#and if that means changing shape if that means putting together the unexpected that is any monster's ancient right

[icelogged]

“and you don’t get to preach if you don’t know how it feels to have every last inch of your body invaded like I do”.

I will do what I must with the flesh I’m dealt

#and if that means changing shape if that means putting together the unexpected that is any monster's ancient right

gold cross (demo) - ethel cain jennifer’s body (2009) ㅤ ㅤ frankenstein’s daughter - o.o mim

[icelogged]

me moments before i suck their dick

[mrmeowski]

🔞˚✦𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟔: 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 | 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐳𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐛✦˚🔞

Synopsis: You and Beel were assigned to cook in the kitchen. So you decided prepare a special treat for the brothers and the residents of the Purgatory Hall. Started as an innocent gesture quickly took a turn for the unexpected when an accident occurred. His hunger for sweets would turn to something more.

CW: Nipple sucking, counter sex, biting, rough sex, oral, hair pulling, overstimulation

Pairing/s: Beelzebub x M.Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Day 5: Praise Kink | Asmodeus»

It was a honest mistake, one that could have happened to anyone. Moments ago, you and Beel were having a great time baking together, laughing and chatting as you created adorable animal-shaped cookies.

But as you carried the batter, your feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and you slipped, landing on your bum with a thud.

"Fuck—" You cursed as you hit the pavement, the wind knocked out of you.

And before you could even process what had just happened, a heavy thump hit your chest, covering you in a mess of batter.

"[Name]!" He called out, rushing to your side with a look of worry etched on his face. "A-Are you okay?" He asked, his voice laced with concern.

You sat up, looking down at your messy state, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine." You replied, trying to brush off the batter. "Sorry about the batter..." You trailed off, expecting him to be mad or upset.

But instead of anger, he was just silent, staring at you with an intensity that made you feel a bit uneasy. You glanced up at him, worried that perhaps he was mad, but his expression was not what you expected.

"Beel?" You called out, trying to break the silence, and it seemed to do the trick, snapping him out of his trance-like state.

"A-Ah.. it's alright, we can make some again!" He smiled cheerily, ruffling your hair, but there was a glint in his amethyst eyes that you couldn't quite put your finger on. 

As you stood up, helping yourself with the countertops, you turned to him with a smile.

"Well, give me a few mins, I need to change—"

"Change?" He asked, his voice laced with a hint of disappointment.

You nodded, expecting him to understand the reason behind your need to change.

"Yeah, can't be wearing this while baking," you said, cracking a grin, but it quickly faltered as you noticed the look in his eyes.

"But... it's such a waste!" He exclaimed, his finger getting closer to your chest.

You instinctively backed away, chuckling nervously, "Well, we can't just scrape it off my clothes right? So..." You shrugged, trying to play it off.

"I'm here," he said simply, his voice nonchalant. You felt blood rush to your cheeks as you realized what he was implying. No, he couldn't mean that. Perhaps you'd just give him some clothes and—

"I could lick it off," he added as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

You stood there, wide-eyed, unsure of how to react. How could he just say that so... normally?

Had you always looked this delicious? He wondered to himself. Well, he had always found you delicious, but not this much. It makes his heart beat wildly and his cock throbbing hard. Your figure alone makes him drool, but with how the batter's glued onto your skin, it was the cherry on top.

"Beel?" You called out again, trying to snap him out of his trance-like state.

But instead of responding, he simply pinned you against the counter, his head buried in the crook of your neck.

"Beel!" You gasped.

His mouth was on your skin, licking the spilled batter off, his teeth occasionally brushing against your neck, and his hot breath sending shivers down your spine.

As he pushed you further into the counter, forcing you to sit on top of it, you felt something else between your thighs, something hard and pressing. His crotch was brushing against yours, his hardening erection evident even through the thick fabric of his pants.

Your breath hitched as you felt a rush of arousal, heart pounding in your ribcage.

As his eyes locked onto yours, you saw a glimmer of excitement and a hint of a grin spreading across his face. He began to travel down your body, his gaze now fixed on your chest.

His teeth grazed against the thin fabric of your apron and blouse, stopping when his lips felt the remaining batter that coincidentally lay atop of your nipple. You felt a jolt of electricity run through your body as his lips made contact with your skin, and you couldn't help but moan in response.

"W-Wait—" You managed to stammer out, your hand involuntarily grasping a fistful of his messy pumpkin-shaded locks of hair.

You were so sensitive, and this was the first time anything like this had happened. You knew sooner or later one of the brothers would lose control, and it seemed that Beelzebub was the first to succumb to his desires.

As he toyed with your nipple using his tongue soaking the thin fragments of your clothes, you could feel his hands wrapping around your waist, his fingers digging into your garments almost ripping them.

He muttered against your chest, "You taste so good..." His head continued to move further down your body, his lips and tongue tracing the curves of your skin until he was above your stomach.

As his fingers dug deeper into your clothes, ripping the sides of your blouse and apron.

"M'sorry [Name]... need more of you." But it was clear that he was beyond caring about your clothes at this point.

His eyes were fixed on the bowl of remaining batter, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He threw the ripped clothes aside like they were trash, and his hands reached for the bowl.

"Such a waste..." He growled, his voice low and husky. "You wouldn't mind would you, hm..?" He whispered, his head still resting on the crook of your neck.

You eyed the bowl of batter, and your brows knitted together in confusion.

"W-What do you mean?" You asked.

His eyes locked onto yours then he smiled, his teeth glinting in the light.

"I just... want to devour you." His hands reached for the bowl of batter, and he dipped his fingers into it, scooping out a generous amount. He raised his hand, and you saw that he was covered in batter, his fingers dripping with it.

Without warning, he smeared the batter all over your chest and stomach, covering you in a layer of the sticky substance.

As the cold batter hit your sensitive skin, you hissed in shock, your body tensing up in response to the sudden sensation.

"B-Beel! People could see us here—" You moaned, trying to protest, but your words when his teeth sank into you.

It was clear that Beelzebub was in no hurry to let you finish. He was savoring every moment, every sensation, and he didn't want you to come just yet. Not when he hadn't even felt your insides.

His hands slowly travelling down your pants and pulling them down before stopping right above the knees. You could only gasp for air, bitting your lips as he exposed your skin to the warm air.

He reached for the batter again, smearing it all over your thighs, and then, to your surprise, on the tip of your cock making you squirm.

As soon as he was finished, he knelt down whilst his mouth closed around your cock, his lips and tongue working together to send you into a world of pleasure.

His tongue danced around your cock with and his hands gripped your thighs lightly, holding you in place. You tried to stifle the moans that were building up inside you by covering your mouth with your hands, but it was no use.

Your toes curled up inside your shoes as the pleasure became almost too much to bear. Tears began to prickle at the corners of your eyes as his pace quickened, his mouth moving up and down your cock with a fervor.

"Beeeeel..." You moaned, the sound muffled by your hands.

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore, and you felt yourself cumming in his mouth. He swallowed every last drop, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he pulled back and looked up at you.

"You taste so good..." He licked his lips, a mix of batter and your cum staining his tounge "N-Need more." With that, he stood up and began to take off his pants, the sound of his belt buckle hitting the floor making you jump.

You watched in a daze as he revealed his own cock, long and thick, and you couldn't help but wonder if it could even fit inside of you. He began to take off his own shirt, freeing his chiseled body. You felt like you were gazing at the body of some ancient Greek God.

"M'going to fill you up," he said, his voice low and menacing, sending shivers down your spine. "Goin' to make you feel so good..." He swiftly inserted himself into you, his cock sliding into your tight ass causing him to groan for how tight and warm it was.

The pain caught you off guard as your body struggled to adjust to his length, and you couldn't help but cry out as he began to pound into you roughly.

"Ah, Beel... it h-hurts," you moaned, your voice barely audible.

As if you weren't overstimulated enough, he leaned down, tongue tracing the curves of your body, licking off the batter from earlier. His actions also maed your sensitive cock grind against his stomach as he continued to move his hips.

He growled against your flushed chest, "Ah, [Name] s-sorry... just need more..." He bit down on your pecks, gaining a loud moan from you.

"Oh f-fuuuck..." You closed your eyes, your body trembling with pleasure.

You couldn't hold your moans any longer, nor did you care if someone heard or saw the two of you. Consequences later. It felt too good being unraveled by The Avatar of Gluttony to even beg him to stop.

He fastened his pace, getting closer to his climax, he became more aggressive, eating your body and leaving bite marks and hickeys everywhere.

After what seemed like hours of being rachised by him you felt the warm, slick cum shooting deep into your ass. You couldn't help but cum as well, painting his pecks with your own. Honestly, you felt like you were going to pass out any moment.

"I love you, [Name]..."

Request» Materlist»

*•.𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃.•*

Day 7: Morning Sex | Belphegor» [WIP]

[darkinfinity]

Hi, happy 28th! I decided to join the 28th appreciation, so here are all the fics I read and enjoyed in the past month! Fics are organised by word count :)

🌷Tell me it's the strongest shape by @louandhazaf (E, multi, 73k)

Nick and Elgar have it all. They’re famous, successful, and engaged to be married—and sometimes they play with others.

When uni student Louis gets street cast by Elgar for a GQ photoshoot, he's drawn into Nick and Elgar’s complicated relationship.

They've always invited mates into their bed. It doesn’t ever mean anything. Until… it does.

🌷A crown of heartache by WordsInBloom28 (E, 70k)

The Royal Tail: an alpha den, a strip club, a place where secrets are concealed and consent is medicated. It’s also the place Harry has been trapped for the last three years.

Through luck or fate, Harry finds his way to Louis, a kind alpha who offers safety and comfort. After being freed from the confines of the den, Harry struggles to shake the darkness from his past.

He has a choice to make. Live in a mental prison of his own making or find the strength within himself to face his demons head on with Louis at his side.

🌷In the still of the night by @jacaranda-bloom (E, 68k)

In a society where omegas are expected to follow a predetermined path, Louis strives for more; for his voice to be heard, for recognition, for true love.

In a world where your past defines your future, Harry fights against the system; for equality, for a different life, for acceptance.

When their two worlds collide, will they be beaten down by conformity or will they rise up and forge a new path together?

OR the Dirty Dancing AU where Louis is a feisty omega who wants to change the world, Harry is an alpha from the wrong side of the tracks, and nobody puts Louis in a corner.

🌷Chasing, searching, dreaming by @parmahamlarrie (E, 46k)

Everyone is chasing, searching, dreaming of their soulmate.

Harry has known who his soulmate is since he was twenty years old, and ever since, he has been waiting for Louis to be ready for him. The unexpected passing of Louis' mum, and the fact that now he is the guardian of his twin two-year-old little siblings, just means that Harry is going to have to wait a bit longer.

A soulmate AU full of cute kids, house building, therapy, and a lot of dreaming.

🌷Four, five, finished? by @beanno28 & @lalalaartje (E, multi, 45k)

Now that they've all settled down in their relationship dynamic, Zayn, Harry and Louis agree it's time for the next step. A new phase in their lives, so to speak. They're having a baby! Or well. That's the plan. As usual for the three of them, nothing goes as planned.

Adjustments have to be made, emotions have to be lived through and discussed and all in all, our three boys need to buckle up for the ride and hope to reach their final destination without major figurative car crashes.

🌷A hopeless connection by @parmahamlarrie (E, 34k)

In a world where everyone has a soulmate, what do you do when you don’t have one?

As soon as Louis Tomlinson was born, his Timer, the one that determined when he would meet his soulmate, was already at zero. He’s spent the last twenty-five years of his life looking for that void to be filled with faceless strangers. Can he still find love?

