#That's just apparently how i draw them with ghost tails

[puppetmaster13u]

What happens when a city disappears and all that's left are the ghosts guarding the ruins?

[fahbev]

Babs, Bruce and Danny in my dpxdc merfolk au!!!

argh, plz excuse the poorly edited photo lmao- lost a lot of detail TvT

Babs has her info Here. But this is her design! I’m not actually entirely sure if any of these designs are final, i might tweak them, but here she is! I gave her necklaces.

Bruce is based on a leatherback sea turtle! The spots aren’t actually super accurate to a leatherback’s underside, but if you look at it a little harder... you may find a fun little easter egg. It’s subtle... or at least i tried to make it that way. (If people don’t get it i’ll explain in a rb lol) Did you know that leatherback sea turtles can be up to 880 pounds? Idk what that is in metric but that’s roughly 7 and a half Bahfevs. They’re also much more triangular/less round than other turtles, so I reflected that in his design. And ofc, Bruce and Damian are both sea turtles bc they’re related. But they’re different sea turtle species so it doesn’t make much sense. Who gives a flip. What’s Talia, you ask? To that I say: 🤷‍♀️

(Side note: apparently, I’ve conditioned myself so I can’t draw nuetral expressions. It’s gotta have some emotion or else it looks wrong, and it feels natural to always have something going on there. So... drawing Stoic McStoicface here was a pain in the penis. He kinda has an expression anyway lol)

Danny is based on a ghost knife fish! I’ll be honest, i didn’t even know these existed until I looked up “ghost fish” in the hopes of finding something thematic. But then... omg! They’re black with little white accents? Like Danny’s design? And they have cool, funky bodies? AND they produce electricity!?? That’s so FKING COOL! I’ll have to do more research, but so far i’m pretty sure they don’t produce enough electricity to hurt someone. They are related to electric eels though! I first learned that electric eels were knife fish and not true eels when I was researching the moray eel for Duke. Funny how that connects!

Danny’s story under the cut!

Heehoo!

Okay so basically: Danny went diving to gather pearls because he wanted to make his parents happy/proud. While he was diving, His foot got caught in a rock and he couldn’t get it out. He panicked and he begged— to who? God, maybe? The universe, or the ocean? Maybe just begging fate or any higher power that could be out there, he doesn’t know. His only prayer was “Don’t let me drown!”. Unbeknownst to him, one of the pearls he’d grabbed was a magic, wish granting pearl. They’re rare enough that humans don’t even have legends of them... but the merfolk do ;).

The pearl took his very non-specific wish and decided to give him a tail and gills. He swam back up in a panic, and saw his new tail. Of course, this is a very horrifying thing to happen. But in less than a minute... it was already starting to dry off. As it dried, it turned back into skin.

Now, Danny has to be extremely careful not to get his legs or hair wet when he’s near people, because he’ll turn back into a merboy.

i... probably should have given him a shirt? He’d be wearing it, right? But i also did need to see what I was doing with that fin thing lol. I mean, a shirt would get annoying with that fin- he’d probably take it off. Tbh he’d probably have it off when swimming in general? Idk.

So: funny thing that happened when I was drawing Danny:

A first grader came up to me while I had it open on my desk, and she was like:

“Oh my god, that’s so good! Like, how did you even draw that?”

so I was like: “Oh thank you! ❤️”

And I think she asked again “How did you even draw that?”

so I was a little confused on how to answer, so I said:

“Well, I used my pencil...” and held up my pencil—

and then she got distracted by a spinny chair.

She’s so precious omg 🥰

[revlischarm]

Behold, Morro for season 4 in the Lego Monkie Kid au!!

Below the cut I’ve put some details about the season, as well as their design.

• So, Morro gets trapped in the scroll along with everyone else!! Inspired by what one of my friends on discord mentioned, apparently the scrolls work for all memories, not just for recording JTTW stuff.

• Therefore. We’re gonna get some Morro trauma. Since the scroll can put you in the worst memories you had/in some kind of past life, I thought, “what better than to hurl Morro back into his misdeeds as a ghost?”

- That’s why when Morro’s in the scroll, he’s gonna be walking around in his old gi from the show. I didn’t give him a cloak or anything for the sole reason of me having a hard time drawing it

• Boy oh boy Morro absolutely hates having to be dressed in the robes of his past. He’s been trying to move away from what he did, to forge his own identity and life. Yet now he gets put right back where he was, at the peak of his darkest times, and MK and Mei end up bearing witness to it, no less!

• Long story short Morro just. Is going to be miserable this whole season. Their past got dredged up in such a messy way for all to see.

• I don’t wanna give away too much since this post is mainly just for Morro’s season 4 design, hehe.

• You want more info?? Send in asks! I will devour them and answer back dutifully.

• Now onto design talk, tw for some blood stains and detailed description of death for a bit

• The only details I’ll really say for Morro’s scroll design are that his outfit is fairly burnt and torn up in many places, due to how he died. Well, more so the condition his clothes were in when he passed away.

- The front of Morro’s gi is stained with dried blood because of how he died, which I personally believe to be due to the kethanol gas in the Caves of Despair. There’s more info about it on the wiki, but the effects I’ve given to it basically are that prolonged exposure will cause someone to bleed out, with blood coming from the nose and mouth and the eventual exsanguination is the cause of death. So yeah, you just. Drown in your own blood, can’t get enough actual air and asphyxiate, bleed out, etc. The gas can kill you in a number of ways I’d say

• Moving past all that…Morro gets longer ribbons now!! He added on a new ribbon, since he bonded with Red Son at the end of Season 3, and off-screen between the last season and this one, lol. Think of their friendship as…fanning the flames. They kinda just hype each other up and it’s very chaotic.

• Morro actually trains with Macaque to learn some shadow magic!! They’re super interested in learning teleportation via shadows because it’s cool as hell, and they just generally like to spend time with Macaque. After some time, Morro finds that his eye markings are getting kinda…larger and discolored.

- Surprise the universe/gods saw Macaque taking in Morro and went “oh successor??? The Six-Eared Macaque has a successor??” And long story short, after an initial bout of extreme panicking, Morro realizes that he’s now got some cooler new markings!!

- Yes, I’m contractually obligated to change Morro’s eye markings with each new design at this point, lay off me

- I’m very happy with this marking design tho!! It looks very nice and is easy for me to draw. The markings actually manifest themselves in the way of like…scar stuff. And I tried to have them resemble Morro’s actual cursed markings as much as I could, but it was hard to do that when it kept veering into flame territory (which I wasn’t aiming for). So yeah!

- I also added a little chart at the bottom to demonstrate the differences between the markings and also how Macaque’s and Morro’s purples are different. Mac’s is more on the blue hued scale, while Morro’s has more pink tones to it. There!

• And last but not least, the tail(s) of Morro’s sash got longer!! I did this for the purpose of giving their silhouette a more monkey-like appearance, with the longer sash acting as a sort of faux shadow tail. This works great for any silhouette shots!

• So yeah! That’s that! Feel free to ask anymore questions, I’ll be glad to answer!!!

• Oh also I forgot to draw it in but you know how everyone else gets a cool weapon during season 4 from the scroll? Yeah, Morro’s taking the memory of the Sword of Sanctuary with him.

[yellowvixen]

If Sol-equivalent Unleashed events were to happen, would Blaze become a werecat, being werewolf-like like Sonic, or would she become something else, like, for example, a vampire or a mercat (mermaid-like)?

Ooh interesting question!! The main draw of the werehog to me is the fear of losing control and no longer being yourself. We know Sonic never does lose control, that the change is only physical but the fear is still there. Especially as he's now suddenly in a big cumbersome body that can't go fast or do what he's used to—is he still Sonic if he can't run fast?

So that could be directly translated into Blaze being a werecat, I've seen a lot of cool designs for that before. BUT. The other ideas you've mentioned are very cool and I want to explore them! Also I don't think being specifically a werecat would affect Blaze mentally the same way being a werehog effects Sonic, so I'd want to find a change that does.

This got kinda long so I'm putting my explorations of the different ideas under the cut gjgjdhdg

First off: vampire Blaze! From the outside, physically not much would change. Blaze is a cat after all, she's already got sharp teeth! But inwardly, Blaze would no longer have her fire powers and would be a lot colder, and ofc have weird urges. If this is a similar case to Dark Gaia or whatever the Sol equivalent is, possibly her vampiric nature would lead to her wanting to consume others' energy rather than blood lol. So the fear of losing control would definitely still be there! What if she hurts someone that way! However it does lead to the question of is she being changed too much? Sonic was virtually unchanged aside from his looks, but giving Blaze vampiric urges is changing how she acts. So, not my first choice for a Blaze Unleashed scenario! Sick idea for another au though.

Second: mercat Blaze! Love love love this idea!! Confining her to water means again she can no longer use her fire powers, and it links in nicely with the Sol dimension being more ocean based than Sonic's world. It gives rise to the implication that the Dark Gaia (or whatever) creatures are all sea monsters too! I do wonder what would happen if Blaze is on land when the sun sets, does she just flop around? Maybe it works differently, and instead of it being tied to the day night cycle it can be tied to her proximity to water. But then she could just stay away from water... Unless for plot reasons all the sol emeralds are underwater or smth sjffdg. However! I think the fear factor would be gone. Mermaids aren't exactly beastly (of course you can change up the design, but it's more obviously just a physical change) so it would be more of just a minor set back for Blaze, she wouldn't have any fear of losing her identity. The opposite problem of vampire Blaze!

SO. I have an idea that I think merges all the good bits—ghost Blaze! Design wise, she would look similar to a mercat where her bottom half is like a tail, like Lah, Su and Uh! Possibly she would properly leave her body at night and float off while she's sleeping. Without her body she'd once again have no fire power and potentially be invisible to those around her, so that fear of losing herself would definitely be apparent! Maybe Marine (and others) are able to see her after realising what's going on, and can convince Blaze that body or not, she's still the Blaze they know and love. Also, in terms of gameplay I think it might be cool if the day and night levels are actually the same, but during the day you need to use Blaze's fire powers to finish and during the night you need to phase through walls. Essentially making the levels completely different! Her being a ghost kinda keeps in line with the Halloween theme too, and the Dark Gaia monsters can still float about scaring people.

A lot of rambling here hfjgjdhdg but tl;dr I really like the concepts of vampire and mercat Blaze, but I think for an Unleashed scenario specifically I would go for ghost Blaze!

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

Seven Snippets Seven People Tag

Thanks for tagging me, @imaginationxlost! :D

Rules: post seven snippets from a WIP and tag seven people. I’ll do this for Like Snow on Hungry Graves:

1.

Konstantine had learnt as a child that he could unnerve people with his eyes. It was part of his inheritance from his mother. Unlike her he couldn't cast a spell on someone by looking at them, unlike her he couldn't make them say everything on their mind, but he could stare at them until their skin crawled and they spoke just to make him look away.

2.

Konstantine felt his skin crawl as he looked up at his father. He couldn't keep the disgust off his face or out of his voice. "So you have summoned me to replace my soon-to-be-murdered brother."

"Oh no." A ghastly smile crossed the emperor's face. "No, I would never throw away the life of one of my true-born sons."

Light began to dawn. "So you see a way to get rid of your unwanted half-breed bastard."

The emperor nodded, his self-satisfied expression returning. "Exactly. I'm glad to see we understand each other."

3. 

Hariye was never sure afterwards what had made him jump into the river. He'd intended to walk along it until he was safely out of the city and could find another way to travel. But somehow, illogical though it sounded, the water had called to him. He answered that call without thinking.

Then he got a nasty shock when he found himself in deep water for the first time in his life. He promptly got another slightly less nasty shock when he discovered he knew how to swim even though no one had ever taught him before. In fact he'd never even been in any water deeper than his bathtub or the swimming pool for the princes. But the biggest shock of all came five minutes later.

It didn't register with him at first. All he thought about it was, Hmm, I've been underwater for a long time.

Then he realised: I should need to breathe.

And that led to the earth-shattering discovery: I am breathing! I can breathe underwater!

4.

A hand grabbed the boat's side. Ketevan recoiled with a yelp. It was a human's hand, but with webbing between the fingers and strangely sharp, pointed nails. The skin was dead white with hints of blue and green. Horrible ideas of drowned people returning as ghosts filled her mind. She reached for the nearest oar. Then all thoughts of ghosts disappeared, because another hand joined the first one and their owner pulled themselves up so they could see into the boat.

No living human had ever seen a mer. The only surviving evidence of their existence was in the drawings in historical documents and the jewellery made from their iridescent scales. But Ketevan had seen enough of those drawings to know what they looked like. They had gills at their neck, patches of scales on their face, upper arms, and torso frilly fins along their arms and back, and below the waist they had a long tail like a fish's.

The person staring at her over the boat's side looked as if he had stepped right out of those drawings.

5.

It wasn't far to the beach. Ketevan stumbled out onto dry land in a way that even she had to admit was clumsy -- though only to herself. She turned, expecting to see the mer had gone back to the sea, and got yet another shock.

The mer had followed her onto the beach. But he was no longer a mer. His gills, scales and tail were gone. In their place was a perfectly normal, apparently perfectly human teenage boy. He was pale, yes, but it was a normal, human paleness without any corpse-like undertones. He tried futilely to wring the water out of his hair and shirt before giving up.

6.

Events of the next few hours strengthened Ketevan's idea. Hariye never mentioned his mer form. He had apparently never visited the sea before. He had no clear idea of where the nearest town was, and once they found it he didn't know where the nearest port was. When she tried very carefully to ask how he was able to swim so well he shrugged and said he'd been surprised too. It looked more and more as if he honestly didn't know he was a mer, or else had only just discovered it and didn't understand the full implications of that.

