#its likely that their parent will attack the nest later on

[bigfatbreak]

YOU GOT IT LETS HEAR A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!!

[ventingv]

Can I request a continuation for Neuvilette and Zhongli interacting with their eggs. When it's time for the eggs to hatch

Wish u have a great day

(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)🍪♥️

(b^_^)b

Zhongli

When the time comes for the egg to hatch you can bet your savings that he’ll be there.

The egg hatching happens in noon when both you and Zhongli are having lunch in the bedroom and talking to one another (or you just listening to Zhongli soothing voice) when all of a sudden you hear a cracking noise.

The both of you look over to see a small crack in the egg which gives you a small panic attack thinking that the egg broke before hearing a small chirping noise from it.

Instantly Zhongli is kneeling down to the nest looking over the egg, a deep rumbling yet soothing sound coming from his throat.

The hatchling still in the egg would chirp loader as more cracks form on the egg.

Just as you came to join him a large crack would appear and a small head would poke out of the egg with their shell still on the top of the hatchlings head and still chirping.

You would probably want to help your child come out of the egg completely before Zhongli gently stops you and told you it’s fine as your child knows how to get out.

When the hatching finally comes out they are as long as your arm and are a similar color to Zhongli Dragon form with a small number differences in some places.

It’s when you see it raises the hatchling head and you see them sniffing the air you would see that their eyes are shut and ask Zhongli if the hatching is ok which he would tell you they are it’s just that geo dragon newborns eyes are born shut and are slightly deaf till they reach a certain age, till then the hatchling will be only able to sense through scent and touch.

He would then gently place his hand in front of the hatchling who would sniff him before climbing up his arm clumsily before he would gently take them and shift them into his arms there they could rest against his chest and feel the beating of his heart.

It would be a beautiful sight for you to see Zhongli as smiled gently at the hatchling.

“Welcome to the world, little one.”

Neuvillette

Unlike their birth the eggs hatching is easier this time due to Neuvillette refusal to leave you and the eggs unsupervised.

It’s during the night when you as leaning against his shoulder in the living room while he’s reading over a case when you look over to check on the eggs resting in a much better made nest then the makeshift one from when they were born that you notice it.

There was a small crack on one of the eggs.

You kept staring at it for a while before another crack popped up on the egg.

You would then start nudging Neuvillette while keeping an eye on the eggs till he looked over to you with confusion till you pointed at the eggs.

It was only then that he noticed that just like you one of the eggs were hatching.

It’s only when the both of you notice the others rocking side by side that realization that they were all hatching.

The both of you would be by the nest, The case paperwork tossed somewhere on the floor as the both of you focused on the hatching.

The first hatchling to hatch would poke their head out before getting scared at the sight of two large figures and instantly going back in the egg.

Neuvillette would be confused about what to do before letting instincts take over and start humming lightly in a inhuman way.

It would gently encourage the hatchling to come out of the egg as the realized the large figures were its parents and would come out before coming over with some wariness before gently being picked up by Neuvillette who gently hold them against his chest while still humming.

Looking over the hatching you would note that they were the size of your hand and were covered in fur instead of scales on its body which confused you but you decided to put it off for later as the other eggs hatch and the hatchlings wanted to get to the parent humming.

It’s later on when you talk with Neuvillette sitting on the couch with the hatchings resting on his chest that he tells you hydro dragon newborns are born with fur to keep themselves warm and that the fur is dense enough to prevent the hatchlings from following their hydro dragon parents under the water when they are out hunting. When the hatchlings grow older they will either lose the fur completely or having some of it still there but no longer dense enough to be unable to dive underwater.

After that one of the hatchlings would make a small noise which draws his attention to them and give a smile to them will eyes filled with love.

“Rest easy now, there’s nothing to fear while I’m here.”

[xensilverquill]

The woodland amphithere (Amphitheris silva), also known as the fairy dragon or the beech wyrm, is a small draconoid endemic to the temperate broadleaf forests of the Sunken Continent. Vestigial wings aid in thermoregulation and can be freely contracted and expanded. The shapes of these wings have evolved to resemble the leaves of beech, hornbeam, and other marcescent trees that are the favored hunting territories of woodland amphitheres. Fur-like moss growth on its head and tail enable it to supplement its primarily insectivorous diet with photosynthetic energy.

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(Extended species description under readmore.)

The woodland amphithere (Amphitheris silva), also known as the fairy dragon or the beech wyrm, is a small draconoid endemic to the broadleaf forests of the Sunken Continent.

Vestigial wings aid in both gliding and thermoregulation. Each wing can move independently of one another, and their membranes can be freely contracted and expanded (see last image/GIF in gallery). The shapes of these wings have evolved to resemble the leaves of beech, hornbeam, and other marcescent trees that are the favored hunting territories of woodland amphitheres. Whole covens have been observed sunning themselves on tree branches in autumn and winter.

Fur-like moss growth on its head and tail enable it to supplement its primarily insectivorous diet with photosynthetic energy. This adaptation along with their unique wing structure allows them to forego hibernation altogether in more temperate regions.

Two pairs of eyes make these creatures adept hunters. The rostral pair are used to observe shape and color while the caudal pair specialize in tracking the movement of their prey.

Like many extant members of the amphitherid and other draconoid families, the woodland amphithere possesses relays, growths on the head which house complex electroreceptors. Relays in this species have evolved as rigid, antler-like structures. The exact purpose of these relays is unknown, but it is hypothesized that they may be involved in communication between members of a given coven.

Woodland amphitheres are semisocial and congregate in single-generation groups known as a coven or a flight. Covens are typically made up of six to ten individuals, although covens as large as two dozen have been observed. While they do not exhibit the same coordinated hunting prowess of other amphithere species, they are still remarkably sociable and have been observed to groom and to sing to one another.

Eggs are laid in communal nests in small ponds in early spring, and the brood is left to fend for itself by the parent coven shortly after hatching. The fry begin life as tadpole-like creatures with their wings and relays becoming fully developed by midsummer. The brood may linger for up to a year near its birth pond before leaving in search of new hunting territory.

Birds of prey, including eagles, owls, and lesser rocs, are typical predators of woodland amphitheres. Its primary defense is its own coven, which will swarm upon and harass the predator to drive it away. Larger covens have even been known to kill and subsequently feed on their would-be attackers, especially during the nesting season.

---

First entry in what will be a small series of original dragon amigurumi patterns following a general amphithere body plan (basically all wing and no leggies lol).

My personal challenge for each of these is that I cannot directly reference patterns from other creators. This is to (1) force me to figure out how to work up complex shapes and (2) so that I can avoid copyright infringement if I ever decide to sell these patterns a later date. Which was why a good portion of the time for this entry was working out the shapes of the leaves for the wings, haha.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: red-bellied piranha

For today's Wet Beast Wednesday, I'm discussing probably the most slandered of all bony fish: the red-bellied piranha. Be honest, when you hear piranha what comes to mind? I'd be willing to bet you thought of roving hordes of hyper-predatory fish that devour everything they find in minutes. Well that's not how red-bellied piranhas (or any piranhas for that matter) act. You've been lied to by the media about these fascinating fish. I'm here to correct the record.

(Image: a red-bellied piranha. It is a laterally flattened, round fish with a blunt head and prominent lips. It is a dark gray color with silver flecks and a bright red underbelly. End ID)

The red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is the most well-known of the piranhas and is the species you think of when you think piranha. They are medium fish, growing to an average of 35 cm (14 in) long and 1.8 kg (4 lbs),maxing out at 50 cm (20 in) and 3.9 kg (8.6 lbs). They have round bodies flatted on the sides and gray to black scales with red underbellies and occasional black spots. Famously, they have large, sharp, interlocking teeth set in strong jaws that are usually covered by thick lips. Piranha lose and replace their teeth throughout their lives.Red-bellied piranhas are often confused with other species of piranha or the closely-related red-bellied pacu, whose juveniles have a similar coloration. As pacu and piranha have similar body shapes, an easy way to tell them apart is the teeth. Piranha have sharp teeth while pacu have blunt teeth.

(image: a close-up of a red-bellied piranha showing the teeth, which are large, triangular, and very sharp. End ID)

With teeth like those it's not surprising that piranhas eat meat. What may surprise you is that they also eat plants. In fact, plants, including seeds and fruits, make up a large portion of their diet. When they do eat meat, they prefer to scavenge or go after small animals like small fish, worms and other invertebrates. They will also opportunistically nip off fins or scales from other fish. This isn't unusual for piranhas. All species eat plants and some are exclusively herbivorous. Red-bellies eat so much carrion that they are comparable to vultures. Both animals help control disease, clean their environments, and recycle nutrients. When Piranha do attack large animals, it is usually in times of hunger or because the animal is injured. Red-bellied piranha do not hunt in packs, but they will rarely engage in feeding frenzies that let them take down animals as large as capybaras. Red-bellies shoal not for hunting, but for protection against their own predators, which include caimen, river dolphins, larger fish, and various birds. Shoals can grow to be hundreds strong. During the wet season, when the rainforests flood, piranha will spread out through the floodlands and primarily browse on vegetation. During the dry season, when their range contracts, the reduced amount of food leads to higher rates of carnivory. Piranha communicate with each other through displays of aggression and drumming sounds produced with the swim bladder.

(Image: a small group of red-bellied piranha. End ID)

Red-bellied piranha mate during the wet season, during which time their red bellies will turn gray. Males will dig shallow nests in sandy bottoms where grass grows and attemptp to woo females with swimming displays. When a female selects a male, the two will swim together in a nuptial display. The female then lays her eggs on the grass for the male to fertilize. The parents will then guard the nest until the eggs hatch after a few days. Larvae and juveniles hide amongst plants until they are large enough to join a shoal. In addition, younger piranha tend to feed during the day while older and larger ones shit to feeding mostly in the morning and evening. Piranha can live for over 10 years.

(Image: a juvenile red-bellied piranha. It has the same body shape as the adult, but its coloration is different. Its body is silver all over with black spots and the anal fin is red. End ID)

Red-bellied Piranha have not been classified by the IUCN, but they are considered abundant in their natural range and have been introduced outside of their range, often as a result of people releasing exotic pets. Several places, including the Philippines, restrict their import to avoid them becoming invasive species. Piranha have become popular as exotic pets, though they have some specific care requirements. Piranha are a common food fish in their native range. Piranha attacks on humans are rare and usually happen when the piranha are hungry or the humans are disturbing them. Few fatal attacks have been recorded and even those numbers may be inflated as bodies that piranha have scavenged may have been mistaken for kills. The reputation of piranha as savage predators has been traced to an expedition to the Amazon by former US president Teddy Roosevelt where he reported a story that some native peoples herded a cow into the water and it was devoured in minutes. It was later found that the natives had used nets to capture and starve the piranha in advance to put on a better show. Roosevelt's report of the incident became very popular and has influenced the popular perception of piranha ever since.

(Image: a piranha feeding frenzy. Multiple piranha are eating a pair of fish, which have been stripped to the bone. End ID)

[marie-swriting]

A Part Of The Family - Dean Winchester

Masterlist

Summary : You go on your first hunt with your father John and your half-brother Dean, hoping you'll finally be able to prove you're a true Winchester to your father.

Warnings : half-sister!reader, Y/N is 15, John is a shitty father, angst, feeling like you don't belong in the family, killing vampires, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language so tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.

Word count : 3.1k

French version

Prompt : PL n°1, n°10 "We could have prevented this"

“What are the rules ?” John asks you with a harsh voice.

“Always be on alert and ready to attack, kill first and ask questions later.” you answer, determined.

“Good, don’t forget you have to cut their head or they’ll still be able to attack. As it’s your first time on the field, you stay close to me or Dean, right ?”

“Yes, sir.”

John hands you a machete before closing the trunk of the Impala. You feel a knot in your stomach as you realise you’re only a few minutes away from the most dangerous moment of your life. Your hands start shaking, you tighten your grip on your weapon, hoping it’ll give you more courage. Rapidly, you look up and see Dean’s eyes on you. He puts a hand on your shoulder to reassure you. You give him a quick smile but the fear can still be read on your face. When you’re finally ready, you start entering the vampire nest.