🌷Santa baby honey by @sadaveniren (E, 29k)

“Let’s cut right to the chase,” Niall said, loading the powerpoint, which was just one page, comprised of Louis’ face and the words How do you solve a problem like this asshole? “It’s the beginning of November and Louis is already being a fuckwit. How are we gonna have him knock that shit off this year?”

aka Louis is the CEO of a toy company and Christmas is a stressful time of year so his assistant decides the best way to make him chill out is by getting him laid through a Secret Santa

🌷Thespian sweetheart by orchidsinnewyork (16k)

Harry definitely was not. He’d stopped listening.

Across the room, someone had caught his eye. 

The stranger’s light brown hair fell into wisps, framing his mask. His cheekbones could be seen even with half his face covered, and his slender fingers were brushing along the buttons of his coat. He was smiling even though he had no one in company. He seemed to glow as he stood under a chandelier, the fragments of glass reflecting bursts of light onto his frame.

Harry had never seen someone like that before. He’d been staring for too long, completely ignoring Count Paris as his gaze focused on the stranger. And he hadn’t realised it until the stranger turned his head, and their eyes met.

Harry saw his lips part, and curled into a small smile as he removed his mask. Staring back at Harry were a pair of brilliant blue eyes, twinkling at him like twin stars. The stranger winked at him, and his head felt giddy. 

~

Uni AU where Harry participates in a Theatre production, and is supposed to perform a stage kiss that winds up becoming quite real. Featuring awkward encounters, insane dreams, OT5 and peanut butter.

🌷I'll look after you by @elmeiko88 (M, 15k)

I mean, when Harry inherited his late uncle's hybrid, he didn't necessarily expect this...

Where Louis is a nice hybrid cat who's never lived with anyone but an old man, and who discovers the freedom of living with Harry...

🌷I dig your cinema by @silverstuff50 (E, 13k)

It wasn’t that Louis didn’t want to see Harry’s latest film; it was a tragically pathetic fact that Louis had watched every single show and film, every interview, every red carpet that Harry had done since his ex-boyfriend had decided to leave Uni in the second year and pursue an acting career.

It's just that he wanted to watch it on his own, in his flat, with a soft blanket, beer, ice cream, and a large box of tissues.

🌷licking sugar off taboos, we pour wild honey and wine over the walls by @larentslovebot (E, 10k)

Louis Tomlinson is a big name in the industry. A lyrical mastermind, who does not appear in public and dedicates his existence to music. Deciding to find aspiring musicians for his label, he expected to tutor young talents and make them the next heads of show business. What he didn't expect was to meet Harry Styles, omega with attitude and a captivating scent.

🌷Woke up feeling knotty by @jaerie (E, 8k)

Beta Louis has a kink for knotting and the secret aesthetic porn blog he runs about it is more than proof. When he accidentally finds out his alpha best friend Harry is one of his biggest fans, he knows he has to come clean after everything that has already happened between them. Harry just might be willing to help him out anyway.

🌷I'll keep you warm by @parmahamlarrie (T, 6k)

Louis is the kind of guy who keeps his head down and minds his own business. He’s lived on the same street for years and barely would recognize the buildings, let alone his neighbours. That’s all about to change however, due to a broken key and an unexpected snow storm.

🌷Pretty and preposterous by @brightlyharry (5k)

Harry donates a copy of Pride and Prejudice to his little free library. He never expects what comes next.

🌷What the silence said by @larrysballetslippers (E, 3k)

“Our lives were just beginning, our favourite moment was right now, our favourite songs were unwritten. ‘Love is a mixtape’, Rob Sheffield.”

Or, Louis has tried to ask Harry, the quiet and cute librarian at his local library, out for some time. He never expected that quoting Harry's favourite books work so well for him. A very silent Valentine's day fic.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Wouldn't it be cool if he had a follow-up performance in the City of Lanterns? Maybe they did go through with the talent show and, just to increase the chances of winning, they split into two different teams. The monkey family do theatre and Noodle Gang do the concert. It's after the fact that they realize it's a fake Ring!

I imagine that Wukong's stage fright is still a huge factor, but with Macaque there, he can manage it better. It's easy for Wukong to forget he's being watched by thousands of people when he has his mate and cubs there and it actually helps the two reaffirm their love

prev.

Oh thats so tasty!!

The gang agrees that submitting as two separate acts gives them a better chance of winning. Pigsy and the rest of the Noodle Gang will do a musical performance, while the monkeys perform "The Hero and the Warrior".

Wukong tries his best to calm down, only to peek around the curtains and sees the sheer crowd.

This Monkey King's stage fright is activated hard.

Macaque takes Wukong's hand into his and suggests;

Macaque: "Look, Me and MK can tell this story with our eyes closed. The twins (ours and Vixen's) are helping with the props. All we need to do is be the silent actors." Wukong: "You know I can't be infront of an auidence like that!" Macaque: "Then don't look at the audience. You just need to look at me." Wukong: (*unconvinced nervous grumble*) Macaque, thinking: "Remember the first night we danced together during the Journey?" Wukong: "You mean when we met Tieshan and Bull at the Flaming Mountains? Of course I do... I was still mad at you for leaving me." Macaque, reminiscing: "The music playing. The campfire roaring. And you looked so beautiful, I just had to ask you; Can I please have this dance?" (*does the bowing motion*) Wukong, blushing lightly: "I said yes mostly because Bajie was teasing me about "attracting bad boys"... it was the first time I had danced in a long time." Macaque: "I know. You stood on my foot so hard it broke a few toes." Wukong, chuckling: "Where are you going with all this?" Macaque, presses forehead to Wukong's: "When MK is up there telling our story - I want you and I to dance. Think of that night on the Flaming Mountains and keep your eyes on only us. When the Little Heaven appears, Yuebei will be in our arms and we'll act a little clumsy at first." Wukong, realising: "Xiaotian's naming ceremony! We tried dancing the same way, but he was clinging so tight we had to find a way to include him!" Macaque: "Yup." Wukong: "You remember so much of it all..." Macaque: "How couldn't I? It's our story. I could tell it a million times and never be bored." Wukong & Macaque: (*sappy married couple kissing noises*) MK: "Mom? Dad? We actually need to go on, remember? Annnd they aren't listening to me. I'll just send the others on first then." Rumble & Savage: (*covering each others eyes and giggling*)

When the actual "The Hero & the Warrior" begins, MK is taking centre stage as the narrator. Rumble, Savage, Luzhen, and Jin and Yin (+Bo the accountant) are in charge of changing the props and moving the shadows around. Wukong and Macaque are dancing as almost pure-dark silhouettes of one another - the King successfully distracted from his stage fright. Yuebei appears in an unexpected beam of jewel-like light (lazer eyes help) as The Little Piece of Heaven that rocks the Hero and Warrior's world. The final line ends with the lights turning on (something accidental via Jin & Yin) revealing the two monkeys cuddling/smooching each other with their baby girl between them.

The play receives raucous applause.

It gets second place to Pigsy's singing still. Macaque and Wukong aint even mad. The cubs were a little mad tho since they put so much effort into it.

Then it turns out that the grand prize of "the Ring of Light" meant... a trophy shaped-like the Ring. Not the actual ring.

Like a certain earlier misleading grand prize...

MK's fangs are still chipped from that incident. MK also bites the fake Ring just to be sure.

Luckily, a certain lotus demon refused to participate in the talent show (claiming he was feeling ill from the cold weather), and found the actual Ring of Samadhi above the hotel they were staying in.

Nezha, holding the Ring: "Lotus. Lanterns. Light. Lotus Lantern equals Ring of Light." The gang: "Ohhh..." Nezha: "Did you guys honestly think the city would just give away a major artifact and source of energy to some talent show winners?" The Gang: (*all looking very sheepish*)

Bonus: I imagine that the revised play has some musical elements to it. For some reason I can't get "When the Sun Loves the Moon" out of my head as the music inspo.

Ty so much such good ideas!

[sandyca5tle]

Slime HRT Story - 25 Months - 2 year appointment

Hyper City; I was getting used to the bizarre place that seemed to appear to those who looked for it, having to come here every half-dozen months to get checked up and making sure I wasn’t mutating or something unexpected had given me ample time to become at least somewhat accustomed to it. Today however, I’d been asked to come in not just for a physical checkup, but also my mental checkup, which normally I did over a video call, so being asked to come to the physical office was weird. 

They had explained that, since I had now completed the two years required to begin shapeshifter hrt, that they needed to talk with me in person regarding some of the steps needed to proceed, as well as other discussions that needed to happen. They hadn’t gone into much detail about what exactly would be needed, just that they needed to be done in person.

It was always nice walking around the city; compared to home there were a lot more people here like me, which had become more and more welcome as the changes became more and more obvious. 

Even early on I had gotten some strange looks - a girl with orange, rippling skin tends to be noticed - but as I got slime-ier and slime-ier the looks were more and more frequent. There were of course people back home (as in not in Hyper City) who were taking the humanity replacement therapy, but certainly none in my proximity, which only made me that much more of an oddity. I did avoid a lot of what could have been though by staying inside, and I mean, most of my friends were online, and those that weren’t also didn’t live locally.

Hyper City however, while I definitely still got that kind of attention, and some places wouldn’t serve us (I didn’t know of any places like that back home, but as I said, I hadn’t been out enough to find them), I could at least see other people like me, and it at least made me feel less alone.

***

It didn’t take long to reach my destination, although it was in a little bit of a different place than I usually had to go to but I found it well enough, and headed inside, where I was basically greeted with what looked like a mix between an office, and a hospital waiting room. I gave over my name and appointment time, and was told to wait to be called.

When I sat down, I was glad to find that the chairs here had a hole in the back that I could put my tail through - an accommodation that I had found lacking in quite a few places, including my own home. Of course, for me, having a tail was completely optional, I had chosen to shape my body like that, but I liked it, it felt comfortable and right, and 99% of the time I was not going to give that up just because society hasn’t adjusted to some people having tails. Wings were a whole ‘nother story all together, but interestingly I frequently found less issue with them, so long as I didn’t spread them out.

Once I had sorted my tail and wings out on the seat, I adjusted my clothes, which had slightly stuck to me in places. While I had been forgoing clothes at home - there’s no real need in private, and they don’t exactly go with my more fluid shape - I still didn’t quite feel comfortable walking around outside completely naked, so I was currently dressed in a waterproofed cropped tank, jacket, and shorts - an outfit I had always liked, so I made sure to buy some new stuff (and modify it a little for tails and wings) for my new size and makeup. Haven’t bothered with shoes in months since I made my feet into talons, since no-one really makes shoes for them, and I don’t really need ‘em.

While I waited I took a moment to think back on the last couple of years. Overall, it had been wonderful, seeing myself slowly change, and slowly finding myself even more in love with my body than estrogen had managed (no shade there, turns out i just needed more/something other than what it could do for me). It had taken a while, but I loved where I was at now, and as I thought this I flourished my arm, its shape bubbling and twisting, not really taking on a specific form, I was simply moving its shape as one might move a finger. It gave me a nice warm feeling in my core as I did so.

As my thoughts turned to my core, I actually shifted it to my hand, idly rolling the rough sphere around in my hand as I looked at it. I’d started doing this recently, basically using my core as a fidget toy, as potentially ill-advised as that could be, but its almost cratered surface had a nice texture, so was nice to hold. I did have to remind myself not to throw it around - I didn't want my body to deform accidentally, especially not in public, and I wasn’t sure how durable my core was, and I didn’t want to find out by dropping it. It did feel hard though, and very solid, and somewhat crystalline. Not really knowing any other slimes at this point in their transition, I had no-one to compare to to know if my core was normal or not - I assumed the crystallinity of the core was normal, that seemed like a reasonable thing, but the ‘cratering’ across it was something I wasn’t certain about, and it worried me slightly, despite my attempts to not let it get to me.