Two ideas warred in Ketevan's mind. One, whoever had a fresh supply of mer scales would become one of the richest and most powerful people in the world. If she forced him into his mer form she could harvest his scales. Two, he'd saved her life. He was young and naïve and had no idea he was in danger from people who would want his scales.

7. 

Hariye had spent his entire life under the watchful eye of someone. If not his nursemaid, then his siblings. If not his siblings, then his father. If not his father, then his servants. If not his servants, then the palace guards. Even when he was physically alone he knew other people were never more than a few rooms away and would come running if he gave the slightest indication he needed anything.

At some point he had realised that he was treated differently from his half-brothers. They could go anywhere they liked and were left alone when they wanted to be. When he was younger he'd asked his older sister why he wasn't allowed to behave like them.

"It's because you're so much more important," she'd said. "We have to keep you safe at all costs."

Back then Hariye had accepted this explanation without question. He'd spent weeks being insufferably smug because he was more important than his brothers, in fact. Now, after being away from his family for almost a week, he looked back at that and began to wonder. What on earth was so special about him that he was treated like he was made of glass? And for that matter, how had he managed to sneak out unseen? It had seemed like extraordinary luck at the time but now made him wonder if his servants had just plain been sick of watching him all the time.

Tagging @saltysupercomputer, @itsaprildaydreams, @junypr-camus, @words-after-midnight, @creatrackers, @spuddlespud, and anyone else who wants to do this! :D

[coolocgod]

Steven and unknown chillin(based on a dream unknown had)

So there was alot that happened in this lore dream unknown had so imma try to explain it, so in the dream (the first one before steven just a p p e r e d) fren and glitchy's roles are kinda swapped, where unknown now kinda controls glitchy instead of fren, but unknown somehow got her own vessel into the dream(imma guess its cues unknown didn't wanna control something sentient), but glitchy apparently in the dream was half anomaly where half of his face looked like an anomaly but you couldn't look at it cues i think unknown said it would make the rest of him not visible, so uh after a bit of the duo being wholesome, they went to the poketower, unknown very much wanted to avoid it but there was a quest needed for it and i think glitchy and unknown split up, unknown then found dawn, who unknown tries to greet with calmness, but this dawn was different, cues she had the "=)" face, and SOMEHOW JUST HAD A GLITCHY POKEMON, it was unclear what pokemon it was, but unknown was clearly scared and darted off to find glitchy, glitchy who was clearly worried about unknown sense she looked scared asked "are you okay? you look like you've seen a ghost" unknown answered with a "i dont know", glitchy and unknown then headed to a subway andd apparently dawn tried to take it over and the subway turned red, and shadowy figures started appearing, but fren gave unknown the flaaffy(aka starry) and they kinda fixed the subway somehow XD, also apperantly when unknown came dawn said "why are you here? your not supposed to be here" and i think the dream ended after that, NOW ONTO DREAM 2 WHERE STEVEN JUST APPERS OUTTA NO WHERE XD, so in this dream a bunch of unowns started to apper out of no where, but miki and starry somehow shared a braincell and CAUSED AN ELECTRICAL FIRE ON THE UNOWNS, after that they went over to a plush shop, miki seemed to really want a polliwag plush and unknown decided to go and buy it, steven was also buying some stuff, and then randomly a unown plush started to glitch out, the shopkeeper then started to glitch aswell, unknown and steven both clearly i think scared idk, didnt really do much but then miki and starry came over andd miki used flamethrower on the plush, the glitching stopped, and unknown and starry kinda congrat miki and steven then says "i hope were not in trouble now" and unknown responds with "it had to be done" and then the shop keeper says "wow...your lucky im not banning you from my shop! i'll let you off the hook this time but you have to pay for that", unknown then pays for it clearly annoyed and even explains at unowns are known for messing stuff up, the shopkeeper let them still buy stuff tho, and miki points to a poliwag plushie, unknown asked how much it is and the shopkeeper said "oh its usually 500 but sense the pokemon likes it alot its 350" unknown buys it and gives it to miki who immedtaly upon given the plushie, hugs it, starry then points to a mareep plushie and unknown buys it to and gives it starry also hugs to plush, and then miki went over to flame(unknown's charizard who i didnt draw) and hugs him, and steven and unknown just agreed those 2 are friends, glitchy then comes back(apperantly he was chased by the unowns) and unknown and steven kinda explain the stuff that happend, and also miki and starry sharing a braincell, and glitchy then said "oh also i thought you said about homework?" and unknown said "dont ask about my last 3 braincells on homework, they're probably arguing or hitting eachother with foam swords" and steven almost laughed at that, they then explain the shopkeeper stuff and the dream ends, THAT WAS ALOT TO TYPE

uh i guess the tldr is "steven and unknown became friends in like a second", also all this lore dream stuff made me realize i need to post about the shadow realm dream again, I'LL DO IT LATER XD

I only just now realized the layer for the color that was under miki's tail was missing so uh i fixed that XD

[megumiya]

not for eating | getou

✧ pairings ; naga!getou suguru x f!reader (ft. other nagas)

✧ synopsis ; this time humans were out of the menu but only because he had a better use for you

✧ includes ; DARK CONTENT + dubcon + tail fucking + monster fucking + pregnancy kink (?) + praising kink + heavy breeding + size kink + manipulation + cuminflation + belly bulge + aphrodisiacs + kind of historical au. let me know if i missed anything!

✧ wc ; 4.1k

— a/n. don't look at me please or i'll blush. this is my entry for the creauture feature collab hosted by @natsuonii and @viixens, thank you for letting me join <3. also this is like my nastiest fic  so...beware...yeah. also my beloved @mahitochan this was so fun to do ty for being there ILYSM

COLLAB MASTERLIST | part 2 blurb

“WAIT! STOP IT, PLEASE!” 

Kicking your legs and throwing punches in the air, you try to break free from the grasp of the men who have been dragging you around for about an hour now.

 Your mind felt foggy trying to recall how you got here, the last memory you had was in the comfortable warmth of your bed. Until cold, raspy hands pull you out of our sheets. 

The men had been impossibly silent during the whole thing. The most you’ve heard from them was a low grunt which wasn’t very helpful when putting your captors under a name.

Until now.

“Shut up already!” Your heart stops when the voice rings in your ears, spilling words that you were already too tired to hear. “There is no other choice.”

 His voice cracks at the end, apparently pained,  but the grip around your arm doesn’t loosen an inch. The weak light provided by the moon allows you to give a face to that sickly familiar voice and your face contorts.

“Please, father.” Tears start swelling in your eyes when you beg for the last time before you are thrown into the darkness of a cave, knees bruising against the scratchy soil drawing a high pitch whine out of you. 

“Sorry.” you look up at the man whose apology doesn’t match his emotionless face.

“Please, please. I’ll get married soon! Just as you wanted but please, stop this!” But you haven't a clue about what this was.

Your body shudders, not sure if it is for the thin layers of cloth you are wearing or the cold eyes of both males but every bone inside you shivers to its core.

 “Your sacrifice will save us”

You don’t understand a thing. Sure, you’ve heard about the men and women that suddenly left your village in the middle of the night. But you thought that living in such a dull place was enough motivation to do so. But ‘sacrifice’ was a word you weren’t familiar with.

How awfully wrong you were.

“What are you talking about?!” His eyes seem to soften for the first time in the night. Maybe, he was moved by how helpless you look right now. “Fath—”

His calloused hand harshly gropes your cheeks, forcing you to look at him. Dark eyes pierce through you with dilated pupils, and suddenly, it feels as if the temperature has dropped a degree or two.

“You better satisfy them.” 

Them? What was he talking about? You can’t even ask, you are too shocked at his words to even formulate the question in your brain.

 So, you stay on the floor, kneeling, powerless as you watch the two men disappear into the forest, not sparing a single glance back at where you stood.

You brush the tears away with the back of your hand and your legs feel wobbly when you try to stand but your instinct tells you to run away.

“Don’t g—” You stretch your arm as if you were trying to reach for the men’s ghosts until the sound of multiple cascabels comes from the bottom of the cave making you freeze on the spot.

Gulping harshly you turn to face the source of the sound finding two sets of glowing eyes hidden in the dark. You yelp and your body reacts, attempting to crawl your way out, moving in the opposite direction.

The ground trembles under you and before you know it, a large body hovers above you as a large palm comes to grip your neck. You freeze.

“Where are you going, little dumpling?”

The voice is tainted with malice and you are pretty sure it comes from a male. Your shaky hand moves to your mouth, trapping the scared cry you were about to let out in hopes they couldn’t see you in such darkness.

He lifts you incredibly high from the ground and turns you around to face him.

“Look at that pretty face.” Your eyes pop out of their sockets as they meet the voice’s owner. The only thing that looked familiar to you was his toned torso. The rest of him belonged to a monster.

Your stomach twinges in terror as you scan the creature. His human features are shocking. Mesmerizing blue eyes and white hair make you wonder if it’s not some heavenly being. But as soon as you look at his lower half, the idea vanishes.

Pearly scales cover the rest of his body. Where there should be legs there was one big muscle that reminds you of the tail of a snake.

“Don’t play with the food, haven’t I told you that already?” You turn to the side, facing a creature similar to the one that holds you in the air right now. 

The human features of the other beast are closer to the one of a human female. Her face is more delicately, adorned with two dark shadows under her eyes and long brown hair that cascades down her shoulders, covering the outline of her breasts.

In fact, if it wasn’t for their horrific lower half you would think both of them were incredibly beautiful. 

Rolling his eyes, the white-haired male lets out an annoyed growl as his tail wraps itself around your body, replacing his hand.

Your whole body tenses, getting in contact for the first time with the creature’s scales.

They are cold and harsh against your skin but something tells you that he is not using all of his strength to hold you up. Otherwise, your fragile body would most certainly crush under his tail’s pressure.

“You never let me have fun!” He gestures to the female, clearly exasperated before bringing his gaze back to you. His tongue peeks from his mouth and he licks his lips, “So, what part of our little meal are you going to have this time?”

The other best leans closer to you, observing your figure, looking for the most fleshy part of you. She hisses. “She’s bony, I don’t like when they bring skinny ones.” 

It makes you sick in the stomach. Talking as if you weren’t right in front of them only makes the situation even more disturbing. You have to go, you need to.

“She is not for eating.

 A third voice joined the conversation and surprise took over the creatures’ faces. this was —for the lack of their proper name—  snake-people.

You are carefully placed on the ground, body laying limply while the third figure emerges from the depths of the cavern. 

The other two quickly move to the side, allowing the new beast to make its way towards you, causing your gut to tighten. Your eyes widen when the poor bits of light unwrap the new monster’s appearance. 

Much to your surprise, the size of the third one is significantly bigger than the other two, causing you to swallow hard. 

His chest was toned and hard, maybe even a little bulkier than the other male. And his dark long hair matched with his eyes, giving him a sense of composure, something you desperately needed right now.

He leans down, a smirk stretching on his lips while his large palm cups your cheeks, moving your head to both sides, inspecting his new acquisition. “Perfect.” He purrs, only for you to hear it. But, the compliment doesn’t make your heart flutter as it should.

A loud cough interrupts you.

“Then why is she here?” The white-haired beast asks.

Dark eyes drift south, observing your breasts and finally your hips. He hums, satisfied.

 “Isn’t it obvious?”

 The end of his tail starts moving around you, crawling from your ankle to your thigh, groping the plush skin. Your eyes shut tight as you do your best to hold back a gasp for the sudden intromission.

“She is here for breeding.”

Your heartbeat drops at the words and you feel like your legs are about to give out. Breeding? Begging to any god that you heard it wrong, you shake your head before trying to back away from his touch. 

“W-What?” You stutter as his tail caresses your inner thigh, keeping you still “Please, don’t—”

His long finger pressed against your lips, sealing your pleas. And before you knew it, he was leaning close to your ear, hot breath fanning over the sensitive skin sending goosebumps to your core. 

“Now, now, little human, shouldn’t you be more grateful? I just saved your life.” The beast whispers against your ear before forcing you to face the other two creatures who watched the whole scene with hungry eyes, “See? They are dying to taste you.”

Fuck. His voice was so deep and low. For a brief second, you feel...hot? What was this? Your face contorts as you turn away, facing your shoulder, a pity attempt to hide from him.

The monster’s lips curve up at your horrified expression. He had found a pretty toy this time and he wasn’t going to let it go. His hand reaches for your face and his thumb rubs soothing motions over your skin, causing the exact opposite effect, just as he wanted.

“What do we say when someone helps us?” He taunts, amused at how your lower lip quivers in fear. 

Taking a shaky breath you lock eyes with the creature. “Thank you…I don’t know your n-”

“I supposed it would be useless to make you pronounce my name correctly but,” He interrupts you while his tail squeezes harder the fat of your inner thigh making you gasp “Getou works.”

You truly hoped this was just a bad dream, you hoped that you would wake up in your stiff bed and go on with your daily boring life. But the smell of humidity of the cave and the muscle currently groping your body felt too vivid for a mere dream.

This is happening. 

“Didn’t know nagas could breed humans” The female says, chocolate brows quirking up. 

“Well, Shoko, the stupid monkeys finally delivered a perfect one for it, and I won’t  waste her.” He emphasizes. And the other monsters growl through their gritted teeth, understanding that tonight’s fun wasn’t for them. 

Three sets of eyes linger on you, making you feel even smaller than what you already are. You can’t stop shuddering and it seems it caught Getou’s attention. 

His tail muscle loosens around your body and he bends again to inspect your expression. He notices your terrible dry lips and your swollen eyes. You try backing away but his hand grips firmly your chin to keep it in place.

He couldn’t have his new guest and future mother of his brood in such an unpleasant state, could he?

