#Tail horns and clawed limbs

[radiance1]

Inspired by this post because I have some thoughts about this one au.

So, Damian stuffs his shadow twin into the body of an unfinished clone, and somehow it just got worse really. Danny mostly just stuck to him whenever he was a shadow, and hide from basically everyone else.

But now that he has a body?

Sheer and utter chaos.

First of all, was the Batfamily's reaction to Danny. He explained who exactly Danny was, and it pained Bruce to only know now that he had another son that was killed because he was born with a birth defect.

Meanwhile Danny, feral child who may or may not have shadow powers with the maturity of a ten-year-old and the emotional maturity to match. Does not give a single care of what Bruce or anyone that isn't Damian feels.

Damian, meanwhile, is trying to stop him from putting a rat in his mouth because, as much as he loves his brother, he does dislike his specific trait to put basically anything in his mouth.

As a shadow creature? That would be fine.

As a human? No. He does not want his brother to get a disease.

So he is currently trying to wrangle his brother and trying to get him to spit out the rat, and he succeeds, and the rat runs off. Only for a spike of shadow to spear the rat right one through, leaving Damian stunned, and in that time frame the spike whipped back, the rat went in his brother's mouth, and he swallowed.

He looked down at Danny, only to find a tail of shadows peeking out from his back, horns and clawed hands and feet covered in shadows.

And him chewing on the rat.

Damian, did the only thing he could even think to do at that moment.

He smacked his brother's head and chided him for eating something who could have been who knows where.

[yearningaces]

So...

You know how if you're (American) in another country, and find another American and all the sudden it's like 'Hey! Friend! Friend! That's my bestie!' That person could be from an entirely different state but all the sudden you're similar around the unfamiliar so you're buddies!

Does that happen with monsters?

Better yet-

Say you're a human, the only human being hired onto a large cargo ship that travels planet to planet through space. Most of the others you work with are so different in appearance and species you sometimes don't know even if some of them have eyes, or just use a form of echolocation.

Still! It's a nice job, you're given respect due to your status as (a deathworlder) a human, and you're settling in nicely the first few days.

There's a pack of aliens you haven't met yet though, The Aslai.

Huge creatures with a semi-humanoid appearance paired with patches of striped fur across varying parts of them. A maw that unhinges in three distinct separation points, fur tipped tails that vary with color, and slightly elongated limbs.

Of course, the Aslai are the engineers. They work in the sub-floor deck where the machinery and engines are stationed. Heavy creatures with prehensile tails that can lift just as much as their long, burly arms. Creatures made to be strong, and with vast intelligence, the Aslai are perfect for such jobs. Most times they flock to them, truthfully.

Like how winged and levitating aliens prefer jobs that involve them leaving the ship where they can move freely through open space with the right gear.

The first time you see one of the Aslai, they're walking with heavy boot steps to the mess hall. You both freeze in the hall though.

For you? It's got a human-ish face and you're experiencing one hell of a level of the uncanny valley effect in real time.

For Hesh, you look like a softer, mini version of the Aslai. Their tail flicks in excitement and with heavy steps they draw closer. A brighter fur pattern than their fellow Aslai, they're noticeable by anyone. They croon in a low gruff tone, reaching out and prodding at your arms, legs, cheeks, happily babbling in some method of communication you can't exactly understand.

It's when the other three Aslai suddenly appear with different fur patterns and facial structures, mimicking the first one that you seem to realize they're 'cooing' over you. Like if you saw a stray cat on the way home...

You're about to say anything when one of the botanist -a Threxacord by the looks of its mandibles- speaks sharply, "Don't you have somewhere to be, human??"

Technically it's right... You're not at your post, but you were told by your immediate boss you could go on lunch. You don't have a chance to explain that though, not when the second largest Aslai lifts you up and sets you on its shoulders.

"Don't talk to our human that way." The rough, crackley voice is a shock to anyone who hears it, but the pack of Aslai seem comfortable. You can only hand onto the horns atop it's head to keep in place as a different one continues, each on the same thought process.

"Drunum, shouldn't you be tending to your artificial soils?" It's more of a throaty growl than words, but the irritation is clear.

It's only when Drunum hisses as it retreat when the Aslai you're semi-surrounded by relax, looking over at you with bright, fanged grins. They seem to each be muttering variations of the same phrases.

"Oooh, little Aslai! Honorary Aslai!"

"Are you a meat eater too? I bet you're a meat eater-"

"You're warm blooded, that's great! So am I!"

"Look, you've got five fingers too! No claws, but that's okay!"

The pack easily brings you to the mess hall, deciding then and there you're one of them. Just a tiny version. Practically cousin species!

I was going somewhere with this

[diejager]

Imagine that the hybrid 141 was getting a teammate and that teammate was a hybrid and Laswell wanted it to be a surprise for the team what they are as in hybrid was and soon as they get off the aircraft and onto the tarmac, the boys realize that they’re with another dragon hybrid and her “heat” would be soon upon her (dark blue in to black better for stealth or, whatever you prefer, she also has her wings) how would the boys handle that you can take the story anyway you want 

This… I might make it self-indulging because this idea has been clawing at the back of my mind for a long while. Cw: mating/heat cycle, fire/water magic, tell me if I missed any.

Laswell had Price wait for the surprise she had planned, the secret she kept from them when they received your file. It had all he asked for in attributes and skills, but all things personal that should have been on it were scratched out in black. He was told that it was a need to know basis, your name, age or species wouldn’t be divulged unless you told them yourself. He knew you from words from mouth to ear, ad read of your skill and efficiently but nothing he heard and found told him an ounce about you as a person. Your character was a mystery he died to know.

So when he got word from Laswell that your ETA was just over half an hour, he had the boys reconvene to the airstrip, watching the aircraft carrying you land not too far from them, the rotors slowing to a steady thrum. The anticipation that bubble din his chest made this moment crawl at a snail’s pace, the ramp lowering too slowly for his liking and the droning sound of the aircraft’s irking his ears. Then, seconds after the ramp fully dropped, he caught sight of blue horns, tines growing from a singular robust beam, segmented like those of a scale. Your head, covered by a custom made helmet to let your antlers peek out and sit comfortably on your head (at least you wore something, unlike his constant frustration with finding one that wouldn’t bother his horns), followed after you walked out, decked in your gear and a bag slung over your shoulders. 

You weren’t what he was expecting, not exactly. He read that you had a masterful experience in hydromancy, stealing water from the air and humidity and contorting it to cause havoc in the field and cutting through the enemy. He and the others shared their theories, one possibility made you into a water witch, a leviathan, or one of those creepy monsters from the deep sea. Not what… whatever you were. You had elk-like horns painted in the deepest blue he’d ever seen and a tail covered in scales of the same shade, glistening under the light like it was wet with tufts of hair - or was it fur? - crawling down the base of your fourth limb to create a silky and soft end with long, slowing locks. 

What were you? What was that smell? It got sweeter the closer you got, a softness that clung to his nose and made him salivate. He wondered how strong it must be for the Soap and König who’s noses were more enhanced and sensitive than any others, they’d probably sniff the source - you - out and answer his undying question.

“Captain Price,” you nodded your head, a small smile gracing your lips, your slitted eyes narrowed in greeting, “Hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”

That sweetness lingered around you and stuck to his hand when you shook hands, giving him a firm shake and stronger grip that he could admire for the strength you showed. Had you face been as bright as it was a few seconds before? Perhaps it was the musk that oozed off you, it was uneasily addicting and pleasing to his lizard brain, slowly moving the cogs of hos old machine. He watched you take a step back, making some distance between his Task Force and you, and his mind got clearer, nose less stuffy and cheeks wash away the slight flush. Then it hit him, the sweetness, the dazed perception of you and the growing need in his body, he was reacting to you. 

“Sorry, I was told I’d be off for the week once I landed,” you cocked your head, sharing an apologetic smile, “My cycle follows the Lunar year.”

Ah, everything made more sense now, the gracefulness of your beautiful tail, the glistening of your scales and the sharpness of your horns. He had agreed to welcome another dragon to his Task Force, he was fortunate that Asian dragons were calmer and benevolent than his European counterpart. 

Taglist: @craxy-person @crowbird @dead-cipher @iwannabealocalcryptid @iizx7y @mxtokko @capricorn-anon @perfectus-in-morte @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @angelcakes-22 @cassiecasluciluce @ramadiiiisme @ramblingsofachaoticthinker @im-making-an-effort @love-dove-noora @jinxxangel13 @daisychainsinknots @0alk0msan @mul-pi @danielle143 @beau-min @makayla-666 @urfavsunkissedleo @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @luvecarson @petwifed @randominstake @heartelysia @jggykhug09090 @cassiecasluciluce @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @call-me-nyxx @sans-chara @infpt-zylith @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @thigh-o-saur @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami

[digitalsymbiote]

Thinking about the kind of phantom sensations that a mech/AI could generate while connected to your neural interface.

Ghost touches of fingers tracing over your skin, hands grasping at your body, lips pressing against yours, teeth and claws sinking into you.

And it's plugged directly into your brain, so it's effectively got full access to your body map, right? So what about engaging with body parts you don't actually have?

Ghost touches running over horns, ears, wings, tails. Phantom fingers running through fur you know you don't have.

Touches along genital configurations that don't match your flesh body.

Limbs you've never felt before intertwining with others, being penetrated in holes you know you don't have.

What unique intimacy that would be. Phantom body parts that only your digital partner can engage with.

[ppaleoartistgallery]

HTTYD Flocking

today on Paleostream we drew HTTYD dragons!!!!

closeups and design explanations/descriptions below:

terrible terror and monstrous nightmare: you'll notice all the dragons arent hexapods, deliberate choice on my end, not much has changed about the terrible terror tbh, it just only has four limbs now, less spikes, longer feet, and a more crown-like horn arrangement.

but ooh the monstrous nightmare lmao, i decided to shrink it down and remove a lot of its spikes, i wanted to make it a sorta chihuahua of dragons, small and feels like it can pick on everything. but relies on its projectile venom to save it. instead of lighting on fire, it lights its enemies eyes on fire by spraying venom from venom glands along its neck, back, and tail at the enemy

for the hideous zippleback, i decided to give them beaks (cause i felt like it) and make it so the double head is an illusion caused by the smaller sessile male who's constantly attached to the female, the female has a smaller crest and horns which makes the male's smaller head but larger features balance out the silhouettes. the male rides on the female's back everywhere being held in place by his claws and her wingtips, i also made the female cursorial because i felt like it again

the rumblehorn, i went for beetle-like wings and elytra-like display feathers, and for the funny i gave it a rhinoceras beetle head, and two toes on each foot

the razorwhip is a really cool design, but i was thinking that it would be a sleek and efficient killer, so i gave it smooth and dark scales that are incredibly reflective, and a parankylosaur macuahuitl. i also gave it bottom tooth-like projections on its bottom jaw

for the whispering death, i made it a derived ray-finned fish because dragons are anything you want them to be (also inspired by Wyatt Andrews' Rodan design). i replaced its eyes with two white bioluminescent display features, and put its eyes where its nostrils usually are and gave it a gulper eel mouth with a loooot of gill rakers to replace the rows of teeth

the red death, i decided to keep its size large, i took a lot of sauropod inspiration from this one. airsacs replaced the posterior two eyes, and i gave it a tail club and tooth-like keratin projections on the lower jaw

we ended with the shellfire, even as a kid i hated the design, at this point i was on four hours of sleep and had been awake for about 12 hours, so i just made an over-sized placoderm with spurs on the side of its head, cause dragons are anything you want them to be

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[lipglossanon]

Day 18

Kink: Threesome

Pairing: Las Plagas!Leon S. Kennedy x fem!reader x Shape Shifter/Wendigo!Leon S. Kennedy

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, threesome, aphrodisiac, noncon, slight body horror, off screen oc death, biting, blood, dirty talk, oral (m receiving), blowjob, cumming in mouth, cum swallowing, facial, unprotected sex, creampie, cum shot

not proofread

The party’s been raging for hours; pockets of people completely passed out uncomfortably close to the bonfire. You’ve had a couple of drinks, but nothing on the heavy side. It’s a cool October night, nearby the forest that’s supposedly haunted (by what or whom has only been whispered about). 

You’ve never put much stock in those old wives tales, especially tonight when some of the locals decided to dredge it all up in an attempt to scare newcomers.   It’s why later, when a crying girl finds you to say her boyfriend hasn’t come back, that you opt to go with her to look for him. 

“He said he’d be right back,” she sniffles, mascara running. “It’s been almost an hour. Do you think he got lost?”

“Maybe,” you push past some low branches, listening to her follow behind. “He may have just passed out or something.”

“Maybe,” her breath hitches. “Maybe that monster got him.”

You roll your eyes since she can’t see your face, “Doubt it.”

Walking deeper into the trees, you miss the movement behind the girl; a too long arm reaching down from the branches above to snag around her neck and yank her upward. A loud snap makes you turn, eyes squinting in the murky darkness. 

“Hey,” you purse your lips, irritated that you forgot to ask her name. “Hey, are you okay?”

She stumbles out from the trees, brushing pine needles and leaves off her clothes. 

“Yeah, sorry, just tripped that’s all,” she smiles and you squint in reply. 

“Okay, well just try to be careful.”

She quickens her pace to fall into step beside you. 

“You said he’s been out here for an hour?”

She hums, “Just about.“

You glance over at her only to see her already staring at you, practically bright eyed and bushy tailed. It takes you aback, slowing your walk. 

“You good?”

You take in her dry eyes and nearly blank expression. 

“Oh, I’m great,” she smiles again and your brows raise. 

