#Large group of fungi

[fuckingrecipes]

Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

--

Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

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Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

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There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.

[sketchy-noodles]

ITS CROW TIME ITS CROW TIME!!!

Often found residing in Mushroom Fields biomes, it’s the Mushroom Crows!!!! 🍄❤️

Hope you guys love them as much as I do!

Also while it didn’t make it into the page, a friend brought up an awesome idea! (And I’ve decided it’s canon now)

Since these little dudes give mushrooms to people they like, they also have a habit of shaking their feathers and dispersing harmful spores over the people they don’t like.

Transcript and Closeups below!!! ❤️

MUSHROOM CROWS

A Guide by Philza Minecraft

Physical Adaptations

Small

Bodies covered in moss and fungi (crows seem unaffected)

Mushroom type/species varies by individual

Red toadstools are common

Behavioral Adaptations:

Live in large groups

Nest in large mushroom “trees”

Have a commensalistic relationship with mooshrooms.

Eat insects stirred up by mooshrooms when grazing.

Very friendly & kind!

Friend-shaped!

Other Notes:

NOTE: Seem to enjoy giving their mushrooms to people they like!

Moss on wings and body

Mushrooms! *poisonous maybe???*

Maybe some form of mating display?

Cooler mushrooms = more rizz???

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: the evil fungi did it

We all know of The Last of Us, but that franchise isn't the only example of fungal invasions. We've got zombies and apocalypses, we've got gothic horror, we've got fantasy, we've got romance, we've got space - no genre is safe from having their characters become the home of fungal organisms.

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

The Girl with all the Gifts (The Girl with All the Gifts series) by M.R. Carey

Want another fungal zombie apocalypse? Then I come bearing great news! The Girl with All the Gifts is a post apocalyptic novel following a group of characters fleeing across an infested wasteland, trying to stay alive and hoping to find a cure. One of the characters is Melanie, a young girl who carries the contagion inside of her and hungers for flesh, but like many children of the apocalypse has kept her humanity. Is she and children like her the answer to the cure we are looking for? Or are they the start of something entirely new? This book has also been adapted as a movie!

Cold Storage by David Koepp*

Years ago, a quickly growing fungal organism capable of wiping out humanity came dangerously close to spreading. It was contained and kept in cold storage underneath a military repository. Since then, a larger storage facility has been built on top, the dangers on the lower floor being largely forgotten. That is, until it makes a new attempt at escape. Now, two unsuspecting security guards might be all that stands in the way of complete extermination. This book is both funny and genuine in its characters, and genuinely creepy in its portrayal of body horror.

Salvaged by Madeline Roux

Rosalyn Devar is on the run from her famous family, and has run so far she ended up in space. Now she works as a "space janitor", being sent off to clean up the remains of failed research expeditions. But in trying to cope with her problems, she has fucked up on her job multiple times, and is now close to losing her position. Her last chance is the Brigantine: a research vessel gone silent, all crew presumed dead. But when she arrives to salvage it, Rosalyn discovers the crew isn't as dead as presumed. But are they still human - and will Rosalyn be able to keep her own humanity?

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed

Novella. Reid is a young woman living in a small community after a climate collapse. Resources are scarce, but Reid's biggest problem is Cad, a mind-altering fungal parasite that lives inside her body. When she is offered a rare chance at attending a far-away university in a secluded dome community, Reid must decide whether to leave or stay to help support her community.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia*

Noemí Taboada is a glamorous and well-off young woman, but when she receives a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin, Noemí must leave her glamorous life and travel to find out what is wrong. As she arrives at High Place, a mansion on the Mexican countryside, Noemí is met with mysteries and her cousin's new English family. As she tries to find out the truth behind High Place and its inhabitants, Noemí's only ally is the youngest son of the family. But will she be able to find out what so scared her cousin before it's too late for all of them?

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

A young pregnant woman flees a cult that left her body strange and changing in terrifying ways. Hiding from both a world wanting to oppress her and the cult seeking to force her back, she does her best to raise her children while trying to find out the truth of the cult and being pursued by a hunter in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Bleak and scary, Sorrowland is a book that will creep under your skin with horrors both fantastical and very, very real.

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier duology) by T. Kingfisher

Novella. Alex Easton, retired soldier, travels to visit their childhood friends, siblings Madeline and Roderick Usher, after finding out that Madeline is dying. In the siblings' rural, ancestral home, Madeline walks in her sleep and looks to be fading away, while around it wildlife seems to be possessed by a strange force. With the help of a mycologist and an American doctor, Alex attempts to save Madeline and reveal the truth of her illness.

Wanderers (Wanderers duology) by Chuck Wendig

A strange illness has struck the United States: with no warning, random people with seemingly no connection simply get up and start walking. They do not eat, do not sleep, do not communicate, and they do not stop - and if you try to force them, they literally explode from the inside. Teenaged Shana isn't one of these sleepwalkers, but her little sister is. Unwilling to leave her sister on her own, Shana accompanies the growing flock of walkers, protecting them as one of many "shepherds". And this protection proves necessary, as the sleepwalkers is only the first step toward what might very well be the extinction of the human race. An 800 page epic, Wanderers is a slowburn apocalypse story with a multitude pov characters and plot threads, from fungal pandemics and all-knowing AI to the all too real portrayal of radicalization and bigotry.

The Dawnhounds (The Endsong series) by Sascha Stronach

The Dawnhounds is a book where you just kind of have to let the story and the world wash over you. It skirts the line of scifi and fantasy, with a futuristic world of environmentally friendly mushroom houses and deadly fungi bio weapons next to literally god-given superpowers and near-immortality. It’s really cool and unlike anything else I’ve ever read, but also a bit confusing. Bonus: it’s also sapphic!

Agents of Dreamland (Tinfoil Dossier trilogy) by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Novella. A government agent known only as the Signalman; a cult preying on the young and vulnerable, promising to usher in a new age; a woman who exists outside of time, searching for a way to save humanity. Agents of Dreamland is short, but includes many spooky elements, among them an alien and possibly world-ending fungi. The narrative is non-linear and a bit strange, but also fascinating.

The Genius Plague by David Walton

Soon after landing his dream job at the NSA, things get weird for Neil Johns. His brother Paul, a mycologist, returns from a trip to the Amazon, carrying a nearly lethal fungal infection and a strangely sharpened mind. At work, Neil starts picking up mysterious messages originating out of South America, where cases similar to that of Paul starts occurring. And strangest of all: all the infected seem to be working towards the same goal. Recommended with the caveat that, while the fungal stuff is really cool, The Genius Plague is also happy to idolize American intelligent agencies and demonize environmentalism and anti-imperialism.

Little Mushroom: Judgement Day (Little Mushroom duology) by Shisi

An Zhe isn’t human. He’s a mushroom who absorbed the DNA of a dying man, allowing him to take on human guise and leave the wilderness. Entering one of the last human bases, a place struggling to keep out the mutated and dangerous creatures of the wilds, An Zhe must keep his identity secret as he searches for something which was taken from him. While not my cup of tea (frankly, I need more female characters), Little Mushroom is an undeniably unique m/m romance novel.

Bonus AKA these don't technically involve any fungi but have similar vibes of parasites and nature corrupting the human

Parasite (Parasitology trilogy) by Mira Grant*

In the near future, a great leap in medical science has improved human health by leaps and bounds: a genetically engineered tape worm. Within a few years, almost every human has their own personal parasite implanted. But now, something is happening to the parasites - they want more, whether their hosts want to share or not.

Annihilation (Southern Reach trilogy) by Jeff Vandermeer

For decades, Area X has been completely cut off from humanity. The only ones to enter are small organized expeditions, many of which never return, or return... wrong. We follow the latest expedition, its participants known only as the anthropologist, the psychologist, the surveyor, and our narrator, the biologist. As they enter into Area X to try to find out its secrets, only one thing is for sure: they will never be the same again.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Young adult. Over a year ago, the Raxter School for Girls was hit by the Tox, a strange disease that killed off many and left the survivors' bodies slowly changing in terrifying ways. The island the school is on has been in quarantine since then, and the girls dare not leave the school grounds lest they become victims of wild animals changed by the Tox. But as they wait for the promised cure, one of the girls goes missing, and her friends are willing to do anything to find her. Unsettling, spooky, and sapphic, this is a unique read featuring body horror and messy, dangerous girls.

(Second) Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris trilogy) by Jeff Vandermeer

Ambergris, a city created by a mushroom-like people, is now the home of humans, but the original inhabitants are still there, residing beneath the city.

Creatures of Want and Ruin (Diabolist's Library series) by Molly Tanzer

It’s the prohibition era, and while Ellie does fishing during the day, at night she bootlegs moonshine in Long Island. But unbeknownst to Ellie, some of the booze she smuggles has a strange source: distilled from mushrooms by a cult, it causes those who drink it to see terrible things, such as the the destruction of Long Island.

Bloom by Wil McCarthy

The inner solar system has been overtaken by fast-reproducing, fast-mutating technogenic life. Humanity has fled to the outer solar system, hiding beneath the ice of Jupiter's moon, but even here they aren't safe from possible incursion of mycospores, which lead to deadly blooms. Now a group of astronauts venture back to an infected Earth.

[jayrockin]

With tube plants, I’m really curious if any are edible, and if so what’re they like, and how avian culture sees them. While Taxonomically they’re animals, does avian culture consider them plants? For a random example, let’s say the avians, like us, had a religious period where they can’t eat meat. Would worm plants be considered off limits, or the same as anything else? Not saying that religion or whatever exists, it’s just the first frame of reference I could think of. Another example might be how fungi are considered vegetables, but are an entirely different kingdom.

As for eating, I’m curious if they have a more meat-like texture and taste, or a more plant-like one. I’m assuming the former. If they’re eaten, what are the parts that are eaten and how are they usually prepared? Do the avians have any traditions or culture regarding the tube, like we do with wishbone breaking or bone carving? Is it possible to farm them, and are they?

Avian cultures usually classify plantworms in the same group of food as shellfish, which they resemble the most nutritionally. They are more like a clam than a plant. Many are toxic as a defense against being eaten, but the ones avians can consume are usually cooked whole (in or out of shell) unless a specific body part is unpalatable (usually the gut or frond tentacles). For larger worms, they may be trimmed down to the tastiest part, the retractor muscle. It's very possible to farm them, and many are also cultivated for their beauty as landscaping plants. Their tubes are most commonly used to make plaster for building, or beads.

Vegetarianism is overall more rare in avian cultures than ours because they have a higher calorie-per-pound requirement than humans and many live on small islands where grain agriculture is more difficult to live off exclusively than fishing. There are several grades of culturally distinct pescetarian diets in modern avian cultures though, some of which view eating large "vertebrates" as unacceptable, land animals as unacceptable, vertebrates in general as unacceptable, only plantworms are acceptable, or hardline only plant matter and eggs (which may or may not include plant worm "leaves and flowers"... which can grow back). Hardline vegetarianism or veganism is more common among flightless avian cultures, who historically have had the most arable land.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you have any recommendations for TTRPGs where Body Horror is a central theme or mechanic? Preferably ones where themes like loss of agency or control over one's body are the focus. Thank you!!

THEME: Body Horror (Part 2!)

Hello there, I’m going to start by providing a link to the Body Horror recommendation post I put up back in 2022, before I move on to new recommendations!

