#Fast fauna facts

[dougdimmadodo]

Fast Fauna Facts #1 - Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

Family: Hoopoe Family (Upupidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Widely distributed across temperate Eurasia and western Africa, Common Hoopoes live specifically in areas which provide both plentiful open ground (which they need to feed, using their long beaks to poke through soil in search of insects and seeds) and a small number or large trees in which to nest. Hoopoes nest in naturally occurring tree holes and work in pairs to raise their chicks, with females incubating the eggs and guarding the chicks while males provide food. When threatened during nesting both chicks and adult females of this species will produce a strong and unpleasant smell that has been likened to manure or rotting flesh, but if this initial deterrent fails the mother will jab at threats with her beak's sharp tip.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Image Source: Here

Next (Parrot Waxcap)->

[peachssodapop]

Finally started thinking about a role swap au

Zelda who just been a scientist apprentice until she stumbles across the sword and has no idea how to use it

and Link a prince who despite unlocking his powers as a young child will not stop working himself to the bone to ensure he is powerful enough to face this ever looming threat

[thewildwaffle]

Friend Shaped

The professor clacked his beak sharply three times in the front of the room. The students, around 40 individuals, and many species from across the galactic arm hushed almost immediately. “Welcome back, class. The day for your first planet-side mission to Nemulon 3 is fast approaching, and we've still got a lot of safety training to cover, so let's get started.” The professor stepped aside to allow a projection to display against the board behind him. A picture of a blue, green, and gray planet shone brightly against the dark tapestry of space. Nemulon 3 had been discovered deca-orbits ago but offered a wide variety of biomes that were the perfect blend of challenging and safe to train new recruits to the Galactic Alliance’s Exploration Fleet. “Today we're covering some alien fauna you may encounter while conducting exploratories. Most are small enough that they won't pose much of an issue, but we do have a few category 5 lifeforms that you need to be aware of.” The display behind the professor changed from an image of Nemulon 3 from orbit to a chart topped by 5 images with their respective labels: karindru, oold, dini-dini, barintuna, and great lavalen. Before the professor could start in on the next part of his lecture, a voice spoke out from the middle of the classroom.“That looks like a dog.” The professor stood with his beak half open. He was certainly not used to being interrupted, let alone this early in the lesson. “A what?” He finally choked out. There was a pause as if the offending student was thinking better about drawing more attention to themselves before slowly putting their hand up in the air. It was a human. Cadet Valentina, if the attendance role had been accurate. “I said it… it looks like a dog.” Human Valentina inhaled as if gathering the courage to say more. “They're a carnivorous canine species on earth that humans domesticated thousands of cycles ago and selectively bred to be pets.” The professor’s beak closed with a snap and some of the features near the base of his neck ruffled slightly. “Nemulon 3 is 47 light years away from Earth. Any similarities between each planet’s fauna is purely coincidental, a product of parallel evolution.” The human bowed her head and said nothing else, so the professor continued. “Now, for many of you of larger stature, a single karindru might not pose much of a threat, but their real danger comes from their numbers. They live, travel, and hunt in packs. Thankfully, their method of communicating with each other in their packs are quite loud, so you will hear them long before you see them, and hopefully, before they see you. Typically you’ll hear anything from yipping, chirping, and howling.” “Kind of like coyotes.” The professor stopped and stared at the human again, feathers ruffling once again. “Another kind of canine species back home,” Valentina offered quietly. If the professor was capable of growling, he might have been tempted to at that moment. Instead, he sighed slowly. “I can assure you, trying to get close to these will likely end with your injury or death.” “Well, that's what ancient humans thought about wolves too, but then we bred them into dogs and now they’re our best friends.” “Karindru are not, nor are any native creatures on this planet, your friend. Not now, not ever.” The professor turned sharply back to the board. The entire class was dead silent. Few even dared to breathe. It was quiet enough, in fact, to hear the human mumble under their breath, “If not friend, then why friend-shaped?”

The human was promptly given detention and assigned extra homework of writing “I will not try to domesticate any native fauna on Nemulon 3” one hundred times by hand.

[arc-misadventures]

In an effort to improve moral the council and Ironwood have agreed to Yang's plan and instigate the largest hide and seek game ever (TM) with a billion lien prize utilizing Penny as the seeker while the military holds a military "Exercise" outside the kingdom.

Nora wins

A few weeks later Jaune shows up and asks if the game is still going on.

The Hunt

Ironwood: Attention people of, Atlas, and Mantle! Today we will be conducting the worlds largest game of, Hide, and Go Seek!

Ironwood: Now I know many of you find this stupid, and silly. But, I am sure that for a prize of one billion Lien will change your minds! That's right people, the last person found, be they be male, or female, young, and old, human, and faunas alike will receive a prize of one billion Lien to do whatever they desire to do with it!

Ironwood: Now then, our seekers for this game will be, Atlas's proud Knights, and our loyal defender, Penny Polendina! Take it away, Ms. Polendina!

Penny: Thank you, General Ironwood! Salutations everyone! As the, General said, we will be hosting the worlds largest game of hide, and go seek with the grand prize for the last person found, winning one billion Lien! Now the rules are simple! Hide, and don't get caught! Of course we must advise you to hide in safe places, ant to not go anywhere that could get yourself hurt!

Penny: Now I have a complete data base of every individual who lives, in, Atlas, and Mantle. So I will be able to tell who has been found, and who is left to be found~! So don't worry, I won't leave a stone unturned in this great hunt!

Penny: And, with that, you all have five hours begore the game begins! Starting... Now!

Penny: Good luck everyone, and let the games begin!

~~~ Penny: Aren't you going to hide, General?

Ironwood: Me? No, nonono, I am not interested in playing this game. Go right on ahead, Penny. Happy hunting.

Penny: I will do, Sir!

~~~

Penny: 1 hr 37 mins have elapsed since the start of the game: 1,721 players, and counting have been found.

Penny: ...

Penny: 1,722 players have been found; Hello friend, Blake!

Blake: What?! How did you find me so fast?!

Penny: Your hiding spot was not out of place, but empty boxes do no jiggle.

Blake: Shit! Knew I should have grab something to read that wasn't so spicy...

~~~

Penny: 2,520 players have been found, and 5% of, Atlas, and Mantle have been explored.

(Smash!)

Penny: 2,521 players have been found; Hello, Specials Ederne!

Elm: Hi, Penny... was it the fact I knock over the shelf that gave me away?

Penny: Negative. Your head is peeking over the top shelf.

Elm: Dammit! Curse my tall muscular build!

~~~

Penny: 3,791 players have been found, and 9.61% of Atlas, and Mantle have been searched.

(Creak)

Penny: Hmmm?

Penny looks up, and sees a bundle of read cloth hanging precariously from a chandler.

Penny: Hello, Ruby!

Ruby: H-Hi.. Penny...

Penny: How did you get up there, Ruby?

Ruby: My semblance.

Penny: Fascinating.

Penny: ...

Ruby: ...

Penny: Do you need help getting down?

Ruby: YES! Please help me I'm going to fall!

Penny: On it!

~~~

Penny: Hello, Friend Weiss!

Weiss: Oh? Hello, Penny. Would you care for a cup of tea?

Penny: No thank you.

Weiss: Tell me, how did you find me?

Penny: You mentioned where you were going to hide when this game was mentioned to, Yang; So, I just had to look. But, I must ask, how did you get a tea set all the way up here?

Weiss: Ahh well...

Weiss, and Penny look down to see the beautiful landscape of, Atlas, and Mantle.

Weiss: We Schnee's have our ways~!

~~~

Penny: 5,782... Correction, 5,832 players have been found, 13.9% of, Atlas, and Mantle have been explored.

(Ca-thunk!)

Penny heard a sound emanate from within a broom closet.

Penny: Hmm? Investigating.

Penny walked to the closet, and opened the door, inside she found, Specialist Bree, and Ebi, within.

Penny: Salutations, Specialist Bree, Specialist Ebi! Only parents, and their young children are allowed to be together during the game of, Hide, and Go Seek. You two being together disqualifies both of you.

Clover: O-Oh does it? Shoot. I was running out of time to find a hiding spot, and I just jumped in here. And, well Harriet was already here, and the game started so... I just stayed here.

Harriet: I would have kicked him out, but it already started... So...

Penny: Understandable. Well, I will leave, and continue my search! But, before I go, Specialist Ebi?

Clover: Yes, Penny?

Penny: Your uniform seems to be undone, and there appears to be smudges on your face.

Clover: Oh did it, I hadn't notice.

Penny: Did something happen?

Clover: Ohh... Just got a little lucky. That's all.

Penny: I understood. Now then, the hunt continues!

Clover: Good luck, Penny!

Harriet: Bye.

Penny shuts the door, and the two stand there in silence for a moment before, Harriet slaps his chest.

Harriet: 'Got a little lucky?!' We finally have a chance to have some fun, and that's how you play it off?

Clover: Hey. I got to spend time with you, I can name a thousand reasons why that's considered lucky by anyone.

Harriet: Oh shut up, and kiss me.

Clover: Oh how lucky me~!

~~~

Penny: 7,127 players found, 27.3% of Atlas, and Mantle have been explored. Continuing the search. Hmm...?

Penny stops, as she sees a can on the side of the road being kicked to the side, and yet she saw no one was around to kick it.

Penny: Investigating... Heat Vision Activated.

Penny: Scanning...

Penny: Heat source detected, Knight's been issued to conduct search.

: Ahh! Whoa hey hey hey?!

Penny: Contestant found. Identify yourself.

: May. May Marigold...

Penny: Contestant, May Marigold has been disqualified from game for cheating.

May: What?! I'm disqualified for using my semblance?!

Penny: Negative: You are allowed to use your semblance if it allows you to stay hidden; But, you are disqualified for moving about, instead of staying hidden.

May: That's...!

May: That's fair...

Penny: Punishment has be administered. The hunt shall continue.

~~~

Winter: Oh, hello, Penny.

Penny: Salutations, Specialist Schnee!

Winter: I see you found everyone in my family. Please tell me my mother wasn't in the wine cellar...

Penny: She was not, she was in the kitchen making a cup of tea.

Winter: She was making a cup of tea? That sounds... okay...? I'll need to have a word with her... that's odd...

Penny: I was unable to find, Jacques Schnee. Do you perhaps have any ideas where I could find him?

Whitely: Father locked himself in the families panic room all by himself. He locked himself in there well before the competition started so no one else could get in.

Winter: Still as petty as ever... I'll show you to the panic room, I'm not interested in letting him win. This way, Penny.

Penny: Thank you~!

Winter: Here it is, just hack the door, and you should get in.

Penny: Hacking...

Whitely: Isn't this cheating? Telling your friend where, Father is?

Winter: She was going to check anyway. Might as well speed things along.

Penny: Vault open.

Winter: Alright, Father you have been found might as well...?! Whitely stay back.

Whitely: Why? I need to...?!

Winter: I said, stay back!

Penny: Oh, this is unexpected...

Jacques Schnee, was lounging peacefully in his chair, his head staring at the ceiling, a cup of wine sat before him, his once proud white business suit, stained red with his blood.

Jacquess Schnee's throat had been slit.

Jacques Schnee, was dead.

~~~

Ironwood: You found his dead body in a panic room behind a locked vault door?

Winter: Indeed sir.

Ironwood: Suicide?

Winter: No idea, Sir. We will know more once the autopsy has been completed.

Ironwood: I guess someone thought that this game of hide, and go seek would be the opportune moment to commit a crime. But, within a locked safe? This makes no sense...

Winter: Records indicate that the door was only opened twice; When he went in, and when we went in to check on him.

Ironwood: Peculiar... Hmmm... Assemble whatever, Specialist's that have been found, and start investigating this at once. The fact that it was your father who was killed is one thing, but the fact that it happened behind a locked door is something else entirely.

Winter: At once, Sir!

Ironwood: They waited until the game began, and then killed him when no one was looking... This isn't good... Not good at all.

