#humans can definitely host creatures

[fluffer5]

Humans are mini-universal beings

I think this is my 4th entry to Humans Are Space Orcs. And gets sorta terrifying with this recent realization plus the small clip I saw on TikTok.

I've previously stated that writers are creators of worlds, right? Meanwhile, visual artists take de-structured ideas from the writers to create drawings, buildings, sceneries, or moments to give us an image of the world that the writers are giving life.

Now, color me surprise when I got to see this random video on TikTok which depicted how we ourselves are small walking universe. Check the following pictures and compare them, yes?

Placenta after birth = the tree of life depicted in mythology (and seeing as giving birth literally means growing a fetus (later on into an infant) inside of you, it doesn't seem so far off now. Turn that placenta around and you're faced with the cotyledons. These things look like bunched up leaves on top of trees.

Human lungs and alveoli = if you skip the gory look of the actual organ and just see it in a picture, you'd find that it seems like bunched up flower buds.

Human arteries, veins, and capillaries = now, Earth has its river network and streams, yes? Places with high salt content and none at all? That's the same way with our arteries if you replace the salt analogy with non-oxygenated blood and oxygenated blood flowing in and out of the heart to cycle back... like how evaporated water turns to rain lol...

Human eyes = they look like some galaxy formations. One eye holds different flecks or palette of color, almost like how colorful galaxies could get.

Human mitosis = a human's cell creation is a galaxies' version of collapse. They usually go backwards to our own version to crash into each other. Ours are more of a cell division. But if we think of it's creation where electrons supposedly combine with each other to create another galaxy, then perhaps the idea isn't that farfetched.

And have you seen mountain structures that look like giants? What do we have as explanation for those?

Imagine the conversation after an alien reads through our anatomy books. One of them looks at you, face either drained of blood, deadpan, or panicking (again... at this point the United Intergalactic Council is on speed dial).

Alien: You're telling me that you are miniscule galaxies... like YOU are a microscopic galaxy that's being kept in form and human shaped by bones and fragile skin?

Human: I won't say that it's fragile. Some of us develop calluses on some of our skin which means they can thicken (forgetting to mention they only happen on specific areas).

Alien: You thicken your skin?!

Human: *snickers* Some have even thick faces (this alien doesn't know our numerous metaphors).

Alien: You can develop armor on your head?!!

Human: I think we got lost track with the anatomy book... what did you mean when you said we were walking galaxies?

Alien: You are! You have depicted everything in this book!

Human: That's just my book for beginners though...

Alien: You have more evidence that you host life inside of you and are capable of producing more?!

Human: ...yes? (thinking of babies, intestinal parasites, bacteria, and lice)

Alien: OH GREAT MOTHER OF STARS!!!! WHAT IS WITH YOU TERRANS AND BEING SO FRUSTRATINGLY DIFFERENT?!? What are you going to show me next?! That you eat Chlcusgyt for food?!

Human: *whispers to self* Those are like... our version of octopus and squids, right? We're not allowed to eat those? They're so tasty though?

Alien: *hears the whisper due to their biologically natural hearing to get away from predators* Oh, stars you are NOT joking with that!

The terrified alien calls the UIC to tell them how Terrans apparently eat one of Space's greatest hunters for dinner. That day, we earned another reason why other intergalactic sentient species should not mess with the Deathworld of Terran.

[is-the-thing-actually-jewish]

are otters or songbirds more jewish i have an argument to settle

Rating: Songbirds, but there's a makhloket

The majority opinion holds that songbirds are more Jewish than otters, as it is written, “Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young near Your altar, O LORD of hosts, my Sovereign and my God” (Psalms 84:4). There are many other texts that mention songbirds throughout the Tanakh; there are zero results for “otter” as referring to the animal on Sefaria in our sacred texts.* Thus, the simple answer is that songbirds are more important in Judaism, and therefore more Jewish, than otters. Additionally, medieval Jewish illumination such as the famous Bird's Head Haggadah depicts Jews with human bodies and the heads and beaks of birds, indicating a close connection between Jews and birds:

However, as is Jewish tradition, we preserve the following minority opinions as well: 

Otters are more Jewish than songbirds: Songbirds were created on the fifth day of creation, while otters, like humans, were created on the sixth day. Therefore, otters are closer to humanity, and Jews are part of humanity, so otters are more Jewish than songbirds. (Genesis 1:20-24) Furthermore, this photo from the Cincinnati Zoo speaks for itself:

Both otters and songbirds are equally Jewish: Psalms 50:10-11 reads “For Mine is every animal of the forest, the beasts on a thousand mountains I know every bird of the mountains, the creatures of the field are subject to Me.” Clearly, this covers both otters and songbirds, so both are equally Jewish. Furthermore, otters and songbirds both look extremely cute in yarmulkes, which may not be halakhically relevant but feels important to state nonetheless.

Neither otters nor songbirds are Jewish; however, they are righteous gentiles under the Noahide covenant: To be Jewish means to be bound by the Abrahamic covenant in relationship with the Holy One. As animals are neither descended from Jewish parents nor have the agency to choose to be bound by the covenant made between God and Abraham, as human converts do, neither otters nor songbirds are Jewish**. However, following the great flood, God said to Noah, “I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you—birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well—all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. (Genesis 9:9-10). This covenant, symbolized by the rainbow, is God’s commitment to every living thing (clearly including both songbirds and otters) that God will never flood the Earth again-- something every one of us can support.

*(okay, there are three results: one is a typo for “utter” as in “our otter ruin” and the other two are German). 

** My cat, however, is definitely Jewish.

[lovebittenbyevans]

Vampire City | One Shot

Summary: When your boss set you up with someone where mythical creatures lives you did not expected it to be someone you always hear everyone go crazy for.

Pairing: Vampire! Oscar Piastri x journalist! Female Reader

Warnings: one cursed word

Author note: it has been so long since I wrote about a vampire

You sat in your car for a second and checked a text message on your phone.

Jules (Boss): Are you there yet?

You did not answer her text message, so you put your phone in your purse and walked out of the car. You can’t believe she got you coming all over here. You can’t believe she set you up with someone.

Being in this deep city you don’t understand how humans come here to have a good time with mythical creatures. You open the door and walk inside telling the host table name under your boss name. You follow her feeling some eyes were on you.

Looking around at a few tables, you can tell some seem friendly and some seem more uptight. You sat down at a private booth while taking off your jacket and put your purse on the side of you.

“We are just offering blood, coffee, tea and alcohol this evening.” The waiter placed the menus on the tables.

You looked at her and said, “I’ll just have tea.” She nodded and then left your table.

You felt kind of odd being here but you heard of humans visiting vampire city all the time. You even heard some rumors and stories about what it is like to live here.

As you were looking over the menu, trying to decide what to eat, you heard someone's voice. “Excuse me, sweetheart.”

You looked up at the person and noticed who was standing there. “Yes?”

“Is this seat taken?” He asked.

You wanted to scream yes but you didn’t. You told him to sit down anyway. You took your phone out of your purse and sent a quick text message to your boss.

You: YOU GOT OSCAR PIASTRI FOR ME!? ARE YOU CRAZY!

it didn’t take long for three dots to appear on your screen.

Boss (Jules): Surprise! Have fun 🤭

You put your phone back in your purse and shake your head. You can’t believe she would do this to you.

“Y/N, Y/N.” Is the first thing he said.

You roll your eyes when the waiter approaches the table and asks what you both want to eat and what Oscar wants to drink. You nearly cringe hearing what he ordered before the waiter leaves.

You clear your throat. “Are you always this cocky?”

He chuckled, revealing a small smile. “Do you always have your boss schedule an interview for you?”

The waiter came back with two drinks before you could respond. “And here I thought she was sending me on a date.”

He smirks and takes a sip from his blood drink. “What do you want to know?” You can tell by the way he looks that he was not trying to impress anyone.

He wore a white shirt with an orange blazer, a gold bracelet on his wrist, and brown jeans. He leaned forward, chin in hand, and stared at you with those crimson eyes.

You groaned and asked him your first question. “How long are you going to keep this bad boy image you pretend to be?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh? You keep tabs on me, huh?” He definitely was a flirt kind of but you did not pay him no mind.

“Oscar.” You took a pen and paper out of your purse listening to him talk. “I’m not pretending but this is just me being me.”

You nodded listening to him. “So, you going from woman to woman and feeding on them isn’t a bad look?”

He shrugs. “Call it what you want but I respect all women.”

“Uh huh.” You don’t believe him at all. You were going to ask him another question, but he asked you one instead. “Do you come to vampire city often?”

The waiter finally came to the table with the food before you could give him an answer. You grab the fork and begin eating your food slowly.

“No.” You swallow. “Do you like being here in vampire city? Everybody knows your name and the fame you have?”

Oscar took another sip of his drink and put the cup on the table. “It has good and bad moments.”

“Is that why sometimes people look at you funny like tonight?” You question him.

He nods. “Yeah, I get stares here and there.” You continue to eat most of your food while listening to him talk more.

Most of the creatures in this restaurant are half human and half mythical creatures. You somewhat did not feel weird at all but you did feel a bit freaked out.

Eventually you finished eating your food and took the last gulp of your drink. You thank god you did not vomit from the way Oscar was drinking his blood drink tonight.

You retrieved your wallet from your purse and was ready to lay the money on the table, but Oscar slapped your hand away. “No, No. I’ll take care of it, love.”

He placed the money on the table and slid out the booth. “Let me walk you to your car.” You grab your purse while holding onto your jacket with your other hand. “Sure.”

You slide out of the booth and head out the door. You walk alongside Oscar to your car. “For the record I don’t have boyfriends anymore.” You answer his question from earlier while standing by your car door.

“Why not?” He was curious.

You took a deep breath, telling him. “I was never good at keeping them around for so long. They always leave me.” It was the honest truth.

“Uh huh.” He makes a stride toward you, while you take a step back, feeling the car door on your back. “Well, what if I like to stay around with you?”

Fuck!

Your gaze was fixed on him as his thumb brushed against your bottom lip. “I don’t date vampires, Oscar.” You turned around, unlocked the car door with your key, and entered the driver's seat.

