#Naga People’s Front

[uniqueeval]

Ceasefires have become licenses for criminal activities: Nagaland MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu

Kuzholuzo Nienu. File | Photo Credit: X/@k_azonienu “The ceasefires between the Centre and some factions of extremist groups catering to Naga nationalism have turned into licenses for criminal activities instead of fostering peace and stability,” a Nagaland MLA has said. Kuzholuzo Nienu, an MLA of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) told the 60-member State Assembly on Thursday (August 29, 2024) that…

[watch-out-it-bites]

Who wrote this? I know it isn't copy and pasted like some of the other stuff on there, I was considering OC, but it isn't in his style. Only the later stuff slightly is. I don't recognize this at all, but the lower parts pertain to how We found it. Slightly has woibzy typing style? Random capitals later on. Possibly during the week-long obsession thing?? When we reviewed the document.

I know where these last two came from, OC, then me. But the first one is from the blurred ss, so maybe it was copy-pasted???? I'm not sure.

[bunnis-monsters]

NSFW

warning: some nsfw in the vampire, werewolf, and incubus parts

Cat hybrid bf trilling when he sees you, his ears flicking and tail swaying softly. Immediately he stands and walks towards you, quiet and graceful. He buts his head against you affectionately, then begins grooming you as his arms wrap around your waist.

Puppy hybrid bf that runs to the front door, nearly knocking you over as he plows into you. He’s instantly covering you in puppy kisses, his tail wagging furiously as he sniffs at your neck before giving you an affectionate bite.

Vampire bf that taps his foot impatiently, checking his watch and biting his lip. You were supposed to be home 30 minutes ago! The second you open the door, he’s on you, checking for injuries and fussing over you. He tries to play it off… but it’s sweet to see how much he cares for you, drinking your blood as he fingers your needy cunt.

Incubus husband that waits in your bedroom, wearing his best lingerie, sipping on wine… but when you get home, all of the sexy atmosphere is gone and he’s crying, snuggling into you and babbling about missing you way too much. The two of you fall asleep, with him clinging to you and drooling on your shoulder.

Werewolf bf that had been trailing you, and only barely got home before you did. He knows everything that happened during your day, purring softly when you take out the steak he watched you buy. He holds you on his knot and scents you as you watch TV.

Orc husband that goes out to find you when you’re more than a minute late. He spots you walking towards the house, throws you over his shoulder, and carries you home. Scolds you too, his large hand smacking your ass before he sets you down on the couch.

Dragon hybrid bf that doesn’t let you go out at all. The only fresh air you get is when he’s with you, a possessive claw on your hip as you walk around town. Once you’re home, he’s a bit pouty and needs your attention or he’ll be grumpy about people getting to look at his treasure.

Naga bf also doesn’t let you out… at all. You’re so soft and sensitive, his little darling. He does however sit outside the bathroom and let out annoyed hissed when you take too long, pouting and scratching at the door. He expects kisses and snuggles for being so brave and patient.

Mermaid bf that trills and splashes happily when he spots you on the shoreline, performing a little mating dance in the water before pulling you into his arms. He missed you so much, he’s so glad you’re back for the summer! All he wants is to spend every single day with you…

They’re happy you’re home with them, safe and sound 💗

———————

NSFW TAGLIST: @sunset-214 @screaming-crying-screamingagain @strawberrypoundtown @avalordream @icommitwarcrimes @bazpire @chubbumblebee @im-eating-rn @anglingforlevels @kinshenewa @pasteldaze @j3llyphisching @unforgettablewhvre @yoongiigolden

[monstersholygrail]

New City, New Life

5k celebration ‘Choose your own adventure’ story

Orc x fem!reader— cum eating, dry humping, fingering, voyeurism, rough sex, clitoral stimulation

Pt1

“Hey neighbor, I was just talking about you,” your hot Wolf Hybrid neighbor says as you walk over to his little group hanging out in his driveway.

His Orc, Naga, and Wolf friends all flash you a knowing smirk, their varying fangs glimmering sends a heat in your belly before you quickly stop yourself. You had to tone your horny ass self down. You didn’t wanna make a bad impression on a new city of people by being desperate for everyone’s cocks. You didn’t think that would fly here. As they stare your cheeks begin to heat up in a way you know is noticeable.

“Mentioned how I wanted to bring over a cup of coffee I made you,” he adds as if sensing your thoughts and trying to reassure you.

So he wasn’t going around talking about you to all his friends? Something tells you that’s not exactly true as his eyes gleam with arousal. You imagine it as you take the cup of coffee from his hands. Your hot neighbor sitting around with his equally hot friends, going over every little dirty detail. Raving about how good your tight cunt felt around his thick cock. All of them growing hard as he recounted the noises you made and how desperate you were to be filled while imagining it was them with you instead.

A choked whimper escapes you that you quickly try and hide beneath a pleased hum. You try your best to look casual as you subtly rub your thighs together, desperate for some kind of friction. But you’re briefly brought back to reality as your hot neighbor hands you the mug of coffee.

“Thank you for this, but—“ you say as you bring the mug to your lips only for your neighbor to brush a clawed finger along the edge of the cup and tilt it up, forcing you to take long gulps of the nicely warm drink. You meet his burning gaze, unable to look away, the tension simmering between you. And in front of all his friends. Fuck you can feel how wet you’re getting.

When he finally removes his finger you lower the cup with only a bit less than half left. Your mouth smacks as the taste bursts across your tongue. It was bitter as you expected coffee to be but also a bit sweet and… salty? It was certainly creamier than you expected it to be. You liked it. Probably more than you liked whatever blend you usually get. You’ll have to ask what his special ingredient is later.

“Thank you again but I was wondering if you guys could give me a ride? I’m in a really tough spot and I just need someone to get me going,” you say, voice strangely huskier than normal.

You clear your throat, glancing away, and look back up to all four of these damn fine men staring down at you as if they’re about to pounce. Your pussy flutters, clamping down around nothing at the thought of them actually doing just that. Their claws digging into your plush form, fangs grazing your sensitive skin, their big tongues ravaging your body to prepare you for their giant cocks.

“Work that is,” you add, voice growing husky all over again.

Your Wolf Hybrid neighbor chuckles darkly, the sound shooting right down to your core. He glances at his friends and a silent conversation passes between them. Then all of them are moving toward the car as if suddenly eager to get in.

“C’mon, sweetheart. We’re headed to work ourselves but we’ll get you off. Who are we to deny someone as cute as you?” He says smoothly, his raspy voice making that sound much more suggestive than you think he meant to.

Your hot neighbor rounds the car, taking the drivers seat. While his Wolf Hybrid friend quickly takes passenger. As if he didn’t want you getting to it first.

“You’ll have to ride in my lap though,” His Orc friend immediately says with a smirk as he hops in the backseat of the car. You follow after him, not wanting anymore seats taken from you.

“And why would I do that?” You ask, not wanting him to know how much you like the idea.

Just as you’re about to sit in the middle seat instead, the Orc’s giant hands are gripping your waist and plopping you down in his lap. Before you can argue or pretend to complain, the Naga gets in last and he curls half his long rattling tail into the middle seat while the rest takes up the remaining one.

“There’sss no more room,” the Naga says, forked tongue slipping out as he speaks and a second later his eyes dilate.

You blush, knowing he can probably taste your arousal in the air. In fact, they all probably can. The realization has you blushing deeper and growing wetter on the hot Orc. Especially as the Orc tugs you closer to his chest and you can feel the distinct bulge of his half-erect cock pressing deliciously along your clothed slit.

Hot neighbor starts on his way and you share your new place of work with them. They’ll know exactly where you are now nearly every day. It sends a strange thrill through you. Wolf Hybrid neighbor tells you that it’s on the way to their place so they’ll drop you off first but that it might take a little longer. They usually like to down the back roads.

You find that you don’t mind as you’re a lot more than just comfortable sitting in the hot Orc’s lap. That is until they actually start driving down the back roads and their… bumpy terrain.

A small grunt escapes you, eyes widening as the car starts rocking. Each jolt of the car has the Orc’s hardening length rubbing right up against your pussy. Your throat tightens as you try and choke down your moans. The Orc feels huge and he’s rubbing over every inch of your cunt. You swear you feel him rocking in sync with the rock. But what would be crazy.

Small talk fills the car and you’re grateful no one seems to be able to notice your inner torment. Small whines leave you as you practically bounce on the Orc’s clothed dick. It sends shocks through your system and you quickly grow more and more needy. The need to be filled and stuffed full itching at your skin.

“I think you’re wet enough f’me now, sweetheart. My patience grows thin. Fuckin’ need to get inside ya,” the Orc says, breaking you out of your lustful daze. It’s only then you register his panting breaths and the way everyone’s eyes shift toward you in the car.

“W-what?”

You yelp as the Orc jerks off your slacks and panties in one swift move and hooks your legs over each of his knees, spreading you wide for the whole car to see. Your glistening folds spasm as they’re exposed to the cold air.

Thoughts run through your head at a mile a minute. You should want to stop this. To scramble off this sexy Orc’s lap. But you only get more turned on, your arousal gushing out of you at the thought of him so suddenly taking you.

“Don’t act like you haven’t been wantin’ to fuck me since your fine ass walked over. That’s how this place works, right?” The Orc asks, almost mockingly.

His words wash over you, clouding your mind, as his hands explore your body. Slightly clawed fingers trail down and dip into your soaked folds. A low moan leaves you and instead of trying to get away you melt back into his chest, hips rolling with the movement of his fingers. He takes the time to prep you for his length and it slowly has you becoming an absolute mess in his lap. And you haven’t even had his cock yet.

You suck in a sharp breath as the hot Orc’s fingers leave you only to replace them with his thick angry tip. His pre-cum creating an even bigger mess of you. Your mind threatens to gain clarity again but then the Orc is pushing you down and splitting you open on his cock.

“Nngh! Ooh… Oh fuck,” you cry out, throwing your head back. The stretch of his girth forcing your gummy walls to accommodate him has your eyes rolling back. The deeper he goes the more you swear you’ve never been filled this good in your life.

The fact that you’re in a car full of men shifts back to the front of your mind and you lift your head to see them all still watching you with a fierce intensity.

Your hot neighbor continues to drive but you notice the way his eyes keep flicking back to you in the mirror. While his Wolf Hybrid and Naga friends each have all their cocks out, languidly stroking them to the sight of you stretched pretty on their friend’s cock. You whimper, basking in the attention, and a second later the Orc starts slamming you down on his massive cock.

“Fuck, dude, you were right. What a perfect pussy. They’re drenched f’me, just slipped right in. So warm and tight. Poor thing won’t get a moments rest in this place,” the Orc huffs and the car erupts into soft breathless laughter.

Aha! You knew your hot neighbor had talked about you with them. The praise is all you focus on and it has your walls squeezing the Orc’s length, wanting to make him go mad. A low growl vibrates from his chest to your back as he feels you get even tighter. His claws sink into your hips as he starts using his grip to fuck his cock up into you at a bruising pace. His thrusts syncing up perfectly with the rocky jostling of the car that only seems to be getting worse.

You cry out as the car’s movements also deepens the Orc’s momentum. You swear you can feel his dick all the way up in your throat. He’s stuffing you so full of him you don’t know if you can take it. You arch back into the Orc, putting on a show for him and everyone in the car. Through hooded eyes you watch as they furiously pump themselves to the sight of your body. It gets you so fucking hot. Their lustful eyes raking over your form. All of them wanting a piece of you, all of them jealous of the one who gets to fuck you.

The Naga flicks out his tail, the rattle on its tip moves in between your legs, wanting to do anything he can to give you more pleasure. You wait with bated breath and shriek as he rattles his tail, the vibration sending sparks throughout your body. The Orc snarls in your ear and picks up pace, jerking up his hips and meeting your thrusts in a way that has your toes curling.

“How do they look?” Your hot neighbor growls, knuckles white on the steering wheel, and sounding borderline feral. His cock aching against his slacks.

“They look so fucking sexy, man. Their tight pussy can barely take him,” His Wolf Hybrid friend moans, his hips twitching as he jerks himself off even harder.

“But they’re doing ssso well. Pretty thing will be ruined for anyone else,” the Naga adds, roughly rattling his tail against your clit. He thrusts up into each of his hands that pump at both of his dicks. You mewl, vision blurring at the intensity that wracks through you.

“Fuck, I think they’re about to cum!” One of them shouts but you’re too lost in the haze of pleasure to focus on which one it is. But then the Orc’s hot breath is curling around your ear and your mind clears enough to hear his rumbling voice.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Fuckin’ let go and cum on my cock. Squeeze the damn life out of me, you can do it.”

The cord snaps and jaw drops, fierce screams echo throughout the car as you explode all over his cock. Waves of ecstasy wash over you and you try your best not to pass out. The sight of you coming is a vision of pure art and none of the other men can hold on much longer.

The Naga lets go first, shooting his cum over any inch of bare skin he can reach. The Wolf Hybrid is close to follow in his friend’s footsteps as he cums all over you two. Seeing you all wrecked and messy quickly has the Orc slamming into you, burying himself to the hilt and shooting spurt after spurt of his cum deep inside you.

“Such a pretty slut you are, sweetheart. So easily made a mess from our cocks. You’re perfect,” the Orc rasps in your ear and you preen under his praise.

The rest of the car ride is spent with the monsters cleaning you up as you lay limply in the Orc’s lap. You take the time to regain your strength and you hope you’ll be able to feel your legs enough to walk into work.

When you arrive your hot neighbor gets out and greets you as the door opens. He helps you out and you immediately melt into his embrace. Your Wolf Hybrid neighbor laughs, leaning down and kissing the crown of your head.

“Next time, darling. Now get into work,” he murmurs intimately in your ear. Giving your butt a nudging pat.

As you walk in on wobbly legs, you glance around the lobby, looking for the headhunter that recruited you. He was meant to meet you and show you the ropes of the job. But he isn’t anywhere to be seen and you wonder what you’ll do next. You could ask the Demon Guard by the door where you could find him, head down the closest hall and hope you find the headhunter down one of the rooms, or you could head to your Minotaur Boss’ office and hope he can show you around.

[littlestpersimmon]

Guy with cataracts and scarred from an explosion has a fail toymaking shop in front of a rundown temple and he has a crush on a disfigured lowly priestess whom he suspects is a stealth trans guy because she always picks the boy option when they play board games (he’s right btw)

He's from Kalantiaw, but his mom is diaspora, and I thought her to be half "Japanese" (coded) - still trying to figure out how japanese ethnicities come to play.

She was a sailor turned pirate. She didn't know the language spoken in Kalantiaw (more akin to Khmer), and she spoke a different language (more austronesian), and she named him Kahilingan, which means "wish". But in Kalantiaw, where she settled, his name means "curse" or "bad omen" 💀 it doesn't help that her life ended with the beginning of his. So.

Kahi spends much of his life chasing the image of his mom and trying to.... live up to her- because sailing is the most esteemed occupation in their world. Only very very very very very few people have managed to work on "dragonships".

Basically, their world is physically broken (like living on an asteroid belt) and they sail to and fro each sundering / country on specialized stone ships called "dragonships" / "bakunawa"- and the ships themselves are semi-alive? They're like.. Stone ships laminated with the spirits of devas and dragons and other great beings who have all died because of (redacted).

Anyway, his mom, Maaya, was a renowned sailor- she tamed a dragonship that was imbued with an infamously wild dragon called Duksa- Dragonships are Sponsored, but those who sponsor the ships are almost never in command, and they also easily lose ownership to their hired captains- because the ships themselves are sentient, and they never obey anyone who they deem are incapable of commanding them. Only Maaya could control Duksa hehe. So she became known throughout all their world as this wild woman who loved fast boats and only accepted voyage commissions "if they are very fun". Anyways blah blah blah she fell in love w Kahi's other parent (who is nonbinary) and she got pregnet with him. And they eventually settled in Kalantiaw, in it's countryside near the subterranean capital (Kamharik).

Kahi always annoyed his other parent abt his mom because he too wanted to meet Duksa, but his parent kept warning him not to go near the ship because after Maaya died, it went even more mad with grief. Kahi more of an engineer than a captain like his mom, but his goal was simply to acquaintance with Duksa rather than actually captain her. But Duksa did not accept anyone, not even anyone who was part of Maaya's original crew.. Kahi went to an apprenticeship on shipbuilding-

he became somewhat popular for being clever with his hands, and all around Kalantiaw, everyone thought of him as reliable and very creative when it came to problem solving. So he went from normal ships to fixing dragonships.. ..

The Greatest dragonships are ones that are imbued with the spirits of actual ancient dragons and qilin, bc some are imbued with "lesser" dragons or false dragons, and some are with non-dragon albeit great spirits- like minor gods, wind spirits, phoenix,naga, etc etc..