You’ve been on their trails for a few days now and thanks to your personal researches, you found where they’re hiding. Now, you hope you’ll be able to kill these monsters without making a mistake, you want to show John he did a good thing by taking you out of the foster system after Sam left for University. Indeed, when the younger Winchester decided to leave the family business, John didn’t like being one hunter short so he came to get you, knowing he’ll have your custody easily because your mom died at your birth. Until he’d come to your foster family, you didn’t know your father’s identity, let alone that you had two big brothers. When you met them, an immense amount of joy had filed you, you thought you’d finally belong to a real family. John had said to your foster parents he came to have your custody because he just discovered your existence. He made a beautiful speech to them on the importance of having his daughter in his life. When he had pronounced those words, your heart had burst with love, but reality caught you up quickly when he immediately put an emotional distance between you before starting your hunter training. You knew it wouldn’t be easy but you want to prove to him he can count on you during hunts so you make sure to always give your best. However, John is demanding, you feel like you’ll never meet his expectations and because of the pressure you can make some mistakes. Fortunately, Dean knows to be patient with you, he protects you from John's reprimands.

When you’re in the old building, you’re faced with a heavy silence. It doesn’t feel like there’s any threat on the horizon while you’re getting deeper into the nest. You keep walking discreetly and glancing in every corner until you find some kind of cage with a prisoner inside. With a glance, you recognise Jake, a teenager your age who’s been helping you to find the vampires. He had started searching for them before you arrived ; his sister was one of their victims. Together, you had put your skill to good use, you with your supernatural knowledge and him with his knowledge of the city and its residents. When you see him, you lower your machete and run toward the cage.

“Jake ! My God, you’re okay ? Did they do anything to you ?” you question, examining his body quickly with your eyes.

“You know him, Y/N ?” John interrogates.

“He helped me to find the nest.” you inform before turning back to your friend. “You’re okay, Jake ?”

“I’m fine.”

“We’re getting you out of here, don’t worry.” Dean states while starting to force the lock.

“Kid, do you know where the vampires are ?” John questions with a dry tone.

“No, I just regained consciousness, actually. Thanks.” Jake says when Dean finally frees him.

Jake gets out of his small prison stumbling. You catch him when he’s losing his balance. You’re about to ask him if everything is fine when you see pointy teeth coming out of his gum. Surprised, you don’t have the reflex to lift your machete up. Dean and John are about to intervene when other vampires leave their hiding place. You finally push back Jake, scared but he comes back to you again. You try to fight him with your weapon but Jake breaks your arm, forcing you to drop it. Dean hears your cry of pain and turns his head to you. He sees Jake about to bite you in the neck when Dean runs to you and cuts Jake’s head without a second thought. You’re too stunned from what’s just happened to move.

“Everything okay ?” Dean questions, preoccupied.

“Yes, don’t worry.”

John growls angrily, making yours and Dean’s head turn to him. Dean leaves you to help John. You pick your machete up from the ground and try to at least hurt some vampires. Not able to use your dominant hand, you have even less strength to cut heads. By some miracles, probably due to adrenaline, you cut the head of one blood-drinker. In spite of yourself, you stare at the body and their head, not believing you’re the cause of it. Snapping out of it, you look up and see that most of the vampires are dead. John is handling the Alpha vampire while Dean seems to lose his fight with another monster as he’s struggling to get their fangs away from his neck. You run to him and cut the vampire’s head with all the strength you have. When Dean understands he’s not in danger anymore, he sets his gaze on you, proud to see you were able to save him. You can’t help but smile lightly as you realise that, for a first hunt, you did pretty well. With your valid hand, you help him to stand up while John finally kills the Alpha vampire. You look at John, hoping to see he’s happy or at least relieved to know you and Dean are alive and almost not hurt, beside your broken arm, but it’s an angry John who comes your way.

“What the hell was that ? We got ourselves in an ambush because of your stupidity ! How could you not understand Jake was a vampire when he was helping you ? Don’t tell me you didn’t even think about checking him before telling him everything !”

“He… I…” you stutter, making John even more mad.

“Answer !”

“He told me he was looking for the vampires, too but he didn’t know how to attack them.” you explain, feeling ashamed.

“And you didn’t think it was weird he knew that much ?”

“He said he’d been researching for two months so it seemed normal to me.” you defend yourself and John sighs to contain his anger.

“Damn it, Y/N, that’s unbelievable ! We could have prevented this if you had some common sense !”

“Dad, she’s still learning. It’s okay.” Dean intervenes with a calm voice.

“Not when she puts us in danger ! We could have died and she has a broken arm. She should have done better !”

While listening to John’s reproach, you lower down your head. On second thought, the hunt went worse than you thought. You put your loved ones in danger and you disappointed John. it’s going to be even harder for you to find your place in your little family and you hate yourself for that. John is right, you should have done better.

“We’re all alive and they are all dead. It’s a win.” your brother insists.

“I don’t care if we did well ! She should have thought like a hunter.”, John retorts before taking you by your shoulder with strength, forcing you to look at him with a wince, “You better not do that again, next time, use your head.”

“Yes, sir.”

John sighs, letting go of your shoulder. Dean has a quick peek at you to make sure you’re okay, you give him a quick nod to reassure him, but your glistening eyes don’t convince him.

“Come on,” John starts, “we have to go to the hospital for your arm, we can’t fix it. Another waste of time because of your stupidity.”

“I’m sorry.” you breathe, ready to cry in any second.

“‘Sorry’ doesn’t change anything. And get those tears out of your eyes, half Winchester or not, Winchesters don’t cry.”

“Yes, sir.”

Your shoulders drop when you follow John while Dean looks at you with compassion. He knows what it’s like to fight for John’s approval, it’s very rare to gain it, even for him it’s complicated while he does everything John tells him.

In the Impala, John doesn’t say a word, too angry he doesn’t even take a quick glance at you, as for Dean, he wishes he could reassure you, but he doesn’t want to get John more mad. You hold your arm to minimise the pain on the way while you think back to John’s words. Among every thing he reproached you about, his last sentence hurt you the most. Since he came to get you, you know John treats you differently than Dean, he doesn’t see you as a part of the family. Yet, it doesn’t stop you from feeling your heart burst out in pain every time he reminds you of it when he specifies your only Dean’s half-sister or when he refuses you calling him ‘dad’, that one hurts the most.

When you arrive at the hospital, there aren't a lot of people, surprisingly so you just have to wait an hour and a half to be taken in charge of. When your cast is on your arm, you go back to the motel still in silence. You bite your lips, stressed while you’re searching for something to say to rectify your mistakes but you don’t really know John, you ignore what you should say. When you walk through the door of your motel’s bedroom, John points the small kitchen table to you. Reluctant, you walk toward it without a word and sit. Dean starts following you but John orders him to get cleaned up. Knowing it’s not the time to challenge him, Dean obeys. John stays on his feet in front of you, towering you with his height. Instinctively, you look down on your fingers, fidgeting with them until John starts talking.

“I hope you realise what you did was dangerous.”

“Yes, I won’t do it again, promise.”

“You better ! You could have died and so could have your half-brother. At least, you did kill some vampires but apart from that, you ruined this whole hunt ! If you don’t want to go back to your foster family, you better be more useful next time. I don’t need a deadweight but a hunter.” he rumbles.

“I’ll do better next time.” you assure him, determined.

“We’ll see in a few months because with your bullshit, you got yourself a broken arm. You’ll be in charge of the research and when you’ll be able to train again, we’ll get back to it and this time, I’ll be more strict. You need to learn correctly, I can’t have a kid who doesn’t know what she’s doing.” John spats, emphasising on the word ‘kid’, hurting you once more. “Don’t make me regret my decision to get you. And get that sad look out of your face, I can’t waste my time with weak people either.”, he orders and you try to get a grip on yourself, “I’m going to the bar.” he finishes, walking away from you. 

Without a glance, John leaves the room. When you hear the door slam shut, you jump. Tears filling your eyes in an instant. You try to hold them back but the more you blink, the harder it is to prevent them from falling. In spite of yourself, a tear rolls down your cheek. You wipe it away quickly, hoping Dean didn’t see anything because he just got out of the bathroom. You take deep breaths, trying to cool down your emotions. Dean delicately puts a hand on your shoulder and kneels down in front of you. 

“Hey, kid, you’re okay ?”

Contrary to John, the word ‘kid’ in Dean’s mouth seems affectionate. You see in his eyes he’s genuine, but you refuse to show you’re weak for another second. You clear your throat before looking him in the eyes.

“Yeah, just tired of the day. John went to a bar.”

“Just you and me, then ? What do you say about going to the Burger in front of the motel ?” he proposes with a smile.

“I’m not really hungry and I wouldn’t like John to get even more mad because he won’t find us when he’ll get back.”

“He’ll be in that bar for some time, don’t worry, besides, you need to recharge your battery, you did your first hunt !” he states, hoping it’ll cheer you up.

“What a victory it was !” you scoff, rolling your eyes.

“You got through it with only a broken arm and it was a vampire nest, I call that a victory. C’mon.”

Dean helps you to stand up from your chair. He puts back on his jacket and takes his wallet before inviting you to leave the motel.

At the Burger place, you almost don’t eat anything. You swallow only some French fries but don’t touch your hamburger while Dean devours everything in a heartbeat. Dean doesn’t start a conversation, guessing you need some silence after everything John told you. Dean knows he wasn’t kind with you the second time he reprimanded you with the small part he was able to hear through the bathroom walls. Furthermore, Dean and you have been knowing each other only for a few months now, he ignores if in this kind of situation, you’d rather talk or stay on your own. Just to be safe, he prefers to stay close to you without being oppressive so that's what he’s currently doing. When he’s finally done with his meal, he asks for a doggy bag for yours and goes to pay. On the way back, you don’t see the Impala, which reassures you because you know you still have some time off before John’s return. Entering the room, you take your stuff and close yourself in the bathroom. When you’re ready to go to sleep, you lay on your bed, your back facing Dean who’s on his own bed watching TV. You try to sleep but John’s words keep haunting your mind. The more you think back about the hunt, the more you realise how naive you were. Mentally, you’re calling yourself names, telling yourself that because of your mistakes you lost what little esteem John had for you. Feeling your tears again, you try to breathe slowly. You can’t cry, especially with Dean next to you. He can’t see how weak you are or you'll go down in his estimation as well and it’s the last thing you want. Despite your tries to be discreet, you sniff, drawing Dean’s attention to you. At first, he doesn’t think too much about it, but when he hears your heavy breath and your sniffing several times, he gets up from his bed and comes to you. He sits down next to you and puts a comforting hand on your shoulder. Feeling his presence, you don’t dare to move, waiting for him to scold you.

“Wanna talk about it ?” he questions softly.

“There’s nothing to say.” you state.

“Y/N, I know how his words can affect someone.”

“He’s right, I’ve been stupid, I should have been a better hunter.”

“You’re fifteen and you’re still learning.” Dean retorts, “You were naive, it’s true, but a few months ago, you still thought vampires were some kind of legend from Transylvania, not the reality. You can’t be perfect from the start. You were bound to make mistakes on your first hunt, you can’t be mad at yourself for that. Believe me, I made worse mistakes on my first hunts”, he tries to reassure you but you’re still silent, “Y/N, could you look at me ?”

“No, I don’t want you to think I’m weak.” you refuse, ashamed.

“Why would I think that ?”

“Winchesters don’t cry. Even if I’m not a real one.” you say, repeating John's words.

Dean sighs, trying to find something to say. He hates the way John’s words already got into  your head. He wishes he could reassure you like a big brother should but he’s still facing your back, not wanting to confront him. He knows he shouldn't take it personally but knowing you think he could act like John tightens his heart.

“I know I’m not well placed to say this,” he starts, hesitating, “but you can cry. Before being hunters, we’re humans.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you like I disappointed John.” you whisper, sniffing.

“You’re not gonna disappoint me and as for John, he’ll get over it, you can trust me. When you’ll be fully trained, he’ll see how excellent of a hunter you are.” Dean affirms.

“If he didn’t send me back to my foster family by then.” you add.

“I won’t let that happen.”, your big brother states, determined, “Now that I know I have a little sister, I can assure you you’re stuck with me as long as you decide otherwise.”

“Half-sister.” you correct, John’s voice still echoing in your head.

“In other words, my sister. You’re a part of the family.” Dean insists and you feel a new tear rolling down your cheek.

“Why are you so nice to me ? You didn’t even know I existed six months ago, you have  every right to ignore me.” you question with a trembling voice.

“I just told you, we’re family, I care about you.”

Without responding, you turn around before throwing yourself in his arms. All the tears you’ve been holding back for the past few months finally roll down your cheeks. Feeling your shoulders shaking, Dean holds you closer against him. He strokes your back, inviting you to let all your emotion leave your body. His heart breaks a bit more when he realises how much you’ve been holding back to at least satisfy John a bit. He knows the pain all too well so that night, he makes sure you know he’ll always be there to support you. Your head still hiding in the crook of his neck, you stay in his arms, accepting for the first time the comfort of your big brother.

Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

[dullgecko]

Scar hcs

Fabian has just so many because his parents were very insistent on the fact that scars were proof of living and proof of power so while he does get healed when he’s injured in training he does refuse to have them fully heal the scar only to the point where it won’t “cause him any trouble” (beyond the amount of ache he’s used to from scars) (he does not bring this up to other people because he is so afraid they won’t understand so he just lets them heal him fully)

Kristen on the other hand is the exact opposite way to the point where any scar left on her body is seen as a failing as a cleric on her part and she’s just gotten so good at it from being a clumsy child to the point where her body is disturbingly scarless

Adaine has a small collection of scars on her arms from clutching them so hard during panic attacks that her parents would never let her go to a healer for so by the time she meets the Bad Kids they’re mostly too old to be healed fully (they do get more faint but it takes a lot of energy from Kristen)

Gorgug has a bunch of tiny scars from helping his parents out in the workshop growing up whenever he’s bored in class he doodles around them (whenever he comes out from math class his forearms are just like a mass of flowers and sparkles and whatever he could come up with that day and it’s very pretty but he has to wash it off immediately because he had barbarian class the next period and Porter would be pissed)

Fig has a small collection of cigarette burns on her shoulders from her phase in freshman year, she thought because putting them out on herself didn’t really hurt her as much it wasn’t a problem plus it made her mom really worried (she stopped like a week after meeting the Bad Kids and she asked Kristen to “heal them to where they don’t actually hurt but they still look badass”)

Goblins have pretty sensitive skin so Riz’s scars tend to give him a lot more trouble than most people, especially in extreme temperatures Riz takes just so much fantasy ibuprofen during the winter that it’s a little bit concerning for his tiny goblin body (Fabian finds out sometime sophomore year and immediately makes him a little nest in his house for him so that it’s not as bad during cold holiday sleepovers but insists that it’s just blankets he’s not using until after spring break when he’s like yes it’s a nest yes he made it for his best friend so what)

🩰

If you wait too long to get healed scars tend to 'set' because the bodies own healing starts to take over. Horrific injuries in battle heal seamlessly because the cleric is getting to them within minutes of the injury happening so, barring a body part being outright destroyed they're able to be fixed up 100%. The deeper they are and the longer you leave them determine how well they can be repaired after the fact.

Fabian never used to bother getting things healed that weren't going to cause issues later. Shallow cuts would just get left alone to heal on their own, they were no big deal. The scar on his face got left long enough before Kristen healed it that, though the skin is smooth thanks to the amount of effort she expended trying to 'fix' it, its still fairly discoloured compared to the rest of his face. It was deep enough that if she left it for a few more hours it would start causing issues with the muscles on his face, luckily kristen is a good enough cleric that though she couldn't disappear it completly he has no underlying issues.

Kristen was subconsiously healing herself before anyone even realised she was a cleric. She's never had an injury linger long enough to cause a scar.

Adaine and Gorgug are in the same boat. The scars are old but can be smoothed out and faded because they're so shallow, but the discolouration is still there.

Fig has cuts and scars from the regular rough and tumble of being a kid. Nothing super gnarley because her mom is able to heal but she for sure had a lot of scraped knees growing up. The skin around the base of her horns is fairly scarred up as well, since she wouldn't let her mom heal her when they first broke through the skin.

Riz had a lot of superficial scars just as a result of getting bullied as a kid, not to mention ones he's accidentally given himself over the years because his claws are sharp and sometimes you'll accidentally cut yourself. His worst ones are on his hands and they're not superficial. Kristen and Fig weren't able to heal him straight away after the fight in the arcade and his hands got ripped to shreds in the palimpsest. Then they were arrested, separated, and he had to sit for hours in the back of the police van away from his friends without healing while they sorted everything out. By the time he got healed later the damage was already done. His hands shake and twitch now if he's tired or cold and his handwriting took forever to become legible again.

[evolutionsvoid]

Life in these lands was not always so harsh. Before the war broke out and the world tipped into madness, folks went about their days in relative peace and comfort. The battles of religious fervor were fought elsewhere, and the monsters that tormented folk could only be found in wild corners and campfire stories. There was danger in the world, and some folk certainly had harder times than others, but life always seemed to find a balance. But such balance can be so easily upset, and the war that shattered the Church quickly plunged every corner of this continent into chaos. Old enemies and ancient monstrosities returned in great numbers, but that wasn't all the people would have to suffer. As comforts of the Church and stable society crumbled away, inconveniences of the past soon became the present's woe. And creatures that were once kept in check now ran free...

The barnacle goose, to an outsider, is an innocuous thing. A bird of hardened shell and pale flesh that can be found on the coast. The adults themselves seem simple, feeding upon vegetation, small critters and humor scum that grows upon the surface of stagnant fluids. However, when one looks into their life cycle, then they begin to see the weird. The barnacle goose does not lay eggs like other creatures that look like them. There is no nest to build, no eggs to sit upon. The goose does indeed seek out trees when it comes time to lay its young, but it does not want a simple perch. Instead, the barnacle goose possesses a corkscrew-like member that pierces the bark and burrows into the host tree. Their tiny eggs are injected into the wood, and there they take root. Feeding off the plant, these parasitic young will grow into scaly pods of hard shell and hungry beak, eventually erupting from the tree's surface. Their barnacle young remain in this immobile state, sucking nutrients from their host while also feeding upon passing insects. Their caring parents bring food to them, excreting it into their waiting maws. In time, the branches and limbs of this tree will weaken, and the young will break free. Just in time for them to emerge from their shells and become a fully formed goose.

While this life cycle is certainly odd, the barnacle goose was typically seen as a curiosity or a meal. Their tough shells protected tender pale flesh, which was excellent and juicy when roasted. Even the young were harvested from trees, where they would be steamed and cracked open. To farmers who kept trees for their fruits and flesh, the barnacle goose was a pest, marring their beloved plants. It was a simple creature in a simple time, yet it would not remain innocent for long.

Before the war broke out, a new breed of barnacle goose began to appear. Debate continues on why they came to be, and no solid answers have been given. Many like to say that the time of plenty and harvest began to deplete the trees they depended on, and thus they needed new hosts. Others, more dramatic types, preferred to claim that the evils and sins of this world began to corrupt the local wildlife, so that they could torment the guilty and fallen. Regardless, the new type of barnacle goose that showed up ignored trees when it came to laying its young. Instead, its horrible member sought more mobile and meaty hosts. These barnacle geese attacked animals and humans alike, cutting them with razor wings, while vomiting or excreting vile fluids. Wounds, at first, would appear superficial but painful. Nothing a little healing Phlegm can't fix. But what wasn't discovered til later was that these geese carried a potent disease that spread through these injuries and liquids, and soon would consume the body.

The disease would gain the name of "Nymphosis" and its progression in a victim was quite horrific. The sickness would cause the skin to harden and for gnarled growths to develop. It would bear similarity to "Dendermis," a skin infection that would cause the tissue to break out into scaly, bark-like growths. However, this infection was a simple irritating thing, easily solved by Phlegm baths or liniment snails, while this version carried by the barnacle geese was far more potent and much faster. Within the course of days, the victim's whole body would harden and warp, leaving their limbs slow and their energy low. In this state, they would not have the strength to fight off a barnacle goose and its horrible burrowing member. When they are reduced to creaking, shambling meat-trees, the parent goose will come to inject its young. Those who are violated in such a terrible way will soon find their bodies hijacked by the parasitic youth. Not only do they form their barnacle shells, but invasive tendrils also wrap around the nervous system and leech nutrients from the host. With this, they suck victims dry as they grow, creating the shriveled emaciated look. But they also take control of the body, forcing their host to move as they please. With full control, the victim cannot fight back or do anything to prevent the young barnacles from erupting from their stomach. And when their head turns to mush and the skull softens, there is nothing left of the previous soul to stop the adult from removing the useless appendage and settling down on the gaping stump.

The end result of this horrible parasitization is a shambling tree-like husk that has a goose resting on its neck stump and a hungry bunch of barnacles nestled in its withered guts. There is no mind, no will. They will slowly lurch about, moving to areas that please its horrid parasites. When threats approach, it will even swat at them with gnarled limbs, trying to protect the very eggs that doomed them. The parent will stand guard, honking at approaching foes and fighting if they dare upset the nest. They will also feed their eager young, excreting food through the open throat hole so it may slip down to the gnashing beaks below. Eventually, they will hatch and emerge as fully formed barnacle geese. What they leave behind will be a fully petrified corpse, now immobile and perfectly tree-like. Death will finally take the wasted body, but its flesh may still not find peace, as other geese may use them as second hand nesting material.

This awful fate has certainly disgusted many folk and created countless horror stories, but infections were thankfully few and far between. With proper research and experimentation, the healers of the Church and the Apothecaries of the Academy each created their own medicines to cure the poor souls. These holy ointments or powerful drugs could be used after the victim contracted the disease, but before the eggs were laid in their flesh. It could stop the petrifying bark and hardening skin, which would make them improper hosts for the geese. With quick application and folks killing the offending birds, one could be spared the fate of becoming a mindless tree. This caused the barnacle goose menace to be more a pest and cautionary tale, inflicted on others so you could remind yourself not to make the same mistakes. But such comforts vanished when the war broke out.

While the disease can be cured in early stages, it can only be done so with the proper medicine. Not just any Phlegm will do, and common curatives only slow the process. Victims need the stuff made specially, but such a resource is now very scarce in this time of war. The healers of the Church have been called to the front lines, and the traveling Apothecaries have been ordered to cease their efforts and return to the Academy. Even though a good amount of Apothecaries ignored these commands and remain to help, their own supplies dwindle and make this medicine hard to craft. Thus, more folk succumb to this terrible fate, which results in more infectious birds being born. What was once a simple scary story is now a plague in some areas, with folks fending off flocks of these disease laden geese. When breeding season begins, they descend upon towns and inflict untold misery to its occupants. Even if war does not touch some villages, the gnarled husks left behind can show that death is still rampant in this world. If you are to find these abandoned shells, or the mindless drones that carry the vile young, grant them mercy and burn them away. Let them return to the Great Cycle, and may they be reborn in a kinder time...

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

"Barnacle Goose"

The barnacle goose situation felt like a fitting addition to FOI. But how to implement it? Hmmmmmm. How about the most horrible way possible?

[leafington]

𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙞 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚? 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. - kiyoko s.

content warning !! - blackfem!reader, GAYGAYGAY, fluffy, lowercase intended just for the aesthetic, sneaking thru window trope, mentions of homophobia (nobody is, its just a reference)

young love. something to be treasured for those who experience it to the fullest, not everyone got to take part in the privelege of having someone truly care for you before adulthood. earlier in life, it didn't occur to you that you'd get to be one of the rare exceptions who got that opportunity. if you met your younger self, asking if you'd ended up with some mascot from your favorite cartoon then, you would laugh and tell yourself no, but you got an amazing girlfriend who's not only gorgeous but smart.

shimizu looks out for you like no one else does, conveniently bringing extra food for you when you forget your lunch, a spare pen when you've lost yours, and all that she asks in return is your affection? this relationship thing couldn't be any easier! of course, you don't hesitate to communicate with her because sometimes hugging her under the stairwell isn't enough.

it's around midnight, maybe a quarter past, sleep is far from you now as you toss and roll in your sheets. this leaves you no choice but to text the only other night owl you know.

'hi baby r u awake?' you, 12:26am

'no im sleeping really hard actually. snoring even.' kiyoko ❤️, 12:26am

'ofc i am darling, what did you need?' kiyoko ❤️, 12:26am

'can i come over pls? cant sleep' you, 12:27am

'mhm. windows unlocked.' kiyoko ❤️, 12:27am

in the dark of the night, you tread through the streets lit by only dim streetlights to your girlfriend. you go around the side of her home and climb the lofty tree to sit on the windowsill and let yourself inside, there she was, waiting for you with open arms. any normal person would simply let themselves in through the front, though only when their parents weren't as strict as shimizu's.

without sharing any other words besides 'hi', you crawl into her bed and make yourself comfortable. the both of you lie there for a bit before you decide to speak. "you smell nice, pretty." this makes her smile. "thank you. 's everything okay with you?" she checks in, playing with your hair a bit. "yeah. i just couldn't go back to sleep, guess it was a sign that i needed to see you." you grin lovingly, never getting enough of being around her. "don't get too comfortable, you can't stay the night." she warns, scooting over to nuzzle herself into your chest.