“Maybe give me a chance?” He held onto your car door as his eyes still fixated on you.

You glance at him after putting your seatbelt on. “Uh, no. You are not getting in my pants that bad.” You close the door and turn the key in the ignition.

You took off driving before Oscar could get a word out. “That was never my intention.” He mumbles to himself, watching your car down the street.

[tropetember]

Friends To Lovers - Two characters have been friends for years and value their friendship above everything. Unfortunately, they’ve both also secretly fallen in love with each other - but are both too scared to confess because it feels like a betrayal of their friendship.

Secret Identity - Characters A & B have secret alter egos- they’re both in love with the wrong identity.

Whump - A character is comforted/cared for in the aftermath of torture, but the mental wounds take longer to heal than the physical damage.

Coffee Shop/Restaurant AU - Character A is waiting for a blind date and is stood up. Character B is just finishing up their shift at the establishment and, seeing the looks that A is getting, offers to stay and eat with them despite their own exhaustion.

Famous AU - Character A meets Character B for the first time and recognizes their voice as A’s favourite podcaster/radio host/voice actor.

Teacher AU - Character A is a single parent and Character B is their child’s teacher.

Historical AU - The characters are living through a historical war (WWI, WWII, etc). Their main means of communication is through letter-writing. (Epistolary fic with optional in-person scenes between/after letters.)

Time Loop/Coma - Character A is in a coma and keeps reliving the last day before they lost consciousness. There’s something they have to realise before they can wake up.

5 + 1 - 5 times Character A’s kid calls Character B Mom/Dad + 1 time Character B acknowledges they’re their kid.

Drunk Dial - Character A is obsessed with Character B and gets black-out drunk to deal with it. Someone should definitely have taken away their phone.

Business Partners To Friends To Lovers - Character A and Character B meet by chance and, realising they have compatible skills, decide to embark on a business venture together. However, they are not prepared for all the ramifications that come with working alongside each other.

Touch Starvation - A character has spent years building up a tough, strong, untouchable persona. What happens when someone finally touches them gently? (Can be romantic or platonic.)

Slice Of Life - The story of two characters written through scenes only happening in one room of their house. (A number of scenes of domestic life happening in the same room of the house).

Human/Monster Romance - Character A is a human and Character B is a sapient sea creature, and a storm washes them both up and leaves them stranded on a tiny, remote, uninhabited island.

Dating App - Character A’s friends sign them up for a no-faces dating app. Reluctantly, Character A meets someone. Character B is a bit worried about them meeting strangers so they tell their own dating-app friend all about it.  (Or: the Bantr app fic)

Reunions - Two characters reunite many years after a traumatic parting, but new information is revealed that puts everything into a different light.

Love Confession - Character A has been in love with Character B for a long time, and they’ve been trying to confess ever since, but Character B is oblivious to their attempts (or doesn’t believe they are serious). This leads to Character A making increasingly more elaborate and even ridiculous plans to prove their feelings.

Mind Reading - Character A is involved in an incident and can suddenly hear the thoughts of people around them - but only when those people are thinking about Character A. That’s unfortunately bad news for Character B.

Disaster AU - Character(s) get trapped under a collapsing building and have to wait for help without knowing if it’s coming.

Horror - Characters A & B reunite, but slowly Character B realises that Character A’s body is being controlled by… something else.

Age Changes/Future Fic - Characters A & B are old together. Some things change but some things always stay the same.

Major Character Death (maybe!) - Character A is dead. Everything reminds Character B of them. (Character death doesn’t need to be permanent.)

Mythology - Character A is an immortal being/god and Character B is the only mortal who’s interacted with them in centuries.

Accidental Baby Acquisition - Character A rescues a baby/kid, and is then made responsible for the child. Character B is unprepared when they bring them home.

Not Actually Unrequited Love - Character A is trying to move on from Character B by setting B up on a date. Unfortunately, Character B takes this as confirmation that their own feelings for A are not returned.

Fake Dating - Character B pretends to be Character A’s partner so they can stay together while A is sick/injured. The charade goes on far longer than either of them expect. Finally being apart should be a relief, so why does it feel more like a real breakup?

Sexuality Crisis - A repressed character in a homophobic society finds themselves thrust into a city’s underground gay scene, where they meet someone they never expected.

Holidays - Character A’s family is expecting them to bring a date to the annual holiday family reunion. They choose to bring Character B (dating optional).

Regency Style Romance - ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single person in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a spouse.’ (Feel free to change gender as needed.)

Optional:

Hanahaki Disease - Character A is not good at expressing their emotions - this time it might just kill them.

Cowboy/Wild West AU - Character A wants to leave the city. They answer to a newspaper ad for a spouse/farm hand to live on a remote homestead owned by Character B.

Free Space - write the wildest thing you can think of!

Link to main Prompt List

Link to Rules & FAQ

[rottenpumpkin13]

What do you think is AGGSZC's relationship with chocobos? Would they own one(or more) as pets like if they were dogs or would they just use them for transport? Would they buy accessories or toys for them?

(AAAAAA I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FOLLOW ME I LOVE THE WAY YOU WRITE THE FF CAST SPECIALLY GENESIS 🥹💕)

THANK YOU I LIKE YOUR BLOG TOO 💚

Angeal: Uses his chocobo as transport for sustainability, but it's more than that. He makes sure the chocobo is well-fed, rested, and never overburdened, pampers the chocobo and mothers the heck out of it, treating it like his own kid, makes sure the chocobo feels loved and valued. He goes as far as hosting chocobo play dates with Genesis and his chocobo, which Angeal's chocobo doesn't like because Genesis' chocobo is a spoiled, evil little creature.

Genesis: His chocobo is a pampered showpiece, a great scarlet bird bedecked in expensive accessories, probably named Phoenix, used primarily for racing and winning awards. Genesis loves to brag about Phoenix and all the awards he's won, and how elegant and sophisticated it—"NO, NO, PHOENIX! DO NOT ROLL AROUND IN MUD!"

Cloud: He'd have a great black chocobo, probably named something that alludes to Norse mythology, like 'Gullinkambi,' after one of the three roosters whose crowing is foretold to signify the beginning of the events of Ragnarök. He'd share a deep bond with his chocobo and use it not only for transportation but also for racing. Since they're very good at it, they've won lots of awards.

Zack: His chocobo is as bright and energetic as he is—a tall, golden bird that Zack had to resist naming "Cloud," fearing that the real Cloud might kill him for it. It's a lovable companion that Zack showers with affection and attention. Zack is definitely the type to take his chocobo (probably named something like Thrasher or Ripper despite buying it playful accessories like cowboy hats and sunglasses) everywhere with him. He protests with "What do you mean my buddy can't come in here? He’s just as much a paying customer as everyone else." Zack has tried to disguise his chocobo as a human on more than one occasion.

Sephiroth: He has a beautiful silver chocobo he's named something endearing like "Nova." Shinra has attempted to get him to race it for more propaganda and another revenue stream, but Sephiroth refuses. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate chocobo racing as a sport—he does—but the idea of subjecting Nova to that environment doesn’t sit well with him. He uses his chocobo primarily for transportation, ensuring Nova gets plenty of time outdoors and experiences more of the planet than just the stables at the Shinra HQ.

The times when Sephiroth feels the most free are when he and Nova are alone in the grasslands, where they can roam freely and feel as if they can go anywhere and do anything. But Sephiroth knows Shinra well and understands that whatever he grows too attached to will eventually be taken away. So he makes the difficult decision to let Nova go one day, taking it to a place where it can be with other chocobos and live a happier life than Sephiroth could offer in his confined space.

[flippinpancakes64]

The cullens with a wendigo reader?

The Cullens with a Wendigo! Reader

Ngl I felt like Bella researching vampires when I was looking this up lol. I got all of my information from random websites that I found so hopefully this is correct. You would think I would know more about them since I've watched Wendigoon's Cryptid Iceberg like 30 times but whatever

From what I've found, a Wendigo is a creature that feeds off of humans. Some depictions say that it is a fearsome creature with glowing eyes, fangs, and claws. In other depictions it is a spirit that possesses a human host and forces them to cannibalize others. Other times it has been described as a humanoid creature that is characterized by a foul odor or sudden chill.

For this story, I went the route of the last one with the humanoid figure and the sudden chill no nasty smells

Thank you for requesting and I hope you like this!

Edward:

He has never met someone like you before

So he's curious

Of course, he is wary

But he's still curious anyway

Maybe you've been pulling the same thing where you go to various highschools to blend in

Or maybe he met you another way

But in either scenario, he is so curious

Will ask you so many questions

He's infatuated

It's not everyday that you're not the only supernatural entity in the room

He doesn't judge you for what you do to humans

He understands because he used to do that too

Well not exactly but you know what I mean

He feels like he can be his full self and that he doesn't have to hide anything

Inspiring

Alice:

I have a feeling that her visions wouldn't be able to see you

She can't see any of the wolves after all

So maybe it's that she has trouble seeing species other than humans and vampires

Either way she is caught off guard

But after the initial shock wears off, she's so curious

Like Edward, she wants to know everything

Where you've been, where you're going, what it feels like, if you were transformed or born that way

Literally everything

She would love going hunting with you

You hunting humans and her hunting animals

She loves your differences

Jasper:

He has seen a lot of stuff

He's very well traveled

At least as far as North America goes

So I feel like he would have encountered another Wendigo at some point

So your existence isn't a surprise to him

Mostly just the fact that you're here

He's honestly the most civil

He knows what you are, what you do, and he's okay with that

You're not a danger to him or anyone else he cares about

Respectful king

He will defend you to the other Cullens if he needs to

He understands it's your nature and you can't control it

He definitely understands not being able to control yourself

Rosalie:

She's not particularly interested at first

She's actually a bit annoyed

If we're looking at the aspect of the legend that says that you stink like rotting flesh and death.... she's a little more than put off

She's very vocal about her disdain for how much the wolves stink

So she would not tolerate that in her house

But if you don't smell like actual death... she can come around

Another one who's curious about you

But she's a lot less vocal about her curiosity

She's still a little annoyed

Mostly just about the fact that you eat humans

She thinks it's nasty

But other than that and her curiosity she's just sort of indifferent

Emmett:

