#Kings of the Forest au

[palesweetscherryblossom]

Dipping my toes back into platonic territory with monster couple Shigadabi

Shiggy is the king of his little group of a variety of different creatures and monsters. He took Dabi as his consort after Dabi discovered he was a monster fucker and that Tomura was peak husband material.

They all live together in this enchanted forest, where everything is fine and dandy. Till the 10 kingdoms started capitalizing on their forest and drained things dry.

Tomura was like wtf guys? Now I can’t feed my citizens and my husband! The kingdoms said skill issue till All Might came in and said “yeah, the spoopy monster is right. Knock it off”

Tomura was naturally upset because now his citizens are upset that their resources were taken away. Certainly doesn’t help that he has entered mating season.

After a few years, Tomura and his subjects plan their revenge against the kingdoms.

Tomura raids All Might’s castle and discovers he’s taken a wife and two stepchildren.

Tomura doesn’t care at all for the eldest but something about seeing a little bby like you just makes his paternal instincts soar.

But All Might and his family don’t give you up willingly. After a long battle and being outmatched, Izuku begs Shigaraki to see what they can do to stop this madness.

Dabi and Tomura exchange glances at each other then smirk at the pathetic whelps. Dabi offers a deal.

“If you can complete a year’s worth of challenges and manage peace with our citizens then you can have your child back.” Dabi informs. Tomura then adds on.

“If you succeed, we’ll give them back and we’ll leave. But if you fail then we’ll make them one of us and you’ll be banished. Your kingdom will be claimed by our forests and the others will be at the mercy of my subjects.”

Izuku and All Might accept.

I’m not so sure what kind of creatures Dabi and Tomura would be so give me ideas pls

@messedupcookiejar

[bismuthfool]

What if a small child wandered onto cryptid Wukong's territory and was lost?

bro is nice to kids

in fact he tries not to show himself to people during the day, no matter whether he wants to help them or scare them because everyone knows that people love to chase after everything scary and big. Wukong knows this too and if they see he in the light of day, then it will be impossible to hide from them he tries not to even get too close to them (but small children are an exception)

(he meows because he knows that people love cats. he loves them too) (his meowing isn't cute...)

[starry-bi-sky]

finally giving fem danyal her own au and fulfilling my 'danny is an animal whisperer' agenda at the same time: mother of monsters danyal 2.0

i say "2.0" because TECHNICALLY 'mother of monsters danyal' is an au I made back in June for Dark fem!Danyal (who I promptly named Layal). However, I haven't posted much for her yet, and I like the "mother of monsters" premise too much to leave it only to Layal. Plus Danyal in that au was going to become the mother of monsters anyway, just with significantly less world domination and mass extinction.

'Animal whisperer' Danny has been something I've been thinking about since my latest DP 'wolfpack au' post and it's! So fun to think about, and who no better to assign the idea to than Danyal Al Ghul? Who comes from a family infamously known for their love of animals and nature?

Fem Danyal is just purely self-indulgent. *gestures wildly at her* i just lomvb,,, her,,,, I've only really mentioned her in context of the 'Things in Threes' au/my first Danyal al Ghul au with the facial scar, but she's!!! I love her. She deserves her own au <33

So kill three birds with one stone! Make a post about it.

Anyways, Danny has a large lair. Similar to cult leader danyal, her lair is a giant mountain region resembling nanda parbat with a big temple/palace-like area built into the mountain. It's large, it's overflowing with natural flora, with its own mini-floating islands hovering over some areas, and it's also completely empty.

Danny takes one look at her lair upon first meeting, -- noting that it looked relatively smaller from the outside -- and promptly, with the elegance of an Al Ghul, goes "What the hell??" Because yes, while she does enjoy her own solitude and privacy, this is a bit ridiculous.

For heaven's sake, there's even a massive lake in there! What's she going to do with all this space? Can she make it any smaller? Why is it so big in the first place? This looks borderline like one of the mega-islands!

She finds out later that apparently, the amount of ectoplasm a ghost has can have an effect on the size of their lair. And since she has such a large core, her lair reflects that. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, it's bigger on the inside so it doesn't take up "too much space" on the outside. Don't worry about it too much.