Duksa was a true and great dragon, and Kahi knew that she was suffering from severe neglect, so all he wanted was to patch her up-

Everyone, every single one of Kahi's peers discouraged him, bc it is known that anyone who even approaches her is immediately kilIed by her; but Kahi, he is different. When he approaches Duksa, she was a shadow of herself, a ghost ship- She senses Maaya, and she even thought that Kahi was her at first- so she lets Kahi patch her big crabclaw sails, fixed her boilers and really tried to replicate how she used to look when Maaya lived.. and Duksa didn't know it wasn't her, because her eyes were covered in barnacles.. The "eyes" of a dragonship is its lodestar, and Kahi was purposefully saving it for last because he is frightened of what Duksa could do to him;;

But before that, Duksa spoke to him, joked like "ah beauty, what happened to you?! Your voice sounds like you swallowed a frog.. are you ill? Why did you abandon me?" Fhjsjs

"Why are your hands so gentle now? I want you to be rough!! Stop this at once! I am not old!"

But when Kahi started scraping finally at the lodestar, and he opened Duksa's eyes to the world once more, she cried in great anger because who tf was this intruder! And why did he carry Maaya's spirit with him !!!

Her entire deck creaked so hard the floorboards broke again, and she swayed her whole body so Kahi nearly fell from the lodestar;; he tried to reason with her, and it sort of mirrors how his mom tamed Duksa. She barrelled in head on and confidently, but Kahi was meek and gentle.

Eitherway.. an angry dragonship is like highly radioactive, its like being in a storm in a contained environment, and she started puffing steam- it's like microdosing being in fukushima; And she called Kahi a fool, he'll never measure up to Maaya, he will never be her- aaaah, but she didn't kiIl him. Maybe because she knew he was Maaya's boy. She warned him never to return, and tossed him into the open shallows. So, he was absolutely brokenhearted. He was 19.

~intense lonely lovestory between him and a closeted trans guy raised by mean transphobic priestesses in a cult the antithesis of a loving and wise lesbian death goddess occurs.~

There she is.. her name is Viharana Magayarin

Names-

Maaya's name is spelled a certain way in kanji, I want it to mean "True"

Duksa's name is Tagalog, it means "grief"

Kahilingan's name is tagalog- and it means "wish". Inspired from.. in tagalog, "curse" is a contronym of sorts- "curse" and "promise" is the same word ("sumpa")

Kahi's trans boyfriend's name is Tala, and it means "star" 😌

[yandere-sins]

Monstober - Day 5: Naga/Lamia [Elemental Sacrifices Part 1/4]

I am fashionably late and since this story was supposed to come out on my birthday I switched the prompts since we all know Nagas are my roman empire, hehe >:3

Also this is part 1 of 4 of a little mini-series happening in this Monstober Challenge, and I will lovingly call it the Elemental Sacrifices. I know we already had a sacrifice before, but what if—hear me out—we have 4 more? Yes, I thought that was a good idea too, glad we agree :D

(They are not much related aside from the concept, but they are in the same universe, so maybe there's some potential for future ideas! :D)

Prompt: Day 6: Naga/Lamia | Scales // Wrapping around // Poisonous Warnings: Yandere, AFAB!Reader, Sexual Actions (Dub-Con, Use of Aphrodisiac, Drinking said Aphrodisiac and getting it stabbed into your arm, Deep Kissing, Accidentally cutting your own tongue, Fingering), Violence (Biting with fangs, Description of (meager) fighting, Cutting the enemy, Blood mention), Monsters + Descriptions of Monsters, Light self-degradation, Long Post

The tradition had always existed.

From the moment you were born, you were told about the sacrifices made to the four gods, which took place twice a century. The four tribes would unite in peace and unity for this month of reverence, choosing their sacrifices carefully and laying down their weapons to organize and strategize the ceremonies so that no god would feel aggrieved. It was a wonder that people that worshipped different things, lived by different means, and usually clashed like hot and cold, light and shadow, could work together meaningfully to pay their respects, assure that everyone would continue to be in the favor of the different gods that roamed the lands you lived on.

And yet, somehow, it had always worked out.

"There, almost done," your mother mumbled, curling your still-damp hair around her finger so it would frame your face. You clenched your fists in your lap as you sat in front of the mirror, unable to even look at yourself without retching. 20 years ago, when you were told the stories for the first time, no one had assumed you'd be the one to be sacrificed in the next ceremony. No one informed you that your days were numbered, your purpose to be nothing but monster fodder.

Because that's what they were, monsters, nothing more, nothing less.

A two-headed snake, an ancient tree, a tentacled beast, and a fire-spewing reptile with wings—those were the four monsters you and the other tribes worshipped with offerings and sacrifices. All your life, you practiced the mindful handling of the teachings, learning how to hunt, fight, and serve your god. But even so, just because you were born the child of the leader, you were going to be discarded by your own people, and your hatred was as fiery as the vulcanos that surrounded your homeland.

"I heard the water tribe sends their most wonderful singer this year, too."

It was a frail attempt at small talk, and you couldn't care less about how pleased your mother sounded as she told you about the other sacrifices. The other poor souls that probably wanted nothing more than to run away about now. You had hidden your tears very well with your head hung low, but you couldn't imagine the other sacrifices felt any less miserable as you did.

You had plans for the future, plans that involved leading this tribe and creating a family sometime. Maybe participate in a war with the other tribes and show off the prowess of the fire tribe leader's oldest child. It was in the nature of your people to be strong and powerful, as was the exceptional artistry of the water people.

"And the earthclan sends another one of their scholars. I don't understand why they think the nature gods would like all these people hiding with their noses in their books, but I'm sure they have their reason for choosing them. Oh, but the wind people are also sending their ruler's child, just like you!"

A tone of pride swung in her voice as she continued arranging vividly red flowers like a crown in your head, pulling at strands of your hair to wrap them into the stems so they'd hold. "And yet, you'll make the prettiest sacrifice of them all. You'll make us all so proud!"

Inside of you, a war broke loose. A war you knew you couldn't win as you knelt on the floor of your childhood home, the place you always thought safest in all of the lands, yet it was no longer the place you'd return to after this expedition. All your good deeds and all your achievements were for naught because when the announcement was sent out that the sacrifice was going to be held that year, it ended your life instantly.

A part of you knew it could happen. Although you never wished this fate on anyone, you had always hoped for a sibling, born or adopted into your family, that could take this responsibility from you ever since you learned of it. Other tribes voted. They chose by luck or by skill at the time of sacrifice. But not yours. Yours had traditions, which meant the leader's strongest family member would go to the gods and ask for their blessings. Get eaten in exchange for a promise of safety and prosperity that the monsters could easily break on a whim. Returning would mean the blessing failed, so that wasn't an option. If you couldn't appease them alive, you would do it with your death. The ultimate sacrifice.

"Now, you're perfect. Look at you, my pretty child."

Pushing her fingertips into the underside of your jaw, your mother forced you to look up into the mirrors. Tears tumbled from your eyes as your head snapped upwards to avoid the discomfort of her nagging touch, and you watched her expression fall in her reflection. Not from sorrow, mind you, but anger.

"This is your duty," she reminded you. "Now that you have grown up and proved your worth, you should feel honored to be chosen."

You bit your tongue, swallowing the disrespect you wanted to voice. You couldn't care less about the sacrifice, about gaining the ire of some monster that some old people had decided to worship. About your mother's opinion or that of anyone else!

Deep inside you, you were afraid. Fear, first and foremost, had always been your teacher. It showed you the boundaries of your abilities and pushed you to perform deeds beyond your capabilities in times of need. It wasn't something to be ashamed of or scolded for; it was natural and normal.

But right behind it was anger. Anger at this tradition, anger at your family, and anger at the monsters for demanding lives in exchange for peace. Gods they called themselves, but there was nothing godly about how they conducted their demands. They were cowards with a taste for human blood, and instead of fighting and being slain by those humans, they demanded sacrifices to satisfy their hunger.

And there was nothing you could do to save yourself.

If you rebelled, you'd be dragged out by your limbs and hair, even if that destroyed the work they put into prettying you up. Who needed to be pretty when they'd be eaten alive? Still, as a warrior at heart, you couldn't imagine a greater shame than to force your friends to bring you to that dreadful sacrificial space, even if they might think it was for the greater good. If you had to go out, you wanted to do so with your head held high, no matter how foolish that pride of yours was. It was better than to put your unfair death entirely into the hands of others.

If you were going to be a martyr, then you'd at least die fighting until your last breath.

---

"That's far enough," you announced, coming to a halt at the edge of the lush green forest you used to hunt in. Before you, vulcanic stone spread in dark hues as far as you could see. Ash filled the air, mixed with the taste of metal and fire. Nothing grew on the stone ground, it was as welcoming as a death threat. Veins of red broke through the stone, leading to pools of lava that was cooking beneath the stone surface, the air simmering from the heat that immediately greeted you, coating your skin in a sheen of sweat. Once you had found the duality of this place beautiful. Now you dreaded it, hands curled into fists as you took slow, steady breaths to calm yourself.

"I wish to face the gods myself."

"Go forth then. Make us proud," your father expressed, resting his hand on your shoulder. A simple squeeze was all you got, and much like your mother who hugged you before your departure, their gestures were too brief to be any comfort. You wondered how they could have possibly come to terms so quickly with losing their own child when you, the one to be sacrificed, were struggling with your fear and pride.

Every step on the hot floor was like a stab of a knife in your back. The hunting party that had accompanied you watched as you continued your journey towards the sacrificial space the ancestors had created, their gazes like whips that spurred you on. But they didn't linger. Since they didn't have to tie you down on the altar, they had no reason to watch the gruesome death of their own kind, knowing that either way, you weren't going to return. You knew the way back to your village like the inside of your pocket, years of roaming the jungles teaching you how to go home. But they'd kill you before you cursed the village with your failure to be sacrificed. Merciless, cold. You were no longer a part of them. You were a meager part of the tradition now.

However, the way to the altar was actually more of a challenge than going home. You had only been there once as a child, laying flowers down for your uncle, who had been the last sacrifice years before your birth. Your father may have called him your uncle, but it turned out he was an adopted orphan who ended up paying for his dedication to your family much later. Your father seemed unsympathetic towards him, but it dawned on you that he must have never been close to this brother of his, probably knowing the fate that awaited him.

You never knew your uncle, but back then, you had been proud of him, too.

That day was also the first time your father explained the traditions and the importance of keeping them up. How much honor it brought to your family and how many lives it saved to lose one person. You wondered why, after he taught you so many skills, worked so hard to make you a respected member of your tribe, and loved you like a father would, he could so easily send you to your death. But it slowly dawned on you what kind of person your father was. One that didn't truly cared for his "family", only for his own pride and gains. And you had been so easily fooled as to believe him all this time.

It took you much longer than you remembered, but eventually, you reached the grounds your ancestors had created for this spectacle. It was close to the foot of the volcano, an altar erected from the stone sprouting from the ground with nothing else present in this wasteland. The heat had increased substantially over time, every breath burning in your lungs, your eyes dry, and your feet chafed from walking over the smoldering stone for so long. Dread was no longer a constant companion as acceptance slowly crept into your mind. You had seen the bones of many humans on the way to this place. Apparently, not everyone had been so lucky to have made it this far, either the environment or the monster killing them before they reached the altar. Or maybe themselves, now that you thought about it.

The sight of the raised altar forced a shuddering breath out of your lungs, the stinging sensation barely enough to distract you from the blaring truth. You were going to die. One way or another, you would. Touching the side of your leg, you felt the leather holster beneath your dress. The dagger you sneaked would probably not be enough to kill the monster, if there ever was one. Still, if you could inflict some damage to it, perhaps your tribe would one day snap out of the trance that it was this immortal threat that your ancestors appeased by offering their own children to it. Maybe they'd see the wounds and realize they didn't have to cower in fear of it, and thus, maybe your sacrifice would not be in vain.

Brushing your hand over the warm stone, you felt an untypical cold shudder run down your spine, knowing it was meant to be your deathbed. You wondered how many before you had laid here, waiting for the monster to come. How many had prayed, hoped, and begged to be saved, and how many had fought and struggled like you were going to. Following in their footsteps now, you knew they did what they thought was their best. That was the greatest honor you could bestow on them.

You hoisted yourself up, struggling to climb on top of the massive stone slab, before you sat close to the edge and stretched out your legs, feeling the burned and chafed soles of your feet crack as they finally got some rest. Hissing, you were confronted with the pain, yet you only sighed, swiping your hands over your face to free you of the sweat that was desperately trying to cool you down. Even if you were used to the warmer temperature of your home, it was nothing against the volcanic heat, and you almost admired it for burning for so long, never bothered by anyone. The air was as heavy as your soul felt, trapped in your body and scared to the heavens.

Imagining the snake did very little to soothe your mind, but you still tried to prepare for the shock its sight undoubtedly would be. You imagined a snake as tall as a building, with two heads splitting apart at one end. Heads with sharp fangs and venom dripping out of their mouths, eyes that ate you up before their maw even got close to you. It would slither over the ground, nimble, avoiding the lava pools, but too large to hide behind the wasteland it reigned over. Bloodlust urging it on as it smelled the sweet fragrance of the flowers on your head, which were delighted to bloom in the warm temperatures. A green tail? Brown? Perhaps a little of both? Maybe its scales were dark red like all the blood it drank from the sacrifices.

"Look at that, they do sacrifice their own kind."

Deep in thought, the heat probably having gone to your head, you hadn't noticed the chafing sound that slithered closer from behind. Only when someone suddenly spoke did your mind alert you of the danger, and you jumped down from the altar, swiftly spinning around and bracing yourself. One hand hovered over your dagger beneath your dress, and the other arm stayed defensively in front of you. With the distance you managed to jump and the massive altar separating you from the monster, you were at a surprising advantage, and it felt good to have the upper hand.

Your eyes widened at the sight of two men standing behind the altar, one of them leaning down on the stone surface right next to where you had sat. In contrast, the other stood straight with his arms behind his back, but both watched you with burning intensity. Immediately, you noticed their similar appearances, the light grey hair falling from their heads, bound by braids, and still with countless strands falling over their exposed chests. Their eyes were like marbles, reflecting the different colors of the area in them, elongated pupils slightly vibrating as they fixated over and over on you. But what really put you off was their size. Their legs must have been easily as tall as the altar, and that was no size a normal human should have had.

"Mother never told us sacrifices were this cute."

The man leaning on the table rolled over on his side, his hair splaying all over the altar in waves. And yet, even while moving, his gaze never trailed off—but yours did. You let out a horrified gasp as the scaled tail of a snake buckled and arched to accommodate the man's movements, and with a surprised jolt, he reared upwards, exposing even more of the tail that started at his hips.

A moment of silence washed over you three, and you felt incredibly exposed and stared down by two pairs of eyes as if they were pinning you into place. Willing you to not move a muscle, to be eaten without putting up a fight. No one said anything before the startled man laughed out loudly, shaking his head and holding his belly before slapping his free hand attention-seekingly against his companion's arm.

"That scared me," he chuckled. "I've never heard that kind of sound before."

The other man let out a hum of agreement, nodding his head before looking back at you. You were at a clear disadvantage, unsure where to look first and who to focus on, as you were outnumbered by the two. The one that kept talking was smaller than the other, although this could have been the heat playing tricks on you. Both were muscular, but he was less refined than his almost-twin. You wagered you could take him on if there wasn't a scaley tail winding from his hips. That would be additional weight you couldn't topple, no matter how much you playfighted the other hunters and warriors of your tribe, which sometimes outdid you in terms of weight and size.

The quieter one, on the other hand, had the typical looks of a working man in the village: big arms coming from a strong back and toned muscles that the woman would drool over, while the other seemed fit and nimble. But your eyes unwillingly focused on the tail as the two scaled the altar, moving forward oddly in sync until it became clear why.

Their two strands of tails flowed together between them into one massive one.

It was mesmerizing, you had to admit, the scales an iridescent white. But whenever the tail moved, it took on the hues of the land, grey and red, only to return to their original color as it wound itself. You were awestruck and panicked at the same time, as the tail seemed to be neverending, wrapping around the altar, finding hold on the stony ground that even your feet struggled with. Fear filled you as you watched their slithering movements, the mistake in your thinking now glaringly clear: The monster existed, and it had come for you.

"Y-You're the monster!" you screamed, and the smaller one of the two scrunched up his nose, taking offense. The white scales swept over the altar, landing in the space between you and the stone with a heavy thud. His body was barely shaken by the impact, so perfectly in balance with itself despite their unnatural split into two different entities, and the seriousness of the situation rained down on you like their sharp gazes as you realized there would be no chance of you overpowering either of them.

Even with their connection, they spread out too far to reach both simultaneously. They could still move independently, even if their range was limited to what their body could give. But even without them rearing up on the tail, they were almost two heads taller than you were. They knew their body better than anyone, and you didn't doubt they had some tricks up their non-existing sleeves to best you.

Biting your lip, you finally slipped your hand beneath your dress, never letting the monster—monsters—out of your sight. To your surprise, you watched their gazes slip to where you raised the fabric, observing you with curious intention, their split tongues slipping out from their lips, tasting the air as they ogled at your exposed thigh.

Your hand curled around the grip of your dagger, and the moment you pulled it from its holster, the snakes lept forward. There was no time to be proud of yourself, but your reaction was immaculate. You jumped back just in time to avert the nimble one's grabby hands, even drawing blood as your blade slit open the skin between his thumb and pointer finger.

However, as fast as you dealt with one of the snakes, you couldn't recover quickly enough to avoid the second pair of hands. Much like you anticipated, their range was too extensive to fight both of them at once, and although you ducked beneath one hand of the stronger monster, his second hand latched on, right in your hair. You watched as the red petals of the flower crown loosened and swayed in the air like a sad veil of defeat.