Mutant Monster Machine Girls, by babblegumsam.

In MUTANT MONSTER MACHINE GIRLS, you play as a member of "The Girls", a group of queer misfits fighting against an oppressive anarcho-capitalist state ruled by The Corporation. 

Each of you fights against them because all your lives have been ruined by The Man Responsible, a dangerous and cruel servant of The Corporation. Because of his actions and the nature of your evolutions, you can no longer return to your previous lives and the people you love.

Your only solution? Exact your ultraviolent revenge on him and bring peace to the city by force!

The Mutant part of Mutant Monster Machine Girls is pretty heavy on the body horror, although I think the other character options certainly have possibilities. Babblegumsam has a fondness for weaving trauma and emotion into many of their works, so you’ll likely find a lot of feelings about exploration and loss in this one. The game system uses a modified PbtA system, which gives you tokens that you can spend to add modifiers to your roll. (This same mechanic can be found in Apocalypse Keys!)

Soul Burner, by World Champ Game Co.

Soul Burner is a standalone tabletop role-playing game of adventuring ashen corpses wandering a volcanic ghostland in service of the gods of fate, protecting the timeline from imminent disaster by manifesting fractured memories to shape the world to their will.

Compatible with Mork Borg and inspired by Necronautilus, this game acts as a bridge between worlds of violent dark fantasy and stoner metal science fantasy.

Soul Burner embeds body horror both into the characters you play and the creatures you come across, using MORK BORG rules and depicting your characters as merely remnants of who they used to be. You will find creatures overgrown by fungi, desperate cannibals, and lava-worshipping cultists in this book, evoking a grim and gritty fantasy setting. Your own characters are ever-changing, morphing and distorting whenever you gain a Reminder - pieces of who you are that give you mechanical advantages in the game.

FLËSHMØG, by Freak Flag Games.

FLËSHMØG: THE FLESH BEGINS TO EXERT ITS WILL UPON ITSELF

mäw of hëck: flëshmøg is a pen & paper body horror character creator. draw your hand, discover your body, and mutate your form.

This isn’t so much a game as it is a character-creation exercise. Using a deck of playing cards, you assemble cards as you randomly draw them to give yourself body parts, strengths, and adaptations according to the world around you. This might be an interesting exercise if you want to come up with a wretched home-brew character for MORK BORG, or if you want to design some kind of horror to pit against your players in another game.

Do Not Fear: In Death We Bloom, by Hella Big Claws.

Do Not Fear is a Forged In the Dark Tabletop Roleplaying game, about accepting the fleetingness of life; and using the strength that gives you in order to combat a growing stagnation.

Fight as a Hunter, a person who has been given a Gift of Bloom; a fungus like infection that allows for incredible strength and regenerative ability; in exchange for subsuming your flesh as you die.

Combat or save the Rusted; living creatures infected by a growing viral stagnation; marbling their bones and rusting their flesh; sculpting them into horrifyingly beautiful creations. Ascend the Tower; a large, multilayered structure which you call home. Interact with the factions and people within, as you set down roots.

As a fungus-infested person, the characters for Do Not Fear feel like prime candidates for body horror. Your characters have accepted that their fate will likely end in death, but only because they must if they are to save the world from a horrible plague. The game is built off of the same system as Blades in the Dark, but I think there’s been some tweaks here and there, because there are teasers to creatures and weapons that indicate hit-points and stats. The character abilities however, look really powerful and exciting. If you are a fan of Bloodborne, Hunter X Hunter, or Technoir, you might like this game.

Mutagenic Hive Swarm, by Atelier Hwei.

Waking up as a transdimensional insectoid reptilian has never been more fun!You are a stone age psychonaut apparently occupying the body of a Transdimensional Insectoid Reptile, a bug.

But who you were is less important than where you are: you must navigate the bloody, alien meatscape of the MUTAGENIC HIVE SWARM and find a way back to the Here & Now… before memories of who or what you fade completely.

Mutagenic Hive Swarm is all about playing bugs who are not really bugs - your characters have found themselves in the bodies of alien creatures, and will need to fight in order to hold onto their sense of self. Much of your character’s skills and effort will be directed towards trying to resist certain influences and changes, so I think the theme of loss of agency really shines through in this game. What you might really like is the d20 table of mutations that can threaten you every time your body changes. If you want a game where your character is more likely going to succumb to their changes than find a way out, you might want to check out Mutagenic Hive Swarm.

Other Games to Check Out

Wasted, by World Champ Game Co.

Bio-Drones & Cryo0Clones, by ChrisAir (for Mothership).

[rs-hawk]

You know fallout? 👀

Because I wouldn't say no to a deathclaw type monster dominating a little human that stumbled into his territory

I do not but I did a bit of Googling. Sorry this request has taken so long and sorry if I’m not lore accurate! The picture I’m basing most of this off is this one. Hope you enjoy.

Gen! Reader

It had been years, but finally you were able to leave the bunker you and your family had been hiding in. The radio said that it was safe enough. Sure, they had been saying that for weeks, but you wanted to be safe. Supplies and rations were running low, and you wanted to see what you could find.

You didn’t expect to find a herd of mutated monsters tearing into what looked like a giant mushroom, snapping at each other and the enormous fungi. One of the creatures seemed to catch your scent as you stood shocked, frozen in place. It turned towards you, eyeing you curiously before lumbering away from the group. The rest of them don’t seem to notice as it wandered over to you.

Your throat felt tight as you started to back up, then bolted. It was an attempt made in vain, of course, because the creature didn’t even have to break a sweat before it caught you.

“My… territory,” it muttered as it wrapped a clawed hand around you, lifting you to look at you closer up.

“What?” you squeaked out, confused and surprised. While you had heard of some mutated creatures, Deathclaws?, being able to mimic human speech, you hadn’t expected to really experience anything.

“My territory… not for humans,” it grunted, looking at you with a look of what you can only describe as contempt tinged with curiosity.

You winced as one of those long claws break the fabric of your shirt, dragging down and ripping it nearly off of you. Your chest was barely covered, though the creature did seem to find that interesting. It continued to drag the thumb claw down your body, cutting away your pants, then your underwear.

You protested, wiggling in its large hand, hitting and biting at the scaley creature’s hand to try to get away. Or just move it’s attention. Anything to get it to stop. However, it only seemed to find that amusing. It set you on the ground, face down and tugging your bare hips up as it mounted you, holding your small frame down with its large hands.

“No, no wait please,” you cried, trying to pull yourself out from under it.

To your surprise, it did stop. Even though now you could feel a large cock grinding against your exposed ass, the beast didn’t make another move to push into you. You took a shaky breath, blinking away tears at the corner of your eyes. What you really didn’t expect though, was it to lift one of its claws off of you, biting it down to a nub.

You were confused until it was pushed into your mouth, making you gag on it, wetting it with your spit. After you had gagged and choked on it, it pulled back just enough to slowly begin to push it into your ass, giving you time to slowly stretch around it. You cried out, feeling your hole stretch around this things finger. Your brain felt foggy, and that was before it suddenly sank into you.

You whimpered and moans started falling from your lips. It was merciless, cracking its fat cock inside of you, bottoming out with every thrust. It wrapped its long claws around your arms, keeping you pinned to the ground as it fucked you into the dirt. With each thrust, you were moaning more and more, your pleasure echoing in the wasteland. The others from the herd had gathered to watch, some of them even palming their own cocks as they watched their leader show you why humans don’t wander into their territory lightly.

After you were good and stretched, the creature now easily sliding in and out of your ass, it pinned you even more to the ground with its body as it unloaded a huge load inside of you.

[vickysaurus-art]

One paleoart for each period since the Cryogenian

Thanks to the timeline on my walls that I've been trying to fill in with my art, I have now reached the point where I've done paleoart for every single period of the Phanerozoic, plus the Ediacaran and Cryogenian! That is to say, every period of the last 700 million years. So with that milestone, I thought it'd be fun to go through those periods in order and show off one paleoart of mine for each!

Cryogenian

In the Cryogenian, the Earth completely froze over. Twice! Life wasn't much to look at yet, but I enjoyed drawing what our planet might have looked like at the time. The girdle of lakes at the left is the equator, which may have had ice-free patches.

Ediacaran

When the ice retreated, animals first began to blossom into their endless forms most beautiful. Ediacaran life was strange and quite unlike the creatures that would come later, but it was nonetheless an incredibly important chapter in life's history. Here we see the Ediacaran weirdos washing up on shore after a storm.

Cambrian

The Cambrian explosion brought much more recognisable creatures. But one thing that's easy to miss is that they were all tiny! All of them? No, Anomalocaris was, with a length of about 40 cm, the dragon of the Cambrian.

Ordovician

Life continued to diversify in the Ordovician, and among this diversity were the cephalopods. They produced the largest animals yet to exist, the orthocones, who hung vertically in the water column and decended upon their prey like a claw game.

Silurian

Although fungi and bacteria had already made forays onto the land deep in the past, things began to get busier there in the Silurian. But these horseshoe crabs, and their larger cousins the sea scorpions, have not come to the shore to stay, but to mate and lay eggs. Unfortunately for the horseshoe crabs, they have come to the very same shore.

Devonian

Our own vertebrate ancestors, like Tiktaalik, were pretty late to the party, only taking their first steps on land in the late Devonian. That's no knock against them - there was plenty to do underwater! This Tiktaalik is busy guarding his eggs while his mate is busy hunting, for example. Who has time to step on land?

Carboniferous

The end of the Carboniferous saw some quite large bugs, like these two Mazothairos chasing off an interloping Meganeura. They're representatives of a pretty interesting group of basal insects called the Palaeodictyoptera, who have a set of weird little extra wings on their thorax.

Permian

Among the many fantastic creatures of the Permian were our own cousins, the synapsids, like these lovey-dovey Moschops. As you can see, this picture and the previous one are done in coloured pencils instead of watercolour, because they're the oldest images I'm including in this post. I only very rarely used watercolours before this year. I think it means I should do some more Permian art, it's such a cool and underexposed period.

Triassic

One mass extinction later, the archosaurs are diversifying all over Triassic Pangaea. Here we have the three main groups of them: Paratypothorax, a pseudosuchian in the background; Peteinosaurus, a pterosaur on top of the cliff; and Procompsognathus, a dinosaur climbing the cliff.

Jurassic

I had three different option for Jurassic paleoart to showcase, so I picked the most experimental one. These backlit insects are not butterflies, but kalligrammatids, a group of large-winged neuroptera, some of which even mimicked maniraptoran dinosaurs like this iridescent Caihong with their patterns.

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous featured some of life's most gorgeous crescendos of diversity, like the Yixian formation, where a Psitaccosaurus wants to visit the favourite tree of a group of Sinosauropteryxes, who are having none of it. This is still one of my favourite pieces I've ever drawn.

Paleogene

The Paleogene featured some of the highest global temperatures of all time, leading to tropical climates all over the planet, including at this lake in what will one day be Messel, Germany. Darwinius, a close cousin to our own ancestors, is having a staredown with the lizard Geiseltaliellus.

Neogene

The world turned colder and dryer in the Neogene, leading to the spread of large grasslands, like these South American ones. Phorusracos, a large terror bird, has caught a Thoatherium on the edge of the forest they both live in. South America was an isolated continent for the duration of the Neogene, leading to a quite unique fauna.