“Are you going to do it now? Breed her?” The blue-eyed asks, voice tainted with curiosity. “I wouldn’t mind watching the show, you know?”

“Me neither” 

The two monsters stare at you with lustful eyes, waiting for the other’s answer. It would be the first time they watch a human getting pounded by a naga and it would be a lie to say that the idea didn’t sound appealing.

“Not yet. She looks like she is about to faint. I’ll get her some food first.” He says. The two other monsters huff and hiss, clearly annoyed. 

 Getou clicks his tongue. His grip on your face not loosening for a second as he addresses them.

“Look at you,” He scolds your audience. ”So eager to watch me take this human, you haven’t even introduced yourself. We are not savages”  Everyone looks shocked, including you. 

The monster who said that was going to use you as breeding stock, now asks for formalities. If this was something from a book, you would find it hilarious, really. But right now, there is nothing comical in the situation.

It takes a moment for the others to introduce—properly this time—  themselves, but after some shifting around the two monsters stand in a line in front of you. They huff and hiss but Getou’s heavy stare is enough to convince them.

Sighing loudly, the female speaks first.

“Naga’s names are complicated but you may call me Shoko.” She says before nudging her elbow into the male’s side.

“Gojo” 

Not sure of what else to do, you simply nod, still not able to look at your scary hosts in the eye. 

Getou smirks at your dumbfounded expression as he stops holding your face. With one of his fingers, he lifts your chin, forcing you to face him again. 

“Would you mind sharing your name?” Getou points out looking down at you. Your mind is still too cloudy to gather your thoughts quickly but he doesn’t seem to care. In fact, his eyes seem to soften a bit, inviting you to take your time before answering. 

“___. M-My name is ___” You stutter. It felt incredibly painful to say such easy words, your throat is dry past the point that every little sound you made produces a burn sensation that makes your features contort in pain.

After a solid minute of silence. Getou takes the word again, crawling his body over the soil with a horrific sound, standing tall between you and the other nagas.

“Now, you may leave us alone. I’ll make sure she eats something before we—” his tongue slips past his teeth, wettening his lips, thinking about how good you are gonna look once you are carrying his brood. “start”

You feel as if your soul is leaving your body right there. This is happening, that monster is going to fuck you. And not only that. He is also going to breed you with whatever name they used to call their babies.

“No..” You beg. “Please, let me go.”

The other two nagas hiss before disappearing into the depths of the cave. Your eyes turn glassy as you look up at the one remaining. 

He snakes his way into the cave, fading from your view too shortly to try escaping. He returns with a bowl of what seemed to be a fish that smelled better than what it looked like.

There’s a wicked charm behind his dark eyes as he leans down, hand grazing your cheek. You flinch away from his touch, causing Getou to frown. 

“You can’t carry my brood if you are this tense, little human” He explains, looking down at you with a knowing grin. You wipe your tears away before glaring at him, hands balling into fists. 

“I don’t want that! I just want to go home!” 

Letting out a tired sigh, Getou rolls his eyes before leaving the bowl on a nearby surface that looked like a stone table. You stand your ground, legs still shaking.

“You want to go home to that shitty village? To be treated as nothing more than a housewife?” He spats, raising a brow at you.  

If it wasn’t a monster the one who asked you the question you probably would have answered a big no. However, this wasn’t the case.

“Yes,” you say, sounding much more convincing than you hoped to. You couldn’t lie to yourself but it seems it did the trick to the naga because his eyes widened.

“I can’t give my heirs to a host that won’t take care of them…” his exasperated tone followed by a heavy sigh. “I’ll have to let you go.”

Is he lying? Most certainly. It couldn’t be that easy. Not after he paraded you among the other monsters as his new breeding human. 

“I don’t believe you.” You try biting back, hands holding your arms in a way to keep the little warmth in your body. 

A sneaky laugh escaped from his lips as he turned around to grab the forgotten bowl. “Easy,” he says, “It’s not convenient for me to have a human that might hurt herself in an attempt to hurt my brood,” Getou explained, moving closer to you. 

“W-What are you doing?!” You yell, quickly using your hands as a shield, even when you knew that it would make no difference to protect yourself from the creature’s wrath. 

 “Would you eat this, at least?” He asks, holding the wood bowl in your direction and drawing a surprise look out of your face.

“Not hungry.” Wow. Second lie of the night.How unusual of you but it couldn’t be helped.

 Your guts were hurting and it was a miracle that you hadn’t passed out yet. There is no exchange for less than a minute until your stomach betrays you, letting out a growl.

“My, my. Sure you are not carrying something else inside that fragile body of yours?”

He is enjoying this, you can tell. The sneaky grin, the glimmer in his eyes. It all screams that he is toying with you, adding more reasons to leave right now. 

“Are you going to let me go?” you ask. You should have been more polite, you think. At least giving these disadvantageous circumstances. But your tongue was faster than your brain.

 Getou clicks his tongue before gazing at the bowl, thinking about what a bratty little thing you were. Humans really are stupid.

“Of course, but eat something first,” He hands you the bowl accompanied by a closed-eyes smile that you could only describe as cute. “Please, ___” 

Shit. The way he said your name did things to you, things you were disgusted to admit. It almost sounded...affectionately. Biting your lower lip, you remind yourself that you weren’t talking with a person but with a monster. You couldn’t think about anything that wasn’t escaping.

Whether it was out of fear or because of his damn charms, you reach with hesitant hands for the bowl he offered you.  Your palms seem a lot smaller when they cup the wood container. It felt warm and the smell was intoxicating. Shit. You really were hungry. A bite won’t hurt, will it?

A dark smile stretches on Getou’s thin lips. It was perfect. You had just sealed your destiny and all he did was play nice for some good ten minutes. He watched with almost morbid attention how you swallow the first piece of fish. Oh, had he forgotten to tell you about the special ingredient? No big deal. He was ready to take care of its effects.

Suddenly, you feel your body loosening and everything feels hot. Your skin burns with desire and you try desperately to generate some friction against your core by clasping your thighs together. 

“What did you do to me?!” You whimper while you take a few steps back until you hit a wall. You let your body slip against the rocky surface. You couldn’t help but groan when you finally sit on the floor, keeping your knees together to prevent any intromission. But, fuck, that was exactly what you wanted.

“I just helped you relax.” He casually explains as he analyses your pathetic state. 

To taste the waters Getou uses his tail first. The muscle slides towards you and forces its way in between your legs, eliciting a needy moan out of you. His eyes drink in the way you shut your eyes tight and how your hands grasp onto the wall for support. Even he was surprised about how quickly his special food had affected you. 

His muscle presses against your panties, drawing small circles against the cotton. You buckle your hips, craving for more. It feels like torture. 

“Please, stop— teasing.” You say almost sobbing while your hands reach for the waistband of your underwear, desperately ripping them off to allow easier access for the naga’s tail.

The male smiles as he moves closer to you, his cock growing bigger by the second against his scales. 

“Only if you promise to take care of my brood. Would you let me breed y—”

“YES, YES! Do whatever you need to. Just make the ache stop!” This time you were really crying as you spread your legs wider, allowing him to glance at your glistening cunt. “Just make me cum, please.”

His eyes blow out with lust at the pretty sight you offer him. Humans had pretty pussies, he notes. Getou couldn’t help to think how much better you would look with your cunt stuffed to the brim with his seed, because when nagas came, they came incredibly hard. 

“Good girl. I’ll take care of you and you’ll take care of my babies, mmh?” He chuckles at the way you fanatically nod before pressing the end of his tail against your warmth.

 Getou hisses as he pushes his way inside you, feeling your tight walls wrapping around him with a vice grip. Fucking humans was definitely better than fucking nagas. You gasp as he starts bottoming out to push inside once again, fucking you at a steady pace that had your toes curling. 

But you needed more, you needed him to touch your body, to play with your breasts, to bite your neck, and to suck on your nipples. 

Thankfully for you, Getou notices the silent plea in your eyes. He pulls his tail out of you and watches amazed at how your juices run down the pale muscle, covering it in your slick. Maybe humans weren’t only for eating. 

He brings his muscle to his mouth tasting your arousal, humming at the sweetness of it. “So sweet, is this why humans are so tasty?” 

You lay there, a whimpering mess before he lifts you up with his tail, removing the few pieces of clothing keeping you away from his touch. 

His cock stands proudly at the height where his stomach ends and his tail begins, swollen and leaking precum. Your eyes widened because even if you felt as if you were a bitch in heat it was incredibly big. 

It doesn’t take long until he lines you with the tip, carefully letting you drop your weight on his length, causing your eyes to roll back as you grasped at his broad shoulders. 

“So tight ___.  You’re doing so good, taking me whole inside your pretty hole.” He grunts, getting lost in the tight vice of your gummy walls. He had never felt so constricted but it only made him more aroused and hot. Why hasn’t he done this before? 

He presses you close enough so his teeth brush against the skin of your neck leaving bites on his way to your breasts. How big will they get once they’re full of milk? He is gonna have some for sure so he starts practicing.  Latching his lips at your hard nipple he sucks and bites, noticing each face you make so he doesn’t hurt the next time. 

Getou starts thrusting into you and with the help of his tail he keeps you still as his arms wrap around your torso, one hand fondling your neglected tit, squeezing and pinching the plush skin.

He fucks you deep and fast, almost not letting you space to breathe. “This is what you needed little human, to be bred by one powerful naga.”  You are so drunk in cock that you don’t think about consequences and his words only make your clit throb.

He is hitting all the right spots, kissing your cervix with each thrust. His fat cock mushing your brain and making you see stars, it was pure bliss.

This was better than he imagined. Fuck. He is gonna cum soon if you keep moaning like that and scraping his back. But at this point, he didn’t care he was gonna fill you up over and over again until he was sure you were properly breeding. 

“Want to carry your brood Getou!” Your lewd whimper catches him out of guard and with a low fuck, he cums deep inside you, his load filling you up so much until it’s oozing out of your hole. 

You pout at him. 

“Shit, that was just the first round, don’t worry you’ll cum until you pass out.”

The next morning you found yourself in an improvised nest, completely naked. The naga of your nightmare wrapping his arms around you, hand resting on what looks like a small baby bump. You want to be scared but the peaceful look on his face somehow soothes you. Maybe being used as a breeding stock wasn’t that bad after all.

The peaceful morning is interrupted by a sudden chuckle. You feel way too heavy to move so you turn uncomfortably your neck to the side, finding —since you forgot his name already—  the white-haired naga.

His eyes drift from your breasts to your, now, bulging tummy, A lustful smirk taking over his lips.

“Can’t wait to see you big and round. Fuck, we are gonna have to make sure you stay that way, pregnant with our broods.”

taglist: @dukina

©𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀 2021 — do not modify or repost

[delimeful]

leave your shaded hollow

custom commission for @borrowedblue! just in time for the end of mermay :)

warnings: blood, injury, fear, miscommunication

-

There was blood in the water.

Virgil pressed a hand against his shoulder as he swam, trying to stifle the trickles of red that were pluming out into the ocean around him and dissolving. He’d lost his bag somewhere in the scuffle, which meant that this scavenging trip had been for nothing and he now had nothing to stifle the bleeding with.

He shouldn’t have been bitten at all, but the eel swarm had ambushed him with practiced ease, and even a mer as quick as him hadn’t been able to dodge all of them. He’d gained a lead, but he couldn’t go home as he was now. They’d follow his blood trail for as long as they could, and if any of his neighbors were out and about…

The swarm would have no compunctions about changing targets for a slower meal.

Everything was dark down here, enough so that even Virgil, who wasn’t exactly a shallow-reefs type of mer, could barely make out more than shapes even with his pupils expanded to catch all the light they could. His sonar would have helped, but sending out a signal meant that other creatures could receive that signal. Not a chance.

A low glow caught his eye, and he dove down towards it, easily identifying the source as bioluminescent plants rather than a predator’s lure.

The plants were dotted and undersized at the entrance, but a bit further into the cave, against the back wall, he could see clusters of them growing strong and tall. Mindful of the fact that he had sparse moments before trouble caught up with him, he darted further into the cave, hurriedly gripping the plants at the base and tearing some of the fibers off.

As expected, they worked well enough as makeshift bandages, and he wadded a mass of softer, absorbant roots against the wound as makeshift gauze before wrapping his arm with the glowing fibers. The luminescence would be attention-catching, but if he covered it with his hand, he was sure he would have better luck than if he tried to escape while leaking blood everywhere.

He tied the faux bandages off and plunged his hands into a nearby cluster of plants, scrubbing off as much of the excess blood as he possibly could. If he was lucky, the concentration of bloodscent would distract the swarm here for a good while.

In front of him, the back wall of the cave suddenly lit up with bright, bioluminescent patterns.

Virgil froze, trying to comprehend the change. Had he brushed up against a cluster of coral or something? He’d never seen anything growing on cave walls that had such a distinct pattern, nor one that lit up so rapidly.

The ‘wall’ suddenly shifted back, and Virgil’s heart kicked into overdrive.

The cave was much, much deeper than it had first appeared, and much wider beyond this entrance tunnel-- the tunnel that had apparently been blocked off by the body of the creature before him.

He could only see parts of it as it shifted around, and even those were only lit partially by the plants’ dim radiance: sleek dorsal fins, the glint of sharp claws, and an enormous, ridged tail dotted with those luminescent patterns.

Abruptly, there were two huge, glowing blue eyes in front of him, scanning the tunnel with slit pupils.

Leviathan.

Virgil’s breath had gone still in his chest, frozen in place by the ice running through his veins. He’d heard the rumors about Leviathans, unspeakably massive monsters that lived down in the depths of the ocean, able to achieve impossible feats on a whim, with moods as tumultuous as surface storms.