~~~

Penny: 9,723 player's, and 52.6% of Atlas, and Mantle have been searched.

Penny: Friend, Ren?

Ren: Oh, hello, Penny.

Penny: How did you get that tea set up in that tree? That is a potential fire hazard.

Ren: Don't worry, it's an electric heater, no open flame of any sort. Tell me, have you found, Nora yet?

Penny: Negative. Friend Nora has yet to be found. Do you have any idea where friend, Nora might be?

Ren: I don't know where exactly, Nora is. But, to give you a clue where she might be; Nora is probably in a place that doesn't seem physically possible to be in.

Penny: What? But how is that possible?

Ren: It's, Nora.

Penny: I do not understand?

Ren: Neither do I.

Penny: Oh... Okay...?

~~~

Penny: Remove yourself from the premises at once.

Oscar: What? H-How did you find me?

Penny: The Vault is routinely monitored. You were found instantly hours ago the moment you walked into the premises.

Oscar: What?! Then how come you didn't call me out sooner, I've been waiting here for hours!

Penny: It was not to be checked until 70% of Atlas's, and Mantle's total population, and 80% of it's territory had been searched.

Oscar: Aww man... I waisted my whole day here...

~~~

Yang: Sup, Penny~!

Penny: Friend, Yang... W-Why are you in my room...?

Yang: Cause of all the places I thought you would never look, I doubted you would look in your own room.

Penny: That is correct... 99.9%, 15,971 inhabitants of Atlas, and Mantle have been found. And, 100% of the grounds of Atlas, and Mantle have been checked. Your guess that this would be the last place I would have check is correct.

Yang: Does that mean I won?!

Penny: Negative. The last individual to be found is, Nora Valkyrie.

Yang: Damn! I was so close. Well, lets meet up in the, General's office to announce the winner.

Penny: Very well.

Yang: Oh, and, Penny?

Penny: Yes?

Yang: About this, Ruby Chibi-ish plushie you have here...

Penny: W-What plushie...? Hiccup!

Yang: Relax, I'm totally fine with you two being a thing. That's not what I wanted to ask you about at all.

Penny: Oh? Then what is it?

Yang: Where can I get one~?

~~~

Ironwood: So you found everyone, Penny?

Penny: I have found everyone, but one.

Ironwood: Then we have a winner then?

Penny: Yes, Sir. Nora Valkyrie is the winner.

Ironwood: Then we shall announce that the game is over so she can come out of wherever it is she is hiding.

Penny: Very well, Sir!

~~~

Yang: So, wait, he was found dead in a panic room?

Weiss: Yes, apparently that is where, Winter, and Penny found him.

Blake: I would say I'm sorry, Weiss.

Ruby: But...?

Blake: What? I said, I would say I'm sorry, but come on, it's Jacques Schnee!

Ruby: But, he's, Weiss's dad!

Weiss: Nonono... It's alright, in fact I believe that the moment it is made public there will be people celebrating in the streets.

Yang: Whoo! Block party!

Clover: So where did they find you two?

Marrow: I was hiding in a locker, but it turned out to be a rocket locker, and I got sent out into the wastelands by accident. So I spent my time out there waiting to be picked up.

Vine: I was hiding in the, Bullhead that was sent to pick him up.

Harriet: HA!

Clover: Tough break.

Qrow: The found me after they knocked over a wine barrel, and it smashed on the floor.

Yang: I thought you gave up drinking, Uncle Qrow? What were you doing in a wine barrel?!

Qrow: It was empty! And, I don't know, I just sorta... fell into it.

Oscar: Just your semblance playing up on you?

Qrow: Oh shut up.

Oscar: Sorry.

Ironwood: Ahh, I see everyone's here. Good, since you're all close friends with, Ms. Valkyrie, perhaps one of you could tell us where she could be?

Weiss: You still haven't found her?

Blake: Have you tried notifying her on her scroll?

Penny: We have, but we have received no response.

Ruby: Hmmm... Hey, are those coffee cups?

Blake: They have, Nora's name on them.

Ren: Oh... oh that's not good.

Ironwood: Why, what's wrong?

Ren: Nora is hyperactive as it is, when she has coffee she gets super charged. Which results in... incidents happening.

Ironwood: Incidents? What kind of incidents?

Yang: Yes.

Ironwood: Okay...?

Clover: Then how do we find her to let her know she won?

Nora: I WON?!

RW: AHHHH!

Elm: Oh gods!?

Yang: The hell?!

Blake: NYAAHHHH!!!

MV: AHHH!!

Ironwood: Wait... did she...?

Penny: Hi, Friend Nora!

Nora: Hi~!

Nora: So, did I win?!

Ironwood: Yes, Miss Valkyrie, you did win.

Nora: FUCK YEAH!

Ironwood: I must ask though, where were you?

Nora: I drank two espressos here, and phased between realities, until I was in the null zone, where I excited in a state of non-existence. There I stayed until I was summoned from the void, and brought back to the material realm.

RWBYRO: ...

Qrow: Uhhh...?

CHEVM: ...?

Penny: Really?

Ironwood: Huw... there's video of her standing here in this room, then she just disappears... What?

Ren: Best not to dwell on it, Sir. It's just better that way.

Ironwood: Very well? Haaa... Very well, we shall announce the winner.

Nora: Whoo!

RWBYRO: YAY!

Winter: Ahh... I see you found, Miss Valkyrie. Where was she?

Ironwood: She was here.

Winter: Here...? In this room?

Winter: ...

Winter: Where?

Clover: We'll explain later. I hope...

Winter: I see...? Well then, congratulations then, Miss Valkyrie. You won, Atlas's, and Mantles first game of Hide, and Go Seek.

Nora: Yes! I win, I win~! DadadaaaDA!

Winter: Once, again I offer you my congratulations. I think you, and your friends should get together to... Hold on... Two, four, six, seven... We're is, Jaune?

Nora: J-Jaune...?

Weiss: Jaune's not here...?

Ruby: What? D-Didn't we see him... somewhere?

Yang: He was in this?

Blake: D-Didn't he tell you where he was hiding?

Ren: I thought he told you...

Nora: OH NO! We did it again! We all forgot about, Jaune!

Marrow: Wait, didn't you say you have a registry of everyone in, Mantle, and Atlas. You used it for the game.

Clover: Didn't you find everyone?

Harriet: You said you searched all of Mantle, and Atlas, right?

Penny: Checking...

Penny: ...

Penny: File corruption detected... Correcting...

Penny: ...

Penny: Corruption fixed. One file of, Luna Jaune Arc has been found. 99.9% of all inhabitants of Atlas, and Mantle have been found.

Blake: Wait, his first name is, Luna?

Ruby: Did you guys know?

Nora: No?!

Winter: Oh gods... Penny, do you know where, Jaune is?

Penny: Yes! I can track where his location is with his scroll!

Winter: Good, where is he?

Penny: He is...? Odd... He is located around the park in downtown, Mantle?

Ironwood: How is that odd?

Penny: I check the park myself... Myself, and thirty Knights were in the area... a-a-and we d-d-didn't f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-find HIM?!

With that, Penny short circuited, and fell to her knees. Everyone began to freakout, Penny's mind rebooted, and she quickly shot up, and saluted everyone!

Ruby: P-Penny, are you okay?

Penny: I am combat ready! Why, did something happen?

Clover: You found out where, Jaune is, and you...

Penny: Really? He is the winner of the game; Where is he?

Clover: The park in downtown, Mantle.

Penny: Really? I checked there, and I didn't see him there at all! I wonder where he was hiding?

Clover: Uhhh...?

Ironwood: I think we need to have, Dr. Polendina run a diagnostics on, Penny after this.