"says the one actively trying to cuddle me." you chuckle. "i don't get why your parents hate me so much, i'm literally the kindest girl in the whole wide world. not to mention the best girlfriend in the universe." she snickers at this, a small smile forming. "if that'll get you to sleep, keep thinking that way." shimizu thinks quietly, why do her parents not approve of you?

it isn't like they don't like her choice of partner, far from it. they've always been protective of her, wanting nothing short of the best for their baby girl, both you and them have that in common. when first meeting them, they did seem to have some sort of stick up their ass. hounding you with the basic questions of, "what do you plan on doing with our daughter?" "how'd you two meet?" "how can we be so sure you won't hurt her?" but your intentions with her are just as good as the next person, although she's convinced herself there'll never be a next one.

you're always in her head. "don't think too much about it, they'll warm up to me sooner or later." you kiss the crown of her head, nesting yourself there happily. "i hope so."

your relationship isn't widely shared around the school but it isn't private either, if people ask then you'll tell them, if they don't, then that's none of their business. when you see her out in the halls, you don't immediately attack her with kisses, a small wave is enough. but when the two of you are finally alone, it's different.

it's quiet now. the fan in her room being the only thing keeping it from being dead silent. the only problem with that is the thoughts that keep her conscious and overly aware. "y/n? you like me right?" she whispers. why? you don't know, though you never question her ways. "sometimes." you joke, following up with a short, "of course." shimizu hums at this.

silence again. you're halfway tempted to ask her what that was all about, but before you could even consider it, she flips you over—now straddling your lap while you're cozied up against her pillows. "woah, warning next time." you watch her practically stare into your soul, maybe there's something on your face? did she take your joke too seriously? hopefully it wasn't that. whatever she has to say, she's choked up about it. her lips twitch and tighten out of anticipation for whatever she was going to say.

she's in her own head a lot too.

your eyes soften, a hand gently guiding its way to her face. shimizu's worried look falters when feeling the warmth, her hand then coming up to cradle yours. "i love you. an ungodly amount at that. i'm not all that good at showing that but i do and i'm glad that we're together." she's still whispering, you still don't know why. it doesn't matter, you heard the l-word from her loud and clear.

it's... weird. not in a bad way though. she sounds so precious saying it too, as if it were something on her mind for the longest. there's this unsettling feeling about hearing it for the first time from someone who isn't your family.

maybe that's what it is.

she's your first, your only, and hopefully your last. shimizu's seen parts of you nobody else has even attempted to try to see, she's picked up your broken pieces, helped you when you needed it most. you're scared. scared of losing her, never getting a second chance at this again because it sounds too good to be true as harsh of a reality as it is.

you see it now. this is what people treasure so much, what they long to experience, how lucky you are to get to know what it's like so early in life.

"i love you too."

©2024 leafington dont steal please!! :)

[insaincat]

Scales, Feathers. Tails, Tethers. Please turn my Lights Off.

A BakuDeku DragonXSiren au fic. Mentions of mpreg, depression, and suicidal thoughts (it's there).

Chapter 1.

When I was little I found a tiny wounded bird smaller than the smallest chick I had ever seen. It was so small I was convinced, despite it's fluffy feathers, it was a bettle of some sort with a long head. 

"Momma! Daddy! Look what I found!"

"Eh? What's that?" 

"It's a weird bug!"

"That's not a bug, sweetheart. That's a fletching hummingbird."

"Huh?" 

My father explained they were the smallest birds to exist and one of the fastest. Despite that, though, it looked like it wouldn't ever fly. It's wings were broken. 

"Why don't we take care of it?" 

"Can we?! It looks like it'll die from being looked at!" 

The fletching shivered, terrified of the great beings that held it in a palm, despite the fact we were currently traveling through the mountains disguised as humans on our way back home. 

"It might, but it wouldn't hurt to try. This little guy looks like he wants to fight for life."

I blinked at him, then at the feathered mess in my small hands that had perfectly cupped the small thing. 

"It can't fight for shit."

Because how could it? It would die no sooner than the morning would come. My father just laughed and shook his head. 

"One day you'll understand, Katsuki. Why don't we show your mother and we can take care of it together?

"Show me what?"

My mother approached from behind carrying a giant stag. She looked at my chubby human child hands and her eyes widened. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Uhh.. nothing. Just sorta reminds me of a friend I had before I met you."

"You had friends?"

"You little-"

"Yes, your mother has friends."

My father had laughed but there was a strain in his voice and my mother had a far away look in her eyes. I didn't know what she was thinking about until later. 

My father and mother let me carry the fledgling bird back to our camp for the night. They both knew an odd amount about hummingbirds, but I didn't question it as my mother was one of the eldest in our kindom. Everyone but father and I called her 'Elder'. I just called her 'Hag'. That would come to haunt me with my own children. 

The next morning I was surprised to see the fledgeling hopping around in the make-shift nest we made the night before, twittling something not quite pretty but not quite ugly. It was alive and better than before. My parents said they were surprised it made it through the night, but I knew they just used magic to make it better. Probably because my last pet died terribly and they felt bad. So I took it the rest of the way home and kept it fed and happy. By the time we arrived back to our home, it's wings were miraculously healed and it was able to flutter around, it's wings becoming too fast for eyes to see but a blur. It would flit by my head and chirp happily before resting on my head. 

When I took to my regular size, it seized up for a moment like it had a small heart attack before shaking it off and zipping up to rest on my head. Like it wasn't scared when it realized i was still me. Like I wasn't a great beast. But then again, with how small it was, I probably had seemed that way when I first found it. I had given it a name and told it mine, but it would only make a chirp that sounded like the first part of my name. It was close enough and impressive for a creature like it was. My parents were impressed. 

As months passed the fledgling's feathers gained more color going from black with flecks of green to green with blue down the neck with a sheen of purple, black still staying at the tips of it's wings. I found that it's long break was for drinking nector in flowers and it's small size aided it in flying faster than most of its predators, not that any dared to approach with me near. By the end of summer it was still the same size but it's feathers were a bit more shiney and refined, it flew faster than I could keep up. I thought this little thing was quite amazing. Probably one of the best birds to exist. It was my pride and my friend. My parents were growing worried though. They said it may be stunted because of how we found it as the bird was still in it's fledgling state, though it did seem to have aged a bit. According to them, it's feathers were still to puffy and new, it's beak not the same sharpness as a trained adult's. It's colors not as bright. But these things happen in nature, they said. Some animals are born stunted. Some are injured and remain that way. Still, they were glad I had a friend that kept me happy and busy. 

Mother still had that far away look in her eyes.

One day a humming bird that looked the spitting image of mine arrived on a branch when we were playing. I knew what my parents were talking about when they said mine was stunted. This bird looked older, in an odd way. It's body seemed more firm with shiney feathers that glittered like our best and most prized gems in the sun. It was slicker and beak sharper and had a look in its eye that made it seem just as wise as my mother, if not more so. It was jarring to see the spitting image of my bird but older, as if time had turned and folded, spitting out my bird from forward in time. Something about this bird made me feel uneasy. But then my little bird zipped straight to this new one and began nuzzling under them. That's when I realized this bird was my birds mother. After all, I did the same at times. 

I didn't see them again.

Years later, too many to care about, I grew up. I was the pride of my people and would one day take over my mother's position who held the title of Queen. The elder position was still ways off, but rulling was closer than ever. I had spent my entire life getting stronger and being the best, the top, the future king. And I would be the best any had ever seen. I would rule my people with strong claws and unparalleled strength. I would need no one but myself. And I would keep it that way, even going as far as denying any attempts at match making. At least I did until I was knocked out for a split second by the strongest magic I had ever felt beside my mother's. 

A human stood before me, green and black hair, dark tan freckled skin, holding a large staff that humanoids often used to channel magic pointed straight at me, panting from overexerting himself. The magic he had used wasn't possible. Not for any humanoid. Sure, with enough training long lived species of any nature could eventually defeat a dragon, but not a dragon to be king. This... This was impossible, and everyone knew it. The crowd that had just been cheering for me to eat this human was now screaming in anger. I wanted to scream in anger too. I was the one beat by an ant! Not them!

I had only become human and limited my power to fight this human one on one on equal terf. I'm not one to disrespect any who wish to better themselves and test their strength, and I wasn't petty enough like the others to humiliate them, ant or no. But this wasnt supposed to happen. It was just letting him go all out and getting the chance to prove himself to the other races! He wasnt supposed to actually beat me! I was furious, but my body was still numb. My father flew down to me, human now, to check on me. He was always much to kind. Besides, I was fine in the end. Just heavily jarred and a bit concussed. I eyed my mother who watched unmoving from the arena's throne. She wasn't looking at me, instead her gaze was focused on the human with that look I hadn't seen since I was a child holding my fledgling friend in my palm. The crowd of our kin screamed for a rematch, for the victors head. But they were all losers, always had been. They couldn't accept defeat from something other than another dragon. Even if it was a god. 

My mother blinked and raised her giant wings that eclipsed the sun behind her. 

"This human child is the winner!"

She had called and I felt my heart go into my stomach. I looked at the winner who was grinning at my mother, his teeth a bit too white for my taste. My mother dipped off her throne and as she descended she took on a human form like me and my father before landing. I felt like I was going to vomit with what was about to happen. This made me hate the human with every inch of my existence. 

"Your majesty" 

The human was paying respects to my mother. But then my mother opened her mouth and said something unexpected. "How's your mother? She's... She's alive.... Right?"

The human's eyes grew impossibly wider as he gapped like a carp. 

"I... Uh..  yes. I talked to her the other day."

"Good. I'm glad she's alright." 

Mother looked relieved for some odd reason. 

"Yeah. Um.. about the prize. I don't really need it. You can give it to the runner up, I guess?" He looked back to me but didn't seem startled at the glare of boiling hate I was sending at him while mentally wishing for his immediate death. 

"Unfortunately, that's not possible. There will be a betrothal ceremony in 5 days. If you're not there, you forfeit your life." Despite the threat, my mother didn't seem at all concerned, as if she knew this man would attend no matter what. 

The man blushed and gapped again and I wanted to beat him to the ground so bad. 

"Betrothal?!?" He looked to me and then back to my mother. "Is that why my mother told me not to fight? I thought this was just a tournament!"

"It is, to most species. But only because no one had ever expected a non-dragon to beat my son, the heir to our kingdom. It's never happened before. Yet here we are." She looked to me, her aura more of a queen and an elder than a mother. "Pick yourself up, Katsuki, and introduce yourself to your betrothed." 

And then my parents left us alone. 

The man called himself Izuku, a powerful mage. I could feel it now that we werent surrounded by dragons and other various species that this Izuku wasnt human now, but I couldn't put my finger on it. He also felt familiar. This marriage that I had fought so hard against and even made a deal with my mother that if I beat every contestant, I wouldnt have to marry for a much longer time, was now well out of my class. I was marrying a stranger that was somehow stronger than me. 

"I finally caught up." I had heard him whisper between pants right after he had knocked me on my ass earlier and the thought that beating me, though a bit aspiring later in life, pissed me off more than anything I had ever experienced. Even more than my tiny friend leaving me to be with it's family. Because how dare this short lived mortal be so familure with me! This creature that would die before i would have a chance to rule was not only stronger than me, but now my mate that would be recorded and laughed at for the rest of this world's history. That something so insignificant could be made significant with just some hard work alone. The ant that became God. 

Izuku apologied relentlessly and I near bashed his head in for it. There was nothing that could be done. I was tied down by an insignificant nothing and I couldn't do anything about it. I swore, as soon as I became King I would get rid of this ridiculous tradition. The night of our engagement came. In 100 years we would be, as humans say, wed. Id have to teach this ant to act like a dragon somehow. Even if it was a long lived humanoid, it was still not worth it in the eyes of my race's span. Id basically be teaching him how to walk, only for him to get it on his death bed. 

As human custom from somewhere, my mother had us use neck bands to signify our relationship. We could take them off after the ceremony but Izuku kept glancing away from my glare with a reddening face and I ended up crushing my collar despite doing my best to hold back. I kept glaring at him. With any luck he'd get the hint and off himself tonight. It's the least he could do for this shit he pulled. Then the ceremony ended and no one seemed very happy but my father and mother who would every now and then give each other soft smiles. 

"Your highness." Izuku had bowed to my mother in a more private setting. "While I'm honored to be betrothed to your son, I wish for a favor." 

My mother had turned to him and motioned him to continue. 

"To be honest, I only ment to stay for the competition. I'm... Not quite strong enough yet." Her eyes widened and I thought it was bullshit. He wanted to get stronger??? Had I not been still red-faced mad id have respected the asshole. "Please give me more time before I marry your son!"

"Your strong enough as is."

"But he'll get stronger! I want to stand by him, as an equal." 

