of acknowledgement) but nonetheless, what a great guy.

Nightingale gives me mad masaki vibes from chainsawman. I hate them and I can’t wait for you to fail, but the inner part of my is cheering for you because unhinged characters are my shit. I feel really bad for Neumann, I had suspicions she wasn’t actually like that since it’s sooo out of left field but I’m really glad the manga seems to know what it’s doing. I really wish we got more Kouu interactions with everyone tho. 

NOW THIS. THIS IS SOME WHOLESOME STUFF. I WANT THIS. I REALLY WANT SPIN-OFF OF REALLY SAD ANIME/MANGA/STORIES WHERE ALL THE DEAD PEOPLE HANG OUT. That’s how I’m feeling about JJK and the scroll segments or BSD WAN that just came out. IT’S SO WHOLESOME TO SEE EVERYONE NOT TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER. 

UGLY SOBBING IN THE CLUBBB AND KOUU AND CHARLOTTE AHHHH. I hate how this is phrased but the respect I have for Hitler?? YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THAT IS TO TYPE?? Kitazuka is cool tho, I really like him. Some god given talent. I’m hard simping over him but I really hope we get to know more about him later. 

Getting smug mona vibes, I love this. 

AHHH IVE NEVER FELT THIS UPSET OVER AN APPLEEEE. I’M ACTUALLY UPSET. IF HE DIES IM ACTUALLY GOING TO CRY MY HEART OUT. 

THE FAMOUS SLAP 

I’M SORRY WHA- SLENDERMAN?

Oh..wow. Okay, be still my heart. When I first saw her I thought she was really pretty but now I’m absolutely smitten. God damn, can I please have some more crumbs on these characters before they die;; 

AHHH SAME GIRL FUCKING SAME????? I adore these small panels and translator notes. It’s a real breather after the sad 3am hours talk these characters go through. 

Yagyuu. Jesus christ. WHY ARE ALL THE DEATH SCENES IN THIS MANGA ACTUALLY SO PRETTY AND STABS ME IN THE HEART??? that’s it. goodbye. im fucking out. im actually so upset rn. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME? 

---

In conclusion, and I should probably re-read what the characters say and not go off on memory because I’m about to get really deep. I really like how they phrased why they wanted to stop the branch of sin. That there are people just like Toya and Haito who, if they never found the branch of sin, could still probably lead respectable and okay lives. That there was a “them” in another universe that didn’t go down that road and that they want to be in the same universe as “them”. I know this sounds really confusing if you haven’t read the manga but going back to what I said about the parallel universe stuff. 

There was a universe where Toya and Haito didn’t rely on the branch of sin, that even without their talents from becoming a returner, they could still live a happy life given their own personalities and attitudes. It was kinda moving since in the beginning, Toya wanted a talent so badly and now that he has one. He’s realizing that wait, I don’t need a past life talent in order to live. Honestly, I hard relate to that because I totally agree with him. If you have a talent you can probably live a very happy and comfortable life that other factors wouldn’t matter if you just have that incredible talent. Thinking of it as a painter or artist, if you had actual god-given talent you wouldn’t need to worry about other factors since people would naturally seek that talent. So you end up comparing yourself to others and setting that limit on yourself. 

But that’s okay, it’s completely natural and I’m not saying it’s horrible if you do this. Fuck, I do this all the time. I’m not saying the manga is changing my life but it’s kind of refreshing that it get’s talked about since other adaptations of this just make the character super OP. I understand wanting to have that incredible talent, fuck who doesn’t? but you don’t need it in order to live earnestly in the bigger picture sense. Not everything you do has to be productive and honestly, learning to be okay with having fun is nice. Just being okay with who you are right now, even if it isn’t perfect in your eyes, you still have time to build upon yourself and your own talents but doing it for yourself. 

But I probably missed the point and I’m going way to deep haha. But I really enjoyed reading this and thank you once again to okita anon for the recommendation^^ I always love everything you send me and I’ll start reading the next one. If anyone else has any recommendations let me know! 

[bloodvvit]

[Wanted to write a little ‘slice of life’ look into how Kai was raised once the Boss took him on, as he was mostly looked after by a higher ranking kyodai named Izo. Kai idolizes the boss, but also takes a shine to Izo, seeing him as kind of a older brother/mentor figure.]

Kai’s long eyelashes fluttered against the high angle of his cheekbone as he roused, having not realized he’d dozed off while lounging at the foot of Izo’s mattress. Curled up with his knees to his chest and his skinny arms tangled around a pillow, the fifteen year old squinted against the light unhappily. With a slow stretch in place, he pushed himself to a sitting position and got smacked in the face with a discarded shirt.

“You’re still getting dressed?” the youth accused in an irritated tone. Huffing softly, the young yakuza heir��jerked the colorful fabric from around his skull. Rather than throw it back at the preening, indecisive gangster pacing before his closet mirror, Kai expertly flapped the article of clothing out by the shoulder seams and carefully laid it down atop the length of the bed to join the rest of the kyodai’s wardrobe.

“We’re never going leave if you’re taking this long… Why does it matter, anyway? Is it a big meeting between the Bosses?” he asked, sounding miles more interested, if that was the case- rather than watch the man mull over more suits.

Izo held one shirt, then another over his chest as he inspected his reflection in his newly bought and installed full length mirror. Both looked equally good on his skinny frame. That was the one good thing about being built like a tall lamp post — it was easy finding clothing. Nearly anything he bought looked good when it was hanging off his bony shoulders.

“Nah, go back to sleep. I’ve got a hot date tonight,” Izo said as he turned sideways and tried yet another shirt. “Well, not really. I got a meet and greet with some of the guys at a hostess club. I might as well try not to look too shabby.”

The juvenile yakuza frowned even more at this revelation. And here, he’d been hoping for a fun and exciting evening out, not being abandoned at headquarters, when he could have been spending more time leaning how their business worked.

“And you’re wasting time on an outfit? You usually bring me along…” Kai frowned and narrowed his eyes, following the vivid lines of elaborate inkwork decorating Izo’s back, shoulders, and arms in a curious fashion. He’d seen them before, it wasn’t like his partner didn’t leap at the chance to show them off.

“Hey, aniki… Your tattoos. The last time I asked, you said they have certain meanings. Can you tell me more about them now?” he asked in a hopeful, but careful tone of voice. “We’ve been partners for the past three years, almost.”