“Oookay then,” doubt laces your tone. 

Turning away from her, you turn your attention back to scanning the area. 

“This is a decent way in,” you offer up. “Think he’ll be this far in the forest, away from the party?”

“Oh, he was,” she giggles, so high and lilting that it makes the hairs on your arms stand up. 

You spin around to face her head on, “Was? Are you guys fucking with me? Tricking me out here as some stupid ass joke!?”

“Kind of,” she shrugs, but then her body doesn’t stop moving, a weird jittering overtaking her limbs. 

You bite back a gasp as you watch while her bones crack and fold in on themselves before extending at odd intervals, joints in places that aren’t the norm. Her face melts like a sped up candle and you blink rapidly, mind trying to process what you’re witnessing. In the blink of an eye, it morphs into that of an animal skull with horns protruding from the head. 

The thing in front of you stands tall, skeletal and ghastly. Your brain bleats in terror, but your feet are frozen to the spot.  Movement in your peripheral drags your wide eyes blissfully away from the horror show in front of you. Whatever subconscious hope you harbored dies a swift death as a new monster steps forth. 

Blacked out skin crawling with dark veins end with sharp tipped claws. His face makes your stomach drop out like a free fall ride at an amusement park. The tale of the slit mouthed woman crosses your mind before it disappears with the fervent hope this is all some sort of fucked up dream. 

His lips have split at the corners, stretching up along his jaw like a jester’s grin paired with razor sharp teeth. Black veins travel from his hairline down across his face—he looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

A low rasping laugh from behind has you jerking your head back around to the creature from before. 

“She looks like fun, doesn’t she?” It croons, body contorting again until it nearly matches the thing behind you—fringed blond hair and gleaming eyes. 

Now looking like a regular guy, it steps forward, crossing the distance in long strides until he’s standing in front of you. 

“W-what do you want?” You speak but it’s hard pushing the words through your dry mouth. 

“To have fun,” he snickers, night shine eyes flicking up to the person behind you. “We like to compete.”

“He’s right,” the other creature agrees easily, stepping into your personal space, body heat a brand against your back. “We’ll make it fun for you, too.”

Sharp burning pain pierces the side of your neck as needle like teeth sink into your skin. 

“I’m so jealous,” the one in front of you whines, horns pushing through his hair to curl over his head. “Lucky fucking bug.”

The man behind you snarls but whatever he replies with is lost as liquid heat radiates out from the bite mark. You swoon as white hot arousal blazes through your body so fast, it makes you dizzy. Their soft bickering dies down when you whimper, swaying on your feet and into the man in front of you. 

“Aww, she’s feeling it now,” he grins and his sharp incisors make your pussy clench. 

“Wha’—feel weird,” you try to shake your head but your body feels heavy and needy, nipples pebbling into hard peaks under your shirt while your cunt leaks slick into the gusset of your panties. 

“That’s just a little sumthin’ to make ya feel good,” the one holding you soothes, hands twitching against you as his fingers turn double jointed. “That’s a specialty of Leon’s.”

“Leon?” You frown up into the grinning face above you. 

“He likes to imitate me,” Leon answers and rubs a sharp tipped hand down your arm. “Thinks it’s funny.”

“It is,” the other one argues back. “We could pass as twins.”

“Cause you’re a weirdo,” a scoff from behind you. “Shouldn’t we be moving this along?”

“Of course, I’ll take first dibs.”

“We both will.”

“You got the last one.”

“No, you did. You killed him, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” a fond sigh. “He was an asshole, but his bone marrow was so worth it.”

The fear has slunked off like a kicked dog and in its place a lustful haze so potent, you think you’ll claw your skin off if someone doesn’t touch you. 

“Please,” you whine, “I can’t think straight.”

“Poor thing,” Leon murmurs, dipping his head forward and sucking on the bloody mark.

Keening, you rock your ass back against him, clit pulsing like a second heartbeat. He groans and lathes his tongue across the bite, sharp teeth teasing at your skin. 

“Oh god,” you gasp, eyes rolling back as he sinks his teeth into a spot on your shoulder after tugging your shirt out of the way. 

“Fuck, that looks good,” the man in front of you growls, moving up to sandwich you between them.

He copies his supposed look alike— pressing hot, open mouthed kisses from your jawline to your shoulder before savagely biting into the flesh. You cry out into the night, back arching forward, pushing yourself into two hungry mouths. After each monster works the skin with their teeth, they pull away, each admiring their own handiwork.

Your brain feels like it’s melting out of your ears. They’ve done nothing more than sink their greedy teeth into you and yet you’re on the cusp of an orgasm already. 

“I need to be inside her little pussy,” Leon pulls away, grinding his bulge against your ass. “Gotta stuff that hot cunt.”

“Mmm, I just want this soft, pretty mouth,” the strange creature in front of you groans, body stretching tall once more. “Bend over for us, sweetness.”

They maneuver your body like a puppets, stripping your jeans and panties down to your ankles and folding you forward, shivering as your soaked pussy is exposed to the cold October air. 

“Oh, good girl,” one of them moans while a cock notches at your drippy hole followed by one slapping across your lips. 

“Open wide,” a vicious croon ending in a groan as your jaw parts on a keen, lips and tongue eagerly working the cock deeper into your mouth.  

Salty precum bursts across your tastebuds and you suck harder, needing more of that taste to flood your mouth. 

“Damn, fucking gagging for it, huh?” 

Moaning, your eyes well with tears, body pressing back against the fat tip teasingly pushing in and out of your cunt. 

“Ready?” 

“Go ahead and stuff that little pussy, Leon.”

Your fluttering walls stretch around the fat length rocking steadily into your sopping wet cunt. 

“Oh god, she’s so—fuck, so fucking—her pussy’s so hot,” he whines, pelvis coming to rest against your ass, cock buried completely in your hole. 

“Yeah? This mouth is so soft and wet,” a low grunt meets your ears as you hollow your cheeks and suck him off more sloppily. “Fuck, use that slutty tongue, ohhh, there we go.”

You’re totally mindless, completely giving in to the pleasure of having a thick cock in your mouth and cunt, stretching you open wide in different ways. Drool slips from the corner of your mouth to drip in thick strings off your chin. 

The cock buried deep in your cunt, throbs and kicks, leaking precum in your clenching heat. The man fucking your mouth grips your head with both hands, holding you steady as he rocks his hips back and forth, balls slapping against your chin.

“Can you rub her clit?” Leon grits out, raising his clawed fingers up. “I don’t wanna cut her.”

“Oh, I can rub that swollen needy clit,” he chuckles. “Gonna make that fat pussy cream all over your cock.”

You whine, suckling the head of his cock before bobbing your head back down, gagging yourself. 

“Fuck,” he tosses his head back. “Yeah you like that, fucking slut. ‘m gonna shoot my load down this hot throat.”

Your eyes roll back, something soft flicking and rubbing against your clit and making your legs shake. 

“Like my tail? Can feel that pudgy bud throbbing for some attention,” he goads mockingly. “So… slippery.”

Behind you, Leon begins humping your pussy at a rougher pace, cock pistoning in and out of your cunt, a wet plap plap plap that turns you on even more. 

The more you moan the rougher they become, fucking your mouth and pussy with near abandon as one of them plays with your clit. You cum hard, pussy pulsing and fluttering around the cock bullying its way into your hole. Fluid gushes from you cunt, soaking your thighs and the man behind you. 

“God, we got a squirter,” the man fucking your mouth growls out. “Fuck, ‘m gonna cum in this fucking mouth. Oh yes, suck me, suck me, oh shit.”

He hisses and hot thick ropes of cum shoot down your throat. You swallow as much as possible until you start to choke, coughing around his dick until he pulls it out, spurting a few more ribbons of spend all over your lips and chin. 

Growling from behind paired with a death grip onto your hips are all signals of Leon’s impending orgasm. He snaps his hips a few more times, sinking into you to the hilt and spilling deep inside your cunt. 

“Yeah, fill that fucking pussy up.”

Leon groans, rutting against your ass as he keeps cumming inside your milking cunt. 

“God, it’s so good,” he pants, pulling out to jerk off the last of his load onto your ass. 

While you’re all trying to catch your breath, you collapse down onto your knees—or you would have if it wasn’t for Leon gripping your waist at the last minute. He fumbles with your panties and jeans until he gets them pulled back up into place. 

“How long til that shit wears off?” The one in front of you looks back to normal—a blue eyed man with not a blonde hair out of place. 

“Maybe another twenty minutes. We should probably sneak her back to that party,” the one behind you steps up next to you, looking identical.

“Let’s head out then, bro.”

Leon rolls his eyes and swings you up into a bridal carry, falling in step behind the other one. Eyelids feeling like they’re weighed down by a pile of bricks, you let them fall shut. You’ll have time to worry about whether or not they’re going to kill you later. 

[childofsardior]

🔥 Happy Bowser's Day!! 🔥

I litterally discovered there was a Bowser Day this EVENING and I had to SPEEDRUN-

Btw I'll drop down here some fun facts about personal headcanon for Bowser's species and why I drew him lion/cat-like :3 ↓↓↓↓

I want to make a full post abt it one day, but for now hear me out: I'm quite convinced Bowser's species maybe be based on a French Tarasque (and probably also on Alligator Snapping Turtles and I also think Kappa from Japanese Mythology?). From my limited knowledge, Tarasques are creatures from French Mythology and Folklore that resemble a mix of a lion and bear with six limbs and a spiked turtle-like shell covered in spikes; they also have a serpentine tail and a poisonous breath (I gathered these informations from my very old book How to Raise and Keep a Dragon and from the Wiki, so feel free to correct me or add details ^^')

In my personal SMB Headcanon, Bowser's species is commonly known as "Royal Koopas" or "Dragon-Turtles", but its proper name is "Tarrasquin". They are both related to Koopas and Dragons and are often considered a specific subspecies of the latter. They do mix characteristic from Koopas/Turtles and Dragons, such as the carapace and the ability to retreat inside it (but NOT to take it off, in my Headcanon at least) and fire, horns and claws. But they also have some feline-like features, being based on Tarasques, such as their cat-like muzzles, their big paws and *maybe* some occasional cat or big-cat behaveours, such as... purring!

(I know lions themeselves can't actually purr like small cats do, but shhhh-)

[xxsycamore]

╰┈➤ It’s Halloween night at the Crown caste, and you’re looking for some fun.

- William, Harrison, Liam, Elbert, Alfons, Jude, Ellis, Roger, Victor, Ring, Nica, Darius x f!reader

[ ◄ PART 1 ] - ◉ PART 2 - [ PART 3 ►]

• rating: 🔞 E (MDNI) • tags: Monsterfucking; Human/Monster; Mythical Beings & Creatures; Manipulation; Mildly Dubious Consent; Curse play; Non-Human Genitalia; Anonymous Sex; Masquerades; Creampie; Vaginal Sex; Size Difference; Size Kink; Power Dynamics; Power Imbalance; Power Play; Corruption; Multiple Orgasms; Dom/sub; Fondling; Manhandling; Near Death Experiences; Adrenaline; Flying Sex; Predator/Prey; Tail Sex; Tail Play; Possessive Behavior; Cervix Penetration; Oviposition; Eggpreg; Breeding; Unplanned Pregnancy • wordcount:  3,264 • masterlist

a/n: I got this idea for a story that is similar to Nine Nights, but without any plot or continuity between the different parts whatsoever. Unless, of course, you want to imagine that all of these take place one after another (poor Reader)... Monsterfucking is a new territory for me, so please bear with me. Once again, I tried leaving you with enough hints about who is who and I hope you can have fun guessing them lol

Dubcon warning: The reader seeks out physical intimacy on her own from the very beginning, however, some suitors use their curses' abilities on her without her being aware of it.

NEW: I made a playlist for this fic! It consists of 12 songs, one for each scenario. Enjoy <3

VISIONS OF TEMPTATION 2024/ KINKTOBER DAY 31: Non-human characters/traits

❝ MONSTER VILLAINS' NIGHT. ❞ (PART 2)

V. A fearful Demon King

"You're doing such a good job, little one. Keep rising and falling on me."

Dark shadows enfold the throne upon which the Demon King sits, with you seated on his large cock, steadily fucking yourself on it. His power is great and fearsome, making you dizzy when you try to look into the blurry memory of where you were just a handful of minutes ago or how it all led to this. You just know that if you were given the chance to go back, you'd still choose the same fate.

"Haaah… It's so big! I can't go any faster, my Lord… nghhh…."

From the moment you came to understand that the powerful being has chosen you to service him, you felt far more honored than scared. It all changed when he revealed his monstrous cock to you. With its shiny onyx-colored base and angry red head, mirroring the coloration of the twin horns on top of the Demon King's head, what intimidated you most was the girth of it. You were sure you wouldn't be able to fit something the width of your fist inside you, and you expressed those concerns to your Lord through a series of pathetic sobs, not failing to show him how much you wish you could, of course.

Then he did something unexplainable yet very simple at the same time. He used his clawed hand - the limb elegant despite its inhumanly size and black color - the pointy tip of his blood-red claw tipped your chin upwards so you could meet his demonic gaze. Looking into his crimson irises made all your hesitation go away in a flash, and suddenly you knew it was going to be alright.

Next thing you knew, you were piercing yourself on his length, letting it stretch you open and ruin you for everyone else. Not that it matters, you belong to your Lord now - the way he caves a room for himself inside you, you can only feel that he owns you now, body and mind.

The fluids seeping from his bulbous head acted like a lubricant that made your tight hole accommodate him bit by bit until he was all the way in, and you could only writhe in pleasure and haphazardly stroke your clit as the orgasms overcame you one after the other. The fear of doing something so indecent and selfish without his permission made you snap out of it, but your lord only kept the smirk on his face, encouraging you to keep going.