I was ripped from my thoughts upon hearing my name called out from over by the reception, and I raised a hand and nodded in response, getting up to walk over to them, as they directed me towards my appointment.

I knocked on the door, which only had ‘6C’ stuck on it, and heard a woman call me in from the other side. I opened the door and stepped through, only to be met with a sphinx. Yes, a sphinx, sitting, much like the statue, behind the desk in front of me. I also noticed that the room was, naturally, quite tall, presumably to allow her locomotion around it, and I spied a larger double door in the back of the room that looked like it might just fit her. 

“You must be Sandy, am I correct?” She asked, her voice somewhat loud but soft, and as such did not offend my ears “Please, take a seat,” She said, nodding to the chair on the other side of the desk. 

I sat down as instructed, noting that I was surprisingly at eye level. I was unsure whether that was something a lot of fictional depictions got wrong, or whether she was earlier in her transition that made her smaller (assuming that she was transitioning, Hyper City seemed home to more than just humans or those transitioning…). Regardless, once I was seated, I finally replied to her question “Uh, yeah, I’m Sandy,”

“Good,” She said simply “I’m Jania, nice to meet you,”

“Uh, nice to meet you too.” I was finding that despite her not being that much higher up than me at the moment, her overall presence in the room was noticeably greater

“I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t shake your paw- hand- claw?” She jumped between the words, clearly not sure which to use, and I noticed her looking at my appendage

“I guess claw? That’s what it’s shaped like, alternatively limb or pseudopod, but I think claw works fine,” I told her

“Yes, that,” She said “Anyway, I understand you’re here for your regular check-in, as well as a discussion of your next steps,” I nodded “Good. So, how are you doing today?”

I took a moment to think before responding “Generally I’m good, and transition wise too, despite the last couple of months being a little…. well, being a lot honestly. But, I’m out the other side and all the better for it,” I stretched out my arms, sending a ripple along them “All good and gooey now,”

“Yes, I read the diary entry you submitted, what you’ve been through sounds unpleasant to say the least,” Jania said “How are your memories?”

“Fuzzy from around that time, but since then fine,” I told her candidly “As for before then it’s hard to know what I’ve lost due to the transition and what’s just my bad memory,” I added “But I feel fine, and as I said, forming new memories seems to be normal so far, so it was just a very unpleasant side effect of having the very nature of my neurological centre transformed,”

“Well I’m glad to hear that you feel fine, although I might slate you for some examination on your memory, just to make sure,” She replied. I frowned, not really seeing the necessity, but nodded, worst case it would set my mind at ease. “I assume, based on what you’ve said so far, that you are pleased with the progress you’ve achieved?”

I nodded again “As I’ve said before, I wish it hadn’t all taken so long/happened faster, but that’s just ‘cause i’m impatient, can’t complain with the end result,” I said with a grin “Although maybe it’s a good thing, the last few months happening any faster might have seriously fucked me - actually I did see some rumours and stuff about a 15 minute version of this stuff, but it sounded… shady at best,” I told her

“Yes, we’re aware of that, and we highly recommend avoiding it, it is incredibly dangerous and life threatening,” Her tone had suddenly grown very serious

I raised my hands defensively “That was kinda the vibe I got, and anyways, I’m already here, no need for me to take it now,” I told her

“Good,” She replied “Now, before we move on to next steps there is something else we’d like to ask,” She began “Obviously you have been very diligent about keeping the requested updates about your transition, however, while you seemed to cover the major events, there is certain things notably missing, such as the clusters of chloroplasts I can see in your body,” She remarked 

My ears perked up a little at that “So they are chloroplasts? I wasn’t certain, since I’m a sap slime, and I didn’t think sap normally had chloroplasts, so I wasn’t sure, but they seemed harmless and so I didn’t worry about it - plus they look neat,” I explained excitedly “Would explain why sunny days have felt so good recently… do you think my core is the same?”

“Oh, had you not been told about that? Yes, apparently during one of your checkups they were tested and identified to be chloroplasts, meaning that you are capable of photosynthesizing,” She informed me, and I immediately felt my tail wagging behind me

“That’s awesome, that was something I was really hoping would happen, even if I wasn’t sure it would!” I relayed to her “I wonder how much of my energy it would provide…?”

Jania quickly looked something up, and I noted that she had a super-sized keyboard just in front of her paws. “Unfortunately without a drastic increase in surface area, you are unlikely to experience a significant effect on you energy levels, although you may experience a slight improvement in your energy and mood on sunny days, which it sounds like you already have,” She told me

I frowned, before taking a moment to think, spreading my wings out “Would these help increase my surface area?” I enquired 

It was Jania’s turn to look thoughtful, taking a moment herself before responding “I can’t say for certain, but based on the information I have, it logically should,” She offered “Although I would not advise skipping meals to rely on the sun,” She said “The main reason it does not supply you entire energy needs is that you are significantly more active than any other plant…based entity,” I felt a small welling of euphoria at that, despite my disappointment at being unable to rely solely on the sun for nourishment, being called a plant, or plant-based entity, was nice.

“Don’t worry, I like food too much to stop eating, but I would be a neat option,” I remarked

“Good to hear,” Jania told me “With that clarified, I will return to my original point - you appear to have missed several of the changes in your reports, and we would appreciate it if you could try to write a supplemental on any changes, as well as any other pertinent details, that you missed in your prior entries,” She asked “As you know, while we are confident in the safety of the medication we provide, there is still a lot of unknowns, and we would like to collect as much information as we can on the experiences of those transitioning, so please add any information that might be helpful to others who come after you, as well as anything else that you may want to add in regards to your transition,”

I nodded, feeling a little like I’d been scolded for handing in sub-par homework, but I understood why they wanted a thorough report, and she wasn’t wrong, there had been some things I’d missed, or been unsure where to put in, so this would be a great time to add all of those to the reports “I’ll make sure to do that asap,” I assured her

Jania nodded, tapping a little on her computer “Right, so with that out of the way, we have a couple more thing to address,” She began “Firstly: you have reached the two year mark on your transition to a slime, which also means it’s time for us to discuss the crossroads,” My face fell a little.

I’d seen others talk about the crossroads, but I honestly wasn’t really sure what  actually happened, all I knew was that it was the point that you left behind any chance of being human again, and fully set out to become the animal or creature you were transitioning into. I nodded

“You may or may not know, but the crossroads is the point at which your changes will make you, what is known as ‘feral’, making you less human in both body and mind.” She told me

“I’m not exactly sure I’d call my body any amount of human at this point,” I said

“You’re still in a humanoid form,” She pointed out 

“By choice and for ease, the world is kinda build for humanoids, as I’m sure you’re aware of,” I replied  “I’m pretty sure I said in my reports that I had been using a ‘slime ball form’-” As I said that, I shifted some slime in my hand into a miniature version of said form “And I mean,” I gestured with my claws and tail, spreading my wings slightly “It’s not like I’m particularly precious about the human part of the ‘humanoid’”

Jania nodded “That is fair I suppose, and you are correct, I have become increasingly aware of the… accessibility of human society to those of us outside of it,” She remarked “Although I must ask - surely you can just make yourself more humanoid to navigate their world more easily?”

“I spent 20 odd years as a human, I’m taking the first chance I can get off that train,” I replied “Plus, it feels right to have what I’ve made for myself, why should I have to shift that away just ‘cause humans haven’t adapted? Maybe seeing people struggle with it will get them to do something about it!” I added “I mean, it probably won’t unless we make a fuss about it, but,” I muttered

The sphinx paused for a second before replying “That is understandable, and commendable if I am honest, I’m sure others in a similar situation might opt to adjust themselves,” She remarked

“Eh, I’m already a blob of bright orange goo, I stand out enough as is,” I replied

“That is also true, I suppose,” She tapped on her computer a little bit before continuing “Regardless, beyond this point you will experience little physical changes - for slimes the difference before and after the crossroads physically is fairly limited, due to their relatively simple biology,” I took offence at her calling our biology ‘simple’ but I had to concede (after a wave of euphoria at realising how easily I had thought ‘our biology’) that we didn’t have the most complex biology, and to be fair to her, she seemed to be reading off the computer, so I assumed they weren’t her words. 

“The only other potential physical change is that of lifespan… however there is little data on how long a slime naturally lives, so we wouldn’t be able to tell you whether you would have an increased or decreased lifespan,” She informed me

“Yeah, there’s not a lot of literature/media that has slimes die by natural causes…” I said, getting an uncomfortable feeling inside myself “Most games use us as low level cannon fodder,” I added with a frown

“....yes, exactly, so if you were to go ahead with going beyond the crossroads, we would ask that you sign additional waivers and the like, so as to make it clear that you are making the decision to potentially shorten your lifespan in full knowledge that that is what you are doing,” I nodded, they had to cover their asses legally, that made sense, although the idea of shortening my lifespan kind of scared me

“The other changes are purely mental. Generally, going beyond the crossroads leads to distancing from your current behaviours, thoughts, and potentially even memories as your mind becomes more like that of your natural species. Before that, as a slime, you would experience a degradation in intelligence, and likely strengthening in your predatory instincts,”

I nodded to convey my understanding, worried and concerned about what I was hearing - I didn’t want to lose myself, even as much as I loved being a slime “And, uh, what happens if I don’t go beyond the crossroads, how does that work - I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about that?” I asked, a little sheepishly

I swear Jania almost looked relieved when I finished my question, which made me frown a little, but I decided to ignore it “If you didn’t wish to go beyond the crossroads, then you would be put onto a lowered dose for a few months, to see if your body is producing all the right chemicals, and once we were certain of that, you would eventually stop taking the medication all together, and live as you are now,” She explained

I nodded, my mind racing with the options I had - I liked where I was, I had everything I wanted out of my slime transition, and what I could lose past the crossroads sounded terrifying. Naturally, with that in mind, it seemed like an obvious choice, but a part of me was asking ‘but if you stop now, are you even a real slime?’ and despite all the logical points I could make against that, it didn���t stop the feeling from gnawing at me

“You don’t have to answer right away, and actually, you will have plenty of time to decide, assuming you still plan to go ahead with the shapeshifter treatment,” She told me

I gave her a quizzical look “Yes, I do, but what do you mean?”

“Well, due to the relatively ‘volatile’ nature of the shapeshifter treatment, not that is at all dangerous, we prefer patients to not be undergoing large scale mental strain and stress while taking the additional treatment,” Jania explained “So we would put you on the maintenance dose, as if you had chosen to not proceed with the crossroads. Then a few months after that, once the additional treatment had began to take hold, you would need to make the decision about the crossroads, so we could stop your dose or return it to full strength depending on your decision,” I nodded “That sounds good, I hadn’t realised how little I was ready to make the decision about the crossroads,” I told her

“It’s a big decision, and one we wouldn’t want anyone taking lightly, so you can take your time,” She told me “Up to a point, there is unfortunately a limit before even the maintenance dose begins to push you past the crossroads,” I nodded again, not sure what else to say “With that talked about, we need to move onto discussion about you starting shapeshifter hrt, you did say you still intend to take the treatment, yes?”