The creature hadn’t seen him yet, the glow of his bandages helping him blend into the plants around him. It’s face was partially lit by the eerie glow of its eyes, and with how close it was, Virgil could see the twitch of its nose as it inhaled, scenting the water.

He barely kept from whimpering, realizing that his blood had thoroughly saturated the cave by now. If this predator was anything like a shark, he was about to be torn to shreds.

The creature leaned forwards, pupils gradually expanding to see better, and when its mouth drew closer, Virgil could see the mass of razor-sharp fangs that lurked inside. His stillness began to fracture under the force of his fear, and he drew in a tiny, shallow breath.

Those eyes flicked over to lock onto him in an instant.

In the next breath, Virgil was fleeing, past the cave entrance and the open waters, every muscle in his body straining to get away, get away, get away. He couldn’t hear whether or not the monster was pursuing, his heartbeat roaring in his ears, but he wasn’t stopping, not for anything--

Something collided with him heavily, knocking all the momentum right out of him as he went spinning through the water, disoriented.

He noticed the smell first: a thick and cloying iron tang, as though he was breathing in more blood than water.

A breath later, the pain caught up with him.

The eel was latched onto his side, sinking teeth deep into his abdomen and tearing at the flesh there. He choked out a scream, trying to drive his thumbs into the sea snake's eyes, but the rest of the swarm were close behind by now, and they began to circle and constrict around him.

He was caught. Even if he somehow got away, the new wound wouldn’t be so easily brushed off or bandaged up. He thrashed sharply against the swarm anyways, digging his claws into muscle and snapping his fangs at what he could reach, but for each eel he drove off, there were two new ones to take its place.

Gills blocked, barely able to move, he was struggling not to black out when he noticed a set of familiar glowing eyes in the distance.

Half the swarm scattered the moment the Leviathan drew close, apparently easily able to recognize the glowing patterns that flickered along its tail. The other half hesitated, unwilling to release their prey, but then it reached out with one huge, clawed hand, and the rest of the swarm vanished into the dark.

Virgil wished he could do the same, but being released had hurt almost as bad as being bitten, and his fins only fluttered weakly in response to his mind’s desperate shrieking.

The Leviathan’s hand curled around him, grip firm but somehow not blocking any of Virgil’s gillslits or even grazing him with any of those long claws. He managed a frankly pitiful wiggle of protest and then went stiff with the resulting wave of pain that rolled through him.

There was a little rumble from the creature as it drew closer, bringing Virgil up to its face. He went tense, scrunched his eyes shut, bracing for pain as he got nearer and nearer to those glinting teeth--

“Are you okay?” The voice was low, just above a whisper, and sounded surprisingly… young?

Virgil opened his eyes, finding that narrow, glowing gaze locked on him, dizzyingly close. The silence stretched for a breath, and when he managed to speak past his bruised ribs and the terror clogging his throat, the word came out confused and small. “What?”

“You’re bleeding,” the Leviathan informed him, turning him a little bit to inspect the injury. Virgil curled in on himself like a sea star, despite knowing that it was a pointless gesture. If someone this big wanted to take a bite out of him, there was little he could do to stop it. “It looks really bad.”

“Hurts pretty bad, too,” Virgil huffed out, watching the Leviathan’s every move, eyes tight with pain. What was the point of this? Was he going to die quick or slow? When? The uncertainty of it all made his spinal fins shudder.

“Oh.” The Leviathan recoiled a bit, his earfins drooping like a scorned child’s. “I tried to get to you before the eels, but they’re very fast. I’m sorry.”

Virgil blinked and unfurled a little, taken aback by the giant’s earnest apology.

“If you’re sorry, you can-- can let me go,” he tried, speaking carefully.

The Leviathan cocked his head curiously, eyebrows drawing inwards. “But-- If I leave you like this, you won’t survive long. Not down here.”

It was true. His hands already felt numb, his fins distant, the cold encroaching as he lost more and more blood. He would succumb to his injuries before making it out of the abyss. He’d known it even as he asked, wondered if it was worth a slower, longer death just to avoid becoming prey.

The Leviathan tilted his head in the opposite direction consideringly, and then lifted his other hand and advanced on Virgil. “Hold still, please. I will try to make this quick.”

A shock of fear ran through him, trying to revitalize his sluggish limbs, but all his body managed was wave after wave of uncontrollable trembling. He couldn’t avoid the approaching claws, couldn’t even bear to close his eyes to avoid seeing his impending disembowelment.

The Leviathan’s fingers curled in, tucking the claws away, and it was a knuckle that ended up pressing solidly against his torso, right next to his wound.

“Please,” Virgil managed to force out, terrified and disoriented, not even sure what he was asking.

There was a low hum, the sound almost resonant, and Virgil watched as every glowing mark along the being’s skin flared up in hypnotizing patterns.

A short, searing burn, like accidentally passing over a too-hot vent, and abruptly, the pain was gone.

The Leviathan withdrew, brightening up with excitement. “I did it!”

Virgil barely noticed the grip around him relax, fumbling his hands over where there had formerly been a gaping wound. His fingers ghosted over thick scar tissue, perfectly aligned to where the bite had been, with no lingering pain to speak of. “What-- What exactly did you do?”

“I healed you,” the Leviathan replied proudly, and then hesitated. “Right?”

Virgil found himself tugged back up to the Leviathan’s face with a yelp, sending his heart racing anew. The giant’s gaze was narrowed fiercely as he inspected Virgil’s new scar, and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t a glare. The Leviathan was squinting, as though his vision was impaired.

“It’s-- No, yeah, it’s healed,” he reassured the deep dweller, a beat late. “But… how?”

“Oh! Healing magic,” he replied, as though the answer was obvious. “I wasn’t sure how well it would work-- learning magic is hard, but I’m a pro-di-gy.”

The last word was carefully enunciated, as though he’d mispronounced it in the past. Virgil struggled to come to terms with the fact that magic was apparently real, and that what was almost certainly a child had just used it on him.

“You should swim slow,” the kid told him, hand slowly flattening out to give him more space. “That way you don’t pull on the new tissue! How do you normally swim so fast?”

“I practice a lot.” Virgil pushed himself up into open water, waiting for the other shell to drop. Was a Leviathan really just… letting him go? “Why’d you heal me?”

“Because you were hurt?” the kid replied, doing that curious little head-tilt again. As though the answer was obvious. His gaze flickered between Virgil and the surface light trickling down from above, and he rushed out another question. “How do humans make such big structures float?”

Virgil’s tail flicked anxiously. He could leave, right now. The kid wouldn’t be able to catch him.

“I think they make them hollow, full of air, so they don’t sink,” he answered, watching as the kid wiggled excitedly, muttering about shipwrecks, his patterns pulsating brightly. He felt a little faint at the sight of that razor-sharp smile. “I’ve, uh, never met a Leviathan before. Who-- I mean, what do you eat? Just curious.”

“I eat krill and plankton mostly! And some plants that taste good, or help stomach aches,” the kid listed eagerly. “I’ve met a few little mers, but normally they pass out or swim away really fast when they see me.”

He paused and pressed his lips together, like he hadn’t meant to say so much, casting another glance at the lighter waters above. He was expecting him to flee, Virgil realized, and trying to ask as many questions as he could before he did.

… The kid had saved his life. The least he could do was be polite company.

“What’s your name, kid?” Virgil asked, crossing his arms as though to reaffirm that he wasn’t leaving any time soon.

The kid’s fins twitched in surprise. “My name is Logan,” he replied, looking at Virgil with those wide glowing eyes.

“I’m Virgil,” Virgil said, flitting up a little bit to be eye level with him. “You, um… You got anything else you want to ask?”

This time, when Logan lit up with joy, Virgil slanted a smile right back.

[asweetprologue]

tension in a touch

Octoberfest 5: Hover

People were afraid of Geralt.

As Geralt’s half-official barker, Jaskier was deeply aware of this. His main obstacle in improving Geralt’s reputation was not hate, despite what Geralt thought. The witcher didn’t discuss it much, but when people shied away from him, when their heart rates skyrocketed, when they cast him sideways glances, Geralt assumed it was because they despised what he was. A mutant, a freak of nature, a monster. And he was right, in many ways, but Jaskier thought Geralt sometimes didn’t quite understand why human beings hated things. Almost always it was because of fear, and Geralt made people nervous. Jaskier was there to comfort them, and then to rally them. It was a process. 

Unfortunately, as they began traveling together Jaskier realized that he was afraid of the witcher too. It wasn’t something he was proud of, and he hoped Geralt never picked up on it. Jaskier was drawn to the man anyways, of course. He’d been able to smell the adventure on him from across the tavern in Posada, literally. Dirt from the road, old blood rust and an air of tragedy clung to the man like a thick cloak. It had been a moment of clear and crystalized genius, when his eyes settled on Geralt. Jaskier had known that he would follow the witcher across the Continent even before he’d heard the man speak. 

But all his enthusiasm didn’t mean that Geralt stopped being intimidating as shit. Jaskier, fresh faced and still not used to the rough and tumble way of the world, was a little scared of him. Geralt was careful, always projecting his movements and making himself obvious, but something in Jaskier’s hindbrain still raised its hackles and screamed at him to run anytime Geralt was near. It was pure instinct, an animal recognition of a predator nearby. 

But it just wouldn’t do. If he was going to convince the world that Geralt deserved to be praised for his deeds, great as they were, he couldn’t be afraid of his own muse. So Jaskier decided that he would just do the exact opposite of whatever his instincts told him to do, until they learned to behave. 

He forced himself to be close to the witcher, all the time. At night when they settled down to sleep, Jaskier desperately wanted to put his bedroll on the other side of the fire. Instead, he plopped right down next to Geralt, receiving a brief glare that made him sweat. When they ate at taverns, Jaskier sat in Geralt’s space, instead of allowing the table to act as a barrier between them. After hunts, he made himself help wash off the worst of the muck and blood and ichor, at least so that people wouldn’t truly bolt at the first sight of Geralt down the street. 

Over time, he found that his palms sweat less, his fingers were steadier, and his heart stayed calm in his chest even when he was pressed shoulder to shoulder with the witcher. Geralt was often snappy, peevish and foul tempered, but he never hurt Jaskier after the first punch to the gut. And that was really on Jaskier for bringing up Blaviken. Generally speaking, Geralt was perhaps even overly cautious. He never returned Jaskier’s friendly gestures, carefully keeping distance between them as if he expected Jaskier to startle at every brush of their fingers. And he had, in the beginning. But slowly he felt himself grow less jumpy, a part of him learning to recognize that Geralt wasn’t going to harm him. 

It was fine, the neutral ground Jaskier had been searching for. Things might have stayed that way, if not for the cockatrice hunt. 

Jaskier had insisted on going along, as they were exceptionally rare creatures. He might never get the chance to watch Geralt fight another, he reasoned, and had worn Geralt down though a slow process of argumentation supplemented by a few strategically placed ales. Geralt had reluctantly agreed, warning Jaskier that he had to stay well away from the fight. 

They had both underestimated the beast. Jaskier got too close, he could admit; Geralt wasn’t paying him any mind, focused on dodging the creature’s massive tail and razor honed beak. It was a fascinating fight. The cockatrice was like a strange mix between a rooster and a lizard, its beady eyes watching Geralt intently as it used the ends of its hooked wings to claw into the ground. The fight was fast, almost too fast for Jaskier to follow. Geralt was like water, here one moment and gone the next, baiting the creature into reckless attacks and popping up somewhere else to hack at its flank. Occasionally the cockatrice would attempt to take off, and a concussive burst of aard would echo across the small field that they fought in, knocking it back towards the ground. 

Everything would have been fine, truly, if Jaskier hadn’t seen Geralt get knocked over by the cocktrice’s tail. He shouted in alarm from his place on the hill, far enough away not to draw attention to himself, if he’d kept his silence. The cockatrice, circling Geralt, looked up sharply at the sound, interested in a potentially less threatening meal. Milky eyes focused on him, and Jaskier felt panic pulse through his chest, so strong he wondered how he ever could have called his nervousness around Geralt fear at all. As the cockatrice turned to advance on him, he knew this was what real fear was. 

In that moment, Jaskier didn’t think. He didn’t do the smart thing, which would probably have been to run back towards the village and try to take shelter amongst the smattering of houses there. He didn’t do the cowardly thing, ducking down to try and hide where he was. Instead, he did the incredibly stupid thing, and ran towards Geralt. The cockatrice, being directly in his path, was probably thrilled. 

Jaskier ran faster than he ever had in his life. The cockatrice was barrelling towards him, and Jaskier took off at an angle, rushing down the small incline towards Geralt, who was already up from where he’d been knocked prone. Jaskier could see the moment that the situation caught up with him, Geralt’s eyes going wide and panicked as he realized the danger. Jaskier didn’t think he’d ever seen Geralt move above a light jog before. The man usually let monsters come to him, rather than the other way around, but he was running now. He was amazingly fast, and Jaskier wondered who was faster. Geralt, or the monster. 

The cockatrice had flown up, gaining some distance. Probably to dive down and catch him with some momentum. It gave Jaskier a precious extra moment, but he could sense the bird-like creature getting ready to move. Geralt was only feet away now, sword held in reverse as he sprinted towards him, and Jaskier’s lungs were burning with exertion and fear. The cockatrice let out a shriek above them, and Jaskier heard a rush of air past its wings as it dove towards them. 

Jaskier ducked. 

Geralt slammed into him almost at the same instant that the cockatrice did, throwing Jaskier bodily to the ground as a shimmering golden field sprung up around them both. The cockatrice slammed into it full force, its huge body impacting with a horrible cracking sound and spinning off to the side. Geralt winced at the force of it, the quen shield shattering apart harmlessly. He was curled protectively around Jaskier’s fallen form, one hand - the one that had been holding his sword, now abandoned - clutching the back of Jaskier’s head. Protecting him from hitting the ground when he fell. 