He loves it

He loves challenging other creatures (and winning)

He doesn't see you as a threat or a danger

He just sees you as someone new to have fun with

Definitely loves going hunting with you

And seeing who can get the largest prey

He loves to know all of the gross details

Wants to know what people taste like to you

Edward thinks it's gross and told him to ask those questions outside of the house

Is another one who loves all of the differences between you two

Esme:

Very wary

She has no clue what to do

She's never met anything but vampires and werewolves

Was about to faint after she learned that you eat humans

Like she knows that vampires feed off of humans too

But not like the whole thing, just the blood

She's honestly a little disgusted

She doesn't tell you that of course

Or let you know that she feels that in any way

But she comes around eventually

Everybody needs to eat to live

And some people need to eat other things

She just prefers to not think about your dietary habits <3

Carlisle:

Mr. Questions

It actually gets annoying how much he asks you

He's probably met a Wendigo before, being so old and all

It's just pretty unlikely that he got to ask all of the questions that he wanted to

Literally sits you down for a whole day to perform testing on you

And he does everything

Blood samples, skin samples, hair samples, movement tests, food tests, an x-ray, an MRI

Every test he could get his hands on at the clinic

So inquisitive

But he's also very respectful

You can't gross him out

Another one who doesn't judge you at all

He understands that you need to do what you need to do

Respectful king

Vampire! Bella:

Cue the google searches

She acts super chill about it

"Oh yeah I heard that you were... um... something. Yeah that's totally cool"

But on the inside she is dying to ask you questions

But she remembers how closed off Edward was to questions about his nature and doesn't want to push you away

So she just... watches

She follows after you when you're hunting just to watch

She peeks into your room a couple times

If you notice her being a stalker just tell her to stop lol

And then answer any question she has

But she comes prepared

"So... where are your big antlers? And why aren't you 15 feet tall?"

[scarredlove]

This is a question for our slug boys!!!

What are your favorite hobbies, color, flowers, and places to visit? Do you three have anyone in particular that you…Ahem… ✨fancy✨? (¬‿¬)

For Sun, have you meet any other humans thus far? If so, have you made any friends? Any humans that are your favorites? :D

For Moon, having experienced the land and sea, is there one that you prefer more to the other? If so may we know why? :D

For Eclipse, we all know you three have a strong bond with each other, but is there anything you wouldn’t be willing to do for Sun and Moon?

Lastly and definitely not least!! I dearest host!!! Just wanna say I absolutely love and adore your dabbles and silly boys from both au’s!! Your art has inspired me so much and I just wanna share my appreciation and adoration for you and your work!! Thank you for always sharing and posting your little dabbles! If I could I would break my finger to spam like every one of your posts, but I know it can be a lot of notifications so I don’t wanna kill your ears with that. Anyways take care of yourself! ♡♡♡

Sunny: OH MY! So many questions! Well-

Moony: Baking pastries, they take time but it's nice. Errmm... Yellow has been growing on me, but I like green. For flowers... maybe daisies. They're nice and small, and Y/N can make crowns from them...

Sunny: Very nice Moony, as for me-

Eclipse: Reading. You humans are strange creatures with your storybooks. I'm particular to cacti and a colour I like... Hm, grey maybe.

Sunny: Eh-heh v-very good, Clippy! AHEM! SO! I like making windchimes! Y/N and I look for pretty shells on the shore! I love ALL the colours! Though white is perhaps my favourite! And for flowers, I love lavender! The smell is so refreshing!

Also, thank you so much for your touching words <3 They brightened my day and made me smile! I shall do my best to look after myself, so I hope you're taking care of yourself too!! I'm slowly building confidence in writing again, so I hope to keep making y'all happy with whatever my brain comes up with <3 Have an amazing day!!

[moderator-monnie]

Before The Ritual (A COTH Story)

Dr. Ivo Robotnik, otherwise known as Dr. Eggman, was currently sitting in his lab, infuriated as always. He threw some papers off his desk and sighed heavily.

One hand was on his chin, and the other was tapping against his table, mumbling some things to himself quietly.

"Drat that damn hedgehog... Always getting in the way of my plans, he is truly a worthy adversary, but if I want to get rid of him for good, I need the ultimate plan! What haven't I tried? What could I use? Now that is the question at the end of the day."

"Perhaps a doomsday device? Hmm, not too predictable. Maybe I could touch upon the metal virus in a new light? ... No. Not too dangerous. I made some mistakes with that attempt. I didn't even think about my own safety."

"Maybe upgrade Metal Sonic or bring Tails Doll and Mecha Knuckles out of retirement? Could I even make some robot copies of the rats' other friends? That lemur would make an interesting machine. NO NO, none of these plans work!"

He soon laid back in his chair, rubbing his temples. He didn't want to work himself, but Sonic was a powerful foe and quite intelligent too, even if Eggman wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Just what can I do? What would really wow him? WHAT CAN BEAT HIM FOR GOOD? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING I'VE MISSED, IN MY RESEARCH OF MOBIUS!!! AN ULTIMATE WEAKNESS!"

Suddenly, a red light flashed in the room, and Sage appeared, sitting on his work bench, kicking her legs before clearing her throat with a gentle smile and a wave and speaking. "Hello Father, I see you are stressed over finding a way to, and I quote, 'crush that blasted hedgehog' may I offer my assistance?"

Eggman sat up in his chair, letting out a hearty chuckle before looking at his AI daughter. He took her words carefully and rubbed his chin before responding. "Ah, hello, Sage. Hello, it's nice to see you. You know what? You might just be what I need; a fresh eye on things would definitely help me figure out exactly what I need to defeat Sonic once and for all."

Eggman put his hands together, striking a pose. "You have access to my data banks along with the internet, correct?"

Sage nodded softly. She then teleported away, inserting herself into the main computer and combing through it rather quickly.

A sudden dinging noise was heard, and Eggman could see some files being downloaded, but he allowed time for Sage to explain what they were for.

"Father, I have discovered something you may have overlooked. You are aware of Grandfather Gerald Robotnik's research into the gods of Mobius and of humanity, correct?"

Eggman's eyebrows rose, wondering where his daughter was going with this, but he was quite curious as well. "Why, yes, Sage, I'm aware of all this; why did you bring it up? I've tried using god-like creatures against Sonic before, like with Dark Gaia and Chaos."

Sage soon pulled up some semi-corrupted files she had dug up. She is in the deepest parts of the internet, and Eggman's own files are on the main computer screen.

"Well, Father, you may have overlooked something. Its origins are not exactly clear. It's commonly unknown if humanity or Mobians discovered this entity, but unlike many other gods of Mobius and Earth, this one has not only been proven to exist to some extent."

"This God, or rather god-like entity, can control dreams themselves and is not physical, at least not without a host body to call its own; it has the ability to interact with solid objects, but with a host body, epically one with a high enough chaos energy.

And given enough time. This entity could possibly even put all of Mobius into a slumber of its own control, one they can't wake up from without its consent."

Eggman began to smirk very widely as he got up out of his chair and looked at the screen widely, seeing all the files Sage showed him.

"What a very interesting find, Sage! I'm very proud of you, but what makes you think we can control it and have it help us get rid of Sonic?"

Sage blushed. She had stars in her eyes for a moment; she was always happy to have her father be proud of her, but she soon cleared her throat and continued.

"Ahem, ah, right, you are father. The reason why I believe this entity would help us is due to its documented nature. It has been shown in the past to love pure chaos, and what would be more chaotic than helping you take over the world?

"Sonic would have no way to stop it either, due to it being far more powerful than him. And Sonic can't simply attack something while he's asleep now, can he, Father?"

He nodded along, listening closely before using a virtual glove he made to be able to pat Sage on the head softly, and then sat back down, carefully reading all the information Sage had brought up.

"Correct, you are Sage; that hedgehog would stand no chance of something he can't even interact with. I shall begin preparations. I see this 'god' has some ties to the chaos emeralds. 

So perhaps I can build a new robot, one that can harness chaos energy without directly needing the emerald, in order to create the perfect host for our friend to take possession of, and with us working together, friends can finally win! I'll need to be careful though and build in some safety features so I can control the robot once our friend takes it's new body."

"Though I shouldn't make the controls too obvious, otherwise strike this 'god's ire."

With a few clicks on the screen, a few images and historical documents showed up, revealing something quite interesting to the doctor himself.

A strange golden arch was under the site where Angel Island once stood, back when it was just a normal land mass.

"How in sweet mother Gaia did I ever miss such a thing during my many trips to Angel Island?"

He zoomed in on the photos, inspecting them closely, and wrote a few things down on his notepad. Not much information seems to be known about this historical sight, but a few tablets were recovered from the sight itself, written in a language similar to the ancients themselves but different.

All Eggman could gather from the rough translations he could figure out was one word: 'Zepperaith'. He would need to travel to the historical site, inspect this golden arch up close, and figure out its secrets.

"Zepperaith... I will unleash you upon this land, and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG WILL BE GONE FOREVER!"

Dr. Eggman began to laugh loudly, with Sage joining him quietly, with a new plan in mind. Perhaps this will be Sonic's downfall once and for all.

[wulvercazz]

A Haunted Forest👻

(Where Creatures Lurk...)

Open World Intro

// cw - mild groping/smut bc monster possession, some emetophobia triggers near the end~!

Thirteen’s counting this, convincing Chromo into guiding them here in the first place, as one of their greatest achievements.

Chromo maintains a tense flat brow the whole way there, still reluctant about it even as he shows them the way; but Thirteen’s got their way of getting what they want. Perhaps he should feel manipulated in some way, but there was no real “evil” intent behind all the help Thirteen offered with packing and sorting. Listening intently and helping Chromo make the day’s job so much easier before they even dared to ask, tit for tat. Fine. But he’s not taking the lanky human to one of the most dangerous places he knows without a long road of stories that ought to spook them out of actually going in.