Danyal isn't totally opposed to having such a large lair, she's just... a bit baffled by it. It feels like so much wasted space is all. All this flora and no fauna to enjoy it with. It's practically eerie.

She decorates her temple-palace area, transforming rooms to match her needs as she sees fit. In the center of the inner gardens is a massive tree that she likes to climb, with twisting, winding branches. Sam and Tucker have honorary rooms, even if they can't safely leave the specter speeder for long periods of time, even with proper safety equipment. So does Jazz. Ali (Dani) has one too, but he can actually use that one, and Danny brought him to her lair so he could decorate it himself.

She has a personal garden, but for the most part she lets the flora exist as it is. Too much space to cultivate it en masse anyways.

Skip to a few weeks later, on her next visit to Clockwork. She developed a habit of going to see him semi-regularly just because. She enjoys his wisdom, and he has a lot of stories to tell, and when he's not being the cryptic and esoteric timekeeper, he's a bit goofy.

(pushing my dadwork agenda here,,, i think Danny deserves to go 'hey, Lord Clockwork, do you want me to buy you something' while she's at walmart, only to receive a singular glowing sticky note that says 'cucumber gatorade'.)

(She insists on referring to him with his proper titles even for the most mundane of things because it's proper, but Clockwork sees a future where she eventually calls him "Cee" and by all things in existence is he determined to get there. Anyways,,,)

On her next visit to Clockwork, just as she is about to leave, Clockwork stops her and goes; "Ah, I have something for you. Hold out your hands."

Danny does as such, and Clockwork doesn't give out things often, so her curiosity has spiked to the highest levels. He turns away from her for a moment, using his staff to summon whatever it is he needs, and when he turns around.

He drops a fish into her hands. Granted, a fish in a small glass tank. But a fish nonetheless. A small one, roughly about the size of her finger, with a blue-black, eel-shaped body and four sets of glowing eyes. She can see thin, almost translucent, but spiny fins down its back and the start of bioluminescent markings. It's swimming around in circles in its small container.

"Lord Clockwork." Danyal says all too calmly.

"Yes, Danyal?"

"What is this?"

"That is an adolescent leviathan, Danyal." She’s transfixed onto the tank, but she doesn’t need to see Clockwork’s face to hear the smile he’s stifling.

The myriad of emotions that runs through her all at once threatens to overwhelm her, and she can’t tell if the feelings are negative or positive. So she carefully closes her eyes to breathe in through her nose.

“Clockwork.”

“Ah, I see you’ve dropped formalities.”

She ignores that.

“Why have you given me an adolescent leviathan?”

She's expecting the trickster to look amused when she opens her eyes. Instead, he just looks endeared. "I know you're fond of animals," he says, "and you always look amazed when you come across an animal of the realms. So I thought you might enjoy taking care of the young beast, it's mother is dead so it has no one to care for it."

Oh.

"But, if you don't like it," Clockwork's hands reach out for the tank, "I can simply take it back--"

Danyal shifts the tank out from his reach and hugs it possessively. "I never said that. How do I care for it?"

And so clockwork gives her a list, and when Danyal returns to her lair, she sets up a large tank in her room for the leviathan to swim in -- it's much too small for the lake right now, she thinks. She'll feel better if it's somewhere she can find it. She names him Suhā.

Suhā grows quickly, and by the end of the mortal month she transforms one of the rooms into a large pond for him to swim around in. He's a very loyal beast, recognizing her as it's mother of some kind. Danyal takes great care ensuring that her beastie gets quality care, and Suhā swims to the surface to see her when he senses her in the room.

It spirals from there. Somehow, Pandora catches wind that Clockwork gave her a leviathan, and so the next time Danyal visits the Greater Athens, she gives her a baby chimera. It's eyes are still sealed shut, Danyal can't bring herself to say no. She names the little beastie Firas.

Frostbite hears about it too, and not to be outdone, gives her an animal she's never even heard of. Infinite-realms born, apparently. A fox-like creature with two small horns like an impala, four eyes, and tall legs. The name isn't something she's quite sure how to write down, and she's positive that her friends won't be able to comprehend it. She names her Eira.

Getting the three of them used to each other was... interesting. Suhā tried to eat Firas when Danyal first introduced the two, and they've hated each other ever since. Firas and Eira are seemingly getting along. Her island already feels full enough with the three of them on it.