Heh. Precocious boy slinging emotional words like ‘partners’ around. His devotion to hustling was adorable. Izo knew better, but the sweet way the brat went about saying it was like drinking down warm honey. It was a pleasant kind of warmth. 

“The outfit’s like a storefront window, it’s for convincing,” Izo said as he looked over his shoulder at Chisaki’s ward. He wasn’t looking so sleepy now, and his intense stare made Izo lift an arm to check out the black lines snaking about his rib cage. The ink work wasn’t done yet, just a series of outlines scattered about his shoulders and back. The goal was to eventually get a whole shirt done, but until that happened, Izo was content to only brave the parlors sporadically  It depended when his mood and tolerance for pain was highest.

“They mean a buncha stuff,” Izo hedged, “Sorta slogans like ‘I’m good at this sorta shit’, ‘I believe in that’. Some of it is because ‘a guy I respect has something like it’. Water’s obvious, you already know that one.” After a pause, Izo draped his shirt over the back of his chair. “They’re pretty nice, right?”

“I didn’t think there’d be so many… flowers,” Kai pointed out, unable to mask the wrinkling of his upturned nose at the thought. Eyelids lowering to half-mast, he quite visibly began mulling something over in his mind.

“I was wondering if the Boss was thinking I might have earned the right to get one yet. You think maybe that might happen sooner or later?”

Izo  twisted to look incredulously at the boy on his bed. “What’s wrong with flowers? The’re perfectly manly. Ain’t like they’re roses or nothing. They’re not on my back because they’re romantic.” 

They were there proclaiming his sense of duty, his loyalty and clear mind. They spoke of death and single-minded purpose. His skin was there for important stories and words. He’d sooner cut himself than get something like his girl’s name.

“They’re there for the things I don’t wanna say out loud. Anyone that knows about what ink means will know what they’re sayin’. As for you gettin’ yours…”

 Izo eyed Kai critically. Was he actually serious? He was already that enthusiastic about being a made man? Izo chuckled, “You’re a bit big for your britches already. Nah, it’ll be later. Boss don’t have much truck on taking kiddies on. You’ve got a few more years to go.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, I just- The last meeting you took me to was the first time I’d even seen the Boss’ ink before and those were… you know, dragons,” Kai explained matter-of-factly. The last thing he wanted was Izo thinking he didn’t understand or respect the meaning behind the imagery.

The teen folded his lean arms beneath his chin, both sharp elbows jutting over the edge at the foot of the mattress. “I was just thinking if I’m gonna stay on, then I should start thinking about it now. Or learning what that stuff all means, like you. I’m not stupid, you know… Wasn’t like I wanted to get something just to flash it at the nearest person on the street.”

Kai rested his chin on his crossed arms and sighed loudly. “Even if the Boss thought I was ready, I guess I just want know what he’d pick. It wouldn’t mean the same thing if it were up to me, right…? That’d be no different than if any civvie waltzed into a parlor and got something done for bragging rights- they don’t earn that like we do,” Kai reflected, often failing to censor his own thoughts due to his familiarity with the gangster he worked with, or simply due to his age.

Izo turned around, folding his arms over his chest as he looked Kai over. Eyes still too big for his head, despite the roundness of his cheeks. Skinny, gawky limbs that were only going to get even gawkier once he started growing — which hadn’t happened yet (and likely wouldn’t any time soon, if he didn’t start eating more.) Izo hadn’t been much older when he’d started getting seriously in over his head, doing significantly more involved things than running messages. That’d been his own damn fault, though. He’d had too big a mouth, had been too smart for his own good and run in ahead right into things he should have steered clear of, if he’d only known better.

Kai had a good little schtick going. He liked to talk big, even going so far as to act like he was already willing to go whole hog into the sorta life Izo was leading. It was a pretty good life, Izo thought, it had its perks, he got pocket money. But talking big and going so far as to get an ill-advised tattoo while sober, well… those were two entirely different things.

Izo crossed his arms over his chest as he hunched over the bed, brows drawing together. “The boss doesn’t pick it. You do. Like I said, they tell a story and it’s the kinda stuff you wanna say but don’t have real good words for it, because saying it would be lame. Get it?” 

Izo turned to the side and twisted, pulling his arms up to show a spot on his rib cage where the outline of a crane was placed. It had yet to be colored in. 

“See this? Got this because of a guy I knew — real swell guy. He’s old now, so he’s sick and dying. Helped me out of  some tight spots and I owe him.  He always had a thing for those weird-ass birds, so I’m getting this put on there as a thank you. Hopefully it’ll get done and I can show it to him before he kicks the bucket.”

“It’s up to you what you wanna say. Most guys just stick with stuff like, ‘I’m strong and I can tear people’s heads off with my damn teeth like a pregnant bear.’ The boss’s dragon means he’s like the emperor. Getting the ink means you’re a made man, but you don’t wanna get a mark someone picks for you either because it makes you theirs. You pick it because it’s what you wanna say. Got it?” Izo hesitated, then added, “There’s some that do that — let someone put their mark on them. I hear some families are into that too, like branding farm animals. If anyone says they wanna do that with you, you tell ‘em no, kick ‘em real good and come and tell me.”  

Kai was far too young for those sorts of relationships and if anyone offered, that meant they were real creeps. Izo would cut bits off them in private somewhere.

The kid pushed his hands against the bed to get a better look, glancing from the silhouette of the bird coming to life on Izo’s darker skin, then back to the elder man’s face as he spoke. Kai had assumed the messages intended to be expressed through the tattoos were qualities others had to see and ‘confirm’ before making them yakuza language fact. To everyone else, he was just like any other middle school student in Tokyo. Now that he was officially partnered with a made man like his 'brother’, he felt… important. Not the way the Boss was important, but needed- Useful, like a part of the machine that was efficiently performing it’s role. In a strange way, Kai felt getting inked might confirm that- solidify his place within their ranks and as the heir to the Boss’ legacy.

“Yeah. I understand now,” he answered confidently, nodding once in affirmation. His gaze followed the swooping 'brushstroke’ of the bird’s neck as it melded to it’s back and folded wings curiously, frowning in silence as one of the notches of Izo’s ribs expanded with his breathing. “Does it hurt a lot? Especially places like these?” he asked, pointing at the thin layer of skin and muscle barely masking the bony landmark.