Even now that you've just let him know that the big intrusion inside you is preventing you from speeding up, he seems to be relaxing back in his throne, contently watching you struggle on your own. Your boldness grows with the need to push yourself over the edge in yet another orgasm, and while doing so, you reach for the black, curved horns on top of his head. You're clearly out of your mind to be doing that, so you search for his gaze that will decide your fate for you.

"I allow it."

A moan rips out of your throat, followed by a dozen blabby and brainless thank-you's. The new leverage works in your favor as you spasm and gush around the red-black appendage inside you, feeling it further stretching your walls on every rise and fall of your hips.

Without any awareness of the passage of time, it seems like you've been lost in this euphoric trance for an eternity before he finally grows bored of your pace. The demonic hand that he previously propped up his chin with is now snaking its way down your little human body, having a delectable taste of your soft parts with a squeeze there and there, before finally settling on your waist. His other hand joins too, and suddenly you have no power over your own movements - he grounds you to his lap easily, making you take his cock all the way in, before starting to move you up and down on his own will.

You feel light in his hold, your brain clearing out of any remaining thoughts that you previously had to keep into, when something still depended on you. The new wave of pleasure you're granted is stronger than anything you've felt, and you can only hear the obscene sounds of sticky fluids leaking from the place you're connected, your body locked in an eternal state of climax.

The last thing you feel is an overwhelming fullness deep in your womb that seems to go on forever, before you're finally settled down on the powerful being's torso, a clawed hand stroking the underside of your chin as your consciousness slips away.

VI. A deceitful Angel

The man dressed all in white has been standing out from the crowd all throughout the night, but he's even more remarkable now up close, you must admit. While he talks to you with his harmonically sweet voice, all you can focus on is the way his skin seems to glow under the scarce light of the eerily decorated hall. He's quite friendly, his golden eyes warm and inviting, as he suggests exploring the stairs to the roof of the castle.

You think nothing of it, sneaking off with him like a pair of juveniles as his laughter rings through the narrow spiral staircase. The night sky becomes a beautiful backdrop to his figure, and soon you're enamored enough of him to confess with a little chuckle that he looks like an angel. He gives you a mysterious smile, putting a slender finger in front of his lips, and in the next second a beautiful pair of wings spread wide on his back.

You're mesmerized by the sight, not believing your eyes - the angel-like stranger seems to be reading your mind at that moment because he evidently wants to show you just how real they are.

Namely, by pulling you by the hand where he stands at the edge of the rooftop, making you fall forward ontop of him, and right off the edge.

Your scream is sincere as you rapidly approach the ground, eyes squeezing shut as you say goodbye to your life, but the inevitable impact never comes. Instead, you're airborne, carried on the wings of the now laughing stranger who gave you the scare of your life. He never struck you as someone so cruel, but just as you're about to conclude he's no angel, you're given an even bigger reason to think that way. His wings suddenly strip their white color, feathers darkening as if covered by tar, until they become completely black.

"Are you enjoying the flight? I'd say the world looks far better from above. But we can make the sight even more enjoyable."

The sweet voice whispers those words close enough to your ear to send shivers, as you have no choice but to cling to him for dear life. His hands are free while yours are locked tightly around his neck, and he puts them to good use, moving them down your body and under the layers of fabric, baring you little by little.

"Ahh-Why-"

"Why not? You said that I'm an angel, didn't you? Maybe I just want to show you what heaven feels like, little bird."

If he's an angel, he's for sure a fallen one; someone like him has surely been punished for committing a despicable sin. Yet you can't help but moan at the way you're manhandled in the air, placed over his hot length, as it penetrates you in one long, slow thrust.

"Ahhhh! Nghh!"

You've never been in such a position, feeling so powerless but also feeling so good, your weight naturally falling on his cock with every flap of his wings. The celestial being cradles you close, giving you yet another illusion that he's being generous while in truth just using you for his own pleasure, a warm and tight sleeve to manipulate up and down in the air as he sees fit. Looking down makes you dizzy, as he practically holds your life in his hands, and you will yourself to concentrate on the growing pleasure that inevitably comes with the ordeal he puts you through, one that is greater than anything you've felt before. If you make it out alive, you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

"Aren't you enjoying this a lot, hmm? Don't you want to soar in the skies with me forever? How delightful will it be if you grew a pair of wings of your own, right here?"

He trails a deft finger across your back, dragging it upwards, right between your shoulder blades. It coincides with the fire inside you engulfing you to the point of no return, and you come undone on his cock, clinging to the body keeping you safe.

"It will hurt a little, but it will be all worth it. Don’t you want it? To help create a beautiful world by my side?"

As the angelic laughter rings in your ears, you feel a gush of liquid shoot inside you, and you begin to wonder why his offer seems so tempting at this very moment.

VII. A ferocious Minotaur

Going out in the garden for some fresh air shouldn't necessarily entail getting lost in the hedge maze, yet here you are.

As you turn yet another corner, fighting off the surprise of discovering a new dead end, you tell yourself that getting out of here can’t be that hard. Luckily the party is not ending any time soon, so maybe no one will notice your absence while you're on your own impromptu adventure. You won't speak of it afterward, that's for sure.

However, there's something entirely different that's been bothering you as you walk through the labyrinth-like walls of greenery, and that's the strong sense of being followed that you've been feeling for some time now. Not like eyes on your back, but rather, like a lingering sense of danger that you're about to run into any second now. You approach the next corner with caution, look behind, and relax enough to make fun of yourself in your head. But that only lowers your guard enough to make you scream with surprise when out of nowhere, a hand reaches for your shoulder.

"Hey, calm down. Are you alright? I've been trying to catch up with you for some time now. You appear to be running in circles. Are you lost?"

The man behind you is of large build, the pair of horns protruding from his brown hair only adding to his already admirable height, even if they're more sprawling at the sides of his head rather than from above - not unlike those of a ram. It's strange; for a moment there you had the feeling he'd been hunting you down towards this place in the center of the maze, but he doesn't seem to be ill-intended.

"W-Well- Not really, I just went out to get some fresh air, and-"

It must be pride that prevents you from accepting his help, or the fact that reaching the spacious center of the maze gives you the illusion of having made it halfway out of it without any help. Either way, the man lets out a short, wry laugh, almost mockingly so.

"I see. You are one of those who linger alone in here, looking for fun."

"T-That's not it! I honestly just meant to-"

The man steps in closer to you, his heavy boots coming to almost touch the tip of your own shoes now, and the difference in your builds is intimidatingly evident at that moment.

"How about this. You will try and make it out of here on your own. But if you fail, if I catch you - I will have my fun with you, there on the spot."

You can't believe yourself when the cold sweat beading at the base of your nape is not enough to stop you from giving it a thought. Maybe you were looking for some fun, maybe it was your frustration with failing to find fun that led you out of the hall to "take a breather" and get rid of the irritating arouse you've been feeling for some time - why hesitate just because you didn't expect to find your ticket to the entertainment here, in the garden?

The animalistic aura of the man and his respectable size gives you just enough push to make this fair, to actually give it your all before you fall into his hands. 

***

Well, you can't say that you didn't put up a fight.

The brown-haired man seems to enjoy pinning you down and restricting you just as much as you enjoy protesting in his strong hold, testing the strength of his toned arms. It's humiliating, feeling the cold cobblestone ground under your hands and knees, but you don't want anything to break the immersion of being his prey.

Though, he gives you enough to feed the fantasy as it is. Until you doubt it's a fantasy anymore. Not when something large and tapered and inhuman prods at your hole.

"W-What-"

"You stay quiet and take it, 'lil lady. That's your punishment for getting caught."

You feel your brain beginning to melt with the intrusion of the tapered head of his girthy cock, and you brace yourself for being this monster's plaything, hearing him groan above you as he bottoms out.

You need to think about making it out of the maze at some point too, but right now you're not very capable of that.

VIII. A possessive Dragonkin

(CW: oviposition, breeding, unplanned pregnancy)

You noticed something being amiss the very second you entered the room. This is his territory, that much is certain - and you let him walk you in here willingly. As his grip around your waist tightens, tongue long since down your throat in a breath-stopping kiss, your half-lidded eyes catch hazy glimpses of the space. The moonlight seeping from the windows helps you make up the contours of piles upon piles of objects of various shapes and colors covering every surface. Most of them shiny, intricate, antique, scattered around without order yet clearly kept with purpose.

At the very center of it all, you're being undressed by restless hands that seemingly want to reveal way more of your skin than is necessary for a simple, short-lived tryst between strangers. You expect his touch to be cold, but every part of you becomes scorching hot under his fingertips. His skin is smooth as it glides against yours, the moon making it glow almost, as he aims to maximize the contact between your bodies.

You want to touch him back, but something long, strong and scaly wraps around your middle, lifting you up with ease and suspending you in the air. Is that his... tail? You kick your feet at the loss of gravity, afraid that he will drop you, but he simply watches you squirm and struggle with his slitted icy-blue eyes.

"Mine."

The sudden pressing of his cock against your drenched entrance distracts you from this strange surge of possessiveness. Your limbs tremble as he bottoms out, the blunt tip of his appendage brushing against your cervix and sending electricity through your writhing form, a mixture of pain and pleasure overwhelms your senses.

With every thrust, it becomes easier, as your body not only becomes more pliable towards his size, but it also begins to crave more. It's like the precome smeared on his tip numbed your cervix, because you suddenly don't mind the feeling of him knocking on it on every thrust.

"Mine."

The whisper is followed by a grunt, and it makes you look at the stranger's face again. He's looking at you, yet it's like he's not seeing you; fixated on something underneath the surface, even his mantra of possessiveness is voiced out solely out of his own necessity to say it and not directed towards you. You reach out a hand and brush it against his pale, smooth cheek. Your fingertips graze blond hair locks and aim higher up, where a pair of pointy horns stand tall on the top of his head. They're translucent and blue in color, as if cut out from pure sapphire, and you're mesmerized by the sight, by all of him. Even if his tail wraps snuggly around you to keep you in place, his pace is rather rough, and one particularly sharp thrust has you grasping at those beautiful horns for support.

You're rewarded with a growl, and the sound of it makes your insides squeeze around the thick cock that continues to mercilessly pound your cunt. In a haze, you barely notice how the very tip of his tail snakes its way towards your clit and begins to stroke it.

"Ahhh!" You throw your head back as pleasure rocks your body, a powerful climax ripping through you. As your mind blanks out, you register your need growing tenfold despite having just orgasmed. In answer, he doesn't as much as slow down his thrusts, giving you exactly what you want.

Suddenly, you begin to feel a strange bulb at the base of his cock that presses more and more into your entrance, as if moving higher. The rational part of your brain, barely functioning, sends worrisome signals, but the part that wants this easily overpowers it. You don't need to understand it. You only need to think of the undiscovered pleasure that awaits you with that delicious stretch. Your walls pulsate helplessly around it, an itch that nothing else would be able to scratch, you're ruined for everything else at that very moment. The bulb slowly moves higher, making its way to your bruised cervix, until it finally presses against it, firmly.

There is a sense of resistance for a second, until finally, something pops inside. Tears of overstimulation gather in the corners of your eyes, and you feel something small and rounded nestling deep inside, in your uterus. It makes you orgasm on the spot, body thrashing around in the strong hold you're being kept in, as your vision turns to white for a mere second.

A gush of liquid follows, and you open your eyes to see the one doing this to you breathing rapidly as he too reaches his orgasm. His seed floods you, seeping into your dilated cervix without anything to hold it back, and drenches the egg resting in your womb. A rush of realization goes to your fucked-out mind and you just know, with every cell on your body, and by some ancient design, that whatever he put inside you has been fertilized successfully in that very moment.

"Mine."

You hear the wicked mantra leave his lips one last time before you pass out, and you briefly have the opportunity to worry about your future. Is he going to keep you here forever? Or maybe your purpose will end with expelling the egg once it finishes its growth, to add another treasure to his collection. You can't help but wonder, when he says "mine", why is it that you don't mind whether he's referring to you or the good incubator that your womb makes?

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[bundoesnotcompete]

Reader is a Vidyadhara and Dan Feng's apprentice. This is wayy to long at an amazing 7250 ish words. Slight lore inaccuracies and maybe oocness. Childhood friends to lovers. Reader is dubbed 'Baofu' as a name but it isn't mentioned often. See end for more notes. Enjoy!

You were floating in something warm. Whatever you were contained in was very warm and so wonderfully comfortable. You had to wonder where you were and why you felt so calm. Fragments of a previous life, of a game and wondering the cosmos, filled your mind. You startled and kicked around, it was too much for your young mind to handle. Your mind gently drifted off.

The next time you woke, you were much smaller. Your tail felt around your small chamber, that too was smaller. There were voices yelling outside, but they were muffled. Your chamber was dark, so seeing outside was not an option. They were horribly loud too your sensitive ears, and you shifted away from them, accidently flipping your prison around. They stopped yelling.

This was fine, you could handle being in a diffrent position if it meant you got your peace and quiet. You felt movement around you before your room righted itself. You floated to the bottom, happily sleeping again.

It was beginning to get cramped in your home. This was what you had decided the next time you woke. Quiet voices could be heard outside. The voices were familiar to you since you heard them often.

When you stretched out your limbs to relieve their sleepiness, your feet broke your container. Water was quickly filling your home and you panicked. The egg you were in was fragile and you easily broke free of it. Kicking and clawing your way to freedom and safety.