My mother studied him for a moment, understanding that left me confused blossoming in her eyes. She smiled brightly. "I'll give you 200 more. Katsuki could use the time anyway." I gaped and Izuku bowed again. 

"Thank you! I promise I'll return!!"

He left before morning and I didn't see him again. Not for 400 years. 

My mother, despite having said 300 and not 400 gave him time anyway. She said it was payment for connecting her with her dear friend again. I'd never seen her so happy in my life as I did when she received a letter from a woman named Inko. She looked brighter than I ever thought was possible and our people thrived more than before. 

Only months before my correnation I thought my mother had finally sent someone to kill that lying long lived asshole when he appeared again. He stood taller than before with darker skin and dark hair tipped at the ends with purple and blue feathers. His aura had only grown more pronounced and though 400 years had passed, he only looked like a young adult but with the eyes of a man who had seen all of the world and experienced all it's wonders. I felt a bit jealous of that. Still, this man had broken a promise so I challenged him. Should he beat me, things would continue as they would have 400 years ago. But if I beat him, he'd die. 

That man... That man was as powerful as my mother now, possibly even more so. I had grown near her level through the years and in a short 20 thousand years, I could become an elder just like her. If things went well it would happen much sooner. Despite the amount of times I swore I had bested him, hed just get up and pull out something new. What made my mother call it was when I was so tightly wrapped by something so utterly impossible and ridiculous that I could hardly budge without suffocating myself or having sharp small teeth inpale my jugular. I was livid with my failure but more accepting with my own short comings now. 

This human... Thing... It had proved itself worthy to be the mate of a king dragon. No one would question it now. 

And just as I started to try to guess what this creature really was, it said something that gave me pause. 

"You've really grown a lot, Kacchan!" 

Kacchan was the sound the little bird made all those years ago. It's what it called me when it tried to say Katsuki. 

"What did you call me?"

"Kacchan?"

"How the FUCK do you know that?!" I stalked closer to him, growling and letting my scales crawl up my limbs and onto my back and stomach. 

"Well I had a hard time calling you Katsuki and you seemed to like it." I did like it, but only when my bird did it. My bird that was very much dead because it had been so long ago. He then had the gal to look very panicked. "You remember, right Kacchan!? We promised we'd always be friends! That we'd fight together, even if I was smaller! We'd have each other's backs!" 

I had said that. To a bird. One long gone by now. 

Izuku's eyes were big and glossy, tears pricking at the edges before falling down on star kissed cheeks. "I know it's been a long time, but I'd always intended to keep it!" The grown ass man sniffled patheticly, and had I known any better, Id say it hurt a bit to watch him look at me with eyes that big and a wobbly lip, like I had broken his small heart. Quickly that sniffle turned into a hiccup and then a sob and the next thing I knew he was on the floor crying something so hauntingly beautiful it took every fiber of my soul and magic to keep myself from going to him and whispering sweet nothings into his feathered hair. It felt like every sound that came out of his pretty lips made my heart hurt with him. I wanted nothing more than to comfort my soon to be mate. But I was a dragon, and that came with so much stubborness that it managed to ground me in place and breath shakey breathes. 

Something deep in my mind clicked. The beauty that I just now seemed to be seeing, the song between his lips that filled the air with thick turbulant Magic that was only kept away thanks to the strong enchantments around us, and the the big green eyes that spoke of wonders of the world. I was sure now. This was no human or long lived species. It was like me. Like us. A creature just as old and powerful. A creature that was once considered Gods themselves before they were hunted out of fear by humans and those like them. Creatures that lived in air, land, and sea. 

A siren. 

I had heard about them from my mother when i was a child, shortly after my little Deku had left me. They were a species that came into existence along with dragons and were even considered rivals. But unlike dragons, Sirens were cursed gods. They were born with only so much magic that started to leak out of them as soon as they were concived, making them, much like dragons, slow to reproduce as most didn't make it out of the egg. They held a great affinity, though, for all magic types and could hold a great mass of it. But because of the leakage, they had to source their magic from other creatures less they wish to die. Because of this, their life expectancy is tied directly to the magic they hold. What would look like an old woman could easily become young and beautiful as long as she ate something with potent magic. And because they leaked magic they were made to use it better than all. Magic that would come out of their pours would instead wrap around their vocal cords, their sounds becoming words, thoughts, meaning and turning it into power. Only dragons could match their innate magic. 

That was the only way any of this was possible. And if he really was the little bird from then...

"De-ku...?"

The name felt like ash on my tongue but the man immediately stopped his enchanting wail. He blinked up and me and then smiled, eyes softening at me. "You remember!"

I ended up marrying that siren, which I did get to confirm by both him, my parents, and his mother who had been that older humming bird who had taken him away from me so long ago, was in fact my Deku. I still hated him for a bit after that, but I was crowned and busy taking over what my mother had given me. Izuku, impressively, helped quite a bit. The younger dragons quickly eased up to him and found his strength worthy of their king, though the older ones did not. I quickly found myself not hating this siren for much longer. He was strong and kind and beautiful. Not that he wasn't handsome when he was human, but he fit my taste better as a siren than his human disguise. His feathers had slimmed down and become like a polished sparkling gems in the moonlight. Beautiful in every angle. I wasnt able to keep myself from him long. 

Within just 20 years we became mates in more than official means. He was my heart and I adored him. Through the years we would go out and enjoy a small few years as other creatures, both for diplomatic reasons, and as a general break. We had children too. Turns out when you mix two species who have an impossible time having children, you get extremely fertile eggs. My parents beamed at that as this meant a better future generation. 

Decades passed then the time of man arrived and all things that werent human were hunted to extinction. I had to hide my people and others. I could have wipped the humans out and let dragons reign again, but my husband told me it was the way of nature. It would balance out in time. He had always been better at future sight than I. Plagues passed over the humans and reduced their numbers but they'd just spring back up faster than weeds. Soon enough wars became bigger, humans found and fought over new land, trade, spices, people. Art covered history, history only fairy tales and my people and others were forced to become one with them. We saw the rise and fall of kingdoms and the eradication of people's only different by some miles and an accent. New technology was made and evolved. Wars now reached over waters and to different continents. Legends and stories were adapted and changed. Things developed faster. 

My husband was hypnotized by the human's new technology and aided in their research. We had both come to know all there was to know on magic, and though he still loved and studied it, with the rise of human technology and magic all but disappearing, he found new passion with the technology and sciences. I didn't find it too interesting, but it was far from boring at least. Despite this new found interest I felt that we were suddenly growing apart. After all these thousands of years together, somehow, it was this that drew him away from me?

No. I know the reason why it happened. I just was too ashamed to admit it until it was too late. 

I left him when he needed me most. 

He disappeared again, without a word. The last I saw him he was begging for my help, use my magic that had grown with me as I became an Elder and had only grown stronger since to save a child. But I refused as that would mean giving humans the one thing they should never have. 

I didn't see him again. 

At least I didn't think I would. Not after I left him sobbing like that on the floor of our empty home. 

But there he was. Younger now, in human form. Nearly brown skin with freckles. Black hair that illuminated a deep green where the light touched with a few spare purple feathers he didn't bother to hide. Unnaturally Green wide eyes. In a uniform of grey and blue, talking to a young human with bobbed brown hair and eyes with flushed cheeks who wore the same blazer as him but sported a skirt instead of pants. 

His eyes scanned over her and around the room of students before catching mine and smiling bright. Stretched. Strained. Fake. It made me angry. It made the pit in my stomach that had formed since I last saw him grow. It had been 300 years since I saw him last but it felt longer than that. It felt impossibley long. I wanted to hold him. 

His eyes refocused on the human girl and I wanted to kill her. To snap her neck and swallow her whole. To bellow flames at her until her charred body became ashes and that became smoke. I wanted my husband's focus on me. Even if it hurt. I didn't want anyone else near him. But I swallowed the burning need to take my mate back and hide away with him. As far as I could tell, we were indefinitely seperated. 

It wasn't the first time we seperated, but those had lasted only a hand full of years and we'd always come back to each other. This felt perminate. Like what I had done 300 years ago killed what ever love he had for me, which is in itself amazing as that man had never seemed to truly hate anything ever. But now he hated me. Theres no other way to describe the empty eyes that had met mine for that brief moment. 

I loved his eyes. 

They were so bright and full of wonder. 

It made me angrier. 

______

Kacchan. 

My Kacchan. 

So beautiful and full of power. 

I revered him from a young age. I adored him even younger. I had the blessing to love him. And I fucked it up. 

I killed something that should never be killed. It ruined me. 

I should have listened. I should have stayed and tried other ways, despite the fact there were none. I should have never trusted them. He was right. He was always right. 

And it ruined me. 

I couldn't face him. I-... I couldnt! Being away from him was killing me but knowing he hated me was even worse. 

I slept for awhile, hoping the pain would fade. What I awoke to made me hate myself even more, but what could I do? This was my penance. To live with that I had done, what I had made the world into. My kind didn't deserve what had happened to them. Maybe if at least I had fought for them, they would have found equal footing among humans! But now they were just hiding among them, miserable and forgotten. 

I had promised to protect them, didn't I? 

I remember this while watching a man with power he should not have emerging from a pile of flaming rouble with injured people in his arms. 

The man, blonde, tall, rippling with muscle and a smile larger than life shouted from atop a crumpled buss, "I AM HERE!!"

I should ask for forgiveness from those I failed. 

Maybe becoming a hero like this man was a good step in the direction. 

Maybe I could face Katsuki again. 

.

.

.

Notes: :))))))) geeze I love angst. And hinted past mpreg. I'll be posting fics here again, or at least the wips of them. It's fun.

But yea, non edited cuz phone editing is kinda ass and my eyes r blurry. When I post part 2, it'll be longer. Not sure if I'll continue with pov or just only have it for this chapter.

Lemme know what u think!!

[lej222]

ASLFUA 148 Analysis

I'm so late, but this episode was full of crazy details so I had to go back to the beginning of the story. That being said, be aware of spoilers under the cut:

Let's start with the biggest revelation of the chapter : Miae and Jisu were friends as kids. Many of us saw this coming, but the flashbacks were super cute and raised quite a few questions. In my recent post, I talked about how memories and fate are intertwined in the story. And it feels like I might have been on the right track:

This screenshot is from episode 1! Do we see something strange here? After reading ep148, we definitely do! Miae doesn't simply not remember Jisu, his entire presence was erased from her memories! In all these moments, Jisu was next to her in Jisu's flashback, yet in Miae's memories there's no trace of him at all.

I've said before that Miae clearly tries to reject the fate the unidentified higher power set for her : when she hears its voice, she dismisses it, she forgets her dreams, kicks away the flyers about changing one's car, and it all makes the higher power irritated and more aggressive. From all the signs, it's trying to guide Miae towards Jisu while it says she is too late when it comes to Cheol and she shouldn't have any regrets. Miae ignores and is oblivious to her fate to the point her memories about Jisu were erased! There's absolutely no other way why she has no recollection about him, but remembers everyone else. Memories are indeed tied to fate, and Miae is sabotaging her own destiny! Question is, like I said in my previous post, whether the higher power knows everything best (and some things are set in stone), or Miae will fight it to be with Cheol. Right now, it's impossible for her to remember Jisu without triggering her own fate in the process. More suspiciously, Miae surely would remember a boy who used to be her friend, she herself says it:

Miae remembers the other boy who was her friend, but with the only memory where Jisu appears, we only get a "Who are you?"

Miae called Jisu a magpie in the flashback. Magpies are symbolic animals in Korea, and there's a famous folktale about them, the 'Grateful Magpies'. According to the story, a man one day saw a nest of baby magpies attacked by a large snake. He killed the snake using his bow and arrow, and the parents of the magpies were very grateful. He was later attacked by the wife of the snake and it said he could only survive if the bells of the temple rang 3 times, but it was night. Still, the bells rang and the man survived. He wanted to thank the monks of the temple, only to discover the lifeless bodies of magpies who threw themselves at the bells, along with the parents of the baby chicks. They sacrificed themselves in order to repay the man's kindness.

Aside from the obvious similarity to Jisu's character design, Jisu being called a magpie is also a symbolic choice considering his role in the story.

On the cover of ep148, we see Miae with a bow and an arrow, trying to save the magpies. So in our story Jisu is the grateful magpie who wants to return the favor of her standing up to his bullies. At least he's been trying to. He tried to scold Cheol, but Cheol was not a bad guy. BUT Jisu is aware of something that could get him into real trouble. Jisu has been watching the guy with the mole, Shim, who tried to bully Miae. I'm pretty sure it was also Jisu standing behind him at the physical examination,

he also saw him trying to hit Miae. He even tried to take revenge with the cigarettes. Although I highly doubt Jisu will die, he might get hurt while trying to repay Miae's kindness.