Of course, that's not the end of it. With her luck, she begins stumbling across other monsters. Realms-borne or otherwise. An injured hydra in the Grecian islands that, through lots of trial and error, Danyal is able to rehabilitate and heal. It routinely comes to visit her afterwards.

A griffin with a broken wing that she moves permanently to the island that likes to keep to itself, but tends to come down when she's near. It gets along best with Firas.

A panther-like monster from the Shades Woods that had six legs and three tails, with ends that reminded her of a venus flytrap. It stuck around the heavy foliage and she can only make out where it was when she saw its golden eyes reflect.

She befriends a young indrik with its leg injured, and much like the hydra it follows her back to her island, and stays there in the mountains. It comes out when she's alone, much like her other beasts.

She receives two more leviathan -- one from clockwork, and one she finds herself while exploring the deeper and darker recesses of the Ghost Zone. It was huddled against the carcass of its mother, and she managed to befriend and get close enough to it to bring it back to her island. Suhā is fully grown by then, with a head bigger than Danyal herself and he still likes to stick her head out of the water for nuzzles when she's near.

He's not very happy with his new siblings, but he's not trying to eat them when she's not looking. So she calls it a win in her book.

And it's not just large beasts either; smaller animals begin popping up when she's not looking. Bird-like creatures and small mammals, and she swears she saw a doe (or something resembling a doe) grazing in the forest while she was walking by.

She takes back with her a lone snake egg once, and it grows so big it wraps around her island and sleeps with its massive head on the mountain beside the temple, like some smaller breed of Jörmungandr.

And on and on it goes. Some of the beasts she comes across never step foot onto her island, some of them follow her back, while others she has to carry back. Not all of the ones that follow her stay, and Danny rehabilitates the injured and releases them when they're fully healed.

It's hectic, and busy, and frankly she loves it. Some of her rehabilitated beasts return to visit her, or to have their children somewhere on the island, or whatever it is they need to do.

She becomes a bit infamous for it. She goes to visit Dorathea once, and as she's walking through the streets she can hear some of the denizens whispering while she walks past.

"Is that her?"

"Her highness' friend? Yes--"

"--that's the one--"

"--Mother of monsters--"

Danny's not sure how to feel about that.

Although, she can't say she's opposed.

Danyal Al Ghul, Mother of monsters, raiser of beasts. It has a nice ring to it.

[hanakihan]

listen I’ve been plagued by idea of Apothecary Diaries AU and Rook is MaoMao you need to see my vision—

[buckets-and-trees]

Cedar Trees

a collection of Royal AU stories centered around a King Steve Rogers and Queen!Reader

You came into this betrothal to Steve Rogers, King of York, with no illusions to the situation – yours was a marriage to ensure the continuation of many generations of alliance and peace between your respective kingdoms. It was your duty as the second-born. Very early, however, you learn what your royal union truly means to you both, and it's more than either of you expect.

Content Warnings: [check individual parts for their respective warnings] politically arranged marriage, reluctant pining, SMUT (rough fucking and fluffy and intimate sexual situations)

AUTHOR NOTE: The setting for this is a semi-Georgian era in a loose version of a North America based in no reality, only aesthetic and general royal protocols of the time.

ADDITIONALLY: I actively and eagerly accept questions about this AU as well as requests - asks I can get to fairly quickly, requests may take me longer. I know their general story, but I have no agenda for a plot for them, so I'm willing to fulfill requests based on what people would like to see in this couple's story.

ORIGINAL FOUNDATION PIECE: Fire Burning From a Cedar Tree

Release Order:

Fire Burning From a Cedar Tree [3.4k]

The Thrill of Knowing How Alone We Are [1.2k]

Winter Solstice (response to an ask)

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts [1.3k]

A Shift in the Morning Routine [1.1k]

Love That's Laid Beside Me [5k]

The Silence of the Hushed Sublime [4.8k]

Chronological Order:

The Thrill of Knowing How Alone We Are

Fire Burning From a Cedar Tree

A Shift in the Morning Routine

Winter Solstice (an ask that plays into their narrative)

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

Love That's Laid Beside Me

The Silence of the Hushed Sublime [4.8k]

Extras:

what if Cedar Trees was also an omegaverse?

ask re: kinks and physical intimacy

Resources:

Collection Cover by me

Divider by @firefly-graphics / #evansyhelp

[ceramicwings]

[gremlinmodetweeker]

Rest Well Reign Strong

Cannibal King!König is so stuck in my head right now it's not fair. Now you all have to endure my brainrot. Either way, this is just a really short fic establishing new life in the cannibal colony. Have fun, reader!

Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence, cannibalism

Wordcount: 1.4k

Art from This Post

Story below the Cut

Reign Well Reign Strong

It had been a few days since the cannibal king (as you called him) took you under his wing, and honestly, as begrudgingly as you were to admit it, life had drastically improved. It wasn’t anywhere near what you had before that damned helicopter ride, but you no longer lived in constant fear. Well, no, that wasn’t quite right. Fear was still laced through every part of your day. It was a inescapable fact of life now. But it was a different type of fear now. You were no longer afraid of dying, but you were afraid of the cannibal group that had taken you in.

You learned quickly to avoid eating whatever meat they brought you, and the shrouded king caught on faster than you expected. He didn’t seem to understand your aversion to human flesh in the slightest, mind you, but he was respectful at least. Instead, he tried to (shockingly gently) urge you to eat and, in turn, live. You had taken to drinking the boiled teas they made and feasted on the berries they foraged. They seemed to be just as fond of blueberries as you were.

However, though you were now taken care of, you loathed your captor.

He was a giant of a man, immense in size and weight paradoxically juxtaposed to his silent steps through the forest. The golden skull on his mask was a symbol of the aspect he embodied, death following his every move. The antlers on his shroud wove up above his head to make his ruling crown.

When you closed your eyes, the memories of the body being ripped in half replayed over and over in your mind. The sheer amount of brute strength he possessed horrified you to the core. Even in the army you’d never seen a man half as strong. It wouldn't take much for him to tear you limb from limb. You'd seen the man pick up a small boulder and launch it over fifty yards to crush an intruder. The ease at which he did so still horrified you.

You shuddered, drawing the attention of your king.

He shuffled closer, gently taking you into his arms and holding you close. You cringed in his grasp, sick of the smell of his sweat and the blood that permanently wreathed his form. He didn’t seem to understand, but how could he? You both spoke entirely different languages. It was a wonder he spared you at all at this rate. Surely he was getting sick of not being able to understand you?

Or did he take you for a different reason? You tried not to think of why a man would kidnap you and take you into his home without a second thought. It chilled you to the bone to think of his reasoning. You just prayed you'd never find out.

He was a cruel man. He tied you to him with a leash of leather and dragged you along behind him wherever he went, barking at the others to keep them from grabbing at you. He never let you out of his sight, no matter the circumstance. It was humiliating, and worst of all was that you were getting used to it. Yet, despite how hardened he was to your pleas, he had become your protector.

The other men and women had tried to grab at you, tried to tear you apart the first time you’d tried to escape. You were lucky he found you quickly to fend them off. You still thought about how one of the men had grappled you to the ground, had screamed in your face so his spittle coated your cheeks, lunged to bite down on your jugular before he was thrown off. You watched as your king took the man off you as though he was scruffing a cat before slamming him into the earth. With a single grunt, he slammed his fist right through the man's skull. A splinter of his skull hit the orbit of your eye before bouncing off into the sopping red dirt below. Then your king picked you up, kissed your forehead through his mask, then brought you into his arms and returned you to his hut. All night, he cleaned out your wounds with his dirty fingers. 

Now, whenever he went out with his people, he kept you tucked to his side and barked at anyone who dared stumble within arms reach of you. Occasionally, as he did with one mad man, he’d take his club and slam it into the back of their head. The man’s blood splattered over your feet as he fell into the earth.

That night you cried.

You tried to be quiet about it, but your king was soon roused and by your side.

“Go away,” you sniffed, knowing full well he couldn’t hope to understand you.

He said something, snuffed and tried to get closer but you shoved him back again.

“Go away!” you screamed.

He looked down to where you’d shoved his hairy chest and back at you. Under the torch light, his eyes looked watery.

You scrambled back and curled into the pile of furs, whimpering and sobbing as you did. You hated him, you truly did. He was an emblem of everything you hated in this land, and yet when he wrapped another fur around your shoulders you found yourself crumbling into his side.