Winter: I agree, but first we must find, Jaune.

~~~

Team RWBY, Nora, Oscar, Penny, and Winter head towards the downtown, Mantle park. They noticed the various people who lost the game going about their day. They had happy faces, and they they could over hear them chatting about how much fun they had playing a massive game of hide, and go seek.

But, as they moved past the various happy faces, they eventually found one that stood out all on his own. A dour, and quiet expression was present across his face as he sat alone, playing a game of chess all against himself.

Nora: Jaune!

Ruby: Jaune, you're here!

Weiss: What are you doing here?

Jaune: Yeah... I've been here all day. Didn't you...? No you didn't see my note since you're asking me, 'What am I doing here?'

Yang: So, you've been here all day?

Jaune: More, or less. I did leave for a bit to grab a drink, and a hotdog from a hotdog stand. Good hotdog...

Jaune gestured to a pile of trash next to him.

Blake: Oh, you spilt some ketchup on your hand.

Jaune: Oh, I did...

Jaune licked his thumb before rubbing the smear off his hand.

Jaune: So, what's up?

Penny: Congrats, Jaune! You won!

Jaune: ...

Jaune: Won what?

Yang: The massive game of hide, and go seek... you won.

Jaune: Wait, we were doing that? I thought that was just a thing, Yang talked about.

Ruby: Yeah, d-didn't you know?

Jaune: Nope.

Ruby: Well we did...

Penny: And, you won!

Jaune: Yay.

Yang: Jaune, you won the one billion Lien prize!

Jaune: Again... yay.

Ruby: You don't care?

Jaune: ...

Jaune: Meh... maybe.

Nora: But, Jaune! Think of all the pancakes you can buy!

Jaune: Guys... I don't care. I'm just here playing chess.

Winter: By yourself?

Jaune: Well, people could have joined me, but they were all busy playing hide, and go seek, so...

Weiss: Okay...?

Ruby: So, uhhh... Should we go, and announce that, Jaune won?

Penny: General Ironwood plans to announce the winner tomorrow. So, we are fine.

Yang: In that case, where did you get that hotdog? Cause damn, am I hungry!

Jaune: It's somewhere on the other side of the park. It's easy enough to find.

Ruby: Awesome! Let's go guys!

Yang: Whoo! Hot dogs!

Oscar: I haven't had one in ages!

Nora: I'm gonna eat out their stall!

Weiss: I've never had a hotdog before.

Blake: I don't think I have one...

Ruby: What?! We must rectify that at once!

Swiftly the members of, Team RWBY, Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Penny swiftly left to enjoy hot dogs, leaving, Jaune all on his own once again. Or, so he thought.

Cause standing there, looking down on, Jaune from his seat was one, Winter Schnee.

Winter: Were you really all 'alone' today, were you?

Jaune said nothing, but his gaze darting to the side said everything.

Winter: May I... join you for a round, or two?

Jaune stares at, Winter for a moment, before resetting the chessboard, and turns it so that white is facing her.

Jaune: The first move is yours.

Winter smiled as she sat down, and made her first move.

[shkudss]

Weakened by Eywa Pt. 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Masterlist

Summary: Ao’nung finally realizes that his actions have consequences

Warnings: curse words, bullying, mental breakdown, English isn’t my first language

Author’s note: it my first Avatar writing, so I hope you like it! This idea was spontaneous and I’m not really good at writing, but I hope you’ll enjoy it! I’m still learning how to use Tumblr properly since I don’t really use it 🥲

Yawntutsyip - darling, little loved one

Yaymak - foolish, ignorant

You thought that all these days when you flew to the water clans were the hardest in you life. Little did you know that life with Metkayina would be harder. You expected to finally live a normal life, doing your chores without being sacred to be shot by sky people. Now you’re safe, but things didn’t get better.

Since your arrival, these boys were bullying all your siblings, including you. You have no idea why it is important for Ao’nung to see totally similar to him Na’vis. You all are same avatars with slight differences that were unavoidable due to the environment you’re supposed to live in. Oh, yeah… supposed to live.

“What are you even doing here?”

“You’re so useless to our tribe”

“Go back to your monkey house”

All these words almost engraved in you mind without leaving space for other thoughts and hope. It’s been two weeks since you arrived and you still haven’t ridden an Ilu successfully, you can’t hold your breath as Metkayinas do. This makes you feel horrible and believe all these mean words.

“C’mon, Y/N, you can do it!”

Neteyam is trying to teach you how to deal with ilu and his voice is so calming, he really believes in you as an older brother. You wish you could just believe him, but insecurity lays too deep and securely in your mind.

“I don’t know… I can’t…”

Your voice was really soft and quiet as you’re the calmest child in your family. You don’t like loud sounds and fast actions. That’s just the way you are. Neytiri says that Sylwanin was just like you.

Despite being slower and more sensitive that other Sullys they loved and protected you with all their heart. Jake knew that Kiri and Tuk are different, they can deal with their problems a lot easier, while you cannot. When something bad to your family or yourself happens, you worry a lot and you won’t tell anyone about your worries unless they make you to. That was the hardest part of you character.

“Hey, are you okay? Do you need to take a break? We can continue tomorrow, don’t worry yawntutsyip.”

Neteyam was worried about your mental state, you were too quiet these days and it never meant anything good. Trying to make you speak about your feelings was completely impossible. You always think that your family has too much to worry about to burden them with your own issues. You want to be like Kiri and Tuk. That’s hilarious, Tuk is way younger than you but she’s able to deal with her emotions way easier than you.

“I’m good. Can we just take a break for like half an hour? I think my brain melts.”

You awkwardly smiled at the end trying to lighten the mood. Neteyam smiled back, feeling relief as you seemed to be just tired. He didn’t want you to hide anything from him and your family.

“Okay, yawntutsyip. I’ll go find Lo’ak and make sure his ass hadn’t get in trouble again. Kiri is on that side of the beach by the way. You can join her, she’s probably flirting with plants again. Let’s meet here in an hour.”

You laughed at his little joke about Kiri. But that’s a fact. Since you arrived here all she’s been doing is examining all local flora and fauna. You missed your time together in the forest, maybe now you’ll have a chance to talk and just be together.

“Okay!”

“Tell me if something goes wrong.”

You knew this look. The big brother look. Sometimes you think how hard it would be for you to live without your family, the way you’re connected to them something really fascinating. And one of your love signs is time. Spending time with your family and each member is the way you show love, the way you feel protected and loved.

You see Kiri laying down in water and looking for something. She didn’t see anyone around, attracted by… water? You didn’t try to understand what’s going on in her mind.

“Hey, pandora geek.”

You stood in front of Kiri and the shadow from your body covered her. Only after that she raised her head and squinted at you.

“I thought you’re with Neteyam. What’s wrong?” She sat on the sand, water was covering her legs a little. You did the same thing, hugging your knees and placing your head on them.

“We took a break, my brain doesn’t work properly. I still can’t ride ilu.”

Hopeless sigh made your sister chuckle, but then she saw your eyes. They were full of sadness, you were not happy. Kiri felt guilt, as your sister she had to be with you, she forgot that Sullys stick together.

“What bothers you?” You were not sure if it’ll be okay to tell her everything. But you family always encourage you to speak what lays in your heart, so you decided to do it.

“There’s a lot… I miss home, I miss flying with you, Neteyam and Lo’ak around Hallelujah mountains.” You were vulnerable now and this is one of those rare moments when you opened your feelings easily. Kiri was the only one you did it with. You could feel tears coming to your eyes, you needed this. “I just miss our way of life. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to get used to it. Especially, when you always hear…”

“Hey monkeys! Still can’t ride ilu? How can you be so yaymak? You’re both freaks!” you could recognize this voice in millions. “One sister has demon blood, another is too dumb to do things that even infants can do!”

Ao’nung and his friends were coming towards you. Kiri’s body immediately tensed, you could feel it.

“What do you want? Is there nothing to do?”

Ao’nung and his friends came closer and you both stood up. Kiri was looking at him angrily, ready to fight. You were supposed to have such a good conversation, opening each other your soul, but this bully spoiled everything.

“My goal for now is to get rid of such fake Na’vis like you two and your stupid little brother.”

You were furious, how dare he talk like this about your family. Yes, he did say mean things to you, but he still picked his words. Now it’s too much. Nobody can talk about your family this way.

“Shut up and don’t get close to me and my siblings!” You tried to get into protective sister mode. Kiri was shocked by the way you raised your voice. She’s never heard such tone from you before.

“Look at this! Little girl knows how to talk?” Ao’nung was teasing you and laughing with Roxto and the rest of his friends. “Maybe you’ll learn how to swim properly soon by the time my future brother or sister will turn 10. Hopefully.”

You clenched your fists, trying to hold all your emotions. Anger, offense, sadness. It felt like a hurricane of extremely high spectrum of emotions, which was hard for you to bear.

“Don’t you dare…”

You didn’t control yourself that you were coming closer and pushing him. The reason why you felt this way was in him.

He did this to you.

You didn’t care that he was taller than you and all you faced was his shoulders. You didn’t care that he barely moved as you tried to hurt him as much as he hurt you. All he did was laughing. It seemed like Ao’nung didn’t understand anything you said, like he didn’t see you breaking into pieces right in front of you.

“Calm down, you little skxawng!” It was a joke for him. For you it was your last piece of composure.

“You’re dumb! So dumb that you can’t even understand how much pain you give me! Every day I wish I don’t meet you so you won’t shower me with all your shit! Every night I cry myself to sleep because all your mean words you’ve said hurt me! And you don’t understand me, how can you be so mean?”

You were screaming at him and trying to hit, mental breakdown took over your senses. You could physically feel how your heart hurts and legs weaken. All sounds were heard as if from under the water, you didn’t see what’s going on around you. Someone’s holding your shoulders and pushing you to their chest to not let you fall on your knees.

“Don’t touch her!”

Furious voice sounded from afar. Neteyam. Your brother who always protects you, surrounds you with love you need. That’s why he calls you yawntutsyip. Little loved one.

You could feel your brother as he came closer to you. His steps were as heavy as his mood. When he saw you breaking down in front of this asshole and because of this asshole, he almost lost his temper. The way chief’s son was holding and looking at you, finally realizing that his actions have consequences. He had to drive you crazy to understand it.

“Back off! Now!”

He pushed Ao’nung as he got closer to him, taking off his hands off you. You didn’t realize it was him, who held you all this time. Was it long? Actually, everything happened in less than 2 minutes, but for you it was like an infinity.

“What happened?”

Lo’ak was here, he saw you crying in Kiri’s hands and Neteyam fighting with Ao’nung and his friends. He didn’t need to check on all details to punch Roxto and other guys.

“It’s fine, we’re here. Don’t worry.” Kiri was sitting with you and slowly swaying, while tapping your head to calm you down.

“I’m sorry, I…” that’s all you could say.

Neither you nor Kiri noticed how the fight stopped until Neteyam came closer and examined you. His eyebrow was cut so as his lower lip, but he didn’t care. Now he could feel only your pain.

“Yawntutsyip… my sister.”

“I’m sorry, Neteyam. I didn’t…” You were gasping for breath from crying, not being able to collect your thoughts.

“Shhh, that’s fine, you’re fine. We’re here, nobody will hurt you again.” Kiri gave you to Neteyam, he was calming you down repeating the same moves as Kiri did. You were crying, letting all pain, that was suppressed inside of your soul, to flow through you.

Your siblings knew that you need to feel it to let it go. That is the only way for relief.

“Let’s go home, yawntutsyip?” Neteyam’s voice was calming as always, he hated seeing you crying.

You just nodded in agreement, hiding your face in brother’s neck and holding him as if someone can take you from him in any moment.

Yes, most Na’vis are brave, ready to fight and protect their beloved ones. But you just can’t do it. You are the one who needs to be protected. Eywa created you that way and you can do nothing about it.

“Don’t ever come to our sisters, you little bitch! Are you so insecure that you’re afraid to battle with me and choose those who are weaker than you?” Lo’ak didn’t miss to say the last goodbye before following after all of you. He didn’t wait for the answer, he didn’t need it.

Ao’nung was standing up there and looking as your figures disappear. No words are in his mind, except for one.

“Fuck”

————————————————————————

I hope you liked it! I’m not sure if I’ll write the second part🫣 I have an idea but idk if it’s worth it, we’ll see!

[seven-homosexual-dinosaurs]

