#mossy cavern

[azurearts13]

Sky Paintings: Sanctuary and Moss

2 more of my old sky paintings, this time featuring the Sanctuary Isles cave and the Mossy Caverns from the forest. I was still leaning a lot about painting certain parts of the environment in sky at the time, especially water with the Sanctuary piece. I still love both pieces and plan to make another mossy cavern piece at some point.

[medicinemane]

Now it looks like fuckall, but this is the first time in a long time I've wired any redstone up

Like to be clear, this isn't me making up any redstone, that's all in the door I made and to a lesser extent some shitty bullshit wiring I did in another area; this is just copying redstone from another part of the world that I built there using a tutorial

Just been a long time since I felt like doing even this much with it

Obviously it's not hooked up to a proper button yet, not gonna trigger it with that lovely piston/redstone block set up, especially since it won't even open from this side, it's exit only

...but it's wired up now (it's not worth me making a video of or anything, literally just 3 1x2 hipster doors stacked next to each other

[domesticandlovingmonsters]

Eldridge/Tentacle Monster x F!Reader

Words: 2.9k Themes: Nsfw, tentacles, fictional oviposition Notes: Hi all! I'm still very sick, hence why this story is a little shorter than the others. Hopefully it's still a good morsel of ovi themes. I may circle around to it again and adjust it, or write a whole other story based on ovi to make up for the lack of words. Feedback as always is welcome!!

This was definitely the spot from your dream. 

The cave opening matched your memories perfectly. To the circular entrance, draped in vines that dripped with clear water from the waterfall nearby, to the moss that covered every inch of this place. 

The hike had been tortuous, to say the least. But seeing this cave made it all worthwhile. You weren’t going mad, after all. 

You didn’t understand how you knew this was here. Perhaps some past hike through these old woods came to the surface of your subconscious and reminded you of this splendid place.  It was beautiful. How could you have forgotten it? Your steps into the cave felt familiar and comfortable. Your shoes didn’t slip on the uneven path nor did the low hanging ceiling bump against your head as you ventured deeper. 

You could hear the gentle trickling of water somewhere further. A soft echo that seemed to call you forward and away from the light of the beautiful day outside.  You recalled there was more light inside. 

Not that you could remember how there was more light. But the memory of being able to see clearly down here was vivid enough to ease any worries of darkness.  Deeper and deeper you went.  The afterthought of getting lost down here vanished when you found a path, winding down the treacherous tumbling's of rocks and subterranean flora. You found a stream bounding down a slope of dark rocks. Your fingers idly trailed along the smooth cut stone that acted as stairs towards the heart of this cave.  You didn’t slip.  Nor did you feel any nervousness when a sound rose up through the music of running water. A whispering murmur that called to you. 

Almost there. It seemed to say.

A friend. 

Your friend. The one from your dreams that spoke of itself and the sweet home it made for itself down here.  Surrounded by soft moss and cool water. Comforted by the comes and goings of eager hikers that walked these trails. Listening to the world's gossip and excitement while happily residing in the depths of the mountain. Unseen and undisturbed.

But it called to you nonetheless. And you came just as you promised; a friend coming to visit a friend.  The stream brought you to a wide cavern. With a pool in the center and many small plants circling the crystalline water. The lights you were promised dangled from thin, pale vines that spiderwebbed along the sloped ceiling. Giving the wide cave a gentle blue glow as you stepped towards the water. 

You felt parched after such a hike. And the water felt cool against your fingers as you kneeled down beside it and cupped some into your mouth. 

It tasted sweet. Almost like honey. And you sighed as the discomfort of your hike started to ease.  The murmuring echoed through the cave and you sat yourself on a nearby rock. Slipping off your backpack as you looked out over the pool. 

Many eyes watched you, pale and completely pupilless, locked on you from a mound of mossy bark and fern covered limbs. 

It was huge. The presence you have felt for so many nights felt like a crushing weight now as your friend started to move closer. The water barely stirred as thick appendages rose from the calm waters and slithered along the ground towards you. 

You smiled. Reaching for a tentacle as it coiled along your calf and bathed your warm skin with its cool flesh.  You wore shorts today, given the heat of the day, and your friend seemed thrilled with how much skin was currently exposed.  The murmuring turned to whispers. Eager with anticipation. You felt a wordless voice enter your mind as the creature walked out of the pool on thick, muscular legs. They looked like trunks of trees, covered in more of that mossy bark like skin.  You tilted your head up as a tentacle brushed along your chest, circling your neck for but a second before retreating. Wherever your friend touched, a comforting cooling sensation followed. And after your walk up the side of the mountain it was a very welcoming change. 

That presence bloomed in your mind and your smile turned sheepish as a thinner tentacle slipped under your shirt and petted along your bare chest. You felt a curiosity grow through you. Not yours, but theirs. 

You couldn’t hide how warmed the smooth, velvety appendage made you feel. One of the thicker tentacles was resting between your legs. Nestling between your thighs as the others gently greeted and stroked you. 