[Miae kicked the boy who confessed to her and bullied both her and Jisu. His tooth fell out and we know one guy in the story who fits the description (Taeuk). Coincidence? Maybe.] -> CORRECTION: it couldn't be Taeuk, the bully had a different name! Shim also has a different name, so it was most likely a random guy!

Jisu sees some men smoking in front of the salon and tells Miae to go inside. One of them (the black-haired one) could be Jisu's father, so the theory that Jisu has a problematic parent might be real.

Jisu being bullied in elementary school is confirmed. We also see him displaying signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a young age: he appears to be withdrawn, prefers to play alone, appears indifferent to other people, accepts contact if initiated by others but doesn't initiate contact, approaches other children in an unusual way, shows little interest in his peers and doesn't want to play with them, finds hard to understand Miae's thoughts, feelings and intentions.

Looks like Jisu is always being chased by Miae while he wants to run away in every timeline lol. As kids, she was dragging him around to play with them so he wouldn't get bullied, while in the present she wanted to make him study. Poor Jisu never gets a break around her and people were calling him the stalker lmfao

Cheol was the first boy Miae met who didn't use his height to intimidate other children so Miae wanted to show him that she was also capable of protecting herself and others. This is why she fought against the bullies who hurt others, leading to Jisu becoming her friend. I would like to make an important note here: Miae was not imitating Cheol's behaviour, but rather she was inspired by Cheol's noble character. Jisu didn't become Miae's friend becasue she was channeling Cheol, it was because Miae was still her unusual self who acted brave because of Cheol. I received a question about how Jisu must be in love with Cheol because Miae was imitating him, and no, this is a bad take. The story makes it clear Miae and Cheol are different inidividuals, but were uplifted and inspired by each other. Saying Jisu liked the Cheol in Miae diminishes Miae's individual charming and unique qualities, the things that make her unusual in the eyes of other people, similarly to how Jisu is still considered an outcast.

Next chapter Miae might meet up with Cheol, or we will get more Jisu backstory. I wonder if he will play his instruments, he's always listening to music. I guess we will have to wait until next week. :) (Edit: lol I was right he indeed played the guitar😃 how can people hate this kid is beyond me)

[quitealotofsodapop]

Pspspsps!

Hey, hey!

I don’t remember if this was canon or just fanon, but there was something about Mei and putting trackers on her friends? In the TMKATI-verse, this could be her way of dealing with her parents, to know where her family is. Some keep them on them for her sake.

But what if it those trackers also had cameras and could record sound?

And it recorded the moment Mr. Star Lord of Fire hit Li Jing with his car?

I am only saying this because it would make for Nezhas favorite video clip ever.

And him showing it to Canon!Nezha would be good too. He’d get a human world phone just to have this video with him, I think.

May or may not show it to the rest of the canon group – many reactions ensue, at least a few snickers to a cackle.

But imagine, later – Li Jing for some reason has arrived and has to tell the canon-gang something (can be anything, not important). The Eclipse twins are placed a in a hastily made nest from the scarves/capes and given a phone with a video playing as distraction, while the grown ups deal with that a-hole.

And he’s talking.

And talking.

And talking.

Man’s posturing more than saying the very important thing somebody high up in the Celestial Realm sent him to say. It’s very annoying. The 30 minute video the cubs were watching has ended already and they are now randomly jumping from video to video.

Until the algorithm manages something magical.

The next video they play, is the cucaracha car horn.

It is loud.

Loud that the gang instantly stiffen and desperately stone their expressions to not burst out a laugh.

Probably doesn’t help that the ‘huh’ sound Li Jing made was almost similar to the sound he made when hit with the car.

At least that got him to finish the message and leave.

Cackles ensue. The twins are confused but okay with the hugs baba is giving them.

Mei does in canon have trackers on the rest of the Monkie Kid gang as mentioned in "Noodles or Death", it's how they're able to find out where Pigsy and Tang are; apparently a camera is attached to Tang's glasses.

“I attached cameras to all of you guys a while back. Not so creepy now, is it?” ―Mei

The canon series doesn't really expand upon it much afterwards beyond being an easy way for the crew to find out where Tang and Pigsy went.

[In the TMKATI-verse, this could be her way of dealing with her parents, to know where her family is. Some keep them on them for her sake.]

Oh thats sad af. I love it >:)

Baby Mei def had attachment issues - her dragon parents knew she was the new Ring of Samadhi, and they didn't want to "get too attached" (especially with a warning from Ao Guang about something big going down), and after the whole "batman-ing" happens...

Cue a baby dragon with separation anxiety who screams if she isn't in the presence of at least one of her caretakers. Like she'd start crying if someone went to the bathroom without her.

Mei got better as she got older, but she always had very bad anxiety regarding her family members even as an adult. She started to worry about the ways her adoptive family could be hurt and unable to contact her. An Incident where MK got himself into some hero-nonsense as a kid and couldn't answer his phone for many hours, Mei had a straight up panic attack, worried that her little brother had gotten hurt.

The trackers/cameras came in as a compromise to Mei clinging to MK 24/7 after the incident. It really helped to put her anxiety at ease and allow for her and MK do their own things as teenagers. As someone who grew up with anxiety, its kinda hard to learn to just "go do stuff" on your own.

Pigsy thinks the cameras/trackers are a bit creepy, but Macaque and Wukong are like; "How is it any different from us using our powers to keep tabs on you guys?" Pigsy in turn argues that the monkeys don't have a chance of catching him in the bathroom ("I use Gold Vision all the time during work to see if you're in the can or not."). Eventually the arguments peter off until the adults just agree to keep the trackers on their phones/personal effects.

MK in turn is very meticulous on keeping himself findable for Mei.

MK: *is being kidnapped by Villains of the Week* MK: "I wanna warn you guys, I swallowed an air tag." VOWs: *shared looks of confusion*

And ofc due to at least one family member at a time having a camera on them, especially during missions...

[And it recorded the moment Mr. Star Lord of Fire hit Li Jing with his car?]

Post referencing; Li Jing getting hit by SWK's Lawyer's car XD

XD

You know the kids are watching that on loop, adding sound and video effects until it's like an old youtube poop. Nezha has the video saved in multiple dimensions for a laugh.

[The Eclipse twins are placed a in a hastily made nest from the scarves/capes and given a phone with a video playing as distraction, while the grown ups deal with that a-hole.]

Oh gosh the imagery of two pairs of little glowing eyes peaking out from a scarf/blanket nest is soo cute. Probably the default way the monkey parents know how to keep cubs occupied. X3

I love the idea of the Eclipse twins accidentally startling/embarassing a whole god with the sound of La Cucaracha. You know the Celestial Realm would never let Li Jing live it down, no matter the universe XD

[frostybearpaws]

Vicilite Life Cycle

Reproduction

There are two main ways for a vicilite to reproduce. Asexually, in which the egg sacks grow from Vicelium and develope for three weeks before breaking off to the main growth. Or sexually there gametes meet. The origin for each Vicilite may be different, however the process after being detached from either the vicelium or dam is the same.

Egg Sack

An impregnated Vicilite can gestate up to ten egg sacks at a time, however this number varies gestation period to gestation period. The egg sacks take about three weeks to develop upon which point they will be expelled from the mother’s body and placed in various nesting sights. Vicilites start their lives sharing an amniotic sack with up to twenty other siblings, however by the end of this six month development period only two or three will emerge as the others cannibalize each other once the initial yolk runs out.

Larvae

Adults have a designated room where they store the eggs that are to hatch. Within this room scrap metal and organic material such as plant matter and carcasses are placed around this area. After the larva emerge firm their egg sacks they begin to consume what is around them under the watchful eyes of the guardians (individuals with the role of watching over the nest sights and protecting them from intruders). For almost three months the larva will eat what is available around them and grow from the size of a grape to over two feet long. When they are sufficiently fattened up, they begin to pupate.

Pupa

Vicilites remain in their pupa stage for six months metamorphosizing into a vicilite nymph. During this time they are moved from the nest and placed into a hatchery. This is to prevent any new larva from consuming their brethren. Pupa all begin white but gradually begin to show the colors they will become later in life as the day for them to emerge approaches.

The Tumultuous Path to Adulthood

The entire process from hatchling to adult takes about twenty years to complete itself. It may seem like a long time, but in the grand scheme of a vicilite life span 20 years is an insignificant number.

Emergence

The act of breaking out of their cocoon is a very violent, tiring, and stressful process. The vicilite first begins to thrash and kick, using as much strength it can muster to break the confines of the cocoon. When there is a sufficient opening the hatchling must work its way out of the tight fit. This is a dangerous chapter in the vicilites life as failure to emerge from their pupa can lead to them drowning in the remaining fluids. Once emerged the hatching lays on the ground to rest and it collected by caretakers.

Infant/Hatchling (emergence — 1 year)

The first year of the emerged vicilite’s life is spend being cared for by parents and members of the colony. Infants are about the same size as adults however they are not covered in protective armor instead the soft layer of skin is all they have against the elements. For this reason infants are more susceptible to temperature changes and physical attacks. Infants are also weaker than adults needing to build up muscle mass as the grow. In these first few months of the infants life they are carried by parents and brought food that has been gathered.

Fry (1 — 4)

By this point on the vicilite’s life they have started to develop the first layers of armor. This does keep them more protected than when the were infants, the armor is still soft leaving the fry open to attacks. However the presence of this armor does allow for better temperature regulation. At this point in the vicilite’s life cycle they are starting to explore their surroundings and gain better muscle control. Later in fryhood they begin to learn how to speak.

Celiette (5 — 9)

The physical differences between fry and celiette are minimal however the developmental characteristics are vast. Celiettes have better muscle control and have gained the ability to form sentences. At this point the vicilite is beginning to learn social cues and is starting to develop friendships with others their age.

Wireling (9 — 13)

Wirelings are beginning to learn how to contribute to the group learning roles they can play to keep the colony functioning. By this point the vicilite has entered the second stage of armor and are covered in a harder casing however there is still a final stage that must be complete. At this point there are still gaps that need to fuse together or grow in which has not occurred yet. At this point the wirelings are learning how to hunt and identify edible plants. This is also the time reproductive systems begin to activate and the youths begin to explore sexuality.

Nymph (13 — 18)

The nymph has begun to transition into the third and final stage of armor development. Once they reach 16 or 17 the armor will be difficult to damage due. However there are still parts that need fusing. Also around this point, nymphs will begin participating in adult activities such as hunting and gathering as well as guarding the hive.

Vicilette (18 — 20)

The vicilites are fully developed physically and are on their way to being fully mentally developed as well. They are still technically children hence the name vicilette instead of vicilite.

[ruthlesslistener]

You’ve got a few au’s where Pk is the one eggnant with hornet, any egggant Pk headcanons? Brooding habits? Weird cravings?