If holoen was a high school au myth would be the seniors everyone knows but don’t know how and Gura heads the marine biology club but doesn’t know how to swim and Watson notoriously knows everything about everyone, even things you don’t know about yourself and Calli is cool and mysterious but most people don’t know that she’s so horrifically bad at keeping plants alive that she’s not allowed in the botany club’s room and Kiara works at a fast food place but no one can figure out which one since she keeps somehow appearing in all of them and Ina looks like the most normal one out of all of them until you catch a peek at her sketchbook and it’s just filled with drawings of creatures unknown and incomprehensible scribbling she claims she doesn’t remember writing.

Promise used to head student council until they all stepped down (got kicked off) for a classified incident that involved one alleged charge of eco-terrorism and at least three dead rabbits found in the club room and Bae has gotten in trouble for biting people at least seven times and Kronii can always tell you what time it is without looking at a clock and Fauna runs the botany club but secretly uses the club room to grow weed on the side and Mumei is the weird kid that no one but Promise quite understands beyond the fact that she once entered a classroom through the window because the halls were too crowded and Irys is the kid that keeps buying out the soda machines and then throwing the empty cans at Bae and there are several student groups dedicated to figuring out wtf is Promise’s deal with alleged crime and whatever romantic fuckery is happening in the group.

Advent is a group of “delinquents” that except for Shiori and Biboo are just really bad at following the rules and Shiori is the girl who has somehow read every book ever and can give a full literary analysis on them and Nerissa is in at least five situationships with five different girls and Biboo keeps threatening people and then claiming “Oobib” did it and people believe her cause she’s cute and FuwaMoco once got in trouble for bringing a dead bird they hunted to school to show Advent and the entire group has reserved seats in detention yet they somehow manage to escape every time.

Justice is the new student council and Liz is the kid that patrols the halls to make sure no one gets bullied and Gigi and Cecilia may or may not have robbed a 7/11 one time but it’s ok since they only ever cause mischief outside of school grounds and “for justice” and Raora has four cats at home and constantly talks about them and one time got in a fight with someone over breaking spaghetti that resulted in several broken bones and a lifetime ban from Olive Garden but it’s ok because she never fought over food again (Justice has her on a leash).

Calli and Kiara babysit the neighborhood kid Kobo and are lowkey competing to be her favourite and Kronii and Gura have gotten in at least six fistfights yet are somehow really good friends and Liz and Nerissa have a Romeo and Juliet type “forbidden romance” that they’re really dramatic and secretive about when in actuality literally everyone knows about it.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Not only fauna screwing with them but being screwed over by it.. Moose for example. KnockOut (ratchet maybe his team too) probably had vehicons to patch up that ran into mooses and it's not like theyre gonna admit they almost died because of earth mammal

All the Cybertronians on Earth have problems with the fauna. Ratchet has a personal vendetta against deer since he runs into them frequently enough to despise the stupid things. He has run over one and he complained about it for a month afterwards when he couldn't get part of the gore out of his wheels. Optimus has a vicious and very much unspoken hatred of squirrels. He will tolerate them, but after they got into his passenger seat one time while he was recharging in alt-mode... he now detests them and lives with the haunting sound of his passenger seat being torn up.

Bumblebee has regular problems with the dogs in Jasper. There is no solid reason for it, but perhaps they sense what he is. Whatever the case, they can and will chase him all over the face of creation whenever he drive through and it has led to an overall avoidance of all dogs ever. Arcee has personal beef with the loyal crows since they have learned to pick her out and know that Jack tends to have food. Jack always feeds them while leaning against Arcee, and this in turn means that when the crows see her, they assume its feeding time. She hates it.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack have never run into anything too bad (surprisingly). However there was a singular time when they met a bear on the road and that moment scarred them forever mentally. The bear knew no fear, and not wanting to kill it, Bulkhead and Wheeljack attempted to drive off. But of course the bear sprinted, and neither were aware creatures that big can go so fragging FAST. It haunts them sometimes. Smokescreen has a problem with fish. Why? He fell in a lake and one ended up trapped in his plating for a day. He hated feeling the slimy thing so close to him and has since avoided lakes like the plague. Ultra Magnus, for all his issues, has thus far had no issues with animals.

Knockout ran into a moose with Breakdown once. The monster rammed right into Breakdown and knocked him around. The fact that the moose managed it at all has since left the duo with the firm belief that it is not worth the effort to drive in moose territory. Starscream will forever have problems with birds, but gulls in particular. He hates them with a seething passion and they seem to share the sentiment. Megatron hates organic life, period. But one creature in particular happens to be magpies. He went to the wrong place at the wrong time and got swooped and he has never forgotten it. Soundwave actually likes the wildlife a great deal, but he has had problems with on particular tiger that decided Soundwave was a kill on sight target whenever he turned up.

[arcane-vagabond]

The Beginning

Stranger Like Me: The Beginning

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Reader

Summary: From a young age, the animal kingdom had fascinated you, and maybe that's why you chose to pursue that passion. You quickly became a force within the field, becoming the leading expert on ape social structures, which is how you found yourself on an expedition into the African jungles searching for a troop of gorillas. What you weren't expecting, however, was to run into the local wild man on one of your excursions... (Tarzan!AU)

Trigger Warnings: Talk of loneliness, Inaccurate scientific descriptions and terminology, Flirty Jake, Allusions to loss of parents, Talk of reintigrating someone into society...I think that's it.

Word Count: 1,263

A/N: Here it is! I hope y'all don't mind me making you wait too long! This blog is 18+ ONLY! As always, reblogs and comments are welcomed and encouraged!! Find me on AO3 under arcane_vagabond where all of my stories and drabbles are posted!

Series Masterlist || Moodboard 1 || Moodboard 2 || Moodboard 3

You had a running theory that there were two types of people in this world: plant people and animal people. You? You were most definitely an animal person. Growing up, you visited the zoo frequently, the employees practically knowing you by name. You did your best to memorize as many facts as you could about the different animals in each exhibit, knowing from an early age that you wanted to work with animals for the rest of your life.

You’d spend hours at the primate exhibits, watching the way the different apes and monkeys interact with each other, and you wished you could fast forward to the moment where you got to study it day in and day out.

So, you worked hard, graduating high school with honors before moving on to study zoology in undergrad, and then skipping straight to your doctorate program after that. It had been a long, grueling road that left little time for much else, but it was your passion, and once you had been greeted with the title of “doctor,” you knew it had all been worth it.

That didn’t stop your bouts of loneliness though. While your friends all went out to party, you were usually found with your nose buried in a book. And it wasn’t like you wanted to go out partying, but it still hurt when your friends stopped asking.

And then there was Jake Seresin, your handsome best friend of several years who knew he looked good and never failed to own it. The two of you had met in the early days of undergrad, having been partnered up in a biology lab, and you had hit it off immediately. Jake wasn’t interested in primates, his focus turned towards botany of all things, but he loved to tease you about your love of great apes.

“A cute girl like you studying monkeys?” He had chuckled with a shake of his head, mossy green eyes glimmering with mischief. “You must have had a wild fascination with Boots the monkey, huh?”

“First of all, peabrain,” you scowled at him, fighting back the smile that threatened to take over your face as his jaw dropped, “I study apes, not monkeys. Second of all, my fascination with Boots is none of your business.”

“Whatever you say, Boots.”

And the nickname had stuck. It followed you through undergrad and all the way through to your now budding career as one of the leading researchers in gorilla social structures. Which is also how you found yourself invited to the North Island Research Camp in the Republic of the Congo.

The camp wasn’t some grand research center, but it was well respected amongst the scientific community for gathering the most up-to-date research and hands-on experiences between researchers and local fauna. The camp was run by Dr. Pete Mitchell and Dr. Tom Kazansky, both legends within the field and rarely opening up their camp to other researchers. You had been thrilled to receive the invitation, and even more thrilled when you found out that Jake had also received an invitation to the camp to continue his research on tropical plants.

The two of you had made plans to fly out of San Diego at the same time, even choosing to stay at his place the night before your flight.

“The early bird gets the worm, Boots!” He chirped, loading up the trunk of the Uber with your luggage. How he was so cheerful at three in the morning was beyond you.

The flight to your destination was uneventful, choosing to catch up on some of your reading as well as sleep for the majority of the flight. The two of you were greeted by a bespectacled man once you departed the plane, his demeanor relaxed but his face shy as he helped you with your bags.

“I’m Bob,” he said, loading the back of his jeep with your belongings. “I’m helping out Pete and Tom with their research. The other researcher is already at the camp. He got here about a month ago.”

“Who is it?” You asked him, hopping into the front seat of the car as Jake clambered into the back.

“Javy Machado,” Bob answered, already making his way through the city and towards the jungle. “He’s doing research into termite colonies.”

“Javy’s gonna be there?” Jake asked, leaning forward with a grin. You rolled your eyes at him. Javy and Jake almost went as far back as you two did, having first met in a chemistry course their junior year of college. While you and Jake had gone to the same university for your doctorate programs, Javy had ventured elsewhere, making a name for himself within the world of entomology. The two together was almost insufferable.

“You two better behave,” you groused, settling into your seat with a glare in his direction.

“Boots,” he gasped, placing a hand over his heart in faux hurt, “I am absolutely shocked that you think we would be anything other than complete professionals.”

“Don’t give me that crap,” you snapped, turning to face Bob who glanced at you two wearily. “Those two are going to be a nightmare, I’m just warning you now.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” he chuckled.

The three of you settled into a comfortable conversation as Bob continued to drive towards the camp, the jungle becoming denser the longer he went. Soon, the sun was hidden behind the canopy, and you got the sense that you were truly in the wild.

“Are you sure about this, Mav,” Ice hummed, hands clasped firmly in front of him as he eyed his fellow researcher. Mav spared him a smile, running a hand through his hair as he sat on the bench opposite his companion.

“He’s been on his own for decades, Ice,” Mav grimaced, glancing into the trees. “He deserves to know companionship beyond just us.”

“He has Bob and Javy.”

“He deserves more than just four other people in his life,” he amended, rolling his eyes. “We’re lucky we found him when we did, otherwise I’m not sure he would have survived on his own. Besides, Nick and Carole wouldn’t have wanted this for him. They would have wanted him to see the world, to meet other people.”

Ice hummed at that. Of course, Maverick had a point. They couldn’t keep the boy isolated for forever. He was already butting heads more and more with the troop leader and spending more nights in the observation tower as a result. It also wasn’t like Ice wanted to keep him isolated for selfish reasons. No, quite the opposite in fact. The kid had spent most of his life right there in the jungle, never having contact with another human being until the two men had opened up the research camp once more ten years before.

And that’s what had Ice so apprehensive. The boy had little to no experience with humans, and what he did have was from the time spent with the two older men who weren’t exactly the greatest of company at the best of times. How would he react to a camp full of people his own age? Would it be too much for him?

“Bradley is smart, Ice,” Mav continued, knocking his knuckles against the table. “He’s already been asking questions about the people in the movies and photos he sees. He wants to know about the outside world. Let’s let him have that chance.”

Ice didn’t answer. Instead, he sighed, leaning back in his chair. This would be good for Bradley. It had to be.

[delimeful]

let my mind reset (6)

warnings: angst, brainwashing, torture, psychological conditioning, references to injury/gore/death, harmful surgical implants, they are really going through it now, lmk if i missed any

-

Where the hours had passed slowly before, now they seemed to slip by all too fast. Every spare moment Roman had was spent in anxious anticipation of the next session and all that came with it.