Izo shrugged, always a bit surprised how into medical stuff the kid was. He didn’t recall ever being like that at the same age. “Well, it always hurts when there’s not a lotta meat. I don’t have much all over, though. It’s not too bad.” 

Actually, it hurt like a bitch and Izo had let everyone up and down the street know he was getting his ink done just by all his screaming. But Kai’s wide-eyed look was laying it on a bit thick, wasn’t he? Izo had to give him props for consistency, though. The teen never let up with his schtick and he had to admit in his crusty, old-young heart that there were times he was quite warmed by it. Izo reached out to press down hard on Kai’s head, sending him tumbling. When he was down, Izo dug his knuckles into the teenager’s scalp for good measure. Straightening, he grunted, “What’s this about you wanting ink anyway? Why all a sudden?”

“Hey! Come on- Stop,” the kid half-laughed, half-ordered, trying to dodge the elder man’s hands until he’d lost his balance and tumbled from the bed. He rolled from the foot of the mattress and landed in a soft pile of discarded suits Izo had thrown, unceremoniously, to the floor- vibrantly dyed and patterned silks and sharkskin cushioning Kai’s coltish knees as he fended off more brotherly harassment. The question made him pause and look back up the rail-thin length of Izo’s slouching frame, blinking once as he stared back at that narrow-eyed, searching gaze reading his own expression and body language.

“Like I said. It’s been three years. I just thought, maybe… then we’d be blood brothers. You know, officially. That’s all,” he said, brushing Izo off and leaning back against the foot of the bed. He straightened his hair back out with a few brisk tugs of his thin fingers, tilting his chin up as though challenging the man to say otherwise.

Izo tsks, tongue pressed against the back of his teeth as his movements still and he stares down at Kai staring up at him with that far too serious glare.

The brat. How was he going to say no to a request like that? 

“Ah, you really know what to say, eh? Thought a lot about it, did you?” Scripted or not, he was good. Izo was melting a little despite himself.  He grabbed Kai’s head, looping an arm around his neck and squeezing as he roughly ground his knuckles in with a renewed vengeance. “Think you’re such a big man, EH?”

When he eventually released the boy, letting him drop to the hard floor like he was dropping a sack of rice. He turned back toward the mirror and dragged his fingers through his hair to work out some of the new tangles. Izo made a face and gave up on wearing it down. Finding a tie, he gripped it between his teeth and pulled his hair back away from his face to reveal sharp features that looked too narrow, too fox-like for even his own tastes. 

“Alright, since you say it so nicely, kid,” he muttered around the tie, “You can get what you want. But if it’s stupid looking, it’s on you. Remember that.”

[empresswrites]

For homebody who bought me a coffee~!!

Would you write a story about Marco & Ace drinking coffee? What if the coffee shop only had one cup left, though?

Ace always came in towards the end of the rush hour to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Oh goodness, was he about drooling for his favorite caramel mocha with extra whip that he could literally paint his nose with there was so much. A small groan leaves his lips as he felt tired from the short amount of sleep, having to fight a fire early this morning and structure fires were never easy to put out. In his truck held a German Shepherd named Stryker, something he picked after adopting the dog from the shelter as he was classified as ‘useless’ for the police force. Stryker was absolutely amazing by Ace’s side when going to fire’s and helping comfort people, letting them find solace in him while they worked—being a blessing for kids in most cases. 

After glancing once more to his truck to his windows down in the cool weather as Ace wouldn’t dare leaving his canine in a hot car, the young firefighter walked in to find a booth easily, almost collapsing into it tiredly. The waitress came over in a chirp, greeting Ace happily as he could almost see the hearts floating around her. It was no wonder as most got that way after the department did a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter by doing calendars and giving around ninety percent of profit to the shelter. They kept a little to pay the people who did the photographing and printing, with the small left over they did a few things with the station—like putting on an expansion for Stryker to have a place to sleep when they crashed there. 

“The same? With the to-go croissant?” The waitress asks, Ace for the life of him trying to remember the tag that says Bonney, and smiles. 

“Make that two, Stryker is pretty hungry.” The man comments with a gleam in his dark eyes as he was always happy when talking of his dog, even when Stryker tears up the newspaper when he was trying to read it. Stryker totally did it on purpose to mess with Ace, and he knew it, which is why he always tried biting down a laugh than being angry. 

“Sure thing!” She beams before turning away and was almost skipping away, seeming to be happy. 

Ace tiredly rubs to his face as he noticed the last of the rush hour leaving and he knew this was the time the employees could catch up on things. They seemed a little understaffed, which didn’t surprise Ace as Sunday mornings usually don’t get busy. He always came in at the same time at the proclaimed rush hour because he didn’t want to deal with a crowd of people and the parking in the small parking lot. Humming softly to the song playing overhead and he found himself nodding his head to the beat. 

“Do you mind if I sit here, yoi?” The question has Ace tiredly move eyelids to open and looks to the business attire on the blond male. Glasses are framing his azure eyes that show a face of mild disturbance and the light scowl is lingering, not particularly to the young man though. 

“Knock yourself out,” a hand waves out from the firefighter and just let the hand fall to the table as he was too tired to move it. 

“Good because you got the last coffee cup for the next ten minutes,” the businessman mutters while sitting, moving his tie and looked to adjust a type of suit jacket, but remembered he didn’t have it on over his dark purple button-up shirt. 

“Mh, happens.” A shrug leaves shoulders as dark eyes hide behind lids again as he tiredly rests back. 

“A firefighter?” The question has Ace hum and tilt his head back up while peeling eyes open with his exhausted muscles, knowing it will be quelled by caffeine soon enough. 

“Yeah, big fire early this morning.” 

“I know, my brother came tumbling into the apartment after it, yoi. I’m surprised you are even up after how late it was when you all got done.” The comment has Ace raise an eyebrow before shifting to rest against forearms. 

“Brother? Which one are you unluckily related to?” A smile flicks at his own humor and the other snorts while tilting his head. 

“Thatch,” a laugh leaves Ace on that with head bowed forward and gets a grumble. “Well, you must be Ace, the famous Freckles.” 

The dark hair shifts as the head snaps up with a scowl, “oh, for fucks sake, I told him to drop that months ago!” Ace complains and gets the other laughing before the coffee cup is set before him. 