He's not much different than other broody wyrms tbh! Apart from the fact that he is of course a whole hell of a lot smaller, and considers any reminder of his biological basis to be a major indignity. The same basic premise for how I headcanon gravid wyrms are applies to him as well, which are:

-Getting far bulkier in both fat and muscle mass before and soon after the eggs are fertilized. Wyrms are ravenous beasts, and their hatchlings are even more so, considering how quickly they must grow to have a chance at surviving the Wastelands. But food is a scarce resource that must be carefully rationed, so most wyrm-parents will simply not eat after their children hatch, as they will be giving all of their prey to the new hatchlings. Not to mention that later on in the development period, much like snakes, a gravid wyrm will simply be too full of egg to eat big meals anyways, so it's better to just sleep and rely on those fat stores than to risk anything by moving

-His scales will darken, as the hormones for egg development/production also increase melanin production. This is because wyrm burrows are typically not located as deep underground as you'd expect (the nest would grow too cold otherwise), so the guarding 'female' would need to blend into the darkness better to hide the young. In someone like PK, who rarely ever goes through a breeding season gravid, this would just tinge his scales from white to silver, but wyrms who spend many seasons choosing to carry eggs will often be far larger and darker than other wyrms

-has the instincts to build an elaborate nest within a tightly enclosed/guarded space- think like a king cobra's nest, where there's a hollow broodchamber and a roof, except in his case he's trying to compensate for not being underground. Most wyrms will laboriously dig a great nesting-cavity out of mountainsides or rocky terrain, where the earth is too difficult to gouge up from underneath without the parents noticing, and is rough enough from above to hide the entrance to the burrow. In the very center of the nesting-cavity would be the nest itself, a hollowed-out dome filled deeply with a layer of stones at the bottom and soft earth/moss on the top to incubate the eggs and keep the hatchlings contained for a time, and around the walls of the nest would be a great groove for the brooding parent to wrap around, so that they may lie comfortably with their belly pointed inwards, their tough back plates pointing out, and their head resting either atop their coils or near the entrance/exit of the nest. This construction is a laborous process and usually occupies the first third of the gravid period when there is no mate to assist (the nonlaying parent helps build and will guard the nest vigilantly from outside, or if also gravid, will coil up alongside their partner in shifts)

-Aggressive and territorial-defensive behaviors would rise drastically. Making eggs is a taxing process, rearing the products of such process even moreso. A parenting wyrm's worst nightmare is an attack on their nest or mate, and so they deal with the threat of it by striking preemptively. This aggression boost is also passed onto the mate via pheromone transmission from the gravid parent, and excludes them from the enemy roster- but since only mates are allowed in close proximity, siring the clutch doesn't mean much. You have to be bonded in some way to not be suspect, and that's difficult to do

-More mate-appeasing requirements become necessary during this time as well, to prove that they would not turn on the clutch post-hatching (as the eggs may have mixed sires, and wyrms will kill and consume offspring that they sense is not their own). Remember that with gods, mateship is a balance of dominance; this is when submissive rites must be undertaken to lower the chance of being mauled by your gravid lover, as its usually the older, larger, more dominant wyrm who is carrying. Exceptions are rare, but when they happen, appeasement behaviors are still demanded- and would need to be met- by the previously-dominant partner. Feeding your gravid mate (or at least offering, if they refuse) is a huge part in this

-This irritation isn't helped by the fact that headaches, cramps, hot flashes and other problems are often triggered by the hormones

-The last third of the eggnancy is closed off by very little eating and quite a bit of sleeping. Like, most of the day comotose sort of deal. This is because wyrm clutches are large and laying is a laborious process, so sleeping most of the time is a means to build up energy for the big event, and the long brooding period that will come after. Don't disturb this slumber if you want to keep your hand (or life)- the slumbering wyrm is still primed to defend their nest to the bitter end, and will snap before they're fully awakened. Most non-gravid mates will abandon the nest at this point and take guard duty to avoid this fate

And that's it! It really isn't like a human pregnancy at all, so he doesn't get any weird cravings or anything like that. He basically just chonks up to an actually healthy weight, develops an even more insatiable appetite for flesh, and gets a whole hell of a lot moodier than normal bc of hormone migraines. All an indignity to him of course, but it's pretty manageable for Herrah bc all she's gotta do is throw food at the nest to feed the guy while she waits for her eggs to finish cooking. Wyrms are built to have clutches and guard nests on their own, since bonding with a mate isn't a sure deal, so PK is very much a hands-off means of producing an heir

[ashs-random-writing]

a burning feeling

Chapter 13 - the end

Ao3

—

When Patton, a young-ish human, feels drawn to the mountains that house dragons, he doesn't know why he follows the feeling.

He definitely doesn't know why the dragons seem so... protective

—

Patton had been very very glad when the blue dragon had shown up. They had pretty much immediately noticed his tiredness from his dimmer-than-usual glow, and taken him to his nest. 

Patton had tried to stay as close as possible to them, unsure if they’d leave again (what if they never came back this time? He didn’t want that to happen) and he found that they stayed firmly next to him. He drifted to sleep in silence, for he didn’t know how long. When he woke up, Purple had joined them, both dragons watching him.

He smiled, chirping in the way he had started doing recently. It was like he was trying to imitate his dragons but in a strange way. He didn’t even know he was doing it that much. The dragons chirped back, and Patton glowed just a little brighter. 

He was taken out of the nest and set down just in front of the dragons. He walked towards Blue and gently grasped onto their scales. He didn’t want them to leave. He was nudged gently, as they made some reassuring chirps.

Patton, after several minutes just sat next to his dragon, started to play, still staying close, and looking back at his dragon. It took a while before he was entirely sure that they would not leave the second he turned his back.

He started properly playing after a while. Blue was here. Purple was here. The giant was outside. Everyone was safe, everyone was okay. He couldn’t stay nervous. 

His dragons were nice. He chirped. They chirped back. His smile was wide as his fire burned brighter. He was running around, trying to help use up all the energy that was coursing through his veins. He ran around for a few hours, but Purple put him back in the nest. He yawned. When did he get so tired? He watched his dragons for a while, starting to fall asleep 

When he woke up, there was food waiting for him and he started eating. The dragons were quietly chirping to each other on the other side of the cave. Patton chirped so they’d let him out, and looked around. They seemed nervous. He wondered why.

He was lifted out and he cuddled up to his dragons. 

Something was going on. He might find out later, but right now, he wanted to help his dragons calm down. They were so nice to him. He felt their wings drape over him like a big blanket. 

He always felt so comfortable like this. He wondered if this was how babies felt when being cradled by their parents. He knew something had happened. He could tell. But, there were no new injuries on any of them, so he decided it didn’t matter 

— 

Virgil’s kid was small. Vulnerable. If they hadn't brought Remus here, the knight might’ve killed it. Virgil didn’t want to think about that 

The knight had tried to hurt Remus during the kid’s nap time. Of course, since it was only one human that barely measured to half of Remus’s pointer finger, it was unsuccessful. If Remus wasn’t there, however, it would be in the cave. It would be fighting.

Virgil was still recovering from the last fight. He wouldn’t be able to protect his kid. Of course, there was the protective charm, but he didn’t know how long that’d hold up with an enchanted sword hitting it over and over.

Logan was out hunting whilst the knight had made its attempt. 

Remus was keeping it in his pocket for the time being. He had gotten rid of its weapons. He had left it defenceless against anything Virgil would do to it. Virgil would feel bad about that, had the knight not done worse to him, Logan and their sprite

The little thing woke up a small while later, blissfully unaware of the failed attack. He was talking to Logan when it had started calling out. He lifted it out, and it immediately cuddled up to the two of them. He was still tense, despite the lack of any danger. 

He was going to wait a little longer to kill the knight. He wanted it to feel the same tension that plagued him between every attack. He didn’t want it to get a peaceful death. He wanted it to be fearful. 

He played with his kid for a while. It kept going to sit in the fire. Since it discovered that it could move the flames, it had been its favourite game. It was like when a hatchling just realised that it had wings. The next night would be a new moon. 

How fitting would it be, to get his revenge on the best night of the month?

The day went by quickly. So did the next. Remus had given the knight small pieces of food, to make sure it would live for the revenge. It was time now. 

The knight could not escape this time. It could not fight. His child was asleep, so it wouldn’t witness the violence.

The knight got a quick but painful death, and was disposed of down the mountain. 

Virgil decided that the town would be safe. As far as he could tell, they had outcast the knight, they were somewhat innocent

As the decades went on, and his child slowly forgot its infant years, and named itself (Patton, what a wonderful name) and became a (quite small) very helpful kid. 

Virgil loved his kid. Logan loved their kid. Patton loved his parents 

—

Tag list: @a-chilly-pepper

[agirlwithbigdreamsforher]

CHAPTER 16

THE NANNY: CHAPTER 16

Pairing: Andy Barber x Annie Johnson (OFC)

Summary: Working and single parenting is not easy. Andy needs to find a nanny for his son Jacob. Annie, an education degree student at Lasell University, comes to their lives just in time for the big changes in Andy’s life.

Warnings: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. Smut, language, explicit sexual content.

A/N: They finally go out on a date… we will know about Andy’s past and things will get steamy! Wrap it before you tap it!

Disclaimer: I do not give permission for any of my works to be copied, used, translated nor reposted anywhere else but here on this blog. Do not steal what you didn’t work for. Minors and ageless blank blogs don’t interact with me or my works. Reblogs and likes are always welcome. Thank you for reading this work of fiction.

Word count: 2865

GIF not mine, if its yours, please let me know to give you credit :)  

                                     ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Saturday, late morning, Annie felt drained. It was around noon when she got up and went to the bathroom, the reflection in the mirror showed her red puffy eyes, and she splashed her face with cold water. She get out of the bathroom colliding with Andy.

“Shit! Sorry honey. You ok?”

“Yeah” Annie rubbed her eyes. “I’m tired.”

“Maybe you should go back to sleep. I know having anxiety attacks take a lot of energy so I think…”

“I didn’t have an anxiety attack” she answered defensively.

“Very well,” Andy didn’t want to argue with her “Whatever you say honey. Can I get a kiss?”

She smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Alright I have to leave now, have to buy some things. I see you in our date.”

“Date?” Annie looked at Andy befuddled. “You still wanna date me?”

“Of course I do!” Andy give her a quick kiss “why wouldn´t I?”

“Because of what happened last night” Andy just stared at her “I’m damage.”

“You’re not damage. He hurt you, but what happened doesn’t define who you are, and certainly doesn’t define why I’m in love with you.” Annie was taken aback about by his confession, “And if you think I’m gonna miss my shot to take you out, you are completely insane.” Andy give her another kiss “I see you later. Be ready by 5.”

Andy left the house and she came back to her room and decided to rest some more to have energy for their date.

Annie heard Andy came back around 4 p.m. and went to his room to take a shower, on the meantime she was in her room choosing what to wear for their first date. She was incredible nervous, she lived with the guy and still her stomach was the nest of a bunch of butterflies that didn’t want to go away, she couldn’t even have lunch. She changed her outfit at least 5 times, going for simple and casual to sexy and everything in between, it didn’t help that Andy wasn’t telling her where they were going; he said anything will be fine, but what if it wasn’t? It was almost 5 when he put the last outfit she had chosen, a red sundress, with short sleeves, it was a little above her knee and she opted to wear a pair of white tennis. She turned to see herself in the mirror, it was simple, comfortable and she felt cute. She was finishing her make up when the doorbell rang a couple of times.

“Andy! Can you get the door, please?!” But the doorbell kept ringing. “Argh! Andy?!” She left her room and went towards Andy’s only to find it empty so she went downstairs. “Coming!”

When she opened the door she found Andy standing there with a bouquet of pink daisies and a wide smile spread on his face at her flabbergasted expression.

“Hi! Ready to go?” Andy was wearing jeans, a white polo shirt, black letter jacket and tennis shoes.

“I… wait, what?”

“I decided to give you the whole dating experience. If I’m missing something please just tell me cuz I haven’t done this in almost four years.” Andy stepped into the house “You look lovely” gave her a kiss on the cheek, “These are for you.” He handed her the bouquet.

“Thank you, how you know they’re my favorite?”

“I asked Sharon last night when you were in the bathroom.”

“Of course you did. You’re cute. I girl can get used to this.”

“Please do.”

“Let me put them in water, grabbed my jacket and we can go.”

“Perfect!” Andy followed her to the kitchen, “You have a great house.”

“hahahaha thanks! It’s my boss’, he’s a lawyer.”

“Sounds impressive. I better not mess up with you then.”

“You better not, he is a menace.”

After Annie grabbed her denim jacket, they both jumped to the car. Andy drove throughout Newton and out of the city.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

It wasn’t a long drive, 20 minutes at most. Andy turned in the middle of a dirty road, no houses, no pavement, and he kept driving until the floor was covered with grass and she saw all Newton from above.

“Oh my god! Andy, this place is beautiful. How did you find it?!” Annie stepped out of the vehicle, Andy following behind and walked to get a better view of the town.

“I come here every time I need to think. I don’t believe people in Newton know about this place. Is always desolate.” Andy walked to his car “Can you help me?”

Annie came to assist Andy taking out a fluffy blanket and some cushions while he carried a huge basket. They placed everything on the floor and Andy took out the food and plates for their picnic. He had a bit of everything in that basket, juice, soda, wine, water, salad, fruit, sandwiches, pasta, croissants, strawberry jam and chocolate spread. Annie was amazed at the many options they had to eat.

“I thought to take you to a restaurant, but we went to one last night.”

“You said last night didn’t count.”

“Well, we can still go to the restaurant if you want.” Andy looked a bit disappointed.

“Andy, I´m just joking, this is perfect, thank you.” She kissed him and he smiled. “You put quiet the effort with the food.”

“I bought it, I didn’t want to screw things up, and if I made this at home you would have noticed. So, what can I serve for the lady?”

“I want pasta and salad for now.”

“For now? I love a girl with a great appetite.”

“I didn’t have breakfast or lunch, I’m starving.”

Andy took a sandwich and serve a glass of wine for Annie and he took a beer out for him. They were eating and talking about work and school, they were almost finished and the sun was setting when Andy phone dinged, he opened the text he got and showed Annie his phone. Jake was on screen, a video of him and Luis swimming in a pool.