He had never seen something like the haze used on a person before. Crav’n were invulnerable to it, and he’d only ever witnessed his aunt use it briefly on one of the local fauna once, a harmless and finicky tree-dwelling species about the size of his hand.

(Roman remembered the way Marta had compelled the little creature to pace back and forth, from place to place, wearing its will away until there wasn’t any hesitation between order and action. Then, she’d sent it walking into the nearby pond.

He remembered the way its survival instinct had set in late, the way it began to thrash, and still Marta didn’t call it back. He remembered feeling relieved when his mother stepped in and put a stop to the demonstration, scooping the poor beast from its fate with disapproval etched firmly in the set of her shoulders.

He didn’t remember if the creature had lived through the withdrawal, afterwards.)

Virgil was far from a simple animal, though, and despite Roman’s half-formed nightmares, he didn’t mindlessly succumb to the influence of the drug the first time it was forced on him, nor the second or the third.

In fact, every time the other Humans entered his cell with that unsettling green canister, he seemed just as panicked as Roman, if not more, putting up as much of a fight as he could with a battered body and a wrung out mind. No matter how they tutted or scolded, the other Humans still couldn’t get the mask on him until Roux had him forcibly subdued, which was a tiny victory in itself.

That didn’t stop the drug from taking its toll each and every time.

As horrible as it sounded, the worst part was that the effects weren't painful or malicious in nature. At least that would have been easier to fight against; a logical, instinctive response to being hurt.

No, it was far more insidious than that. The haze dulled pain. First, the physical: it eased away the stiffness of sore muscles and the burning of shocked nerves, leaving only a pleasant numbness behind. Then, the mental: it stalled the production of stressful chemical compounds, replacing them with whatever was needed to trick the victim’s mind into believing they were happy, relaxed, pliable.

Roman had never seen Virgil so unwound, so carefree, and he hated how unnatural the behavior seemed on the Human. It was a miserable experience, finally seeing him without the hunted slant to his posture, and feeling sickened by the sight.

What was worse was watching it wear off.

As though a switch had been thrown in reverse, Virgil would be plagued by a creeping, unrelenting sense of panic and dread, pacing around his cell frantically until a sudden hypersensitivity to touch left him crumpled in one spot, breathing harsh and pained.

Time after time, he was shown exactly how painful withdrawal from even a few doses was, until he was left bracing for it well before the next session had even begun.

“The last guys who had me would have killed for something like this,” Virgil said, nearly panting as he laid out on his back. He had his fingers pressed against his neck, feeling his pulse. His heart was racing so hard that Roman could see the veins pulsing eerily under the skin. A heavy spike of adrenaline, unprompted by anything tangible. “Bet she has at least a few people stashed away just to drain for easy cash.”

He spoke more, like this. Out of turn, about topics that were morbid and pessimistic, as though the thoughts were tumbling free of his mind without his permission. Roman never let his negative reactions to the more grim topics go beyond his ears flickering back; it wasn’t like he had the room or right to judge. They didn’t have very many reasons to be optimistic. Besides, he’d realized early on that the more worked up Roman got, the worse Virgil got in turn.

He still didn’t know the exact details of how Dren harvesting worked, and he was fairly sure he was better off for it. The very idea of setting an entire person aside for something like that was reprehensible, and therefore entirely possible for Marta.

“She said she… she gets rid of Humans that don’t break,” he replied after a moment, the words tumbling freely from him for once. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to turn a profit from it.”

He’d been trying to match the distant, dry tone Virgil had used, but he must have missed the mark, because the Human stiffened, and drew his hand back from Roman’s grasp to press it harshly against his eyes.

Belatedly, Roman realized what he’d just implied. Virgil was one of those Humans trying not to break, was at this very moment barely clinging to his composure, and he’d just been informed he was stuck between two horrific fates worse than death. “I didn’t mean—,”

“‘S alright,” Virgil interrupted, voice rough with exhaustion. “It’s not like I didn’t know. It makes me feel a little better, honestly.”

Roman stared at him, bewildered and still slightly aghast at his own stupidity, and Virgil shifted a few fingers to peer back with one eye.

“At least some Humans didn’t fall for it, y’know? At least some of them got out in their own way,” he continued, a thin thread of hopelessness tangled up in the words. “I was starting to wonder if the rest of space was right. If we were all just destined to be monsters with the right motivation.”

Roman should have been more alarmed at the implication that Virgil felt close to succumbing, that he was nearer than he’d ever wanted to be to a Human on the brink of falling under someone else’s blatantly malignant control, but all he could feel was a painful sympathy.

“You’re not a monster,” he said, and then, more firmly— “Humans aren’t monsters.”

Virgil’s eye widened slightly, gaze intent in a way that would have made Roman bristle in the past.

“They’re just people. They can do good or bad, just like anyone else. And sure, these guys are— they’re not doing good.” A pause, and Roman forced himself to meet Virgil’s stare. “But you have. You saved Patton, and you tried to save me, and you’re— you’re not a monster. You’re a good friend.”

Virgil buried his face back in his elbow and was quiet for a long moment.

“…You’re not so bad yourself.”

—

Roman hadn’t expected Marta to show up in person, not with how much she had delegated to her brainwashed underlings thus far, but arrive she did.

“Don’t fret, ghiva’al,” she crooned to him, passing by his cell with the lightest clink of her claws dragged against the bars. “I’m here to meet your little pet, not you.”

“Don’t—,” call me that, call him that, he wanted to snarl, but his throat closed up so sharply that it sounded a little like he’d choked.

Marta made her stilted croaking laugh, sparing him a glance that might have been pitying if it had bothered to reach her cold, empty eyes. “You always did struggle with words when emotional, didn’t you? Not nearly as well spoken as your mother. What a shame to see that hasn’t changed.”

There was a sharp clacking as an aggressive shudder ran through Roman’s scales, but he still couldn’t find his voice. Not even when Marta moved on to grip the bars of Virgil’s cell, her attention shifting to the Human where he stood warily in the center of the cage.

Roman had learned more than he’d ever thought he would about Human body language over the past few weeks. He knew from the slight sway to Virgil’s every shift that the Human was drained, likely barely keeping his feet.

Still, he was upright to face Marta, his height advantage allowing him to look down at her, and that was better than being crumpled on the ground at her feet. Little victories were all they had now, and they clung to each and every one.

Roux wasn’t there, Roman realized with a jolt, and the knowledge was enough to drag his mind into overdrive, a sudden double-edged hope springing to life in his chest.

Virgil must have already realized, because the way he held himself shifted into something taut and coiled, like he was preparing to lunge forward at the first opportunity, weak or not.

“Back of the cell,” Marta commanded, voice turned brisk and blunt in a way it hadn’t been with Roman. Like she was speaking to a beast instead of a person.

Virgil didn’t move, barely deigned to acknowledge the words beyond a brief flicker of his pupils upwards.

Marta waited, letting the silence stretch for a brief moment, and then clicked her teeth together in a mild reprimand. “The hard way, then.”

Despite her apparent annoyance, the words held a sort of anticipatory delight, and Roman felt the thick tar of dread slide under his scales as he watched her slide a small, triangular remote from a pouch at her side.

When she pressed the button in the center of it, she was looking at Roman.

It was Virgil who went rigid and fell.

Despite knowing it would undercut every lie he’d tried to sell about how little he cared, despite the fact that he was playing right into her claws, Roman couldn’t help but rush to the bars separating them, a shout of horror catching in his chest.

The Human hit the ground hard but stayed chillingly frozen, with every muscle locked into hard lines. He didn’t make a sound until Marta shifted her thumb away from the button, the motion somehow allowing him to finally go limp like a puppet with strings cut.

“Virgil!” Roman managed, though the sound of it was nearly lost in the sudden loudness of the Human’s gasping breaths. He hadn’t been breathing before, Roman realized with a terrified shock.

Whatever Marta was doing, it hadn’t countered Virgil’s natural stubbornness, and he climbed back to his feet with less staggering than Roman would have expected.

His gaze caught on the tremor to Virgil’s hands, the shuddering of his pulse, and he understood. Adrenaline.

The fight or flight instinct, Virgil had called it while talking with Patton. Roman had seen him choose to fight once, at their very first meeting, but even that couldn’t compare to the speed and ferocity of the way the Human lunged now.

Marta didn’t flinch back when he made loud, skull-rattling contact with the bars, but she didn’t blink, either, keeping her eyes firmly locked on Virgil as she pressed the button once more.

Instead of letting him drop, however, she reached out and seized him by the face, claws digging in on either cheek and holding tightly.

Virgil couldn’t so much as flinch away from the pain, and Roman slammed his arm against the door of his own cell with force, furious at his own helplessness.

Marta released the trigger again, and this time, every gasping inhale Virgil took was dosed with her haze. He tried to jerk back, but it was far faster acting straight from the source, and he had barely a moment before his expression dropped to something hollow and smooth, his desperate strength wavering and then extinguishing like a flame with nothing left to burn.

“Down,” Marta commanded, releasing her grip, and Virgil stood in place for a few long heartbeats before his legs collapsed underneath him.

She waved a hand absently down at him, still scattering her haze thick in the air. “There you go. It feels so much better when you listen, doesn’t it?”

Virgil twitched, a ripple of discontent crossing his face, but didn’t respond. He was shaking relentlessly now, his entire body trembling in a way that had Roman deeply concerned.

“You’re safe with me,” Marta lied, reaching down to glide the palm of her hand over the side of Virgil’s face. “You’re only safe with me. Everyone else wants to hurt you, but I’ll make the pain go away. Always do as I say, okay?”

Virgil didn’t move away, even as her rough skin caught on the wounds her claws had left only moments ago. His breathing grew wispier, slower, until he appeared almost calm, his eyes dazed and distant.

“Let’s try this again,” Marta straightened, and when her hand left Virgil’s cheek, he strained after it for a handful of seconds. “Back of the cell.”

Virgil climbed back to his feet, and Roman closed his eyes as the Human quietly began shuffling across his stretch of cell. He felt all of six winters old again, watching his aunt lead something fuzzy and helpless back and forth, closer and closer to the water’s edge.

“Good. Now, heel.” More shuffling, wordless as a corpse.

How long did he have before Virgil took his own plunge?

—

It took longer than before for Virgil to regain coherence, afterwards.

Roman knew the moment he’d come back to himself, because the soft grip around his hand had instantly vanished, yanked away so sharply that he’d barely registered the movement before Virgil was up on his feet and backing away.

“Virgil,” he tried, and the Human shook his head, the motion harsh, his hands lifting up to grip roughly at his hair in a distressed motion Roman had only ever caught glimpses of back on the ship.

He’d continued to retreat until he hit the furthest corner of the cell, where he slid down and curled in on himself, utterly unreceptive to any of Roman’s stilted calls. Roman caught his expression crumpling into a miserable grimace before he buried his face in his knees and hid that away too.

The silence stretched.

If there were some right words to say here, Roman couldn’t find them. Even if he did, he undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to say them. The helplessness sheared against his scales like rough sand, but how could he allow himself to wallow in it when he at least still had his mind, his existence still unarguably his own?

Freshly taunted by the knowledge that he didn’t have even that much, Virgil remained still and taut and quiet in the furthest reaches of his cell for what felt like a very long time.

When he did finally stir, Roman was appalled to see the faint streaks on his face where his tears had washed away the sweat and grime.

Patton had described Human weeping as arrhythmic vocalizations, much like Ampens, but with a physical manifestation as well. Roman hadn’t known that Humans could cry silently, like a pup gone still and quiet in the face of danger, with only the barest hitching of breath to indicate distress.

The expression on Virgil now was creased into firm lines, but it didn’t seem agonized or crumbling at the edges. Rather, as he climbed to his face, he seemed to hold the same bitter resolution Roman had seen in him a few times before: during the tail end of their first meeting, and after the fight with the raiders, both times when he’d thought he was about to be left alone again.