I nodded “Very much so, definitely still wanting that,” I replied 

“Good, I have to make sure of course,” Jania said, tapping a few times on her computer, before turning it to me - her paws large against the mostly normal sized screen - showing a list, with a title at the top ‘Types of Shapeshifter’ “As you can see here,” She began “there are various types of shapeshifter and before we proceed any further, we need you to pick what specific kind of shapeshifter you want to become,”

I glanced over the list, noting that it started at those with more limited transformative abilities, such as werewolves, to mimics (and the several subcategories of that), to those that adapted to their environment. However, I quickly skimmed past all of these - I knew all about the types of shapeshifters, this had been what I had originally come to them to become after all, so I’d researched this years before - and jumped right to the end “That one!” I declared, pointing, probably a little too excitedly at the option at the bottom “A polymorph shapeshifter!”

I saw Jania smile a little “That is what I expected, given your choice of base,” She remarked, gesturing to my gelatinous body, causing me to chuckle a little bashfully “So a polymorph it is then, just to make sure, you understand that a polymorph can alter themselves to be almost anything, so long as they can imagine it,” She asked, I nodded - of course I understood, this is what I’d wanted the whole time  “Ok then, with that decision clearly made,” she spun the screen back around and tapped a little more as she continued to talk “first things first we need you to sign the consent forms, and then we can get a prescription sorted out once you have had your checkup today, assuming that there are no problems there,” She explained “And then we will have to get you your shapeshifter licence,”

I gave her a quizzical look “Shapeshifter licence?” I enquired 

“Right, yes, to be legally able to use your shapeshifting abilities in Hyper City, you must register as a shapeshifter, and carry identification detailing the nature of your form of shapeshifting,” She explained

I frowned a little, I wasn’t sure how I felt about having to be registered somewhere just ‘cause I was a shapeshifter - but then at the same time, it was an easy ability to abuse, so I can understand people wanting to keep an eye on us “How am I supposed to fill in a form like that if I’m only going to be partially able to transform for a while?” I asked, thinking back to how my shaping had been early on in my transition to a slime “Like I’m not going to be able to turn into godzilla day one,” I pointed out

“Don’t worry, we have provisional licences, which have details about your target level of shapeshifting, but are clear that you may not have reached that point yet yourself. When you come in for your checkups, we can update the current details on the system and your ID,” She explained “We have some ready for those who are going to become shapeshifters, but we can only give it to you once you have been cleared by a doctor after your physical,” 

“Ok, that makes sense,” I replied “What will I do if I develop something and my ID is not up to date?” I asked - I really didn’t want to deal with whatever magical cops this city had

“Assuming you don’t cause any harm to any people or property, or anything else otherwise illegal, the provisional nature of the licence will at least explain why your abilities aren’t completely correctly documented yet,”

“Ok, goo-d,” I tripped a little on the word, feeling myself blush a little, I had been trying to use more ‘slimeisms’ but hadn’t expected one to slip out here “ I, uh, would rather not get arrested just ‘cause I happened to get a new shift and it’s not noted down,”

“Don’t worry, we’ve liaised with the authorities to work this out,” Jania explained “Wouldn’t be good if those under our care were constantly being arrested,” She pointed out

“No, I would imagine not,” I remarked

“Do you have any more questions?” The sphinx asked

“Not that I can think of, but I’m sure they’ll crop up later,” I said with a half-smile and a chuckle

“If you do think of any later you can send any questions you think of later via the website,” She told me “With those important things out of the way, not that this is any less important, how are you coping with being a slime out in the world of humans?” She asked 

I blinked a couple of times before replying “Fine, I guess, I’m not the most outdoorsy person, most o’ my friends are online, so I tend to stay inside most of the time,” I said “But it has been pretty neat just being able to exist in the real world as the slime I am,” I added

“Have you had any issues with people? Many people don’t take kindly to those different than you, and you did say you’re a blob of bright orange goo that stands out enough already,”

I paused to think for a moment “I’ve had a couple of in person issues, and a couple places have refused to let me in, but there’s assholes everywhere, I just ignore them/don’t go there again, it’s like blocking people online,” I told her, glad that my throat no longer got tight talking about these things (mainly ‘cause i don’t have a throat anymore), but I could still feel my tone fall a bit as I thought about the incidents “It sucks that people can’t just live and let live, but I don’t need to burn myself out fighting every asshole who calls me something shit,” I said, noting the clear sadness in my voice “It doesn’t not affect me, I feel the same way about trans stuff, which I never got shit for irl myself, but you see and hear people hating you just for existing, and you can try to ignore it, but it does get to you, even a bit…” I said “So, I’m fine, for all practical purposes, it’s not like I’ve been stabbed or anything for being myself, just sad that I and people like me have to suffer ‘cause people can’t mind their own damn business,” The word damn echoed with a little more anger than I had meant to let out

Jania just nodded, and typed a little, and while I was sure she wasn’t putting anything major down, it did unnerve me a little. Once she had finished, she looked back up at me “Well, with that then, assuming you still have no more questions,” I shook my head “good, then I will let you get on with your physical evaluation, and hopefully start your new medication,” She announced “If you are fit to begin, the doctor there should also provide you with the application for the provisional shapeshifter licence,” She added “Now, I’m sure you’ll forgive me again if I don’t shake your claw,” She gave a small wink “And I hope you have a lovely rest of your day,” She said, giving me a small nod of her head

I stood up, shaking off the emotions from before, and waved “Thank you, and same to you, hope you have a good rest of your day,” I said, making my way over to the door and leaving.

***

I arrived at the clinic for my physical (annoyingly they were in different buildings, but fortunately it was only a quick trip) and after waiting for a little was directed to Dr. Othek’s office

“Hello Miss Sandy, is it that time again already?” He asked, greeting me with a smile as he always did

“Yes, I’m back again,” I said, taking a seat opposite him as he finished typing some things

“This is a big appointment for you though, if you’re all fine here, you can start on.. polymorph hrt was it?” He double checked 

“Yeah, so I’m hoping this goes well,” I replied

“There should hopefully be no reason for you to have any problems, so this should be a breeze,” He told me “We may as well get started then,” I nodded “First test, as usual, I need to take a sample of your slime, if you don’t mind,” He asked, holding out a test tube

“Of course,” I said with a nod, holding my finger over the tube, focusing a little to make the tip slowly drip into the tube below “That enough?” I asked

“That should be plenty,” The doctor replied, topping off the sample, and placing it into a machine to analyse it (since I had first started coming here, the facilities had improved immensely) “I’m still a little surprised that that doesn’t hurt you,” He remarked

“I mean, it’s just a part of me dropping off, not sure why that would hurt?” I replied, before catching a look from him and realising what I’d said “Oh, right yeah, I just get kinda used to it, there’s still plenty of me, so no reason to cry over a little lost, I keep plenty of spare in here,” I told him, tapping my slime near my core “Mass may be important to us slimes, be we can lose a lot before it hurts us,” I said proudly

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be surprised really, you’re not human, you’re not going to have the same response as we do,” He said, and I felt my core glow with euphoria 

“I mean, I still remember being human, or what it was like to be human/have a human body, so I guess I should kinda foresee stuff like that being weird for y’all to hear,” I conceded “Kinda forget just a little as my body has changed more, this is just how it should be to me,” I offered

“It makes some sense, you are already what you are becoming, so it makes sense that you would adapt quickly, and stop thinking in human terms,” He replied “Can you show me how your shaping is going?” I opened my mouth to remark something, but he interrupted with “I know you brought this up last time with the wings and tail you made for yourself, but I still need a live check, not to mention now that you’ve had those for a while they’re in your shape memory, rather than a demonstration of your shaping,”

I rolled my eyes and smiled, the doctor had pre-empted my words “Fair enough, it’s not like I mind showing off my shifting,” I said holding up a claw, and shifting it so it grew larger and sharper, until my claw was about the size of the doctor’s torso. He nodded and took some notes

“Now something else, please,” He asked. I nodded, thinking for a second, before returning my claw to normal, before another pair of arms grew out of my torso, and I gave the doctor 4 thumbs up

“Oooh, this actually feels really cool, I might keep this,” I remarked, moving all four arms in synchronicity, as well as trying out a few motions with each independently of the others. I saw the doctor smile, and I quickly put all my arms down at my sides “Sorry,” I said with an awkward chuckle

“No, no, by all means,” Dr Othek said, with a wave of encouragement

“No, it’s fine, I’ll do it later,” I replied a little shyly

“If that’s what you want, then next can you do something with your legs?” He asked, gesturing to said limbs

I looked thoughtful for a moment, before I worked out what I was going to do “Made a friend who’s got this,” I remarked, before focusing for a moment, my legs fusing and growing longer, my tail similarly merging with them. It always felt interesting, the senses of separate limbs merging into one (even if that sense of separation was less prominent as a slime than as a human), and losing my legs did make me a little unsteady, fortunately the doctor helped to hold me up as the transformation continued. Unfortunately I had forgotten to account for my clothes, and my shorts got swallowed up by my merging body, and I had to take a second to pull them out and toss them aside. Slowly my lower body elongated into a long shape that slowly tapered to a dull point “Ta-whoa-daa!” I announced, wobbling a little as I got used to my new support

“So you’ve been talking to a lamia or two have you then?” The doctor observed with a small smile

“Yesssss” I said, a forked tongue flicking out of my mouth as I elongated the consonant, as I had seen the lamia in question do herself 

“Glad to hear you’re making like-minded friends out there,” He remarked “Lastly, can I ask you to transform your entire body?”

I blinked a little at this request, even though I had been half expecting it - he’d asked for this last time too - but it still caught me off guard. My eyes darted to the curtain around the bed that was in the room “Uh, mind if I go behind that to change out of the rest of my clothes, don’t want to damage them, was lucky with my shorts,” I said, realising that apparently now my brain was deciding to get awkward about my lack of lowerwear, despite my current shape

Dr. Othek’s eyes widened a little, before he smiled in understanding “Oh, of course, by all means,” He said warmly, gesturing over to the bed

I wandered over, glad for the spacious area, given my now extra long body/tail (I guessed he had many larger patients) and pulled the curtain around. Once sure I was shielded, I began to take my clothes off, which was actually pretty quick nowadays given I could just shrink my limbs away, and then slip up and through the clothes. This time in particular, as I shifted my body up and through the clothes, I had my whole body contract and condense, until out of the top of my clothes I sprang as a small blob-ball of slime, landing myself on the bed that was nearby.

I reached out some pseudopod tendrils and picked up my clothes and put them on the bed beside me, while another pair pulled the curtain aside so the doctor could see the transformation.