“I’m sorry, sir. We will have yours out as soon as the cups are washed!” Bonney comments with a slight bow of her head to go with the apology and he waves a hand out. 

“Not your problem…” The expression schooled to be polite and Ace watches in bemusement as he takes in his features to pinpoint the name of him. Bonney excuses herself as the firefighter sips on his coffee, letting out a sigh of relief of the taste. 

“Oh!” Ace almost scares the other who raises a brow and a grin is on the freckled face. “Marco! The stuck-up, married to his work brother, right?” The question has a scowl set deep with a slight twitch that has Ace laughing. 

“I guess I need to throttle Thatch later, yoi.” They both crack up a little before Ace drinks gingerly and Marco shifts lightly. 

“Mh, wanna try? It’s good!” Ace offers after taking half the drink down, not caring it was burning his mouth a moment ago. Seeing the eyebrow raise he gives a cheeky grin, feeling himself wake up more for the time being to take Stryker out to play for the next hour at least. “Come on~!” The encouraging has Marco snort before he grasps the offered cup and takes a tentative drink. Surprise shows in blue eyes and he pulls it away to look in the cup. 

“Is that caramel?” 

“Yup, caramel mocha with extra whip.” 

“I can tell by your nose.” The mentioning has Ace trying to look down at his nose, earning a light laugh from the other. The firefighter begins using his tongue to soon barely reach part of the sweetness before growling as it’s too far. It has Marco still laughing before a hand moves to finally sweep the white fluff from his own nose and finds a mouth. A hum lingers from the firefighter, having eyebrows raise in questioning at him and Ace’s dark eyes flicker before giving a cheeky grin behind his thumb with bouncing brows. There is a snort lingering from the businessman as the cup is taken back. 

“You know, Thatch probably doesn’t introduce me to his brothers for a reason.” Ace comments snarky and gets a curious look to explain. “Because I wouldn’t mind being a mistress to your work,” the suggestive words linger before that smirk is covered by a mug, but eyes are smoldering. 

“You are quite mouthy, brat.” The remark is accompanied with a smirk and gets a gleam in dark eyes, seeming even more interested if the other was. 

“Very mouthy, old man.” The words linger and bring this festering in Marco as he enjoyed that comment, sending his mind wandering a little. 

“Two croissants and a coffee!” Bonney shows up in a chirp, setting the mug down that was hot from just being washed and the bag of bread is set down. “Here is your bill!” The slip of paper is handed to the firefighter, who graciously takes it. It was amazing how he could go from deadbeat to hyper with just a half cup of coffee. 

“Hold on, I got the money here.” Ace’s mug is set down as he digs for his wallet and hands over the amount with extra bills for the tip added in. “Keep the change, and thanks again.” 

“Thank you, you have a nice day~!” Bonney skips off and Ace puts his wallet away before grabbing his mug to chug the rest down. 

“Mh, as much I would love to flirt with you into oblivion, I got to go play with Stryker. His doggy park time and all, wouldn’t let me sleep through it even when he is damn near exhausted.” Ace mentions with a thumb over his shoulder and gains a snort and chuckle in return. 

“That’s too bad, I was enjoying my mistress time.” A faux sigh shows and makes Ace laugh at the play on words and he gets up, noticing a pen in the shirt pocket. He shifts to yank the pen out, clicking it before turning over a hand to write. 

“Here, now I will let you decide if you want me to bug the shit out of you or not.” Ace responds, Marco looking to the number with a smile and then gazing up to him with flirty eyes—they totally were. 

“Sure, let’s play a game while we’re at it, yoi.” An interested look left the firefighter and Marco smirks. “No telling Thatch, first that lets him find out has to give in to the other’s prize decided at the time.” A beaming grin lingers on Ace on such a type of game that could lead to many things if they hold it long enough. 

“What about your other brothers?” 

“I’ll bribe them, especially Izo.” The comment has the younger laugh before nodding. 

“Um, yeah, but let them know that loser gives them a gift!” The claim shows a smile on Marco, liking how he knows of his brother well enough that he doesn’t have to explain them. 

“Deal, yoi. Talk to you later, brat.” The response has Ace grinning as Marco has no clue what he just opened himself up to, Ace was practically the king of flirts and that meant through texts or calls too. 

“You’re in trouble, old man.” The mentioning leaves the firefighter as he trails out with his bag of goodies for his dog, hoping the other was shamelessly checking out his backside—though it wouldn’t matter as he would help with that soon enough.

[kimmyyjv]

Fated yet Forbidden

Part 1- Lost

He was utterly and terribly lost. Stumbling through the trees, bumping into bark possibly centuries old and chipping off precious bits with his not-so-gentle brushes against them, Sabo was hopelessly lost.

He squinted against the evening sun, his breath ragged, and his normally pristine clothes dishevelled. His vision blurred and his head swam, as he struggled to at least track through the dense forest, fumbling further in hopes of finding an exit.

He had to get back to the base, back, back, before it found him. Before it returned.

Did he mention he was lost ?

Oh and disoriented. With a possible concussion. That too.

He struggled to get air into his lungs, his breath coming out in pants as he felt his rib cage groaning from the exertion. His body protested at the strain he was forcing it under, and Sabo briefly entertained the idea of stopping to heal himself.

No, no, that little thought was quickly ripped and discarded. He didn’t have time for such matters, he had to focus on getting out.

His legs were screaming at him and his arms throbbed painfully, the muscles burned whilst his back felt like it was on fire, well, not really as gid knows he had experience there, but it sure felt it it was. His chest wasn’t any better either. He knew that he was bleeding sluggishly from all the nicks and open wounds littering his body and he was obviously weak from bloodloss, on the verge of collapse and yet, he struggled on.

He absolutely cannot be caught now, not when he was what remained of their little party, of the group so viciously ripped from their organisation.

He was their only source of news of what had occurred within the silent enclave of this obscure forest; the only one who had even an inkling of what had transpired and what they were dealing with.

Sure, they had been well informed before then, but still, it had never crossed their minds how dangerous it truly was. How much strength the rogue, no, the creature had amassed. When their hunters had disappeared one after another within the area whilst on their solo missions, they hadn’t thought much about it. Simply that the hunters got caught up in their quests and had yet to return. Still, after receiving no news after weeks from their scheduled return, they had dispatched a search party. Sabo had spent a month trying to track down where their wayward hunters had gone, finally having a lead into the woods going up a small mountain.