Quaternary

The Quaternary, our current period, is marked by the cycle of ice ages regularly freezing the northern hemisphere. But even during the ice ages, spring would come to the mammoth steppes, and these steppe mammoths are happy to celebrate its coming with a bath in the river.

[ink-flavored]

Urban Fantasy Culture World-Building

There are a lot of different creatures in my anthologies, each with a unique culture. I thought I would take the time to outline them all here, both as a reference for myself, but also as a fun guide to how I might be able to make my characters defy their culture in the anthology stories I write. You can also find this and more on my Neocities site! Unnamed Urban Fantasy Anthology Taglist (Check out my Google Form to get added): @foxys-fantasy-tales @auroblaze @thelaughingstag @auntdarth @damageinkorporated

Human

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

We’re those! Nice! 👍

Culturally, most humans value variety in life and social groups, making the most of their adaptive qualities. They’re some of the most likely to mingle in other creatures’ cultures, whether it’s to learn, or just to try the food.

Elf

Always born with the ability to use magic

Pointy-eared, long-lived humanoids with strong connections to magic

Culturally, most elves encourage an interest in study, invention, and creation to make the most of their long lives. Education is highly prized and encouraged, in anything from science to art to history. Their birth rates are some of the lowest among all creatures, so the rare biological family unit tends to be close-knit and cultural expectations are high for the few children that are born.

Dwarf

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Short, bearded, subterranean humanoids

Culturally, most dwarves enjoy showing off their prowess in working metals, stone, and gems, or otherwise focus on perfecting a specific craft. Making a trade into a career is highly prioritized, and competition in various dwarf markets is fierce. Still, some prefer to keep their crafts as private hobbies, not feeling a need to prove themselves in business—their skill is self-evident, after all.

Orc

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Large, tusked humanoids

Culturally, most orcs foster strong social bonds, value strength of character, and individual deeds. They put a large emphasis on community and family, and many orc social groups have regular family reunions with “talent shows” that allow each orc to show off something they’ve mastered since the last reunion.

Dragonfolk

Always born with the ability to use magic

Large humanoids with draconic features and fire breath

Culturally, most dragonfolk enjoy building collections of personally valuable objects and boast of their exploits as a form of social bonding. Those collections can range from the traditional gold and jewelry to a hoard of tourist trap knick-knacks, and the larger collection the better. Similarly, social boasting can range from personal achievement to the achievements of those close to you. Some dragonfolk like to boast that they hoard things to boast about. This usually gets an eyeroll.

Gnome

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Short, subterranean humanoids with a close relationship to nature

Culturally, most gnomes carefully craft gardens of fungi or flowers, and tend to live their lives slow and unbothered. They’re another creature commonly found scattered among the cultures of others, glad to share and eager to befriend any who cross their path.

Halfling

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Short, ground-dwelling humanoids

Culturally, most halflings value food and entertainment in extravagant fashion. Social propriety is also highly valued in many halfling spaces, and declining invitations to social events is gossip-worthy news. Each of those social events aims to be bigger and more bombastic than the last, taking any excuse to celebrate something.

Satyr

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Humanoid creatures with goat legs, ears, horns, and other features

Culturally, most satyrs value a “fast life” full of partying and constant recreation. From the outside, it seems as though many satyrs simply don’t care about taking life seriously, but those who party argue an emphasis on amusement is taking it seriously. Life is tough, so satyrs make joy whenever and however they can. Even comparatively more buttoned-up satyrs have at least one area they can completely let loose in.

Centaur

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Horse from the waist down and human from the waist up

Culturally, most centaurs emphasize close herd ties, community leadership, and helping your own. Commonly, centaur herds move nomadically around a few central locations, where trust and mutual aid is vital. Leadership roles are taken extremely seriously, and knowing when to step down into a follower’s role is applauded, not shamed.

Shapeshifter

Always born with the ability to use magic

Can be literally any of these things and more

Shapeshifters tend to assimilate with whichever culture they grow up nearest to, but in shapeshifter-only communities, they tend to value spontaneity and philosophy—they exist in both a solid and fluid state of self. Many shapeshifters find themselves unable to relate to the solidity of other creatures, or have been shamed for their abilities and refusal to just “pick something.” Cultures that value transience, like naiads, gnomes, and satyrs, tend to be more welcoming to shapeshifters than others.

Naga

Always born with the ability to use magic

Giant snake-people with arms and other humanoid features

Culturally, most naga are solitary with carefully curated routines. Their families can be very large, but naga children are encouraged to seek independence at a very early age, depending on their upbringing. Because many nagas enter brumation in the winter, the dedication to routine includes making space for rest and recuperation. Many consider it a necessary isolation, to recoup the energy to go on.

Minotaur

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Bull from the chest up, human from the chest down, and a bull’s tail

Culturally, most minotaur value privacy and not speaking unless they have something “valuable” to add to a conversation. This “value” is dependent on the individual, and can extend to career paths and decisions in life as well. Some minotaurs will (very subtly) bicker over which values in life are most important, both to strengthen their own arguments and to challenge others’.

Vampire

Nobody is born a vampire, they’re created from bites or curses

An undead creature that subsists off the blood of living creatures

Magic ability is based on which creature they were born as

Most vampires continue to practice the cultural values they had in their lives, but vampire-only communities tend to organize around supporting each other in undeath, and how blood-sucking might be a downside of a second chance at life, but a “living” life has consequences too. In a way, an undeath is a second chance, and many vampires aim to make the most of it, despite their circumstances.

Werewolf

Nobody is born a werewolf, they’re created from bites or curses

Look exactly like themselves until the full moon, upon which they mutate into a large wolf creature that is compelled to rampage until the next day

Magic ability is based on which creature they were born as

Most werewolves continue to practice the cultural values they had before they were turned, but werewolf-only communities tend to emphasize “necessary rage” and never holding back emotion. To some, becoming a werewolf is freeing, giving them an excuse to express “unsightly” emotions their cultures might encourage them to suppress.

Catfolk

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Humanoid cat creatures; can share the patterns and qualities of domestic or wild cats

Culturally, most catfolk encourage pride and self-indulgence. Walking away from situations you find unpleasant, or even unstimulating, is encouraged. Taking entire days for yourself to do something you enjoy or simply lounge around is a common pastime. There’s less pressure among catfolk to “give back” their communities, and more communal cultures can clash with catfolk because of this.

Dryad

Always have the ability to use magic

Humanoid tree creatures; can share qualities from any one type of tree

They aren’t “born,” they’re grown from other dryad seeds

Culturally, most dryads emphasize a slow, cautious life and meditation on any big decision. Impulsivity and recklessness is frowned upon, but as some of the longest-lived creatures in the world, doing something “impulsive” can vary wildly from other cultures’ expectations. Many dryads who spend time with other cultures are often shocked when creatures spend hours—not weeks or months—contemplating their choices. Others are unsurprised—other creatures simply don’t have the time to be as contemplative as a tree. Whether this is sympathy or pity can vary.

Naiad

Always have the ability to use magic

Humanoid water creatures

They aren’t “born,” they’re created through rituals with enchanted water

Culturally, most naiads value transience in relationships and transparency in emotions—never sticking too closely to one thing, but never lying about their intentions. Because they’re inherently magical, naiads use magic for everything from practicality to play. Magic puzzles and illusions are common forms of entertainment, and even as forms of education. And, of course, many naiads find it amusing to toy with other creatures who try to find their communities, distracting them with said puzzles until they prove themselves or give up.

Fairy

Always born with the ability to use magic

Humanoid creatures with thin, butterfly-adjacent wings and colorful hair and eyes

Culturally, most fairies value politeness and gift-giving, especially if the gift is handmade or somehow personal. Their communities are very close-knit, but have often near-inscrutable social constraints to outsiders. Even between different communities of fairies, the social code is practically a different language and impacts everything from terms of address to which spells may be cast in public vs private spaces.

Harpy

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Humanoids with wings for arms and a bird’s legs; can share patterns and qualities of any bird

Culturally, most harpies encourage freedom and independence from a young age and throughout life. The ability to fly allows them to travel much farther and with greater ease than most other creatures, so travel is a very big “rite of passage” in lots of harpy societies. Social dances are also given great importance, most often for romance, but there are plenty of dances for friendship, formal events, apologies, celebration, and even sympathy for another’s grief.

Merfolk

Always born with the ability to use magic

Human from the waist up and a sea creature from the waist down; can share qualities with any one sea creature

Culturally, most merfolk value community connections, mutual aid, and teamwork. Merfolk that share traits with fish tend to live in schools, traveling around the sea nomadically. Others that share traits with sharks or octopi tend to be solitary, staying in one area of the sea, with close ties to other merfolk that live near them, or schools that pass by. Their vocal hypnosis is used to hunt, and schools that hunt often use simultaneous hypnosis to disorient their prey before going in for the kill. In schools, the young and the elderly always eat first, followed by the rest.

Aetheridum (pl) / Aetherid (s)

Regular people (of any creature type) can have Aetheridum children if they’re blessed by whatever gods exist in this world, or if the kid is a gift they prayed for, or as a reward for devotion. No matter what their parents are, the magic kids have metallic skin, will eventually grow wings (even if they already have them), and have an intense penchant for magic

They aren’t literally “angels come to earth” but people speculate that they’re earthly incarnations of aether-creatures, or even fragments of gods themselves

The intensity of that magic gift varies between individuals, but they are the only creature that doesn’t experience the magical “atrophy” that every other creature does. They have an intense magical capacity from birth, to the point where they may warp the magic energies around them without realizing, and cause it to fire off without actually casting any spells

This can be both positive and negative. One the one hand, having a high magical capacity means a much easier time learning spells, casting them, and managing the energy output. On the other, choosing not to pursue any magical training means that any Aetherid can potentially be setting off magic flashbangs, wherever they go, by complete accident, for the rest of their lives. Most parents put their Aetheridum kids in magical training as early as possible due to this outcome, but not all of them do, and not all of the children stay in training.

Despite being a literal godly blessing, the magical capability can be somewhat of a curse too. Recruitment for their magical gifts is extremely high in scientific and medical fields, and many are pushed into high-skill, high-stress jobs for the sake of “not wasting their gifts.” There has been plenty of literature and study on the subject of just how much more beneficial an Aetherid is to any particular work environment, if at all—a high magical capacity doesn’t mean anything about how well you use it. Most find that the same jobs can be easily done with non-Aetheridum workers with standard or even low magical capacities, just not to the same degree of power. Unfortunately, these unfavorable results are often swept under the rug for the sake of maintaining the “usefulness” of this blessed class of creature.

D’infernyssh (pl) / D’infern (s)

In the same way some children can be blessed, some can be cursed. If the parents make a foul pact, corrupt themselves with forbidden magic, or anger a vengeful deity, they can give birth to a D’infern. These children are almost a direct inverse of Aetheridum, born with metallic skin, eventually growing batlike wings, and always have a curse to bear

Similar to the speculation about Aetheridum, the D’infernyssh aren’t literally demons, but could possibly be incarnations of godly rage or corrupted godlike creatures

The curses placed on the D’infernyssh are always related to the siphoning of emotions or sensations from those around them to survive. “Real” food doesn’t nourish them in the slightest, though they do experience hunger. They describe cravings for feelings the same way any other might describe a craving for soup or fancy steak.