“Oh now don’t you look adorable,” He remarked taking a step closer, and I immediately felt myself blush and look away from him, my tendrils either freezing what they were doing or rushing to cover my face (not that the thin extensions of slime were very effective at that), which he fortunately picked up on quickly “Sorry, that was unprofessional of me, it is a very impressive transformation though,” He said

I took a second to recover after the surprise remark from the doctor, but I began to feel the slime in my ‘cheeks’ return to normal, and I pulled all my tendrils back close to myself “It’s pretty simple if I have to be honest, just pull everything in and ball,” I said, giving the closest thing I could to a shrug with the four tendrils I had currently, suddenly aware for the second time today that I was now much smaller than the other person

“I obviously can’t speak to ease of this, but if you say that this is easy, then would you care to demonstrate something more complex?” He asked “Although I do want to remark on the expert use of your….” He trailed off, gesturing to my limbs

“Tendrils, pseudopods, tentacles I ‘spose wouldn’t be inaccurate either,” I offered

“... pseudopods then, I didn’t expect you to be so dextrous with them already,” He finished

“I mean, they’re just another limb, they’re like an arm,” I said, shifting one into a small arm as I said that “And I’ve been able to make them for a while, guess I just never showed you before,” I told him

“I suppose they would be..” the doctor conceded, a thoughtful look on his face “As you may have noticed, while I am familiar with the medical limits and boundaries, the actual details of the transition aren’t particularly known to me, so you’ll have to forgive my ignorance,” He said

“They’ve got me writing a journal to keep track of everything, details a lot of my transition, I don’t know if you can ask for access to the file or whatever, but that might help fill in the details?” I offered

“Oh they have, have they? I only receive requests to check if things you have ‘reported’ are nominal, a complete journal would be extremely helpful,” He remarked “I don’t know if they will send it to me, so you can contact me here,” He handed me a something like a business card, which I took in a tendril and quickly put with my clothes, “and I would appreciate seeing your journal - knowing what my patients are going through in between sessions would be extremely helpful - assuming you are willing to share it with me,” He asked

I nodded (which is a lot more involved when you are a single round ball) “Sure, I’m kind of surprised they hadn’t already sent it to you anyways,” I told him 

“That’d be much appreciated miss slime,” He said with a nod “Right, we should continue with your examination - a more complex full body transformation, if you would Sandy?” He repeated

I nodded again and thought for a second, before raising a tendril as an idea struck. I took a quick glance around the room, confirming that it was big enough “You may want to stand quite far back,” I told him, hopping down from the bed and making my way to the middle of the room “I’ve only tried this once before - don’t really have the room at home - so this may not be perfect, but it’s definitely complicated,”

I noted the doctor giving me a curious look, before acquiescing and moving to a corner of the room. I took another look around, hoping that my current smaller size wasn’t affecting my mental measurement of the room. I went to take a breath, before remembering that I couldn’t do that now, which left me floundering a little on what to replace it with (I really need to work that out) But nonetheless I turned my attention to the task at hand.

First I focused on some key things, namely legs - four of them to be precise - each one growing out of the base of my small, round form, propping me up like some weird cartoon character. The legs themselves were reptilian in appearance, sans texture as I was limited only to slime, but once they reached what felt like the right length and shape I stopped, focusing on the next part. With a solid base, I began to stretch my body out, elongating it, making sure my weight was spread evenly across each of my new legs. At the same time as doing this, I pushed out a tail, glad for the restoration of that limb, making sure it was the right length, relative to my current size, topping it off with the fin I had come to love at the end of it.

With those all sorted, next I focused on my face, pushing it out as well and forwards, extending not only into a muzzled front, but a fairly long neck behind it. On my head, I also made sure to include a pair of horns, which were also a comfort to have back. Although they were superfluous, I also added sharp (well, teeth all along the inside of my mouth, because let's be honest, they’re awesome, licking them with the long forked tongue I had given myself. The only bit that was particularly weird for me was my eyes moving to the sides of my head, may as well go the full mile here, but adjusting to the different style of vision was always a little weird.

Next on the agenda was wings, both of which I forged from my back, pushing out until they, like my tail, were back to the correct size. I gave them an experimental flap to double check I’d gotten everything right, loving the feeling of their motion.

With all the core bits shaped, there was only one last thing to do: get BIG. I looked up at the doctor, not wanting to cause him any harm, before I began to push my body outwards in all directions, feeling myself grow bigger, the floor quickly receding from me. Once the ceiling began to get close to my head, I slowed down, stopping where I could still move fairly comfortably - albeit carefully - around the room. 

All in all the transformation had taken me not long at all, although I quickly touched up some details I had missed before I spoke.

“Ta daaa,” I said, bellowing more than I had meant to, not realising how the transformation had messed with my sound production “Ahem, I mean - ta daaa,” I said, in a voice much closer to my normal one, although I did keep a bit of a bellow, it just fit with my new shape

“And here I thought I was treating a slime, not a dragon,” Dr. Othek quipped, sending an unexpected burst of euphoria through my body “You know they do medication for this on its own,” He joked. I watched as he made his way towards me, finding the ‘above’ view of the doctor new and interesting, given I’d always had to look up to the man yet now I was somewhere in the realm of double his height, it was definitely a novel experience.

“You are definitely still slime-y though,” He remarked 

“Yes well, I can’t change my material makeup yet,” I replied “That’s why I want the shapeshifter/polymorph hrt, gotta get some scales on this bitch,” I said, still a little unused to the changes I had made to my voice as part of this form

“Why did you not just take dragon hrt?” He asked, and even though he meant it with no malice or judgement it still hurt a little - I didn’t think I’d still be answering this kind of question two years after starting down this path

I sat down, a little more heavily than I meant to - I wasn’t used to being this large - but fortunately without breaking anything “Honestly, I almost did, but slime called to me more, felt like it would get me closer to the fluidity that I truly wanted, ultimately it just felt more right,” I told him “End goal is to vibe around as a chimaera of all my fave parts of whatever, when I’m not intentionally shapeshifting into other things, so really the base was just what seemed goo-d for a couple years, and that’s what slime was - don’t get me wrong, I love being a slime, still think it’s more fitting, than dragon, for the creature I am - but I’m a shapeshifter at heart, or well, core, I guess?” I finished with a small chuckle, which reverberated around the room a little

The doctor nodded, having been slowly walking around me as I had been talking, presumably inspecting my form “How did you get so large?” He asked, and I felt a little miffed he was just moving on from what I had just said, but I wasn’t going to bring that up

“I just did? Pushed my slime out into my body and got big,” I told him

“Where did the slime come from?” He said “You were a small ball of slime, and even accounting for the fact that your prior forms were larger, they did not hold enough slime for this,” He elaborated

“Oh, that - I think my core stores excess slime? Like how humans store excess sugars as fat,” I replied “Not quite sure how it does it, since I don’t seem to get notably heavier unless I eat a tonne, but yeah,” I added “So I made sure to have a good amount of mass spare at all times, to facilitate shaping better,” I explained “That was an expensive purchase though,”

“Interesting, can you come back down please?” He asked, so I moved, bringing my head level with his, the size difference between even just our heads quite noticeable “I meant, as a… as a humanoid,” He clarified

I frowned a little, I had been quite enjoying being a big ol’ dragon for a bit, but I acquiesced, and began shrinking myself back down to my ‘default’ form, all my draconic features slowly vanishing back into more humanoid ones, although I retained the horns, tail, wings, and claws, and both sets of my ears shaped back into existence, along with my talons at the ends of my legs. Once I was all back to ‘normal’ I turned around and looked up at the doctor “Better?” I asked, a little more venomously than I had meant to, or he deserved, but he had slightly ticked me off.

“...Yes, I apologise if you wanted to remain in that form for longer,” He said, clearly a little surprised at my anger “But it is easier to communicate while we’re both closer in size,” He said. I didn’t reply - it was unfair, he had otherwise been really nice and accepting, but he had managed to push a button even I wasn’t fully aware had existed, and I needed a second to cool off.

“Would you like to put your clothes back on?” He asked, and I suddenly noticed he had been looking away

I blushed a little “Oh shit, uh, right,” I said, quickly hurrying back behind the curtain

“Don’t forget your shorts!” Dr. Othek called out, and I shot an extended arm out to grab them. After a moment, I came back out from behind the curtain, my outfit put on, and my anger and blush having both resided

“Sorry about that,” I apologised

“Don’t be, honestly I am not sure about non-human sensibilities regarding clothes, so I leave it up to the patient,” He explained “Within reason of course,” He added

I nodded “Uh, so what’s the next test?”

“I need to look at your core, would it be ok?” He asked

I gave him a quizzical look, my hand moving to my mid-torso “Why?” I asked

“It is, well, the core of you, it is kind of a vital part of a physical examination,” He explained

“Right, yeah, of course,” I replied “Can you do the examination without touching it?” I asked

“Now it’s my turn to ask why?” the doctor threw back

“It’s basically my vital organ, and it’s very sensitive, I’d rather as few people handled it as possible, even medical professionals,” I explained sincerely

Dr. Othek looked thoughtful for a second, before nodding, “That should be doable,” He replied “Would you please remove your core from your body, so I can examine it more easily?”

I nodded, moving my core to my hand, holding it open with the small green rock that was, for all intents and purposes, me in my palm. The doctor leaned on close, some kind of magnifying lens over his eye, examining my core. It felt a little weird to be both studied so intensely, and yet to almost be ignored.

“Well, everything looks fine,” Dr. Othek said after a moment, standing back up and taking the lens off

“So the cratering on it is normal?” I asked, tail wagging hopefully behind me

“I can’t honestly say, but, if it seems to be causing you no issues, then we can assume you are healthy,”

“You can’t say?”

“Slimes are- were fictional creatures before now, the scientific data on you is limited,” The doctor explained “All we will have to go off is what you and other slimes develop and seem to be healthy with,” He added

“I guess that makes sense, was hoping for something more concrete though,” I replied

“All of these animal hrt treatments are groundbreaking science, and you have all been the first few to jump on it, the information just isn’t there for you all quite yet,” I nodded in understanding “One last thing - what would you say is the consistency of your core?” He asked “Is it soft, or hard, or any other applicable consistency?”

“Oh, uh, hard, definitely, it’s kinda like a rock?” I explained

“That’s good,” He said with a nod, sitting back down and filling in some forms on his computer “Well, that was the last of the tests, so if you just sit down again, I’ll fill everything in and we can finish up soon,” He told me. I put my core safely back inside me and we sat in silence for a moment while he finished filling in all my details, occasionally writing on a piece of paper on his desk. Eventually he pressed a final few buttons and I heard the printer on his desk kick into action, and he spoke again.

“So, all of your tests seem good, and I have to say, as far as we can tell, you are particularly exceptional at shaping,” He said finally, his words bringing warmth to my core and making my tail wag happily “As such,” He started again, pulling a piece of paper from the printer, and placing it in front of me with a pen, as well as a small plastic card “You just need to fill out this informed consent form for your polymorph supplement and you then take this prescription - he put the piece of paper he had been writing on on his desk just above the form - to the pharmacy to get your first dose,”

I looked at the papers he’d just put down, before looking up at him “Wait, today?” I asked, shocked

“Yeah, all of your tests are healthy as I said, there’s no reason you can’t,” He told me “Just gotta read all the information and sign your life away - joking, of course,” 

I nodded, my tail wagging ecstatically behind me as I read through the informed consent form, noting the usual ‘warnings’ - ‘loss of inherent/implicit shape’ etc. - that were more often features than issues, eventually reaching the end where I signed my name, struggling to stop myself grinning. 

With that done I turned my attention to the provisional shapeshifting licence, my shapeshifting licence - even if it was a dumb bureaucratic thing, it still made me happy to have - and looked at what was on it. I noted immediately that Dr. Othek had filled it in already for me, which left me to decipher all the little scribbles on it

Most of it was self explanatory, but I did look up to the doctor to ask him a question “What do the X’s mean?” I asked “I can tell the ‘Y’ and ‘N’ are yes and no, but I’m not sure what the X’s are - or actually what exactly the Y’s in brackets are for?”

“Ah, yes, the X’s indicate a ‘not applicable’, since you are unable to truly shapeshift yet-” Even though I knew it was true, it still hurt to hear that said aloud- “Those categories cannot be accurately answered yet,” He explained “The bracketed Y’s indicate what you will be able to do, once you have completed your treatment, and those give people an idea of what to expect if you have any developments in between updates to your licence,” He finished

I nodded, that all at least made sense. I looked back at the piece of plastic in my hand - this was the one thing I had at this moment that said I was a shapeshifter, that said what I truly was, if I still could I probably would have teared up “Thanks,” I eked out instead, my voice trembling a little with my happiness, and I was glad the emotion hadn’t set off my tail

“I’m just doing my job,” Dr. Othek replied with a soft smile “But you’re welcome,” He added “You should get going and get your prescription, may as well start as soon as you can,” He encouraged

I nodded, picking up the prescription and tucking my new ID into my pocket for now, before heading out of his office and towards the pharmacy - letting out a small whoop of happiness once I was outside, unable to contain my joy any longer.