“I hate you,” you sobbed as you beat his chest with your fist, “I hate you so much.”

He grunted, almost as if to say, ‘I know’.

“Why did you take me?” you cried and struggled against him, “I don’t want to live anymore. Just… Just kill me.”

The man held you tighter to him.

Why? You didn’t understand. He didn’t make any sense. He could have killed you at any point, and instead he chose to force you to live. You hated him, and yet…

He grabbed your wrists with one enormous hand. You stilled, afraid he might snap your wrists in anger, but he did no such thing. Instead, his grip softened further. He delicately turned over one hand and unwound your fingers. In your palm, he placed a small mound of bruised blueberries.

You looked at them carefully. Lit only by the skull braziers he’d lit that night for you, the blueberries looked like coagulated blood and flesh. When you brought them to your mouth, they were tart and sweet. These were the best thing you’d had since coming to the island. You wept again for what you had lost.

You king took you into his arms in a hug. It was so soft, so pure, you could hardly believe you were hugging a monster. It was almost as though he actually did care about you. He rubbed your back and rocked you both, soothing you until you fell asleep that night.

For the first time since crashing, your belly was full when you slept.

—

The next morning was different than usual.

Normally, the king of the cannibals would wake early and take you with him to investigate the camp, ensuring nothing had passed overnight. He would check in on the young mothers and play with their small children, then he’d go to the men and check their bodies for wounds from the previous night’s trifles. If he found any, he would gently wrap them in cloth and send them on their way to an old cannibal with big round eyes like an owl. He seemed to get along with your king, and they would laugh as the elder applied soaked poultices to the wounds.

Mornings were full and bright, spent with the clan around a campfire and eating and cheering.

Today was unlike any other, because the king slept soundly.

You had never woken before him, and when you peeked out the window, you saw that the others were already well on their way to getting through their morning. When you turned back though, the king was sleeping soundly.

You walked over to take a look at him. Strangely, he seemed to have slept in his golden mask and shroud. You snorted at the sight, wondering just what he could be wearing that mask for. There was nobody but you here. Or maybe, it was because you were here that he wore the mask. Either way, it surely couldn’t be comfortable. You could see that the fabric around his mouth was coated with shiny drool. If he wasn’t such a monster, you might have thought it an endearing sight. As it was, it only exacerbated his cannibalistic nature.

You shivered in the morning dawn. It was summer when you landed, and though only days had passed, the leaves on the trees were already turning with the winds. Outside, you could see the dew rising off the rolling grass in a cloud of thick fog, crouching near the tree trunks and slithering up the branches to greet the milky yellow sun.

Inside the log cabin, your king was tangled among the skins. He looked at ease with the world. Peaceful, even. How such a horrific man could inflict such cruelty and bloodshed was beyond you. He was so soft, so inviting, and… Well, how could you resist enjoying this soft morning with him?

You nestled into the blankets beside him. Even if it wouldn’t be long until he woke, you might be able to find some brief rest from this green hell.

Konig Dump

Alternate Universes

[crimmsonflower]

shoutout to the writer of my favourite lawlight fic to ever exist

killing my self because I forgot to save it and they deleted the fic

[kirbywotew]

"Check out this new hammer I got!" "That's an entire tree, Kirby!"

[vertical-tacos]

"Even though I can barely feel your cold embrace, the comfort of your choice warms me all the same."

(sorry for the shitty doodle yall it's late and I got school tmrw)

related to uh this person's idea

yes. yes tfk would be a surrogate uncle/mother. eating this shit up and making it canon >:3

[fullscoreshenanigans]

TPN S2 Drinking Game WIP (English Dub)

Sip:

The kids mention missing Norman

Someone says "shipment/shipped"

They reuse bgm unaltered from S1

Chug:

There's awkward 3D

There's a timeskip montage

Finish:

Someone swears

[sir-klevin]

god i love this man

[darthbloodorange]

Thor has proven himself worthy having learned his lessons. But there is one more trial before he can claim the throne. He must enter the enchanted forest and summon a unicorn who will judge his character. He never expects to fall for the unicorn and bring him back with him.