So he guides them there, and tells them the stories he knows. Tells them about creatures and legends, about thick dead woods and a blinding fog. Tells them about the Kingdom that lays there, and the people that lived in it. How they were like any other royals, with their parties and their luxury; until darkness overtook the Kingdom, and bad things started to happen.

“Some say the King wasn’t evil, but he was careless, he got too confident- he could have prevented the horrors that befell his Kingdom, but that carelessness let a curse fall on his family. Others think he was evil. That the King got so greedy, that he sold his Kingdom to a terrible force…”

“What do you think?”

In his short time knowing them, Chromo’s come to know Thirteen as a pretty quiet person, for someone so curious; so their voice startles him out of his narration. “Uh- I suppose… I don’t know enough to think anyone in the Kingdom deserved to be cursed…”

Thirteen doesn’t add anything else to that, simply ruminating on his answer; so Chromo continues, “all we do know is that the townspeople all left, one way or another. Fled when the blackout got insufferable, or perhaps when carnivorous creatures inundated the town… if you believe that part of the story to be real. And the royals… no one’s seen ever again. It’s as if they just vanished, or… died more likely.”

The road continues on for a while longer, more ghost stories, some holding more truth than others, all the way until the fog starts to seep in to the meadow and the thicket of darkened trees comes up on their immediate view.

“This is as far as I go.” Chromo threatens, waiting for any sign of doubt or fear to offer a helping hand right back to the safety of the town, or perhaps any of the other towns he’s visiting for today’s deliveries. If that’ll quench this one’s thirst, whatever a weak human like them is searching for– it’s definitely not here.

“That’s ok. Toodles!”

Chromo doesn’t quite understand what happens next fast enough- Thirteen’s ass heading straight into the forest he just spent the last couple of hours warning them about with far too much confidence.

“H-HEY!” He calls after.

Black goo slithers and shifts across the cracked, dry, soil, reaching over the new warmth in their territory. Thirteen’s walk slows down to a curious halt, watching the dark creatures reach up to inspect them as much as they do. Mold Sprites.

Chromo beacons them back out, warning them about being touched by the slimy tendrils too late. Thirteen’s kicking and shaking the sticky creatures in an attempt of getting them off their skin; but with every movement they seem to hold on tighter, trailing their way up their limbs until Thirtheen’s moaning around the thick body of one forcing itself down their throat.

“AH!” The sprites aren’t dangerous by themselves, they like to choose a warm body to possess and ride around in safe, dark, warmth to take them to new sun-free territories to procreate in. But although they never quite harm the host, they’re quite annoying enough to get rid off with how far they can move by themselves.

“I tried to fucking warn you–” Chromo cusses out, “here, take this before you lose more braincells-” he rummages through his pockets, barely missing the way Thirteen’s possessed body wobbles it’s way to him.

What’s ‘funny’ about Mold Sprites is their incapability to actually control a body. While these possessions aren’t inherently harmful to the host… they can be troublesome if left untreated. Making creatures roam about fullfilling their needs and instincts, and acting out on their basic impulses more passionately, in the unstable limbs of a newborn foal.

“Y’know what I’ve been thinking…~?” Chromo nearly jumps out of his skin at the grabby hands suddenly climbing his chest and kicking about to use his front legs as a ladder, reaching for this belt to get a good grip of his torso, all rounded up into a most ridiculous picture by their slightly slurred words. Their hands holding onto whatever they can find to pull themselves up to his chest and wrap their legs around his torso, “...you got real nice boobies, rainbow man.”

Chromo’s so dumbfounded by what Thirteen’s possessed mind throws at him, that he missed their head suddenly diving for his chest, screeching when their face rubs itself between his pecs and hugs their body tight against his; warmth reaching everywhere it shouldn’t.

Troublesome.

He gets but a slight chance to slip the remedy out its bag and promptly push it inside Thirteen’s mouth for them to chew on; holds their face and covers their mouth to force them to swallow. And lets go when the black leaves their eyes and threatens to spill violently.

Watches the poor human retch and vomit all over the ground, near liquid sprites that soon recover shape and slither away in a hurry.

“G-Garlic-” Thirteen groans with their fully human voice.

“Now you get it?!” Chromo doesn’t wait to reprimand, watching Thirteen slumping sat on the ground as the gross mess reincorporates into the separate bodies that’d tried to take a ride inside. A tired, shaky arm reaching up to wave a dumb little ‘good-bye’ at the sprites, despite the bad experience.

“Let’s go.” Chromo huffs, a mild pout and heat still pooling on his cheeks as he turns away from the human and waits for them to follow.

Thirteen makes their quiet way around, to stand right next to the centaur and sheepishly look up at their flushed face.

“...Sorry,” and a light touch of their hand in apology, has the furred skin of his barrel trembling, still a bit jittery. “I– wasn’t quite thinking straight with them squirming around my head…”

Chromo lets out a breath, letting go of the last bits of tension with a shake to his feathers, “I know, you’re forgiven. Now let’s go.”

And still… despite taking quite a few steps forward himself, Thirteen stands stubbornly there. “I am sorry about… all that, but I’m going.”

His faces scrunches up in disbelief, and the human jumps to stop him from making another argument; “I won’t ask you to come, I’ll try to be more careful– promise– but… I don’t think I can put into logic how sure I am about going in there and seeing all there is to see.”

And true to their word, even while Chromo stares on, dumbfounded, the little human slowly turns back and right back into the forest, this time pulling out a firefly lamp and pointing it threateningly at the mold sprites that try and reach back. Thirteen disappears into the fog with just as much spring to their step as before.

~👻

... pls pretend I didn't completely forget Chromo's neck tattoo halfway

[blueparadis]

AMONG GODS AND MONSTERS + YOSHIDA HIROGUMI.

───❪ content & tags ❫⋮ A ceratin kitsune!hybrid with some magical powers takes a drastic step when pushed to the brink of death. In this survival of game, Yoshida does not know if its okay to blur the line between good and evil, between gods and monsters to survive death. { kitsune-hybrid!Yoshida x human!fem!reader, possessive behavior, smut descriptions, some mixed references of myths, sacrilegious themes.} word count— 2.5k. 

───❪ notes ❫⋮This is a submission of my entry for spring collab hosted by @public-safety-network & also tagging @orchid3a cuz i lob u the most. My exams are postponed so i took the liberty to finish a collab entry so my any means this won't be my best performance but i can assure you since i wrote on Yoshida i wrote it with all my heart, soul and ( redacted ) so yeah, you can enjoy this and if you do, don't forget to reblog.

Snow is falling outside. The world is covered in white, the trees have stopped singing, and the birds that have ceased crinkling. There is a kitsune sitting under a tree where the snow has yet to lay claim, brown and soft. Not a single creature can be heard breathing yet there is a trail of footsteps towards the snow-clad mountains. The kitsune walks up towards the trail of footprints and sniffs it. It is of a human and that too, of a female. As much as his eyes permit, Yoshida can only conjecture that the trail leads to the highest mountain peak. There is nothing at the summit of the mountains, never was; except the abandoned temple. It is almost a quincentennial old. Gusts of wind swirl around him as he changes his form from a simple mountain kitsune into his true form— he almost looks like a human but he is not one. Being in his true form has many perks— he can not be seen by others while he can see everything, his locomotive powers increase, and the sense of hearing and smell and as such are all heightened. He is greater than humans but lower than the gods, an outcast; a borderline creature among gods and monsters.

He reaches the top of the mountain within a minute. He scans the place and sees nothing except the abandoned temple. It has rusted bars, broken bricks,outgrowth of plants along the pillars and no traces of any prayer. Whoever came to his home must have returned or got lost in their way while coming here or may have died. That’s right, the forsaken temple is where he lives. A lazy yawn escapes his mouth. His mouth remains open agape as his ears pick up noise— the sound of a heart beating. His ears perk up. There is more: a sob and ragged breathing. Has human heartbeat always been this loud or is it just the place that it’s quiet? 

Yoshida takes a few steps toward the temple to see the source of the sound and when his eyes lay upon the girl who is crying with her knees pressed against her chest sitting at the corner of the staircase of the temple he wonders, have humans always been this ravishing? The girl wore a red gown made of thick velvet with gold and silver embroidery, and all the jewelry from her head-to-toe was made of fresh flowers and plant twigs. Yoshida does not remember any diviner aroma more than this. His interaction with humans has always been scarce, filled with nothing but bad memories. So, he does know if it is okay to be intrigued by the same creatures that have appalled him for centuries. The kitsune-being studies her for a while as she keeps on crying. He could touch her head and come to know what is the reason that has this flawless mortal in her lowest spirits but that would call upon a great peril on himself. He would become visible to her and she would definitely think of him as some sort of god, which he is not. 

The girl finally tips up her head. Yoshida Hirofumi has been living here for centuries. He has seen so many colors of humanity. He is not a believer in God. He does not need to. He is powerful enough to live on by himself but if he had to believe in the power and the Almighty, he would definitely believe in you. He watches you turn a little in the direction of the altar which is filled with dry twigs, broken branches, withered flowers, and dust. Your palms come together, your head tips up, and shaky lips crack open. “Dear god, if you can hear me if you. . .really exist please save me from being killed. Dear god. . .” You did not get to finish your prayer because clouds started to gather, winds started to blow from all directions, and all the flambeaus in the village at the foot of the mountain died casting a shadow all over it. Without much second thought, you run in the direction of your home with bare feet down the hill while Yoshida stands with rage brimming in his veins, mind, and soul. How dare a mere mortal threaten his existence?

There is a story believed by the people for centuries in this village. People say that this village is cursed which is why winter is the longest in this place than others. The villagers always had a set of precautions to defend themselves from this frosty cruel climate. They always did until they did not. One time, at the dead of night a girl from one of the wealthiest families went missing. A few days later, her body was discovered by the side of a river. She was decorated from head to toe, in bridal attire, and had blood stains on her inner garments near her crotch. While the priest rejoiced announcing how her death brought early spring in this village, the physician declared she died by breaking her neck after losing her virginity. 