***

I eventually got home, new medication in claw, and slid out of my clothes in a deluge of slime, leaping into the chair and reforming once I hit it, placing the medication before me on my desk. There were two more this time, in addition to my now lowered dose of my slime hrt, the first one’s purpose clear in its name: ‘Varimorphisone’ - that was the one that would actually let me properly shapeshift. The other had been both unexpected and less clear on its purpose, ‘Physodrone’. The only information I could find was that it was a required medicine alongside Varimorphisone, acting as some kind of stabiliser for it. Regardless, if this was what I needed to finally make myself a polymorph, then that’s what I’d do! 

“Shapeshifting, here I come!” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, slime hrt is over! Thanks for joining me on this gooey journey :D, it was a big ol' finale, but I had fun writing this. I say it's over, but I do have plans for some side stories (most of which do take place after the 24 month mark, but we'll see what falls out of my core) which will be slime oriented, so we're not quite done with the goo yet! Not to mention the supplimental part that was requested in the story, so plenty of goo times yet to come! Also, I am not done with this story, as you might've guessed from the text, next up is polymorph/shapeshifter hrt! Also, for those who want it here is a blank version of the ID i made, both provisional and complete. If ya do use 'em it'd be nice if you could credit me (although the idea of the shapeshifting licence ofc belongs to @darkmagenugget/@nuggetofthesea)

And for those wondering about how to fill it in, I did make a rough guide while working out how it was gonna work here, which includes the options for sources (what allows you to shapeshift), and a link to a doc that I worked on listing the various types of shapeshifter. If your D.O.B is weird, e.g. from before 0 AD, just slap a BCE on the end of the D.O.B (for anything more eccentric, you'll have to work it out yourself) Thanks to those who helped with easing my worries about some passages of this, and checking over the licence design, and my partner @kanithedemoncat for doing a grammar and spell check for me before I posted another one with various mistakes that they find after the fact But yeah, hopefully you've all enjoyed slime hrt so far, and I hope you'll enjoy whats to come!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First - Prev - Next Side Story 1 - Monster Tag list under cut (lmk if ya wanna be added)

@calliecwrites, @friedsputnik, @now-entering-the-goop-zone, @scrubbinn, @lilacinthefog,

@mint-and-authoress, @losttodreams, @redroversendjayover, @ariathelamia, @kanithedemoncat

[the-kr8tor]

Hiyaaa, love your work and the way you write Hobie. Could I please request a Hobie x reader where the reader struggles with eating and Hobie is trying to coax the reader into eating.

Hi hun! I've seen you around my notifs! Thank you for the love ❤️ this is my first time writing something like this, so I hope this is okay. Thank you for requesting!

Pairing: Hobie Brown x gn! Reader/ Spider-Punk x gn! Reader

Tags: no use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, cw food mention, FLUFF.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

You sigh as you rummage through your fridge for the third time that night, putting your hands inside the pockets of your hoodie, wringing your fingers together. You look at the contents of your fridge, as if staring at it will magically change what's inside. Even though it's filled with ingredients to cook with, some tupperwares of leftovers, fruits that are definitely over ripe. You tilt your head, finding nothing that interests you, too tired to cook.

Hobie's unexpected voice startles you, "did you put the telly in there or somethin'?"

You jump slightly, clutching your chest. "Hobie! When'd you get here?"

Hobie struts towards you, still in his suit, mask discarded on your dining table, "just now, I knocked on your window, you were busy watching the fridge to notice me" his hand flew behind you, landing on the fridge door "what are you even lookin at?" You move to the side, giving him space, his hand that was previously on the door latches on to your back, holding you.

You lean into his touch, grasping the edge of his vest, playing with the rough leather. "Nothing"

He notices your low energy reply, already knowing your predicament, "want me to make you something?" He bends his knees looking inside, cataloging which ingredients he can use to make a meal.

"You don't have to" you say softly, looking at him.

"Well, I want to" he looks at your downturned lips, eyes glassy. Hobie finally gets what you mean, heart shattering for you. But he doesn't say it, lest he might make you more upset. He notices the small tremors in your hand, "You need to eat something, even just a little, get your strength up, yeah?" Hobie holds your hand that's been playing with his vest, kissing the back of it fondly. He spots the red fruit inside one of the drawers in your fridge, getting an idea.

You swallow down a lump in your throat. "I'll try"

He smiles, "thank you" he pecks your cheek "sit down for me, I'll make it quick"

"Can I help?"

"What? You worried that I might burn down your flat?"

You chuckle softly, Hobie feels proud that he made you smile, despite what you're currently feeling "no, I just want to help" guilty that you're making him do all the work, right after what must've been a tough day.

"Alright, grab that apple for me" he surrenders to you.

You hand him a couple of shiny red apples, he grabs them from you, his hands big enough to hold them both in one hand. "What else?"

"That's it" Hobie rinses the fruits in the sink.

"That's it?"

"Mm-hmm, go sit your pretty ass down. I'll be there in a few" a satisfying crunch reaches your ears when he cuts them in the middle.

You stand there watching him expertly use the knife to cut the first apple into neat slices. "What're you doing?"

"You'll see"

"Okay then, keep your secrets" you give in, trusting him. sitting down on the dining chair, waiting for whatever he's making.

Hobie smiles, hands carefully cutting the slices of the apple skin.

You hear a few crunching sounds, hearing Hobie whisper out a word you can't decipher. "You okay?" Thinking he might've accidentally cut himself.

"I'm fine" you see him put a slice in his mouth.

You grab his mask, looking at the details of it. A few minutes later he comes to the table with a plate full of apple slices.

You look closely at it as he lays it in front of you, Hobie sits down beside you, watching your reaction.

"Are those bunnies?" You look at the apple slices cut into bunny shapes, you hold one up, finger grazing the 'ears'

"Yep, thought it might help with your appetite" he watches you closely, "is that okay?"

"They're adorable" you grin at him, heart swelling in fondness "thank you" you reach out to him for a hug.

Hobie shuffles closer to you, chair scraping on the floor, he's so close your thighs meet his, he hugs you tight, hand cradling the back of your neck. "you sure it's okay?"

"Yes, but I think they're too adorable to eat though" you pull away staring at the 'bunny', Hobie's hand slides to your waist, thumb caressing you softly.

"Their sacrifice won't be in vain" he grabs one, popping it in his mouth. He chews, pushing the plate closer to you.

You bite into the slice, the sweet taste bursts on your tongue. "The screaming doesn't help though" you play along with his bit.

Hobie almost chokes, pausing his chewing. You laugh at his reaction, rubbing his back, taking another bite. He moves his hand over to your thigh, patting it as he swallows the fruit down.

"You okay?" You ask, in between laughs.

Hobie grabs another slice "I'll live, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good" you thump your forehead against his shoulder "Where'd you even learn how to cut it like that?"

He hands you another slice "I'll tell you if you help me finish this entire plate"

"Deal" You grab the apple from his hand, munching down on it.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Thank you for reading! Please consider reblogging if you enjoyed it ❤️

[erineverly]

the  confession  alone  is  more  than  enough  to  throw  erin  completely  off  guard,  but  it’s  the  sound  of  the  all-too-familiar  voice,  echoing  in  the  foyer  of  her  two-bedroom  condo  again,  after  what  feels  like  an  eternity,  that  makes  the  muscles  in  her  legs  stiffen  and  the  hair  on  the  nape  of  her  neck  stand  up.  her  natural  instincts  urging  her  to  pull  him  into  a  hug,  assure  him  that  everything  will  be  okay  in  the  end,  pretend  he’s  still  hers  and  she’s  his  —  that  it’s  the  two  of  them  against  the  world,  the  way  it  used  to  be  a  few  years  back.  oh,  how  easy  it  would  be  to  forget  about  everything  and…  but  the  more  rational  part  of  her  wants  to  just  stand  here,  linger  in  the  doorway  for  a  while  longer,  and  pretend  she  hadn’t  heard  him,  wishes  the  ground  beneath  her  feet  would  open  up  and  swallow  her  whole,  get  her  out  of  this  strange,  uncomfortable  situation.  why  would  he  say  this  now?  why  did  he  have  to  say  this?  

clearing  her  throat  as  she  contemplates  her  response,  she  absently  brings  one  of  her  now  shaking  hands  to  her  dainty  necklace  and,  to  occupy  her  fingers  with  something,  anything  that  will  help  her  fight  off  the  urge  to  reach  for  the  redhead,  begins to  fidget  with  a  small,  heart-shaped  pendant.  she  opens  her  mouth,  but  closes  it  almost  immediately,  her  heart  pounding  away  in  her  throat,  keeping  her  from  forming  any  coherent  sentence.  for  someone  who’d  been  subconsciously  dreaming  of  something  akin  to  this  moment,  she  feels  completely  lost  and  unprepared,  nowhere  near  ready  for  this  kind  of  conversation.  the  gifts  and  letters  that  he’s  been  sending  her,  all  the  flames  that,  perhaps  involuntarily,  they  have  slowly  rekindled,  every  little  thing  that  she’s  been  trying  to  ignore  for  the  sake  of  their  significant  others  and  her  own  peace  of  mind…  they’re  standing  right  in  front  of  her  now  and  she  can  no  longer  run  away  from  the  feelings  that  she’s  so  desperately  tried  to  suppress  for  the  past  few  months.

gaze  dropping  to  the  floor,  examining  the  pink  nail  polish  on  her  toes,  she  struggles  not  to  get  emotional,  not  to  overthink  the  meaning  of  this  unexpected  visit.   ❝   𝐚.𝐱𝐥,   ❞   she  whispers,  a  soft  plea  ringing  in  her  voice  —  not  here,  not  now,  let’s  not  go  there…  she’s  just  managed  to  put  her  life  back  together,  to  move  on,  or  at  least  that’s  what  she’s  telling  herself.  if  they  have  this  conversation,  it  will  leave  her  nothing  but  a  shell  of  the  woman  she  is.  but  she  can’t  just  close  the  door  in  his  face,  tell  him  to  leave  because  it’s  her  weekend  with  sebastian,  scold  him  for  complicating  every  little  thing,  remind  him  that  he  should  be  writing  letters  and  sending  flowers  to  a  different  woman.  god.  she’s  never  been  strong  enough  to  stay  away  from  him.  she  doesn’t  want  to  stay  away  from  him.   ❝   would  you  like  to  come  in?  it’s  almost  dinner  time.  i’m  making  ‘ghetti  and  meaty-baws,   ❞   she  offers  shyly,  a  hint  of  a  smile  on  her  lips  because  that’s  how  sebastian  calls  them.  meaty  baws.  she  thinks  it’s  adorable.   ❝   speaking  of  bastian,   ❞   she’s  quick  to  change  the  subject,  although  it  breaks  her  heart,   ❝   he’s  been  grouchy  all  day.  i  think  he  might  be  coming  down  with  something.  he  keeps  complaining  about  his  throat  and  has  a  stuffy  nose,  watery  eyes,  sneezing…  you  know  the  drill.  but  i’m  sure  he’ll  be  so  happy  to  see  you,   ❞   she  explains,  opening  the  door  a  little  wider  and  inviting  the  singer  to  come  in  with  a  subtle  hand  gesture.   ❝   see  the  pile  of  blankets  on  the  couch?  he’s  in  there  somewhere.  would  you  like  something  to  drink?  we  have  apple  juice.  i  can  make  you  coffee  or  tea?   ❞

@rcsechild​

[metropoliswhite]

Picture it: Felix wanting to go to the club and telling Ollie he'll do anything. Oliver smirks and says "study for your exam next week"

And Felix throws a tantrum

Hello lovely sweet anon, thank you for gracing my inbox with this 💕 I AM picturing it, so clearly even that it got away from me and went in an unexpected direction (brain rot after the cut)

Felix is pissed, not having it, because why is Ollie more boring than any of their tweed clad professor? And why is he nagging Felix more than his mother ever did? (granted she never nagged him about grades but the company he keeps, the way he slouches when he sits, how he eats with his finger "you're not a dog Felix, should we put your plate on the floor?" but not about his grades.)