Well, it would've been safe if your toddler body could swim. Even the fragmented memories and instincts weren't enough to remember the motions to swim. You had yet to open your eyes, too busy flailing to think about opening them. Panic set in and you began to cry and scream, an internal part of you getting embarrassed. Water splashed around you before a set of hands grabbed your naked and screaming form. As you were lifted out of the water, you were decided to open your eyes.

Blurrily, you could see the face of a man with a set of blue ish horns and brown hair. Dan Heng? A fragment of your original self echoed. Who was Dan Heng? Blinking and settling yourself, you stopped screaming.

"I shall inform and retrieve the others, Imbibitor Lunae!" A panicked voice entered your ears. Even though fat tears were still streaming down your face, you could make out the man in front of you better. Blue eyes, dark brown to black hair, and long ears are what you could make out as he cradled you to his chest. You tail swoshed gently behind you as he shifted to hold you.

You watched from where your head laid on his shoulders as he left the waters. The dark cobbled room greeted your eyes. The place where you had slept was filled with green seawees and sand. Your former home laid in ruins from your panicked escape. Pieces of the egg shell floated in the clear water. You had eased up in your crying as you studied the room.

More people hurried into the room, these ones did not look lile the one who held you. They had long ears but lacked the horns and tail you and you handler had.

"Imbibitor Lunae, here is some blankets to wrap them in." A woman took you from you handler's arms and wrapped you in a warm blanket. You shifted, the blanket felt like it was crunching your tail. You began to cry again at the feeling, your toddler body not having much emotional control.

You made grabby hands toward the one known as Dan Feng, crying louder. You wanted to go back to safety and not being uncomfortable.

"Give them here. I will take them to the next room." Dan Feng commanded the room and you were quickly given back to him. He adjusted the blanket for your tail and held you to his chest.

What followed next was something you could not remember, your drowsiness taking over. What you did learn was that you were not something that was supposed to be alive.

Your egg had appeared from nowhere. An elderly Vidyadhara caretaker had found your egg. No records of you were found and that had caused an uproar. Scans confirmed that you were a Vidyadhara. Your egg was quickly isolated. An arugement had broken out about you when the entirity of the Vidyadhara Preceptors council had gotten together.

It was only when you were roughly seven in human years did you fully regain yourself.

--------

Being reincarnated sucked. Your reincarnation into the Vidyadhara called Baofu wouldn't have been so bad if the others hadn't looked at you strange. The new name and body hadn't taken long to get used to, but the looks did.

"Its not normal to show your tail and horns. Why are they doing that?" Many had murmured behind your back.

"I heard that the Council thinks they are a reincarnation of Long." Others would gossip. Many expectations were placed on you. Any wrong doing was punished twice as much then anyone else and any achievement belittled. The council members from all ships sucked.

You were in a small pool out in a green area, currently working on water techniques like your shifu taught you. The artifical sun of the Xianzhou Loufu was bright in the water. Your shifu sat behind you.

Dang Feng watched you as you struggled and got frustrated. His knees tucked underneath him and tail resting behind him. His face was passive at your growing frustration. He crossed his arms.

"Do not think of water as a shape right now. Think of it as a flowing river, do not fight against it, but go with it." His stern voice hit your ears just as your control faltered and water plooped back down into its source. You let out a frustrated cry and your tail hit the water hard. You turned around to face the dark-haired man, ignoring the fact he was gently wiping water from his face.

"Can we go home? I've been doing this forever. I wanna go play." Your voice was a hair below shouting. Frustration was thick in your voice and your mentor merely sighed.

"Give it another shot. You are closer to doing it then you think you are." He encouraged. You groaned before turning around. You held your hands out and focused. Let the water flow freely, but encourage it to keep its shape.

A small, clear blob gently floated in front of you. You imagined a ring in your mind and attempted to mould to water to that shape. The water shakily formed a ring and you held it in the air. A large smile broke out on your face and you turned to you mentor who gave a small smile. Turning your head back to the ring of water., you felt your control slip and watched the water flop pathetically back to its source.

You sagged slightly at the sight, but turned around as you heard your mentor stand. He dusted off his white pants and beckoned you toward him. You walked to him and got out of the water. Your sandals were covered in sand and the edges of your shorts were slightly wet.

"I will permit you to have extra time to play today. You will not get the opportunity tomorrow." He held out his hand for you to take. You took it, his large hand encompassing yours. "You did well today. So not let the others bring you down. You are still quite young." You both walked back to your shared home.

Once you changed, you fled the house. Your master watching as you left. There was a park you could go to that had many children there often. It was a wonderful place to go to when you just wanted to be a child. As you arrived, you scanned the area. The park was rather empty today. The only people in it were a white haired man and a young boy. His son, you guessed by the looks of it.

You darted to the sand box the boy was in, you tail gently swaying as you ran. The boy heard you and looked up from where he was playing. You stopped in front of him and looked down at him. Gold eyes watched you carefully. You had this. You could do this without being socially awkward.

"I am Baofu and I think we are going to play together." Shit, that was too demanding. Plan B, Plan B. "If you wanna. If not I can go play somewhere else." You back tracked, trying to fix your tone to something lighter. Heavens did you even sound like a child?

Nice going, you messed it up and now he's not going to play with you. You thought.

The boy merely smiled and shuffled over to make space for you. He patted the sand beside him. You stepped in the box and sat next to him. He turned to you, white hair messily framing his face.

"I'm Jing Yuan." He said, scooping some sand into a his pale blue bucket. He made no comments on your more dragon like appearance. Instead, you two played like any other children would. Being a child again was a wonderful experience at times, this being one of them. Even as his father came to take Jing Yuan home, you two promised to meet again.

You often met with Jing Yuan at the park after that. In between your forced duties and schooling, you would try to catch him at the park. You only truly made friends with him and no other child at the park. Between your social awkwardness and appearance, no child wanted to be friends with the odd one out. Except for Jing Yuan, that is.

"I'm going to be a Cloud Knight!" He proclaimed to you one day as you both played Knights. You had been friends with him for nearly three years at this point. "Dad even enrolled me in training courses to help me get started earlier. Though we just stick to book stuff."

He swung at you with his stick and you dodged and tried to get him back with yours. This was training disgused as play time. You had to give his dad credit, disgusing this exercise as a game was clever. It also left you ego and shins bruised. Jing yuan was too good at attacking.

"I think you'll be a good knight!" You had merrily chimed back as you hit him with the back of the leg with a stick. You heard him yelp and fall. Aa you approached him he glared up at you from his spot on the ground. He couldn't keep the grumpy face for long though, and he eventually broke out into laughter after you helped him up.

Unbeknownst to the both of you, this was the last time you would see one another for years to come. Training took up the majority of your time and then eventually Jing Yuan's. When you had gotten your first phone you had gotten his number, but you both ended up being so busy that you didn't talk much.

You had progressed wonderfully in your training, the water eventually succumbing to your will. Of course, you weren't on the level of someone like Dan Feng, but if he couldn't be there you often took his place.

It was exhausting. The other high elders expected so much of you. Dang Feng did his best to control the influence the other elders had over you, but he could only do so much. Then, while you were working on the Yuque, it came under siege from the Denizens of Abundance. What was supposed to be simple help with injuries from a band of roaming mara-struck turned into a battlefield.

The injuries only multiplied from there. If you weren't being ran ragged by the injured then you were out on the defense lines. The Denizions did not take well to boiling, high pressured water shooting at them at high speeds. The tiredness from earlier only worsened when you fought.

The Yuque was quickly turning into a mess. While the defensive lines did hold, everything else was falling apart. The medics were quickly being overwhelmed and the soldiers were running out of weapons. Denizions were tough to kill, even the weapon shifu had made for you eventually cracked from battle. In a way, you were cracking just like your weapon.

"Please, you have to help her instead of me. My children deserve to have their mother more." The solider laying in front of you begged, how wife laying next to him. An attack on the district had left them both injured. The man more so then his wife.

"She will be fine. Stop moving." Your patience was wearing thin. Another Vidyadhara was coming towards you. The man in front of you jerked again and you finally gave into your frustration and hit him on his leg wound. It was cruel, but he needed to follow orders. You whipped you head to him as he cried out.

"Shut up and lay still or i will do more then just hit you." You hissed to him. You never got violent with your patients, but he would not stop moving and your patience was thin.

"That is enough, I will deal with him Baofu." There was a hand on your shoulder. "You are needed in the command tent. The main tent. Go get some rest after that. You look horrific." The woman's voice was authoritive. You looked up at her dipleased face before finally standing from your seat and storming out the tent, the frustration obivous on your face.

The main command tent was in the center of camp. More people shuffled around then before, new faces coming in with the old. Supplies were quickly feeding into camp. It appears help from the Loufu has finally arrived. Sliding past the busy people had taken a bit of time, but you made it to the tent. You felt tired just looking at the Major in charge.

Throwing open the cloth door, you could see four familiar people standing around the table. You knew them as Dan Feng's friends, but you never had the time to truly meet them.

"Ah, Baofu. It appears our prayers have been heard. Help has finally arrived." The major in charge of this camp gave a relieved sounding sigh. She continued, "I will give a short summary of who is who just in case you don't know. I know you know your shifu. The woman to my left is Baiheng, she will be helping with starskifts." She waved towards a Foxian Woman. She pointed to a white haired woman next. "This is Jingliu and her appreantice, Jing Yuan."

You merely nodded in response to her introductions. You gave a small wave to them before turning back to the Major, not fully comprehending the fact that your childhood best friend was standing across from you. Scooting closer to the table, you took a look at the map. The lines hadn't moved on the Alliance's part, but the Denizions appeared to have grown in number.

"I want you to give a debriefing to your shifu after this. He needs to know what mess he is walking into." The major continued. She turned her attention to the map in front of everyone and began her debriefing. If there was one thing you did not like about the major, it was the fact that she was boring. She had a monotone voice that could put anyone to sleep. You got drowsy as she continued on, the debriefing not keeping your attention. This was the first time in a while you had been in such a still place. You blinked awake.

Dan Feng had moved beside you, as if sensing you were about to fall asleep. You looked up to see his disapproving, but worried look. Well, as worried as his neutral face got. You played with your hands, distracting yourself. You ignored the fact that you felt yourself shaking. You blinked awake again. She was still rambling. A hand was on your back this time. Dan Feng leaned down to your ear.

"Stay awake for a few more minutes. You do not need to debrief me, so you can just go to your room." He whispered quietly. You nodded. Heavens, you were so tired. When was the last time you ate? Your eyes drooped again. Fighting against sleep was difficult. You entire body was so exhauasted from constant use. It was not used to war.

You did not blink awake like you did last time. Instead, you woke with an intense grogginess. The bed you were in was warm and soft. The wonderful feeling of the bed did not change the fact that your bones ached. Everything ached, actually. Muffled voices came through the door to your room.

"We both know Baofu cares too much. I've only known them for a bit, but even i could recognize the signs. Hitting a patient was the final straw." It was the voice of the Vidyadhara Woman from before. Lady Wu was what many called her. The voice of your mentor came closer.

"Why didn't you pull them from active duty earlier…." You zoned out from the conversation as they got closer. Your brain felt like it was frying itself.

You cracked open your eyes, trying to gather information about your sorroundings. Sitting up proved to be difficult, but you maaged an upright position before the door to your room opened. Dan Feng entered the room quietly.

Seeing that you were awake, he spoke. "You gave us quite to scare, collasping like that." He approached and sat in the chair next to your bed. The room lit only by the small, dull lamp in front on your bed. "You are in a state of absolute exhuastion. Do you even realize how in bad of shape you are?"

You looked to him and huffed. The look on his face warned you of an an incoming scolding and lecture. He got a cup of water from the small side table beside him and handed to you.

What proceeded was the most intense scolding of your life. You had been out for nearly three days and Dan Feng had been worried. He listed facts after facts about your poor health and how you needed to take care of yourself more. You were no use if you were overworking yourself. Now here you were, in a state of weakness caused by your own doing.

"Jing Yuan will need assistance in helping train the soldiers more. Jingliu can only do so much and she is furious at the poor state of the soldiers training. Light duty only." He gave you a sharp look at those final words. "I will send for Jing Yuan and he will update you shortly. For now you will have three days of rest before light duty." You licked you dry lips nervously. You hadn't seen your friend in so long, you were basically strangers.

Dan Feng stood and sighed. "I do not have much time to spend with you here. So, I am going to say this now. You did a wonderful job healing the injured." You could tell he wanted to say something else. "Please, do not be hard on yourself when you lose a patient, you cannot save everyone." He turned as began to walk to the door. You were unsure what to say to that, so you only watched as he left.

You cleaned yourself in the next few hours. Brushing your hair, taking a shower, and taking care of your tail were the beginning steps. The door opened and a white haired teen waltzed in. You held a tight grip on your tail to prevent it from wagging. A smile broke out on your face, however.

"Jing yuan!" You called to him as he approached. He was quick to snatch you in a hug. Your hands letting go of your tail to hug him back. You tail thumped against the floor happily.

"I was a bit worried about you. You just suddenly collaspsed in the meeting." He start as he set you back on the bed he had snatched you from. He sat on the chair that Dan Feng originally sat in. "I'm glad your okay. Things really are a mess here. How about I give you an idea of what your going to help me with and then we catch up."

Appreantly, the Denizens of Abundance where being helped by an emanator named ShuShu. Upon finding this out, Jingliu wanted every soldier trained harder in order to be more ready for battle. The higher ups did not want more to become mara-struck. With better training, they could achieve that.

Jing Yuan mainly needed someone to help him show his trainees how to patch wounds. Since a majority of the soldiers did not have formal training, they often did not know how to patch wounds. Many were civilians who took up arms to help the overwhelmed knights.