He had thought nothing of it, barely thinking before he plunged himself and his team into the very woods that had swallowed his comrades. Only to come face to face with a vicious beast that had lurked in the shadows, cleverly staying off radar despite it’s limited capacity to conceive notions and waiting to pounce.

It even took Sabo by surprise while he was getting a drink and was the only reason he was in the state he was in right now. Also, the shock from seeing his team mercilessly slaughtered by a rogue that had stolen from them.

For a split second, Sabo was somewhat relieved it hadn’t been in contact with any high hunters other than him. If a high hunter had been killed… Their strength taken… Sabo could not even imagine the damage it could have wrought.

Now, all he had to do was be careful to not let the blood-savaged beast addicted to hunter blood even get a drop of his. He counted his lucky stars he was able to get away by locking the damn thing in place, but the prison won’t be sustained when he is gone so no doubt, the, cage would be disintegrating even as he stumbled through the undergrowth.

His knees threatened to buckle but he struggled on, determination setting in his heart to not let his team’s sacrifice be in vain. He had to get them the retribution they desired and deserved and rip that monster to nothing. At least, after he had regained his strength. Oh, when he returned in tip-top shape, that thing will regret crossing paths with him. Oh yes, he will come with vengeance upon his claws!

Sweat ran down his face in rivulets and dotted his forehead, he was losing precious light and it was imperative he at least made it to the nearest town.

‘I have to make it. I have to get out of here. ’

His addled brain, even in that state, argued in a voice he wasn’t sure was even his that it was at least two days away on foot.

‘Shut up brain, I do what I want. As if you can stop me. You are delusional right now. ’

His brain snorted. 'Like you are one to talk. You are practically inebriated! Do you even know where you are right now? ’

Huh… Since when did his brain get so snappy? He must be worst off than he thought.

'Obviously… Seriously, where are you? Can you focus on what’s in front of you, you dipshit?! ’

Wow, who knew the voices in his head could be so impatient, and not to mention logical… Law said he was never logical while drunk, so why would he be logical while concussed. Maybe they work differently… Maybe he should listen to his little voice that had never reigned till now -in spite of the several times he had gotten a wind of bad luck that wound up with him aching all over and prone upon the cold ground on some missions that he had mindlessly and impulsively plunged into- that could possibly save him now.

He looked up, and ow, that was a mistake as the ground under his feet wobbled and the surrounding greenery tipped and swirled into a mass of colours. But not before he thought he saw a huge maple oak in a distant clearing.

Vertigo washed over him and he was sprawled on his back before he even realised he had lost his footing.

’Hang in there… ’ the deep baritone voice whispered. ’We are coming.’

'That’s nice… ’ Sabo mused, his last conscious thought being that his inner voice was trying to reassure him. Surely that was the concussion talking- and oh look, pretty colours in a sky of black!! He was out before he even realised it.

———————————————————————————–

When Ace was brought out if his musings for inspiration for his new sketches, he had not given it much attention. Just a passing thought while lost in his world of imagination.

’…must… Out… Before…gets… Me… It cannot kill me. ’

OK, that was different. And certainly not his thoughts. Sure, he may have been suicidal, but that was like, a hundred years ago. He had long since abandoned that train of thought, it hadn’t crossed his mind once in the past century, not since he became a part of the Whiteboard Coven.

So… That begs the question… Just where did that thought come from??

’…killed all my hunters… I will kill it… ’

Ace sat up straighter. Better yet… From whom was that thought coming from?

Ace was briefly disturbed when he thought about someone having intruded his mind to send those thoughts, but that quickly washed away when everything clicked into place and he suddenly realised- That was the voice of his soulmate!

He had only ever heard from his family, about how you can hear your soulmate’s voice in your head, and their thoughts when you were in the same area, within a certain distance; and how that finite distance delved into something infinite when you bonded. Every living sentient being has a soul mate, but only vampires have unlocked and achieved that aspect of being able to recognise their soul mates and skim their thoughts or emotion. Werewolves to a lesser degree.

So, this meant, his soul mate was in the area! And apparently in trouble, it would seem. Just what was going on??

Ace didn’t even have time to dwell on what could have occurred, concern for a person -man- he had never even met or known until now overriding all other emotion. He quickly sent reassurance back to the mind in his own, trying to get him to divulge his location or even glean a location from the brief flashes of images he saw in his minds eye. It worried him, for the memory was vivid with red.

He threw down his sketchbook and and scrambled to his feet, abandoning the cooling shade of the tree in the back garden of the castle to hurry indoors, rushing past his many brothers and sisters to make haste towards the throne room, where no doubt, Pops would be. And where Pops was, his commanders or High Princes would be too.

Everyone in the castle were royalty, being Pops’ children, as Pops was the king of Paradise, the land ,forest and mountains where all supernatural creatures in the county resided. Of course, there were the generals, leaders of the various packs and groups that populated the area, but here, Pops or Edward Newgate was the undisputed King and leader. The strongest Vampire to have ever lived.

Luffy though, his little brother, was contesting that title. Although everyone knew that if -heaven forbid- Pops was to croak, Marco would take over as he was Pops’ first son and crown prince.

Luffy, being Luffy had pouted and unrelented, insisting that if he couldn’t be Vampire king, then he would be Pirate King instead.

While everyone had laughed and pointed out that vampires existed 300 years ago, and were almost non-existent now, Luffy had remained steadfast in his passion and dream, even gathering a group of odd mixed misfits to call his crew. Everyone thought it was cute, and so they let him be. Luffy had been off gallivanting around the mountains ever since. Luffy, bless him, had truly done wonders for his soul. However, Ace has always felt… Empty, or rather, incomplete, like something was missing. He had finally gathered the courage to enquire about it 50 years ago and Marco had told him with high certainty that it was from the missing bond with his soul mate, using his and Thatch’s relationship as an example. Although Thatch had teased him about it for not knowing about something so “simple” for days on end after that little talk.

He threw open the huge oak doors without hesitation, not even giving one of his brothers from Izo’s division the chance to announce him before he barged in unceremoniously.

All chatter in the throne room ceased as all eyes turned to him. Ace didn’t care as he stalked forwards, silver eyes glued to Pops’ golden ones, face set in determination. As expected, the commanders, the sixteen high princes, of which Ace was a part of, were all standing around Pop’s throne.