The types of curses known to the world are: pleasure, rest, anger, sadness, joy, envy, pain, affection, fear, pride, disgust, and curiosity.

For any non-D’infernyssh, simply being in the presence of a hungry D’infern who eats the emotion or sensation you’re feeling is all it takes for it to be slowly drained away. For example, if you feel curious about something around a D’infern that eats curiosity, you’ll slowly become less interested in it until you find it altogether uninteresting. Once the D’infern isn’t hungry, the draining stops, and your emotions become your own again. However, eating feelings doesn’t work like gaining nutrients from food, and unless the D’infern gets a big “meal” from either an intense emotional state or multiple people experiencing the same emotion at once, they often need to “eat” more than 3 times a day.

Most parents with D’infernyssh children can’t tell if they have a D’infern or an Aetherid at the beginning of the child’s life. Because they both have metallic skin and their wings don’t sprout until puberty, it’s very easy to confuse one for the other unless you know why your child was born with platinum skin. Due to this confusion, many D’infernyssh are malnourished until they can communicate what they need to survive.

There are tests that can be given to potential Aetheridum or D’infernyssh children to pick out which one is which, but it does require the parents to acknowledge the potential that their child may be cursed. Unless they know already, many are reluctant to do this, and a few are even insulted by the insinuation.

Doctors that specialize in curses are working on ways to determine from birth, and even from an ultrasound, what kind of metallic child they’re working with, but it’s a work-in-progress, and nowhere near as reliable as many D’infernyssh, their parents, and potential parents would like it to be.

Having a very obvious curse that drains the emotions of those around them, whether they like it or not, makes D’infernyssh obvious targets of ostracization from many cultures, save for those that hold overcoming personal strengths in high reverence, like orcs, dragonfolk, and dwarves. Still, there’s a lot that needs to be done for acceptance of the D’infernyssh, and places like Athendrolyn are breeding grounds for social movements.

Obviously this ostracization is more intense for some D’infernyssh and not others. For example, a D’infern that eats pain might have wildly different experiences from a D’infern that eats joy.

Goblin

Can be born with or without the ability to use magic

Small, cave-dwelling, mischievous humanoids

Culturally, most goblins encourage community sharing, barter, and near-constant play. In many goblin societies, there is no concept of “private property.” Everything in the community belongs to everybody in it, with shared resources considered the default with individual items belonging to individuals a very distant concept. Trading extra resources or favors is more common than money when it comes to trade, and even a good joke can count as “payment” in some goblin societies. Entertainment is important for the good of the community, after all, and coming up with new and exciting games is taken very seriously.

Sphinx

Always born with the ability to use magic

Large creature with a human’s face, a lion’s body, and an eagle’s wings that tells riddles

Culturally, most sphinxes value intelligence, creativity, and interrogating rules. In many sphinx communities, their riddles are less important than why the riddles are asked. Knowing when and why to test someone with a riddle is one of the first lessons taught to the rare young sphinx, though the precise reason varies. Tradition, respect for the asker, earning the asker’s attention or friendship, testing another’s creativity, gaining wisdom from their answer, all of these and more are considered valid reasons for a sphinx to ask a riddle. Good luck ever getting them to reveal which one they were thinking of when they asked you, though.

Selkie

Always born with the ability to use magic

A seal creature that transforms into a human on land, keeping its seal skin as a coat

Culturally, most selkies value boundaries, slow-moving relationships, and taking time to put down firm roots. Second only to dryads in their community emphasis on deliberation, selkies never put their coats down in places they wouldn’t be willing to risk their lives in. As slow-moving as selkie friendships and relationships can be, when a selkie is comfortable enough to leave their coats at the door, it’s a sign they’ve become a loyal companion for life. In the same vein, trying to rush a relationship can cause a selkie to snap it like a twig, never to flourish.

Gorgon

Always born with the ability to use magic

A humanoid with snakes for hair that can turn others to stone with a single glance

The snakes are most often non-venomous, but there are exceptions

Culturally, most gorgons value self-defense, privacy, and “not judging books by the cover.” As frightening as gorgons can seem, and as truly dangerous as their powers can be, the vanishingly rare cases of intentional petrification prove that many fears are unfounded. Many gorgons that value privacy also value the privacy of others, and won’t pry about topics if they aren’t brought up first. By this same principle, many gorgons have very short tolerances for others prying, especially if it involves invasive questions about “how far the snakes go” or their “statue count.”

[ask-the-dunmeshi-biologists]

What are y'alls favorite ecosystems?

Laios: The Australian Outback is full of some of the most amazing and deadly species on the planet, with unique adaptations that are rare to find anywhere else on earth. It has some of the most incredible views, and the arid environment is always persevering and thriving in the most unexpected ways. The outback is a place of constant wonder and nostalgia for me. Ever since I was a kid, and up until recently really, I always struggled to find a place where I could fit in and be myself. Me and Falin grew up on a small Emu farm in the bush, so I spent a lot of time on the outskirts of the outback, sticking to the same paths so that I wouldn't get lost, and despite it being dangerous, as long as I was careful, it ended up providing a safe haven for me until I saved up enough to leave the country and forge my own path in the world.

Falin: Definitely Tropical Rainforests, they hold the largest number of insect species on the planet (2.5 million in the Amazon Rainforest alone!) and are endless in their importance. There are so many things left to discover in them, from hundreds of hidden cave systems, around 80,000 plant species and, along with the ocean, they act almost as the lungs of the earth, providing most of the oxygen we need to survive. Last year, Marcille and I worked with SPUN trying to map as many mychorrzial fungi as possible, in several tropical forests of South America, Africa and Australia. After a year spent buried in the undergrowth, among the ferns, moss and mulch, it's like you can feel Earth's beating heart. I would love to return to one of them soon.

Marcille: Archipelagos. Groups of islands, both tropical and temperate are my favourite places of study. Every island has it's own unique ecosystem and these multitudes of them contain the secrets of evolution, genetics and cultural changes throughout history. From animals adapting to each island and forming new species, to ethnobotany and traditions that change and adapt, stemming from when people first took to the sea, and the legacies they leave behind to this day.

Chilchuck: The Irish Countryside. Valleys, Vales or Dales, whatever you wanna call them, there's nowhere I like being more. Despite having travelled the world with Laios, Falin, Marcille, and later Senshi, there isn't much that compares to the rolling hills of home.

Senshi: Microbiomes of all habitats. People often overlook the importance of the little things, and all the good they do for us in return for leaving them be. Macrophotography has always been a large passion of mine, and I'm fortunate enough to have landed a career in capturing the beauty of it all.

[frogchiro]

I just finished the world quest with Jeht and Azariq and please I'm in love with the Stone Enchanter model. I need him to pin me down and crush me istg

If this makes you uncomfortable feel free to ignore it, but I'm imagining MC being this sheltered Rainforest scholar hiring a group of Eremites to escort her on a mission, only for the weather to turn bad and oh we all have to hunker down for an extended period of time and she's worried that the Eremites will leave once the money runs out but they're just taking the opportunity to get close to their little lady.

Alternatively, doctor!MC who is the primary medic in the camp and she's always there to take care of everyone. What do you mean that Daythunder tripped face first into her tits on purpose? Can't you see that he's hurt??? Yes he needs to squeeze her hips, it's for balance! Honestly 🙄

Alternatively alternatively, barmaid!MC who serves a certain group of Eremites and she's theirs alone. No one else touches her except them, and they love playing with her regardless of who else is looking. Groping her tits when she bends down to pour drinks, grabbing her ass when she turns around, biting her nipple through the sheer fabric of her top if she doesn't escape fast enough etc. (I feel like you wrote this before? I think)

I really just let my hands run away from me adfhk I hope you're doing well! 🌺

darling, I am so incredibly normal about this you have no idea i'm currently biting at the bars of my enclosure

also this turned out way longer than I intended but the brainrot was real for this one ;; the barmaid!reader hc turned out to be the longest and the smuttiest of them all but in my defense it was my absolute favorite one to write and I'm seriously asking begging you guys to please indulge me and send me all your possible barmaid!reader thots (different men, eremites, aus', whatever comes to your mind ;;)

fem!reader, nsfw, reader is implied to be chubby/curvy, LOTS of perviness and big gross pervy men <3

Rainforest Scholar!Reader who hired a group of Eremites because of an important study needing to be conducted near the dangerous territory of the Apam Woods which is known to be inhabited by dangerous fungi and other possibly hostile creatures, not to mention the ever-changing weather environment. For someone who has little-to-no combat training it's basically a suicide mission so you did the next best thing and hired a group of Eremite mercenaries, four big and scary looking men with weapons seemingly bigger than you, wild grins full of sharp teeth and smug voices telling you "It's gonna be okay Little Lady, we've got this".

Well, turned out no one 'got this'. Dear Gods no one got this. The whole journey ended up in a near disaster with a sudden wild storm striking the woods in the middle of studying a group of fungi not only making them hostile and attacking you but also during your and the mercenaries' escape and frantic search for a reletively safe place to wait out the storm you managed to slip and fall straight into a large puddle of water effectively drenching you and ruining your travel clothes.

Although you truly noticed this major detail only after holing up in some beat up shack left to rot in the forest when the cold finally started to seep into your bones. One of the men, Daythunder you believe others called him, pointed out your violent shivering making all the men in the group turn towards you with slight concern on their masked faces.

And indeed you were shivering like a scared puppy, wet clothes clinging at your form, combined with the howling wind making it almost unbearable and the small fire they managed to start did little to keep you warm.

"You need to get outta these clothes Little Lady or you'll catch your death here", a slightly smaller man of the group gruffly said and vaguely motioned towards your figure. You flushed slightly and looked down bashfully, 'Little Lady' they called you, a nickname meant to tease you at first but over the long days of your journey turned into some sort of endearment from the men towards you.

Your thoughts of embarrassment were quickly thrown away by another wave of unpleasant shivers due to your drenched state. You were well aware that if you didn't do something soon, you'd catch pneumonia and only gods know how long you'll be stuck here in the middle of nowhere with a raging storm outside. The only logical thing to do was to strip, let your clothes dry and get warm by the fire but you were surrounded by all these big men and while you trusted them to not make any unwanted moves, it was still a mortifying thought to be almost naked in such a small space among them.

However, even these thought were dissipated quickly enough when Daythunder gently lifted your chin with his finger, making your heart flutter with warmth and look up at his handsome masked face and listen to him quietly murmur that they'll keep you warm and make sure no danger will come for you, please Little Lady.

And so before long you were stripped down to your underwear, sitting in the warm lap of the large blond man, his beautiful tanned skin hot under your slowly warming body as his sturdy arms wrapped around you. Actually, the men surrounded you with their big bodies in a sort of cuddle pile, warming up not only your body but also your heart and lower belly, the tingling sensation only amplifying when you felt the sudden touch of warm, calloused fingers of Daythunder on your knees, slowly traveling up your thighs and massaging along the tired muscles making you let out an embarrassingly pleasured moan that caught the attention of all the other men, making them grin wildly again.

"Maybe being stuck here for a little longer won't hurt-" you thought to yourself before getting interrupted by ravenous hot lips of one of the men and letting out another pleased hum as you felt other big calloused hands join the others on your soft body.