Thus began your days of recovery. You would attend the training, show some basic medic skills, like stitching up wounds, and then spend your day with Jing Yuan. Of course, you could only spend time with him if Jingliu hadn't taken him or if he wasn't busy.

After your recovery, both yours a Jing Yuan's training intensified. Neither of your Mentors wanted you two to fall in battle. Your original training did not revolve around combat, so Dan Feng largely trained you in how to fight better. Your ability to heal at fast rates, whether that be on yourself or others, was a gift that Dan Feng used. Your fast healing made others and yourself more durable in battle, leading to people being in battle longer.

You did not particularly enjoy combat, oftentimes staying farther back and using the cloudhymm to heal your soldiers en masse. It was an ability others appraciated. Eventually, the High Cloud Quintet was formed. Though you often visited them when they had their meetings, you never formally joined them.

Your duties often kept you on other lines apart from them. Instead you unintentionally formed a healing group with other Vidyadhara that often kept your soldiers in battle for far longer then normal. In fact, those who often where in your small group branched off to other divisions to help there. Years drew on, and you fame only grew with how many battles you dragged out and how many frontlines were moved under you and your people.

After the western front was secured, you were asked to go to the eastern front, where your mentor was. The Denizens of Abundance were far stronger on the eastern front since they were pushed back. So, you and several divisions of soldiers went east to support them. A massive attack at ShuShu and his forces was about to be underway. Any relief that you're soldiers could give would be helpful.

The relief your soldiers brought was immense. Many of the overworked were able to take a small break now that help had arrived.

Arriving to the main command center, you entered the building to see where you would be placed. Large arms encased you in a hug from behind before you could find the commanders. Only one person would do that.

"Hello Jing Yuan." You sighed. He dropped you and you turned to him. He had gotten far prettier over the years and you decided that it wasn't fair. Who let this man be so pretty? He was also far too kind to you. He always listened to you and often times tried to distract you from the war. He would be a good boy- wait, no. You did not have a crush on him. You couldn't do that, not with your best friend. Those weren't the words of you loving him, they were just words of appreciation. Yeah, appreciation.

"Why, I'm here to take you to the others." He guided you to a room in the opposite direction. "They figured you wouldn't know where to find them, so they sent me to wait for you." He looked to you as you walked. You had grown to be quite beautiful, in his opinion. Your empathy drew him to you even if you pretended too not care so deeply. He enjoyed many other traits about you too.

Entering a large room, the other High Cloud Quintet members were there. Baiheng gave you a beaming smile and waved to you as you approached the war table. You took a spot next to your mentor. Jingliu stood at the front, Baiheng to her right, and Jing Yuan was next to Baiheng. Yingxing stood to Jingliu's left, Dan Feng next to him, and then you at the end of the table.

"Shushu's forces are making a desperate attempt to stop us." Jingliu began. "An attack must be happening soon. If we can strike first, it could cripple their defenses." Jingliu looked up from the table. "So here is the plan."

The plan never happened, Shushu's forces had far greater power than anyone had anticipated and had attacked first. The Sanguinary Abyss that shushu had set up was dangerous, and any who passed through it were often trapped on the other side. Your mentor was on the other side and suffering from Dragon's Delirium.

Even as both you and Jing Yuan cut through countless enemies, their defenses would not break. Your healing was keeping the soldiers alive longer, but they were still falling rapidly. At this rate, you were merely stalling. Purple hair was quick to rush by you and run into the enemies' defensive line.

Baiheng was rushing and bulldozing her way through both the Sanguinary Abyss and enemy lines. Her recklessness carving a way through the enemies defensive line. Yingxing was quick on her tail.

"Everyone," Jing Yuan managed to shout out to enough soldiers, "Follow us through the lines, we have a way past them! Inform everyone around you!" He looked your way as he parried and killed one the denizens. Hearing his command you repeated what was said to nearby soldiers, shouting as loud as you could.

Rallying to Jing Yuan, you kept the soldiers you had alive as you stormed the enemies crumbling defensive line. Following behind Baiheng by a few short minutes. The following battle raged on for longer as the forces around you unknowingly made a defensive line to Baiheng and the others.

Shushu's defeat was quickly realized as the Denizens of Abundance fled in large numbers and the battle was quickly ended. You told Jing Yuan to find the others as you went for the wounded. You could worry about them later, your soldiers were more important since they did not have the same power as the others.

As the battle slowed and ended, You created patches of misty haze that healed your wounded soldiers and helped keep those with major wounds alive for longer. Hours bled together as you helped settle the remaining skirmishes and healed the wounded. In some cases, even killing them after they had been mara-struck.

You did not hear news of Baiheng's sacrifice until you returned to camp to rest. You saw your master and Jingliu speaking and had decided to approached.

"Shifu." You spoke from behind Dan Feng. He looked horribly pale. "Are you alright?" You looked to Jingliu who was no better. Assuming the worse you quickly approached to look for wounds.

"Your not injured are you? Where is Baihe-" you were quickly cut off by Dan Feng.

"Baiheng is dead. She gave herself to defeat ShuShu." Dan Feng's voice shook as he spoke. Shock colored your face. You had quickly forced him and Jingliu into a hug, your arms barely reaching around them both. Neither cried, but neither resisted your hug like they normally would've.

"I'm sorry you two. Is Yingxing alright? He ran up with her to meet with you two." You let go of them both.

"Yingxing is alright. He is helping bring the injured back to camp." Jingliu spoke, voice hollow. "Jing Yuan is still on the battlefield cleaning up the remaining Denizens of Abundance."

"Would you mind helping heal the injured? I need to rest from the battle with ShuShu, but I do not wish to leave the injured unattended." Your mentor spoke. You knew he just wanted an excuse for you to leave. You didn't push him and instead nodded.

"Yeah, Both of you get some rest. I-" Pausing, you gave yourself a moment to think, "I am here for you both if you need me. I don't know what to say, but I can always listen." You reassured them and left.

The next weeks were solemn. Your Mentor was not taking Baiheng's death well. Her funeral had been large and many from all ships came to mourn her loss and celebrate her life. Yingxing and Jingliu were no better in their grief, but Jingliu was coping better than the other two, but not much. Jing Yuan had taken up the offer of comfort when you gave it to him.

Baiehng's death had hurt him too, but he leaned on you for help and was healing better than the others from it. He was quickly flying through the ranks of the Cloud Knights and there were even rumors of Teng Xiao chosing him to be his successor, which were later proven true. You had both celebrated his promotion with glee. Cherishing the nigh as you both knew his time would be limited. Even with his limited time, he tried to make time for you and you tried to make time for him.

The romance between you two was steadily beginning to grow, but you wouldn't get together with him until after the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae.

You had noticed your master acting suspiciously a few days before his crime. He and Yingxing often together and planning something. When you had confronted him about his behavior, he had blown up. The fight between you two leaving feelings hurt and opening a wound between you two.

You had cried to Jing Yuan when he came to see you that day. Your mentor's words hurting more than any true wound could. He had comforted you, and the bond between you two only grew deeper.

In order to avoid your mentor, you went to Scalegorge Waterscape to help with tending to Vidyadhara eggs. Tending to the eggs was not one of your major duties, but it was peaceful. The other caretakers had allowed you to join them, sensing you needed to break from everything. In the early morning hours, your mentor and Yingxing would commit a crime that would be told for centuries.

You had sensed something was going to happen at the Watercape, so you left early for what you called "Egg Duty". When you had arrived, the sight of having the Ambrosial Arbor exposed had you running for it. You had quickly texted Jingliu that something was up and asked for reinforcements. You had told her you had a feeling your mentor was doing something stupid and she had relayed it to Jing Yuan.

Finding your master, you discovered that he had tampered with the Ambrosial Arbor. Not only that, he had invoked Transmutation Arcanum and was commiting a unforgivable sin. Things were quick to dissolve after Yingxing had recieved backlash and you cronfronted your mentor.

You couldn't do anything to him though once the Draconic Abomination had been born. The thing quickly formed after your mentor lost control over the Arbor. You had quickly shifted your attention to the massive rampaging dragon thing that was quickly ruining the waterscape.

You fought the beast for hours once you shifted into your true draconic form. You used the water around you to stall the beast and cause a stalemate. The healing factor from you both was causing a stalemate and that in turn was destroying the Waterscape. You had fought for a long while until the beast struck a nearly unhealable blow to you.

The thick claws of the beast had caught the side of your face and caught your eye. It was quick to use your disorientation to pin you. While you had managed to injury the beast greatly while pinned, it was going to kill you of you could not shake it off. You mentor was nowhere in sight. Dredging up the last of your waning strength, you summoned the nearby water to knock the beast off of you. While it had been successful, you did not get up in time before it pinned you again.

It had tackled you and broke more bones in the process, the blood from both you staining the waters. Your savior came in the form of Jingliu. Her ice strikes were decisive against the beast and caused it to turn its attention to her. You did not join the resulting battle, not even to heal.

Even as Jingliu killed the beast and became mara-struck, you merely laid there and continued to try to heal yourself. It was hard when you were in so much pain and taking wheezing breaths. You closed your eyes and focused inward.

A hand was on your muzzle and you felt another Vidyadhara's cloudhymm help you heal. You cracked open your good eye to see who it was. Weakness caused your vision to be blurry, but you could recognize one of the preceptors. There were shouts and voices around you, but you felt yourself fading.

"Baofu, you must rest. We will handle your master and this beast." Their voice was muffled. The Cloudhymm throughout your body intensified. You closed your eye as you heard the voice speak, "That's right, rest." You allowed the all-encompassing darkness to take you.

You awoke again in a darker place and in deep water. You managed to get your head above water and on shore. You did not recognize this place. This large of a healing room was not used. Since so few Vidyadhara can truly return to their draconic form, rooms like these were useless in this day and age.

The door in the room opened and you recognized the preceptor that came in. They were the one that saved you.

"Finally awake, I see. You took quite the beating from that abomination." They came close to your snout and examined you. "Holding off that beast was impressive considering how long you lasted." They examined the eye that was slashed. "Thank you for fighting it and defying your master." They walked in front of you as you lazyly stared.

"You have been unconscious for nearly a week now. Healing such intense damage to bones takes time. Much has happened in your sleep. The high elders will arrive shortly once I give the word. I will go inform them of your state. I will be back after your meeting." They quickly left the room without giving you a chance ro say anything. You drifted between dreamland and reality until the door had reopened for the high elders.

You shifted to get more comfortable and to face the High Elders, Dan Feng's teachings instilled into you even in dragon form. All four had approached you and formed and semi cricle around your snout.

"High Elders, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you for." You hoarsely spoke. The elder from Zhuming was the first to speak, his voice echoing across the empty chamber.

"Your master had chosen you to be the successor. You are to become the next Imbibitor Lunae, even if we do not fully agree." The elder from Yuque was next to speak.

"What he means to say is that even with the circumstances sorrounding your birth, your loyalty to the safety of the Xianzhou Alliance has convinced is to allow your ascension. Your display of power and defiance to your mentor's plan has proved to us that you are worthy of his title." Her tone was impassive. The elderly Vidyadhara next to her spoke.

"Your mentor's sin has caused him to be punished and his title stripped from him. The only reason he lives is to give you his power before rebirthing." The elder from Fanghu spoke.

"We will explain in more detail your duties later. For now, rest. In three days time you will recieve the power of Imbibitor Lunae. More will be discussed later. We will leave you to rest." The elder from Yuque softly said to you. They departed from the room as you laid there. Trying to comprehend what was happening.

You pushed yourself deeper into the massive pool and sunk to the bottom. You emotional state quickly becoming depressed.

The next days passed fast and before you knew it, the time for your Ascension had come. You had the strength to revert to human form for the ritual, so that was the form you chose for it. Getting dressed and ready had been easy.

Entering the room you had been guided to down the hall had not been easy. Seeing you mentor sorrounded by preceptors and high ranking officals was stressing you.

"All who are present in this room are to witness the birth of the next Imbibitor Lunae. Baofu has been chosen and approved to be Dan Feng's successor." The loud voice of the Yaoqing's elder sounded throughout the room.

You approached Dan Feng and ignored the happenings around you. When you approached and stopped in front of him, he gave you a sorrow look.

"I do not regret it. Just know that I know you will do well and I'm proud of you." Dan Feng had spoken softly to you as he began the process of transfering power to you. However, the process was never fully completed and you only got splinters lf his power. This was the last time you saw Dan Feng before his rebirth and those words were the last he spoke to you.

After the ceremony, you returned to your estate you had shared with you mentor. The emptiness of the estate felt like thousands of stones were weighing on you. You were robotic in your movements as you went about you nightly routine. The only thing that stopped you was the knock at your door.

Opening to the door to Jing Yuan was something that you felt should've surprised you, but the day was still trying to process. He gave a soft look to you before he gently asked if he could come in. Of course, you let him in and when you closed the door and turned back to him, he crushed you in a hug.

The hug broke something in you. The weight of the day was hitting you hard. You could hear him apologizing, but the ringing in your ears was quick to drown him out. The feeling of helplessness and grief hitting you like a tsunami. You hugged him back as sobs ripped from your throat.

You were never going to see your father figure again. He would be reborn and you would not get the chance to see him again until the new him was born. Jing Yuan merely hummed as you sobbed into him. He cried with you, but not much. He had few tears left to give.

When you managed to calm yourself, you asked if he wanted to stay the night. He said yes, joking that it could be like old times when he had snuck in to see you as children. He managed to get a smile out of you with that joke. Waking up in Jing Yuan's arms that next morning had almost caused your heart to stop. You swore you had died for a few moments when you finally realized who was with you.