None knew this was a murder. None knew except a kitsune that witnessed a naive girl falling for a man, trying to run from her fate and hence falling prey to the very hands of her fate. That is what he believes in, fate. A track, so strong that none can defy it. Yoshida has been surviving for centuries among humans, by not playing god. He roomed within the deserted temple for a reason. No mortals would ever come to pray at an old temple. No human can ever be such a big fool to pray where the gods do not live. But tonight, Yoshida heard a prayer amidst the altar. It is not a small thing that can be brushed under the rug like dust. If he fails to fulfill the prayer he will cease to exist. He has been labeled with a lifespan now, that is until you die. He has time which is not much now that he is tied to you. To be bound to a mortal by death seems a little too much as punishment for being an outcast among the gods. He can not accomplish that wish of yours. He is not a god. He understands God. God has a choice whether to save your life or his. He is deprived of such luxury. Now, he has to play god otherwise he would die.

When something bad happens to you, you start to believe in superstitions. And, when something bad keeps happening to you, you start to pray. Your current situation was the latter, at the mercy of the gods begging for your life. From the early days of childhood, at least when you were old enough to understand the difference between good and evil, you had no faith in god. You did not believe in gods but perhaps the gods really exist otherwise when the last ice queen was sacrificed to the winter lord, that is, to the god of winter; spring blessed the village within a week. At the blooming age of adolescence you were declared as the sacrifice for the next “ice-queen” With such a hefty title along with your name, you knew you had no choice of running away. If you had fled, your sister or your friends would have been sacrificed in your place which did not seem fair to you. Sure, their turns would come when it's time but who are you to push them to their death by avoiding yours? Isn't it the deeds of god? Or perhaps a Shinigami? The weather on the day of your sacrifice was extremely dangerous. It forbade all the villagers to stay outdoors and all tourists to reschedule their visit for the holy union of the ice-queen and winter-lord. Perhaps the god was angry at you for running away. He must be otherwise, why would the winter turn so brutal? Somehow it did not make sense to you. Why would a god suddenly be angry when he has been worshipped for aeons? You look through the crack of the window, tears streaming down your face feeling betrayed by everyone, by your mother, your father, and your sister who had kept you in a locked room so that you do not try to flee again. You open the window letting the cold bite your skin. And there, you see the temple high on mountains and a shadow lurking among the pillars. Perhaps, god did exist after all.

At Fortnite, when you visit the temple in the high of the mountains Yoshida feels unearthly. Seeing you alive and well, even if the night of sacrifice has passed he feels that he is being reborn. Your eyes are not puffy anymore, and neither do you have a runny nose like the day he first saw you. You are breathing tenderly and your heartbeat seems soft and stable. He does not understand why you are here. The winter still persists. The snow is still knee-deep but Yoshida does not understand why the villagers had kept you alive. You should be dead stripping him naked from all his godlike powers turning him into a mere mountain fox. Of course, you crossed his mind on the day of sacrifice when he was supposed to lose all his powers but he did not. He did not think of this any further taking upon the fact that he might be reading wrong for all of these. Perhaps, your prayer did not reach him in the right place and time. But all his clouds of confusion passed away when you prayed again. You notice a kitsune snuggling up to your feet as you pray. It is the same kitsune you have seen sleeping at the foot of the mountain, under the tree on a cold evening when you first came here. 

“Dear God. I believe in you.” You keep two baskets at the door of the altar stacked with various fruits and foods. They were offerings for you on the first day of your sacrifice. Throughout time, this sacrifice ritual has turned into quite an attractive yearly occurrence. It lasted seven days with all sorts of preparation for a bride and has turned into a major tourist attraction dragging people from other villages, celebrating it as a festive event, and sometimes participating in them. You go on your knees and bow down your head. Rising up you utter with a sweet hopeful voice. “You are my God.” Yoshida notices your lip curl in delight and for a moment he thinks he could touch you, feel you, to have you but then he remembers you are a gift for God, a thing that must not be tainted. A short-lived chuckle escapes his mouth as he sees you going on your knees as you whisper, “I hope to see you soon, my God.” 

Yoshida decides to play God for tonight. Tonight is the time when you will be killed, a gift to god. He does not know how he is going to save you but he must otherwise he will die. He is sure of it. He is now lurking in his kitsune form amidst the crowd while you are high on the stage seated in the most graceful manner staring at the poisoned cup of syrup that you are supposed to drink. The ritual is supposed to start by any minute now. The mass that has gathered in front of you will be on their knees and hands closed for prayers. When they will chant the mantras for the god of winter; when the hymns and instruments will be in perpetual cacophony to summon the god you will drink the syrup and sacrifice yourself to the god of winter to welcome spring. 

You see the mass going on their knees while your heart drops at the pit of your stomach. You close your eyes as you hear the name of winter-lord rising in unison in the voices of all those people you have lived half a life with and then, when you open your eyes with your vision blurred you witness a miracle. The fox who has been following you around since you were a child transformed into a human, but bigger. His hands rose along his ears and the moment it dropped there was nothing but absolute darkness. You were already sedated a little so that you could not run away but you could feel a hand scooping you into the air. You could see the whole village engulfed in darkness from atop the sky until your eyelids were heavy and you plunged into slumber.

When you woke up, you were pressed against the chest of a man, your hands resisted between the two hearts while his arms were embracing you lying on a soft quilt. To think that you have witnessed a fox spirit is beyond any tale you have ever heard in the village.  You stare at him in awe digesting the fact that how humane he looks. No one can tell that he is not human. “Are you awake, love?”  Even with such chilling winds you do not feel cold, rather the opposite.

His voice echoes. It feels divine as you give him a nod. You remember how one must always stay away from a fox spirit, for it can only devour you by deceiving you, that is how they survive. The dawn is almost breaking. You can now see, what seems to be the statue of the God of Winter, more precisely the Winter lord as you arch on your back feeling him roll over you. “I’ve waited for you so long, my God,” you whisper knowing it is useless to resist and why would you? You have been saved. Prophets would say you have been re-born, that you are one of a kind, that you are an angel sent from heaven, that you are the blessing that would free the other girls from the same fate, that you are almost God.

Yoshida certainly does not understand God but being your savior and mating with you amongst the altar of the very temple that has been worshipped by mortals for aeons sure gives him the thrill of being a God. And he thinks he can be. He can play god for a while, just for you. He dips his head in the crook of your neck starting to pepper kisses and trailing them up to your lower belly. He looks at the eyes of the statue before diving in between your legs. A gust of wind closes the door of the altar as he claims you as his own in front of the Gods. He eats you out until he hears a series of ludicrous moans from you. Your hands clutch his arms as he positions himself in front of your entrance ready to make you one of his kind by mating with you. While all the villagers are still sleeping at the foot of the mountain, a certain fox spirit is ready to show you a new world to you by playing god.

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 18 – CREATURE FIC

Fangbait by FestiveFerret

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 5,396 Tags: Vampire Steve, One Night Stand, Blood Play

Summary: There's only one reason Tony would go to a bar like this, dressed the way he is: fangbait.

Reasons why I love it: The whole concept of humans specifically going out to get picked up by vampires is really great. And Tony obviously knows what he's doing, which I love, because confidence is sexy as hell. But so is Steve when he's fumbling every step of the way until he hits familiar ground and gives Tony the night of his life. I love this fic so much, and I bet you will too, so please go and check it out!

Best Time of the Month by Onetruesikorsky

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 4,243 Tags: Capwolf, Knotting, PWP

Summary: Original prompt was: There are some really great capwolf fics out there, but can someone give me Tony getting down and dirty with Capwolf? Knotting not optional. So, yeah. This is Tony happily getting down and dirty with Capwolf. And knotting.

Reasons why I love it: The fact that Tony trusts Steve enough to sleep with him when he's in his wolf form speaks for itself. And Capwolf is adorable in his impatience and yet infinite care when it comes to Tony. This fic is insanely hot and surprisingly sweet, so if you love Capwolf, you're going to enjoy this one!

If the Water's Still Flowing by Sineala

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 8,106 Tags: Merman Steve, Interspecies Sex, Fluff and Smut

Summary: When a flight test of Tony's new Iron Man suit model sends him plunging into the depths of the Atlantic, rescue comes from the most unlikely of sources. Tony had thought mermaids were fictional, but this man is very, very real. And Tony certainly never expected the merman to be handsome... and the attraction to be mutual.

Reasons why I love it: Steve is so goddamn cute as a merman, holy shit. I love the exploration of his and Tony's cultural differences and how it translates into them having sex. It's really sweet how they keep accommodating each other until they find a way to be together. And Steve getting all hot and bothered over French kisses is so fucking cute, oh my god, I love him. Definitely go and read this one, it's so much fun!

Protecting What's Mine by ATOASTBW

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 8,391 Tags: Vampire Tony, Werewolf Steve, Mating Cycles

Summary: Despite being a vampire and a werewolf, Tony and Steve have overcome the odds to become best friends, and for the past six hundred years, that's all they have been: friends; nothing more, nothing less. That is, until Steve experiences a problem with one of his ruts, and being his best friend (and definitely not because he's attracted to Steve), Tony decides to help him out. However, the issues go much deeper than that of just sex, and the two are finally forced to face the true nature of their relationship.

Reasons why I love it: Steve pining after Tony for literally half a millennium and resigning himself to suffering in silence makes so much sense for his character, but holy shit, I just want to smush their face together! I love how in control Steve is throughout his rut, and how he makes sure that Tony is okay at all times. And the fluff at the end is absolute perfection. I hope you check this one out, because it's wonderful!

Turn Around (Three Times Before Lying Down) by kellifer_fic

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 15,573 Tags: Werewolves, Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Everyone knows that Tony Stark is a playboy, billionaire philanthropist, but what they don’t know is that he’s also a werewolf. When a government agency known as SHIELD finds out, they use this information to force Tony’s hand and bring him into a new elite lycan field team, codename The Avengers Initiative. Suddenly Tony finds himself playing host to a bunch of lycans, a misplaced God of Thunder and an experimental supersoldier that isn’t as dead as everyone assumed. Can his week get any worse?