“Roman,” he started, and then worked his jaw tersely, once, twice. Rather than continue, he held out a hand, palm-up in silent offering.

Things had changed a lot over the course of their captivity, Roman reflected as he reached out and set his own hand in the Human’s grasp with barely a shred of hesitation. It felt like second nature by now, to reach out and cling on whenever his stomach was roiling with stress.

Virgil watched him for a moment longer, and then wrapped his fingers around Roman’s hand and drew closer, slowly pulling his arm up until he had positioned Roman’s claws just above the skin of his neck.

“This,” Virgil said, each word resolute, “is the best place to sever if you want to kill a Human quickly.”

The words took a dull, ringing moment to sink in, but once they did, Roman jerked back sharply. “Virgil, what—?”

For the first time, Virgil held on, keeping his hand pinned in place with ease even as he had to grip the bars with his other hand to remain upright. Roman could see the way the Human’s pulse fluttered under the skin, a heartbeat racing visibly exactly where Virgil had indicated.

“It’s important. You need to know,” Virgil insisted, and lifted their joined hands higher, to his temple. “Head wounds bleed a lot. Gashes up here are valuable because the blood runs down and drips into their eyes, which will work pretty well as a distraction—,”

“Stop it!” Roman demanded, yanking harder as his panic increased. “I’m not going to— stop talking like that! I don’t need to know how to hurt you!”

At the start of their voyage, Roman would have done just about anything for information like this, anything to feel safe on his own ship again. So why was he learning it only now, when each word and accompanying gesture made him feel ill and rotted down to the tip of his tail?

“It’s not— Roman, it’s not about me,” Virgil said, frustration seeping into his voice. He let Roman drag his hand away from his face, but still didn’t let go. “It’s about them.”

Roman wasn’t sure he believed that. “I don’t need to kill anyone. They’re brainwashed, this is Marta’s fault! I know the truth, now.”

Virgil shook his head, ghosted the fingers of his free hand over his implant scar with a distant, sickened expression. “It’s not that simple. I don’t want guilt to be the reason— Look. If it’s them or you, I want it to be you. I want you to make sure it’s you.”

And what if it's me or you? Roman thought, but the words lodged firmly in his chest until he could barely breathe around them.

“They all made their choice,” Virgil continued once it became clear that Roman wouldn’t respond. “They’ve kept making that choice, every time. You have to want to survive, too, okay?”

Mutely, Roman nodded, trying to ignore the creeping sense of horror. He pulled Virgil’s hand back towards himself, fumbled for speech for a long moment before finding the words and hoping they didn’t feel like a betrayal when spoken aloud.

“The underbelly,” he started, and Virgil’s expression— shut down. Every hint of body language went flat like stone, and just as unyielding.

“No.” The word was final, a sentence all its own, and Roman scowled mulishly.

“But—!”

“Roman.” Virgil lifted his other arm over so that he was clasping Roman’s hand between both of his own. “You’re the only one left, right? You told me that.”

The thought was still a wound-like pang in his chest, even after all this time. “Yes,” he admitted. “But, even still—,”

“No way. I don’t want to hear it, man. There’s nobody I would be willing to use it on, anyhow.” Virgil kept his gaze locked firmly on a point past Roman’s shoulder, but his shoulders were set, his voice steadfast.

There was no point arguing. Not now, when the both of them were one wrong move from collapse.

“Okay,” Roman finally said, and forced himself not to protest when Virgil reclaimed the position of lecturer. It was a struggle not to wince away with each gory anecdote, a full guide on the quickest ways to make the Human body stop functioning or even turn on itself.

“Gut wounds are slow to kill, but they can be painful enough to debilitate. There are vulnerable organs here, below the rib cage, and damage to them is difficult to treat without surgery if the wound is severe enough…”

Still, he held himself at attention, did his best to memorize every word.

If Virgil wouldn’t accept knowledge about Roman’s own vulnerabilities as a gift of equal exchange, Roman would simply have to treasure this information with the same dedication that he applied to the rest of their small crew.

After all, knowing all the individual weak points of a Human would make it that much easier for him to protect each and every single part of Virgil.

Virgil wasn’t going to die. Not here, and certainly not by Roman’s own claws. Not if Roman had anything to say about it.

[craftingcreatures]

Today I want to talk about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (Octopus paxarbolis).

OK, so for those who don't know, the PNW Tree Octopus was an internet hoax created in 1998 consisting of a website detailing the animal's life history and conservation efforts. It's completely fake - saying that up front. This animal never existed.

But if you look at this from a speculative biology standpoint? It's genius.

There is one, and only one, thing preventing Octopus from colonizing and being hugely successful in terrestrial environments in the PNW, and that's the fact that no cephalopod has ever been able to overcome the osmotic stress of inhabiting freshwater. We don't know why this is; other mollusks evolved freshwater forms just fine. But if you hand-wave away that one, single limiting factor, the PNW is just primed for a terrestrial octopus invasion.

The Pacific coast of North America is an active tectonic boundary, meaning the coast transitions pretty much immediately into the Cascade and Coastal mountain ranges (contrast with the east coast and its broad Atlantic plain). It's also a lush temperate rainforest, with very high precipitation. This means lots and lots of high-gradient mountain streams with lots of waterfalls and rapids and cold, highly oxygenated water, and not as many large, meandering rivers.

This has important consequences on the freshwater fauna. For one, there are not many freshwater fish in the Pacific Northwest - the rapids and waterfalls are extremely hard to traverse, so many mountain streams are fish-free. There also just isn't much fish diversity in the first place - there's sturgeon in the big rivers, salmonids, a few sculpin and cyprinids and... that's pretty much it. These cold northern rivers are positively impoverished compared to the thriving fish communities of the Mississippi or Rio Grande.

Few fish means few predators, and depending on the size of the first freshwater octopus, salmon and trout just wouldn't be much of a threat. And while these rivers don't have much in the way of fish diversity, there's lots of prey available - crayfish, leeches, mosquito larvae, frogs and tadpoles, water striders, and other aquatic insects, just to name a few. So the first Octopus pioneers to invade the rivers would be entering what essentially amounts to a predator-free environment with lots and lots of food and no competition. Great for colonization.

These ideal conditions get even better once you get up past the rapids and waterfalls, since there's no fish whatsoever in those streams. Octopus, with their sucker-lined arms, are perfectly equipped to navigate fast-moving, rocky-bedded streams and climb up cliffs. They'd also be well able to traverse short stretches of dry ground to access even more isolated pools and ponds. In fact, once Octopus overcome the osmoregulation problem there's nothing at all preventing them from colonizing land in earnest, since the PNW rainforests are so wet; there's no danger of drying out.

Finally there's the question of reproduction. Octopus are famously attentive mothers, because they need to keep the water around their eggs moving and well-oxygenated. In a mountain stream, this wouldn't be an issue, because the cold, turbulent water holds lots and lots of oxygen. Breeding in high mountain streams would be ideal, and the mothers might not even need to attend to their eggs, freeing them up to evolve away from semelparity and allowing them to reproduce more than once in their lives; their populations would thus increase rapidly and dramatically.

I think, if octopus managed to invade freshwater ecosystems in the PNW, it would dramatically change the ecology much like an invasive species. They'd be unstoppable predators of frogs, bugs, slugs, maybe even larger animals like snakes, birds, and small mammals. Nothing would eat them except maybe herons, and things like bears and raccoons would give them a wide berth due to their venom. They would rule that landscape.

The tl;dr is that the PNW is primed for invasion by cephalopods, if only they could manage to overcome the osmoregulation problem and live in freshwater. If the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus really did exist, it wouldn't be a shy and reclusive species on the brink of extinction; it would be a pest, an invasive, overpopulated menace you couldn't get rid of if you wanted to. I can just imagine them crawling up onto people's bird feeders and either stealing the nuts or luring in unsuspecting sparrows and starlings. They would sit in the trees and throw pinecones at hikers for fun. They would be some unholy mixture of snake and slug with the personality of a magpie and I am incensed that they only exist in fiction.

[magickpancakes]

love her and her frogspawn hair <3

some infos below :3

comes from an aquatic planet, commonly known as Maren.

Facts about Maren (the planet and the species)

whatever surface isnt covered by ocean is marsh or swamp

(this may change) planet is about the size of Mars

planet bountiful with diverse aquatic flora and fauna, many are desired as delectable ingredients in high-end restaurants, as crucial home-remedies with excellent medicinal and soothing properties, and highly sought after by zoos and aquariums across the universe

planet is unable to support electricity, and has no, and is unable to make, any space-faring vessels

despite this they hold a high status among the galaxy and maintain many allies

much of their news is spread through other species ships displaying large screens above the watery surface of the planet

planet is very wealthy due to their trading, most residents have lots of luxuries

not many Maren residents arent native to the planet, due to its soggyness

however many planets do support large Maren populations in their oceans, lakes, and swamps

the Maren do not do well in rivers and other fast moving bodies of water, they are more adapted to large open swathes of water

Lots of variety in the Maren, with many different sub-species

many many languages on the planet, with the most common being morse code (this is due to the more oceanic sub-species inability to speak, but rather glow)

their morse code is what got them to quickly join the galatic council (or whatever ya wanna call it idk).

the Maren are very protective of their planet, despite their passive appearence, and take many many measures to ensure species biodiversity, health, and to negate any risks of species going extinct

will absolutly not allow habitat destruction and excessive harvesting of species, to the point of war

VERY few tourist spots, due to concerns of being overrun and having the planet get.. "burnt out"

this is due to their heavy reliance on trading native flora and fauna. If their planet were to become polluted and over-harvested, not only would they no longer have the luxuries they get from trading, but they would most likely die out. (corruption spreads fast in water)

Facts about Fillet :3

- is part of a more amphibious sub-species of Maren, due to their habitat being more swampy

- Fillet was named after one of the first outsider foods her parents tried, as a metaphor of new beginings and hope for prosperity and peace in the future

- is the seventh oldest out of her ten siblings (a rather large amount of children given their region)

- gets most of her looks from her mother, but her tail and antenna patterns were from her father

- is one of Xael's very few friends, they visit her quite often (bout every 6 months, but sticks around for a week or so)

- it is unknown why Xael sticks around Fillet, due to their distaste of the muck where Fil lives and their rather contrasting personalities

- Fil is about 23 in Maren years

- she works on her family's farm, but has quite the weaving hobby

- very extroverted

- loves visiting other planets, however doesnt have much time for it, makes due with trying all sorts of new cuisines

- is considered "overweight" but due to her fathers more artic heretige, gains weight easier and its harder for her to shake it off, so ya cant really blame her for that

[dougdimmadodo]

Fast Fauna Facts #22 - Eastern Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus)

Family: Dobsonfly Family (Corydalidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Like most dobsonfly species male Eastern Dobsonflies like the individual pictured above have enormous mandibles used to impress females, wrestle with rival males and grip partners during mating, but despite their intimidating appearance these mandibles are fairly weak and are unlikely to cause significant injury to humans. Ironically, the much shorter mandibles of females are significantly more powerful, with an adult female Eastern Dobsonfly potentially breaking skin if provoked. While both male and female Eastern Dobsonflies possess impressive jaws neither actually feed as adults, instead spending the entirety of their short lives gathered around shallow slow-moving streams attempting to locate and impress mates. After mating female Eastern Dobsonflies lay eggs on rocks or plants hanging over water, and the newly-hatched aquatic larvae, known as hellgrammites, are born with extremely powerful jaws used to feed on smaller insects as they grow.

----------------------------------------------------

Image Source: Here

<-Previous (Derby's Anomalure) l Next (Three-Toed Amphiuma) ->