Your head was yanked back, and you acted quickly, directing the knife towards the unprotected free shoulder, somewhere that would hurt. Somewhere that would leave a visible scar and show everyone that these monsters could be injured. But a bloody grip around your wrist prevented you from pushing the dagger into the creature's partially scaled bodies, your hopes crumbling into ash.

"You good?" the more muscular man asked, and the other clicked his tongue in annoyance while you flailed and struggled in their grip. Your free hand was useless as you couldn't even reach forward enough, and so were your legs as you stood on your tiptoes while they yanked you around.

The latter lifted the hand that was holding your wrist to his mouth, licking up the blood that spilled from the cut on his as he maintained eye contact. You bared your teeth in both pain and defiance, not showing any of the miserable fear and panic you felt inside. You didn't manage to do what you came here for, and you felt the power surging through their bodies just from their hands on you. The failure gnawed at your determination, the fight as good as lost.

"We're not monsters," he hissed, glowering at you, although it looked more like a pout. "But you sure are quick on your feet."

Their comments should not have caused your heart to swell with pride, but hearing it from the monster you swore to hurt in exchange for your life did feel good.

"Surely you wish you'd have gotten an easier meal, monster! But I won't go down until I have shown everyone that you can be wounded and defeated! That you will bleed if the people unite! There will be no more sacrifices once they've seen what I did to you!"

"We're not monsters!" they repeated in unison before exchanging a brief glance with each other.

"Well, I won't call you god and beg for your mercy!" you spat, and the lips of the snake with your hand in his grip curled into a grin.

"Are you sure about that?"

With his blood coating your hand, he raised it way over your head, causing you to gasp as your whole body strained to accommodate the movement. His hand slipped upwards, a few fingers holding you in place, while some snaked between your palm and the knife in your grasp, prying your hold from it inch by inch. You let out a soft whine as the leather grip was torn from you and watched the metal clatter to the ground.

But you didn't have the time to mourn the loss of your only weapon, not when your arm was bent backward. Immediately, your free hand shot up, trying to dig your nails into the fingers wrapped around your wrist still.

That was your greatest mistake. With his free hand, the quiet monster immediately reached for both of yours, wrapping them in his palm as quickly as their tail could around your body.

You were kept on your tiptoes as you felt the scales of said tail slither over your skin. Creeping beneath your soles and running up your ankles, squeezing the flesh of your shins firmly together before wrapping around each thigh individually. You kicked and squirmed, but their tail was almost as unrelenting as their hands, and you involuntarily winced as your wrists were squeezed together as if tied by a rope.

"It's true we are not the monster you're trying to defeat," the leaner one claimed again, licking his wound like an injured animal.

"That's our mother," his brother explained curtly, and your head whirled around to him, the questions etched into your face.

"Look at us; we're only half the snake she is."

With an exasperated huff, you looked back and forth between the two, reeling at the revelation. "That's not possible! You... you are a snake with two heads. It's exactly as it's told in our stories!"

"They're not wrong..."

"I mean, she is a literal snake with two heads. And she's gigantic. You should be glad she didn't find you first, or you'd be even less than a small snack for her."

"And our dad is human. Like you."

You must have looked rightfully befuddled as the two went back and forth on their explanation, but once they were done, you could only gulp, unsure what to make of the situation. "So... you're not the monster that demands sacrifices?"

"No."

"Not really."

"Then..." It was hard to form the words that zapped through your mind, your mouth suddenly feeling dry again as the adrenaline sifted from your blood flow. Nothing could rationalize this situation, and you were still strung up by their hands and tail. This almost felt too good to be true, so you had to take your chance as long as you could. "You'll let me go?"

A moment of silence hung over all three of your heads before the brothers slowly ripped their gazes off you to exchange sly smirks. You wobbled as their body—and by extension, yours—set into motion, slithering back to the altar until you were sat down, your back forced to rest on the stone like a lamb to slaughter, hands hanging over the edge above your head and legs still wrapped by their tail.

"Oh, you can't just leave," the lean one purred, coming up from below you and planting his clawed hands firmly on either side of your arms. "The nights get so cold, and the days are so lonely with our mom busy occupying our dad. She never lets us play with him or come back to our home. Won't you keep us company for a while longer? I'm sure you can teach us some things, and we can teach you."

The other settled on the opposite side, still holding your hands in place as he grunted in agreement. You felt the bile rise in your throat as one touch slipped below your line of sight, claw-like nails raking up your thigh and moving beneath your dress. Their intentions got more apparent as the fabric was gripped from above, too, slowly, sensually raising over your skin until the hip strap of your underwear was revealed.

In a last-ditch effort, you tried to struggle once more, legs tugging upwards and kicking at the ever-winding tail while your hands twisted in their hold, causing it to crush down onto your bones even more. That wasn't how you wanted to go down; it wasn't the fight to death you thought you'd have!

"End me, then. Get it over with," you yelled out, laying your head to the side and closing your eyes, the reality too hard to face. Sooner or later, you'd die anyway, and if this were the things you'd have to endure, you'd rather be dead. It wasn't the kind of sacrifice you wanted to be, one defiled and molested before you'd be killed, so you'd rather be dead than witness it.

"Hush now," someone murmured, and you felt a hand sweep underneath your chin, turning your head forward again before tugging it up and over the altar's edge. Your eyes snapped open as your instincts kicked in, but as you opened your mouth to scream, it was quickly covered by another.

A tongue slipped between your opened lips before you could close them, slashing around inside harshly and clogging your throat. There was too much to take, and you gulped down the wetness it brought, sloshing it everywhere to the point it dripped from your lips, running down your face that immediately heated up beneath the fluid. It tasted sweet and even when you wanted to stop, you couldn't, gulping down all that was given to you.

Your body began to relax while you felt a hand drive down the front of your torso, brushing an entire palm over your breast and getting stuck on your nipple. You jolted, a pang of electricity flying to your head and down your spine, your back arching as you couldn't understand what was going on anymore. You had never felt this sensitive before, and as the hand continued to roam from one side to the other, finding the budding nip beneath your dress and twisting it, you let out an unholy moan into the mouth of the monster, your own tongue lashing upwards until it got caught on a sharp fang. Despite not feeling it, you were pretty sure your tongue was ripped open, but even more of the sweet-tasting, addictive stuff dripped from the fang, gushing into your mouth. You gobbled it up, considering you had nothing to drink throughout your journey, and your mind was not getting enough of the taste.

"Considering how quickly you got hooked on our mating fluids, I'd not be surprised if you do end up calling us gods when we're done with you."

You barely heard the voice of the curious onlooker beyond your line of sight, your mind wholly crazed by the liquid that coated all of your mouth and senses. It took almost more work to extract the monster's tongue from your throat than it had putting it inside. Your head followed it upwards, unwilling to part while the drool kept dripping down onto your face.

As you were freed of the kiss, a shameful, miserable sigh of disappointment escaped you, and you barely regained the ability to reply, "Never," in response to what the snake had said. That caused both of them to chuckle, and the sound sent a core-clenching, spine-tingling warmth throughout your body. Your lips quivering as your mind begged for more of that deep rumble cursing through their bodies.

"We'll see about that," the monster from below mumbled as he raked his claws over your thigh. Immediately, you were jolting upwards in their hold, caught between pain and pleasure as he lightly scabbed your skin. It was a small revenge for his own wound, and the scratches burned deliciously as they welcomed the hot air all around you two. "You're already so wet for us."

"It's called sweat," you mewled defiantly, the sound of your voice not befitting your sarcasm. You clenched your legs together, but it was a vain effort with the tail still stuck above your knees, easily prying them open by driving upwards. The scales rubbing over your skin didn't help your misery at all, and you wanted to throw your head against a solid wall with how dizzy and needy you felt. It wasn't you on that altar, but a very distorted version of you, one that wanted to be fucked silly even though what you really wanted was a good fight.

The two laughed at your comment, and you moaned in annoyance at the electricity that sapped through you at the sound of their voices. Your head fell back over the edge, and you came face to face with the more muscular one of the brothers as he lowered himself to your eye level. His eyes raked over your face, then up to your exposed neck just waiting to be bit.

"You're so cute," he mumbled, split tongue darting out again, tasting the air. Your pussy clenched as you wished for that tongue back in your throat or, even better, caressing your quivering folds below that were begging for something to fill their loneliness. The experience was new to you, as you had never wanted intimacy like this with anyone before. You had been so focused on your goals and diligently upholding your parents' rules and traditions that you never craved anyone, but especially not these two beasts.

"I'm not cute," you mewled, closing your eyes and biting your lips as you felt the sharp claws hover above your abdomen, gently stroking the skin below your navel from side to side, your core clenching even harder with pure, undiluted desire. But when the fingers slipped beneath the rim of your underwear, you moaned as you expected them to dip into the wet mess that lay just beneath, the expectation almost enough to send you over the edge.

"Oh, yeah?" the snake-man grinned, and you felt one finger press into your slit, your folds welcoming it warmly and with a shudder going through your body. You quaked in pleasure, eyes blown wide open, and the two fangs of the monster were all more prevalent as his lips split into a toothy smile. "So cute," he doubled down, pulling your arms taut until your body stretched to the last of its capabilities.

With his lips gently brushing against your forearm, you were wholly unprepared for the sharp pain as he dug his fangs deep into your skin. But the shriek quickly turned into a moan, your hips grinding against the finger probing at your entrance as more of the aphrodisiac went straight into your bloodstream. You watched the dark fluid drip off your arm, causing even more heat to spread where it flowed, and you were mercilessly whining as you couldn't move your hips nearly enough to satisfy your needs.

"Please," you snapped upwards, staring at the creature settled on top of the altar next to you, leisurely rubbing his hand along your pussy.

"There goes the begging," he reminded you, and you bit your lip to the point of hurting yourself.

Fuck, that wasn't what you wanted to say. It wasn't how you wanted to die, you never intended to let it get this far. Pathetic, pathetic, absolutely pathetic. You were a fucking warrior, you fought threats and hunted prey, you were not going to surrender to them—

"Fuck!" you gasped out loud this time as one digit slipped inside you. You felt it hook inside your pussy, slowly dragging out despite being clung to firmly by your insides. All the faster did he push it inside again, every joint that buried inside you made you arch your back and rejoice. You nearly avoided being scratched open inside, purely by how slick your pussy and his hand were by now, more fluids gushing out as he pulled his finger from you again and again.

Simultaneously, another digit curled down, fondling the heated folds until it pressed down on your clit, forcing a mewl from you. Fangs tore out of your skin, but you barely noticed as the two fingers united, taking up more space inside of you and scissoring your walls apart until you felt your pussy gaping and drooling obscenely.

"I'll not... submit," you stammered between bated breaths. "I'll not... be your plaything."

"And we wouldn't want it any other way," they chimed in unison, exchanging a satisfied glance before grinning.

"Mom always said to look out for the feisty ones."

"We just didn't think you'd come to meet us so soon."

"Or that you'd be this fun to play with."

Your whole body shuddered as both fingers were pulled out of your terribly needy hole. Your breath was almost non-existent, the lack of air only stimulating you more as you heard the sloppy sounds of your wet pussy letting go of the monster's fingers. A hand slipped beneath your head, helping you to hold it up as you watched the leaner brother lifting his pointer and middle finger to his face, split tongue lapping out to taste your slick pulling strings in the gaps while maintaining eye contact with you all throughout it.

"They're perfect," he purred as he looked up, stretching his arm towards his brother, who leaned forward to have his taste of you from his brother's fingers.

"Damn, that's sweet," he commented too on your fluids, licking them from his lips as he looked down at you in a mix of surprise and awe.

"And so pretty, too."

You felt their eyes in the same way their claws had raked over your body. Hungrily, with the intention to harm you. And yet, your hole kept gaping, needing more stimulation, wanting more. You were the pitiful prey you kept denying you were, but it seemed that in their eyes, you were so much more than that.

"Our little fighter," the one at your side murmured, stretching upwards to hover beside your face.

"Are you not even finishing what you started?" you spit, your venom not nearly as effective when your voice sounded as if you were drugged and disgruntled.

"Oh, I will, little fighter. We're going to make sure you can take us before spreading you on our cocks and make you cry out in pleasure until you call us "god". But before that, you have to be good and let us take you to our nest. Bonding will take so much time, and you are much too vulnerable out here."

"Fuck you," you grunted, trying to elbow him, but your arm barely moved.

"Keep it up," he grinned. "Wouldn't want you to give up too easily. Breaking you in is part of the fun."

"You're a fucking monster after all."

The snakes hummed thoughtfully as you were finally pulled off the table. Instead of being dragged by your arms or wrapped in their tail, however, you were slung over the bigger brother's shoulder, feeling his hand immediately settle beneath your asscheek, not so subtly poking at your pussy with his claw.

"Let me go!" you demanded weakly, your sore hands pounding pitifully into his shoulder.

"And miss out on all this fun? I don't think so," the leaner brother answered.

"Mother told us you can't go back anyway," the one carrying you added, throwing salt into the wound. They were right, but that didn't mean you'd go down so easily, even if your legs were still quivering and your head throbbing with need. "They'll kill you on sight, won't they? And then they'll return you to the altar so we can eat you."

A hand clasped around your jaw, claws digging into your cheeks as your head was lifted to face the leaner brother. "You know we prefer a different taste," he grinned, and you felt your anger rise again together with the shame of his implication. Collecting your saliva and some of the residues of the aphrodisiac, you spit them into his face, not caring whatsoever what that meant for you.

The snake-man scrunched up his face, quickly wiping it away. "Save your drool," he snarled, and you grinned victoriously despite the clasp he held your face in.

But as if on cue, a large palm flattened against your ass, and you jolted forward on the shoulder, eyes blown wide open as you gasped. You couldn't believe it as the wave of pleasure finally crashed into your rockfest resolution, your toes curling upwards and your eyes rolled back, your orgasm hitting you harder than even the slap had.

"Oh, god," you whispered breathlessly while riding the high of pleasure and shame as you felt your juices leaking even through your panties, dripping and running down the body of the other stronger brother.

"Seems like you finally get it, sacrifice," the guy in front of you noted, brushing his thumb over your lips, which opened automatically to his beckoning.

"Let's go, brother," he urged. "Seems our little fighter needs just a bit more convincing as to why they'll love being ours. I can't wait to make their belly swell with our clutch, just like Mother has always told us."

"We're lucky we found a mate so quickly," the other agreed, and you let out a defeated huff, no more words to counter them with coming to your dazed thoughts.

Their tail set into motion, scales slithering over stone, while your mind drifted off, the aphrodisiac having too much of a hold on your conscience for you to be rid of it quickly. You were going to be taken by the monsters, and if you thought you were helpless before, your body now barely felt like it belonged to you. It was as if you weren't its master anymore, but that drug and those snakes were. You could only shiver, even though the air was getting hotter the closer you three got to the volcano, wondering if you at least fulfilled your duty as a sacrifice.

And when that duty would finally end.

[mynameisjag]

Prompt: Ghost are still considered non-sentient, which leads to people playing Pokémon with the ghost and unfortunately for Danny, he's basically a legendary with some high stats and it was only time before someone was able to snatch him up.

Ghost being more beasty or ethereal looking, they communicate through Ghost speak which just sounds like hisses/growls to other species. Danny looks like a Naga and communicates like one.

Warning: The Bats treating Phantom like a wild newly discovered creature species. Scientific discussions about his body in front of him, discussions about Ghosts possibly being able to breed because in Phantom form, Danny is duel gendered.

“How!?”

“Jealous?”, Jason watched in amusement as the youngest in the family fumed and stomped around, the kid honestly looked like an angry kitten. Not his fault he managed to snag the Ghost before the rest of them, besides it was in his Alley, so he had rights to it anyway.

Didn’t stop Damian from glaring and huffing about it being unfair, everyone else was either ignoring them or just rolling their eyes in expiration.

Not that he could blame the kid, catching Phantom was basically hitting the lottery, the Ghost was on the top of the list of most wanted. There were videos, essays, debates, everything on them from species type, to power sets, possible weaknesses, likely Obsessions…and Jason caught them. He pinned them down and snapped the collar on as soon as he saw who exactly was haunting his territory.

Currently Phantom was going through an observation…okay, they were currently being poked at by Tim and Bruce, the Replacement eagerly jotting down things he found or didn’t find, treating procedure like a puzzle.

The Ghost was curled up in the observation table, currently wrapped up in a snake like tail instead of legs, giving off Naga vibes that included hissing and snapping teeth in mock bites.

There was no real threat behind the actions considering the poor things condition, whatever or whoever had tried to catch the feral beastie did a number on them before Jason was able to snatch them for his own.

No matter, Jason took care of his things and he’ll have his new companion looking all shiny and pretty before long.

Dick was lazily spinning in Bruce’s computer chair, legs hanging askew, “Sooo, how are going to register them? Can’t exactly put down Red Hood in the Owner’s signature?”

“Going to go with the ‘Jason Todd and Red Hood being “secret” partners route’, as far as the docs will show, Phantom got caught by Hood in his territory and made a lovely gift to the Alley’s biggest supporter.”