Reasons why I love it: My heart just bleeds for Steve in this one. The sentiment of being in between two groups, never really belonging to either, really hit home for me. And it's so lovely to see the pack bond form between the Avengers, especially because getting there is such a journey for them. This fic is amazing, and I highly recommend you read it for yourself!

[autumnmobile12]

Storm Hawks: A Pretty Fun Take on Feminism

I don't know how many people actually remember this show, or even watched it , but this is an episode that's stuck with me all these years so I want to talk about it.

For context, the plot of Storm Hawks itself is pretty basic: Evil empire taking over the world, the good guys try to stop them, shenanigans ensue because kids' show. The main cast members fall into pretty generic archetypes. too. We have:

Aerrow (the 'true blue' leader)

Piper (the smart one/the girl)

Finn (the funny one)

Junko (the buddy)

Stork (the neurotic one)

Radarr (the animal sidekick)

And we're off:

This is Storm Hawks Season 1, Episode Ten: Fire and Ice

There was a lot going on in this episode, including a climate change allegory, but for the purposes of attempting to remain somewhat concise, I'm only going to cover the feminism theme for this post. Episode ten revolves mostly around Piper, opening with the team attending a festival put on by the Blizarrians, a race of snow-dwelling, humanoid, rabbit-dog creatures with Canadian accents and stereotypes in their world. (Which might be offensive, but the show was produced by a Canadian studio, so they can make fun of themselves if they want.)

The Blizzarian team (aptly named the Absolute Zeroes) invite the Storm Hawks to come snowmobiling with them in the backcountry. Piper is enthusiastic about the invitation, being a skilled cartographer, so she wants to map out the terrain...only to be told, "Ladies don't do the backcountry training. You just stay back with the girls."

Aerrow, being a true friend, tells Piper not to listen and she can ride with him, but since she's apparently not welcome by their hosts, Piper doesn't feel inclined to go anymore.

However, when Piper goes to meet up with 'the girls' and hang out, Suzy Lu (pictured above) unexpectedly introduces herself as the Absolute Zeroes' Sky Knight (essentially their captain.) So she's the one in charge, not the men, leaving Piper with the impression, Okay maybe being left out won't be so bad after all.

Later on in the episode, Aerrow does call out the male Zeroes, telling them she is part of their team and she has every right to be there with them. However, the Zeroes meet his words with genuine confusion, with the original member who told Piper to stay behind saying, "But Sky Knights don't do the backcountry training. That's just for us squaddies."

He thought Piper was the leader and therefore didn't need to be there. Similarly, because he was the male, Aerrow thought he was the Zeroes' leader, not Suzy Lu. It's still a sexist assumption to think Piper was in charge because she was a woman, but it's definitely a fresher take than the typical, "No, woman stay home because woman weak."

Going further into the comedy of the situation, though, is the fact the 'training' the Zeroes do in the backcountry pretty much amounts to them messing around on the snowmobiles and pulling off crazy stunts. They're just 'boys being boys.' If somebody wipes out on their ride, everyone else will be concerned up until the moment the fallen team member stands back up and starts cheering to show he's okay. It gives off a vibe that's similar to parents sending their kids outside to play when they're too hyper.

Further proving the point they are a bunch of well-intentioned dorks, it's also shown that Blizzarians don't assume all women are in charge. When Aerrow suggests a solution to the aforementioned climate issue that was also going on in the episode, Suzy Lu declares, "I like your thinking." And then, as an aside to Piper, whispers, "I was wondering why this one was in charge." So upon meeting the group, she definitely had a moment of, Okay, this Aerrow guy is the leader, not Piper. Kinda odd, but humans are weird. Whattya gonna do?

...

Overall, the storytelling of Storm Hawks was a bit shallow, which doesn't often appeal to most adults, and that likely was a contributor as to why it didn't receive much attention outside its target audience. The world itself, Atmos, was an interesting concept; a world interspersed with mountain nations (terras) that rose up out of a hostile wasteland, so travel is achieved primarily by flight. This theme is seen throughout the series in the very culture as many of the characters are named after birds. (Junko (junco,) Stork, Piper (sandpiper,) Starling, Dove, Snipe, Wren, Finn (finch.) In addition to the flight, their machines were powered by these crystals that varied in type, purpose, categorization of how common or rare they were, so there was a scientific/magic element to it.

The writing was episodic in format, though, so the characters don't really have longterm goals and never really had development arcs that spanned much longer than a single episode. The conflict itself was effectively a world war, but unlike a series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Storm Hawks never achieved the level of seriousness or emotion that a war story demands to be compelling or really respectful of that particular theme in fiction. The characters of Storm Hawks and ATLA are fun and light-hearted, but the Storm Hawks episodes were really more goofy and child-like adventures. I mean, there is an episode where it is heavily implied the reptilian humanoids are carnivorous and eat people. Okay, fuck, that's hardcore disturbing, but the show doesn't really expand on that because it's a kids' show. Nonetheless, since it's there, you're kinda left with, Okay, either follow through with your darker themes or don't mention them at all. It's a cartoon, find a better balance than that.

There also wasn't much depth to the villains either and their motivations were really just chalked up to the standard, "We're evil." One of them was even former 'good guy' turned traitor ten years prior to the main plot, but his reasons for turning traitor were never explored or even revealed. Come on, people, what happened? Ambition? Greed? He saw the political structure of the side he fought for was fundamentally flawed and decided it was best to tear it all down?

...

However, the detail that I appreciate with this nostalgia series is the fact that there were female characters in positions of power in Storm Hawks. Most of the fighting battalions were mostly made up of men, sure, and I would have liked to see a more balanced male-female cast, but some of the teams were straight up led by a woman and there was at least one group that was exclusively women.

The main antagonist, the reigning monarch of the aggressive nation in the war, was also a woman. (Well, teenage girl, but you get the point.) What's more; she was 100% in charge. She was not influenced in any way by a male advisor, she wasn't spurred on by the memory of a male predecessor, she was never intimidated by her male generals. And she was intelligent. Throughout the series, she was a scientist, an engineer, and a fighter. (Unfortunately, in the last season, her mind started to go a bit, so she pretty much devolved into a knockoff Azula.) We even have the brief insight of her background where it's shown she inherited her throne from her grandmother, not another male ruler. Which either implies primogeniture inheritance regardless of gender or it's a matrilineal monarchy, which is interesting to speculate, but that would be headcanon territory.

...

It was a fun watch when I was a kid, but as an adult...yeah, lots of flaws, a great deal of loss in potential with world-building and storylines, and even as a kid, I knew the plots and humor of later episodes fell into a category that was more stupid than funny.

But if Storm Hawks had one strength, they had the groundwork of the feminism angle down pat and that is always appreciated.

[yourtoocleverfox]

"I'm exhausted."

Peter yawned loudly, his long arms straining over his head in an exaggerated stretch.

"Probably gonna take a nap before this afternoon. I get the feeling I'm gonna need my energy for all the little ghouls and goblins running around."

You briefly met his eyes as your fingers flowed over your keyboard. "Do you guys have Mayday's costume all picked out?"

"'Course we do." He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet up on the conference table, scattering a few sheets of paper in the process.

"She's gonna be a ladybug. I was partial to the spider costume I made. It had hairy little legs and everything; MJ wanted her first Halloween costume to be something cuter, though. I personally think she's cute in everything she wears, but I digress."

"To be fair, spiders are kind of gross."

You smiled at him and straightened the stray papers before closing your tablet. "I think MJ made the right call."

Peter made a sound of disbelief. "Yeah, you and everyone else apparently. You know, Halloween is when you're supposed to dress up as something spooky, right?"

"Not true. I, for one, plan to wear something cute."

"Yeah? Like what?"

You slide back from the table and stand, slipping your things in your bag and draping it over your shoulder. "You'll just have to wait and see."

You breeze by him on your way to the door.

"Someone's in a hurry."

"I have a few errands to run for Miguel before I can head home and get ready. Speaking of..."

You pause, hand on the doorknob, and fix him with a pointed look. "Feet off the table. You know Miguel hates that."

"I know, I know." He huffs and pulls his legs off of the glossy surface, giving you a glimpse of his mixed matched socks.

"Thank you." You smile at him sweetly before ducking out of the room.

"Happy Halloween!"

You waved as a group of kids in busy costumes skipped away, plastic pumpkins briming with sweets.

O'Hara Tech was hosting its annual Trunk or Treat festival for company and community children alike. You'd been excited to hear about this event and even more so when you learned that volunteers were encouraged to sport costumes of their own.

So, here you stood, dressed in white silk with a shinning halo floating above your head as you handed out candy to hyper little creatures and heroes and princesses.

Peter was with you, doing his best to wrangle Mayday as she used him like a human jungle gym, crawling and pulling and hanging from his tattered zombie costume.

"Do you need some help?" You asked with a laugh.

"No, no. I've got it. Don't worry. Everything is definitely okay."

Babbling cheerfully, Mayday reached for her father's nose, smearing his hastily applied makeup as her tiny hand latched onto his skin. Peter winced, earning a giggle from the baby.

"Yeah, no, everything's great. Promise."

"If you say so."

With a smile on your glossed lips, you tickled Mayday's sock covered foot, giving Peter temporary reprieve as she laughed again and reached for you.

"She's got her father's grip," he shrugged, adjusting the insect antennas perched on her mop of red curls.

You shook your head at the pair, but honestly their antics added a particular lightness to the already fun evening. And like that, your mind was wandering to Miguel, imagining what it would be like if he were here with you.

He'd hardly spoken to you regarding the event, and you wondered if he'd make an appearance tonight at all. It was hard to imagine Miguel all dressed up, chitchatting with his employees over handfuls of candy corn. Lately, though, you'd caught glimpses of a different side of him, a secret part hidden under his impenetrable facade that made the idea of him being here tonight a not-so-sure impossibility.

All around you, there were friends and coworkers standing by their decorated car trunks chatting in various costumes as they passed out candy to the groups of children roaming the parking lot.

In addition, there were food stalls and craft stations spread out among the cars and spilling over to the adjacent park. Music played from somewhere you couldn't see and there was even a bounce house set up in the grass.