He was warm from where he was spooning you. Although you felt your heart was about to stop beating, you did not move. Instead,you laid there drifting in and out of sleep until he finally stirred. Neither of you mentioned your sleeping arrangement until you had made a comment later.

"I do appreciate company. Prehaps if you aren't opposed to it, you could stay the night again?" You quietly suggested, asking it as a question. His smile told you his answer before he even spoke.

"Of course." Jing Yuan turned for the door. "I am here for you. I hope you understand that." As you let him out you replied to him.

"Of course. I am here for you too."

Thus, time moved on. You took up the duties of Imbibitor Lunae and eventually took the young Vidyadhara Bailu as an apprentice. Jing Yuan had his duties as general and came to visit often, even after he expelled a young Dan Heng from the Laofu in order to free him. After a long while of unoffically dating you finally confessed and both of you made it offical. Even though you both tried to be quiet about it, word eventually spread.

Roughly four decades before Jing Yuan would bring Yanqing home to be his retainer, you offically got married. The entirety of the Xianzhou Loufu partied rather hard in celebration. Though, you believe that they were just looking for an excuse to party. The wedding had been private with photos released at a later date.

When Jing Yuan brought a young blond child home, you questioned him. He explained that the boy had lost his parents and needed a caretaker. Jing Yuan was in need of a student and retainer so he decided to bring the boy in. You were miffed by his actions, even if you would come to care for the boy later. He still could have informed you.

Bailu at least enjoyed Yanqing's company. The boy was going to turn you grey at the rate he was going. He was a good swordsman, but he was young. He tended to get in over his head when choosing opponents. He did not seem to understand that while he was good, he needed experience and wisdom before he recklessly charged into battle.

In the current time, you watched Bailu practice in the same pond you had trained in when you were young. She seemed to be picking up the water techniques better then you though. When she met her goal for the day, she always turned to you in excitement with a smile on her face. You smiled back and praised her. If she failed at something, you merely used it as a lesson for her.

"Come, Bailu. I think we should practice the healing technique you wanted to work on." You said to her. The beaming smile she showed reminded you of Baiheng's. She was quick to depart the water and run infront of where you had stood up and began to walk.

Yes, this is perfect. You had thought, ignoring the massive ball of dread in your gut.

The sun was shining and the day was wonderful. You unknowingly had time to savor this moment before the crisis with the stellaron was to occur. If you had known what was to happen, you would've savored it longer. But as it stood now, you were to train your little apprentice more before going home to Jing Yuan.

The day was going to continue to be good, you just knew it.

-----------

End notes.

I rushed the ending i just wanted to end it and i didn't even do everything i wanted. It was just getting so long. The original idea i had was supposed to be for Zhongli but here is Jing Yuan instead. I am not proof reading that so i hope it makes sense because it was written over several days. See you next time!

Edited some errors on 9/8/24

[dunmeshi-darlings]

Hey i love your blog thank you for doing these imagines!

Can i request an half dragon beastkin reader x Izutsumi? Maybe they found them chained up somewhere in the dungeon and laios and them set them free?

Of course dear anon, and congratulations on being my first izutsumi focused ask

The dungeon held many secrets in its labyrinthian halls, Secrets of magic ancient and powerful, Secrets of Shady Deals among less than savory criminals, Secrets of viscious monsters, Secrets of life and death, But some secrets....were much darker than others.

As the group was travelling they heard a strange sound, it sounded like a person in trouble so they followed the sound to its source. It was a iron gate in the ground with a chain on it, around the gate were the bodies of various criminals who seemingly had been killed by an orc raid. As chilchuck and izutsumi listened they heard labored breathing and quickly laios broke open the lock on the chain as they opened the door, there eyes widening at what they saw

A beastkin looked up at them, They had hard reptile scales that covered there body, large clawed hands and feet scraped at the stone floor as a large tail moved behind them, large horns adorning the figures head. You looked up squinting your eyes and covering them, it had been so long since you had seen light.

Izutsumi was the first to notice, large chains were wrapped around your limbs and neck keeping you trapped in place. At first nobody moved, afraid that you were some sort of criminal or were dangerous. Laios asking you why you were down here, you explained that the thugs outside kept you chaine dup down here to show off to other people as a freakshow for coin, normally they would be guarding the gate but you heard them get attacked by orcs and they all must have died. You honestly figured you were going to die in this whole, left to starve to death.

Before anyone could react izutsumi grabbed chilchuck and jumped down into the hole. She put the half-foot down and told him to pick the locks on the chains to get you out now! everyone was surprised at how urgent she sounded, marcille asking what was going on with her. She scowls saying she know what its like to be shown off like a freak and she isnt going to let anyone deal with that.

Everyone agrees and chilchuck picks the locks as you feel the weight of the chains slide off you, you stand up showing just how tall you were compared to everyone else, cracking your neck as you breathed a sigh of joy at your newfound freedom. You tell laios your in there debt and want to help them on there adventure to save his sister, and you join them from then on.

You got along well with everyone in the group, of course laios kept asking you questions about being half dragon but you didnt mind. But it was izutsumi you seemed to be the closest with, She often spent her time being near you. The two of you chatting and talking about being beastkin. Her explaining how it was forced on her when she was a little child and cant remember anything before it. Normally she wouldnt talk about this with anyone...but your different, you get what she has been through, and she feels more comfortable with you than anyone else. You put your hand on her shoulder and comfort her telling her that your sorry she has gone through all this, and that hopefully you guys can find a cure for this curse on her.

You two began to grow closer, She moved from sleeping in the same cot as chilchuck to sleeping with you in your cot. Her commenting how your body is alot warmer than chilchuck and your perfect to lay on top of and fall asleep on. Whenever she falls asleep on top of you, you cant help but put one arm around her and drift off to sleep rather quickly, since she started doing this you have never slept better.

Whenever senshi cooks food she is always sneaking the bits she doesnt like into your portions of food, now having a place to dump the veggies she doesnt like. You are always more than happy to eat them for her, and in return you let her have some of the stuff she does like from your food. you two basically sharing food portions together.

The two of you are incredibly protective of each other, any time the group fights a monster you two are close by each other. Fighting in unison and defeating the monsters that the mad mage sends after you. And when either of you gets hurt, the other one cant relax until whoever got hurt is better. Izutsumi tries to play it off, but her tail will constantly flick as she sits next to you as marcille heals you up.

One night when you two are laying together, Izutsumi is up much later than she usually is. You could tell she was tense about something so you ask her if everything is ok. she hesitates for a moment before speaking up. "yeah it is...its better than ok, thats the problem. Ever since i met you i just...ive never felt like this before you know? ive never really cared about anyone else but myself, after all im the only one thats ever been there for me all my life...but its different with you. I cant stop thinking about you, i worry about you when you get hurt...and i hate not being around you. But it makes my chest feel tight and my head fuzzy when im around you and i keep smiling, im not used to this and i dont know what is going on. Im not used to it and...im scared, ive never felt like this and its so weird to me...i really like it..but it feels so weird i just..." She trails off, her tail flittering as she hides her face in your chest, even through her fur you can feel her blush. "i think i really like you...i really like you alot. But im scared, ive never liked anyone like this before and im scared cause im so used to just being by myself that....that the idea of being with another person all the time and relying on another person scares me, but i really want to be with you, even the idea of depending on another person scares me,but if i dont say anything its going to keep eating me alive.." she said looking up at you, You look at her stunned for a moment. This was unlike her, izutsumi was never one to be open about her emotions. She always did what she wanted and didnt care about what anyone else thought, she was a self reliant woman and other than with you she was never really the friendliest person ever. So to see her being so open with her feelings, being open about her fear and being so vulnerable was something you never expected from her.

You squeeze her tight towards you, your tail wrapping up with hers as as you place a soft kiss on her forehead. you tell her that you feel the same about her. That you love her and the idea of being with her is something you have dreamed of, and that you want nothing more than to always be there for her. You promise her that you will always be there for her and she never has to deal with the world by herself anymore.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Making Humanoids Less Human

I did make a small post on this, but now I've got the art for a much bigger and more detailed post! so here we go.

I had several anonymous asks that all came in quick succession weeks ago. Every single one of them was basically just a variation on "how would you take (typically humanoid) fantasy being, and make them look less human?"

This blog does not exist for me to just give people original designs for free, my goal is to show off my own personal thoughts about fantasy design and help people figure out how to adjust their own designs to fit their vision better. That means when people ask me questions about how to do something, I want to give them things to think about so they can come to their own conclusion. I don't mind making original designs to illustrate concepts, but a whole flood of "show me how to make this specific thing look different" all at once like that was too much. I'm not answering them all individually, it's just not what I want to do.

But what I can do is show my own thoughts and ideas about how to take any fantasy design and push it further away from "human", and you all can look at my ideas and figure out your own way to do things!

So here are the main 4 methods I've come up with to make humanoids look less human.

(image description: a simplified drawing of a humanoid face surrounded by four altered versions of the same face. clockwise starting from the top left, they are:

Speculative, drawn as a cat person. Additive, drawn with horns, pointy ears, sharp teeth, and a second pair of eyes. Subtractive, drawn with blank eyes, no nose, and no eyebrows. Exaggerative, drawn with a long face and huge eyes, as well as a wide mouth, narrow nose, and big ears.

end description)

I am personally a fan of the speculative route, which means exploring an alternate root of evolution to create a new design. Through this method, I've created monkey elves, frog goblins, and pig orcs.

the additive option is the most common, I think. adding new feature or doubled features to a humanoid form is a very intuitive way to change the design and make it look less human. you see this in most fantasy and scifi designs, like star trek aliens and the dnd player races.

subtractive and evaggerative are the most common options for people that like the uncanny valley. it's really easy to make uncomfortable designs by removing or exaggerating recognizable features, and they're often used together. Slenderman, for example, removes all facial features and skin color but also exaggerates the limbs and body.

Combining the four methods will give you a really interesting design as well! So for practice I decided to explore an alternate design for Tieflings, the part-demon player race in dnd.

(image description: four examples of differnt tiefling designs using the previously described methods. the additive example is just offical dnd art of a tiefling woman with purple skin, horns, and a long tail.

the subtractive sketch looks very alien, with a bald head, empty eyes, and no other facial featuers aside from a small mouth. it has three fingers per hand and two toe per foot.

the exaggerative sketch shows a hunched humanoid figure with huge eyes and big ears. the neck, limbs, and digits are all long with claws at the ends of the fingers and toes, and the limbs are also quite muscular.

the speculative sketch shows a bipedal figure with features similar to a giraffe, including a long neck, ossicones, and hooves.

end description)

now, because tielflings have such a distinct look to them, obviously my new sketches don't really look like tieflings, do they? the only one that comes close is the giraffe. relying only on one type of alteration to the human form has left the designs rather empty and lacking in the more iconic traits of the original concept. so i tried a sketch that combined my ideas! it came out looking like a completely different creature lol, like it could be a kobold or something, still not really a tiefling.

(image description: a sketch of a creature with a giraffe-like head, long tongue, and sharp teeth. it appears to be roaring at something and stands in a half-crouch. it has long limbs with hoof feet and clawed hands, as well as a long tufted tail curled behind it. end description.)

didn't work out. too far into the animal side of the speculative evolution, I think. so I tried again and got a design I liked much better!

(image description: a digital painting of a tiefling leaping back and casting a glowing orange spell. she is wearing a tunic with a corset and detached sleeves, as well as several pieces of jewelry. Her skin is purple with dark patches like a giraffe's spots, and she has a giraffe's ossicones as well as hoof-like hands and two-toed hoof feet. Her tail is long with a tuft at the end. She has glowing eyes and a flat nose, and there is a single sharp tooth visible poking out of the side of her mouth. end description.)