“He is having a great time.”

“Seems like it. I’m glad he is having fun. Let’s take a picture and send it to him.” Annie took Andy’s phone, putting the selfie camera, “Ready?” Andy place himself behind her, taking her by the waist fully smiling to the camera. They took a couple of pictures, one of them Andy kissing her in the cheek, and another where they were kissing on the lips. They send the first picture to Jake and the rest were send to Annie’s phone.

“We will talk to him when he is back.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Hit it.”

“What happened to Jake’s mom?”

“Oh God” Andy sighed and sat up straight.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“What do you think happened?”

“Well, based on the fact that you never mention her, nor Jake; I assumed she died.”

“No, she is pretty much alive. Her name is Laurie and she left me. She left us almost three years ago.” Annie’s attention was full on him so he continued. “I met her when we were studying in New York, and you know things happened, and we got pregnant, so I asked her to marry me and she said yes. After we graduated they offer me a job here, so we moved, Jake was born here, and everything was fine for a while, until it wasn’t.” Annie took Andy’s hand and intertwined her fingers with his, “I worked, and she stayed home with Jake. We weren’t intimate anymore, we started to fight over stupid stuff and on Jake’s first birthday she left.”

“What?” Her voice shook.

“I went to work, and when I came back she wasn’t there, nor her things. Jake was crying in his crib, alone and dirty, with a note next to him, where it said she couldn’t be with me anymore that she didn’t want to be a mother and she wanted a divorce.” Annie sobbed, she couldn’t picture baby Jake all alone in his birthday. “Hey” Andy turned to see her with a single tear rolling on her cheek “I’m sorry honey, I’m making you upset.”

“I can’t believe someone will just leave Jake. He was just a baby, he needed his mom.” She said with a trembling voice.

“Yeah but, apparently she didn’t need our son. I went to look for her and tried to get her back.”

“And what did she do?”

“She went back to New York. She had gotten together with someone, and he offered her things that at the time I didn’t have, money, stability, and her dream job in a gallery. She send me the divorce papers a month later, along with a letter where she said she was resigning to every parent right over Jake.”

“Has Jake ever asked about her?”

“No, not really. I actually think he believes the same thing you did, that she is dead. And is better this way, I don’t have the heart to tell him his mother left because she didn’t want him.” Annie nodded, “You know Jake’s nightmares? I took him to a psychologist once, she asked me a bunch of questions, had Jake to make some drawings and told me it probably had to do with Laurie and her abandonment, but she wasn’t sure. With time the nightmares have subsided, because I manage to convince Jake the monster is not real, and that is not going to hurt him, but you know he still has them once in a while. I hope one day he doesn’t have to go through that.”

“He has to keep going to the psychologist Andy. Is not just a one-time thing. They need a couple of sessions before they can give you a proper diagnosis. I can go with him if you want. I want Jake to have a healthy childhood, and we can make that happen.”

“Why would you do something like that?”

“Cuz I love Jake, he is such a sweet boy and is unfair he is having these nightmares because of what he went through.”

Andy got closer to her and give her a slow passionate kiss that took her breath away.

“I love you.” He said, Annie’s face lighted up “You don’t have to say…”

“I love you too.”

The sun set, and they stayed there laughing, joking and drinking, from the viewpoint they saw the wonderful view of Newton’s lights at night. They were laying on the blanket kissing, the soft breaths and little moans Annie left out were making Andy hard and she could feel him against her tight.

“Andy…” Annie said out of breath.

“I’m sorry,” Andy lifted his body with his arms. “I’ll stop.”

“Take me home.” She said shyly.

“What?”

“Now, please.”

As soon as they walked into the house, they were all over each other. Kissing against the wall, Annie took off Andy’s jacket, her hands going under his shirt while Andy leaned to kiss her neck, his hands touching and grabbing her ass. They broke the kiss.

“We don’t have to do this, honey.”

Andy caressed her cheek and she smiled, took him by the hand and guide him to his room. Andy will be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous, he hasn’t been with anyone since Laurie, and didn’t want to push Annie into anything she wasn’t ready for. Once in there, she walked towards the bed, took her shoes off and her dress. Leaving her in just her white cotton panties. She climbed in the bed placing herself in the middle looking at Andy. He took off all his clothes except for his boxer briefs, Annie never missing a movement he did while doing so.

Andy crawled on top kissing her gently, his hand touching the side of her body. His lips going down on her breast taking a nipple in his lips, sucking it softly while he massage the other, his hand went down and touched her through her panties, a moan escaping Annie’s lips.

“Andy, please.” Her hips move against Andy failing at feeling any friction with his body. The pool between her legs growing by the minute.

“Tell me when you want to stop.” Andy hooked his fingers on her panties leaving her bare for him, her glossy pussy in full view for his hungry eyes, the tuff of curly hair on top was inviting. Andy kissed her thighs so close to her pussy but not going there.

“Andy…”

His tongue licked her pussy with a long stripe, Annie’s moans filling the room, her hips moved against Andy’s face and he placed a hand on top of her tummy to make her stay in place. Her hand grabbed Andy’s hair while he kept eating her like he was having the best meal in the world, he grabbed her right leg and put it on his shoulder. His lips took her clit sucking it slowly and inserted one of his fingers in her and started pumping, feeling the tightness of her pussy. He added another finger.

“Fuck! Please, don’t stop.” Annie plead.

Andy’s fingers moved faster, feeling her pussy tighten around his digits, his mouth never leaving her pussy.

“Andy!”

“I know honey, cum for me.”

She came around his fingers, her body shaking at the explosion in her core, her thighs closed around Andy’s head. When the wave of pleasure fade away, her legs opened, making Andy giggled a bit. His hair was a mess, a lustful smile on his face.

“You look so fucking gorgeous right now.” Andy came to her face and kissed her, savoring her own taste on his lips.

“It’s your turn.”

Andy took off his boxers and his hard cock sprung free, it was thicker and a bit longer than Daniel, He sat against the headboard, Annie bating her eyelashes before taking him in her hand. Her tongue gave him a small lick over his head before sucking it. Andy’s moans were deep and manly, sending electricity through her body and hitting right in her core. She took as much as she could in her mouth, making her eyes watery, moving her head up and down, and hollowing her cheeks, she gagged when the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat.

“FUCK!” Andy cursed, taking a hand full of her hair.

Annie kept bobbing her head, and twisting her hand in the rest of his shaft he couldn’t fit in her mouth.

“Honey… fuck!” Andy’s cock twitched in her mouth “Stop, stop, stop!” Annie took his dick out of her mouth.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked timidly.

“No, God no, you have a talented mouth.” She smiled feeling proud “I was just about to cum.”

“I don’t mind.” Annie said leaning towards his cock, but Andy stopped her.

“I rather be inside you.”

Annie approached Andy straddling his lap, the tip of his cock gracing at the entrance. Andy grabbed his dick by the base, while Annie steady herself using his shoulders, sinking in gradually until he was fully in and they moaned. Andy took her by her ass making her go up slightly and going down again, she began to move with Andy’s help, her small breasts bouncing with the movement. She felt full, Andy’s cock hitting all the right places in her pussy, her clit rubbing against his pelvis when she grinded her hips back and for. They hold their hands, Andy feeling her pulsing pussy against his manhood.

“Andy, I’m gonna cum.”

Andy grabbed her by the waist, thrusting hard against her. Annie’s moans grew louder.

“Come on, honey, give it to me.”

“Andy!” she choke out, head falling on his shoulder, her orgasm washing over her, Andy following right after her, spilling his seed in her warm pussy. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, Andy’s dick inside her, giving her small kisses in her shoulder.

“I love you” she whispered without looking at him.

“Don’t get all shy on me, look at me.” He nudged his nose on her neck. She turned giving him a tired smile. “Hello there. You good?”

“Yeah, more than good.”

Andy turned with her on top, his dick slipping out of her pussy, making her flinch at the lost. Annie make herself comfortable on the left side of the bed, fatigue washing over her body, her eyes feeling heavy. Andy stood up, went to bathroom and came back with a washcloth to clean himself and Annie. When he came back she was peacefully sleeping, he moved her to open her legs, and groaned at the wet sensation against her pussy.

Andy came back to bed, covering her and taking his side of the bed, he took her leg and put it over his hip, his cock was still hard so she pushed inside her, making her moan.

“Shhhhhh, go to sleep.” She complained a little, but kept sleeping none the less. “I love you, honey.” He closed his eyes, tiredness taking over his body, a content smile on his lips.

[guthrie-odonto]

Biola: Monster Genesis: "Fire Rodan”

Before I get into lore, this is also showcasing a tweak to the design to line up with the woodpecker-like niche that will also apply to the other two Rodans. Zygodactyl feet for gripping onto the cliff and, as proposed by my friend @artmakerproductions, a more squat posture like a woodpecker that also matches the classic suit look when reared up, the tail also acting as a prop like woodpecker tails. Included are sketches he made to illustrate the look more:

Now onto lore…

The mated pair of Rodans weren’t the only individuals of this species present during those events. Indeed there was a third, another male. Contrary to the large, light blue male Rodan (named "sky Rodan" for his coloring and habit of foraging during the day for camouflage), this smaller individual was a sneaky male that resembles the female. The dominant male seems to have figured out that this is not a female, as he did not attempt to court the "Faeder Rodan" (a term used in ruff birds to describe female mimics), but surpisingly seemed to tolerate his presence regardless and even showed no qualms with him mating with the female. This is thought to be because the faeder Rodan acted as an extra parent for the clutch of eggs, with them having probably been a mix of the dominant male and the faeder male's eggs. Staying with the nest whenever the other two went out to feed before going out to feed himself when one of the pair returned and took his spot, the faeder Rodan was accepted by Sky Rodan as his contribution bolstered the survival of not just the "sneak's" offspring, but also of Sky Rodan's offspring—the three Rodans essentially formed a polyarmory.

Before the controlled eruption of Mt. Aso, faeder Rodan was off foraging at a nearby Meganulon hive, which just so happened to be the one Erika and Jet were in. As a matter of fact, after a Meganulon larvae had pierced Erika in the gut with its claw and was just about to kill her outright, the Rodan broke through the outside wall and impaled the Meganula with his tongue, devouring the grub and effectively saving Erika’s life. He peaked in further to see the other small creatures that were inside (though not seen as food when there were Meganulons present), but then its attention was drawn by a nearby explosion; Mt. Aso had erupted.

The faeder Rodan flew off to get to the site and even tried to rescue his mate, but his efforts were unsuccessful and he was soon forced to fly off to save himself from the same fate. All he ended up getting from the attempt were burns that eventually blended into his natural skin color as the tissue healed into scars (at least from a human’s perspective…). Then, some time later, the now-20-meter and part-Godzilla Erika, along with Jet, Martin to report on their findings, and eventually Miki “Sakura” Serizawa (another Typhon child and an old friend of Erika’s who she runs into again after quite some time), are scouting the wilds of Kentucky to look into UFO sightings that, instead of resembling typical alien spacecraft imagery, seemed to hint at there being a colony of Meganulon that needed to be dealt with before it could grow and become a nuisance/threat. But there, they also encountered another creature: a Rodan. And one that looked strangely familiar to Erika for some reason…

Later on, the gang was face to face with the queen of the Meganulon colony, an individual Martin had predicted the existence of through the eusocial behavior of the Meganulon and was thus designated with the name he thought of for this hypothetical creature: the Meganulon Ogress—Megaguirus for short. Then, the Rodan they encountered swooped in and attacked the Megaguirus, turning the tides for the group. With Megaguirus flying off and Erika not being able to reach it with her vines even when jumping on the Rodan’s back for extra height (he didn’t seem to mind), the dinosaur then took off to pursue the insect with Erika riding atop him. After a dogfight with Megaguirus and some Meganulon that had come to defend their queen (think the 2019 Rodan chase), the Rodan fought the Megaguirus in midair close combat as Erika (safely) fell to the ground. After being knocked down, Megaguirus slowly approached the fallen kaiju to finish it off. Realizing where she’s experienced a situation like this before and why this Rodan seemed so familiar to her, she impaled Megaguirus with a sharp vine; Erika had now returned the favor…

For this was the same Rodan who saved her all those weeks ago.

Now having a closer bond with this pachycephalosaur (not a replacement for the mate he lost, but more like a friend), Erika noticed the burn scars on him, made more visible to her with the rest of his body being more vibrantly colored in her tetrachromatic vision (maybe hinting at the next Biola post I make, hmmm????🤫). The marks left from his touch with volcanic flame and the firey colors she could see is what christened this individual his new codename. Not faeder Rodan… but Fire Rodan.