For the: ✦ @thundershieldbingo 2024 Mini Bingo - Fantasy [Card #2 "Alternate Universe"]

Word count: N/a - Moodboard Title: The Unicorn Rating: Gen Universe: Marvel Cinematic Universe Pairings: Steve Rogers/Thor Characters: Steve Rogers, Thor Warnings: None Major Tags: Fantasy AU, Romance, First Meetings, Getting Together, Forests, Unicorns, King Thor, Unicorn Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers ~ Summery: Thor has proven himself worthy having learned his lessons. But there is one more trial before he can claim the throne. He must enter the enchanted forest and summon a unicorn who will judge his character. He never expects to fall for the unicorn and bring him back with him.

[ultrabananapudding]

Clarachel | Halloween

Setting: Rachel buys rare ingredients from Clarice for her potion making business. The Forest Nymph doesn't ask for money as payment, so Rachel gets creative with what she could offer in return.

[wondrous-art]

Another day, another TMNT character redesigned for Mystic Forest. This Rat King is based off of the yokai Tesso, a scorned monk who became a vengeful rat spirit. I tried to keep elements of the OG rat king design while adding a flare of the original story to it.

[grimalkinmessor]

OKAY OKAY FINE (its ecto smiley face)

Maybe Garden Care horror/smut Tea OR

L/Light fluff sweets bc im a sucker for that

@ectoplasmicsoda YEESSS *rubs my grubby lil paws together*

Decided to go with Garden Care because I've never written them before 👀 HISTORICAL AU ✨ SORTA ✨ Warnings in the tags!

Garden Care/Horror-Smut/Tea

———

There's a leaf in Morgana's tea.

Normally, they wouldn't find this particularly odd, given that tea is generally made of leaves, but this is not a tea leaf. It's a whole leaf, bright red with lingering bits of green along the veins, and it's big enough that it nearly covers the entire surface of their tea cup.

Again, Morgana would not usually find this strange; they have tracked in many a stray leaf throughout their life, attached to their sweaters or stuck to the bottom of their boots. It's hard not to find leaves and petals in odd places when Morgana shares their mother's love for plants and keeps a few in almost every room of the house.

But they find this one—this particular leaf—odd for a couple of reasons. The first being that this is not the first time, or even the third time that a leaf like this has ended up in their tea cup. Whenever Morgana makes tea, they always make sure the cup is clean first, and yet somehow for the past few months they've always found a stray leaf (bright red with lacey green veins) floating in their cup a few sips in. The second thing is that, despite how much Morgana wishes it was, it is not autumn. A clearly autumnal leaf in their tea when all the trees around them are lush and green is yet another oddity.

The third thing—and the most damning of all—is that this leaf is not from any plant that Morgana recognizes.

Morgana knows plants. They know the name of every flower under the sun, and even some that thrive in shadow. The fact that they don't recognize what tree this leaf is from bothers them. Their mother loves botany—they live in the damn woods. They have books upon books upon books on every plant known to man, and—due to Sam Manson's hidden witchcraft tomes—even some that aren't.

They are more irked by the fact that these leaves are unidentifiable to them than the fact that the leaves are appearing at all. Which, Morgana supposes, is a rather backwards list of priorities. But still! They can't stand not knowing.

Morgana asks their mom first, but she also has no idea what it could be either. And when Morgana takes it to their neighbor, Desiree (who is like a second mother to them, considering how often she's over at the Manson house and how close she and Morgana's mom are), she stares at it for a long, long moment before smiling and telling Morgana that she has absolutely no idea where it could've come from.

It's an obvious lie, and Morgana is all the more suspicious for it—as well as hurt, too. Desiree treats Morgana as her own child; she's never lied to them before.

The only option left is for Morgana to figure it out on their own.

Sneaking out one of their mom's spellbooks from beneath the floorboards of their home, Morgana grabs the leaf that had appeared in their tea cup this morning (crimson as blood, split with green) and ventures out of the house and further into the woods. Only when they're out of sight of both their own home and Desiree's do they settle down at the base of a tree. Morgana flips through the spellbook, searching for a certain page, and smiles when they find the one they're looking for.

A tracking spell.

Closing their eyes, Morgana cups their hands around the leaf and whispers out the spell. Their voice is soft, but the wind picks up around them, swirling through their oddly colored hair and whistling between the trees surrounding them. Morgana feels magic spark in their palms, a small flush of energy leaving them, and they open their eyes again to see a thin, wispy trail of blue light spiraling off into the woods.