Medic!Reader who is the resident healer of the tribe, and while it might be considered relatively small, her hands are almost always busy due to the group being made up by men who are considered to be hunters/mercenaries; always on the move, rarely setting camp for more than a week. Plus, life on the desert can't be considered an easy one, food and water rations are scarce, danger is common here and if you're inexperienced with this kind of environment or travels it's best if you just stay in a village or travel in a larger group.

And then there is little ol' you, a real delight to the men of the tribe, kept like the biggest treasure in the camp. Always cherished and spoiled with the best cuts of meat during meal time, gifted the softest and most delicate silks from their 'adventures', not to mention all the hot, reverent, hungry touches to your skin as they slowly mouth at the expanse of your naked, glistening bosom.

Oh yes, the life of the 'Treasure of the tribe' is good, very good even, but first and foremost you are a trained, skilled healer, your skills being utilized unfortunately almost everyday as your men just seem to not be able to keep out of danger if even for a day and you hate seeing your boys hurt.

After returning from yet another successful hunting trip all the returning men loudly announcing their arrival; loud, boisterous laughs and cheerful bellows can be heard from the enterance to the camp. You sighed deeply although a small smile made its way onto your face, judging from the loud joyous commotion outside it was a successful hunt and probably no permanent damage was done but it still meant looking after the men, cleaning and stitching cuts, applying cooling salves and balms and bandaging smaller wounds. While you were undoubtedly proud of your buys you swear that their pride and want for showing off will drive them into an early grave.

Making a last check-up on the stacked medical equipment you gathered, you got up and walked out into the blazing sun of the desert, although the scalding hot temperature slowly cooling down into a pleasant warmth with the incoming sunset.

Your enterance was met with loud greetings and whoops, the large men showing off their hunted prey, a large furred beast with claws the size of your fingers. While you definitely appreciated the sentiment and admired their strength and prowess in battle to be able to take down such a creature, you were more worried about the blood staining Daythunder's clothes. Making him sit on an wooden stump you quickly got to work as he seemed to be hurt the most; while definitely nowhere near deadly, that cut on his chest worried you.

Out of all the things you learned as a healer of a tribe full of men is that they're surprisingly childish and clingy, especially when hurt. The second he heavily sat down, Daythunder immediately grabbed onto your full hips and dragged you close to him so that no space can be between your bodies and with a heavy sigh the big tanned man shoved his face right into your tits, for the lack of better wording.

All you could do is sigh heavily, comb your hand through his braided blond hair and coo at him. The insistent touches more than familiar and no more embarrassing you, more like making a small pleasant flutter bloom in your belly as you gave the man a bit more time watching him nose along your barely clothed breasts and nuzzling against you much like a big cat.

What you didn't see, so preoccupied with Daythunder nuzzled deep into you, are the former joyful faces of the other men sour with ugly jealousy. Why weren't it them you were paying attention? They just slayed a beast too! But don't you worry pretty little Treasure, as soon as you finish with that big oaf they'll have their turn with you too.

Who would have guessed that Eremites could be so jealous~?

And now for the grande finale and my personal favorite, Barmaid!Reader!! Working as a barmaid at the only tavern in Caravan Ribat is one hell of a busy job. Living and working in a place that is literally in the middle of nowhere and simultaneously always busy with passing by merchants, mercenaries, travelers and adventurers alike can be definitely often hectic and at times even messy but it has its perks! Being able to listen to various stories, some of them sounding almost like a fairytale with how whimsical and fantastic they sound and yet they are all true is definitely one of those perks.

Another perk (definitely the best) is a particular group of Eremite men who seem to frequent Caravan Ribat, specifically the tavern you work at is their target. Not only being regulars, but also knowing them more...intimately, they are a delight to be around even with their burning jealousy and possessiveness; perhaps even more so with it.

Almost always you hear them before you see them, their loud talk among each other, deep booming voices almost reverberating through the local and just as you serve a patron their meal they enter in all their glory. Even with the crimson bandanas covering their eyes you can feel their eyes on you, burning with lust and want for their pretty little barmaid.

Greeting them with a warm smile and a warmth to your cheeks you tell them to sit down at their usual table (which by now is almost reserved only for them, no one dares to sit where they always touch down). Luckily it's a relatively slow night; all the patrons are already seated and busy either talking among each other or drinking their worries away in a bottle of ale of fire water.

With an almost jump in your step you quickly walk up to the table with the Eremites, their covered eyes never leaving your curvy figure and when you finally stand before them you can almost hear their deep growls of delight and ravenous apetite for more than a regular meal.

Deciding on being cheeky today and wanting to tease them a little, treat them as if their just another regular customers. You pull out a small paper and pencil from behind your belt and ask these 'gentlemen' for their order. They seem to catch on immediately, their grins widening, licking over their sharp canines as they relax and spread their thick muscled thighs wide open lounging around, deep gruff voices laced with lust listing of their order.

As you're diligently jot down their choices on the slip of paper, a small smile appears on your face as you feel the strong arm of Stone Enchanter slip around your middle and pull you closer to him, his enormous build making your stomach on level with his face even when he's seated, his big and rough with callouses hand caressing and grabbing onto your full hips, snapping the material of your skirt (the long material obscuring only your intimates and ass while exposing your thighs, you know this cut drives them crazy) against your hips and they laugh loudly as you take in a quick quiet breath, followed by the gentle scrape of teeth on your waist as the large man starts mouthing at your skin and to be honest you're quite embarrassed by how quickly this simple touch can get you wet.

But with this group you're so used to this that when they don't visit for a longer period of time you actually long for it. They are always like this; loud and boisterous, clingy, unapologetic and absolutely shameless with their touches and so so possessive over you.

You barely manage to write down their order with a small 'be right back sirs' when suddenly a swift swat to your bottom is delivered and the table erupts in laughs and jeers at Sunfrost that he managed to get you. It's even worse when you get back and start setting their cups down, when the hot touches and gropes come.

Your low cut top is made of a light material, almost sheer and you almost always forgo wearing a bra due to the almost unbearable heat due to the closeness to the desert and the stuffy inside of the tavern doesn't help, and you can be sure that these men take full advantage of it.

Large scarred hands grope your tits the second you bend down to pour their drinks and you almost spill it when they pull down the loose neckline and the mouthing at your waist and hips starts again.

Suddenly, you let out a small shrill cry as you're suddenly hoisted into the lap of Stone Enchanter and moan loudly at the feeling of hot lips trying to mouth at your nipples through your top, the straps falling from your shoulders from all the sudden movement much to the delight of the men at the table.

The loud atmosphere of the lively tavern concealing the lustful act, all the other patrons are either so deep into laughing with their companions or way too drunk to even look your way, but even if there are some curious eyes looking at your figure, you are way too deep into the hot, fuzzy headspace to care.

The dark skinned man holding you made you suddenly straddle him and you flush even deeper at the feeling of his hard cock grinding up against your barely clothed pussy and you can't help but moan helplessly and grab at his dark braids to pull him closer to your nipple which he's still insistently mouthing at, the scrape of his sharp teeth causing you to let out a delightful moan which only seemed to spur the turned on men further on.

This was definitely going to be a long, long night~

[raintailed]

posting this out of order because i'm REALLY PROUD of it. hi this is the Wild!!! I finally gave it a design, based on the mycorrhizal network prompt :]

Uhhh. Basically, the Wild is a Being (in summary, a god-thing that both rules over, and is, its domain)! Its domain is the Ancient Glade, an enormous old growth forest located in the Dreaming local group. During the construction of the group's senior, a large portion of the Wild's domain was destroyed, so the Wild basically went into hibernation because it had been severely weakened.

This reference is for what the Wild would look like if it were to wake up (right now its body is eepy asleepy in a clearing somewhere deep in the Ancient Glade, and pretty overgrown). Its body is vaguely rain deer-shaped, but is technically a complex network of plants and fungi working together as one! Because I think it's really cool :]]

Technically the entirety of the Wild's domain would be considered a mycorrhizal network, but I don't want to make a reference for an entire region LOL. Just know that the Ancient Glade is extremely dangerous and trespassing creatures almost always mysteriously disappear (read: get eaten). It is by a stroke of luck that the Wild tolerates the presence of TERRA's creatures.

also @banyanas tagging you bc i think you might like this freakish beast!

[succubusdaydream]

By The Grace of The Moon || Astarion x Werewolf!Selunite!Reader || PT5

A/N: I’ve explained in an update (see here) but I’ll say again to those who didn’t see. This story was originally going to be one or two parts so I’ve been pulling a lot of this out of my ass. But, with encouragement, I’ve tried my best to write some of the underdark but have skipped the creche. I’ve also tried my best to write in Wyll, Karlach and Lae’zel but since I totally forgot about them, I’ve struggled for days to write them in. Because of this, I have ultimately decided to leave them out of this series. I love them and have even become a Wyll girly (have a fic idea that i've started) but I just can’t get them in properly. I’ve drained my writing trying to get them in, but nothing is fitting. I'm so sorry for that and I’m so sorry for the wait but FINALLY here is part 5 <3

Warnings: typical BG3 violence | made up lore about Lycans and Selune | kind of filler/fast paced

Masterlist || Word Count:4065

PT1 || PT2 || PT3 || PT4

---

The bright sun once again woke you up. Its rays pierced your closed eyes as you struggled to open them. For a second, you couldn’t remember what you were doing the night before. But then you remembered. You could still feel the touch of your mate’s cold hands as you sat up to look around for him. And you didn’t have to look far. He stood in front of you, arms stretched as he embraced the sun’s warmth for all it had to offer. On his back was a large scar. Carved into his porcelain flesh.

                His scent lingered in the air as you drank in his beautiful body. “Not staying for a cuddle?” Your confidence had skyrocketed overnight. No longer as shy around the one who you were bound too.

                “You sleep light.” He turned his head, looking at you from his peripheral. “I thought you’d be exhausted after last night.” His voice was light, and his arms lowered as he turned to look at you.

                “I could always go again.” You were quick to pull your knees up and hug them to you. The confidence was quickly gone as he turned to your still naked body.

                He smirked. “Tempting. But this might not be the time or place.” He reaches down and grabs something from the forest floor. Your shirt. He held it out to you. “Now, shall we go on? I want to go before anyone else thanks me for saving their tails.” You stood and completely dressed, finding your pants not too far from where he grabbed your shirt. “Oh. And don’t feel the need to brag to the other about our little tryst. Given the noise you made last night, I’m sure they already know.” With that, your walk back to camp was silent and your face once again a dark shade of ruby.

---

                No one had said much when you arrived back at camp. Gale was once again cooking, though this time it was a smaller pot, and Shadowheart was ushering out the rest of the hung-over Tieflings that had crashed in your camp. So after eating and gathering your things, you approached Halsin, who had made earlier promises to explain the next step in removing your tadpole.

                “I trust you enjoyed your evening. After all your efforts, it was well deserved. And it may be some time before you’re awarded another such night.” He told you about the cursed lands that surrounded the towers and two ways to get to it. An overpass through the mountains or a path through the underdark. Either way, your group would be faced with plenty of monsters and conflicts.