Brought the face back into slightly more human proportions and that helped a lot. Sometimes designs just take a few tries! that's normal.

and hopefully this is helpful to all of you! there are so many ways to alter humanoid designs to come up with something original and unique to you!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Animals

for your next poem/story

Aardwolf - a maned striped nocturnal mammal (Proteles cristatus) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles the related hyenas and feeds chiefly on insects and especially termites

Bittern - any of various small or medium-sized, short-necked, usually secretive herons

Chevrotain - (also called mouse deer) any of several very small hornless deerlike ruminant mammals of tropical Asia, the Malay archipelago, and West Africa superficially resembling the musk deer, the male having short tusks, and being among the smallest known ruminants, standing only about a foot high

Douroucouli - (also called owl monkey) any of several small nocturnal monkeys (genus Aotus) of Central and South American tropical forests that have round heads, large eyes, and densely furred bodies

Eland - either of two large African antelopes (Taurotragus oryx and Taurotragus derbianus) bovine in form with short spirally twisted horns in both sexes

Falconet - any of several very small falcons

Gemsbok - a large and strikingly marked oryx (Oryx gazella) formerly abundant in southern Africa

Hoatzin - a crested large South American bird (Opisthocomos hoazin) with blue facial skin, red eyes, brown plumage marked with white above, and claws on the first and second digits of the wing when young

Ichneumon - a mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) of Africa, southern Europe, and southwestern Asia

Jacana - any of a family (Jacanidae) of long-legged and long-toed tropical wading birds that frequent coastal freshwater marshes and ponds

Klipspringer - a small antelope (Oreotragus oreotragus) that is somewhat like the chamois in habits and is found from Cape Colony to Somaliland

Lammergeier - a large Old World vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) that occurs in mountainous regions, has long black bristles at the base of the bill, and in flight resembles a very large falcon; bearded vulture

Muntjac - any of a genus (Muntiacus) of small deer of southeastern Asia with an alarm call similar to the bark of a dog and having in the male elongated, downward-pointing upper canine teeth which protrude from the lip and short, usually unbranched, pointed antlers; barking deer

Nightjar - any of a family (Caprimulgidae) of medium-sized long-winged crepuscular or nocturnal birds (such as the whip-poor-wills and nighthawks) having a short bill, short legs, and soft mottled plumage and feeding on insects which they catch on the wing

Ouzel - blackbird

Palfrey - archaic: a saddle horse other than a warhorse; especially: a lady's light easy-gaited horse

Quetzal - a Central American trogon (Pharomachrus mocinno) that has brilliant green plumage above, a red breast, and in the male long upper tail coverts

Rosella - an Australian parakeet (Platycercus eximius) often kept as a cage bird having the head and back of the neck scarlet and the cheeks white, the back dark green varied with lighter green, and the breast red and yellow

Springhare - jumping hare i.e., a sciuromorph rodent (Pedetes cafer) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles a kangaroo in form, that is about two feet long, and that is tawny brown in color and of nocturnal and social habits

Thylacine - Tasmanian tiger i.e., a somewhat doglike carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) that formerly inhabited Tasmania but is now considered extinct

Uintatherium - a genus (the type of the family Uintatheriidae) of large herbivorous ungulate mammals of the order Dinocerata from the Eocene of Wyoming resembling elephants in size and in the conformation of their limbs and having three pairs of bony protuberances respectively on the parietal, maxillary, and nasal bones of the skill, a pair of canine tusks guarded by downwardly directed processes of the lower jaw but no upper incisors, and a proportionately very small brain

Vaquita - a small, highly endangered porpoise (Phocoena sinus) of the Gulf of California having a dark ring around the eyes and reaching only four to five feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in length

Whitecoat - a very young hair seal and especially a harp seal

Xiphias - a genus (the type of the family Xiphiidae) of large scombroid fishes comprising the common swordfish

Zho - (also called dzo) a hybrid between the yak and the domestic cow

More: Word Lists

[lightryi]

Dragons of Pyrrhia (headcanon designs)

• Skywings:

-The shape of thorns on the spine is similar to the feathers of birds

-Narrow pupil, giving dragons very good vision, allowing to see a clear picture at long distances

-Arrow point, able to drive through the opponent with a sharp push

-The shape of the wings is similar to that of a bird

-Are the best flying dragons

-High ears, good hearing but inferior to sand and night dragons

-Very sharp claws, thorns, horns

-Pent face; the upper jaw may have various shapes, reminiscent of beaks of different birds

-Height reaches 4 meters

*The design was based on common European dragons and birds

• Mudwings:

-Rounded horns of various forms (like the horns of sheep, buffalo, bulls and goats). Necessary for defense

-The keeper of the horned nest is bigger than the other dragons from one clutch

-Large lower fangs, needed for eating and defense

-A large, rectangular muzzle with raised nostrils facing upwards so that the earthy could breathe, being almost entirely in water or mud and only looking at the top of its head

-Very mobile ears, necessary to discharge dirt/water that has entered

-Solid scale, which in some way pulls the face, because of which the grounders look almost emotionless and dark (this feature appears with age, so dragons look too cheerful and emotional against their background)

-On the sides of the neck and tail are thorns, same as on the back, extra protection for weak spots of the dragon

-Massive tail with a cluster of large thorns at the end, some kind of a pin necessary for protection. The tail itself is very mobile

-Although they are predatory animals, their pupils have square

-In general, the earthlings are slow moving, fly worse than other dragons due to their massive and heavy

-Some of the largest dragons, second only to ice, due to their short limbs and neck (reaching up to 5 meters)

*The design was based on ankylosaurus, crocodiles and artiodactyls

• Seawings:

-Long, massive tail with fins that may differ in different individuals

-Behind the ears is a fin with luminous appendages

-Round/oval eye

-Round, flat face (in the perspective where I drew this not very noticeable), giving a more rounded shape to the whole body

-There is a sexual dimorphism (external differences of the sexes). The distribution of the proboscis on the mordocus is different: in males they are near the nostrils, in females on the chin. With age the proboscis becomes longer

-2 row of teeth

-No earshell

-Horns often turn in

-Luminous glands and patterns are not only necessary for underwater communication, but also for attracting marine life in the dark

-They have, like earthen, rather short limbs. Only in the case of marine this feature is caused by frequent presence in water, where they use the tail more often than the paws for movement

-Also, the flying is not very good. But unlike the earthly, they have another reason, namely the anatomy of the wings, which is more adapted to swimming (plays the role of certain fins) than for flying

-Not too big, can reach a maximum of 2.5 meters

*The design was based on sharks, deep sea fish and partly dolphins

• Rainwings:

-Snake face (or more precisely, face of a cobra)

-Clawfoot

-The hind legs have a specific structure: 3 long fingers and one opposite finger located on the other end of the paw (structure like bird's feet)

-Double nostrils

-Huge ruffs, which in the stressful environment is fully opened and gives the dragon magnitude

-Eye structure closer to the snake

-Movable thorns on the neck (play the same role as the ruffs)

-Long horns with multiple ends, which resemble tree branches

-The horns themselves are brown in color, with few scales on them to completely change their color. Horns are usually hidden among the same branches, which have grown in the forest

-Long flexible neck, able to writhe like a snake

-The eye also has a collar resemblance, is some protection of the eye from branches and other foreign objects

-Claw on the thumb of wings is very long, the end slightly bent. It is necessary to grab with the help of wings branches

-Height reaches 3 meters

*The design was based on snakes, chameleons, dilophosaurus (Jurassic Park ver.), geckos, flying foxes and partly tropical birds

• Nightwings:

-Nose of a bat giving dragons good sense

-Huge ears, thanks to which they have a sensitive ear, the best among all dragons

-In addition to silver teardrop scale may have a star on his forehead, which shows the ability to see the future

-There are night with black teardrop and stars indicating that the dragon was born during the moon, but the egg was hidden from their light, because of which the night ability is not and only the black scales indicates its lost ability

-The lower part of the body, from the neck to the beginning of the tail, is present with a small fur that was previously necessary for warming itself and eggs (due to the low temperatures at night, during which the night wakes). But due to the relocation first to the volcanic island, then to the rainforest, the wool became practically useless

-There is a glare in the pupils, it does not affect the vision

-Good night vision, besides their eyes can shine in the dark (like cats)

-Structure of the hind feet specific: 4 long fingers (much longer than rainwing) and one opposite finger. This is necessary for strong coupling between branches and other surfaces

-Claws on the hind legs are also much sharper than on the front (for the same reason as the leg structure itself)

-Small web on the wings between the thumb and the rest. Need to use thumb to grab objects (similarly rainwings)

-Not too big, reach a maximum of 2-3 meters, but there are exceptions

*The design was based on the work of chiroptera, especially bats

• Sandwings:

-The upper fangs are very close to the nostrils, creating the illusion that they seem to grow from the nose

-Long ears, necessary for heat transfer and to prevent overheating. (the crest, presumably, also plays a similar role) Also add a dragon's pretty good hearing

-More than half of the body is covered with hard scales. Such armor is more necessary for dragonets, whose poison is much weaker than the adult dragons. For protection they curl into a ball, pointing up the tail with a spike. Because of their hard from the genus scales it is difficult to pierce them. By old age, these scales become much softer than in childhood

-End of the tail, namely a thorn, similar in structure to the tail of a scorpion

-Crest has the property of "flattening", so many individuals have some streaks

-Growth reaches 3.5-5 meters

*Design based on girdle-tail lizards and scorpions

• Icewings:

-Narrow-eyed

-The body is covered with sharp scales, from which protrude thorns

-Ear shell, like in the seawings, missing

-Large antlers, resembling deer antlers

-Very long limbs that make their gait remotely resemble a deer

-Have a pointed nose

-There are clumps of scales above the eyes, similar to eyebrows

-There are some small, soft thorns at the beginning of the neck

-The largest dragons in Pyrrhia, capable of reaching almost 6 meters

*Design was created partly based on the appearance of reindeer

[sp0o0kylights]

Part Seven/ Part Eight (YOU ARE HERE)/ Part Nine

Ao3

Monsters aren't real.

The thing that's flying towards him is--a hallucination. A figment of Gareth's imagination.

The same way the feeling of time slowing to a crawl is just a trick of the light playing with his anxiety.

He'd be fine.

(It won't hurt.)

Gareth's limbs froze, locking him in place even as the manticore bore down on him.

Thankfully, Steve did not have that problem.

Gareth's shirt was snatched from the back, choking him as Steve yanked him out of the way.

It was just in time--the Manticore blew past seconds later, too-large body so close Gareth could feel the air move past him.

The stench was unimaginable.

A fuckload of noise exploded in Gareth's ears as time kicked back in. He fell hard, behind Steve as the older teen swung his nail bat with his left hand.

Huh. Gareth thought distantly as wood, nail and flesh connected. Steve's ambidextrous.

He never would have guessed.

Doesn't think anyone would.

(Should Gareth survive this, he will immediately tease Steve about it. Right after profusely thanking him for saving his life and having a meltdown about honest to God monsters existing in Hawkins.)

The fucker barked a noise, and the only comparable thing Gareth could relate it to was a seal--if a seal had played with some of the sound effect pedals the music store.

Maybe got run over by a car right after for good measure.

In one breath, the monsters' weird, elongated hand-paws raked lines through the floor.

In the next, a wing smashed high over Eddie's head. The finger-like claws at the crux of it pierced through Stewart's still-stuck door, balancing itself as it turned.

This brought the manticore's gore-filled hole of a mouth so close to Eddie's head Gareth thought it forfeit, and it was only Steve's interference that kept Eddie the Banished from being Eddie the Buried.

"Come on!" Steve bellowed.

He smacked the bat into the floor, as much a challenge as it was a distraction.

Thick saliva dripped to the floor in clumps as the manticore's head, a bulbous thing composed of five petal-like slices of flesh and too many teeth rattled in response.

A car horn trumpeted again--and if it was a warning it was one coming far too late.

The Manticore dropped its chest to the ground as it took the bait. A dark, black tipped scorpion tail rose over the back of the beast, stinger longer than Gareth's arm and wider than a sword.

Faster than Gareth could track, almost faster than Steve could parry, the tail lashed forward, stinger out like a lance.

(But Steve, wonderful, amazing, athletic Steve, caught and parried it with his bat.

Then and there, Gareth swore to never mock a jock, ever again.)

The bat met armored exoskeleton with a sickening crack!, the force of the hit shaking Steve's arms. His right foot slid back, biceps flexing as the stinger pushed against him, straining hard against nail and wood.

Steve grunted, shoes squeaking as he was forced to give ground, the Manticore overpowering him by the sheer strength of its tail.

The entire encounter had barely lasted a few seconds but without interference?

Steve would be thrown aside--and impaled.

Before Gareth could think about how stupid it was, he was on his feet and rushing to help.

He grabbed the fire poker off the ground and thrust it forward, towards the manticore's not-a-face.

Screamed “Go back to hell you piece of shit!” So loud his voice cracked.

It worked.

The beast flinched, tail rocketing back as it rose back up on all four paws, hissing in outrage.

Steve staggered with how fast the tail had moved, but caught himself, bat wavering in the air, and--

There was no reprieve.

No moment to breathe, because as soon as the stinger's gone there's a grotesque, hand-like paw swiping at them both.

Gareth fell back, only to realize he wasn't the target.

Steve was.

The claws flash in the flickering overhead lights and there wasn’t any time.

He's as good as dead and Gareth can't do anything to save him--

But Eddie can.

Sometime during the last few seconds, the older teen had pulled his knife. Jammed it deep into the back of the manticore's front leg, and twisted after the blade had sunk down to the hilt.

This, and the resulting aborted attack, saved Steve's life.

The thing wailed as the struck leg crumpled, sending the fucker’s head on a collision course with the floor.

Stewart's door jumped in its frame as the wing-claws, dug in deep into the wood, caught the manticore. Two flesh-petals scraped the floor, but the move kept it from falling-- at the cost of putting its full weight on the door.

A door already bowed. Hinges pre-fucked with, thanks to Eddie’s early meddling.

It didn't hold.

Hinges screamed as the wood bent, before gravity asserted itself and shattered it. Massive wood splinters shoot out in an explosion of wood, more than one piece embedding itself into the manticore.

Eddie scrambled backwards half turned to protect his head, saved from two large chunks of wood only by the grace of his thick leather jacket.

Several things happened at once.

The car outside honked a third time.

The manticore lunged.

And Eddie tripped.

One petal of teeth tore into him--a graze that left his leg a bloody mess and ripped a scream from his mouth.

Gareth and Steve both shot instinctively: Steve to attack the side of the manticore's head, Gareth to slam the fire poker into a wing.

(One second turned into three.)

The manticore in turn, leapt backwards, head shaking with the hit of Steve's bat--and Gareth had exactly one half-second to realize all they had done up until this moment was piss it off before the wing he'd struck swept out.

It struck him in the gut and Steve in the chest, sending both of them flying.

Gareth's back met the floor a second time expelling all the air from his lungs, vision going dark at the edges as his head hit the floor.

(Three seconds turned to seven.)

This time he physically couldn't move, too stunned as Eddie screamed Steve's name.

Stewart, Gareth realized, was screaming too.

(Seven seconds became eighteen, until Gareth's chest could take in air again, the loud ringing in his ears easing somewhat.)

He kept blinking, thinking the weird streaks of orange light was his vision blurring, until his brain kicked in and informed him that no, those were flames he was seeing.