“Nice.”

A silent agreeable silence passed between them as everything started to truly settle for the night.

Phantom was still hissing as Tim held out a device to scan over the Ghost, “Mostly exhaustion, energy drained, malnutrition, probably due to being on the run and unable to get a proper meal. Oh, congratulations, it���s a…hermaphrodite…huh…”

Bruce just hummed in response, taking the device from his son, “Not unusual, there have been reported cases of similar body formations, if you look here in this area, this is very close in resemblance to that of snakes cloaca, given how its been recorded of their ability to shift from tail to legs, it’s a high probability that there is an external and internal shift to match the forms and still keep the functionality of both genitalia.”

“So…wait! That means they can breed! Which means other Ghosts that are similar can too! Which means there are natural born Ghosts?”

“Ghost is only a common used term, coined by the Fentons, real ghosts like Deadman aren’t like these creatures, and given how terrible the Fentons research was…we are unable to fully understand most habits and causes of the species.”

Tim reached back for the scanner, eyes scrolling over the details in excited glee, beings that were basically unknown, improbably recorded, a huge mystery with smaller mysteries within, “I’m going to compare these scans with known species of reptiles, might get a standard bar of health in comparison and possible hints at behavior.”

Another hum came from the Dark Knight, focus turning to watching the youngest move his way in between him and Tim, Damian had came back dressed in civilian clothes and was holding an apple out to the Ghost, “I have brought you a treat.”

They all watched as Phantom hesitated, hissing slowly dissipating as it takes in the fruit, a clawed hand reaching out to take it, sniffing it before taking a small bite.

“So can eat fruit? Can they all eat fruit or just Phantom?”

“Hush, Drake, your voice is grating and might cause them to lash out in hopes of peaceful silence.”

“Excuse you!”

The two continued to bicker, the creature on the examination table just steadily continued eating, bright pure green eyes watching them before taking in the room.

Dick made an attention whistle at Jason, nodding at the way the Ghost was eyeing possible exits, his brother just shrugged in response.

With that collar, there wasn’t any place the other could hide without a Bat knowing exactly where they were.

[lizzy06]

Monoma Neito x Reader Fics Recs!! (Tumblr/Ao3/Wattpad)

My Hero Academia Fic Rec Masterlist

Fake-Dating Trope with Monoma Neito ✨✨by @dira333 /Fogfire(oneshot, fake dating, teaspoon of angst but happy ending)Monoma isn't the best at pretending. But he's good at showing off. [COMPLETED]

Soapsuds✨ by��MajesticianWaffle (oneshot, fluff, humor)Reader throws Monoma outside a window and really, it all snowballs from there.[COMPLETED]

pretentious✨ by quirkfics(oneshot, kinda enemies to lovers, end is smutty)There had to be thousands of other people sporting the same thing, but as far as you know, you’re the only one whose ever been openly mocked by a pro hero for wearing it. In front of a live newscaster, no less.[COMPLETED]

It's Just a Kiss ✨by @amaiwrites (oneshot, fluff) Monoma… is broke. That is, until, he starts working part time in Recovery Girl’s office by copying her quirk. It’s all going well until a certain someone shows up with injuries that need to be healed… <apparently pt.2 of this is gonna come out soon>[COMPLETED]

Flustered by orphan_account (oneshot, fluff, suggestive ending) Monoma can't take what he dishes out when it comes to compliments from his love.[COMPLETED]

For Once ✨by im_cal (oneshot, fluff) For once, I thought what was it in you that I liked? [COMPLETED]

You Brat ✨by @knifeewifee (oneshot, soulmate au, fluff) The first words your soulmate say's to you are tattooed on your skin.[COMPLETED]

Choices by @bnhascribbles (oneshot, kinda sad for some reason)In some lifetimes, there are deals you can’t pass on. [COMPLETED]

Coffee Shop Spite by kuronekoqueen (oneshot, enemies to lovers, coffee shop au, co-workers, smut)Without fail, Neito Monoma always seemed to know the correct buttons to push irritate the life out of you. What happens when you finally reach your breaking point with him?[COMPLETED]

Hallow's Eve ✨by liquid_dreams (naga prince! neito, detailed smut, fluff) 'Hey, wanna host this year's Halloween party? Mina's appartment flooded, so she can't host after all.' (-or where you summon a naga prince)[COMPLETED]

Picnic ✨by tater_tati(oneshot, fluff)Monoma + cute picnic date.[COMPLETED]

at your door by fictionpls (oneshot, enemies to lovers, fluff, hurt/comfort, established relationship) monoma shows up at your doorstep battered and beat; you let him into your warm home and begrudgingly help him back to health.[COMPLETED]

Of Rivals & Summer Love by Veles (mortedeveles)(rivals to friends to lovers, idiots in lover, fluff, humor, normal high school au) Monoma Neito and you had always been rivals, nothing more, and nothing less. However, with the prospect of a memorable school summer trip coming up, friendship and romance in the air, and teenage drama weaving through crowd, your relationship with the blonde begins to change in an unimaginable direction.[COMPLETED]

Pretty Much Like the Kazoo Kid by CmlSan (oneshot, rivals to locers, fluff, mutual pinning)Monoma sucks at flirting. So do you.[COMPLETED]

Something You Never Knew✨ by @jinkicake (oneshot, friends to lovers, slight angst)You wished someone loved you the way you love Monoma.[COMPLETED]

Kami✨ by im_cal(oneshot, historical au, angst)Beautiful moments do not seem to always last.

[chris-prank]

Hmnnnnn Naga reader x Merman!Shark!Vincent...

Naga reader in general with all of them...

Can I get their reaction to their darling actually being a Naga?

Naga reader and Merman Vincent would be so cute! Like they could exchange stuff they found under the water and on the shores!

CW: Suggestive stuff in Esteban and Jacce parts

･*:.｡..｡.:*･*:.｡..｡.:*･

Vincent is a mad scientist that lives in a world filled with people with superpowers, so a snake-human hybrid wouldn’t be something scary to him. On the contrary, he would be ecstatic and would ask you a thousand questions. Also, if you are ok with it, he would love to run some harmless test on you. He is doing this for evil and scientific reasons, totally not personal ones.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Martin would be surprised, but not that much. He lives in a post-apocalyptic world and he had to survive through the apocalypse. So it would be plausible for new species to emerge from the catastrophe. Not to mention that he would convince himself that you were lucky he found you first, that he’s the only one that can take care of you and protect you from other humans.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Atlas would be the unfazed king that he is. A human snake? Never heard of it, but since you’re in front of him he might have well had that information in his system. But just imagine if Naga reader and Atlas meet at the dump! Like you were searching for cool stuff in the piles of trash, because this is where you made your home, and found this android still fully active. I’m sure they would bond over the fact that they are both not humans.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Esteban would be PANICKING. His world is pretty much like ours, so for him this situation is purely unnatural. After overcoming his fear he would obviously ask you some questions like “Where are you from?”, “Are there any other creatures like you?”, etc. Since he is a rich guy, he might fancy the idea of keeping you for himself, you’re unique after all! He could build you the biggest terrarium for you to spend your time in. And don’t think your monster appearance will keep him from being horny for you. Esteban is a slut and he will imagine the most toe curling possibilities your body allows.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Jacce would have the same initial reaction as Esteban and he would be as horny as him. The only difference is that this guy was raised on unrestricted internet access. So Jacce knows about Naga anatomy from spicy art and fanfiction au. He may or may not also fantasize about becoming your human pet.

[2tcs]

Naga (Part 2)

Previous

Further down the tunnel.

Shit. Shit! I thought people didn't come down here! Danny thought before he was encouraged to move faster when he heard gunshots behind him.

“Scales to Sphynx. Scales to Sphynx. Do you read me?” Tucker's voice calls from the com in Danny's ear.

“Sphynx? Really?”

“Well, we need code names. I thought it was clever.” Danny didn't need to see his friend to know he was pouting.

“So, whatcha calling me for? I'll be heading home soon.”

“Don't even try to play dumb Danny. You know damn well that I've been covering the cams while you slither around down there. There's honestly a concerning amount down there.”

“There can't be that many.” Danny laughed as he slowed down as he got closer to the manhole closest to the apartment.

“A lot. Enough to say with full confidence that the two guys that you just smashed into the wall were running from the Red Fucking Hood!” Tucker screamed into the com, almost causing Danny to lose his footing as he went to climb out of the hole.

“Well, at least it was Red Hood and not one of the bats. As long as we don’t mess with Hood's shit then we should be good.”

“You're right. Should we tell Sam?”

“She would never forgive us if we didn't.”

“Even if she does the eyebrow thing? Or calls Jazz?”

“On second thought. We'll just forget about this entire thing”

“What are we forgetting about?” Sam asked from behind Tucker.

“NOTHING! Um, I mean not much. Danny forgot why he left earlier?” Tucker chuckled and began to sink into his seat as Sam raised an eyebrow at him.

“......”

“Tucker. Don’t give in. She won't hurt you.” Danny encouraged as he began running up the stairs.

“.........”

“Don’t you dare Tucker!” Danny said as he began to debate using his ghost powers to get to their apartment. Why the fuck did they choose an apartment on the top floor?!

“...”

“DANNY WENT ALL SKAILY IN THE SEWERS THEN TWO GOONS RAN INTO HIM AND HE SLAMMED THEM INTO THE WALL AND THEN THE RED HOOD STARTED SHOOTING AT HIM AND ITHINKTHATTHEGOONSAREDEAD!!!”

“TUCKER!” Danny gasped in outrage at the betrayal.

“Don’t At Me Danny! Sam’s Scary!”

“And don’t you forget it. So what are we going to do about this.” Sam asked as she walked over to the door and opened it right as Danny reached for the handle, causing him to fall and just lay on the floor as Sam kicked his feet out of the way to close the door again.

“Well. Thanks to Danny’s ecto signature all of the cameras fizzed out when he passed them. Hood would need to get his hand on my programs to be able to clear away the ecto interference.” Tucker said as he looked back at his computer.

“And as long as I don’t transform in front of anyone we should be golden.” Danny grumbled from the floor.

“Knowing your luck?” Sam asked rolling her eyes and getting sighs in reply from her two friends.

[sheepydrawings]

Made Fakemon based on Ogerpons masks! 🎭

🐍🕷️🦊

Nagya

Naga + Gya gya (Japanese Onomatopoeia for crying)

Species: Snake Charmer Pokémon

Type: Water

Ability: Water absorb

Signature move:

Fang darts (Water)

The Pokémon breaks off its fangs and shoots them at the opponent. This move hits two times and has a chance of lowering the opponents special defence by one stage with each hit. In double battles it both targets once.

Dex entry: Claiming hotsprings and ponds as its territory, this pokémon lures in prey by offering free baths in its waters and putting on a shy front. With quick regrowable fangs, it will purposefully break them off and use them as blow darts when things don't go as planned.

Arakira

Arachnid + Ira Ira (Japanese Onomatopoeia for frustration)

Species: Vamp Spider Pokémon

Type: Fire

Ability: Mold breaker

Signature move: Searing strings (Fire)

The Pokémon spews a string of golden silk at the opponent, lowering their attack stat. If hit by a fire type attack later on, the strings will be set ablaze, causing the opponent to inflict damage for four to five turns.

Dex entry: Arakira prides itself on creating alluring melodies with its golden colored silk. It plays these melodies to everyone, gaining trinkets and admiration in return. On the other hand, it holds a grudge towards those who criticize or disrupt it’s performances, and if given the opportunity would envelop them in its silk to burn them alive and suck out their life force.

Kitsukusu

Kitsune + Kusu kusu (Japanese Onomatopoeia for laughing)

Species: Stone Fox Pokémon

Type: Rock

Ability: Sturdy

Signature move: Flintail fan (Rock)

The Pokémon uses its broad, fan-like tail to protect itself from incoming attacks whilst raising its defense stat. When in contact with a physical move the opponent has a small chance of fainting instantly.

Dex entry: Kitsukusu is cunning and has an air of confidence around it, allowing Kitsukusu to take advantage of both people and Pokémon whilst keeping them at bay. Those who try to fight against it will be met with a cold, hard swing from its tail.

Other tidbits to know about them:

Each of them is based on a yokai with the femme fatale trope.

Nagya > Nure-onna

Arakira > Jorogumo

Kitsukusu > Kitsune (Specifically Tamamo no Mae)

Kitsukusus teeth are black to reference teeth blackening. It was a status symbol back then.

Kitsukusu is called the "Stone Fox Pokémon" not just for literally being a stone fox. Stone fox is also a slang word used to describe people who are very sexy.

No, Nagya is not sticking out its tougue. Thats just a marking mimicking lipstick.

Arakira speicies name refers to the vampire spider and the term "Vamp". Vamp is another word used to describe femme fatales, and vampire spiders are like...real. Look it up, they eat mosquitos and have a red face.

Their lore is that their set on taking advantage of Onbuupons (the pre-evolved form of Ogerpons) terastal potential but Pecharonin (Evolved form of Pecharunt) is keeping them away from it like a parent keeping their child away from their weird-ass aunties.

Despite their feminine appearace, their actually genderless. At the same time, all three are able to use attract and infatuate both genders. This contrasts with the loyal three, being an all male legendary trio.

[yanderefarm]

It’s like way way back (couple days but like 50 posts) but 🥔’s thing about achilies and naga darling? Delicious, but instead of naga darling, I raise you one achilies x gorgon darling.

It’s the best of naga darling but with the added addition of more danger (looking in a gorgon’s eyes head on kinda turns you to stone) and the fact that the snakes for hair could make everything more 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂

Just imagine, using the like 20 little snakes on him- oh the possibilities! The sensory deprivation of making him keep his eyes closed/ blindfold so he’s not turned to stone, using tons of tiny little tounges on his chest, the addition of gorgons possibly being like naga’s and having two scaly long dicks- the possibilities are endless.

Supernatural darling 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 + achilies 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 = mega 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂

-🦑

this is the post

tbh i don't know a lot about gorgons i didn't even realize they were actually half snake people. i really love the idea of a bunch of little snakes kissing him and nipping at him like that lady from monster's inc. and he has to wear a blindfold so he never knows when you're going to surprise kiss him.

cw;; nsft, monsterfucking, oviposition

im just imagining cute things ik u want freak things. he's still your sacrificial bride but now he comes to you with a blindfold and his hands bound. he's not allowed to remove it, in fact he gets a special made eye covering that fits very snug. he doesn't know what you look like he only knows your voice and the feeling of your thick tail coiling around his body. he's always vulnerable and sensitive because of the blindfold, he reacts to every gentle touch so imagine his reaction to touches that aren't gentle.

imagine the first time you're mating him and you're biting and squeezing and scratching but he's so stuffed full on your thick scaly cocks he can't even scream properly. you can kiss him so deep while your hair bites him and makes him cry in pain. imagine completely wrapping around him, your hair even moving around his neck and giving him gentle kisses while you're pushing egg after egg into him. if mirrors mitigate the effects you could hold him in front of a mirror and make him watch as you fuck him, the first time he sees you.

[nocasdatsgay]

He belongs with me: an Amarantha drabble

For @sjmvillainweek day 4 behind closed doors

I always imagined amarantha as delulu af and just so not getting why tamlin don’t want her. No content warnings; it’s short.

Amarantha sat at her vanity, brushing her hair. A routine she perfected as she ready for bed. She looked into her mirror and huffed. It had been a decade since she made her deal with Tamlin. Her sweet stupid boy. Why couldn’t he see she only wanted what was best for him? Why couldn’t he just join her like she knew he wanted too?

“Why doesn’t Tam love me? Am I so unloveable?” Her gaze went to meet violet eyes in the mirror.

Rhysand was lounging on the bed in just his trousers. He shrugged.

“Tamlin has always been… stubborn. Maybe he just wants his people to think he isn’t giving up so easy.”

She pouted and huffed again. “It’s been ten years. Enough time has passed for him to stop putting up a front.” She slammed her hair brush onto the vanity. “It’s not fair! He’s supposed to be with me!”

“Why don’t you come here and I’ll make you feel better?”

“I don’t want you,” she hissed, glaring at him in the mirror. “I want Tamlin!”

She didn’t notice the way he rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll go and leave you-“

“No,” she pouted.

Rhys got off the bed and came up behind her, bushing his fingers through her hair. He started to braid it for her and she let him while she held back weak tears.

“My Queen,” Rhys said as he gathered her hair. “He’ll see what he’s missing soon enough.”

“Yes.” She nodded more to herself. “I’ll make him see what he’s missing. Tomorrow I’ll send another naga to his woods. He will come running to me and beg me to take him in. If he doesn’t- there are other beasts. He will see. He belongs with me.”

She was too pleased with herself to noticed Rhys scowling for a moment in the mirror.

“Excellent plan my queen.”

Tagging: @mybestfriendmademe @thisblogisaboutabook @hieragalbatorixdottir

Divider by @tsunami-of-tears

[love-and-monsters]

The Pit and the Serpent

M Naga X GN reader, 11047 words

Content warning: discussions of rape/sexual coercion, sexual coercion described with minimal detail, descriptions of a cult.

You have been sentenced to death. You are going to be fed to the beast in the pit. Unless, of course, the beast does not eat the ones given to it.