                So over the next few days, the four of you accidentally blew up an old temple of Lathander and then turned right back around to descend into the underdark through the now empty goblin camp. You had been trampled by a Bulette, been recruited by large fungi sovereign to kill nearby Duergar and then blessed by said fungi sovereign after fulfilling their request. The next thing they asked for was the head of a Drow, Nere. In their ‘camp’ you had helped a poisoned deepgnome and traveled across a large, dark lake to find and free her people. A large forge, the Lost Adamantine Forge, greeted your party when you docked, as well as some more angry duergar.

They too had a request for you. Help free your ‘fellow true soul’. The True Soul being the same one that the Sovereign had requested the head of. Nere. So with a bomb you picked up a while ago, you cleared the rocks he had caused to fall and easily defeated him and the rest of the Duergar that were around. It was an exhausting couple of days but after many sidetracks of requests, you and the others had finally made it out of the Underdark and into the Shadow Cursed Lands.

---

                The door creaked open and the light from your torch barley lit the way in front of you. It felt cold as you stepped out from Sharran building, a shiver running through your spin. Everything about this place set your senses to eleven and your grip on the torch tightened.

                “Halsin wasn’t lying. This place really is….” You couldn’t even find the words as you walked deeper into the shadows. You made sure to go slow and stick close to the others. If you had the confidence, you’d make sure to hold Astarion close to ensure his ultimate safety.

                As you walked deeper, Shadowheart’s whispers echoed through the whispering dark. “I can feel the shadow’s power here… but they don’t seem to be harming me. The Dark Lady shields me. I can feel her.”

                You quickly stop and turn towards her. You had of course already concluded that she was a worshipper of Shar. Her distaste for your Selune worship and the attempt to rebuild an altar of hers in the Goblin Camp had given it away. And her words of ‘the lady of sorrows guide us.’

                “Did you say something, Shadowheart?”

                “The Shadow Curse… it doesn’t seem to affect me like others. Not as badly, at least.” She stepped forward, a smile on her face. “Do you know what this means? I must be blessed. Lady Shar is protecting me where others are left to her wrath. She loves me. She must do.”

                In a spit of your own disgust towards her goddess, your words seemed harsher than you wished for them to. “Your mistress rewards you with survival against her own corrupt power? That’s not love, Shadowheart.” You too felt protected from the curse. You could still feel it, but it wasn’t overwhelming. Just as if the shadows were itching to get to you. Your own blessing from Selune protecting you. You hoped it protected your mate as well.

                Her brows furrowed and you immediately felt awful. You were never one to judge other’s beliefs, but Shadowheart’s adoration of your goddess’ enemy irked you more than you wished. “The darkness is the truth, Selunite. In the end, there with only be endless black. And those that Lady Shar has embraced.”

                Yous sighed and tried to wave it off. “I apologies, Shadowheart. I truly did not mean to offend you or your goddess. It seems my own blessing has secured me from these lands as well. Please, continue.” You nodded and her face softened. It was the harshest you had ever been to someone else and didn’t want to lose a close friend to something as petty as this.

                She nodded back before speaking once more. “Lady Shar wouldn’t bless me like this for no reason. There must be something she wants of me.” And with an agreement to try your best to help, your group continued through the lands.

---

                It didn’t take long to face the creatures in the dark. Not far from where you emerged, you had run into a group of people. One was quickly taken by the curse and attacked with more shadows. It took a little effort but after defeating them, you followed the group back to where they hid. Last Light Inn. Protected from the curse by a beautiful white dome. When you passed through the barrier, it felt warm. Familiar. Selunite magic.

                You didn’t get far before your feet were anchored into the ground with vines. A druid, Jaheira, had stopped you in your tracks and held a mindflayer parasite to you. She spouted about how ‘you shouldn’t have come here true-soul’ before you could even try and defend yourself. Luckily, you didn’t really have to since a small voice rang out from behind her.

                “Stop! What are you doing?! They’re the one that saved us!” A young Tiefling sprinted up beside Jaheira, panting and waving her arms around.

                “This is the one that saved the Emerald Grove?”

                “Yep! Saved one of my friends from a mean snake to.” And with that, Jaheira released you with an apology and a request to join her for a drink. She had spoken about how her and her harpers were also after Ketheric Thorm who was hidden in Moonrise Towers. She had fought him before, ultimately failing due to his immortality. She had also tried to lace the wine she wanted to share with you, questioning you about the tadpoles in your head.

                After deeming you and your group trustful, she pointed you upstairs. There was a cleric that had cast the barrier around the in, keeping it and its residents safe from the lesser affects of the shadow curse. And with a nod and a promise to scout out the towers, you all made your way upstairs. You recognized many of the Tieflings from the Grove but there seemed to be less, and Zevlor was nowhere to be found.

                 Reaching the double doors of a room, you lightly knock and when you hear no response, you peek inside. There was no one in sight but your ears picked up sound coming from the door on the other side of the room. Your soft footsteps creaked the floorboards along with the door you opened. On the other side was a white-haired woman in silver robes. You watched in awe as she summoned a magic orb and let it fly to the barrier, adding to the shield. The magic felt familiar, Selunite no doubt, and you felt warm.

                The women coughed and turned, slightly jumping. “Oh, pardon me. I didn’t realize I had an audience. Let me guess, you’re the true soul who’s going to save us all?” She walked past you and into the room, stopping in the middle. “Did Jaheira’s sent you to beg a protection spell of her favorite cleric?” She barely gave you a chance to speak before raising her arms, her body glowing as she sent a beam of light towards your group. The magic that flowed through you felt nice and almost like home.

                From her point of view, the symbol of Isobel’s goddess flashed on your skin and small ears of light appeared above your head before disappearing. “Ahh. A hunter of the night, I see. I’m sure our Lady has already blessed you with some protection, but now your group is alright as well. It will only keep you safe from the lesser effects of the curse, you’ll need to find a much stronger solution of you wish to make it to Moonrise. “

                Behind you, Shadowheart growled. “Selunite magic. Dark Lady forgive me.” The wound on her hand flashed and she winced. She continued to glare at Isobel, crossing her arms.

                “Good nose. Like a nasty little terrier.” Isobel retorted.

                Before Shadowheart could fire back, you stepped in front of her. “Thank you, very much. But, what did you mean hunter of the night? Are you talking about…” You trailed off, still nervous to reveal your nature even if she might already know.

                “Your Lycanthropy? I can sense it in you, and it was revealed when I blessed you. Lycans blessed by Selune are her ‘Hunters of The Night.’ They served has protecters, much like familiars. It seems she’s blessed you with full control of your abilities.” She held her hand up, an illusion of Selune appearing in her palm with a few wolves around her, standing protectively with her symbol on their snout just like yours.

                “Lycans are much different than werewolves. Werewolves can’t control their shift and are led by anger. They are no longer human, too lost in their animal side to return. Lycans though, are blessed to keep their humanity. Selune protects them and allows them to shift between shapes. I suppose you’re like a druid, in a way.”

                You nodded in awe. You and your parents still hadn’t discovered a lot about your blessing, your village too small to hold any information. “I see. Thank you. We should probably take our leave though, much to do.” You chuckled and stepped back, awkwardly pointed to the door.

                “Wait. Please be careful. Ketheric is a frightening man. But you have something that he doesn’t: allies worth having. While you’re busy in the towers, I’ll be sure to…” She stopped, turning to look up and around. “Did you hear that? Somethings wrong.”

                Everything suddenly went to the hells. A corrupted and winged Flaming Fist, Marcus, had crashed into the room. He was ranting about the absolute and used his own tadpole to connect to yours. He thought you were on his side and demanded your help to capture Isobel for Ketheric Throm. When he realized you wouldn’t be of help, he let out a roar and winged ghoul descended onto the Inn.

                Magic and arrows were flying, and you tried your best to protect Isobel from the man. In the chaos though, a yell of pain caught your attention. Behind you, a ghoul slipped through and swiped for Astarion, slicing his porcelain skin, and knocking him to the ground, paralyzed. Your vision went red, and you let out a roar of your own, growling and sprinting towards the monster.

                You weren’t exactly sure want happened. You swiped your hand at the monster, and it let out a screech, trying to swipe back but you shoved into it. Your hand bones cracked, and it felt like they were extending as claw took the place of your fingernails. You continues to slice at the monster, it’s blood coating your arms and body. When you realized it was dead, you were breathing hard and had already set your sights on your old target.

                The True-Soul finally died after a long battle, as well as the rest of his winged ghouls. Blood scented the air and stained the wooden floors. Your breaths were still hard, and your heart was pounding in your ears. Your vision was blurry, and you could make out Isobel’s shape walking towards you.

                She placed her hand on your shoulder, calling your name and pulling you aside. “Are you alright? You lost it there. I-I’ve never seen someone so angry.” You looked down at your hands, blood staining your soft skin and armor, and looked back at Astarion. He had gotten back up in the fight and was now being looked over by Shadowheart.

                “I saw him go down and I… I just lost it, I guess. I’ve never felt so angry.” A look a realization came across her face and you avoided her gaze. If you yourself had thought that having a vampire mate was a curse from your goddess, you weren’t sure what a cleric of hers would think.

                “I see.” She didn’t say much and before she could, Jaheira had busted into the room.

                “Isobel! Are you alright?” Isobel nodded. “Marcus has been with us from the start- they’ve been tracking us this whole time. This wasn’t a random attack. You were the target, Isobel. They know how important you are.” Jaheira paused and turned to you. “But they don’t know about you. Ketheric will strike again. We need you to strike first. Discover the source of his invulnerability. Make him mortal, so that we may make him bleed. Good luck.”

                With a determined nod, your group set out. You met a group of Harpers at the Inn’s bridge. They had a plan to steal a source of protection from the curse in an ambush of Absolute cultists that should be making they way to the towers. After gathering extra supplies and making sure everyone was good to go, your group set out with the harpers.

                The Harpers were correct in their ambush. A Drider led a group of cultists with a Moon Lantern, its aura shielding them from the cursed. The fight that insinuated wasn’t too difficult. The goblins went down fast and the Drider soon after. You were luckily able to keep all the Harpers safe, everyone only receiving some cuts and bruises. The moon lantern you looted from the Drider held a fairy and her muffled voice cried out for help. In return, she blessed your party, keeping you safe from even the darkest part of the curse. So after bidding farewell to the Harpers, you all made your way to moonrise towers.

---

                The trail to the Towers was long and your party had run into many shadow-cursed enemies, but after hours, you had crossed the bridge into the towers. The guards at the entry questioned you, but it wasn’t too hard to trick them. The walls of the towers stood high above you. The stone walls and darkness made the place feel cold and you grimaced as you walked through it. The smell that lingered in the air was rancid and it made your hair stand up.

                It seems you weren’t the only one who could smell it as Astarion grimaced behind you, holding the back of his hand to his nose. The closest scent in the air was coming from a door to your left, and as your curiosity got the best of you, you made your way towards it. On the other side, a drow woman stood in front of a table, bottles and vials of blood scattered around its surface.

                Her attention turned to you as the door creaked open and she made her introduction. “Araj Oblodra. Trader in blood and the sanguineous arts. It’s a pleasure to stand before a true soul. And your pale companion.” The way her eyes raked over Astarion’s form made your own twitch and your fists curl. “I’d like to offer my services, if you’re willing?” She offered a potion in exchange for some of your blood, and since it was only a bit, you held your hand out. It didn’t take her long at all to brew you a strong potion, gladly giving it to you.