For one brief moment the two of them were still, Jaskier fighting to get his bearings as Geralt hovered above him. Their faces were inches apart, Geralt’s panting breath ghosting over Jaskier’s cheek. His palm was warm against the back of his neck, and his strong thighs bracketed Jaskier’s hips in a grounding press of limbs. Though the danger had not yet passed, Jaskier felt a sense of pure, undiluted relief wash over him. Geralt was here, and nothing could hurt him. 

It lasted only a second before Geralt was back on his feet, stalking over to the fallen cockatrice. The creature’s wing had been greviously injured in the fall, and it was no hardship for Geralt to dispatch it once he retrieved his sword. Jaskier sat up slowly, wincing at his newfound bruises. Better than a cockatrice talon in the back of his skull, he thought, but he’d still be sore in the morning. 

Geralt stomped back over to him as soon as he’d finished the job. “I told you to stay back,” he growled. His face was stormy, but Jaskier had seen his expression just before the cocktrice dove. It had been just as panicked as Jaskier had felt, a naked fear and determination that Jaskier had never seen on Geralt’s face in battle before. He’d been worried. He was worried still. “I never should have let you come,” he grumbled, kneeling. Warm hands pressed over Jaskier’s shoulders, his chest, working their way through his hair to check for injuries. Where once it might have made Jaskier nervous, now he only felt warmth blossom under his breastbone. 

Placing a hand over Geralt’s where it rest just under his collarbone, he said, “I’m alright, Geralt. I’m not hurt.”

Geralt glared at him. “Not for lack of trying, bard. What possessed you to shout at it like that?”

Jaskier blushed. He was winded from the sprint, heart still pounding away in his chest at how close he’d come to serious harm, so hopefully Geralt would attribute the flush to exertion. “I, ah. Saw you fall. I was afraid you’d been hurt.”

A strong eye roll was directed his way. Whoever said witchers couldn’t feel apparently didn’t recognize annoyance as an emotion, because Geralt was clearly experiencing it. “I would have been fine, Jaskier. You could have died.” His hand was still on Jaskier’s chest, over his slowing heart. Jaskier was supremely comforted by the touch, in a way that perhaps should have been concerning. 

He gave Geralt a look he hoped was sufficiently chagrined. “It does seem I owe you my life, witcher. I hope to be able to repay you.”

Geralt raised an eyebrow. “Just don’t go shouting at any more cockatrices in the near future.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jaskier said, and then added, “but I know you’d be there to rescue me if I did.” He gave Geralt a grin, to take a bit of the edge off of the statement. It was too much, he knew, too much trust to put in the witcher’s hands. 

He was rewarded with an embarrassed huff of breath, and was allowed to watch as Geralt’s ears turned just faintly red. It was amusing, but Jaskier knew deep down that it wasn’t a joke. From then on, Geralt would always mean safety to him.

[anistarrose]

tagged by @holdmecloser-gandydancer to find some words in my wips, thanks for the tag reese!

“glass” — from an AU where Magnus finds out a few things about the Red Robe, post-Eleventh Hour

They eat together in their dorm’s common area, but without much conversation as they dig into their dinners — rice and veggies for Magnus who’s lacking an appetite, a meat pie for Merle who’s apparently worked up a bigger one, and more rice for Taako, who’s thrown on an egg and extra spices from his own kitchen. Whatever went on with Kravitz must’ve left him in a good mood.

Maybe Magnus should talk to him, and to Merle too. Not about everything on his mind, obviously, but… perhaps, there’s a way to just slide around the all sensitive information, and just have a normal roommate chat.

“Hey,” Magnus says, getting both boys’ ears to perk up, “y’all remember Barry Bluejeans?”

Taako finishes a bite of food, and snorts. “How could I forget?”

“He was a good man, that Barry,” Merle adds, raising his wineglass of chocolate milk. “Still feels like we’d known him for ages, and not just for that day he tried to draw my blood with a fork!”

“fire” — from one where everyone lives through the Voidfishing but then Barry dies starts haunting Sizzle It Up

“Lup!” the ghost exclaims, and wraps fuzzy red sleeves and the robe’s wispy tail around her — forming a big, unconventional, but slightly tangible hug. “Lup, how have you been?”

“Oh. Um. I’ve been — uh. Wow,” Lup says, and the ghost draws back, beginning to flit around the kitchen — sticking his head through closed draws and cabinets, and asking questions rapid-fire.

“How long have you been touring? How do you and Taako like it? I bet you’re pretty damn popular!” The weird void that he has for a head doesn’t accommodate a mouth, exactly, but he certainly sounds like he’s grinning from ear to ear. Lup should not feel nearly as flattered as she does.

“Where are we off to next? Do you want me to make some of these drawers into pocket dimensions on the way? I bet you could do some sick tricks with those, and I think I could get ‘em done before the next show…”

He trails off, sheepishly raising a gaunt hand to where his forehead would be. “Oh, and… I’m Barry, by the way. I, uh, I forgot that I needed to tell Taako that, and I think I kinda might’ve scared him —”

“cool” — now this one’s back to the Magnus & Red Robe fic above, except this bit’s from a part about Kravitz instead  :)

“Hey!” Magnus springs to his feet, raising his voice. “Hey, Kravitz!”

The reaper’s head whips around, and as Magnus closes the distance between them, Kravitz’s look of surprise gives way to one of realization, and his eyes alight on the feather Magnus is holding.

“Ah — that’s my bad, Burnsides.” He chuckles nonchalantly, tucking his cloak back over his shoulder. “I forgot how much I shed this time of spring. Apologies!”

“You… shed?”

“Well, yeah.”

“So is your cloak, like, a live bird? Are you a live bird?!”

Kravitz blinks. “Of course not. I’m Death.”

“Okay.” Magnus buries his head in his hands. “Okay, just — just forget I asked. Let’s just change topics. Krav, are we cool now? No more ‘coming to collect for the stockade’ shit?”

*

not sure who’s been tagged yet, so anyone who wants to do this can say I tagged you! same words or “smile,” “save,” and “remember” if you would like!

[irradiatedsnakes]

[ID: 7 drawings of monster!mechanisms designs. they are as follows: 1. a colored drawing of ivy alexandria that has been partially passed through the deep dream generator neural network, giving parts of the image a swirling, surreal appearance, often resembling eyes. 2. a digtal sketch of nastya as a ghost. her eyes are obscured by her glasses shine and she is covered in blue wisps, and dripping blue from her mouth and hands.  3. a digital sketch of drumbot brian as a centaur sitting down. his horse half is also mechanical and resembles a clydesdale. he also has horse-ish ears. 4. a sketchy bust of vampire marius. he looks smug, and looks to the side with a fanged smile. 5. digital sketch of partially-transformed werewolf gunpowder tim with doglike ears, claws, and a tail. he says "ok why did getting turned into that somehow give you a pitchfork." with a quizzical expression. 6. digital sketch of jonny d'ville as a devil or demon, with horns, pointy ears, cartoony wings, and a thin tail with a heart-shaped tip. he's holding a hellish pitchfork, looking confused and says "what? i already owned this.” 7. a traditional sketch of harpy/siren raphaella. she holds here feathery winged arms out, while her mechanical bat wings are unfurled behind her. her lower half is that of a bird. end ID]

ok ill post a couuuple. self indulgence machine go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

ok so u know like back in the gravity falls fandom there was that really popular au called monster falls where everybody got turned into some sort of monster/mythological creature? i fucking love that scenario and have been making my own little “everybody gets cursed by a witch or something so now i get to draw these fun designs” aus for like everything i like (never did it w tma oddly enough? good inspo just never struck.) so here.......is..........this. not everybodys pictured here but go under the cut for a list of what everybody is plus some extra notes and stuff

lets just goooooo alphabetical order

ashes - OKAY HONESTLY STILL NOT 100% ON ASHES im THINKING half-dragon. yes i know i already went dragon for them in the furry au its just a good fit and also looks Cool, but also waiting out to see if i can think of anything better

brian - CENTAURRRR also again. yes. i know i went 4 horse for him in the furry au. its just good and has fun brian vibes. wanting to draw centaur brian was the thing that led to this au happening

ivy - ELDRITCH SOMETHIN OR OTHER...idk what youd call that exactly. but you get the gist. cosmic horror, eyes, unfathomable patterns and things. doing the deep dream stuff for her in that picture was very fun and im very happy w how it came out...definitely something to revisit in the future. not sure how i wanna draw her when...not doing a whole colored digital thing, but well cross that bridge when i can draw again

jonny - he’s. he’s a devil? a little demon guy? like. yeah. of course. this guy was fucking meant to have little wings horns and a cute little demon heart tail. he has somehow become MORE bastardly

marius - VAMPIRE MARIUS ONCE AGAIN HES JUST FUN. hes just fun and the aesthetic suits him. i cant wait to draw him in a fun little cape with one of those big dramatic collars you know the ones. vampire marius is of course @ alientoastt’s idea!!

nastya - BANSHEE...or ghost in general but there some banshee stuff i feel could be fun to integrate. apparently in some tellings banshees can turn into crows? i love that very much. but anyways hmm..some notes abt the design in thsi post shes not quite where i want her to be. this was done on that collab canvas the other day and like...was mostly noodling things out having fun, those flamey looking bits are a very nice motion very fun to do but NOT wwhat i want for ghostya. i want her to be more. drippy. very drowned person vibes. fire and upward-floating motif not what i want. but it was fun to draw. also i think theres some potential comedy in there with “person who predicts deaths” among crew who habitually murder each other

raphaella - SOMEWHERE BTWN HARPY & SIREN (the bird kind not the mermaid kind) very excited abt her. lots of fun potential poses here. doing her design was a bit tricky- sirens tend to be just like- big birds with human heads? but i didt wanna do just that that takes away too much of her design recognizbility yknow to Just have her head. so she has a people torso, bird from the waist down, plus her arms are wings. which means she has Two pairs of wings. which i for one think is incredibly fun like you remember in httyd2 valka’s dragon w the four wings? yeah. also avent figured what bird in particular shell be based on- for the ufrry au i went w african grey parrot but dont feel like that here. ill think on it

tim - WEREWOLF TIM DUH. DUH. also i think werewolves are especially funny in scenarios like thse cus like- okay everybody suddenly ahhh cursed ahh monster whatever. but then tims just there like. i mean i feel fine lol and u get to have the fun surprise of Oh Suddenly Werewolf. also the question of how exactly werewolves who change based on the moon function in a. spaceship. i like to think its entirely fucking random i think thats funny

TS - ANIMATED SUIT OF ARMOR!! I DONT HAVE MUCH MORE TO SAY ON THSI BUT I LOVE . THIS IDEA. and i will never draw it. because fuck drawing and designing armor oh my god

anyways i think thats??? all i have to say on this??? agdvjdkb. if you wanna talk about this at all (or if u wanna see more doodles...) im totally open to that. ill be real i get weirdly embarrassed about specifically this kind of au (like. monster stuff in general especially werewolf/vampire stuff i could not fucking tell you why. gotten better abt it over time though hey im actually postin this shit!) so im just happy i posted it afhcgvjdkvdg .

as for story type things like how. this happens. frankly i dont know thats not my forte. but the little bit of whatever ive got going on my head has the Terrific Trio of ivy marius & raphaella doing Research Science Whatever down on a planet somewhere get into contact with a Cursed Artifact or whatever the fuck and eventually get back to the aurora like. oh. uh. it happened to you guys too, huh. but thats like whatever honestly im not in it for the writing im here to draw fun centaur man etc.

if you made it to the bottom of this winding fucking ramble know that i love you. mwah. that was fun to write out i like thought barfing about stuff like maybe 3 people will care about

[tyrantisterror]

The ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest 3-D: Entry Roundup

You’ve been patiently waiting for the results of the ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest 3-D, and now... you have to wait a bit longer, but at least you’ve got an entry roundup with lots of sketches and a good bit of feedback for all the entrants!  My goal is to get the finalists illustrated in a week or two, and after that, the grand prize winner will be announced.  But, for now, the official entry roundup!  After the cut:

I should note that while I sketched these in the order they were submitted, my scanner saved the documents with random names, so they’re a bit jumbled.  You know, just in case you’re like me and would get confused noticing that it’s almost in chronological order but with some entries jumbled around.

@bugcthulhu’s Obsideban was designed as a counterpart to Rohobaron - the Black King to Rohobaron’s Red King, if you will.  Or, well, Black Queen in this case, as Obsideban also takes her personality from the “delinquent girl” archetype in Japanese media.  Bug’s designs always ooze personality, and I had a lot of fun translating this big, gnarly retrosaur into my own style.

@toothlessloveshiccup‘s Argonox is the first - but far from the last - monster in this breakdown that brings in a bit of fantasy influence to ATOM’s roster.  A golden-fleeced ram with a vicious streak, this sheep is both treasure and dragon at once.  And while it wasn’t written in the monster’s profile, given the Yamaneon-rich nature of its wool, Argonox might be able to replicate the healing power of the golden fleece too!  A very fun mammalian kaiju and excellent entry.

@highly-radioactive-nerd submitted Gunmetal Jeeves, a robot butler who can gigantomax temporarily create a holographic/hard light version of himself to fight kaiju.  That detail was a late revision added to the entry before the contest’s deadline, made after the creator realized that ATOM allows for some truly ludicrous bullshit, which is something everyone should exploit when making entries for this in my opinion.  Also, this is a robot butler who can size shift.  Revel in its awesome absurdity!