Shock jolts through Morgana—some part of them was still convinced they were simply being paranoid—and then a bolt of excitement mixed with fear. Because this means they were right. Something is putting mysterious leaves in their tea on purpose.

Scrambling to their feet, Morgana takes off after the trail before it fades. They follow the blue mist through the forest at a run, easily leaping over stray tree roots and rocks; Morgana knows these woods well. But even then, their mother only ever let them stray so far. Soon, the amount of trees they recognize trickles down...and runs out.

Morgana knows they're not headed in the direction of the village proper—they're headed further from it, if anything. The trees begin to clump closer together the farther they go, trunks thickening and foliage beginning to blot out the mottled sunlight. The smell of wet peat and soil, moss and herbs, grows stronger with every step. Morgana runs, but the ist of their spell is starting to fade. With a curdle of dread in their stomach, they realize that they won't be able to follow it back home. Morgana shakes their head, sucking in a sharp, painful breath as their lungs burn and their legs ache. They have to keep going. Their curiosity will drive them mad if they don't.

Then, just before the mist fades completely, Morgana finds its end.

The trees are so close together now that Morgana has to go slower in order not to run into them. It's quiet here. Near silent. They stumble into a small gap in the trees, and blink.

There, amongst the gritty tree bark and thick brown coat of dead leaves, a small table sits in the center of the trees, which—now that Morgana is looking, they're uneasy to find form a perfect circle around it. It's a nice table, ornate, white marble and silver, but it's weathered and dulled, bits of moss scattered all across it. There's a single matching velvet chair in a similar state, pulled slightly back from the table, like someone stood up in a hurry and left. But the dirt and leaves around it are void of footprints, and the grime covering both pieces of furniture is untouched. No one has been here in a very long time.

The worst part, however, is the innocuous little tea cup sitting in the center of the table.

The saucer and the cup are deep blue china with gold glimmering on the rims, pristine and shining in a way that contrasts the furniture around it. Morgana swallows and takes a step forward to see that the tea cup isn't empty. A pale pink liquid sits inside, like rose tea with too much milk. As Morgana stares down at it, the familiar smell of their favorite tea floats to their nose, beckoning them forward.

'There is something...wrong here,' Morgana thinks as they take another, slow step forward. 'Very wrong...'

Sam has told them stories before, of children getting stolen away by fairies and crones and many other hungry creatures—but Morgana isn't a child anymore. They should be wary, yes, but it's...so hard to think of those stories when the sight, the smell, the mystery before them...is so enrapturing.

Then, from above, a deep crimson leaf drifts down from the canopy and lands neatly—suspiciously precisely—in the tea cup. The warm, decadent smell grows stronger.

In a trance, Morgana takes that last step forward and reaches for the tea, curling their hands around it and lifting it to their mouth. They know, vaguely, to be alarmed. They should put it down. Morgana has never finished their tea once they discovered the leaf inside. This is an unknown. This is dangerous.

Morgana blinks, hesitates—and yet still drinks.

Their eyes flutter shut, sweet ambrosia washing over their tongue that sets their every nerve alight, a sensation like wind and static racing through them. Morgana moans appreciatively into the gold rim, tipping their head back further. It feels, simultaneously, like drinking ice cold water on a summer's day and sipping from a mug of spiced chocolate as they watch the snow fall. It feels like running their hands along the softest flower petals, like basking under the sun, like admiring the stars. It feels like bathing outside in the spring, every flower turned to face Morgana as they run their palms over their skin, slick and warm with the sun.

Morgana empties the cup and whines when the sensation stops. The pretty leaf butts up against their lips, and the draw it in, desperate for more. It dissolves like lacewing in their mouth, cinnamon on their tongue.

Heat bolts through Morgana in a sudden wave. It's so strong that it makes their knees weak, and they nearly collapse where they stand, one hand shooting out to balance themself on the mossy marble table.

Around them, the forest darkens.

Morgana heaves in a breath, vision swimming, as the sunlight blots out completely. They gasp as the ground beneath them begins to shake, like the roots of the trees surrounding them are writhing underneath the dirt. The beautiful tea cup gets jostled from their hand and is promptly swallowed by the jittering mass of leaves and dirt beneath Morgana's feet.