                “Before you go, tough, there might be one more thing we could discuss?” Her eyes once again drifted to Astarion. “Your friend. He’s a vampire, no? Or at least a spawn?” Her tone made your blood boil and the look in her eye made you want to rip out her throat. How dare she look at your mate that way? Use that tone to him?

                “Oh don’t worry,” Astarion began, “We’re all friends under the Absolute. I won’t bite.”

                She smirked and let out a soft chuckle. “Oh, I prefer if you did.” She turned to you with a raised brow. “I assume he belongs to you?”

                Your eyes widened and you stood agog. “Excuse me? He doesn’t belong to anyone.” You growled out and your nails began to dig into your palm.

                She let out a scoff. “Oh, I’m sure he believes that. Do you have a name, Spawn?”

                Astarion took a step back, “Astarion, b-but hold on-“

                Araj immediately cut him off, a smile on her face. “Good. Now, Astarion, I’ve always dreamed of being bitten by a vampire. Ever since I was a young girl.” Your ears started ringing and your body grew hot. The voices around you became muffled as she attempted to push herself onto him. It was only when she raised her voice at you that you snapped. “Ugh! Can’t you talk some sense into your obstinate charge?!”

                Your eyes glowed a pale yellow and your hand wrapped around your throat, claws sprouting from your fingernails and digging into her skin. You shoved her body against her desk with a loud growl. “How DARE you speak to him like that? Do you not know the meaning of the word ‘no’?!” You companion behind you stepped back as fur peaked from beneath your armor.  Beneath you, Araj struggled and attempted to speak. You leaned down, bringing your growing fangs to her ear. “If you so as much glance or even think about my mate,” you tightened your grip, “I’ll tear your gods damned throat out. Do you understand?”

                She frantically nodded, and with one last shove, she fell to the ground, holding her throat and coughing. You took a deep breath and glanced down at your hands, watching as your claws retreated into your bones. Whatever has been happening to you recently, it was starting to scare you. You shuddered and shook your head, turning back to your group who was all looking at you concerned and with slight fear.

                You cleared your throat and pushed past them. “L-Let’s go find somewhere to camp, I’m exhausted and this place reeks.”

---

                The fire roared in front of you as you hugged your knees close to your chest. Your friends had kept their distance from you ever since making camp and you figured they were still nervous after your outburst earlier. You had been sitting alone for a while when soft footsteps reached your ears, and the scent of your mate met your nose.

                Turning your head, he sent a small wave to you. “Do you have a moment. I think we need to talk.” Your heart clenched and you stood, following him back to his tent. He turned to you, a look of nervousness in his eyes. “I uum, I want to thank you.” His voice was soft, keeping in mind the others in their own tents.

                You raised a brow. “For what?”

                “For what you said, when I was in front of that vile drow. I spent two hundred years using my body to lure pretty things back for my master. What I wanted, how I felt about what I was doing, it never mattered. You could have asked me to do the same- to throw myself at her, what I wanted be damned.” His voice raised and he threw his arms out, but quickly brought them back in, his eyes softening. “But you didn’t. And I’m grateful.”

                You smiled. “Astarion, I would never make you do something you don’t want to do. And I’ll hurt anyone who tries to force you to.” You clenched your fists again, the thought of that drow heating up your blood again.             

                “It’s a novel concept, I admit. And a little intimidating.” He looked down and sighed. “Look. I had a plan. A nice, simple plan- seduce you, sleep with you, manipulate your feelings so that you’d never turn on me.” He let out a chuckle, and in your chest your heart pounded. So he didn’t feel the pull. He had been using you this whole time? “It was easy, instinctive. Habits from two hundred years of charming people kicked in.”

                You took a small step back, holding your hand over your heart. “Astarion, I…I…” You couldn’t even speak; no words came to your mind as he continued talking.

                “All you had to do… was fall for it.” He let out another sigh. “And all I had to do, was not fall for you. And that is where my nice, simple plan… falls apart.” His eyes bore into yours, and you could see no deceit. He truly meant it. “You… you’re incredible. But you deserve something real. I want us to be something real.” He stepped forward, grasping your hand in between his own.

                Your heart pounded in your ears and sparks shot through your skin beneath his. Minutes passed, and without your response, he stepped back and sighed. It snapped you out of your gaze and you reached back out to him, stepping forward and wrapping your arms around his waist softly. It stunned him for a second, but he slowly lowered his arms around you in return.

                His scent was all you could smell as you nuzzled into his chest with a smile. “I want us to be something real too. More than anything.” You stepped back, moving to hold his hands in yours.

                He let out a breath. “You… you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” A smile broke out on his face, and he leaned forward. “Honestly, I have no idea what we’re doing. Or what comes next.” The grip on your hands tightened. “But I know that this… this is nice.” His smile was soft, and he brought up one of your hands, placing a soft kiss on your knuckles. “I- I do have one question though. I couldn’t help but overhear what you told that drow.”

                Your brow raised and you tilted your head. You hoped it didn’t show on your face, but you were worried.

                “What did you mean, when you said, ‘my mate?’” Your blood ran cold, and all you heard was the pounding on your heartbeat.

---

Masterlist

PT1 || PT2 || PT3 || PT4

Taglist: @saturns-angel || @bdudette || @simon-e-mallory || @caskyywrites || @emo-with-headphones || @ophelias-flowerss || @sarawithasword || @stonedstargazer666 ||

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Ecology Vocabulary

for your next poem/story

Autotroph - Any organism that is able to manufacture its own food; derive energy from inorganic sources (light or inorganic chemical reactions)

Benthic - Organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean

Biome - A community of plants & animals that occupy a distinct region; defined by climate and dominant vegetation: tundra, desert, grassland & forest; can be subdivided, i.e. boreal, temperate, tropical forests

Boreal forest - (also called Taiga) Largest terrestrial biome, characterized by having very cold winters and coniferous forests

Dessication - Mummification

Detritus - Accumulated organic debris from dead organisms

Detrivore - Any organism which obtains most of its nutrients from the detritus in an ecosystem

Disturbance - An event that alters the ecosystem, i.e. the plant community and possibly the physical environment; natural disturbances include fire, landslides, windthrow, insects, disease, etc. Levels of Disturbance:

Tree-level: affects single trees or small groups of trees

Stand-level: affecting large groups (many hectares) of trees (insect epidemic, hurricane, logging, wildfire)

Site-level: affecting the physical environment is a dramatic way that all life is lost and a new soil environment is created (lavaflow, glacier, landslide)

Planet-level: affecting the planet as a whole (big meteor, death star...)

Frugivore - Animal which primarily eats fruit

Groundwater - Water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes, and springs. This water often carries minerals. These minerals can accumulate in the remains of buried organisms and eventually cause fossilization.

Halophile - Organism which lives in areas of high salt concentration. These organisms must have special adaptations to permit them to survive under these conditions.

Limnology - The study of river system ecology and life

Orographic Lift - Occurs when an air mass moves over a mountain range, air cools, drops precipitation, then as air moves down the lee side it warms and creates a rain shadow

Pelagic - Organisms that swim through the ocean, and may rise to the surface, or sink to the bottom

Rain shadow - The dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range, where rainfall is noticeably less than on the windward side

Riparian - Having to do with the edges of streams or rivers

Saprophyte - Organism which feeds on dead and decaying organisms, allowing the nutrients to be recycled into the ecosystem. Fungi and bacteria are two groups with many important saprophytes.

Silvics - The study of the life history, characteristics and ecology of forest trees

Tolerance - The capacity/ability of an organism to endure (survive, withstand) adverse effects from unfavourable environmental conditions; the opposite of sensitivity

Upwelling - The raising of benthic nutrients to the surface waters. This occurs in regions where the flow of water brings currents of differing temperatures together, and increases productivity of the ecosystem.

Xeric - Describes an environment or habitat with little moisture; dry to very dry

Sources: 1 2 More: Word Lists

[covid-safer-hotties]

Immune cell regulator discovery could lead to treatments for arthritis and severe COVID - Published Aug 14, 2024

The discovery of a new regulator affecting immune cells could lead to new treatments to reduce inflammation in diseases including arthritis and severe COVID 19.

A large research collaboration, led by the University of Exeter's MRC Center for Medical Mycology, has focused on how immune cells sense their environment. This activity triggers responses which are finely balanced, to protect against disease and infection, and to reduce cell-damaging inflammation.

The research, titled "Recognition and control of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap formation by MICL" published in Nature, looked at the behavior of a receptor known as MICL, and its role in both preventing inflammation and protecting against infection.

Lead author Dr. Mariano Malamud, from the University of Exeter, said, "We've discovered that MICL is a key receptor that causes severe inflammatory disease when its functions are altered. This opens the door to the development of new therapies that target MICL, which could reduce the severity of inflammatory diseases and protect against infection."

Most receptors in the immune system sense their environment and send signals to cells, telling them to activate in response to changes such as infection or tissue damage. The team's work has revealed that MICL does the opposite, inhibiting the activation of the cell. This is an important function, as over-activation of cells can lead to cell damage and the development of auto-immune diseases if left unchecked.

The team went on to demonstrate the essential role that MICL plays in regulating inflammation in severe COVID 19, as well as arthritis and some other autoimmune diseases.

The new research, conducted in mice and verified in patients, focuses on the function of MICL present on the most abundant form of immune cell called a neutrophil.

As a result of an autoimmune disease or infection, neutrophils can undergo NETosis, a form of programmed cell death which is key for controlling infections but is very inflammatory. The team has found that MICL is able to detect this, and its inhibitory activity prevents more neutrophils from dying in this way.

NETosis cell death has been linked to several inflammatory diseases in humans, including Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis and severe COVID. These inflammatory diseases lead to the production of antibodies that bind to MICL, preventing its inhibitory function and resulting in more severe disease.

Conversely, the study showed that increasing NETosis by blocking MICL function can protect against infection, such as those caused by fungi.

In mice with arthritis, the group showed that genetic loss of MICL led to more severe disease due to the excessive formation of NETs. More severe disease also occurred in normal mice when antibodies targeting MICL were applied.

Indeed, more severe disease was also seen in human arthritis patients who possessed antibodies targeting MICL, and the researchers could directly show that these patient antibodies drove exacerbated inflammatory response, using cell samples in labs.

Senior author Professor Gordon Brown, from the University of Exeter, said, "We've been working on how immune cells sense their environment for over 20 years, and this breakthrough is really exciting, revealing how the inhibition of inflammatory processes is finely balanced between controlling infection and the development of autoimmune disease"

More information: Gordon Brown, Recognition and control of neutrophil extracellular trap formation by MICL, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07820-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07820-3

[mariacallous]

From the seventh floor at Kherson State University, Oleksandr Khodosovtsev and Ivan Moisienko had a clear view of the enemy. It was a cool December morning, and the Russian troops that had occupied the Ukrainian city of Kherson since the earliest days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion had recently retreated east across the Dnipro River. Mushroom clouds hung over the horizon as they gazed through the rattling floor-to-ceiling windows of the botany department. The explosions, they thought, were likely coming from the tanks less than 5 kilometers away from where they stood.

That morning, the pair—both professors of botany—had arrived on the train from Kyiv and made their way through the partially ruined streets of Kherson to reach the university. The city was still being shelled, and to access their laboratory meant scaling a spiraling stairwell lined with stained-glass windows looking out over the Dnipro River, towards the enemy.