Sweat beaded on the back of your neck as you took another trembling step forward. A knife sat against the small of your back. The threat wasn’t that they would kill you- they didn’t have to. A quick slice to the small of your back would have your legs useless. They could leave you to die, limp and pathetic, at the claws of the creature in the pen. The only reason they hadn’t done it at all was that it was a lot less work to have you walk than to drag your limp body in.

The pen loomed in front of you. It wasn’t much of a pen, to be honest. It was more of a pit, with barbed wire fence surrounding it. People didn’t approach it- in fact, there isn’t anyone within a hundred feet. Just you and the soldier nudging you ever closer.

As soon as you were past the gate, the soldier slammed it shut and stepped back, almost a scramble. There was no reason for him to be near you anymore. There was only a tiny strip of land surrounding the dropoff of the pit, and you couldn’t climb back out over the fence thanks to the barbed wire. You probably couldn’t even if there wasn’t barbed wire. You’d never been athletic.

You hunched down on the little area you had, knees tucked close to your chest to avoid the drop. No limbs dangling. The image of letting an arm or leg hang over the opening and something grabbing you, like a monster under the bed, rose in your mind.

You sat on the edge of the pit all throughout the scorching afternoon, dripping sweat into a small puddle in the dirt below you. The sun set and the chill of night against your sweaty skin made you shiver. The thing in the pit hadn’t moved. Was it nocturnal? You’d never seen a feeding before. Maybe you should have. Maybe that would have discouraged you from-

The thing in the pit moved. You heard it shifting before you saw it, the great shadow twisting and slinking until a tendril of it was lifting out of the pit and stretching slowly toward you. You scrambled back until the barbed wire dug into your skin, uncaring of exactly how rusty it was. Of course it didn’t matter. You were going to die, right now, and a little tetanus hardly compared to exactly how this thing was going to rip you to shreds.

Its head dropped into your line of sight, close enough that you could make out some features despite the lack of light. You stared. You had been expecting a mouth- they called it a feeding, after all. Not strange at all to imagine you were about to be eaten. And there was a mouth. It was just attached to a human face. Which was attached to a human head. Which was attached to a human torso. Which was not attached to human hips, but to the body of an enormous snake. Like, a huge snake. Like, at-least-40-feet-long snake.

It yawned. Fangs, long and thin, just where canines would be in a human mouth, glinted in the faint moonlight. Then it slumped downward, flopping to rest its torso on the edge of the pit right next to you.

It blinked at you. The light was dim enough that you couldn’t see the color of its eyes, but the white gleaming in the moonlight told you it was staring right at you. “Hello there.”

You stared back. He didn’t seem like he was going to eat you. He didn’t seem big enough to eat you. You’d been expecting an enormous snake mouth, something appropriate for the enormous thing, something that could swallow you whole. But this was… well, the person-part of the snake was bigger thana typical human, but not by that much. Its mouth was far too small to eat you effectively. Then again, you were smaller than a cow, and you ate those, so perhaps the creature was simply going to drag you into its pit and eat you little by little. You hoped it killed you quickly, at least- getting slowly eaten seemed like the worst possible way to die.

“You aren’t much of a talker, are you,” the serpent groused. His mass of coils shifted slowly, undulating in the pit beneath. You couldn’t make out the individual coils with the distance and the darkness- it just looked like a shifting, twisting mass. The serpent moved closer, practically hovering in front of you, using his muscular trunk as support. “Ain’t much to look at, are ya?” He spoke in a drawling, lazy tone. “Can’t imagine ya did anything impressive to get stuck in here. Are they finally chucking the dissidents down here instead of shoving them into the reeducation work prison?”

“Thievery.” You forced the word up through your dry throat and mouth. The serpent fixed his gaze back on you. “I- I took something that wasn’t mine to take.”

“Huh.” He slumped back to the ground next to you, propping his chin up on his fist. “Why?”

You ground your teeth. “He… took something from me, first. So, I wanted to take something from him. But I got caught.”

The serpent nodded. “A little thief, then? I suppose they would throw you in here for that.”

You eyed him as he stretched. The question was stupid, but you couldn’t help yourself from asking it. “Aren’t you going to eat me?”

He was mid-yawn when you asked, and blinked one eye open to look at you. “Am I supposed to?”

You paused. Everyone called it a ‘feeding’ when people were put in the pit. People who went for feedings were never seen again. What else was happening expect for them being eaten? “I think so.”

“Perhaps,” he said, “I’m not hungry today.” He slumped back toward the pit, slinking down and vanishing in the mass of his own coils.

You stared. And shivered. Your sweat was still drying on your skin in the chilly night air and the hot terror was fading. The creature had emerged from the pit, you’d had a pleasant (if you stretched the definition of the word) chat, and then it had left.

That was… not what was supposed to happen. You’d seen people be taken away to the pit- you’d never seen them actually go in, of course, the pit was nearly three hours away from the town by walking, and you’d never had reason to go in a car until today. Yesterday. Was it past midnight? They never came back. Did the creature ever eat anyone? It must, or they wouldn’t have bothered with the pit at all. They could just shoot people. Or stab them, if wasted bullets were a concern. Why go through the whole rigamarole of taking people out here and then leaving them alive for the creature if it didn’t eat them?

But if it did eat them, why hadn’t it eaten you?

It got late for a while, and then it was so late that it looped around to being early. The sun started to stretch thin tendrils of light over the horizon. Your stomach growled. You had to pee. Your legs were cramping from being in the same position for so long. Were the guards going to come back? Did they come back for the prisoners, if only to see if there were any bones or limbs left? Or were you just trapped out here until you died of thirst or the creature decided it was hungry after all and ate you?

(It had better hurry the hell up, you decided. If it waited until you died of natural causes, t would probably have a tough, unpleasant meal. Your somewhat-delirious mind found that idea funny.)

It was less funny when a hand wrapped around your ankle and hauled you bodily toward the pit.

The entire thing was fast. One second you were registering the warm hand on your skin, and the next you were being dragged down a slope. You caught a glimpse of your captor’s face, too dark to make out expressions, before you were hauled under a mass of coils.

They weren’t cold to the touch, though they weren’t warm, either. You could feel the ridges of the scales, each one nearly the size of your palm. It was heavy, a weight that nearly knocked the breath out of you, though their constant shifting helped lessen that impact. It wasn’t crushing, though, and you could feel the hard-packed dirt under your back. Strange. You would have thought they’d be coiling around you to crush you. Even just being underneath them, you could tell they were powerful enough to do it. You could feel the power of the muscles just from minute movements alone.

“Stop panicking!” The voice came a lot closer to your ear than you’d expected and you struck out. Maybe he’d been expecting it, because your first hit a wall of scaly flesh.’ “I ain’t gonna hurt ya, if you don’t try to hurt me again.”

You stopped moving. The serpent huffed out a breath, and you felt the edges of it against your… temple, on your right side. He was partially concealed by one of his own coils, but he was there. “Sorry for the delay, sweetcheeks. Woulda taken you down here right away, but we’ve had some problems recently. Delays. You’ll find out soon, anyway.”

You didn’t understand, but bemoaning that lack of understanding seemed like the worst possible move at the moment. Instead, you flipped onto your stomach and started army crawling back toward the wall of the pit. The coils were heavy, but not crushing, at least not at the moment. You were going to crawl and get out of the pit, and what you were going to do then could be decided after you got out.

“Woah.” The hand was on your back now, having gotten a fistful of your shirt. Well, it was more of a dress-tunic than a shirt, one of the ones that was both oversized and stretched, and made more out of patches than material. They could have made you go into the pit naked, but you suspected that this made a convenient excuse to get rid of something no one really wanted. You thrashed against the grip and, sure enough, the tunic ripped with ease. Before you could continue your mad crawl, the hand managed to lock around your calf. “Woah, woah! Where do ya think you’re going?”

You try to continue forward at the pace of a determined slug. The hand on your leg is doing a good job of hindering that, though. “Quit freaking out! Sorry I scared ya, but I said before, I ain’t gonna hurt ya, so stop it!”

In fairness, he wasn’t hurting you at that moment. He could have, certainly- his coils could have crushed you by weight alone, if he’d dropped them on you, but he just lay them across your path, effectively blocking your way unless you wanted to crawl over him. The hand around your calf remained firm, a grip tight enough to almost bruise, but not vicious. More like he was just desperate to keep you from squirming away.

Surrounded by coils of snake and held fast by the grip on your leg, you finally went still. You were flat on your stomach, so the dust, of course, immediately went up your nose and you snorted out an awkward sneeze. The serpent’s human part moved forward, almost hovering over you, suspended by its muscular trunk. He folded his arms over his chest, no longer holding onto you. “Didn’t mean to scare ya that bad. S’pose I should’ve been more forthcoming, but ya don’t get much fun out here, y’know?” He shrugged. “Sorry. Kinda a fighter, aren’t ya, though? Most people just curl into a ball and scream.”

You stared at him. He was silhouetted by moonlight, so you could make out his long, somewhat tangled black hair and his dark brown skin. There were a few patches of scales on his belly, creeping up from where his snake body ended. “I thought,” you said, after a moment of thought, “that you were going to eat me.”

He shrugged. “I’m not.”

That had become pretty clear. Unless this was a game, though you couldn’t see the point of it, if it was. “Then what are you going to do?”

He grinned, at that. His canines were still too long and sharp, more like a snake’s than a human’s- though still not totally like either. “Look.”

He turned his body to point at a spot beyond the shifting weight of his coils. In the wall of the pit, there was… a hole.

It wasn’t a big hole. Large enough for a person to fit through, provided they were crawling and not standing up straight. It sloped a little, down into the ground. The idea of it made you shudder. Perhaps the serpent didn’t pick up on that, because he said, “You’re going to go in there.”

“I’m not,” you insisted. The serpent considered you for a moment, not quite irritated, but certainly not pleased.

“Ya are,” he said. “Unless you’re plannin’ on staying here and dyin’ when they come back and find ya completely uneaten.”

You glared. “Fine.” The serpent nodded, clearly believing you meant ‘fine, I’ll go in there.’ His expression changed to plain annoyance when you, through lack of motion, convinced him that you meant ‘fine, I’ll stay here and die.”

“You’re claustrophobic,” he reasoned. You glared. It was true, but you didn’t like it. The idea of close earth, pressing in on you- unbearable. The idea of having nowhere to run, nowhere to go or flee to, no open space within which to seek safety-

“Alright, alright! Don’t- don’t do that, just- Damn, this makes it much harder than I thought it was gonna be.” The serpent patted awkwardly at your shoulder. You squirmed away from his touch and he held his hands up. Your breathing, which had spun wildly out of control for a moment, dropped back to a steady (or at least steadier) rhythm. “Look. The only way out of here is through the tunnel. It’s only twenty feet of tunnel, and once you’re through that, it’s not so tight.”

“I can’t get through the twenty feet,” you ground out. Even three feet, less than your body length, would be close to intolerable. As long as your head and arms were trapped, there was panic.

The serpent heaved a sigh. “Erg… You’re gonna have to.”

“I can’t.” Clearly, he was slow. Otherwise, he would be getting that it was physically impossible for you to do so. You could not, unless under immediate threat of death, force yourself through it. And maybe not even that.

The serpent rubbed his face. “Sonova- If you get caught, I’m gonna be fucked too, y’know?” His coils shifted, lifting and writhing. Above you, through the gaps in his coils, you could see the sky lightening. It was going to be day soon. That seemed to be agitating him. “Okay. You’re not gonna like this, but we’re doing it anyway.”

You stiffened. “We’re not going to-”

The serpent seized you by hooking an arm under your armpits and hauled. You were half lifted off the ground and pulled toward the hole in the wall. Panic seized you and you started to kick your legs. The serpent wholly ignored you. For a moment, you wondered about how he was going to manage to pull you through- there wasn’t enough space for both of you to fit going through at the same time.

It was a question that was quickly answered. As you got within a foot of the hole, he dropped you and plunged in himself.

Within seconds, his human part was gone, leaving only his snake portion, It flowed in and in and in, an endless-seeming mass of scaled flesh moving into the tunnel. It was almost hypnotic. So hypnotic, in fact, that you didn’t register it when the last foot or so of his tail wrapped around your legs and hauled you into the tunnel after him.

It happened fast- one second you were just registering the fact that you were moving, the next you were in the tunnel with the walls pressing close in on you. The press of the walls, combined with the warm squeeze of the serpent’s tail around you was- was- your brain scrambled, sheer terror blotting out every thought you could have summoned up.

And then the walls lessened. Not a lot, but their squeeze was reduced. The tail wrapped around you, so tight you couldn’t move your arms or legs, was still bad, but the walls weren’t so tight. Lifting your head didn’t whack it on the ceiling anymore, and you couldn’t feel your shoulders rubbing against the walls. You felt the movement of air on your legs first, and then you were pulled into a bright, open room.

The made your eyes tear up. You squeezed them shut against it. The tail around your body relaxed, drawing away. The sheer relief was incredible, so much that you couldn’t bring yourself to move. You lay there, gasping and shivering on the floor, eyes squeezed shut. Your brain was so utterly scrambled that you didn’t even question why there were bright lights underground for a few minutes.

People talking, though, that got your attention.

“I’m gonna need to be back out there in a couple minutes, just in case they come lookin’,” the serpent was saying.

“Of course. Though you really couldn’t have thought of a better solution? Or explained more?” The second voice was female, probably older by the sound of it. Kind of weary, too. You blinked your eyes open. The serpent was coiled as tight as he was able, and was bending to speak to an older woman, brown hair shot through with gray, in something like a lab coat.

“You were the ones delayin’ everything.”

“Well, you could have told her in the meantime. You didn’t have to wait for us to be ready.”

The serpent grimaced. “Sure, if I wasn’t so busy prepping the tunnel. It’s not easy to dig that shit back out every time you guys want to-”

“Who are you?” Your voice wasn’t a yell, but it wasn’t quiet. The conversation stopped. Both of them looked at you.

The woman straightened out her lab coat. It was a bit stained and yellowed in some places, and there was a button missing. “My name is Elise Markov. This-” She gestured to the massive serpent-person beside her. “-Is Hana. I apologize for… well, for him.” He clucked his tongue. “Hush. You should be kinder to our new arrivals.”

“Perhaps.” Hana flexed his tail. “It’s not like I get much practice with people, trapped up there without-”

“Speaking of,” Elise said, cutting him off. He fell silent, sulky. “You should go back up. You were saying they might be back soon.”

Hana grimaced but he obediently slipped toward the tunnel. After a few moments, his tail was vanishing into the tunnel. Elise watched him go, then headed over to you. “Come along. I will explain on the way.”

Getting up gave you a chance to look a little more around the room. It wasn’t terribly big, maybe about the size of a single room in a house, and lit entirely by floodlights. Another tunnel, this one much larger than the one you had entered through, allowed you to exit the room. You could stand up in it, and almost extend your arms before hitting the wall while inside, it, so the terror was only a minor scream in the back of your mind.

As you walked, Elise explained. “We have been out here since the, well, apocalypse, for lack of a better term, recruiting as we can. Sometimes we take in runaways, sometimes strays, sometimes people like you- people who have been set to death by the various collectives and compounds that now litter the world. You will stay here now, and work with us. There will be a task you can do, I assure you, be it caring for the assets or cooking food or cleaning.”

You trotted along after her. “I don’t underst-”

“I’m aware. You will.” Elise’s tone was clipped. “For now, just know that you are safe and you will remain safe for the foreseeable future. We have an organization, relative protection, and, the basic necessities of life.”

Well. Good enough for you. It was significantly better to have a place that didn’t want to kill you. At least, not immediately.

The tunnel went on for what must have been at least a few miles. Your legs ached and you felt dizzy. It had been some time since you’d had proper food. You swayed, exhausted, even as Elise kept up her ruthless pace. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a tall, illuminated room. You hurried toward it, ready for your journey to end, and-

There were people. Many of them wore lab coats, like Elise, though they were all about as dirty as Elise’s as well. But there were also many… things. Creatures. Beasts you couldn’t understand. One of them, a creature with the torso of a human, but the lower body of a massive, pale spider approached. “Ah, Thierry. If you could-”

You were taken to a room and told it was yours. It was a tiny room, big enough for a bed and a hanging rack of clothes. But it was at least nicer than the communal bunks you’d had previously. You didn’t feel comfortable sleeping with other people.

After a full day of resting, and a fairly simple meal of vegetables and a biscuit, you were given the beginnings of orientation. It was fairly extensive, starting at the exact moment the world fell apart, about ten years ago.

The end of the world was something you remembered, though not in any great detail. It hadn’t been an abrupt thing, like it always was in dystopian fiction. It had just been, over the course of a few years, a gradual downturn of things getting worse until you were in a barrack with a couple dozen other people and you realized you had no hope of anything ever getting better. The world had just seemed to get more and more frightened of everything going on, more desperate and sad and clawing until everything had been torn to shreds.

Apparently, that hadn’t quite been an accident.

The details were vague- you weren’t sure if that was because the details were unknown, or if the people in charge just didn’t want you to know them. But the government (or several governments- again, the details were unclear) had been running experiments on fear. Fear was, after all, one of the most effective motivators ad weapons ever known. Enough fear could kill, could make a person commit atrocities. And so, it needed to be studied, understood, and potentially weaponized.