Ace took a deep breath, steeling himself for the bomb about to drop.

“I’ve found my soul mate Pops; and he is in trouble. ”

At once, voices rose as some expressed their shock, and others their concern.

Pops reverently raised his hand, and all noise died to give way to a heavy silence.

“Your soulmate is in the area?” He pinned Ace with his unwavering stare, and Ace met his stare head on, nodding sharply.

“What makes you think he’s in trouble? ”

“What he showed me, however briefly, made me have reason to believe that it so. ”

“Do you know where he is? ”

Ace was about to shake his head when an image crossed his mind, of a cluster if trees, opening into the right of a familiar glade he recognised, with a towering ancient Maple Oak tree smack dab in the centre of it.

He nodded, “Yeah, just to the right of the Oak Glade. ” There was only one place in the first with that Oak, everyone knew what he was talking about.

“He maybe seriously injured, Pops… It’s hearing me in the inside… ” Ace gasped.

Whitebeard nodded grimly. “Izo, Marco, Thatch, Haruta. You will go with Ace to fetch his soulmate. Namur, inform the infirmary to prep themselves.” Pops ordered and swiftly, wasting no time, the High princes obeyed and darted for the doors, the little group sent to find Ace’s soulmate all making for the entrance to enter the forest.

….

They reached the glade in no time at all, conign from the left, and that was when they were all hit by the overpowering scent of blood, and not just any blood, oh no.

They made their way towards the right, following Ace’s lead and the scent and all struggling to reign in their bloodlust. They were not High Pinces for nothing though, and iron clad wills clamped down on their thirst as they focused on the task at hand.

They circled around some trees to come face to face with a collapsed form upon the ground.

The proximity only serving to confirm their suspicions that yes, Ace’s Soulmate was a Hunter.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1014 - Initial Thoughts

Luffy is falling

And now the slim hope of victory has thinned 2 Weeks later and a tragic death of another longtime manga writer and we're back with One Piece - lowkey still concerned for Oda's health given that he goes on a weekly schedule compared to how Miura spread out chapters - to see the fall out

and we're picking up right after the fall

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release also

Our cover page is Law this time, about to slice up some sneaky ass tiger, also that plate has the Great Wave printed on it...

Back with Kaido lamenting as Luffy falls, it seems that an attack Luffy tried may've failed or backfired on him

So Kaido knows about Joy Boy? Then why does he want Oden's Journal?

We actually see Luffy fall into water, which throws off any chance of him being picked up by BM's ship and having to team with them, which is a shame would've been a fun dynamic

Also Kaido you still underestimate our boy!

Elusive Squirrel Girl Bao Huang has found Momo too, so Kaido's on his way for that

Seems that Yamato's decoy (which apparently people were buying as Momo) was for nothing

Momo has learned something from Oden's journal, though now he's gotten some migraines

Over to the floor and Chopper is throwing Queen around with arrows in his back!

It's the Pero bitch, and what's worse is that Chopper's Monster Point is running out

As it turns out, Chopper can now go for longer, because Caesar boosted the formula for his Rumble Balls, I wonder if that means that Chopper could be open to some more Points

Dainty Squirrel Girl Bao Huang begins Kaido's victory message though, with some bending of the truth to imply he was dead

This has distracted the alliance though, Chopper gets bitten, Tama is crying, Jimbei's noticeably calm though fighting Who's Who in his human form

They also announce that Kaido's coming down to clean up so if anyone wants to surrender do it now, no Straw Hat's gonna though, Sanji and Zoro being sure to vocalize that

Law though looks a bit alarmed, while Kid couldn't care less, no sign of Killer though

Over to that bastard Kanjuro, who is using the fake Oden to try and catch Momo and Shinobu off guard, but Kin'emon and Kiku are there already

Kiku Nooooooooooo! One moment of hesitation and now you're stabbed through and through, what's Izo gonna say!? You knew it was Kanjuro!

That just pissed me off really, it's the same thing with Oden and the Hagwitch, they both got fooled twice and now it's cost them their lives, what's that armor good for if it can't block a sword?! Sadly she passes out/dies in Kin's arms, hoping that the dawn will still come

But alas, Kanjuro is finished by Kin'emon, which is well overdue that bastard should not have been able to kill 2 Scabbards

Some brutal last words though, 'While I was performing on stage, you were my best friend'

And no reprieve, Kaido's here!

Kin tells him to run but he's getting that Conqueror's Coated Mace right on the head, smashing through his swords

And now, Onigashima is reaching the mainland...

I feel like the Scabbards are a big middle finger from Oda to anyone who accuses One Piece of not killing off their characters XD

but damn is he being grim about it all. Luffy is drowning now, the Straw Hats aren't exactly faring well - though Chopper gets huge props for facing Queen AND Perospero even if he's not doing much damage - Momo is in Kaido's corsairs and now we're at least 3 Scabbards down.

I say 'at least' because I don't think Kin'emon's dead just yet, something tells me he has more to give, but Kiku is probably gone, the lost arm was a way to make us think she was safe, how this affects Izo's mentality and chances I do not know, Denjiro has been AWOL for a while too and Orochi's still up and about, Raizo and Inu are still fighting, Neko looks to still be en route to Peros, but with Kaido on 'clean up' it's not a good look.

There are however, glimpses of hope. Luffy in the water does narrow down who can save him: the Polar Tang, Law's other crewmates who didn't join the fight. Tama still has her SMILEs in control and Momo's migraines are a big deal, the last time he had those was Zunesha...is Zou about to come to Wano? I do think Peros picking on Chopper also opens the door for Carrot to return to fight him (with or without Neko), it will also encourage Sanji maybe to take Queen in his stead.

I feel like Kaido and BM right now expect people to roll over, but it's not gonna be like that Down, but Never Out.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 991 - Initial Thoughts

It’s about damn time, in two ways now too Because it is 9:50pm here in the UK I have been waiting near 14 hours for this goddamn translation XD And granted, it’s gonna be a little bit iffy but let’s get to it!

Spoilers for Chapter 991, Support the Official Release

Happy feels for Pound getting to embrace his daughters, but alarming title translation

Right where we left off, Drake has made the request in front of the Straw Hats and Pay-Pay

Drake you dare doubt Coby on his Luffy gushing!?