Their mission was to rescue a piece of history: the Kherson herbarium, an irreplaceable collection of more than 32,000 plants, lichen, mosses, and fungi, amassed over a century by generations of scientists, some from thousand-kilometer-long treks across remote areas of Ukraine. “This is something like a piece of art,” says 52-year-old Moisienko. “It’s priceless.”

Herbaria like the one in Kherson, a port city in the south of Ukraine, are about more than just taxonomy. They serve a vital role in the study of species extinction, invasive pests, and climate change. Though it's by no means the world’s largest—the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris has 9,500,000 specimens—Kherson’s herbarium is, Moisienko says, valuable because of its unique contribution to the field. Rare species found only in Ukraine, some of which are at risk of extinction, are documented on its shelves.

When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, they threatened not only the thousands of dried, pressed, and preserved specimens stored at the university, but the land where those samples had been collected. In the more than 17 months since Vladimir Putin declared his “special military operation” in Ukraine, millions of acres of land—about 30 percent of the country’s protected areas—have been maimed by indiscriminate bombing, burning, and military maneuvers. Russian troops have scorched tens of thousands of hectares of forests and put more than 800 plants at risk of extinction, including 20 rare species that have mostly vanished from elsewhere, according to the non-profit Ukraine Nature Conservation Group (UNCG).

The Ukrainian government estimates that a third of the country’s land has been contaminated by mines or other unexploded ordnance. Large swathes of the countryside could remain inaccessible for decades to come. That means it could be a long time before scientists like Khodosovtsev and Moisienko can go back out to collect samples.

The pair weighed up these considerations last fall, as they contemplated returning to the hollowed-out city of Kherson. Russian forces had been pushed out of the city in November but continued to bombard it. Between May and November, at least 236 civilians were killed by shelling, according to regional officials. Regardless, Khodosovtsev and Moisienko decided to go in.

“There is no need to risk anyone's life to save some equipment or a building,” Moisienko says, noting with passing remorse how he’d been pained to leave behind one of his prized microscopes. “For this collection, when it's gone, it's gone. There is no way to get it back.”

As the pair began mapping out the evacuation, they determined that in order to mitigate risk on the ground they needed to limit both the number of people and time spent inside the besieged city. There would never be more than three team members—Khodosovtsev, Moisienko and one of their two colleagues—on a trip, and each venture would last no more than 72 hours. The power grid went down regularly, and there was a citywide curfew of 4 pm, meaning they had hard deadlines to get in and out of their lab. And there was bureaucracy. “During the wartime, even to get around the country, you need to have some substantiation, like documents,” said Khodosovtsev, 51.

That got even more complicated when, on their first trek back to the university that December, they discovered that Russian troops had taken up residence in four of the rooms storing part of the plant collection.

Besides the deep sense of violation the botanists felt, this also posed a procedural problem. The “sitters”—a common expression for enemy soldiers who have occupied a Ukrainian building—had changed the locks on all but one of the doors, and the spaces now needed to be documented; a mandatory procedure typically carried out by the local police. Thankfully, their logistics team pulled some strings and got the process expedited. In just a few weeks, the locks had been changed again, and the rooms had been photographed for the official records.

In video footage capturing that first, largely fruitless trip, Khodosovtsev can be seen celebrating the return of one of the 24 more valuable boxes with a kind of enthusiasm typically reserved for the football pitch. “Collemopsidium kostikovii is saved!” he cheers as he raises his fist over his head. “To the sound of explosions!” he adds, as the rumble of mortars interrupts his brief moment of self-congratulation.

Limited resources, another knock-on effect from the ongoing conflict, also threatened to upend the men’s carefully laid plans. While Moisienko drove around to dozens of Kyiv’s home hardware stores in search of plastic boxes to transport the collection’s vascular plants, Khodosovtsev returned to Kherson equipped with little more than a headlamp strapped across his brow and a backpack filled with the same household tools you might use to move apartments.

On this second trip, the magnitude of the task became clear to Khodosovtsev. He had 700 boxes to evacuate. On his first incursion, it had taken him 15 minutes—and way too much tape—to wrap, stack, and rope together half a dozen boxes of samples. At this rate, the botanist said, he’d be blowing past the three days earmarked for this section of the herbarium. Never one to be discouraged, the scientist settled into familiar territory and began doing what he does best: calculating.

“Just two wraps of sticky tape and one roll of rope,” he said, beaming as he reveled in how he’d managed to shave his box-stacking time to just “three and a half minutes.”

This kind of methodical precision proved to be a helpful distraction from the realities of what was going on just beyond the paned glass. A mere 24 hours before Moisienko returned for his third and final trip on January 2, he learned the building where he planned to scoop up the last portion of the herbarium was hit by shelling. Instead of this news derailing his mission, it only seemed to harden him. “We are focused on [the herbarium] so much that you just ignore everything, all these shellings that [are] going on around you,” he said.

Even so, as he worked methodically, packing plant after plant, he started to contemplate how the glass windows of the lab could become deadly projectiles if a shell went off nearby; and how far it was down to the ground floor. At eight stories tall, the academic building sticks out. “The chance the Russians would hit the university building [was] really high,” he says.

He tried to treat the nearby rumbling as white noise, though one day, a shell landed just outside the window as he was packing a sample.

By January 4, Moisienko had finished loading up the last boxes of the collection into the back of a truck. It traveled west for nearly two days, covering approximately 1,000 kilometers, before reaching Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine, the institution that has served as a university in exile for the staff and students of Kherson State University for more than a year.

It’s a kind of safety. But, as Moisienko points out, only as safe as anything or anyone can ever be in a country where missiles fall out of the sky on a near daily basis. “Nowhere in the country is 100 percent safe,” he says.

On January 11, Kherson State University was once again struck by shelling, this time only blocks away from where Moisienko had been working less than a week earlier. “That building remains [in] danger, and it's still dangerous to be in Kherson as it’s shelled still now on a daily basis,” Moisienko says. “We've done the right thing.”

[analexthatexists]

THIS. TOOK. FOREVER.

BUT IT'S FINALLY FRICKING DONE.

Introducing my take on the Nightmare of this Superhero AU. This story and Nightmare’s design(s) are highly inspired by Spiderman villains, Resident Evil, and The Last of Us! Thanks to @thenocturnenarrator for helping me with this! Superhero AU belongs to @thelunarsystemwrites!

This turned out so much more gruesome and complex than I expected, so VISUAL AND DESCRIPTIVE CW for the following;

Lab Experimentation (Might be considered child experimentation), Body Horror involving mushrooms growing out of the body, Gore, Blood, Insects, Vomiting, and potentially heavy subjects that not all viewers may like.

Backstory

Meet Nightmare “Nyx” Yggdrasil, a 12-13 year old who was kidnapped and experimented on alongside his brother Dream. At the time, he was only able to talk to plants and comprehend how they felt, but that was going to change very soon. The scientists wanted to enhance the powers of the soul’s magic, creating a serum that could do so but was incapable of working on Nightmare’s current state. His “soul” couldn’t be classified as one, seeing as it was more of a purple fireball of pure negative energy, so they needed a way to make it something tangible and experimental. They eventually gain the idea to have the brothers eat a Gold Apple from their home world so their “souls” can merge with the apples and therefore be alterable. While Dream’s process goes fine, Nightmare’s Apple obviously rots, but he’s still forced to eat it, and soon after so he’s injected with the enhancing serum. This not only enhances his ability to talk to plants to being able to control them and connect with them on a higher level, but it enhances the magic and power of the Black Apple, causing black goop to begin tearing out of Nightmare’s body. To prevent his body from literally ripping itself apart from the inside, Nightmare controls the plants around him to seal himself away into a large, cocoon-like growth. A few months pass after Dream escapes the lab with CORE FRISK, and the cocoon breaks open.

The fungi and other plant life had merged with his body. Nightmare was still mostly mentally there, but the cordyceps merging with most of his body was taking tolls on his brain and making him go a little crazy, not to mention the pent up vengeance and wrath he was feeling. Naturally, he slaughtered everyone in the laboratory and fled to the same place Dream and various other superheroes found themselves in. Craving any sort of comfort and affection, he forced together a team of supervillains including Dust, Horror, Killer, and maybe other willing characters. He’s convinced everyone including himself that he assembled the group for personal revenges on the world and to show everyone that they’ll be more than just tools, as well as general instinct telling him to feed off people’s suffering and all that.

But deep down, it’s just because he doesn’t want to be alone with nothing. Never again after all of the suffering he felt growing up in the laboratory…

Powers

Pre-Experimentation

Plant Communication

Hand-To-Hand Combat

Post-Experimentation

Phytokinesis / Plant Manipulation (Includes roots, mushrooms and fungi, flowers, ETC)

Poison Expulsion and Immunity (He pretty much vomits it up, or can poison people with poisonous plants/spores)

Regeneration

Spore Infiltration (He uncontrollably gives off spores every time he exhales as well as from his body’s fungi. Inhaling these spores can cause headaches and nausea, but severe cases can result in brainwashing, in which a host will become a mindless drone forced to take commands from Nightmare)

If a skeleton is spore-infested, they must wash out their skeletal system and clear all spores before the spores begin growing inside of the body and through the eye sockets and bones. The fungi that grow from these spores feed off a person’s negative energy and soul magic, slowly draining them and turning them into an emotionless husk, eventually killing them and leaving behind a visceral mess of flesh and flora. Humans and non-skeletal Monsters require more advanced surgical procedures to remove spores and fungi, and have far lower chances of surviving the infection.

Abilities

Insect Attraction (The foul stench that Nightmare gives off usually attracts flies, maggots, worms, caterpillars, ETC to feed on and live in parts of his body. This also means it’s not just chunks of moss and goop he’s throwing up…)

Nauseation and Headaches (Nightmare smells like rotting flesh and mushrooms, and the scent is very potent)

Intimidation (He’s scary!)

Weaknesses

Extreme Flammability/Fire

Explosives (He’s weak to those and generally dislikes the loud noises)

Light/Blaster Magic

Herbicides/Plant-Toxic Chemicals

Low Temperatures/Cold Climates

Abandonment (General Fear/Phobia)

Other Information

Alignment is Chaotic Neutral that eventually becomes Chaotic Evil

He's asexual and biromantic

One drastic difference involving this Nightmare from the original personality-wise is that Passive Nightmare is still in-tact. He's not dead in this AU, he's just been driven a little mad by vengeance and his own fungus. The apple he had consumed WASN'T the one that was possessed by the human that killed Nim; It was a Gold Apple he turned rotten, meaning he'd have more of his conscious than the main universe's Nightmare

Furthermore, he's also more of a liar and willing to bend the truth, such as when he lies to himself and others about the true reasons as to why he formed a team

Nightmare doesn’t leave his team to fight alone; he comes along with them every chance he gets to, even if it seems like a bad idea towards the others

When Nightmare realizes who Dream is, he’s hellbent on killing him and everyone that he has bonds and friendships with. He believes Dream had abandoned him and wishes to exact the same suffering he had to go through. It’s that Spiderverse-Miles-And-Spot “They turned you into a lovable hero, but I was turned into THIS.” dynamic we all know and love. Nightmare’s also very envious of his brother due to the fact he got to live a better, more fulfilling life than he did

Nightmare could definitely do that sick “Akira hand explosion attack” thing