[rainbowchaox]

OKOKOKOKOK ANOTHER AU FOR ADOPTION:

Space Romance Au

Pretty much Earth sends out people on missions to research alien flora and fauna. They arrive on a distant planet and live in like a portable housing/research station. The station has good housing quarters and labs filled with the best equipment. Also each station has a food replicator. Usually these stations are only manned by one human. Mostly everything is automatic. And Missa is part of this project and is currently manned on the recently found planet coined Vita Viridis.

Vita Viridis is an oxygen rich planet whose natural flora experience gigantism. It’s heavily forested with flora reaching almost unnatural proportions. It tends to be a mild climate but does have typical seasons. It’s tends to rain often and it’s common for bodies of water to dot the surface. So often in fact that Missa usually goes around by boat.

The station Missa resides in is on an island in a middle of a swamp which the roots of the massive trees delve into. It’s the only dry land he saw when he landed so he had to make do. And also why he takes full advantage of the water to explore Vita Viridis.

But the fact is Missa soon realizes he is not alone. Introducing the humanoid insectoid species of Vita Viridis. (Thank you @changeling-ash for all of these)

Class: Suprainsecta (Above Insect)

Order: Sapenoptera (Wise Winged)

Family: Elytronidae (Covering [wing])

Genus: Sapien Vitari (Wise Vitari)

The common name is Vitari. Named after the planet as it’s the dominant species. And one Vitari is very attached to Missa. A Vitari named Phil. Missa saved him from a giant spider web and he now wants to court the pretty human. And does make himself known often to Missa. He is fully sentient but unable to speak human languages.

Vitari communicate by complicated vocalizations including clicks, chirps, trills, rattles and buzzing. Though they can eventually be taught human languages. Vitari also use wing vibrations to communicate as well.

Missa at first was terrified of Phil because he has common sense and healthy sense of what is dangerous. But it wasn’t long until he found out Phil was pretty harmless and mostly curious (Though it does take him a bit longer to realize that Phil wants to court him)

Vitari have elytra that can make them able to fly. Silver or black are the most common colorings. They also have a stinger of sorts that puts venom into whatever they are hunting. They have black sclera with strange pupils. Their elytra is very fast. Their skin is mostly cartilage but can be numerous shades. They tend to wear basic like robes made from spider silk though some Vitari tribes have ways to dye the silk. And some Vitari communities have made full blown cities deep in the forest. Though it’s more common for Vitari to live isolated lives from the rest of their species.

Anyways Phil is courting human missa. This includes serenades. Mainly flapping his wings to create vibrations (not like actually singing). Phil also does elaborate dances and show off with his flying. Also just in general fly close to him (For example in real life male flies would fly close to female flies for attention). Another big thing is the nuzzles. Phil loves to nuzzle into missa hair or shoulder. Also loves to bump foreheads together. Another thing common in real life is insects prepare a meal for females. So Phil keeps trying to feed Missa with strange creatures he hunted. He eventually learns Missa prefers alien fruits and therefore gathers that for him instead. (Yes Missa falls victim to puppy eyes on his alien love interest and goes against all his common sense and eats the fruit. It’s delicious)

Missa has to contact the crew on earth with new findings and just in general checking he is fine and healthy. And they make fun of him so much for going against basic scientific principles and eating foods he doesn’t know how it would affect his human body. Missa too enamored by sweet alien to not accept his gifts. If he gets poisoned he gets poisoned.

Vitari live in hidden treehouses in the canopy. It tends to use whatever is around them to make it though they make the floor soft with fur and moss to sleep on. And they tend to hoard materials for either expanding their nest of sorts or stock food items. They also make simple tools to help them with their day to day. Vitari are pretty smart.

I personally like to imagine during the period Missa didn’t realize Phil has a crush on him and is courting him the Vitari way is when he had to contact the base on earth about his findings and research and Phil just climbed into his lap for cuddles and nuzzles. As he buzzes and chirps happily. His higher ups are concerned at first that he somehow got the dominant species to want to court him. But he is still doing excellent work so it’s fine with them.

[myriadium]

gus, unknown meaning, 7'9'', [they]/he, sleeper build

originally a mid-level brawler, gus's battling career seemed to have waned after a horrific and embarrassing loss in the championship almost made [them] quit. no one knew how he was recruited to the vexos until he stepped back onto the battlefield and decimated everyone else, bringing [them] back on the leaderboards.

[they] are very close with spectra, and it is unclear what their history is together. rumor forums often comment on how strange it is that it seems like gus is loyal to spectra more than the monarch. perhaps spectra was the one that saved gus from total obscurity, and now he feels indebted to [them]. still doesn't stop allegations of treason and treachery, however.

gus cares very little about perfecting his human illusion. in fact, it almost seems like he does not like the influence humans have in his species' culture. his v1 has multiple eyes, no mouth, no ears, no hands or feet, an extra leg, and a very long neck. in fact, it is probably the default look of a vestal when translated to a human illusion.

spectra commissioned a rework on [their] form, which gus took on with no complaint, but it's probably only because it was spectra who gave him v2 (still no ears or hands or feet, but the eyes are less fucked so that's nice).

brawlers' comments:

gus was one of the vestals that didn't take a human form in Alpha city. he was standing right next to spectra, and I don't think i've ever seen him leave their side. i'm pretty sure he's a straight blend of a sleeper build...i've never seen a vestal with that much, um, fur? the 'fauna' thing all the vestals have. A<E has a bit but he's also a hybrid...I dunno. i heard sleeper vestals live longer than regular ones because their fauna doesn't die out as fast and can generate a lot of energy. i wonder why not every vestal has sleeper fauna.

-Dan

It was quite a shock when [gus] came back to brawling. [their] previous loss was spectacularly embarrassing; several bad plays combined with an unlucky matchup...and it even ended with [their] opponent taking [their] bakugan, which was unheard of in any tournaments. i believe the opponent returned the bakugan outside of combat, which must have been doubly humiliating. I'm not sure what made [Zz3nO|-|3|_D] take [them] on, but I suspect [5P3(7.-A] had some part in it. whether [they] just wanted a puppet within the [vexos] or if [they] particularly like charity cases, I am unsure.

-A<E

I assumed vestals didn't experience attraction of any kind but looking at gus and spectra I can't be sure, haha.

-Alice

[arc-misadventures]

Dragon Faunus au: can I please ask for Jaune finding out who it was stalking him and confronting them?

Mobile Easel

Jaune: So… Pray tell… Why are you here? Definitely not for the sights I take it.

Sienna: I came to meet you, your Grace.

Jaune: Ahh… So it’s more dragon related faunas crap. Peachy.

Sienna: Is that a surprise, your Grace?

Jaune: No, but I do find it uncomfortable. I feel like some sort of zoo exhibit. And, please don’t call me your grace, king, or whatever silly titles you can possibly give me. Jaune is just fine.

Sienna: Very well then. So it seems you have accepted your nature as a faunas, I heard you were denying it, and posing as a human.

Jaune: That’s not true… entirely. I never hid the fact I was a faunas from anyone, I just don’t have any visible traits that scream: ‘Hey, that guy is a faunas!’ My teeth, as well as my talons are retractable so no one would notice them. And, unless I was breathing fire would anyone notice that?

Sienna: Fair point, if I had worn a hat you would have thought I was a human.

Jaune: Yes, a human with some nice looking stripe tattoos.

Sienna: Those are not tattoos.

Jaune: Really? Well they still look nice.

Sienna: Thank you.

Jaune: Well, it doesn’t matter whether those faunas traits are visible, or not. I can’t hide what’s coming next.

Sienna: Are you developing a new trait? That’s impossible!

Jaune: Hey, I already have three traits, most faunas only have one. How’s that for impossible?

Sienna: You are a rarity of rarities among faunas… I suppose you gaining another trait isn’t something to be unexpected. What is this new trait you are developing?

Jaune: Horns. I’m growing horns.

Sienna: Horns? Let me see…

Jaune: Wait, hold on now!

Sienna moved in a flash, moving mear inches from, Jaune’s face, as she held up his hair to display the two mounds forming on either side of his head.

Sienna: Well that’s certainly interesting. Most faunas would be showing signs of growing horns when they were at least ten years old, but to be growing them at seventeen. That is quite… interesting…

Cerulean gazed into amber, and amber gazed into cerulean. The duo stood there for a moment, their eyes locked upon one another as a deep blush spread across their faces. What felt like an age past before the two realized their position to one another, and jumped back away from one other. The blushes upon their faces slowly fading away.

Sienna: I’m sorry for that, it’s just the fact you have so many faunas traits, and the fact you have more to come is quite impressive.

Jaune: Hopefully it’s the last, I’m tired of being the circus freak.

Sienna: So you would not be upset if you heard that I was sent here to confirm whether, or not you were the dragon faunas of legend who would be crowned king of the faunas, and would lead his people into a golden age of prosperity for all faunas, and the world itself?

Jaune: Uhh… No, no I would not. Blake Belladonna has already told me a thing, or two about all that kingly stuff. But, aren’t you the high leader of the, White Fang, who commands you to do anything?

Sienna: On principle, no one. They may recommend, and advise me on various courses of action. But, at the end of it all it is my decision on what I shall do. Or, it was…

Jaune: Was?

Sienna: You are my, King. Whatever your command is, I will obey.

Jaune: Seriously?! I’ve known your for half an hour! Why are you pledging your undying loyalty to me?!

Sienna: Oh, but I have been here for days. Observing you since your match with, Mercury. And, I have become quite found of what I have seen so far.

Jaune: W-What have you seen?

Sienna: For starters…?

Nora: Big bro!

Jaune: Oh hi, Nora. Need something?

Nora: Just wanted to call you, ‘big bro!’ Hehehe~! I love that I get to call you that~!

Jaune: Right back at you, lil sis.

Nora: This is amazing~!

Pyrrha: Ahhh… Is it just me, or was she faster then, Ruby just now?

Ren: If you think that was fast, you should see her on a caffeine high.

Pyrrha: I would rather not.

Ren: No, no you don’t…

Nora: Hey, whose the kitty lady?

Jaune: Nora, may I introduce you to Sienna Khan. Mrs. Khan, this is Nora Valkyrie Arc, my little sister, and teammate.

Nora: Hello~! Can I pet your ears?

Sienna: Hello, and no you can not…

Nora: Naww…

Sienna: And, its Ms. Khan. Not, Mrs.

Jaune: Oh sorry. Ms. Khan.

Sienna: Sienna is fine, Jaune~!

Jaune: Okay… This is my teammate, Lie Ren.

Ren: Nice to meet you, Ma’am.

Sienna: A pleasure.

Jaune: And, lastly we have my partner, Pyrrha Nikos, and together the four of us make up, Team JNPR! Ya!

NPR: YA!

Sienna: It’s a pleasure to make the acquaintance of you, Ms. Nikos. I have heard of your…? (Sniff, Sniff.) Hmm…?

Pyrrha: Is something wro… EEP!

As, Sienna held, Pyrrha’s hand she suddenly pulled her towards her, and held, Pyrrha there for a moment, allowing, Sienna a chance to smell her. As, Pyrrha pulled away she could see a thirsty smile spread across the tigers face as she looked to her, and then to, Jaune.

Sienna: I see… So you’ve claimed her as your own. How interesting.

Pyrrha: Bwa?! WawawawaWHAT?!!

Jaune: You can smell that?!

Sienna: Easily.

Jaune: I thought faunas couldn’t pick up on my sent due to various hierarchical reasons?!

Ren: Hierarchical reasons?

Jaune: I’ll explain later… (Sniff, sniff!) It’s very confusing. But, answer the question!

Pyrrha: Y-Yeah! How do you know that we… did it?

Sienna: It’s more of a female faunas thing. We female faunas, particularly the older ones among us can tell certain… things about woman who have been claimed by a male. I can’t pick up your sent, Jaune, but I can pick up the ‘mark’ you placed upon her.

Pyrrha: WHAT?!

Jaune: Damn faunas, and our incredibly powerful noses!

Ren: Well, that explains why everyone was shooting death glares at, Pyrrha lately. Well, more so than usual.

Nora: Ohohoh! What do I smell like?!

Sienna: Syrup.

Nora: Nice!

Jaune: Haa… So why are you here exactly…? Oh yeah: More pledges of undying loyalty…

Ren: Is this one any different compared to the rest of them; can’t you just decline it like usual?

Jaune: Partly; She may be a single faunas, but she represents thousands of faunas. For, Sienna is the High Leader of the White Fang.

Ren: Ahh, she isn’t just anyone you can say no to.

Jaune: Precisely. So, then we have to do things that prove you’re worth for my trust.

Sienna: Prove my worth?

Jaune: Yes, your worth. I don’t trust blindly; as a businessman, and a leader, you must prove there is worth to me putting my trust in you. (Sniff.) Understood?

Sienna: Earn your trust? That seems perfectly reasonable, tell me, Jaune how can I, and to a greater extent prove our worth to you?

Jaune: You can first start off with why you are spying on me; I understand it’s because of the whole dragon king bullshit. But nonetheless, why are you spying on me?