You stretched up on the balls of your feet, hoping to see even a ghost of his unmistakable silhouette, but your attempt was in vain. The crowd was thick and so much was going on that there was no way to keep track of it all from where you stood.

"Hey, will you be alright if I take a look around? I want to see what all is here, maybe find something to eat while I'm at it."

It wasn't a lie, not really.

"Sure, sure. Bring me back something too? MJ's supposed to bring Mayday and I a snack when she gets off work, but if im being completely honest, I cant wait that long."

"Cheeseburger with extra pickles, extra mustard?"

"You know me so well."

The sun was just sinking below the red and orange trees, but the festival was still in full swing. You'd delivered Peter his burger and allowed yourself to indulge in a massive puff of cotton candy (shared with Mayday, of course). You'd passed on bobbing for apples, but you did manage to win an adorable stuffed cow in a scarecrow decorating competition.

All of this and still not a single sighting of Miguel. You were beginning to feel a bit childish, roaming around like a schoolgirl with a crush in the hopes of seeing the object of your infatuation. It was silly. He was your boss. Any special attention you thought you were receiving from him was just general amicability. An employer looking out for his employee, nothing more. You needed to remember that.

Now, you were skirting the line where the park met the car lot, carrying your little toy cow in your hands, deciding which activity to try next. There was pumpkin carving and a roped off dance floor, or maybe you would head home early and call it a night. To be honest, you didn't feel like doing much of anything now, and you mentally kicked yourself for allowing your mood to be dampened by something so juvenile.

"Raaahh!"

You paused your steps as a chorus of childlike shrieks and laughs drifted toward you from the grassy field to your left.

"You'll never escape me! Your blood is mine!"

You looked over and felt your stomach do a giddy little flip. Never had you thought you'd see the day when your boss, dressed head to toe in a richly designed vampire costume, made himself subject to an onslaught of playful attacks from a small group of children.

You found yourself smiling as he allowed himself to be tackled to the ground and dog-piled by the mass of tiny, squirming bodies.

"No! I've been slain. Mercy! Mercy!"

He was hardly visible underneath them, but you could hear his laughter among theirs. It was a rare sound, his genuine, uninhibited laughter. Witnessing this side of Miguel felt like something secret, not made for your eyes, but you couldn't look away. You drifted closer, watching the scene unfold like some picturesque film on a screen. And then, deep in your chest, a feeling bloomed as his steady hands lifted one of the little girls into the air with ease. A purple princess with her flushed cheeks stretched in a wide smile, giggling as she flailed in his grasp. It was a perfect moment that you were content to watch forever.

But eventually the children were herded away by their waiting mothers, breathless and eyes sparkling from their time playing in the field. Miguel's dark gaze met yours, a lingering smile on his face, as he climbed to his feet and brushed stray grass from his clothes.

You'd been caught now; he knew you'd been watching, so you approached him, stopping an arm's length away. Even from this distance, there was that magnetism between the two of you that you'd been trying to ignore. A feeling, whenever he was near, that drew you into his orbit. Your fingers slid over the soft fur of the toy in your hand, a gesture to soothe the fluttering in your stomach.

His sharp eyes followed the movement before drawing back up to your face. "Cute," he commented.

"I won him a little while ago." You bit your lip to hide a smirk. "I was thinking of naming him Moo-guel. Get it? Because he's a cow."

Miguel rolled his eyes but the amusement from earlier still lingered there. "Clever. Very funny."

"Think so?"

"Don't let it go to your head. I'm just glad you're having fun."

"I am."

He watched you in the way you'd grown used to, silently contemplating thoughts you could only hope to be privy to one day. The two of you stood there like that, the moment marching on until you began to feel antsy under the weight of his gaze.

You decided to interrupt the silence with something that'd been on your mind. "This is a wonderful event, Miguel."

He looked past you to the crowd of families enjoying their night out but didn't say anything.

"Peter says the company's been doing this for three years now," you continued. "What made you come up with this idea?"

Something unreadable passed over his expression. "Peter talks too much."

You could feel the mood shift, and you scrambled for the correct thing to say.

"He only said that this event was special to you. I figured it was because it was a fun way to give back to the community. I mean, you were having more fun tonight than I've seen you have in six months."

He seemed to consider what you were saying, at least you hoped so. He was such a closed book when he wanted to be. You found yourself relying more and more on your intuition than ever before when it came to understanding him.

His head tilted to one side just barely as he regarded you. You prepared for him to reveal something enlightening about himself or the reason behind tonight's importance.

"Your halo is crooked."

"Seriously?" You let out a sound that was between a sigh and a laugh.

"Mmhm," he confirmed.

The corner of his mouth quirked up into an amused smirk as you looked at him with mock disbelief.

"I thought we were talking about the event."

He ignored you and lifted a hand to your hair. You stood stone still, looking up at face as he carefully manipulated the pins and clips in an effort to right your headpiece. He looked completely focused on his task, refusing to meet your eyes a single time as his fingers ghosted over the top of your head.

When he was finally satisfied, he took a step back. "Better."

"Thank you." You smiled up at him and his gaze seemed to soften. "I like your costume, by the way. Very spooky."

He looked down at his clothes as if it was the first time he'd actually considered them.

"Spooky, huh? It didn't keep those little terrors away."

You felt your heart flutter. He was joking, something unusual for him, and it was almost absent of his characteristic sarcasm.

"I was surprised you survived that assault. I was a little worried for you."

He gave a light chuckle and the fluttering in your chest grew. You decided to take a chance and continue the banter. "I thought maybe I'd have to rush in and save you.

"You save me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Bold of you to assume I wasn't just luring you into my trap."

He took a step towards you, dark eyes pinning you in place as you fought the instinct to step back. He was clearly playing with you, the amused glint in his eyes told you so. Still, your body was reacting to him in ways unfamiliar to you and you felt like you were floundering.

"Oh, please." You made an attempt to scoff at his antics, but it came out as a breathy sound. "I could easily take you. I'm not worried."

"Uh-huh." He took another step forward and you were sure your eyes must be wide as saucers, but you refused to flinch.

This was so out of the ordinary for him. Gone was your stoic, measured boss, replaced by this new man looming over you. This man with a mischievous smirk painting his lips as he took yet another step closer, taking up your space. This man who circled a strong arm around your waist, large hand pressing into the small of your back as he held you in place. This man who sent your heart racing as his face moved closer and closer to yours, so close that you could feel the warmth of his breath on your skin.

"Are you worried now?" He asked, voice low and husky in your ear.

You gave your head a small shake in the limited space. "No, never."

Your voice sounded small to your own ears, barely a whisper but you knew he could hear. Your free hand found it's way to his chest and clutched at the fabric of his shirt, urging him just that much closer.

"Mi corajuda angelita."

His breath ghosted over your shoulder, and you shivered. That sensation was quickly replaced by a sting of pain against your neck and then the warmth of his lips against your skin.

You gasped in surprise and you felt him still against you. You had been caught off guard by his actions, but you hadn't wanted him to stop. You'd wanted the exact opposite, really.

There was a rush of cold that replaced the warmth of his body as he pulled away to look at you, and you worried you'd made a mistake.

"What's wrong?" You asked, blinking up at him. Your hand was still fisted in his shirt and he made no move to remove it.

He looked at you in that way again, studying you, trying to read your reaction.

You parted your lips to speak again, wanting to reassure him that you didn't mind his closeness- welcomed it, in fact- or the fact that he bit you. You wanted him to pull you in again, into the shelter of his body. You wanted him to kiss you more, on your shoulder, your neck, your lips. You wanted him.

"There you are!"

You whipped around to see that all too familiar lanky silhouette striding towards you in the shadowy light.

"Peter?"

"Peter!"

You and Miguel spoke in unison, equally caught off guard by your unexpected guest. Instantly he put distance between the two of you, his fingers gentle as he removed your hand from his shirt.

You glanced up at him, but his expression was unreadable. He instead had his eyes trained on Peter who continued to close the distance.

"Oh, hey, boss! I didn't expect to find you out here. Well, to be honest, I hadn't really expected to find either of you out here."

He looked at you. "MJ just got here and she was hoping to say 'hi' before you left. I told her you might have gone already but decided to have a look around just in case."

"Oh, yeah, Miguel and I were just talking for a bit." You laughed nervously but he seemed none the wiser to just how close you and Miguel had gotten.

You looked to Miguel only to find him looking back down at you. You tried to read his expression but he looked away before you could guess what he was thinking.

"I should let you two get back to the party," he said. His earlier lightheartedness was gone, replaced by his usual tone.

"You sure, buddy? You should come say 'hi' too. You know Mayday just can't get enough of you."

You looked up at Miguel with your own pleading expression. "It'll be fun," you offered, but he shook his head.

"Tell MJ I'm glad she was able to make it tonight and that I hope she has a great time. There are some guests I invited tonight that I hoped to talk shop with a little before it got too late. Enjoy your night, both of you."

Before either of you could protest, he was making his way across the grass, long strides increasing the distance with each step.

"Man, that guy never takes a break. I'm telling you, you're gonna have to sit him down and talk to him about that. Goodness knows, you're the only one he listens to nowadays."

Peter continued to drone on as you followed him off in a different direction. You kept glancing over your shoulder, hoping to see a glimpse of Miguel somewhere in the crowd, but to your dismay he had seemingly disappeared into the night.

Tag List: @sukunash0e

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[bluginkgo]

The ending of season 1 is a pretty common topic right now. Of course, many theories have been said so here I am adding my own jumbled mess of thoughts and probably repeating what other, smarter, people have already said.

Spoilers, duh

The main question I actually kinda wanna take a dive into is why destroy earth?

A parasite on a usual timeline, tries to take over its host and use the host to produce more parasites to infect others. Ok, that's fine. But if absolute solver is like a parasite- which is what it seems to be almost like- why destroy earth? Yes, we saw what it did to the Elliot mansion. That must have been only just the beginning and a small taste of what it's capable.

So by the parasitic definition, it should try to find more hosts and more zombie drones to expand its reign. But does that really require to make earth into what N saw?