He's getting a little mean while he's fuming and Oliver feels a twist in his stomach but he knows Felix now, what his ire hides (insecurity and entitlement) and how to diffuse it. Doesn't Felix know Oliver can't relax and have proper fun when he's anxious about his best friend's grade? What if he fails this year and they can't graduate together, as they have imagined and talked about so many times?

Felix's gaze softens at that, as Oliver knew it would (and can that even be called manipulation when every word he speaks is the truth?) and Oliver uses his best asset, a reward, a treat to entices Felix. Because not unlike a puppy, He reacts best to sweetness and gratification, like the spoil brat he is, but what Oliver discovered and that no one else knows is that Felix likes to work for it.

So if Felix studies hard for his exam, not only will Oliver go with him to the club, he will also let him dress him up, as he always asks him to. Of course the childish and fickle God that is Oliver best friend's changes mood immediately, his pout giving way to a smile so bright it might ripped his face in two.

But, oh no! What is that gleam in his eyes? And is Oliver paranoid or is the curve of Felix's smile taking a diabolical shape? Whether or not Oliver miscalculated, it is too late to back out.

So maybe Oliver ends up at the club, dressed in sheer clothing bought especially by Felix for the occasion. Leather and silk, mother of pearls buttons (and what are the buttons for if he's not allowed to close more than two??) and silver rings. Ollie doesn't think about the price of the outfit or how it makes him feel like one of those precious porcelain dolls his grandma used to collect and it certainly doesn't awaken something in him.

Not even when Felix calls him his pretty Ollie-dolly, with his long, long fingers tangled in his best friend's hair, his entire body covered in sweat and spit as he gets his second treat of the evening. But he studied so hard and got such an excellent grade, he deserves it. Felix, after all, knows how to work.

. . .

(and what if it's also a reward for Oliver, that he gets to lick every pores of the miles and miles of salty golden skin that stretches in front of him? He deserves it too, for being such a concerned friend and good little doll)

[thehauntedair]

I think you can really understand the role of Fate in the Starless Sea by looking at the characterizations of Zachary and Kat, Fate’s successors at the end of the novel.

Essentially we have Zachary, the “heart”- inevitability, trust, mystery- and Kat, the “body”- agency, will, forcefulness. Fate needs both to fill her role in the story because that is the nature of fate- both passive and active, inevitable and a series of branching choices.

In Zachary we see someone who, for better or worse, wholly believes in fate and continuously puts his life in its hands. Zachary is fairly passive, and follows the role expected of him beginning to end. The signs of his personifying fate are seeded constantly- from the very first story (son of the fortune teller), to drawing mystery books from the library, to continuing to follow breadcrumbs of a story seeded for him even when it brings him to mysterious strangers and threatens his life. Not going out of his way to make friends or meet people but rather letting them approach him- his connections being chance encounters. The way he describes novels as basically like a video game where someone else has already made all the choices for you. The way he is constantly treading old ground- rereading old books, replaying old games, seeking out meaning in things that have already passed and looking for them in other works. The way that- when he reads himself in that book- his first thought is that someone has predicted him- that he comes from the story.

And then there’s Kat- and Kat being forward progress. Kat changing how stories are told by making games with more branching lathways, more choice, more agency. Kat who approaches Zachary, Kat who doesn’t ignore his disappearance when everyone says she should but keeps pushing. Kat doesn’t wait to see what happens- she makes things happen- she happens to other people. She sees the paths and follows them, but is always seeking out new ones, unexpected ones. Kat wants to change things, to make something new. Kat wants to make stories more real, more vibrant. Takes what has happened before as inspiration. Kat understands that Fate is also a choice in how the story moves and breathes.

In the two of them we see a balance. Fate is inevitable. If you do nothing to stop it, fate is something that happens to you whether you like it or not. But fate is also a decision tree, where your choices Do matter in telling the story, in making the story different, yours. Iteration with modification. If you do nothing your choices will be made for you, but that is in itself still making a choice. Fate can happen to you, and you can happen to it. If you move in certain ways, fate can simply be how a story moves, not all that it is.

And I like this.

Zachary fills the role of the fate who lives in the harbor (the story), loving time, moving across predestined paths, retreading old ground and finding meaning and purpose in it. Kat fills the role of the fate who is reincarnated and comes to the harbor new, over and over again, in different bodies, playing new, different parts in each story and becomes a part of and shaping them in her turn.

Zachary becomes literal bosom buddies with Fate, meeting her, seeing her, following her wherever she goes. Fate leads, Zachary follows. For Kat, Fate has been here the whole time, watching, shadowing her movements with curiosity. Turning the paths that Kat walks down towards where she needs her to go, but the paths themselves being choices Kat is taking on her own. Kat leads, Fate follows. If you take them together, Fate can live in the center, or, as she wishes, at the beginning and the end.

[icelogged]

#and if that means changing shape if that means putting together the unexpected that is any monster's ancient right

it is damn well traditional

Photos by Donald M. Jones for OutdoorLife ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ the seam of skin and scales - taking steps, little light

[thebigoblin]

Then, Now, Tomorrow

for @greyhavenisback. a mini-fic to celebrate your birthday! miss talking to you as we once used to but i'm forever glad that at least we got to know each other ❤️ real life might come in between, but it doesn't mean this reel life is forgotten! Right?!

Tags: Future Fic, as in somehow canon yet not related to that movie in any shape or form, Derek Hale Loves Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Loves Derek Hale, Fluff, Light Angst, in regards to Derek's Sad Past, Attempt at Humor, Let Derek Hale Be Happy 2023

"Oh, man, that was so fun!"

Derek catches him when he stumbles, his arms wrapped tight around Stiles' waist, and he laughs.

"You're so strong, dude," he says, admiring the way Derek's biceps flex under his sinfully tight shirt.

Derek puts him on the couch, but doesn't bother separating from him. Just says, "Thanks, Sparky," and gives him a look when he pouts.

Stiles rolls his eyes and mutters, "Dick."

"Big dick," Derek corrects, and it's so deadpan and so unexpected, Stiles nearly falls off of the couch, laughing so hard his stomach hurts and his eyes shut close. Soon, Derek joins him in laughing, and Stiles loves that sound, of Derek's happiness, his joy radiating in waves around them. Stiles wishes to sink down in it, to anchor himself to it, to stay here forever and ever, listening to Derek laugh, beautiful in his rawest emotions, finally free of shackles of misplaced guilt and justified grief.

"Be like this forever?" Stiles asks, admiring the curve of Derek's lips, the dip and rise of his chest, which comes to a breathy halt at his question. "Please?"

Derek's face morphs into confusion, frown replacing smile, and Stiles hates it. Wants to remove, change it back — take back his words, just to listen to that musical sound.

"No, no, no," he mutters to himself, "Stupid Stiles." He brings his hands up, waits until he's got Derek's puzzled acceptance of touching him on his cheeks, then stretches his lips until it's a smile.

"Smile? You want me to smile?"

"Nuh uh, I want you to be happy," he stresses the word, hopes the weight of his wish on it makes it true. "Happy Derek is good, so good, I want you to be happy Derek. No, ecas- no, ecstatic! Ecstatic Derek!"

Derek smiles, then, a real one, his bunny teeth showing and his eyes crinkling. Stiles' hands are still on his face, their legs a tangled mess on the couch, feet up and under each other's, the warmth of their closeness comfortable and welcome. Derek takes his hands, puts them down on a thigh — in his drunken state he can't really make out whose thigh it is — and comes close, so close, Stiles can count his eyelashes if he wants to.

He does.

He's on number thirteen when Derek huffs out a laughter, mutters a, "You're unbelievable," and presses their forehead together.

Stiles tries to fight him off. "No! Noooo, Der, I was counting your eyelashes!"

His hands don't try to push Derek off of him, because he doesn't want to be away from this embrace, but he still is bummed out and tries valiantly to not feel like he's in heaven when Derek giggles.

"You're so unbelievable," Derek says again, and Stiles, whose eyes had closed, opens them, just to see Derek staring at him. His eyes are the most gorgeous eyes he's ever seen; they have the green of the forest, the blue of the oceans, the golden of the sun, and the grey of the moon.

"You're so pretty," Stiles tells Derek sincerely, and moves so that his and Derek's foreheads separate, the distance between them just enough to witness Derek's cheeks and tip of ears burning a soft pink. "I want to kiss you so bad."

The soft pink turns a deeper red. "Stiles, we can't. Not when you're not in your right mind."

"All of my minds and my hearts would want you, ecstatic and pretty and you." Stiles tries to move his hand, and after a little delay — where are his hands?! — he does, and when he does, he puts one on Derek's cheeks again. Makes his open mouth close. "Is that a surprise for you, Big Guy? That I want you?"

Derek has no answer for it. But he insists, "We can't. Not now."

Stiles pushes Derek onto his back, and pliant under his ministrations, Derek goes. He won't say no — not to Stiles.

And Stiles hates it.

"We are going to cuddle," Stiles explains, once Derek is on his back, eyes locked onto Stiles', who is still sitting upright, his knees planted on the left side of Derek's hips. "I've always wanted to know if your chest can be a pillow. Like, it feels and looks so hard, but can it be a pillow too?" Derek doesn't say a word, just stares, and stares, and stares.

Stiles' heart breaks.

"Der," he whispers, and makes sure to keep all his limbs to himself, no part of him touching Derek's. He's cognizant enough to realize what's wrong here, and damn it if he's going to ruin Derek's great night out.

He heard Derek giggle today, no way is he going to ruin that.

"Derek, I want you to be happy. And if that means making me sad, then so be it. If your happiness lies in breaking my heart and breaking me apart, not doing what I want, then so be it. I want you to be happy. And know this: my happiness? It lies in you doing what you want."

Derek stares, and after a beat, he shakes his head, as if dislodging his previous, tumultuous thoughts. Then he says, "You somehow still make sense when you're drunk."

He sounds so sincerely puzzled, it makes Stiles laugh.

And it's that thought all over again when Derek starts laughing too: he wants to sink here, in this one moment alone, anchor himself to it until there's nothing but him and Derek on all his horizons.

Stiles wants so much, so little, too much: he wants himself to finally confess, he wants Derek to be himself, he wants Derek to be happy, whatever it takes.

And apparently what it takes is this — Stiles, almost asleep on Derek's soft yet hard chest, Derek's fingers in his hair, carding through it slowly, meticulously. Stiles' eyes closed, his breath on Derek's neck, Derek's on his hair, their bodies intertwined on the couch. Derek, voice the tiniest whisper, a wish, a hope:

"My happiness lies with you, Stiles. Having you by my side, this moment, tomorrow, hopefully forever. In whatever way you'll have me."

Stiles hears it, but sleep has him, so the only thing he does is smile against Derek's chest. Perhaps he feels it, because Derek's other hand squeezes his waist, a physical gesture of holding on to these words of today, tomorrow, and forever.