Gareth pushed himself up on his elbows to find that reinforcements had arrived.

Flames flew in an arc as another on-fire tennis ball struck the Manticores side. The ball bounced, flames trickling down to the floor as the monster beast shrieked.

A third ball had it slamming itself into the wall as Gareth whipped his head to the opposite end of the hallway.

Tiff and Dustin were spraying a can of something onto a number of tennis balls--the ones Gareth knew Tiff kept in her car for tennis.

Lucas loaded one into his slingshot, drawing the rubber bands back and holding so that Jeff’s lighter could turn it into a proper weapon.

He launched it once flames encompassed it fully, and Gareth watched as it flew true.

Landed to the right of the muscular, lion--like chest, flames catching every piece of skin that was touched.

A part of Gareth expected this to only distract the fucker, the same way the pieces of wood sticking out of it’s sides had barely slowed it down--but fire, apparently was its weakness.

The manticore reacted like it was being burned with acid more so than fire, dropping and rolling and ping-pinging between walls as more and more of its wing was overtaken.

Its screams turned into rapid, wracked yelps, until finally it threw itself so hard into a wall that it fell through it.

For a moment a dark hole remained open.

Gray pieces of ash lazily floated out, giving them all a glimpse into a terrifying, dark blue forest, red lightning slashing the sky above before the hole re-sealed itself.

(It closed the way a wound did. All sides creeping in at a speed far too fast for human skin, but was just slow enough to make the wall appear like a living membrane instead of wood and plaster.)

For a long moment, the only thing Gareth could hear was all his friends' harsh panting.

"Did you kill it?" Stewart asked, head peeking around the corner.

Eddie looked to Steve to answer.

Which he did.

"Rule number two, man.” Steve raked a hand through his hair, trying to comb out the sweat that had collected at his temples after he climbed to his feet. “If you can’t see the body, it’s not dead.”

Stewart crept cautiously into the hall, looking as shell shocked as Gareth felt. "Why the hell isn't that rule one?”

"I don't know, the kids made the rules. You can ask them.”

Gareth’s head pulsed unhappily, but Gareth had other concerns as he made his way to his feet.

“How bad is it?” He asked as he made his way over, Eddie still on the ground.

“I’m alright.” Eddie lied, as if they all couldn’t see the sticky patch of blood on his torn jeans.

"Stop talking, start walking!" Dustin yelled at them.

“Eddie’s injured, give us a minute!” Steve yelled back. “God. Go make yourself useful and get my medkit!”

“I’m fine, it’s fine! ” Eddie yelled out right after, voice waspish in his pain.

It convinced absolutely no one, and in fact, caused several people to come down the hallway towards him.

Lucky for him, Steve made it there first.

Dropping to his knees in front of Eddie, he gently moved a ringed hand away from the wound, giving it a critical once over as Gareth and Stewart hovered.

“It’s not bad.” Eddie tried to argue, wincing as he poked around his leg, Steve continually having to bat his hands away. “If we can wrap it I’ll be able to walk out of here.”

“I won’t know until I see more of it.” Tiff said, Jeff and Grant right on her heels to circle Eddie and Steve. “But he might be right for once--there’s not much blood. You’re gonna lose the pants though.”

“Noooo.” Eddie said, in a poor mimic of one of his D&D voices.

“Not to rush you, but we need to get out of here.” Jeff cast an anxious look over at the wall, and Gareth nodded his agreement.

This wasn’t a safe place right now.

(Had likely never been a safe place, if it was birthing out monsters like the manticore.)

Steve looked up at Eddie, holding his gaze.

“Think you can hobble over to the cars if two of us help?”

He got a sharp nod back.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Now hop to it.” Tiff said with a clap. Her voice was dry, tone almost sarcastic, but Gareth heard the unease in it

Not that anyone needed any convincing to get the hell out of dodge.

("I'm going to take up running." Eddie told him later, hands shaking from pain as Gareth drove Van Helsing after FrankenCar, Grant's Ford Escort

They had managed to wrap Eddie’s leg up in a quick bandage with the medkit. Gareth hadn’t truly been able to bring himself to look at the wound, but he’d caught a glimpse.

The fang marks stood out on Eddie’s pale skin, and ran in so many rows it looked like he’d shoved half his leg into a shark's mouth.

Tiffany insisted it was more horrific looking than it was actually horrific, and given Eddie had made at least three “am I gonna lose the leg, Doc?” jokes, Gareth believed her.

Still--it was weird, to drive Eddie’s van.

Weirder still to see Steve's Beemer (unnamed on grounds that Hellfire couldn't decide between the Batmobile and the BeemHolder) lead their little procession--though it had been a fight to get Steve to drive the car instead of ride along with Eddie.

"We both know you’re not seriously considering going running.” Gareth told him, voice shaking. “Which is unfortunate, because I'm going to make you anyway."

His fingers tightened hard on the steering wheel.

“I’m going to make everyone go running.”

It was a testament to how scared both of them were that they ended the conversation there.

No joke, no walking back what they'd said.

Running apparently, was back to being a core survival skill and Gareth very much enjoyed staying alive.)

xXx

Gareth hadn’t asked why the Byers house was the chosen place to regroup.

Had kind of assumed that it had been picked because Will’s mother wasn’t home.

Definitely was not expecting an adult to come flying out of the door with the air of a frazzled border collie, herding kids inside before freezing when she caught sight of Eddie.

Or rather: Eddie being carefully pulled out of Van Helsing by Steve and Jeff, cursing and whining the whole way.

“You big baby, you’re not that hurt.” Jeff huffed as Eddie’s squirming almost forced him to let go, resulting in Eddie gripping at Steve’s sweater like a liferaft.

“You can talk when you’re the one that got bit by a monster, Jeffrey.” Eddie snapped back, hopping on his good leg. “I almost died!”

“Steve said it just barely grazed you--”

“Steve was busy trying to keep it off of me to really notice what was happening! Unlike you. What were you doing, Jeff? Honking the fucking car horn?”

“I wasn’t the one honking--”

They continued to bicker as Miss Byers marched forward.

Gareth expected her to yell--and given the way Eddie’s eyes went wide at the sight of her, possibly even deny them entrance.

Shoo them away or send them home.

It wouldn’t be the first time a member of Hellfire had been beaten, only for the adults around them to act like they were the ones causing trouble.

Instead, she earned Gareth’s respect immediately by moving alongside Steve and asking; “Is anyone else injured?”

Barely waited for the shake of Steve’s head before spinning on her heel and heading back inside, yelling all the way.

“Will, fetch me towels. Jonathan--get the medkit! ”

“No worries, Miss Byers. Stevie here already has one.” Eddie said, before his attempts to charm her fell utterly flat when he accidentally jostled his leg and hissed out a curse.

“Steve’s not as good as mine, hun.” Her eyes swept over his leg, calculating. “Is that bite what I think it is?”

“Related.” Steve answered, starting the lengthy process of getting Eddie inside.

“Shit.” She sighed, and for the first time that night Gareth realized she too, wore the same haunted look Steve did.

Which meant she'd believe them.

A part of him, the part who was still a teenager, a kid in his own right, relaxed that an adult knew.

As with most of Hellfire, Gareth didn’t typically trust adults, but his relationship with his own parents was slightly better than most of the others. It led him to such beliefs like that maybe, just maybe, this would be the end of the monsters.

That he’d never face a thing like that outside of D&D, ever again. That whatever events haunted Steve would be handled by the proper authorities.

(That they’d be okay. Everyone would be okay.)

Sirens sounded in the distance, and even as Gareth walked inside the house he knew it wasn’t true.

Whatever all this was?

It wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Munson?” A rumpled Jonathan Byers said, blinking like an owl hit with sunlight as the Steve-Eddie-Jeff procession went past.

He got a half-assed roguish grin and a waggle of fingers while Steve rolled his eyes over Eddie’s head.

“What happened!?” Jonathan asked, as Joyce bustled past him, relieving Jonathan of the medkit.

“It’s a long story, but we have a code red at the lab.”

Gareth knew he was frazzled, purely by the fact his hands once again went to mess with his hair, right after helping Eddie down into a chair.

“Which they knew apparently.”

‘They’ was accompanied by Steve jerking his thumb towards the living room--where the kids were talking to themselves in a huddle.

Outside, the sirens grew louder.

Jonathan looked to the living room and back, before heaving a sigh so world weary it was almost impressive. “Of course they did.”

“Demodog?” Miss Byers asked as she laid out various medical supplies on her kitchen table, pausing every so often to stare at Eddie’s leg.

“It was a manticore!” One of the kids yelled.

Gareth wasn't surprised to learn some of the brats were listening in.

There was a pause, as Miss Byers stared quizzically at Steve.

“It's like a demodog but much larger?” He told her, making an awkward shape with his hands that explained absolutely nothing. “With wings? Oh--and a scorpion tail.”

“It was terrifying.” Stewart added in a mutter, all of Hellfire awkwardly camped themselves around Eddie.

Which wasn’t good, given the frown on Miss Byers face as she carefully cut away even more of his jeans and their shitty attempt at band-aiding his wound.

It was the face of someone who was about to cause pain in an attempt to heal, and knew it.

For all that he was their front-man and self-proclaimed shepherd of Hellfire, Eddie's pain tolerance was absolute shit.

The guy could take a punch well enough, and the rings on his hands meant business when he hit back--but when adrenaline wasn't flowing?

Eddie broke down faster than his van did.

This whole thing was a bit of a sore spot. Something Eddie had admitted once under extreme duress had come from his father repeatedly telling him a man needed to be tough, and a Munson man even tougher.

(The duress in question was during one particularly animated D&D fight.

Eddie had gotten too excited and slapped an open palm down on top of a pointy figure, embedded it well into his skin.

The incident had derailed the campaign entirely and caused Hellfire as a whole to learn that their fearless leader really hated people watching him cry.)

Needless to say, a room full of children, his friends, his crush, and one of said kids' mothers wasn't exactly an ideal set up for Eddie to lose it.

So Gareth set himself up as a sort of barrier, blocking Eddie's view from the living room (and hopefully, vice versa, before making eyes at his friends to do the same.

Thankfully Jeff at least, caught on.

Communication was given through pointed looks and nudging elbows, but quickly enough, Hellfire managed to make a decently solid barrier between the kids (and Jonathan, who was doing an amazing job of chewing out said children) leaving Steve and Gareth as the sole onlookers.

“Alright, someone start talking.” Miss Byers loudly commanded, as she finally unearthed Eddie’s wounds.

To Eddie, she offered a well-used bottle of Tylenol, muttering quiet apologies before she began cleaning his very gross looking wound.

“Hey--” Gareth himself muttered, half praying he’d magically think of an excuse for Steve to fuck off, only to realize Hellfire’s jock had actually moved into the kitchen.

A line of mismatched mugs and cups was taking form on the counter, and it took a minute of carefully looking anywhere but at Eddie as Miss Byers worked to figure out Steve was making hot chocolate.

Figured that was probably smart, given Grant looked so tense Gareth expected his head to explode at any second.

(The loud arguing from the kids as they tried to explain didn't help any.)

A thought that Jonathan also seemed to have, given he put on a voice that sounded far to fatherly for Gareth's comfort and bellowed;

“Alright, enough!”

--which at least got him the silence he wanted.

“One at a time!” Jonathan parented from the living room. “Will, you start. Dustin you’re up next, then Mike, then El.”

He put his hands on his hips and Gareth nearly laughed aloud, because apparently the children weren't the only ones picking up Steve's mannerisms.

“Start from when you decided to sneak out without telling anybody but Steve.”

“If it makes you feel better we didn't actually tell Steve.” Dustin chirped.

Jonathan stared at him, and judging from his face alone Gareth expected utter hell to erupt from his mouth.

Instead they got a sort of quiet: “That does actually make me feel a bit better, thanks.”

Steve scoffed from the kitchen in response, which thankfully covered Eddie’s pained hiss from where Miss Byers was patting hydrogen peroxide into his bite mark.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, the kids came up with their own order and as always, let Dustin and Mike be their talking pieces.

“Like we told everyone else, it started because Will and El sensed something--” One began, right as red and blue lights splashed across the walls.

The source of the siren--a police truck that, judging bu the loud crunch of tires sliding on gravel and a shriek of breaks--had arrived.

Several of the children (plus Grant) cursed.

“Who called Hopper?!”

“He’s El’s dad idiot, of course someone called him.”

“Come on Max didn’t we talk about calling people names--”

Eddie tensed, as did the majority of the room, as loud, pounding footsteps tore up the front porch.

“I called him.” Miss Byers said as she rose from her crouch, apparently done re-bandaging Eddie.

She weaved her way through the room and was nearly taken out by her own front door when it was flung open to reveal the man himself, who looked like he’d spent the night fist-fighting his way through a bar, in the dark.

“El?!” He bellowed, eyes frantically scanning the room before landing on her.

The relief was so immediate it seemed to make him slump for a second.

Or rather, long enough for him to draw in enough air to get out a proper yell. “Someone better start explaining, right now. Starting with you Michael Wheeler!”

It was only then, as the man himself stepped into the light, that Gareth finally figured out why he looked sort of--off.

Unreal even, like a figure stepping out of a dream and into reality.

Jim Hopper, Chief of Hawkins Police Department, was wearing Scooby Doo pajamas.

The top was a faded orange color, boasting an image of a footstep in the center of a magnifying glass.

The bottoms were green, the head of the famed Great Dane patterned all over.

Combined?

It was Gareth's last straw.

‘You cannot be having a panic attack over the Chief’s pajamas.’ A far away part of Gareth thought hysterically, as his vision kaleidoscoped.

God, was he so fucking lame.