Ultranerd submitted Rajasaurus, a dimetrodon-like synapsid kaiju with electric powers.  His origin specifies that the electric powers are a result of the volatile nature of the Yamaneon deposits he mutated under, which is an interesting idea.  That’s another theme that cropped up a lot in this contest’s entries, actually - people really wanted to play with what Yamaneon can do.

Case in point, @polygonfighter’s Yamaneolith takes the Monolith Monsters homage at the heart of Yamaneon even more apparent.  I like the implication that there is a second mineral-based lifeform at the root of this Yamaneon cluster’s anomalous behavior - a parasite, perhaps?  It brings up some interesting possibilities.

@ariccio50 submitted Kukulkuzana, and damn is this a cool spin on the body plan of my martians.  I made a few changes here and there (splitting its tail into two is probably the biggest one), but tried to keep true to the original design, because holy hell is it gorgeous.  The idea that this is a mountain-dwelling creature is really intriguing to me, as it looks like a sea creature, but at the same time, that flexible and low-slung build WOULD work pretty well in mountains, and it’s just the right mix of plausible weirdness that makes for a fun alien design.

@akitymh submitted Aramzados, a Venusian monster that’s basically an organic hot rod car.  I like the idea of organic machinery being the gimmick for Venusian kaiju, and Aramzado’s does it subtly enough to not feel like that gimmick is the sole thing going for it.  I especially love this monster’s stange, apparently mouth-less blade-beaked face.

@virovac submitted Rurzar and Zar Rider, a Beyonder kaiju and mecha (respecitvely) that were both modified and repurposed by humans reverse engineering Beyonder technology to make, like, a motorcycle-saurus essentially.  It is a delightfully absurd concept, and a very, very detailed one (13 pages of description).  There’s a dark undercurrent beneath the sillyness, though, as this pair show that humanity might still be following the same path as the Beyonders before them.

@dinosaurana brings us Krangor, a humanoid monstrosity of living kelp!  The goal here was to create a Jack Kirby-esque monster dude, complete with the gibberish name and all.  He’s also made out of kelp, which feels very classic 1950′s monster-y despite me not being able to think of any monsters that were explicitly made of kelp.  I love him.

@kiryuthechimera submitted Genkakurah, a psychic retrosaur with some draconic features.  Though his substantial powerset is probably the biggest distinguishing feature of this kaiju (given that most ATOM kaiju pretty much have the same standard powers), what really draws me to him is that reptilian pseudo-beard.  It’s just a fun detail!

@glarnboudin submits Tiratola, and see, there’s that fantasy influence again!  Even more explicitly dragon-y than Kraydi, Tiratola still manages to toe the line between sci-fi and fantasy enough to fit ATOM as is while still cementing its ties to my own slice of fantasy fiction.  Man it’s good I’m doing a Midgaheim book next, huh?

@dragonzzilla submitted Scuttlebutt/Argonautilus, a hermit crab kaiju who lives in/with a hollowed out mecha.  That’s a twist I can’t recall ever hearing before, and the idea of a kaiju and a mecha having an equal partnership that doesn’t involve one being grafted to the other is really intriguing to me.  A very unique concept!

@evolutionsvoid submitted Fleagor, an enormous flea who has no idea what to do with itself now that there’s no creature large enough for it to parasitize.  I love that concept - it takes the core idea of the giant bug kaiju archetype (i.e. unsettling the audience by showing how terrifying small, “insignificant” creatures would be if our sizes were reversed) and really turns it on its head.  The name also plays on the Universal Monsters, who were a huge part of 1950′s pop culture thanks to their movies being re-released in that era, so all and all this one is very on brand for ATOM!

@skarmorysilver submitted Lilacorn, another entry that plays up that Midgaheim/ATOM connection.  Reinterpreting the mythological unicorn as an Cenozoic wooly rhinoceros-inspired monster gives it a very unique look, both in ATOM and in the general world of unicorns, and she has a bad-girl with a heart of gold personality to boot!

dracosaurus-rex submitted Florasaura, a two-headed plant/retrosaur hybrid monster.  I love me some plant monsters, I love me some retrosaurs, and I love me some rhyming the word “flora” with other words that contain similar vowell sounds, so this one has me written all over it!

@downtofragglerock submitted Sauroguana, a delightfully odd flying retrosaur.  There’s a great deal of charm to the original illustration that this sketch doesn’t quite capture - it’s a deceptively simple design with a lot of personality in it, and with those unique leg-wings it really doesn’t need a whole lot of frills to stand out.

Draxi submitted Brakan, an unimpressive burrowing retrosaur kaiju whose mastery of illusions allows it to convince other kaiju it’s actually a big, super-powerful badass that’s the ultimate fighter in the universe.  It’s a delightful parody of the concept of a fan self-insert god-mode character, with a really fun story built into it to boot!

@quinnred submitted O.N.I.A.C., a mysterious cocooned kaiju whose chrysalis has been turned into an organic computer of sorts by the people studying it, and seems to possess a fairly advanced intelligence for a kaiju.  It’s a really bizarre and ominous idea, with built in intrigue given how vague its nature is.  Is it just a kaijufied butterfly/moth who got stuck mid transformation?  A relative of the Mothmanuds?  Something else, perhaps equally alien?  Good story potential here.

shadyserpent submitted Vespilitor, a bat/retrosaur hybrid made by the nefarious Spooks Organization.  A mercurial prankster whose tendency to stir up trouble never crosses the line into maliciousness, he’s the kind of monster who would make a great foil to a lot of ATOM’s cast.  I’d especially like to see him in a prank off with Ahuul - it’d be like Bugs Bunny fighting Daffy Duck, but on a kaiju scale.

@multiversefan submitted the Yamaneon King, a nomadic kaiju whose refusal to settle down causes problems as he stirs up trouble at kaiju sanctuaries all over the globe by showing up unannounced and stirring up the locals.  He was basically designed to be a monster that the kaiju sanctuary initiative would struggle to deal with, which is a good idea for a post-ATOM Volume 2 story conflict.

Sir K submitted Jadeera, a kirin kaiju that can actually forcibly convert most of its body to Yamaneon to enter a dormant, statue-like state in a loose homage to King Shisa.  Though the fantasy elements are far more present than I usually prefer for ATOM kaiju, I think it should be noted they’re pushed that far for a purpose - a theme in Jadeera’s entry, which continues where its creator left off with their submission to the previous ATOM create a kaiju contest (Yokaigon), is that the world of kaiju is more complicated and challenging than many are willing to accept, which is a theme in ATOM itself.  Yokaigon’s more supernatural/occult powers are based on the ghost parascience of my setting, which ATOM has delved into a bit (Pathogen being the big example), so it’s not as out of left field as some might think.

@cerothenull​ brings us our final entry (unless some got lost thanks to tumblr’s shitty tagging system), the flying spider Naeranti.  She’s a kaiju spider who uses silk to make complicate hot-air balloons, more or less, and that’s just delightful.  ATOM could always use more spider-monsters, and with a really unique gimmick backing up a wonderfully distinct look, Naeranti is sure to stand out among her fellow giant arachnids.

Well, that’s the roundup!  In a week (or two, depending on how much my hand cramps) we’ll have the five finalists, and sometime after that, the grand prize winner!

[some-stars]

my first fill for @yenraltbingo for the prompt “fisting”! also available here on ao3. content notes: D/s, bondage, edging, and it is, as you might expect, explicit.

*

Yennefer is saying...something.

Geralt doubts she expects a response, given the magical gag in his mouth that’s reduced him to incoherent moans, but he struggles to concentrate on her voice anyway.

"Wow, they think it’s absolute garbage." She flips a page in her magazine and glances up at him. "We saw that one, remember? You liked it more than me, but I thought it was all right."

The invisible hand inside him twists and gyrates as it slides slowly deeper, then back out again. Another muffled whine escapes his mouth, and Yennefer smiles.

She’s been reading movie reviews for...a while. He lost track of time at some point, but apparently she intends to get through the entire magazine. With a mighty effort of concentration, Geralt focuses his hazy gaze on the periodical in her hands and judges that she’s about three quarters through. Belatedly he realizes she’s speaking again, but he only hears the tail end of it. 

"—doing all right over there?" There’s an edge to her voice—not cruel, but a rich dark pleasure that he can almost taste, and the knowledge that she’s enjoying this as much as he is makes him shudder all over as her magic hand moves inside him. It’s big, bigger now than when it first slid in, and every small movement sets off lightning up and down his spine.

"You’re not much of a conversational partner like this, you know," Yennefer tells him with a hint of a smile. "Luckily for you, you have other charms."

He moans obligingly, struggling as much as he can in her invisible bonds that hold his arms and legs tight. None of his movements, of course, do anything to dislodge the fist that’s slowly tormenting him with pleasure. He would have come ages ago if his body had been left to its own devices; as it is, he’s been teetering on the edge for long enough that his desperation almost outweighs how good it feels.

He knows Yen isn’t as uninterested as she seems—he can smell her arousal, has been smelling it for quite a while—but even her feigned indifference to his plight turns him on fiercely. She’d mentioned it as a joke, during the discussion the morning after one late night when he’d deliriously begged for her whole hand while she was fingering him. I could do it from across the room, you know, she’d said. Maybe catch up on some reading. The thought of it had left him instantly hard—Yen taking him apart slowly, luxuriously, and all the time at a cool distance, watching him as he fell to pieces, not even touching him.

Her eyes had lit up at his reaction, much the way they light up now as she watches him pant and writhe. "Oh, Geralt," she says fondly. He feels the hand swell again inside him; he’s so sensitized now that the stretch is almost agony, it burns so good and sweet and hot. "You know," Yennefer says, flipping the magazine shut, "I don’t remember a single thing I’ve been reading about for the past half hour. You are terribly distracting."

Gagged as he is, he can only mumble something resembling an apology. She chuckles.

"It’s all right," she says, and leans forward. For a moment he thinks she’s going to get up—cross the space between them, maybe even touch him—and his cock jerks, spilling another few drops of precome at the hope of release.

But Yennefer sits in her chair and only waves one hand, and the ghost hand inside him speeds up its movement, making him moan loudly. He feels a tear spill from the corner of his eye. Gods, he needs to come, needs it so badly, but part of him wants to stay like this forever, splayed out and wanting and fucked past the point of desperation. Because she loves doing it to him, he knows she does, and that’s almost better than an orgasm. Almost.

"Please," he moans, or something like it, into the soft formlessness that fills his mouth. Yennefer sighs.

"Yes," she says, "I suppose all good things must come to an end eventually. And you have been waiting so politely..." She flicks her hand again, and suddenly the sense of stoppage, of satisfaction just out of reach is gone, replaced by a second invisible hand caressing his straining cock while the first continues its thorough penetration.

It only takes a few strokes before Geralt is coming with a choked-off cry, hips bucking and straining against his bonds as he spills over his own chest. It feels like a long time, and when he finally collapses back against the sheets a wave of exhaustion crashes over him.

That’s not enough, though, to stop his reaction when he resettles his eyes on Yennefer and sees her hand between her legs working furiously and her gaze fixed solidly on him, lips parted and panting.

"Yen—" He surges upwards, finding himself finally free of all restraint, but she holds up her free hand to stop him and he freezes.

"No," she says, her voice slightly hoarse. "Stay there, I want to look at you."

So he sprawls on the bed, obediently still, and lets her look at him as she gets herself off. Maybe she’s been close to the edge herself, because it isn’t long before her eyes flutter shut and she bites her lip, fingers dancing over her glistening cunt, the flush spilling up her chest and throat that he knows means she’s coming.

He waits. Part of him is practically vibrating with how much he wants to touch her, but another part, a larger part, is content to wait, would wait for hours if she wanted, on the bed or in her lap or at her feet.

"Oh," she gasps finally, slowly drawing her hand away, "oh, fuck—oh, Geralt," and then she does stand up, walk over, push him flat on his back with one small hand in the center of his chest. "Fuck," she says again, a tone of reverence in her voice, and when she kisses him he almost melts in her arms with relief.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Japanese Myths And How They're Depicted In Horror Anime

  No matter the time or place, the folklore and myths of the past always persist. The same can also be said for anime, especially when it comes to horror. Certain franchises, such as Shigeru Mizuki’s classic GeGeGe no Kitaro, have solidified the omnipresent status of traditional Japanese folk monsters in popular culture. Other series, such as Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo interpret traditional folklore in relation to historical periods and changing attitudes toward religion. More recently, series from the 2010s and 2000s, such as Bakemonogatari and Ghost Stories, interpret the classics with modern sensibilities. When it comes to stories with a penchant for horror, it would be far more surprising if they didn’t allude to a shared supernatural mythology — the ubiquity is the point. 

  Neko-Musume on her smartphone

The best horror always tries to do something new. While creatures like yōkai (a wide umbrella of supernatural entities) are well-known among English-speaking fans today thanks to series like Yokai Watch, these re-imaginings always tend to play fast and loose with fidelity. Wouldn’t it be boring if every vampire movie started and ended with Dracula? In a 2016 interview with The Comics Journal, veteran manga translator Zack Davisson emphasizes this important tendency to re-contextualize old folklore:

  “It’s a tricky question, as it is impossible to say what is ‘actual folklore.’ Vampires bursting into flame is considered ‘authentic,’ but that actually comes from the films, not folkloric sources. Folklore evolves and [Shigeru] Mizuki is an important part of that evolution. If you trace them back, most yokai we know come from Toriyama Sekien, who also just made things up. In fact, I would say that making up yokai is part of the grand tradition of yokai! If you are a writer/artist working with yokai and not making up at least a few of your own, you are missing the point!”