The first time I saw this theory it was pitched by LoreDrone on youtube- they do amazing theories and explanations. Go take a look, they explain it much better than I can. But basically they said that perhaps the true form of the absolute solver isn't this:

Or this:

And definetly not this:

But instead is a black hole AKA this:

That once the parasitic like nature finally takes complete control of the planet, it will do this and create a black hole.

The insane amount of times absolute solver has referred (or others have) to black holes is crazy. The most direct being: "The Solver of the Absolute Fabric. The void. The exponential end."

Sound familiar? Yeah, sounds like a black hole. It would actually explain some random things that we see throughout the show.

Like the two black holes that slowly float away after Uzi and N defeat eldrich J.

And not to mention all of the black holes that are seen in drawings both from Nori and others in eps 4 and 6.

There is an issue here though. The small creatures that we see for eldrich J, the corrupted core plus the small head that was projecting Khan's dead body only have a small impact and therefore produce little black holes. Uzi was able to create- although accidently- black holes throughout Dead End. All of which could not take full form as the first time, she passes out and thus the black hole form disintegrates. And the second time was when N chopped off her arm.

This all means that the absolute solver needs more solver drones like Cyn to create a large enough black hole to take its final form.

Here's the kicker though.

Why send disassembly drones to the planet then? We get a direct quote from Liam himself saying that spoilers! The humans didn't make the disassembly drones- which pretty much leaves Cyn to be the one that made them, and that's pretty true seeing as she was already making prototypes in the library basement in ep 5.

Copper 9 and many other planets (when Tessa explained) were studying absolute solver and trying to use its powers. "But all they did was spread it." Sounds like a perfect plan for the absolute solver, right? Spread the parasites and its hive mind/cloud based nature to overtake galaxies! So then... why send disassembly drones to Copper 9? The main hub where two very powerful solver drones, by the looks of it, that have huge potential! Nori and Yeva.

And both killed by disassembly drones. Sounds counterproductive, doesn't it?

"J, relay hand. Cyn's orders."

"Step 1: Clear drop zone of life and construct spires. Step 2..."

"Enter labs with this symbol."

Ladies and gentlemen, here we are. Idk if it's a commonly accepted theory or take, but I'm on this boat and I will proudly burn down with it.

Cyn is on our side.

Tessa (although she's very sketch) and J are trying to figure out why Cyn sent disassembly drones to other exo-planets. It is also Cyn's administration that's blocking absolute solver from completely corrupting our trio. It was also Cyn that ordered the eradication of all worker drones. We see that many of these worker drones are... by all technicality and for the most part aside from some odd balls- are correctly disposed of. Their bodies are ripped apart, devoured of their oil and cannot reboot as a zombie drone.

If Cyn was completely corrupted by absolute solver, she'd send the disassembly drones to perhaps kill the worker drones to increase the rate of zombie drones to wake up with the absolute solver string in them- just like seen with Cyn. But no. The entire spire is constructed of corpses in pieces.

Now as for my take on the ending (and let me tell you, I bet you I'm 100% wrong and this will probably not happen) I think our trio will beat whatever the f*ck is in Cabin Fever labs and team up with Cyn to then go to other planets and save them from absolute solver. A rather optimistic uptake, I know. But I'm also for a lot of the more bittersweet and not so happy ending theories that are out there.

I saw it from @villainsrule2018 for the first time. That this image may be Copper 9 by the end of the season. I absolutely love the idea that we might lose Copper 9 but perhaps save other planets. But I have another take on this. This is earth. We've lost earth already, and off to the side we have Copper 9's moons, implying Copper 9 is its next target.

As per usual, there's plenty of holes and inconsistencies in my theories and ramblings. Feel free to expand or go against this, I love hearing other theories on how season 1 will end. ^_^

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Animality. Monstrosity

In observance of Therianthropy Day, I moved my originally intended idea to the next day. Think of this as a bit of filler episode.

When discussion of using therian vs otherkind for self identifier, my picking otherkind is due to a number of things. It was the entry point for me, and various sub communities I joined afterwards also are otherkinity first, the community and language surrounding otherkinity is also generally more aligned to my experience. One of the bigger reason, however, is due to my lack of identifying with the core definition of therianthropy -- to identify as a animal. Or, in more detail, it is about feeling the animality. What that mean largely has to do with one being instinct driven, aka being thiriant (definition: dominant and driven by instinct or sensory based thinking, the opposite of sapience, coined by @paracosmic-gt). Some would use the word feral as a descriptor. But you know, it's "being a animal".

This seems something easy to grasp, but hard to describe. Because we as a community largely understand animality.

While I am occasionally instinct driven, and behaves like a cryptid creature, I'm not wholly a animal. I'm barely a animal at best.

I am a monster.

I'd written about this not too long ago, but the gist of it is that I'm using it in a "this is the category of this creature" sense. Like those of youkai, kami, spirit creature, rpg monster, pokemon, etc.

I don't function like an animal. The direct equivalent I would say is Mew, as it is the primary reason why I call Mew a paratrope. Even if I can behave like a animal, but at the end of the day, I don't feel like a animal enough to call myself therian. I will still casually partake in therian topic and answer question that is directed at therian, because I do see it the same as asking question to nonhuman otherkin or fictionkin. I really don't think my answer will skew much of a result. There are a dime a dozen of dragon therian after all.

What is funny is that Beast, who is my rage personified daemon, has the apt name, because it is beastly, and would definitely identify as a therian should it be the one hosting this human vessel. The only other identity that I could put under a animal category, is my three-tailed, kitsune paratype element, mythical creature, linked hearttype enfield.

Side note: beyond monster, the other words I'd use for myself would be celestial, mythic/mystic, a bit of divine, a bit of deific. More specific would be dreamlings (those with identity that is or has association with the concept and element of dreams). Do we need to mention draconic? :p

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Miscellaneous Monster Tales 1

Oh cool. There's bonus content about the monsters.

Walking Mushroom

Makes perfect sense that there are different breeds of walking mushroom. Wish I was a mycologist right now so I could appreciate this a bit more.

H-how much does that book cost? 1,238G?

Meanwhile the various meals at the dining hall ranged from 160-190 G while there was a meat bun soup that cost 210 G and those came with free travel rations.

Let's say 200G is equivalent to $10 US. In other words, 1G = $0.05. That book would cost $61.90.

Also the actual price says 1,238 G+. Is that a premium currency or is there a sales tax involved?

Slimes

This one's really interesting. Most slimes are parasitic. They effectively act like stomach cells and steal portions of their host's meal for themselves. Their mucous layer is probably meant to protect them from their host's digestive system similar to how our own stomach cells produce a mucous to protect them from stomach acid.

Maybe some species have a more mutualistic relation with slimes. Maybe the slimes help break down certain compounds the host can't break down, similar to how our guts are full of bacteria that break down tons of things for us.

Imagine being a poor little critter that got eaten by a frog. Then when you end up in its stomach, you then get eaten by a slime in the frog's stomach.

Man-Eating Plants

Laios just won't stop talking about how shadowtails ensnare their victims. He does bring up an interesting point that they can adapt to any creature when determining how to restrain their victims.

Maybe that shadowtail that grabbed Marcille was feeling around her to determine things like muscle-tone, body thickness, and joint articulation so it could find the best ways to restrain her.

Breeding shadowtails so they keep their restraining instincts but no longer have the parasitic aspect could be useful for things like capturing animals to relocate them or maybe to design specialized casts for broken bones. But realistically, the main draw would definitely be for kink and Marcille is a kink-shamer.

Mandrake

So mandrakes having human-looking appearances is pure coincidence. But farmers like trying to grow them into human shapes for the equivalent of the county fair.

But how do they harvest them without the mandrakes screaming?

Basilisk

So there IS a hen version of the basilisk.

Baby basilisk is so cute.

Basilisks hatching back-first just adds to the confusion of which is the head and which is the tail. Chickens and snakes both break out of their eggs using sharp implements to break the egg (snakes have egg teeth specifically to help them cut through the shell). If it hatches from the back, then its birth feathers are probably fairly sharp.

The basilisk anatomy is just giving me more questions. Both halves have their own stomachs but the chicken half also has the craw and gizzard. This means both halves are equipped to eat whatever they would normally eat.

Since the snake has its own stomach, is it able to stretch its body to fit large meals like real snakes? And if the snake half eats something, can the whole basilisk go long periods without eating while the snake-half digests its meal? Or does the snake have a heightened metabolism since it's part of a (presumably) warm-blooded creature? Maybe the snake half is responsible for eating large prey. Meanwhile, the chicken half supplements its diet by eating smaller prey and plant matter.

Living Armor

Okay. I was wrong. The whole body is part of their shell. They aren't just inhabiting an existing suit of armor. And this likely means the individual Living Armors treat themselves more like pieces of a whole rather than as a colony of individuals helping each other. I guess each suit of armor is a colony of siblings. Maybe a small cluster of them are specialized toward breeding purposes.

There is a non-zero chance that adventurers influenced the evolution of Living Armor. They only need to develop to the point they can move so there's no reason to develop all these elaborate art patterns like the lion-head colony had. Maybe around the same time humans began making iron armor, Living Armor started to emulate human designs because the Living Armor mistook adventurers in full plate for a large breedable colony and they wanted to mate with them. This in turn put pressure on the Living Armor to structure itself to look more like adventurer armor to compete with adventurers for mates.

...

Wait! What if the swords are the sperm-producing parts of the colony and them trying to stab people was part of their courtship rituals? Or maybe they think of adventurers as rival Living Armor colonies.

Or maybe I'm just wrong and the sword is just a sword. Maybe Living Armor already looked like that before adventurers came around and adventurer armor took inspiration from Living Armor instead.

Laios has me trapped in his rhythm. I genuinely want to know how Living Armors breed. Based on their behaviour, all of the Living Armors likely share parentage with the egg sacs. So does the egg-layer lay its eggs in the egg sac and then all the others deposit some sperm to inseminate the eggs, or do the other Living Armors impregnate the egg-layer? And does the chosen egg-layer create the shield as part of the egg-laying process? If the biggest colony lays and protects the eggs, then that means it has more Living Armors that can be converted into a shield without compromising the body structure.

I still want to know what and how they eat.

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