With a sound like cracking thunder, a thick green vine shoots up out of the ground, whipping towards Morgana at such speeds that they don't have time to dodge. Several more follow, ripping up out of the forest floor to lash around Morgana's arms, legs, waist, lifting them abruptly into the air. They yelp, stomach twisting, but their struggles are weak. Their head is... They're so dizzy...

And, Morgana realizes with mounting horror as the vines around them grow thorns, tearing through their clothes until they're nothing but tatters—so wet.

Morgana is ungodly, inconceivably aroused.

A hand strikes up through the dirt, followed by a shoulder and the massive torso of something fibrous and herbal, thorned flowers growing down what looks to be thick vines of hair. Glowing sea green eyes fix on Morgana, and a long, green tongue slithers out of a grinning, fanged mouth. Morgana's head falls back, eyes wide and jaw dropped, as that tongue slicks up their bared thigh and licks right up their core, dragging up their stomach and chest and ending at their throat.

A soft, unearthly rumble of pleasure vibrates through the air. "My lovely Morning Glory, you've returned to me."

"Wh—wh-at...?" Morgana shudders out, pupils blown. Their glasses are askew on their face, more naked than not, terrified and trembling and so wet it's dripping down their leg. "What are—who—?"

They're cut off by the hulking monster slicking its tongue up against them again, this time focusing solely on the space between their legs. Morgana bites their lip so hard it bleeds, cheeks bleeding red as they muffle their moan into a deep grunt.

"Oh, you've grown into yourself so beautifully, darling," the thing purrs as it pulls back. Morgana shakes, hands fisting and toes curling as a separate vine slithers up their leg and begins to rub at them in place of the monster's tongue. Morgana gasps as the tapered tip pushes in, wriggling its way into their cunt and coating itself in their slick. It burns, it almost hurts, but its also the best thing Morgana's ever felt. They rock their hips into the intrusion, unable to help themself as their head tips back, wild eyes hazily glimpsing the reddened, black canopy above. Above Morgana, the monster purrs. "Look at you, taking it so well. I knew you would be perfect—I knew you would be mine."

Morgana can't—they can't think beyond the pleasure coursing through their body right now, every little twitch and shift making a new part of them light up with ecstasy. The creature's words are nothing but nonsense to their ears, the buzzing feeling of those glowing eyes hungrily roving over their body only serving to send Morgana that much closer to the edge.

Deep green vines slide over bronze skin, touching and stroking and thrusting, all while Morgana moans and pants into the humid air between them. They can feel the pressure—the pleasure—building in their gut, a tingly sensation sparking up in their feet and the backs of their thighs as it mounts higher and higher. Through the heavy fog, Morgana feels trepidation. There's the vague, alarmed thought that this feels too big, that this will kill them, that this will swallow them whole—

And then it crashes over them, striking lightning through their veins and making their whole body seize in place, a strangled shriek ripping out of their mouth as involuntary tears bead at the corner of their eyes. Morgana's vision goes white, the nirvana of this one, singular feeling razing through their bones and buzzing in their teeth. And through it all, the vines' movements don't cease, stringing Morgana along through the strongest orgasm they've ever had in their life.

A heavy clawed hand pushes through their hair, petting them gently as they whine and twitch with aftershocks. "Easy, darling. Wasn't that a warm welcome?"

Morgana can't see, their vision still dotted with spots of white. But their head....their head is clearing. Morgana lifts their head with a great amount of effort, managing to stammer out a weak, "W-who...are you?"

'What are you?' Morgana wants to ask, but they bite their tongue.

The monster smirks, rising up to its full height and taking Morgana with it (him...?). The flowers blooming from its draping locs wither and twist before blossoming into lavender roses and rainflowers.

"I am Undergrowth, little Morning Glory, Fae King of the Woods," it—he, responds. He presses a hand over his chest, bowing until his face hovers just above Morgana, sealing them in a curtain of vines. "And you are mine."

The vines around Morgana tighten then, possessive and warning. Morgana swallows hard, too weak right then to even struggle.

They were foolish. They should've listened when Desiree told them to leave it alone. Because now?

Now they don't have a choice.