Stiles sinks into Derek's embrace, into that promise, into that night, and several years later he finds himself surprised still at the fact that it wasn't all a dream, but the first nights of many like that. Of them together, intertwined, each other's, happy and giggling and together.

Together then, now, tomorrow.

(now also on ao3)

[whosaya]

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

But this year, that feeling stirs something different inside me. When I was younger, Christmas was pure magic, with bright lights, presents under the tree, and the thrill of waiting for something wonderful. Now, as I get older, Christmas feels deeper, more layered. It’s no longer just the excitement of gifts or holiday songs on repeat. It’s a time to reflect on the year that’s passed and to hold close the people who mean the most to me.

The holiday season still has its sparkle, but I notice how fragile that joy can feel, too. Traditions change, people come and go, and Christmas takes on new meanings. It’s both comforting and a little bittersweet. This year, as I look around at the decorations and hear the familiar carols, I feel a mix of nostalgia and gratitude. Christmas isn’t just about what I once thought it was, it became a moment to cherish where I am, who I’m with, and the memories that brought me here.

Yet, something feels different this year, a quiet, empty space where my dad used to be. Last october, we lost him, and this is the second Christmas without him here. My sisters, who were so close to him, seem to carry memories of him like treasures, each story and tradition shared filling their hearts with a bittersweet kind of comfort. For them, Christmas is a chance to remember the good times, to laugh and cry over the moments they shared with him. I wish I could feel that same warmth, but the truth is, my dad and I were never quite as close.

Growing up, it was always my sisters who had those easy conversations with him, who seemed to understand him in a way I never could. I loved him, of course, but our bond was different, quieter, sometimes a little strained. Now, I find myself wondering what Christmas might have been like if we’d had more time, or if I’d somehow bridged that distance between us. The memories I have of him feel more scattered, less certain, and this season I feel caught between missing him and missing the closeness I never really got to have.

But as Christmas gets closer, I feel the ache of my dad’s absence, like a quiet, lingering sadness that’s hard to put into words. But there’s something else there too, warmth that I didn’t expect, a feeling of comfort that I know comes from having my stepfather here. I may not have had the closest bond with my dad, but with my stepdad, it’s different. He’s been there for me in ways that felt natural, filling spaces I didn’t even know were empty.

As Christmas approaches this year, I find myself reflecting on the life I have now. One that’s shaped by love, growth, and unexpected joys. Though things have changed and there are still moments of longing for what could have been, I’ve come to appreciate the family I have today. My stepfather, with his quiet strength and unwavering presence, has become an anchor in my life, and I’m grateful for the bond we’ve built. This Christmas feels different, not because it’s perfect, but because I’ve learned to embrace the beauty in what is. The memories we’re creating together are just as meaningful as the ones that came before, and as the season unfolds, I realize that the true gift is appreciating the life I have now, with all its imperfections and all its love.

Wishing you a season filled with warmth, joy and cherished moments. <3

[romirola]

Hi Romi :)) For the WIP ask game I was wondering what the thought process was behind which characters are paired up together! Was it what worked best with the story or some pairs you’ve been wanting to write together for a while? Maybe a secret third option. <3

Hope you’re having a good day!

@arrowfleur, thank you for the ask about Balancing Act! I'm thrilled to have the chance to talk about it. This is a wonderful question, and I went through a lot of different pairings in my head before settling on who swaps powers with whom. Since I know you've read the first two chapters, I know you can infer the swaps, but just in case anyone hasn't yet read the story and wants to avoid spoilers, I'll put my answer under the cut.

I knew right from the first word that I wanted David and Angel to swap powers, so that David would have the chance to move about the world as an unempowered human and Angel a shifter alpha. I felt like this pairing made sense and offered a lot of opportunity for drama and tension. My first inclination was to have all the mates swap with mates, but honestly, that almost seemed boring. If we did that, then the David/Angel dynamic mirrored the Asher/Babe dynamic. Moreover, so did the Darling/Sam and Milo/Sweetheart dynamic, with the non-wolves "becoming" wolves and the wolves beings some sort of other specialty. Besides that, I felt like pairing the mates together was going to be really limiting. One common thread in a lot of my fics is that I like to write interactions between the pack members we often don't get to see, to explore their relationships, so it made sense that Balancing Act would follow suit. So the possibilities were wide open!

So, from there, I got to thinking, which pairings made sense for the story? I knew Babe needed to be magical, but not a wolf, so that led to their swapping with either Sam or Sweetheart. I imagine that they are all great friends, but I realized I also wanted Sweetheart to stay magical, though struggle with having their immense power taken away from them, meaning Babe had to swap with Sam.

Likewise, I wanted Milo to have the chance to experience another wolf's body (since he has a history of struggling with his smol but mighty wolf), but David was already paired up with Angel, leaving Asher or Darling. BUT I wanted Darling to swap to a nonshifter, but I couldn't pair them with Sam (since he was paired with Babe)... It was like a logic puzzle! I was going crazy, arrowfleur!

A gamechanger for the pairings occurred when I figured out a way to open up the swap to non-Shaw Pack people, that's when things really got interesting! Originally, when I thought I could pair Sweetheart with a telepath who wasn't very skilled in other types of magic, I had imagined they would swap powers with a perp they had just arrested, but that ended up being too complicated, and I'm so glad for that, because changing the swap to Cutie let me depict Sweetheart's and Cutie's friendship, work Geordi and his bakery into the fic, and streamlined the plot to keep things manageable. That decision also provided an opportunity for Darling to experience a completely different type of magic, and frankly, Huxley was the first one I thought of there because I think it makes total sense they'd see each other at the DAMN student gym and have a blast digging holes together. I very much like the contrast for Darling because they had once felt they needed to socialize the likes of Quinn. But now that they've healed and grown, they get to have someone like Huxley in their life. Plus, earth-elemental Darling was super-duper fun to write, so it made sense for the plot to take that shape.

Overall, I think the pairings provided me with the opportunities to explore the characters in a way that felt fun, engaging, unexpected, and hopefully, authentic. We shall see as the story progresses! Thanks again for the ask!

[abtheb]

100 days ago, I was in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, waiting for my husband as he went through customs/security before our return flight back to Canada.

It had been a tumultuous week abroad, and the mood that day was pretty dour. My anxiety and gloom had me feeling very down, the airport x-ray machine ate my hat, and I was aching and tired as I waited.

So I downloaded the owlbird language app and started learning Dutch.

One of my best highlights of the trip was seeing this new language for the first time. At first it was an unexpected culture shock/language barrier. But the more I "read" signs, maps, labels, menus, schedules, tourist pamphlets, etc - the more I loved the words and could start deducing meanings. It was especially fun and rewarding seeing the linguistic connections to my english/french vocabulary.

Most often though, it was seeing words like "melk" (english: milk) or "appel" (english: apple) that would just send me into fits of giggles.

Mosterd lmao

A few weeks before the trip, when my mind, body, and spirit were in a real pit from the last year+ of burnout, I had a moment of clarity re my place on the autism spectrum. It all started with this post from @drdemonprince 's book, good talks with friends about art and passion, therapy, re(rerere...)listening to my emotional comfort cosmere books, and a lot of introspection about my life - especially my younger years (0-21) in near-total isolation, my lifetime of size/shape/gender dysmorphia, my many rocky relationships, my rock bottoms, and my failing to adapt back to human civilization after leaving the Arctic last year.

All that to say, the trip to Amsterdam was my first chance to step outside my bubble and "let myself" "be autistic". It kind of changed my life completely.

I have no eyes and I must meat

The most important step a man can take is not the first step, but the next one after that. Always the next step - and every step I've taken since then has come from being my best autistic self. So this streak has some emotional weight to it now, unfortunately.

In the last 100 days, I've managed to start dragging myself out of my pit. I've worked on reconnecting with family, I've met new people and been inspired by the passion of others, I completed some impressive art projects that flex bigly at the top of my portfolio, I've maintained and cared for my body, and very soon I'll start putting some pieces of an irl identity back together once I move out on my own to attend 3d video game art school.

Self affirmations

I don't know what the future holds, but I guess as long as I can keep this streak going, I'm reminded of all the things I've achieved and the person I've been becoming since I started learning this lovely language.

PS: Did I mention/post that I completed my pilgrimage to Blender HQ during that trip? I brought them a Nunavut fridge magnet for their collection and had a short, mindblowing tour with the incredibly passionate founder. 😌

[secondhandsorrows]

Is Your Story High or Low Concept?

All stories are developed from an idea. In one way or another, they’re shaped from anything you draw inspiration from, from snippets of interesting conversation you’ve heard while sitting in a café, or a particular piece of art that captures your attention, or a character you’ve come up with that you just adore so much you just want a story with them in it. You may have a few general concepts in mind, but perhaps it’s not a story quite yet. In fact, you may not even have a premise. 

So how do you know whether your story idea is low concept or high concept?

First, let’s go over the two different types more in-depth…

Low-Concepts:

Low concepts are simple at first glance and tend to be broad and vague. They are mainly character-driven, usually centered around self-discovery, coming-of-age, or a relationship. They tell us of what the story is at its core — what it’s generally about and what to expect from it. It can be anything, from a widow learning to love again, or a girl beginning her first day of school, a detective solving a mystery. Because of its generic-ness, they can be easily identifiable and familiar to an audience. 

However, this doesn’t give us the exact story — just the basic essence of one in the simplest of terms. There’s no conflict or antagonist, yet, nor a definable goal. Rather, there’s no plot. In fact, this kind of concept isn’t easily explainable, as it could take on so many directions in many different ways. 

This doesn’t mean they can’t be interesting or that you shouldn’t write one. The main qualm with a low-concept is that they’re generally harder to pitch to agents or readers. 

Here’s a few examples that are low-concept.

- Jane Eyre

- Pride and Prejudice (in fact, most romance novels are low-concept)

- Lady Bird

Low concepts are usually fine on their own — you don’t need a grand hook or plot-heavy events to make make the story you want to tell. But what if you want to make it more compelling? What if you have a concept with a unique twist, goal, or setting? This is where high-concepts come in... 

High-Concepts:

On the other end, high concepts convey fresh, intriguing, or original ideas in just a few words or sentences. They can even put twists on original ideas, offering something completely revamped or unexpected (such as Titanic, taking a Romeo-and-Juliet love story onboard the famous ship). 

High-concepts deliver a prime situation, conflict, and a character arc, all luring its audience in with a hook. There’s a differentiating factor that acts as an attention-grabber that makes it high-concept, allowing the audience to have an idea in their heads of what the genre is and how the story might go, while also leaving room for bigger questions to string them along and leave them wanting more. 

Here’s some examples considered high-concept. 

- Lord of the Rings 

- The Maze Runner

- Mortal Engines

The main takeaway here is that the former is more focused on plot and a unique hook, and the latter has less of an emphasis on external events and more on character and emotion.

High-concepts can even be built off of low-concepts... or even work together in tandem. No matter which one you choose, both sides need at least some balance between internal and external — character and plot, I mean. Significant external events need to happen in a character-driven low-concept, and engaging characters with emotional changes and arcs are needed to experience the story through in a high-concept. (Whew, that’s kinda tough to explain. I’ve included a helpful link on this topic below, for clarity sake.)

Which one is right for you? 

At the end of the day, what matters most is the kind of story you want to write. Are you more interested in stories with high-stakes, a realized villain/antagonist, and immersive settings, driven by a sequence of events? Or, are you more interested in cozy reads focused more on character and growth; something less action-packed or plot-heavy?

Don't let one kind of concept turn you off from the other. Both are valid ways of creating the foundation or heart of your story. Try looking at the stories you love, and try to identify which ones might be considered high concept or low concept. What is it about them that draws you in?

Happy writing!