  The original spirit gun

  So that’s all to say — there really is no such thing as a definitive, one-to-one story based on centuries of tradition. Yōkai, as endearing as they are, are also just one part of the equation. Long-running anime such as Folktales from Japan and fantasy series Inuyasha-continuation Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon either re-tell or draw inspiration from that folklore. But that’s beyond the scope of this piece. Whether it be adaptations of urban legends about school bathrooms or vengeful spirits, I hope this round-up helps any casual or long-time anime fan appreciate how these series reimagine supernatural traditions.

  Fantastic Folklore: GeGeGe no Kitaro & Mononoke

  The late Shigeru Mizuki’s most influential character, Kitaro, hardly needs any introduction. In his book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, translator Matt Alt describes yōkai as “the attempts of the fertile human imagination to impose meaning and rationality on a chaotic, unpredictable, often difficult-to-explain world.” Many yōkai are quite strange and sometimes even comedic. Scholar-artists, such as the previously mentioned Toriyama Sekien, are largely credited with inspiring their uncanny visual representations, making them the perfect subject matter for an accessible series.

  The tanuki plot world domination

The titular Kitaro himself is a half-human, half-yōkai one-eyed boy who travels between the human and spirit world to resolve monster-of-the-day conflicts with his friends. Although Mizuki’s Kitaro as we know it began serialization in 1960, Mizuki originally received permission to re-imagine the character from Masami Itō, who first created Kitaro in the 1930s in pre-war Japan. The most recent 2018 anime series re-establishes Kitaro in a modern setting, yet still adapts many of the most iconic stories. Characters such as Neko-Musume, based on volatile cat spirits called bakeneko, are updated with new designs while Kitaro mostly remains the same. Mizuki’s older creations, such as the jubokko (vampire tree) yōkai, are still featured alongside a new re-imagining of the “wall monster” nurikabe — inspired by the discovery of an Edo manuscript in 2007. The appeal of Kitaro isn’t so much the meticulous adherence to yōkai mythos, but rather Mizuki’s continual improvisation of the folklore-informed monster-making tradition.

  The Medicine Seller

Beyond Kitaro, other series, such as 2006’s Mononoke, dedicate entire storylines to a wider category of ayakashi (sea-bound yōkai) and funayūrei (boat spirits) written by none other than Chiaki J. Konaka. Later episodes feature bakeneko and nue (chimera monsters), but with a twist. The term mononoke itself refers to a variety of yōkai specifically referring to vengeful spirits possessing people or things. When it comes to series taking a more “fantastical” approach to folklore, both Mononoke and Kitaro thankfully never dissolve into simple rogue galleries of monsters — their (mostly) human protagonists largely remain the heart of their chilling saga.

  Horror-Historical: Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo

  Lord Kagemitsu Daigo makes a pact with the demons  (Source: Amazon)

  In Anime and Its Roots in Early Japanese Monster Art scholar Zília Papp comments Mizuki’s “Kitaro characters became synonymous with yōkai in the postwar period, continuing to the present time” compared to his peers like Tezuka. But if Kitaro made yōkai big in comedic manga, then Tezuka’s short-lived Dororo manga drove this interest toward the historical context of the Sengoku Period, or the “warring states” era of feudal Japan. 

  Rather than depicting spirits as purely whimsical mischief-makers, Dororo’s inciting event is a feudal lord of the fictional Daigo clan forging a pact with 48 demons, who persist to hunt his son long after the pact is forged. In his feature The History Behind Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo, Marco Oliveros comments that by depicting yōkai during this period, Dororo draws inspiration from actual shifts in changing Buddhist attitudes toward these entities:

  “One of the foremost examples of this change to yokai is the tengu. Wrathful and demonic, the avian creature tricked and assaulted Buddhist clerics and civilians alike, becoming characterized as the sworn enemy of Buddhism. The apparent hostility of these yokai to Buddhism makes their dark deals with Dororo's Daigo an unsurprising turn of events for the Sengoku Jidai era.”

  The Amanojaku is captured and sealed inside a Buddhist temple (Source: Amazon)

  Matt Alt’s 2016 translation of Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien describes the tengu (mask-wearing entities usually depicted as half-man half-bird) as “deeply associated with the religion of Shugendō,” which originated during the Heian period; however they were depicted very differently in major Buddhist sects of the same era. Unlike solely “fantastical” stories of the supernatural without much acknowledgment to historical context, Dororo is interested in this context regarding capricious attitudes of spirits of people alike. Impressive malevolent entities such as kyūbi (nine-tailed foxes) also fight against Dororo’s protagonist, Hyakkimaru, typical of supernatural jidaigeki (period drama) horror stories set in feudal Japan.

  However, Dororo also features lesser entities such as amanojaku (tiny, goblin-like demons). According to the influential illustrated encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue compiled by Sekien-predecessor Terajima Ryōan, amanojaku and tengu were described as paired descendants of the evil goddess Amanozako (literally "tengu god"). According to scholar Haruko Wakabayashi in The Seven Tengu Scrolls: Evil and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, tengu were symbolically invoked in inter-personal and religious feuds amongst Buddhist sects during the Heian period. The amanojaku depicted in Dororo is minor. But with a (simplified) understanding of its affiliation with tengu’s pre-Heian origins and its subsequent disavowal by influential Buddhist sects, Dororo's amanojaku cameo is an undeniable nod toward its theme of “old ways” impacted by a "new" institutionalized status quo.

  Hyakkimaru battles the nine-tailed fox spirit in its spectral form (Source: Amazon)

  While the nine-tailed fox spirit is flashy, Dororo’s amanojaku ends up pathetically sealed inside a Buddhist temple. Ironically, the amanojaku trapping scene pans from the top of a Buddhist statue, ending with the cartoonish amanojaku crushed underneath to visually imply its irrelevancy. Dororo is a story about the cultural and religious tensions brewing during this violent episode in history — making Hyakkimaru’s journey one that doesn’t simply depict supernatural folkloric tradition in stasis, but as something always under complicated socio-political stakes.

  Modern Ghoul School: Ghost Stories & Bakemonogatari

  What do you do if you can’t solve your evil spirit problems with a sword? For the most part, classics like Kitaro and Dororo take place in the past, or at least worlds very unlike our own. A traveling demon slayer never has to deal with student council or smartphones. 

  In a previous article, From Bakeneko to Bakemonogatari, I discussed all the possible lineages of the catgirl character archetype. In that piece, I claimed one of the more accurate representations of the bakeneko today was Bakemonogatari’s Tsubasa Hanekawa’s cat spirit-possessed alter-ego. It’s not simply because she is a supernatural catgirl, but rather her portrayal was obviously informed by the wider context of pre-existing bakeneko mythos. Is it possible for a “modern-day” series to tackle yesterday’s folktales while still preserving the uncanniness of the past?

The spirits possessing Bakemonogatari’s cast, referred to as “oddities,” all nearly function like vengeful mononoke spirits. For example, Bakemonogatari’s first arc, Hitagi Crab, features a crab “oddity” haunting classmate Hitagi Senjougahara. The existence of heikekani (face-shaped crabs allegedly the spirits of drowned Heike warriors from the Sengoku Period), might be a parallel, considering the arc’s theme of unresolved conflict. Another arc, Suruga Monkey, features an “oddity” taking the form of a beastly paw growing on classmate Kanbaru Suruga’s arm. Senjougahara and Suruga's crab/monkey relationship can be read as alluding to the well-known Buddhist tale “The Monkey and the Crab.” According to The National Gallery of Art on its 2019 The Life of Animals in Japanese Art exhibit, the monkey and crab are usually depicted as friends, then compete until they either make amends or resolve their conflict. Often the subject of artistic interpretation, it’s no surprise this tale found its way into anime as a metaphor for teen drama.

  The kids scan a talisman and e-mail it to exorcise internet demons. Yes, this really happens.

  In comparison, the 2000 series Ghost Stories is best known to English-speaking audiences for being an edgy comedy. However, its original source material, a book series titled Gakkō no Kaidan (School Ghost Stories), is more akin to a heavily researched Goose Bumps. Written by folklore scholar Toru Tsunametsu, the series showcases various urban myths and monsters, most famously “Hanako” a ghost girl who haunts school bathrooms. A 2014 NPR piece describes the most popular version of Hanako being a schoolgirl in WWII “using the bathroom when a bomb fell on top of the building.” Although Hanako gained enough popularity from the books to warrant her own spin-off anime series in 1994, she only makes a handful of cameos in the 2000 series. Entities like the previously mentioned amanojaku also appear, alongside shinigami (death gods) depicted in many other anime.

  How to channel your ghost powers for success (Source: Funimation)

  Hanako, because of her relatively modern backstory, is just as ubiquitous. Versions of Hanako appear in an episode of the 2018 Kitaro and most recently in the 2020 series Toilet Bound Hanako-kun. Tsunametsu currently edits the Folklore Society of Japan’s official academic journal, no doubt a testament to his priceless contributions to folklore representation in anime.

  Who You Gonna Call?

  There’s no way to tell the same ghost story twice. With such a layered history, contemporary anime have a nearly endless well of folkloric material to pull from. Recent series like the hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Toilet Bound Hanako-kun prove that fans will never get enough of the supernatural, just as long as things stay fresh. 

  Hanako politely warns the ghost-hunting kids

  Long live artistic liberty and specters trying to watch you pee.

      Blake P. is a weekly columnist for Crunchyroll Features. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more. He'd like a tiny yōkai cat.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Blake Planty

[mihidecet]

SBI d&d AU: Wilbur

So ... Here it is! I haven't published anything of mine here for a long time, and especially no fanfictions, so I really do hope you like this!

A special thank you to @whatimevendoinhere without whom this AU would have never existed!! They've been drawing references, expressions and a lovely campfire scene for this au, go check them out!!!

One doesn't get far being an adventurer without being a light sleeper, especially when you're travelling alone. 

For Wilbur, it is a blessing and a curse. It means he's able to survive multiple attempts on his life - he's not to blame for all of them, it's just that sometimes he writes songs about people, and sometimes he improvises, and sometimes he sings before he thinks. 

It also means, unfortunately for him, that it takes him a while to get used to travelling with other people. He loves everything about it, from the security to the companionship, but he can't for the life of him get a good night of uninterrupted sleep: whether it's Phil stoking the dying embers of their campfire, or Techno cleaning his throwing knives ... Heavens above, even Tommy mumbling to himself as he mends his own cape after getting almost-stabbed for the fourth time this week keeps him awake until exhaustion takes over. 

But this night, it's not the gentle humming of an elven song, or the rhythmic *schling* of a whetstone on a sword, that wakes him up: everything's quiet, then he feels something fly in the air next to him and land with a dull thud in the ground. 

Will's eyes are immediately open, hand flying to the small knife he keeps under his own pillow - just to be sure, just to be extra safe - and he rolls to the side. 

He thanks his darkvision, because it's still the middle of the night: right next to where his head was there's a knife, stuck in the ground and glinting in the moonlight. 

Wilbur's mouth opens to alert the others, but his call dies in his throat as he notices a lone figure sitting against the tree. 

Somebody just threw a knife at his head, and Technoblade, notorious thief, assassin and all around badass adventurer, is just ... sitting there. His eyes are open, Wilbur can see it clearly, and he stares at him for a moment before turning his head towards the rest of the group. He seems to be fiddling with something - for now, Wilbur only knows that Techno likes keeping his hands busy, and is apparently unable to keep still; give or take a couple of months of travelling together, he'll have learnt that Techno fidgets when he's nervous, and he's always nervous around new people. 

Techno turns back around, and gives a meaningful look to the knife still stuck in the ground. 

Wilbur sighs. He's awake now, thanks to the adrenaline of an expected attack, so he grabs the knife and wrenches it out, meaning to throw it back to the noisy assassin that decided to wake him up in the middle of the night for ... apparently no reason? 

But that night there's a gentle breeze blowing, so the moment the knife leaves the ground, whatever it was keeping in place starts flying away - it's only thanks to Wilbur's excellent reflexes that he manages to grab it. 

For a moment, he thinks he's dreaming. Mostly because he wishes he was, but also because he's currently holding one of Technoblade's throwing knives in one hand, and a bracelet in the other. 

He blinks. 

The bracelet is still there. 

He looks up, and manages to catch Techno quickly turning his head away from him, as if he hadn't been staring at him the whole time.

Wilbur *really* wants to sleep. 

The bracelet in his hand is hand made. Not because it's badly made, but because there are daisies woven between the yarn and cotton strings, and if he turns his head to the left he can see a path of those same light blue daisies - now slightly smaller than before. 

Now, Wilbur is not unused to having small trinkets. He has a bad habit of stealing small things to remind himself of where he's been, where he's played, things he's done. But this is definitely unusual. 

What is this supposed to mean? Is it to thank him for saving his ass earlier that morning, when Techno got too cocky and got himself shot so Wilbur had to jump from his vantage point to bring him back to life? Or is it because the bard had said he needed something to remind himself of their win against the drake that had been plaguing the surrounding forest?

Wilbur is too tired to think about it. 

"Cheers, Techno. Thanks." He says, voice slurring just a bit as he gives the thief a two fingered salute. Techno nods back silently, and Wilbur lets himself fall back onto his bed - being careful not to stab his pillow with his horns - and tries to fall asleep again. 

Wait. 

Wilbur's eyes open suddenly as his brain rather kindly decides to bring forth a memory of his first meeting with Techno. 

Back when it was just him and Phil, walking from town to town, looking for easy coin. They had been looking for a tavern in the middle of the night, because Phil had said he'd never had pumpkin pie, and the kind lady who had been hosting them - as a thank you for getting rid of the ghost hunting her scarecrows - had insisted they wait until she finished cooking and have a slice. 