Sienna: Spying?! I have given no order to spy upon you? In fact I gave the exact opposite order for our operatives to leave you alone.

Jaune: You haven’t? Then why is, Kali Belladonna here?

Sienna: She is the wife to, Ghiria Belladonna, the Chieftain of Menagerie. It’s only natural for her to come here, and see if the rumours of a dragon faunas are true.

Jaune stared down the cat faunas as he sniffed the air. The air of confidence, and assurance in the truth of her own words were etched across her face. And, yet…

Jaune: If that be true then explain this: Team JNPR!

NPR: Yes!

Jaune raised his hand and pointed to a tree near the edge of walkway, and simply said three words.

Jaune: Mobile Easel: GO!

In three seconds three scrolls were pulled out of their respective owners pockets. In a second a single button was pressed. And, in five seconds, three standard issue rocket lockers crashed into the ground before them.

As quick as a flash, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha each rushed to their respective lockers, and grabbed their gear, and did as Hunter’s do. They hunted their quarry.

Jaune: Nora! Fire one round behind the tree! Force them out of their hiding spot!

As her fearless-leader/older brother commanded, Nora fired a single round from her rotary-grenade launcher. The round impacted behind the tree forcing some black clad individual to pop out from behind it.

Jaune: Pyrrha, open fire on them, don’t let them get away! Ren, charge them!

Listen to their leaders instructions, Pyrrha changed her spear into it’s rifle form, and started firing upon their uninvited guest. The rounds struck true, and prevented them from fleeing, giving, Ren the time to close the distance, and engage in close quarters combat.

The spy was apparently more skilled at fleeing than fighting, for they could barely last a few seconds before they were knocked to the ground by, Ren’s swift onslaught of attacks. There they lay, defeated. Nora quickly ran over, and threw the spy over her shoulder like a bag of rice before dumping them in front of, Jaune with a pained groan.

Jaune: Excellent job team! They won’t know what’ll hit ‘em come the, Vytal Festival if we can keep this up!

Nora: That was AWESOME!!!

Pyrrha: I must admit, that was quite exhilarating.

Ren: I’m surprised we reacted that fast, I thought we would have a harder time with such a quick response.

Jaune: But, you didn’t. So excellent job guys! Now then… Who are you…?

Jaune pushed over their spy with his foot. They had brown skin, and wearing a black bodysuit. Their long brown hair done up in a ponytail, but what stood out the most to, Jaune was the white mask with horns she wore upon her face.

A Grimm mask, often worn by the members of the, White Fang.

Jaune: Interesting… So, the White Fang is following me, and you said they weren’t. Care to explain yourself, Ms. Khan?

Sienna: Ilia…

Jaune: Beg pardon?

Sienna: Her name is, Ilia Amitola.

Pyrrha: And, you know that because?

Sienna: She is as you said, a member of the, White Fang. She’s a chameleon faunas; She can change her skins natural pigment to whatever colour she wants. Because of this we use her to spy on others.

Jaune: She can change the colour of her skin? Well, that explains why she smells like oil paints.

Sienna: You smelt her out?

Jaune: Yes I did, this smell isn’t hard to miss. Now then, what was that bit about not spying on me?

Sienna: I’m not, I swear!

Jaune: This says otherwise.

Sienna: She may be spying on you for another faction within the, White Fang. Probably trying to see where your allegiances are, and if they could sway you to their side.

Pyrrha: Factions? I thought you were the, High Leader, shouldn’t they listen to your commands?

Sienna: I am the High Leader! It appears there are those among the, White Fang who need a reminder on who is in charge…

Jaune: Let’s start here then shall we? Hey, wake up!

Jaune slapped the sleeping faunas who slowly started to rouse herself from sleep.

Ilia: W-What…? W-Where am…?! Oh no…!

Sienna: Hello, Ilia… Care to explain what you’re doing here?

Ilia: Sight seeing…?

Jaune: And, I’m the sight to see, no?

Ilia: N-No… Ghak?!

Sienna grabbed, Ilia by the scruff of her neck, and held her in the air. A fierce gaze burned in her eyes, as she stared the quivering little girl.

Sienna: Considering I gave the orders that I would be meeting the dragon king alone, I expected them to be carried out! But, for some reason you are here, care to explain that?!

Ilia’s body seemed to literally turn white from fear, no doubt her unique faunas trait coming into play. Nora couldn’t help, but give a soft ‘aww’ as she saw this interesting display, while the others just watched on as, Sienna imposed her place within the faunas hierarchy.

Sienna: Answer me you pathetic little welp! I know you would have never sought him out yourself, you pathetic little dyke! Who sent you!

Ilia: T-T-The Albain Brother’s! T-They sent me to see if it was true! If the dragon king was real!

Sienna: Ahh… Those wretched bastards…

Ilia: Ooph?!

Without fanfare, Sienna unceremoniously dropped, Ilia on the ground as an unamused frown spread across her face.

Jaune: Friends of yours?

Sienna: Religious zealots is what they are! Always preaching about the good of the faunas in a holier than thou tone. Their personality is utterly unbearable.

Jaune: Would they also drop to the floor before me, and start worshiping me, praising me as this god I supposedly am?

Sienna: Most likely.

Jaune: So if I ever met them they would be the ones erecting statues, and murals of me for my supposed divinity?

Sienna: It wouldn’t surprise me if they haven’t already done that.

Jaune: Well… That sounds bother some…

Sienna: They would probably try, and wipe up the faunas, and rile them up to committing a holy war in your name.

Jaune: S-Seriously…?

Sienna: They are part of the more fanatical militant arm of the, White Fang. They already have been trying to force me to committing to such a course of action. While I admit that I am willing to attack enemies of the faunas that have slighted us. The Schnee Dust Company, and Atlas for example. But, they would be more open to attack civilians indiscriminately, to show people that faunas are to be feared. Such a course of action will only make more enemies of the faunas as a whole, and not just the, White Fang. With you however, they will try all the more harder to do so, and the likely hood of such a course of action happening is all the more likely.

Jaune: …

Jaune: Fuuuuuuuuuuck! I don’t wanna do this… but, they’re leaving me no choice…

Pyrrha: Do what, Jaune?

Jaune: I have to align myself with, Sienna, and Mrs. Belladonna. Dammit! I didn’t want to take part in this!

Ren: Who says you have to join them? Can’t you stay on the sidelines like you have already been doing?

Jaune: No, if I align myself with, Kali Belladonna it says I am looking towards a peaceful coexistence with humans, and general peace. Aligning myself with, Sienna will show that I do support the, White Fang, but I don’t favour its more violent aspects. People may still worship me as a god, but they will know that I do not like it. So there numbers will be less than if I adopt a more neutral position.

Ren: And, you can easily push for more favourable outcomes if you adopt their sides of the argument than the, Albain Brothers?

Pyrrha: But, is that really better? The White Fang are still militaristic.

Jaune: True. But, what would you rather align yourself with: A militant group, or a fanatical militant group?

Pyrrha: The militant group.

Jaune: Precisely. I will choose the lesser of two evils. On top of that I can curtail their more violent habits, no?

Sienna: I will do as you command.

Jaune: Good! Now there’s only one thing left to deal with! You… Ilia…

Ilia: Y-Y-Yes your, Grace…?

Jaune: How long have you been following me?

Ilia: For about two weeks…

Jaune: So you were there when I was at the, CCT Tower.

Ilia: I wasn’t ther… Gack?!

Jaune’s hand was on, Ilia’s throat, pushing her body against the ground. He stood above her, his other hand held high as he flexed his fingers revealing the talons he hid beneath them. Ilia’s body paled to a ghostly white as he stared at the terrified little faunas below him.

Jaune: Don’t lie to me! I picked up your sent there, and I’ve been looking for it ever since! So were you there or not!

Ilia: I-I-I was there!

Jaune: And, did you hear anything?

Ilia: W-What…?

Jaune: Did you overhear the conversation I was having!!

Ilia: N-N-No! You finished your call as soon as I entered the room!

Jaune: Is that the truth?!

Ilia: I uhh… A-Air!

Jaune: I said: Is that the TRUTH!!!

Jaune opened his mouth, and snapped his teeth together, letting everyone see the fangs that lie within his mouth, as jets of fire shot out of the sides inches from, Ilia’s face. It was a truly fearsome sight to behold, one clearly showing the contained rage the, Dragon King held in check, one that no wanted to be on the receiving side of. Ilia displayed this fact as she promptly fainted from being on the receiving end of, Jaune’s furious visage.

Jaune: …

Jaune: Oops… I went a little too far…

Pyrrha: Damn that was hot…

Sienna: That can certainly get your engine purring~!

Ren: Understandable considering the circumstances.

Nora: Whoo! Do it again!

Sienna: What circumstances?

Jaune: That is none of your business…

Sienna: I see…

Jaune: Well, good talking with you, Sienna. I think we have other things to attend to. I’ll live you to deal with your… associate. Till later.

Sienna: Till later, Jaune.

As, Team JNPR made their away from the faunas duo, Ren fell into step with his team leader to ask him some pressing questions.

Ren: Are you alright?

Jaune: Somewhat. It appears she didn’t hear about the conversation I had with my sisters, but until I know if he has any traits… There is much to worry about…

Ren: What about your breathing?

Jaune: My breathing; What about it?

Ren: You may have smelt, Ilia out, but you were still sniffing heavily. Is something wrong?

Jaune: Damn you noticed that! I thought I was hiding that better.

Ren: You were, but most people tend to focus on the eyes, than the nose. What were you smelling?

Jaune: Sienna. I was smelling, Sienna.

Ren: Oh… Is this the same thing that you’ve been dealing with, with Ms. Goodwitch?

Jaune: Yep…

Ren: Oh… It doesn’t appear like you had the same reaction to her as you did, Ms. Goodwitch though.

Jaune: I know what I’m smelling, I won’t have such a violent reaction. I hope…

Ren: We can only hope that.

Jaune: I don’t like the fact I can sniff people out like that. Oh well… I’ll just look to the bright side in all of this mess.

Ren: And, that would be?

Jaune: That I’ve got good taste~!

Ren: …

Ren: Okay then…

///

Hahahaha!!! Haaaaa…

It’s finished… This has been sitting in my draft for at least a month…

But, it is finished!

Now I have to finish all the other ones…

Nerts…

[mythica0]

Hey guys! I don’t really post about shifting stuff but I wanted to post this. The fact that others can visit is inspired by the wonderful and very helpful @stilljuststardust (hope you don’t mind the tag!)

Welcome to my waiting room, also known as Mythica! (Note for the format that this started out in my notes just for me but as I went on I added some other features. Might add more in future:3)

My waiting room is less of a room and more of a space, and certain things kinda work like a video game. There is a nice building with comfortable rooms and access to all media outlets past and present. There is also a large garden with flowers and lovely little plants and things. Outside the house is a lovely natural environment with rolling hills, large fields, gorgeous clear waters, fluffy clouds and tall glorious trees. Near the house is a large open clearing with tons of portals/doors through which you can enter any of the other DR’s + my OR. A new one is added for every DR. I can also shapeshift and grow any number of non human attributes as well as shift into animals or mythical creatures.

This is like a DR in itself, basically meant for piling anything that doesn’t fit into its own DR into a space. The house/field is considered ‘spawn’ and if you have the intent to go back to spawn and say ‘take me to spawn’ you will instantly teleport back there. You can also teleport to any other location in this world via a map at spawn by tapping on the location you wish to go(to make it more fun, it’s only visible/unlocked on the map once you’ve seen it before) and then tapping the “fast travel” option. The other option would be “info” which you can view all the information about a location including natural flora and fauna, magical/unnatural properties, and big attractions.

I’ll wait to find out what the universe has is store for the locations once I get there, but something locations I’d like to see include: Rainbow location, Cloud/sky location, Underwater location. Mythical creature la and all sorts of animal friends reside here as well. This also allows stuffies to live and walk around on their own like in Toy Story or doc Mcstuffins. You can find wild stuffed animals, Other ppls stuffies and my own(past and present) will wander round the house/field like little pets!!

Other people are welcome to visit, and each person will have their own “spawn” with their own house, field and portals. You can visit other people’s spawns but can only interact with the surroundings if given permission by the owner. If you are the owner, you can give others three states of permission or ban them entirely, which will prevent them from entering your spawn area. :

view only-the person can walk around, touch and look at the surroundings but will not influence anything.

Visitor-can move/influence surroundings

Owner/full permission-can change anything about the spawns appearance, function or connection to the rest of the space at will.

Thank you for taking time to read this whole thing if you’ve made it this far! I hope anyone who’s out there in the void of my post notifications sees this and decides to visit! I hope to run into you!! :D I will try to keep updated if I decide on any changes, which I will use the tag #Mythica as that’s the name, so don’t be afraid to check once in a blue moon!