After years of research, they had managed to create… something. Tapped into some collective unconscious, some extra-physical resource, and created, from humans, creatures that embodied the fears of the world.

The outpouring of fear from their initial creation spread the world over. It wasn’t strong, but it lingered, like background radiation in the minds of everyone on the planet. And that fear drove everyone to the brink of madness and destruction. Even after the initial burst of it settled, everyone had already settled into their new lives and routines too thoroughly to go back.

This particular organization had been created by a small group of the scientists who’d escaped the panic-induced deaths of everyone who’d worked on the initial project. They’d managed to gather a small group of the fear-creatures, who worked with them, as much as they could.

You even got to meet a few of them. All of them seemed to embody a specific type of fear, usually a phobia. Thierry, the spider-person you’d met initially was the embodiment of arachnophobia. There was a person who seemed to be entirely made of water that represented thassolophobia, though you saw her pretty infrequently. Her proper body took up a massive swimming pool that had needed to be dug out special. The only time you saw her was when she sent out a segment of her body that was roughly person sized and shaped, something that was apparently difficult and uncomfortable to do. Another person, a hulking figure of dirt with a hole in their middle that seemed to constantly draw your eyes and body, represented claustrophobia. You didn’t go near him often.

Of course, your Hana was representative of a fear of snakes. Never a fear you’d had, but you could see how he would be horrific for someone who was afraid of scaly ropes.

He was apparently a recruiter, of some description. His capture by your old compound was an accident, but given that he was regularly fed a stream of dissenters, he could smuggle people they determined to be relatively safe out of the pit. Apparently your thievery was determined to be a non-harmful pastime that earned you a free ticket out.

You were told all this by the person you were supposed to be shadowing, a middle-aged woman who had been in this little group since just after its founding. You followed her around while she showed you how to do a variety of tasks. Mostly cleaning or fetching things for other people. A day after you’d arrived, she handed you a massive tray of raw meat and gestured for your to follow her.

“This will likely be one of your tasks on a daily basis,” she said. “Along with general cleaning. I assume you’re willing to complete janitorial tasks.”

Her tone said ��you don’t think you’re too good for this, right?’ with an undertone of ‘because if you do, we’re going to have problems.’ “I’m fine with it,” you said. You legitimately didn’t have a problem with it. It wasn’t any different from the shit you’d been doing at the compound.

You walked through a familiar hall that opened into a familiar, cavernous room. You had to switch the floodlights on. Obviously you didn’t have the power to run them all the time.

“Mind warning me before you do that?” Hana groused, half covering his face with his hand. “Oh, it’s you!”

You nodded. “It’s… good to see you again?”

“Sure. Glad you’re doin’ all right,” Hana said. “Ya gonna give me the food or what?”

Your supervisor left at that moment, telling you to bring the tray back to the kitchens when you were done, since she needed to take care of something. Everyone seemed busy all the time. Probably took a lot of work to run the place. You’d probably be busy too, once you were more settled in.

Hana didn’t really chew his food. He just swallowed big chunks at once, like- well, like a snake. It was impressive, but also kind of gross to watch. “Guess you’ve decided to stay,” he said between huge mouthfuls.

“What other options do I have?” you asked back, complete rhetorical.

He decided to answer it anyway, though. “Out there.” He gestured vaguely toward the ceiling with an expansive motion. “Y’know. Anywhere out there.”

“I’d die,” you said. Society might have collapsed when you were a teen, but the past ten years or so, you’d been hopping from little settlement to little settlement. You didn’t have the skills or the tools to survive on your own in the wilderness.

“You might live,” he said. “It’s a lot of scrubland, but I ‘member people saying there’s root vegetables and stuff growin’ out there. You could eat those.”

“Not without cooking them. I can’t actually identify any of them, either. I’d probably eat something toxic by accident. Or get caught by marauders. Or the wild dog packs.” A lot of people had dogs before the apocalypse. A lot of those dogs didn’t have people anymore by the time things settled. And, well, dogs are descended from wolves. In times of necessity, a lot of them just remembered what they used to be. Packs of larger dogs could be a real issue, especially because no one was giving out rabies vaccines anymore.

“Maybe,” Hana allowed. “Maybe not.” He swallowed another chunk of meat. “Maybe ya could befriend a dog and get it to bring ya meat. They can hunt, right? And they’re stupid loyal?”

You laughed a little. “Have you never met a dog before?”

“Nah. Where would I have seen one, huh?” Hana paused, tapping a finger on his chin. There’s a thin line of meat-juice running along it. “Hm. Though I guess I could have seen one and not realized it, ‘cause I don’t really know what they look like.”

“You’ve never even seen a dog?” you asked. “Not even before you were changed into-” You skittered to a stop, not quite managing to pause the words before they’re almost all out. Oops. You didn’t mean to do that. It was probably a rather touchy subject for him.

He shrugged, still eating. “Nah. Don’t remember a thing before I got all scaly.” He gestures to his waist. A majority of his body is still stretching up through the tunnel and out into the pit, but there’s enough there to see his dark scales. “Probably good, though, huh? Can’t imagine turnin’ into this was a fun time for me.”             “You don’t remember what it was like to be human at all?” you asked. He fixed you with an irritated look.

“I just said I didn’t. Open your ears. I remember some stuff, clearly. Like, I woke up knowin’ English and what the sky and grass was an’ all that.”

“But not dogs,” you mused. He gave you a wry, somewhat irritated expression.

“No. Not dogs.”

Hm. That was interesting. You mulled that over while he finished his meal. Once he was done, you gathered up the dishes. “See ya around,” he said, waving.

As if turned out, you did see him after that quite often. Your initial tasks seemed to be focused on delivering food to the ‘phobic assets.’ Not all of them were still human enough to eat, but the ones who had fused with animals definitely needed to. Thierry was your favorite. He was typically quite polite, and you’d never had any issue with spiders before, so his spider half was a source of fascination rather than disgust.

Hana was always waiting for you when you brought food to him, and he always stuck around to chat for as long as you wanted. Maybe he was lonely, or maybe he was just bored. But he always listened attentively, and given that everyone else was rushing around all the time, speaking to him was nearly the highlight of your day.

“I mean, it’s nicer being here than it was being there, obviously. I just wish people weren’t so…” You waved a hand. “I don’t know. Rushed? At least I felt like I was a part of a community over there. We all had meals together and we talked and worked together. Here, it’s just different. I don’t think I’ve had a conversation with anyone except a couple people for more than two minutes.”

“Everyone’s trying to save the world. Makes ‘em busy. Plus, you’re kinda an outsider. It’ll take a while to get you on their radar. Or into their precious schedules.” Hana shrugged, gulping down his meal with reckless abandon. “Who’s the second?”

“Huh?” He had a habit of jumping topics like that. It was hard to keep up.

“Ya said there were two people ya could have conversations longer than two minutes. One’s me. Who’s the other?”

“Oh. Thierry.” To your surprise, Hana’s face contorted into a sulky expression.

“Thierry? Really? That pompous spider prick?” He shifted and you could hear distant thumping, like he was slapping the end of his tail against the ground.

“What’s wrong with Thierry?” you asked, creeping back a little. He didn’t seem overly pissed, but it was probably best to get out of the way. Just in case.

“He’s stuck up. Thinks he’s so good ‘cause he’s the embodiment of some massive fear and he’s the one who works the closest with all the scientists.” Hana rolled his eyes so aggressively you were surprised he didn’t strain something.

“He’s nice to me,” you said. Hana grumbled incoherently, tail thumping. One of his hands dug furrows in the dirt. You watched his fingers as they made the scraping motions over and over. Something in your brain itched, drawing up the image of those strong fingers seizing you and squeezing until it hurt as you kicked against it-

The room was large. But the walls felt too much like they were pressing in on you.

The tray was empty and you hurried forward to grab it before jolting back to the door. Hana looked up from his sulking, alarm and maybe concern crossing his face. “Wh- Ya doin’ okay?”

“Yes.” The word came out steady, but mechanical in its steadiness. It almost hissed past your lips. Hana started to lift himself up, pulling more of his massive serpent’s tail in through the hole in order to support himself. You scrambled back from his rapidly more imposing form.

“Woah, easy there. I didn’t mean to startle ya.” He held his hands up, but that made him look even more imposing. “Uh. Maybe you should sit down? Ya don’t look so-”

You turned and fled down the hallway that led back to the relative safety of the entrance room. Hana yelled after you to wait, but his voice was distorted and echoing down the tunnel and you didn’t bother to listen. You just fled.

Perhaps your room was the safest place to go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to spend time there, given its small size. It was fine normally, but you couldn’t manage it while already keyed up. Fortunately, the lab techs could use someone to help them wipe down their equipment, so you stayed in there. There were too many people bustling around for your liking, but it was, on the whole, a good distraction.

For the next couple of days, you didn’t see Hana. It wasn’t terribly hard to pawn your task off onto someone else, as long as you agreed to pick up whatever they were working on. You learned a lot of simple tasks- cleaning, a lot about cleaning, as well as how to operate their computer system, and even a few mechanical skills from repairing things. That had been completely disallowed in the compound you’d spent you life in- at least, for someone as low-ranking as you.

Hana sent you messages a couple of times. Some of the people who did your job of delivering meals came back and told you he’d asked them to tell you that he wanted to talk. You ignored it. There was a part of you that felt bad about it. Then you remembered him getting all pissy about you talking to Thierry and those bad feelings went right back out the window. What had been his problem about all that anyway?

The answer had come to you midway through washing out a series of trays in the cafeteria- he was jealous.

That thought gave you pause. You hadn’t even really been thinking about it, just kind of turning things over idly in your mind. But it made sense, didn’t it? He’d gotten sulky right after finding out that you were spending time with someone else, and that matched up with jealousy. He’d gotten annoyed about Thierry, specifically. Was he just pissed that he wasn’t the oh-so-special fear monster that you were picking to spend all of your time with?             Or maybe he was upset because you visited him at mealtimes, when you had to, and you could see Thierry whenever you wanted. People didn’t visit him very often, did they? Even Thierry, who lived in the main compound, seemed surprised to get visitors. Maybe he was jealous because he was lonely.

That idea didn’t make you feel very good. Not that it was an excuse for him getting all annoyed, but… it was understandable. And maybe you’d overreacted a little bit. You had your own reasons for that, of course. But looking back on it, you probably could have handled the whole thing better.

You grimaced, placing all the dishes into their rack and sliding it onto a shelf above your head. Fine. You would go back to him. Apologize. It would be swallowing your pride, but… You remembered him calling after you. His reaching out. The idea of you ignoring him out of some petty hurt feelings? It made you feel awful.

The next day, you went to gather his food from the kitchen and found no tray waiting for you. After a bit of looking around, to make sure you hadn’t missed something, you approached the kitchen head. “Hey. When are we feeding Hana?”

He glanced back at you. “Thought you didn’t want to feed him anymore.”

A nervous prickle wound its way down your spine. “Uh. I’ve been wanting to try out some other jobs, but I am still interested in helping- look, did you give the food to someone else or not?”

He sighed. He was older, and clearly didn’t like you talking back to him and ruining his quiet kitchen. “No. He’s getting a later feeding. We’re inviting someone new in today.”

“What? Seriously?” You leaned over the serving window. “Who is it?”

He glared at you. “You’ll have to ask someone else for that information.”

You headed out, looking for… someone who knew what was going on, you guessed. Fortunately, you only needed to go down a couple halls before running into the very woman who had welcomed you to this place.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m glad to see you. You’ve been settling in well?”

Her voice had that tone to it, the tone of someone asking perfunctory questions out of politeness without really caring about the answers they were getting. “Yes, it’s fine,” you said, another response out of obligated politeness. “You’re going to see the new person?”

“Yes. You’re wanting to come with?” she asked, barely slowing in her step. You continued alongside her.

“Am I allowed to?”

She shrugged. “Certainly. They’ll be from your compound. It may help them to see a friendly face.”

There was a solid chance it would be a face you didn’t know, and even if you did know them, they may not have been friendly. But it got you closer to Hana, and maybe you could stay behind for a bit to talk to him. You tagged along after her, drawing closer to the entrance to the tunnel with every step.

The woman was quick and sure and it took a little time to emerge into the open room lit with floodlights. There was no one there. No one continued to be there for several minutes. You were about to sarcastically ask if you got the time wrong when a small avalanche of pebbles fell down the tunnel.

There was another small avalanche of pebbles, then another, then a scraping noise. Then a head and shoulders emerged into the room. It was a person, pale-skinned, with curly blonde hair. She was quite skinny and smeared with dirt, teeth gritted. As soon as she was partially freed from the tunnel, she struggled forward, fingers clawing at the ground. The woman stepped forward, pulling the newcomer out of the hole. A moment later, Hana slithered out, groaning and stretching.

“Cuttin’ it close there, aren’t y-” His eyes fell on you and a look of clear surprise flitted across his face. He blinked a couple times. You felt a bit sheepish under his gaze.

The newcomer coughed as she stood up. “Son of a bitch, that’s rough. You need to have a better greeting system for people arriving here, because getting grabbed by a massive snake is not it, seriously.” She stared around the room, taking it all in, and her gaze fell on you. Her face twisted. “You!”             It came back in a rush- she was a familiar face. Not a friendly one, though. One of the ones who’d seen- she knew you. She’d helped get you thrown into the pit. What had led her here, you didn’t know, but she was clearly pissed that you were in the same place.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“Same thing you are,” you snapped. “Shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, to be honest. How long until you tattled on the wrong person and got yourself thrown away?”

“Tattled?” Her face grew splotched with red. “That’s what you call it? Because I told people you murdered someone?”

There was the cold shock of silence for a few moments. “Murder?” Hana said. His voice was faintly shocked. “Ya said ya stole something.”

“It’s technically stealing. Stole someone’s life,” you said. “But it- it wasn’t like that, I didn’t just- I didn’t want to, really, but it happened and-”

“While we are willing to accept those who’ve been driven out of the compound for multiple reasons, we are much more hesitant when it involves murder,” the woman said. “That you haven’t disclosed it until now gives us much more reason for concern.” She stepped forward, ushering the newcomer behind her. There was a glint of metal and there was a gun pointed at you. You hadn’t even seen where she was carrying it. “If you’ll come with me-”

“Wait, wait,” Hana said. He slithered forward, pulling more of himself into the room to go almost between you and the woman. “No need for a gun, yeah? S’not necessary. Nothin’s happened, right? No one’s done anything here. And livin’ in that compound- there’s gotta be a good reason for the murder, yeah?”

“Reasons can be determined later. For now- containment. For safety.”

“Containment?” The word made your skin crawl like it was trying to get off your body. It brings to mind the containment you were kept in when you were initially convicted in the compound. It was barely a room. Not enough space to lie down. Barely enough to sit, with your legs tucked against your chest and your arms tight against your sides. Not enough room to move, not even to eat. Not that it mattered. You were kept there for nearly two full days. They didn’t bother to feed you.

“C’mon,” Hana was speaking, his voice wheedling. “Someone just shows up here and you’re gonna take her word? Y’think this one’s gonna kill someone? Really?” He jerked a thumb back at you, and you couldn’t even be offended. “S’not exactly a tough lookin’ piece of work.”

The woman hesitated, lowering the pistol a little. “It wouldn’t be permanent. Just for a couple days, while we review work details and determine if there should be an escort. It’s for safety.”

Hana rolled his eyes, a great, overexaggerated movement. “Sure. Fine. Look, if ya want to do containment, do it here.”

The woman’s gun lowered a little more, out of sheer confusion. “I beg your pardon?”

“Do the containment here.” Hana lifted his hands to gesture at the room around you. “Ya can shut the door that connects this place and the main facility, right? Do that and keep the little killer here.” He waved a hand toward you again.

“I’m not certain that’s a good idea,” the woman said.

“What d’ya think is gonna happen? Little killer can’t get through the door once it’s closed. Not without your permission.” He paused, likely for dramatic effect. “Unless ya think she’s gonna pull something on me.” And then he grinned, showing off his teeth, especially the ones that were too pointed to be a human.

The woman looked at you, then him. Then you, then him again. Then she sighed. “Fine. If you’re determined to keep an eye on her, then I’m not going to stop you.” She placed the gun back under her jacket in a holster you hadn’t noticed before, then grabbed the newcomer by the arm. They walked out together, the newcomer’s eyes locked on you until they vanished down the tunnel. A moment later, the door at the end of the hall shut and locked.

The tension vanished at once, and you sank to the ground. Your heart raced along in your chest, your breathing quick and trembling. You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to calm yourself. Hana didn’t approach, but he didn’t leave either. He just studied a wall, waiting for you to pull yourself together.

You did, eventually. “Thanks,” you mumbled. Hana glanced at you. “I mean it. You didn’t have to do that.”

He hummed, turning away from the wall. “So. Ya kill someone?”             Straight to the point, huh? You took a deep breath. “Yeah.” You paused. “Have you ever, uh. Y’know.”

“Killed someone? Couple times, yeah.” He stretched. “Well. Actually. Probably a lot more than that, but I don’t know if they count.”

You stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He shrugged, plucking at some of his hair. It was in really good shape, considering that he’d been outside for ages. Actually, he was also rather clean. Did they give him access to a shower or something? How did he fit? Did he just get hosed down?

“This big ol’ thing,” he said gesturing to his body, “has been around for a bit longer than this.” He tapped a finger against his head. “We were all like that for a while.” You assumed he meant the other phobics. “‘Ventually we woke up, but I killed quite a few before I got there. Wasn’t really me doing the killing, though- didn’t have my sparkling personality.” He threw you a wink. You rolled your eyes. “Not like I remember what happened then, anyway.”

He fell silent after that until you piped up. “What about the other two people you killed?”

“Oh.” He finger-combed his hair, seeming very interested in picking out the knots. “One of ‘em tried to kill me. Came at me with a big ol’ knife. That was before I ended up here.”

“The other?” you prompted when he fell quiet again. He snorted, lips curling up over his fangs.

“The other was after I came here. Nasty piece of work. A criminal from your compound, though I dunno if he was a part of the compound itself. Didn’t seem like it. Asked him about what he did to get sent here.” Hana’s lips curled further. “Don’t think he was in his right mind. Said he was pickin’ off people from the farms, raping them, then chucking their bodies somewhere in the fields to rot.” Hana hissed. It was low, inhuman. It made your hair stand on end. “So I killed ‘im. Don’t think he appreciated being on the receiving end.”

Your chest clenched so hard you couldn’t get in a breath. You remembered that. It had happened a few years ago. You had been so grateful that you worked closer to the inner compound, so that something like that could never happen to you. You’d been so sure it would never happen. So, so sure.

“Woah there.” Hana reared up a little, looking at you with clear alarm. “Easy. I didn’t mean to freak ya out. Take a breath before you pass out, all right?”

The choking sobs eased enough for you to do just that. Hana came hesitantly closer, caution in his eyes. “S’okay. He’s dead now. Did you, uh. Know him or somethin’?”

Your voice was strange, strangled, but you got the words out. “Knew of him, more like. I thought- I thought it was so good when he was gone because- I would never- worry about it-” You kept having to pause to gasp for air. Hana winced.

“Maybe we should talk about somethin’ else now, yeah? Uh. Damn, they didn’t give us water, I think ya could use some…” He scrounged around. “Thought there was a spigot somewhere around here… not that it’d be super clean water, I guess.”

“I’m fine,” you said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry about things ya don’t need to be sorry for. It sets a bad precedent.” He finished fumbling his way along the wall and sighed. “Hmph. I don’t see it. Maybe I can bang on the door and make them-”

“Don’t bother. Like I said, I’m fine.” You took in a deep breath. Water would have been nice -your mouth was getting kind of tacky- but it wasn’t necessary. Hana gave you a skeptical look, but he didn’t bang on the door. That was probably for the best- the space was small enough that the sound would have echoed and that would have freaked you out more.

“Suppose it’s a bad time to ask and all,” Hana said. “But, uh. Y’ever gonna tell me why you killed someone? Just seems fair, is all.”

You took a deep breath, and then another. And then another and another. Hana waited, not really looking at you. His tail was still partially in the tunnel, but you could imagine his tail tip flicking idly, back and forth, while he waited.

“It’s not easy to talk about,” you said eventually.

Hana nodded, accepting. “I can see that.”

“I didn’t mean to- no.” You didn’t want to lie to him. “I did. I knew what was going to happen when I went there and I went anyway. I knew.”

Hana remained silent, his eyes flicking over to look at you. Another deep breath. “When I was there, I worked mostly in the town. It was a lot of stuff that I did. Repair work, maintenance, animal care, that kind of thing. Outside, but close to the center of the compound. That’s how you knew how important someone was. How close to the center they were. Eventually, I started getting called for other things. Maintenance on the hall itself, being a gopher for messages from the hall to the other workers or even bringing food into the officials. That was the first problem, I guess. The officials.

“There were a bunch of them, people who kind of ran things in the compound. I mean, I say a bunch. Probably around five or six. We never saw all of them. But Peter was one of the ones we saw, often. He was the… I don’t know. The charisma, maybe. His official job was something to do with assigning tasks and population management, but he really made people want to stay. He could talk to you and make you feel like the most important person in the world, or like the shit under his shoe. Peter could make you feel good about doing the most menial, backbreaking work every day because he could make you feel like you were doing something important.” You paused. You’d expected to feel upset or near tears, but you just felt oddly numb. “He made me feel important. About everything.”

Hana was a short distance away, watching with rapt attention. You couldn’t quite bring yourself to look at him, but you could tell he was paying attention. “He was nice to me, and I thought he was kind. I was so happy when he started getting me to work more in the hall. I thought it meant I was doing well. And eventually he started getting close. Asking me to take meals with just him. I thought it was strange, but I was happy. And then he started to ask for other things. And I thought… I can’t refuse him. Ever.

“The first time he tried to have sex with me, he was drunk. Like, pretty damn drunk. I let it happen because I wasn’t sure if he would remember it. I didn’t want to offend him if he did. I thought it was just a one-time thing. Except… the next time he was less drunk. And then the third time he wasn’t drunk at all. And every time I thought he wouldn’t do it again. By the time I realized it was going to keep happening, I had no idea how I was supposed to stop it. Refusing felt like I was suddenly kicking up a fuss over something that hadn’t been a big deal at first, but it had been a big deal all along!”

Your voice broke, rising in volume. Hana bristled, looking alarmed, but uncertain. Should he move closer? Back away? Comfort you? Seeing his panicked bewilderment, you took a deep breath and tried to relax. “It’s- I tried to stop it in small measures. Tried to tell him not now, or another time, or even tried to just cuddle.” You giggled, a little hysterically. “He wasn’t pleased. He got pushier. More demanding and more controlling. I started to get a little desperate. I talked about what was happening with some other people, but those who weren’t jealous or thought I was being ungrateful were scared of him. And then when he found out I was telling people, he was furious. Said I was trying to make other people jealous or get attention, even when I said that wasn’t what I was doing at all. He got more aggressive. Angrier with me. I couldn’t do anything right anymore, and every time I did something wrong, he threatened to send me away. I didn’t want to stay with him, but I didn’t want to leave, either. It was awful.

“I think I went crazy for a while. I was so stressed I couldn’t even think straight for ages. I just wanted him out of my life. I had access to a lot of things in the hall at that point, including the medicine storage. I thought if I slipped something into his wine when he was drunk enough, maybe I could pin it on his drinking, that he’d just had too much. It wasn’t like we could do autopsies. And that’s what I tried. Put a bunch of crushed-up sleeping pills into the wine and brought it too him when I thought he might already be too drunk to notice the taste. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. Maybe he didn’t drink enough, or I put too little in, or maybe he was just in death throes. But he came at me, and I hit him. I think it killed him, or it was a combination of that and the medicine. So I panicked, tried to hide the body, and then, well. You know what happened after that.”

Hana was silent for a moment. He took in a deep breath, released it slowly. His eyes closed for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s really, really not,” Hana said. “It’s gross. And fucked. And horrible. I’m glad ya killed him.” He turned toward the door with a murderous look in his eyes. “And that bitch was going to-”

“She didn’t know. Why would she? It’s not like most people knew what happened. She knows what they told her. I murdered one of our leaders. Honestly, getting thrown into the pit was a mercy for me. I thought they might string me up and have a torture free for all.”

Hana shuddered. It traveled along his shoulders and all down his tail. It was sort of funny to watch. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.” You weren’t sure what else to say. You were just tired.

Hana moved a little closer to you, but stayed out of touching distance. “I’ll talk to ‘em. If you want. Tell them not to- not to have ya here anymore. Ya don’t deserve it.”

“It’s fine.”

“It ain’t fine! Ya don’t deserve it!” There was a thump from outside, Hana’s tail swinging wildly. “It’s about not lettin’ them punish people who shouldn’t be punished!”

“I did kill a man,” you observe mildly.

“Yeah, and ya should have gotten a medal for it,” Hana huffed.

“I don’t really mind being here. It’s not so bad. Company’s nice.” You smiled at him. He frowned back.

“Thought ya didn’t like me.” He wasn’t saying it accusingly. Just as an observation.

“Oh. No, I don’t not like you. I know I freaked out last time I saw you. I got… worried when you were upset about Thierry.”

Hana drooped. “Eh. Yeah. That wasn’t my best moment. I didn’t mean to scare ya. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Running wasn’t my best moment, either,” you said. “I thought about coming back soon after I ran, but I was kinda embarrassed. Sorry.”

Hana laughed. “We both fucked up then, huh? Maybe me more than you. Glad you’re here now, though. S’good to see ya.”

“It’s good to see you too,” you said. “Like I said before.” Hana grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Eventually, he departed back to the surface, but he spent much more of his time down in the cave with you. It was quietly peaceful. After what you estimated to be a few hours, the door banged and Hana perked up as food was slipped through the door. He managed to catch it before it closed completely and there were a few minutes of mumbled conversation. Hana retreated, letting the door close. He seemed smugly pleased with himself.

“I gave them a piece of my mind,” he said. “Not as much as I wanted to, but ya know. They wanted it to be all quick.” He shrugged. “They’re gonna let ya out soon. Didn’t tell ‘em too much, but I did say it was self-defense.”

“They believed you?” you asked, a bit skeptical.

“More or less. Honestly, I think they’d already gotten the idea that you killed someone high-ranking, and they’re more likely to call self-defense for that. When I told ‘em you’d killed someone in self-defense and they were a high-up, they seemed to be content.”

“It wasn’t really self-defense,” you said. “It was premeditated murder.”

Hana snorted. “He was raping ya. Ya stopped him. It was self-defense.”

It was such a simple sentence, but the way he’d said it, like it was obvious and clear, that you should have done it, that it was as simple as protecting yourself- it made you crumble. You dropped your head into your hands and whimpered. Hana froze, then slid closer. He seemed momentarily lost, until you slumped against him. You didn’t hold him back, but you allowed him to hold you while you shivered and whimpered. He was careful, keeping his touch light, but there. It wasn’t restrictive- just a reminder he was there for you.

Once you were done crying yourself out, you lay down and closed your eyes, exhausted. “I’m going to sleep,” you mumbled. “Let me know when they come to get me.”

Hana nodded. “Will do.” He lay down next to you, watching you lazily. “When ya get out of here… come back to visit me, yeah?”

You opened your eyes. Hana seemed… melancholy, tense. He was waiting for your answer. “Yeah,” you said. You slid your hand out over his. “You’re never going to get rid of me after this. Promise.”

Before you closed your eyes again, you saw Hana grinning.

True to his word, you were released from the cell and allowed to go back to your room. The newcomer still glared at you, but she never made any effort to do anything. In fact, a week later, she came up and gave a mumbled apology. You forgave her, at least enough to tolerate her presence.

And you were back on feeding duty for Hana. He was pleased every time you came by, always attentive and waiting. The feedings took longer now- sometimes so long that people had to come get you. It was just nice talking to Hana. The only issue was that it was uncomfortable for him to stay down for a long time. You hadn’t realized it before, as he never complained, but the tunnel was little tight around him, and his tail could cramp if he spent too long in there.

One day, as he was carefully retreating back through the tunnel, (he had to hold his arms out in front of him, lest they catch awkwardly on the uneven walls), you caught his attention. “I, uh. I couldn’t go up there with you, could I?”

He froze, arms still outstretched. “Ya want to?”

You huffed. “You don’t need to sound like it’s insane to want that.”             “No, no, s’not what I meant.” He wriggled a little ways back out. “I meant, ya never want to go through here. It’s too tight for ya.”

“It’s tight,” you agreed. “But I want to try anyway.” Your heart was thundering just thinking about it, but you liked the idea of the fresh air and sunlight on the other side.

Hana pursed his lips. “Are ya sure? Not to doubt ya, but if ya get in and decide ya don’t like it, it’s gonna be hard to get back out.”

“I got it. Trust me.” You gave him a pleading look. He squirmed, restless in his worry. Then he sighed.

“I can’t stop ya. Just be careful.” He retreated again, slower this time. You took a deep breath and pressed inward.

You were going forward, instead of in reverse, so your arms were pinned to your sides within a few moments. You couldn’t move them an inch, could barely lift your head. You could kick your legs and wriggle to force yourself forward.

There was panic from the moment the stone walls restricted your arms, but the moment when they pinched in so tight you couldn’t move without some scratches was when it really set in. You tried not to breathe in great, whooping gasps, because that make dust fly up your nose and mouth and only increased the terror that you couldn’t breathe, but it was hard. The walls were so tight. You could barely breathe enough to scream, but you could make little noises of terror. There was a pale light distantly above and in front of you, but you couldn’t reach it. You could see the sun, but you were in the dark and you couldn’t bring yourself to move forward.

The pale light wobbled, then a shape moved across it. A head and shoulders. “Hey!” Hana called out. His voice echoed faintly down the tunnel. “Ya stopped moving.”

You tried to speak, but it came out as a thin squeak. Hana went very still. Then he spoke again, in a soft, gentle voice. “Hey. S’okay. Ya got this. It’s scary, yeah? Being stuck in there. But if ya just move your legs a little, ya can keep moving forward. Ya can get out. Just a little further.”

You groaned. But you kicked. Your legs thrust you forward. And Hana’s shape, backlit by the sun, got clearer and clearer.

His hand reached in as soon as you were close enough and he pulled, gripping your collar until you had wriggled free.

“There ya go!” Hana sagged in relief as you scrambled onto the dirt floor. “Whoo! Was a little worried.” He lowered himself to look into your face. “You’re okay? Nothin’ hurt?”

“Nah. Fine.” You could steady your breathing. “It was tighter than I remembered. But I’m okay now.”

You rolled onto your back, letting the warm kiss of the sun land across your face. “It’s a nice day.”

“Yeah,” Hana said, staring down at you. “It is.” He curled his body closer in around you, surrounding you in snaky coils. He didn’t block out the sun, careful to keep his body to the sides, rather than directly overtop you.

You reached out and tentatively patted his side. The snake body shifted under your touch, the scales slightly warm. Hana watched indulgently as you traced the scales with a finger. Then, finally, he lowered his upper body to the ground next to you. You lay there together for a bit, basking in the sun.

Hana shifted next to you, a little restless. “Are ya goin’ to be up here long?”

“Trying to get rid of me,” you teased. You couldn’t see his face from your angle, but you knew he was rolling his eyes.

“No. ‘Course not. Just wonderin’ if they were missing ya down there.” He was quiet for a moment. “Just thought ya might want to stay up here a bit longer.”

“I’m not eager to go into the tunnel again,” you agreed. “And it’s nice up here. The sun’s nice. Haven’t seen it in a while.” Hana shifted, as if impatient. “And the company is nice.”

“Just nice?” Hana poked. “Faint praise, isn’t it?”

“Well, maybe I could think of someone else I might want to hang out with. Thierry cou-” Hana lifted himself so he was leaning over you, practically pouting. His tail moved, curling even tighter around you. It could have been threatening, but you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling.

“Hey. What did I ever do to ya?” he complained. “I’ve been nothin’ but cordial to ya and now you’re just-”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you huffed. You reached up and petted his face. He closed his eyes, instantly melting into your touch. You brushed your fingers along his cheekbones. He looked quite peaceful. Happy. You had a sudden impulse.

Before you could think better of it, you pulled his face in and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

Hana’s eyes flew open. He blinked once, twice, startled. You wanted to giggle, but a flicker of nervousness in your guts stifled it. His tail curled in close, a tight mass of muscle. Despite that, he kept it from tightening so much that it would make you uncomfortable. “Did ya mean to do that?” he asked. You nodded. A slow grin spread across his face. “Then I’m going to have to return the favor. If ya don’t mind…”

No sooner had you nodded than you were covered in enthusiastic kisses from a snake man. Giggling at the ticklish feeling and wrapped in coils and arms, you felt… surprisingly safe. And not even a little afraid.

[pastel-peach-writes]

hey i was wondering if you could write general hcs for dating korra

you got it, dude!

Dating The Avatar | Korra Headcanons

╰┈➤ PLOT: Random headcanons of dating Korra!

╰┈➤ WARNINGS: Gayness, Lower Case Intended, Arupt Ending

– Korra is very unserious in your relationship. Sure, she has her moments of sternness, seriousness, and acting like an adult, but with you, she feels like she can be her childlike self.

– the rest of the world puts all this pressure on Korra and you made it clear, day one, that you didn't want Korra to feel that pressure with you. you wanted her to feel like she could enjoy herself. Korra took this bit of information and ran with it.

– if you guys meet up after not seeing each other in months, she's running over to you, wrapping her arms around your waist, and twirling you around. it didn't matter if you were taller than her, she was picking you up one way or another.

– alongside physical touch, one of Korra's love languages is acts of service. can you blame her? she's the avatar. helping people out is her thing even if she doesn't want it to be.

– instead of fighting off bad guys or containing a mob for you, Korra would make sure your favorite blanket is washed and warm before you sleep or she'll even surprise you by preparing an elaborate nighttime routine. -- if you take baths, she'll find flower petals and scents for your water. -- if you prefer showers, she'll prepare your clothes and make sure the water is your preferred temperature. – you don't leave all the pampering to Korra though.