It had been worth it after all, as they'd walked with an extra spring in their step with a stomach full of homemade pie and fresh milk, and travelling at night was not that big of a problem for an elf and a tiefling. 

Still, Wilbur should have known not to get too relaxed, because as they turned the corner into a ghostly empty alley, they had found themselves no longer alone. A lone figure stood, partly hidden by shadows, but there was no way to mistake their identity. 

"Hey there, friend!" Phil had exclaimed, tone amicable despite the evident tension in his posture - Wil could clearly see his knuckles turning white from his grip around his staff, and he hoped the assassin in front of them couldn't.

"Your Majesty." The infamous Technoblade had answered, with a slight head tilt that Wilbur had assumed was to be interpreted as a bow. Then, he'd turned his piercing light blue eyes towards him.

"Mr. Soot. I hear you're looking for companions. I'm looking for ... Colleagues. I have a job to do, and it requires more than one person." Wilbur's tail had swung wildly for a moment, both in excitement and indignation. On one hand, this was *the* Technoblade, infamous assassin, notorious thief, wanted in most reigns, the only being able to easily succeed at what most people would never dream of being able to do. 

On the other hand, there were surely less fear inducing ways of asking for help, right? Couldn't he have met them at the tavern, in the morning? Possibly surrounded by other people, where they could feel safe rejecting his offer, instead of fearing a knife in the back the moment they turned?

"What kind of job?" The bard had asked, steadying his voice despite how the thief's stare had seemingly locked him into place.

"A good one. Mostly a well paying one." He'd replied shrugging, seemingly uncaring of how tense the air around them was as he spinned a throwing knife in his hand. Wilbur dared shooting a look to his right, where Phil was now standing a tad more relaxed, and raised an eyebrow. This could be their big breakthrough, a chance to make a good name for themselves - they'd kept mostly to themselves for almost half a year now, doing odd jobs here and there, slowly making their way across the region ... How would it feel to sleep in a decent tavern for one night? What if they could finally afford a horse? Heavens above, did Wilbur wish he could buy a new pair of boots.

"We're in. We can talk in the morning to go over the details?" Phil had asked, sounding as tired and hopeful as Wilbur felt. The bard guessed that, as a king travelling for the first time in his life under false pretences, Phil was the one between the two of them who was less used to sleeping on the floor and eating "whatever". 

As the blade was thrown in the air, there was a sudden flash of pink light and then it was gone, vanished in the darkness. 

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow." And then he'd disappeared too, hopefully not hearing Wilbur's scoffed "showoff" and Phil's chuckles. 

The next morning, slightly more rested, they were in the middle of greatly missing the previous day's pumpkin pie over their meagre portions of stale bread and warm mead, when the whole tavern went impossibly quiet. There was a beat of silence as every head turned towards the newcomer, then Phil leaned back with one arm stretched out and waved. 

"Techno, mate! Come join us!" The thief's ears twitched in their direction, then he immediately started walking towards them - pace steady and sure, despite how everyone was staring at him. 

In the bright light of the middle of the morning, surrounded by other adventurers and staring down in disgust at their breakfast, the infamous Technoblade looked a lot less intimidating, if one was able to look past the entire armoury he carried with him. If he hadn't been an actual, literal hellspawn, Wilbur would have been put off by the bright pink skin and pig-like features of his face, but the bard himself had horns, blue skin and a tail, so he couldn't really judge anyone based on looks. 

Technoblade looked like he was about to say something about their breakfast, but Phil evidently dissuaded him by stuffing his face with what remained of his loaf of bread - which was a chunk about as big as his fist, and even the thief looked slightly impressed. 

Wilbur took a deliberately slow sip of his mead as Phil munched away, eyeing the rest of the tavern as if to dare them to keep staring at the three of them. 

By the time he was putting down his drink, the bloody knife from the night before was back, this time being balanced on the tip of Techno's finger as he stared at it with a bored expression.

Wilbur placed his tankard on the table and the thief's eyes met his for just a moment before going back to looking bored with his balancing act - which Phil was rather enjoying, from what Will could see from the corner of his eye. Then, just as suddenly as the night before, Techno's eyes switched from light blue to a shining pink and his blade disappeared. 

"So ... What's your opinion on friendship bracelets?" 

Wilbur had reared back and immediately choked on nothing, while the utter bastard on his right burst out laughing.

"What?! What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!" Wilbur had demanded, still breathless, after Phil had half-heartedly patted his back. 

Techno had shrugged, seemingly awkward, Phil had laughed more before steering the conversation towards the topic of their job. Wilbur had thought it weird, a quirk of a lone wolf that was so unused to companionship that they would just say whatever came to their mind, but he'd always been able to switch his focus to business rather fast. 

Meanwhile, in the present day, Wilbur was currently biting his own finger in order to keep the hysterical laughter threatening to spill. Eyes almost tearing up, shoulder shaking - had the thief been serious from the beginning? Was this a joke, a callback? It couldn't be, it was too well made to be a joke! Not that Techno was known to do anything half-assedly ... A muffled giggle escaped him, and Wilbur quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, but apparently nothing flew past the infamous Technoblade. 

"Shut up." His gruff voice had come suddenly, still from his position against the lone tree in the clearing they'd chosen to rest in. 

Another giggle escaped him as he sat upright on his cot, his tail swishing on the ground excitedly - and probably filling his cot with dirt and leaves, but at the moment he couldn't care less. There was something, some warm, fuzzy feeling invading his chest, waking him up even better than the threat of an attack as he held the bracelet to his chest.

"Aw, Techno! But I thought we were best friends!" Wilbur protested in a fake offended tone, the warm feeling spreading as he heard the thief scoff and then chuckle lightly, shaking his head. 

"We are, it's final, you're not getting out of this." Techno replies, waving his knife towards him in a way that would have been menacing if he hadn't just said the sweetest thing Wilbur's ever heard - for now, because this is just a step into their friendship; Techno has a way of being devastatingly earnest about his feelings in the best and most unexpected ways, and Wilbur doesn't know really know what he's in for yet. 

Instead, Wilbur just clutches the bracelet to his chest and chuckles, thankful he's not choking on his emotions yet - he already knows he'll be writing a song about this, can feel the energy of it under his fingertips.

"You neither, man. I'm counting on it, you big nerd." 

Techno scoffs, waves him away.

"Do I get to keep the knife, too?" Wilbur asks, because he's never been able to shut up, and there's no way he's going to sleep after all this. 

"Sure, whatever. I have more." 

"Thank you, best friend!" 

Turns out Wilbur can actually fall asleep after all that, because the last thing he remembers before falling asleep is Techno's annoyed groan and the smell of daisies.

----

I do hope you liked it! If there are any mistakes let me know, English is not my first language ajdhwokl

Also if you want to come and ramble about this to us ,,,,,, you are all deffo welcome!!

[dickwheelie]

Some soft Jmart cuddles but in some kind of au of your choosing? Maybe from one of those generic "fanfic au prompt" lists?

ohhh Oran u spoil me....I don’t have any of those lists on hand BUT I would like an excuse to do something for my spooky mer jon au!

EDIT: oh my god Oran I. forgot that you asked for cuddles. I wrote this whole thing and there are no cuddles in it fjkfksdf I am so sorry. I’ll make it up to you but it’s late so have this for now! I’ll do a sequel for it probably tomorrow with actual cuddles. fuck I can’t believe I missed that lmaoooo sorry againnnnn

____________

Martin had heard the rumors, of course. Myths. Legends. Whatever you wanted to call them. Stories of dubious legitimacy about the creature that lurked in the waters of the bay that bordered their tiny village, who was either a menace or a blessing, depending on who you asked. The woman who sold flowers at the market said it had once frightened her daughter while she was playing in a tide pool. One of the grizzled old fishermen claimed it had saved his cat from drowning. There were as many stories as there were people in the village, all who had claimed to have seen it, or at least known someone who had. No one could say exactly what it looked like, only that it had a humanoid upper half, a long, slithery fish-tail, and was horrific to look upon. The more exaggerated tales claimed that its face, if one could call it that, was enough to send even the most seasoned of sailors swimming for land.

Yes, Martin had heard the stories, but he was, as far as he could tell, the only one in the village who didn’t believe this odd creature of ambiguous morals actually existed. He was a practical man, and although he enjoyed the idea of impossible things like ghosts and fairies and mer-creatures, he knew, deep down, that none of it was real, especially not so close to the utterly ordinary, unexciting place he called home. He’d lived in the village all his life, and had never, not once, caught so much as a splash of the thing’s tail.

Until now.

He had been out on the bay on his sailboat all afternoon, trying to muster up the inspiration for a poem or two. The sun had begun to set, and, with no more ideas in his head than when he’d left, Martin had started to head back to shore.

That was when he had spotted it: barely visible in the dappled light of the sunset on the water, a dark shape was moving just under the surface. It wasn’t the shape of an ordinary fish, or even a dolphin, and Martin had leaned over the side of the boat to try to get a better look.

He was almost smacked in the face by another figure rising up out of the water, splashing water all over Martin and sending him falling backwards into the boat, flailing in surprise. The figure had grabbed the side of the boat and pulled itself up, leaning over Martin as he stared up at it, dumbfounded, and rethinking everything he knew about stories of dubious legitimacy.

In the warm light of the sunset, the creature was clearly visible. Its skin was dark grey, not quite black, paler around the gills which frilled out around its neck and sides. Its torso was, indeed, humanoid, with two appendages that certainly looked like arms, ending with webbed, clawed hands. Martin couldn’t see its tail from where he was lying, but he imagined it must have been eel-like, for the creature’s face reminded him of an eel. Two huge eyes were set in its face, clearly meant for seeing in the dark of the sea floor, and a wide mouth with innumerable, close-set, needle-point teeth gaped down at him. Apparently, this was what had sent sailors fleeing in terror. Martin was honestly a little disappointed. He was well-versed in marine wildlife (or at least, he’d thought he was), and he thought it looked more cute than scary.

The creature stared down at him, as though waiting for him to do something. It certainly seemed intelligent enough; maybe he could try talking to it. Martin cleared his throat. “Um. Hello.” He managed a little wave.

The creature’s eyes darted to his hand as it moved, then back to his face. It cocked its head, then did something utterly amazing, and answered him. “Why are you not running away,” it said. Its voice was . . . properly British, actually. It spoke with a solid southern accent, the sound a bit muffled and strangely deep, but apparently this creature didn’t need to use lips or teeth to enunciate.

Martin could think of nothing else to do but answer its question. “I . . . can’t really run anywhere,” he said, gesturing at his tiny, stationary sailboat. Once again, the creature’s eyes tracked the movements of his hands meticulously. “You, uh, sort of caught me by surprise.”

“Oh,” said the creature, its voice almost sounding sheepish. It drummed its webbed hands on the edge of the boat, in a surprisingly human-like manner. “Right. Yes. That . . . makes sense.” Its throat moved as it talked, and Martin supposed that must be where its clipped, precise voice was coming from.

“Why would I want to run?” Martin asked.

“Because you’re scared of me,” the creature said, rather unconvincingly.

“Am I?”

“You . . . you should be,” it said, drawing itself up slightly, which made the sailboat rock precariously, so it caught itself and stopped. “Um. I could hurt you. Kill you, even.”

Martin supposed that, yes, this creature was capable of killing him. Though it certainly didn’t seem like it wanted to, and none of the stories he’d heard about it had involved murder. It had even saved a cat once, apparently. Besides, he thought, there were plenty of humans capable of killing Martin just as easily, if they really wanted to. “Are you? Going to kill me?”

“Uh.” The creature lowered itself slightly, so its head was barely visible above the edge of the boat. Martin shifted upwards into a sitting position to see it better, and spotted a dark, rapidly undulating shape in the water, which must have been the creature’s tail. “Well. Er. Not now.”

“Should I leave and come back later?” Martin said, mostly for his own amusement. He didn’t expect the creature to understand the joke.

But it surprised him once again by laughing. Or at least, it sounded like a laugh, and the creature immediately put its hand over its throat, as though to stifle the sound.

Martin couldn’t help but smile at it. “Is that how you talk?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “With your--?” He gestured at his own throat.

The creature stared at him, even more wide-eyed than it usually was. “Um. Yes. I believe humans also have a voicebox, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” Martin said, “but ours doesn’t articulate sound the way yours does.” He grinned. “That’s so cool.”

“Oh,” said the creature, and it lowered itself even further into the water. “I, um. Thank you?”

Martin leaned forward to rest his elbows on the edge of the boat, so the two of them were now face-to-face. This close, he could see intricate little patterns in the creature’s skin, dotted across its cheek and around its neck. Not quite freckles, but something like them. Then the creature shifted, and the dimming light of the sunset caught them, turning them iridescent. The light caught its huge eyes as well, revealing that they weren’t just black pupils surrounded by a thin circle of white, but that there was an iris, colored such a dark brown it was almost black. “Wow,” Martin said, unthinkingly. “You’re beautiful.”

The creature’s claws scraped the edge of the boat as it clenched its webbed hands around it. Martin saw its tail thrash just under the water. “I--um--I have to go,” it said, and launched itself off of the boat and back into the water with a splash.

Martin barely had the chance to feel disappointed before its head popped up again, bobbing just above the waves a few meters from the boat. “Um,” it said, “I wanted to ask, before I go--just in case I want to find you again to kill you later--what’s your name?”

“Martin,” said Martin, smiling.

“Martin,” the creature repeated, and coming out of that voicebox it sounded lovely. It paused a moment, just staring at him with those huge, pretty eyes, and then said, “Jon,” before slipping back underneath the waves.

Martin had heard plenty of stories about the strange, terrifying creature that lived in the bay that bordered his village, and he was fully willing to believe them, now. However there were none, in his opinion, that measured up to the real thing.