Many though are untrusting; mainly Zoro (whose head wound has healed up) who goes for Drake, I feel like it is telling that they brought up Hawkins again, did Hawkins ever say that he was on Kaido’s side?

Despite Zoro, Franky and even ‘team up with Capone Bege’ Jimbei saying No, Luffy’s gonna be Luffy XD He’s validating Coby even when he doesn’t know it. Though we can easily see why the crew would suspect

But now, like Law, Drake will be subjected to the ‘Eternal Headache’

But Pay-Pay and Ulti are now at the scene, eyes back on Luffy again as they waste the grunt soldiers with their DF

Sanji I know Ulti’s cute but focus, can’t be simping right now!

Usopp has the idea, straight for the Bombgrass

Then completely framing Nami for it XD It’s been too long since we’ve had this dynamic. And of course it’s ‘talk big but run’, Usopp and Nami vs Ulti and Pay-Pay would be an interesting matchup

There’s Apoo! Very much disappeared there didn’t he? But he’s back and...ineffective because he’s scouted. Lucky that Luffy did have wherewithal to remember that from Killer (who with Kid and team Law are also very missing)

Interesting that Apoo’s bounty didn’t go up at all since Volume 68, still 350M

The Numbers do get their blushes a little spared though, Hatcha seems to be stronger than the other 3, we’ve only met half of the Numbers still and Franky used a lot of the tank just to land that major blow, also I am a fan of the ‘hit a mofo with another mofo’ trope, I dig that energy

But a Drunk Hatcha is advantageous to us, he’s too simple to fight and just wants to play with Franky’s Shogun armor

Meanwhile, we’re back to shitting on Apoo as Drake and Zoro have a gentlemanly conversation with bladed weapons

But now comes Queen, PACKING HEAT with the Gatling! Now Queen poses a danger: high ground and seemingly sea prism bullet gatling? That is dangerous...though why use Samurai to reel? He didn’t have a DF...Maybe it’s a poison bullet instead?

Zoro being blunt as hell too ‘another weird guy is after you’ XD no sympathy

Ooosh, Jack got thumped didn’t he? But Kaido’s gone and stepped in

Seems that Kaido is the only one of the higher ups that actually rates Jack XD But we’ve got contradiction here, we’ve often been told that Kaido doesn’t care about his men, so why does he call them his ‘precious men’?

At Last, Su Long Inu and Neko, and it does not disappoint. Even with the Fu Manchu

Looks like the grunt fights were pretty even, the Number got taken down but the Minks are out of it now, both sides will need to recuperate and I feel like Jack may recover quicker...

YAS! I KNEW IT! Kin’emon can cut Kaido’s Dragonfire! Hell Yeah, but also Big Death Flag since that is someone Kaido would want to negate

The Samurai fully intend to make it their last stand, and well...could you guys not? I kinda like you guys and we literally just got Izo back and who else is gonna wear Kiku’s armor? So yeah, don’t die guys or Tsuru will be mad

Though I didn’t appreciate waiting, it was worth the wait, I’m still shaking a little with the tension. We’re slowly getting to the main fights here; Usopp and Nami taking Ulti and Pay-Pay seems to be their first step, Drake and Zoro look like they’re about to have an ultimate buddy adventure with Apoo just...there, Franky is gonna take on Hatcha, which leaves Robin, Jimbei, Brook, Sanji, Chopper and Luffy still to do their tower climb, not to mention Carrot, Team Law, Team Kid, Team Shinobu, Team Hyou and his Yakuza and Team MarcoPero to deal with Hawkins(?), Who’s Who, Killer Queen, Sasaki, Big Mom, Black Maria, King, MegaForehead and the Oniwabanshu, Hotei and his Mimawarigumi and perhaps more (including 5 more Numbers). And there’s still the question mark on Orochi, Caribou, Kanjuro, Tama, Speed(?), the shadowy figure in the bushes and Hiyori factors to wonder about. Chopper, Carrot, Robin and Brook were all absent this time (compared to the usual absentees), I wonder if the plot will move to them next chapter, I could actually see Chopper wanting to fight Queen IF he is using poison bullets, just full on unleash Monster Point - this is a stage for it. But yeah, exciting developments, 9 more to go and it looks like no break! But be wary, I’ve been doing the math on these things: the earliest Chapter 1000 can come is late November sure, but do you know what else lies on a Friday? Christmas Day...and New Year’s Day It would be kinda poetic for Oda to do Chapter 1000 on one of these days, but then again, Oda could ruin our days depending on what OP1K provides...for now just keep our fingers crossed and hope next week we don’t have to wait so long

[usopp-writes]

Wedding - Part 3

@one-piece-26 - This got much longer than I thought, but here’s the last part.

Marco fidgetted with his shirt. It was white and he kept it mosty open, only haivng it buttoned at the bottom. the shirt was also tucked into a pair of black pants, which was surprisingly comfortable, yet tight. He’d kept his belt, tassel and sandals, though Izo had tried to convince him to wear shoes. That was not going to happen and Thatch might just laugh at it.

“You look amazing, Marco. I’m sure Thatch will look at you all day and night.” Ace grinned, as he came to pick Marco up. he should have been there earlier, but had a narcoleptic attack, but Marco seemed fine. Just a little nervous, but that Ace got. Who wouldn’t be nervous when binding yourself to one person?

“Thanks. I’m doing the right thing, right, yoi?” Marco knew what Ace thought about love, but the younger man flashed him his brightest smile and patted his back gently. “You and Thatch are perfect together and if anyone should marry on this ship, it should definitely be you two. Everyone’s been betting on when you popped the question and only Oyaji and Izo got it right. I didn’t bet, because if anyone knew you at all, would know you would do it on a sunflower field and most likely the one you had your first real date on.”

Marco blushed at this, but smiled. Ace knew him too well, even though he hadn’t been that long among them as others. It was comforting and also why he’d chosen the younger to be his best man. By loic he should have chosen Jozu, Rakuyo or someone else, who’d been with him longer, but Ace knew him the best and could read him even better than most, except for Thatch, Izo and Oyaji.

“Hot damn. I did participate in this bet and won.” Ace’s eyes had turned away from Marco and he’d spotted Thatch coming with Izo. Behind them the crew and allies were all waiting for things to start. Marco followed Ace’s gaze and let out a sharky breath. Thatch was indeed hot and he had his hair down.