– as mentioned previously, you want her to feel comfortable around you. you don't want her to put up a front like she's this tough girl all the time.

– to combat her preparing the bathroom for you, you prepare the bedroom for her. you make sure all the pillows are to her liking, there are no random pieces of lint or crumbs underneath the covers, and you lay out her pajamas.

– Korra doesn't say it as much as she would like to, but she loves that you do this for her. it makes her feel appreciated and like her good deeds aren't going unnoticed.

– sometimes, you even surprise her with gifts! typically cheap, she refuses to let you spend tons of money on her. well, it's either buy cheap or lie to her that it's cheap. you fluctuate. – one of the most memorable gifts you bought Korra was a plush that looked like Naga! it was a white dog plush as big as an American football, but she loved it nonetheless!

– you even got the baby blue collar personalized. Naga's name was engraved on the golden dog tag.

– when Korra visited her family for a vacation away from Republic City, she brought her plush to show off to her family. Even Naga liked it, though it wasn't exactly her. – typically at night, Korra runs cold. Props to growing up in the Southern Water Tribe. she needs you to cling on and if she doesn't wake up with her limbs entangled in yours, she deems her sleep awful.

– "i didn't sleep well enough if i wasn't cuddling you" "eh, i slept alright. didn't wake up cuddling you though."

– when it came to sleep, Korra was a big baby.

– she often preferred cuddling with your back to her chest. she can wrap her arms around you, place her hands on your stomach, and rest her head on your shoulder.

– bonus points if your legs are tangled up.

– you don't mind cuddling Korra. in fact, you probably like it as much as she does, but you cannot stand when her feet touch yours.

– without a doubt, every time, her toes are cold! she tries to rub them against your soles but you can't stand it. you squirm and threaten to stop cuddling her every time.

– when the threats roll around, Korra stops. she can't risk not cuddling you. how else is she going to sleep?

WC: 510

[scrubbinn]

Mimic HRT: ??? months “Hallow’s eve party”

The streets of Hyper city’s commercial district were quiet. It was just past sundown and all the common folk had huddled up in their homes to protect from the chilling winds that cut through fur and coats alike. Most stores were closing, either the end of the day, or not expected customers. There was one place with lights and sounds abound. A clinic festooned with jack-o-lanterns of different animals, and hanging skeletons that looks just a little too real. Dr. Theodore Hans Erian’s clinic for human removal therapy was still open for anyone looking to party the night away.

“I don’t recall ever approving of this, Ms. Mulberry. In fact, I believe I stated quite clearly I wanted no part in this nor did I want you to invite your friends to turn our lobby into a party room. I made it spacious for potentially large therians! Not a potentially large crowd of therians. I can barely hear myself think with all the noise.”

Mayday sighed. She did that a lot whenever Erian spoke. She’d just recently remembered how to form ears and vocal cords and the first thing she had to do with them was argue with Erian about how important this party would be. It felt nice to be surrounded by others who could relate. She had learned that therian solidarity was one of the strongest things in the world after all.

She readied a comeback, but when she looked up to retort, he was wearing some crazy wig. It took her a while to realize he was in costume. Most of it was just his normal lab equipment. He barely put in any effort besides putting some test tubes in a breast pocket and singing the tips of a bad store bought wig.

“What the heck are you wearing Erian?” Mayday spoke in a raspy tone. One that showed how recently she remembered how to talk.

“If you must know, I’m going to be at two parties tonight. You’ll be joining the THEMS halloween party, won’t you?”

“Who in the right mind invited you to that? Well no, We’re not attending, we got an invitation but we didn’t feel right going.”

“Care to explain?”

“No.”

“Hm, I suppose I don’t have the time to pry further anyways. I have other things I need to take care of either way. Enjoy your party Mayday.”

“we’re raiding your liquor cabinet tonight for anyone who isn’t allergic to it.”

Erian let out a miffed grunt, as he took his time moseying over to the door and haphazardly cutting in between multiple conversations in a still somehow, direct path out of the clinic. One less party killer, off on his way to make a nuisance of himself somewhere else.

Mayday’s attention turned to the other guests here. She did her best to keep the mood up. Plenty of food and drink, candy galore, several pinatas of Erian hung from the ceiling, nearly all smashed to bits. Purple lights and multiple halloween decorations did their absolute best to wall off the feeling of being in an office waiting room. She even hired a witch to summon a dance floor for the night. But all Mayday planned to do was keep people from running into Erian’s office, no matter how fun it would be.

At the party there’s a gloriously long, masculine, naga with a cobra-esque hood in front of one of the many snack tables. Drae must be about 16 feet in length with that tail! Draer’s hood was lined with gemstones that were reflecting the party lights and the naga’s colors were a mottling of greens and blacks. Drae was piling a few blueberry pastries onto draer plate, but was approached from behind by a brown-furred feminine cow wearing a stylized costume of a popular anime pirate. She was about to tap the naga’s left shoulder, but just as she did, a purple furred creature that appeared to be some combination of tiger and cow and dressed as a sort of wrestler, was tapping the naga’s right shoulder! Immediately drae turned around and was met with the site of these two bovines having a stare off, each clearly wanting to ask this naga for draer hand on the dance floor. Before long all three started talking and laughing and soon both of these cows took a hand of the naga, all three making their way to the other dancers, laughing and smiling all the way.

In a quieter part of the room, a white tiger therian, Alexis, is dressed in futuristic grey and black military armor, with a prop pistol at her right side and a glowing orange blade over her left arm, her left hand holding a cane. An insignia reading 'N7' is visible on the top part of her chestplate. She is engaged in conversation with a lamia otherkin, and is asking various questions with a curious, but mildly concerned tone.

"So this is all going okay for you? You're comfortable with the changes, and your memory is filling in okay?" She said, smiling happily, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and she carried a look that could be well described as 'haunted'. It's the face of a woman carrying a heavy mental weight, who is trying desperately to not make her friends worry about her.

The Lamia is scratching the back of her neck, dressed in her black tank top that now has a few ghosts taped to it, plus a witch hat that sits atop her head. Her arms are sporting some purple scales in contrast to her overall otherwise blue and cream color scheme.

"It's uh-… a bit odd… pretty sure I'm actually getting some wings-… at least I hope it's wings and not a third pair of arms!" she chuckled. "As for my memory… it's uh.. getting somewhere. Been told to let it come back slowly and not rush too much… but I'm slowly remembering everyone's names, even started to really feel Aria as my name again!" She smiled at the white tiger therian in front of her, trying to reassure to the best of her ability. "The changes are a bit… hmmm…. after all never thought about going that route… but uh-… it's not unwanted! just unplanned."

The mimic couldn’t help but approach tentatively. She knew these people. At least, she was pretty sure she did. Terrified yet determined to talk to these two. She hadn’t seen them in so long, and now of all places they both show up here. “Alexis? Aria? Is… that you? You look different. I haven’t seen either of you in so long I was getting worried.” Her broken voice cracked and growled out every other word. She’d be embarrassed by it if this wasn’t important. “What happened?”

Aria turns her head and raises an eyebrow. From this angle now the mimic could see an electrical burn scar running along the lamias neck up to her chin. “Oh! Uh-… Oh god you’re… Mary… May…. Mayday! Right! Uhm-… Yeah about that I uh-… think it’s best you ask Alexis…Good to see you though!”

Alexis froze up at being put on the spot, and she seemed to be avoiding looking Mayday in the eyes. Was that fear? No, more like… shame. "Oh, uh… Hey, Mayday. Sorry I haven't been around much. I, uh… I ate something rotten, and it fucked me up for a good long while. I… I'm still kind of recovering, but I can at least keep meals down now. I didn't mean to worry you, I promise. …Are you having a good time?”

“About as good a time as I can working under Erian. There’s only so many biting comments I can stomach, y’know? But in all honesty, the past few months have been quite… revealing? I’ve ended up learning a lot about mimics and myself, more than I wanted to. Oh but more importantly I heard a lot of stuff is happening with the zoo right now. Are you safe Aria? Is everyone else there safe?” Aria reels back a little, as she got quite nervous when that topic got brought up… nervously scratching at the back of her neck.

“Ah-… yeah uhm… sadly i don’t really know what happened to the others… didn’t really have the chance to exchange numbers or anything. I… honestly hope they are doing well… I’m safe for now! Got a place that took me in! Even gave me some work and uh-…. Something doctor Therkin probably would go ballistic about… a secondary hrt to deal with my memory loss.” She then raises an eyebrow. “Wait- you’re working with that Erian guy?”

“They’re doing okay.”, Alexis answered, perhaps a bit distantly. “We, THEMS that is, managed to find next of kin or close friends for a bunch of them, and we’re taking care of all the rest ourselves until we can find a better option. Makes my job real complicated trying to keep track of everything they need, but honestly I’m just happy to be working again.” She seemed remarkably unfazed about Aria’s secondary HRT, or about Mayday working with Erian.

“That’s good to hear THEMS is working on it,” Mayday beamed. “If anyone can do it, I’m sure it’s you Alexis. Glad to hear you’re back too… Does that mean you’ll be coming back to the support group? Not to pressure you or anything, but it would be nice. And yes, Aria, I’m working for Erian right now. It’s been. Interesting. Not as bad as you’d think. There’s only been two breakdowns in this office. Heh heh… That was a joke…”

Alexis smiled again, and this time it seemed more genuine. “Yeah, I’ve actually really missed seeing everyone, and I’m looking forward to just… sitting down in that friendly space again, you know? I’ve… learned a thing or two about living with my animal instincts, too, so hopefully I’m better equipped to help others with that.” She offered a smirk at the joke. “Knowing Theodore, I’d say only two breakdowns is pretty good.”

Aria gives a look towards Alexis when asked when she would return, before looking back to Mayday. “I Uh-… I want to! I just need to… get ready to go back into that building again. Had a less than pleasant interaction with a … skunk…” She then takes a deep breath. “But uhm, glad your work is uh, working out i guess! It’s pretty cool you get to know yourself better.”

Bashful, Mayday looks down. “It’s certainly been a journey of discovery. I know you mentioned you have a lot to say on animal instincts, but I’ve certainly learned a lot too. Maybe a bit too much on how mimics work. I’m happy though, that I can get the chance to tell you all about it. Maybe the next time we’re all together I can tell you what happened. It’s a tad… eldritch though. I know there’s people out there who do poorly with that.”

Alexis lets out a quiet laugh. “Heh, I turned myself into a tiger, moved to an interdimensional nexus point, learned to use real-ass witch magic, and personally know an alien collective I used to think were just video game monsters. At this point I can deal with things getting a little eldritch on me.”

Aria giggled. “You know, I am becoming something of an eldritch being myself~” She then put her finger over her mouth, winking with one of her four eyes. “But psst~ that is a little secret so no mention to that doctor okay?”

“I’m sure Dr. Therkin wouldn’t mind,” Mayday quickly noted. “I’ve only heard nice things about her. But I suppose anyone would be a bit concerned with extraterrestrial stuffs. So like, when you say eldritch, did you also get thrown into the void? Cause I did and it wasn’t fun, I did get to meet myself and I think they still live in my brain now? It’s complicated. What about you guys? Sounds like you’ve had some fun adventures too.” The more Mayday spoke the more her voice started to shift back into how it originally was, less scratchy and more jubilant. Though eventually she realized her oversharing and held back.

“… Uh-… no? The only thing so far is that… I hear them from time to time but… it’s all muffled and hurts my head so they tend to not use the hivemind around me. It’s odd though… as soon as i start remembering things… it also feels like everything is getting blurry… Though uh-… I guess my eldritch experience is kinda different to yours then? Your’s sounds more… like those really big and scary ones…”

“I didn’t know there were others that weren’t the big scary ones.” Mayday looks genuinely perplexed. “Like you mean something eldritch but… more normally existing here?”

“Yeah!” She nods with a smile. “Alexis met them too, they are pretty chill these days but still classify as eldritch i’d say! At least that’s what I heard from Aik… Uh a friend of mine that also goes on the same HRT!”

Alexis nods. “Can confirm, the Black Arms are actually pretty chill. It’s… partly because of them that I’m really getting used to how weird Hyper City can get. And speaking of eldritch stuff, I don’t know if this is, like, common knowledge, but it turns out being a witch means I can… see things differently, sort of like a sixth sense. It still takes a lot of focus, but I can sort of… read auras and intentions, sometimes it’s almost like I know what’s about to happen before it actually does, and I can subconsciously tell when there’s magic around, even if it’s subtle.”

“Ohhh! That sounds cool! Gotta ask you to teach me some of that!” Aria said smiling. “Then i could at least warrant running around with a witch costume around some actual witches-”

Mayday takes a moment to sit down. She can’t help but smile at both of their enthusiasm. Despite everything that must have happened to them, They’re happy. Sure things will probably get bad again in some way down the road. But that’s not what matters. It’s a Halloween party. It’s fun! “You two are so enthusiastic today. It’s infectious, good thing we’re at a clinic.” She can’t help but let out an embarrassing snort, as she laughs at her own joke. “It’s so weird how little I know you, and yet it feels like you both mean the world to me. Stars above, I missed both of you so much.”

Alexis gives a gentle smile and lets out a happy chuff. "It makes sense to me, this is a solid community we've built, with a real sense of loyalty and togetherness about it. You're part of that too, even if you haven’t been with us as long. Besides, I owe you a huge debt for telling me where Aria was." She turns to Aria. "As for teaching you, I think you'd take to it well, honestly... Your mind's already open to the strange and unusual, probably more than most, being an otherkin. Remind me after tonight, I'll introduce you to the witch who's been giving me a few pointers."

Aria tilts her head confused as she looks over to Mayday, then back to Alexis. “She did?… Oh wow, then uh- thanks! I was wondering how you found me! But uh-… how did YOU know, Mayday?” But before waiting for an answer she right away beamed again with excitement as she looked at Alexis again. “Sure will do! Though-… before we start i rather ask my new doc if it’s safe for me to practice magic at the moment… with my head being all messy and all…”

Mayday looked a bit uneasy with Aria’s description of her mental state. “Yeah, you don’t want to mess with magical forces when you’re not mentally healthy. Learned that tidbit from experience. I suppose it was cathartic in a way. Buuuuuut therapy would probably be the healthier choice. Like the therapy I get from bullying Erian all day. You want to see his alcohol collection he keeps in a medical building? I don’t want to drink it, I just want to see what he’d do if we poured it out in the sink.”

Alexis chuckles. “Hey, don’t be too mean to him, the man provides an important service, even if he is kind of a butt. Speaking of alcohol, though, I should probably get going to the THEMS party, I promised I’d be on hand in case anyone gets too rowdy. …Or tries to fight Theodore. I’ll catch up with you two later, okay?”

“Ah uh-….” Aria fiddled with all four of her hands in front of her nervously… “If-… if there is a party at THEMS… and you’re going, i’d like to try to go there too! I was just being a wallflower here anyway-… Maybe you could join us too Mayday?”

“Oh, I’d love to, but, I’m the only employee here tonight, so I have to stay until everyone leaves, and then I have to finish cleaning up my office. There’s still about a full bag of salt left on the floor. But thank you for the offer. I would have loved to join you.” Mayday grabs her arm and grimaces, showing considerable displeasure about having to stick around here. The arm shifts and wriggles to find a form that can be anywhere else. It settles on human.

Aria frowns.. Looking at Mayday with a bit of a sad expression. “Actually… I think I'll stay here for a bit longer. Sorry about that back and forth Alexis~”

Mayday immediately grows scared of the suggestion. “Please don’t stay on my account. You should both get to THEMS. I’m happy you decided to show up to this random party I threw in the first place. You two can take your leave when you want. We can talk another time.”

“I can’t speak for Aria, but… how about this? After the party at THEMS wraps up, I’ll come back here and help you clean up. Many paws make light work, right?” Alexis smirked a little. “And before you ask, no, I really don’t mind. I’ve missed hanging out with you, and it’ll give us a chance to catch up. For now, though…” She double-checked that she had all of her things, and started walking to the front door. “Do you want to come with, Aria? No pressure at all if you’d rather stay here.”

Aria looked between Alexis and Mayday, letting out a few pensive tongue flicks and growls… Her tail tip idly vibrated before she finally burst out “Fiiiiiine! I go to the THEMS party, but you be damn sure i come here to help clean too and catch up! 6 arms are better than two!” She turned to Alexis with a pensive smile. “… Though while at THEMS you gotta stay close okay?…”

Alexis smiled back and placed a paw on Aria’s shoulder reassuringly. “I will, I promise. Just let me know if you start to get uncomfortable and we can find you somewhere quiet to cool down.”

Aria smiled and nodded. “Yeah- ssssure will do!” She then turned to Mayday and waved. “Sssee you later, Mayday!”

Mayday smiles and waves back. “See you later! Oh and happy Halloween!”

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Hey y'all, Navi here. It has been a bit since we uploaded a new chapter and I want to thank everyone for being patient. Besides just wanting to wait until it was Halloween to post this. October has been incredibly rough for us financially and we're still not out of the woods yet, but hopefully November will go much smoother.

Cameos & Writers

Cool cobra: @thecrystalmountainsystem

Two cool cows: @josphitia

Alexis: @tigergirltail

Aria: @ariathelamia

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