Unable to take his eyes of Thatch, Marco bit his lips lightly. How in hell was he going to last until everyone was drunk, when Thatch looked so hot and amazing? It would be a real test, but at least no one would blame them for kissing a lot. That was part of a wedding after all and Marco looked forward to lock lips with his soon-to-be-husband.

Thatch didn’t see the crew and allies. He didn’t even see Ace. All he saw Marco and his heart started to race. Marco’s hair looked fluffy, but the clothes highlighted what Thatch loved about him. His eyes, biceps and if Marco was to turn around, his firm rear too. Gosh Marco looked stunning and it took Thatch’s breath away for a brief moment.

He stopped in front of Marco, both just looking at each other, as Ace and Izo was lining up and sending the signal to the muscians. “You look stunning.” Thatch breathed, a happy smile danced on his lips. Marco smiled too, cheeks dusted in pink. “And you’re gorgeous, yoi.”

It was then the music started and Thatch held his hand to Marco, who grabbed it and their hand tangled together. Ace and Izo walked first and stopped in front of Whitebeard and looked at the couple, who now walked towards them, Bink’s Sake playing softly in the background. Marco and Thatch could barely keep their eyes from each other, which had a few chuckle silently. They also took their time to get to Whitebeard, but no one bothered, seeing how happy the two were.

As they stopped, they finally looked at Whitebeard, who was smiling brighter than he had done in years. Tears of happiness was in his eyes,but he didn’t bother. His sons were happy and getting married. He was blessed with the task to bind them into marriage. How could he nt be happy?

“My dearest family. Who would have thought that we would be gathered like this for a wedding? And then on top, the wedding of two family member, who found a lover deeper than the ocean and stronger than me? It makes me so happy to see them having found the purest love of all and I’m blessed to bind them in marriage on this day.” Whitebeard started, his voice loud and strong enough to carry to all, yet it sounded gently and calm.

“Marco and Thatch have both decided to say their vows to each other now. lase start, Marco.” Whitebeard looked at Marco, who turned to face Thatch, cheeks now redder than before, but he didn’t think about it. He took Thatch’s hand and looked into his eyes.

“Thatch. You were a pain in the ass when you first decided to join us. Always asking such annoying questions, not bothered with getting a daily bath on the sea. However, it slowly turned into a fun activity and I refound my inner brat. You taught me to not put the whole crew’s problems on my shoulder. You taught me to share and you became my best friend. Having you at my side when I was lost or needed to talk. I don’t know how you manage to get so close, but I don’t want it to change. Your cheerful personality, your smile and your warm embrace is addictive and I want to have you at my side every day. From this day forward, I promise to be at your side, caring for you on the best and worst days. I love you, yoi.”

A few cheers and whistles was heard, making Marco blush even more. His heart hammered in his chest, though his face was one big smile. He’d said all he wanted to say, not going blank as he’d feared. 

Thatch started to blush lightly too at the words of his lover. “Marco. From the very first moment I met you, I knew you were different. You intrigued me. Nt ony because of your powers, but your personality. So stern and responsible, not what I expected from a pirate. Then I saw you smile and I knew I could be your friend. My daily sea baths was just a way to get to know you. And I did. After all, I became your friend and closer to you. I don’t know how long I’ve had these feelings for you, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is now. You’re my soulmate, the one I want to be with. I promise to spend the rest of my life with. In good and bad days. I love you with all I am.”

More cheers and were some sniffing? Thatch didn’t know, as all he focused on was Marco, who had turned a shade redder, but was still smiling.

“Now you’ve given your vows, I will with the blessing of the Sea Goddess, now pronounce you husband and husband. May you always be best friends and love each other. You can now kiss.” Whitebeard smiled.

Under the cheers and whistles from the family, Thatch and Marco shared their first kiss as a married couple. For a brief moment everything around them toned out and all there was, was them.

After the ceremony, the party started. Thatch and Marco couldn’t really let go of each other. People came to congratulate them and cheer with them. Booze floated freely and most were already tipsy, as food was yet to be served. It itched in Thatch’s fingers to cook, but he’d promised Jessica he would let her handle it. She knew what he liked and how he liked it.

Marco and Thatch was sharing a passionate kiss, when a laughter gave Marco the chills. It wasn’t one of their family’s laugh. Marco broke the kiss and stared at the beach from where the laughter came and he groand a little. Not long after, the owner of the laugh was in front of them. “Someone tols me that you two lovelies have promised to love each other forever. Congrats, Marco, Thatch. Guess that means I have to win both  of you to get the birb to join me.”

“Hey Shanks. Thanks. How the heck did you know where we were and what is going on?” Thatch looked baffled, while Marco looked around to see if he could sense any guilt in his family. “Ah you know, my nose got wind of a party and when I came, someone told me it’s your wedding. Why didn’t you invite me?” Shanks faked whined, earning a hit on the head by Benn.

“Sorry to crash your wedding, but he was impossible to keep away. Congratulation to you two. I’ll keep him at bay.” Benn said and dragged his captain with im, much to Marco’s relief. As both were gone, Thatch leaned towards Marco and whispered into his ear. “He’ll get drunk and after we had some cake, you and I can ditch them and go to our room and complete our wedding.”

Marco shuddered lightly and pulled Thatch into a hungry kiss. That did sound like a great plan. It took a few hours though, but thanks to their family, Shanks didn’t get to bother them all that much. There were a few speeched too, one from Ace and one from Izo. Whitebeard also held a speech, as did a few others, though they were mostly drunk speeches.

The cake was huge and Marco wondered how the hell Thatch had managed to make that one, let alone keep it cold. It had different flavors and Marco groaned happily, as the taste of rum-glazed pineapple filled his mouth. He kissed Thatch again, before taking a piece of cake, gesturing Thatch to do the same. As soon as they had told everyone that they could get a piece of cake, both Thatch and Marco left the party behind. Now it was time to be alone for the newly wed couple.

Lying on the bed, limbs tanlged together, Marco let his fingers go through Thatch’s hair, a pure and content smile dancing on his lips. “I love you, yoi.” He whispered, not really believing he could be this happy. “I love you too.” Thatch smiled and captured Marco’s lips. No matter what tomorrow brought them, they would be facing it together. As a married couple.