And the creature breathed an amused sound into the cave as it felt your hips twitch. And you stifled a groan when you felt the muscle tense against you, causing friction. 

Clothes fell to the mossy floor in a messy pile. The tentacles were careful but impatient as they removed each piece of material from your body.  Those many eyes drank in every inch of newly exposed skin and a heated kernal of need rose up within you. 

You gasped as the vision vanished.  A tender tip of the creature’s arms stroked along your cheek, comforting and reassuring. Asking quiet permission as your friend drew back; waiting.  You nodded, smiling.  That’s why you came here after all. Visiting a friend who needed company more intimately than passing gossipers. 

And just like the vision, your clothes fell from your body in fluid, practiced motions. A familiar scene started to open up in front of you as your friend’s arms coiled beneath you and lifted you off the hard stone. They moved you to a more open space in the cave and you were laid down in a nest of soft moss and fern leaves. The glowing vines twisted and knotted between the crags of your bed, illuminating your friend as they settled before you. Their tentacles snaked over the edge of the nest to begin tangling between your limbs. 

The thickest of them all wrapped around your calves and gently spread your legs apart. You moaned as the tip of the appendage curled over your waist and slid between your folds. Clear liquid pooled from the tip and your hips pushed up into the rounded end as they started to fondle you.  How many nights did you and them fool around in your dream? Exactly like this? Pulled to you by their need and your loneliness, your once uneventful nights were soon full of tangled limbs and visions of pleasure. 

You would wake up panting and soaked, both in sweat and with arousal. Lost in the fog of the dream and coming back to reality. 

But here, now with your friend as they loomed over you, your legs spread and pushed up around your head as a tentacle prodded and rimmed your hole, you felt a wave of excitement come over you. 

Tangling with your heated anticipation as the tip against you pushed and your walls gave entry.  It felt like a great relief washed over you as they pushed deeper. The discomfort that has plagued you for days was finally relieved and you went limp against the nest as your body gave an involuntary twitch from the sweetened touch. Your friend must have felt the same because the slow rhythm rubbing along your slit faltered. 

Your mind fogged with a layer of desire and joy as more limbs petted down the back of your thighs and started to grope and fondle you. Twisting and touching along your bare chest as your back arched into the tangle of arms.

You gasped, mouth hanging open as your walls were stretched. Their murmuring was gentle and reassuring. A soothing contrast to the waves upon waves of eager anticipation that radiated from them.  Then the tip pushed deeper and you felt your walls welcome them. And you accepted the intrusion with a heavy moan.

They shivered above you. You felt the heat of your body burn against their cool skin and they enjoyed it. Loved how your hole so eagerly spread for them and how deep they started to go. 

Inch by careful inch, your friend filled you until your eyes squeezed shut and an uncomfortable tension pushed at your stomach. They halted, and a tender touch brushed along your cheek again; reassuring and comforting. 

They didn’t mean to push so hard. But your body felt so good, so soft and warm that they wanted to stay there forever. 

You relaxed after the thick limb began to pull out. But it was so slow it was torture, your moan lowered into a whine. 

They stalled. Those many eyes  watching you as you reached down and ran your fingers along their tentacles. Giving attention to the entanglement of limbs that snaked and petted along your waist and chest. You were almost entirely swallowed by them that you could barely move without them allowing you too. 

You felt small bumps and ridges slide along your palm. Your fingers were left slimy with the substance that oozed from the tip of their appendages.

Curiously, you brought your fingers to your mouth and gave them a small lick.  Just like the pool, the liquid was cool and sweet on your tongue. Like honey. Your friend purred as you stuck two fingers between your lips. And before you could react, a small tentacle wrapped around your wrist and tugged your hand away. 

Your lips were immediately filled with another thick tendril and you felt the tip hit the back of your throat. 

Your eyes bulged and you gagged as a small drop of the liquid slid down your throat.  A worrying whisper tickled your mind. A question, as the limb between your lips started to retreat. You hummed and relaxed your mouth, giving silent permission to continue.

Pleased, your friend pushed further and your eyes watered at the intrusion. But you licked at the velvety underside of the limb. Moaning softly as you tasted that sweet nectar which began to trickle into your mouth.  Your friend then started to continue to pull out of you. You whined again but they slowly slid from your hole, leaving only the tip, before slamming back into you with enough force that your body rocked and your eyes widened in surprise.  Whatever noise of complaint you tried to voice died very quickly as a pace was established. Rough and fast, feverish almost, as your friend purred above you. Your hips were lifted off the ground, angled in a way that folded you in half and your legs were spread wide and near your shoulders. 

Your chest was rubbed and squeezed, your peaked nipples teased by pillowy suction cups on the smallest limbs. Liquid pooling from the coils wrapped around you to ensure there was no restriction to the way they moved. 

Your lips were assaulted by the tentacle in your mouth, which coiled and rubbed along your tongue like a cold version of your own. Your friend shifted closer. Entirely enveloping you with their tentacles as they pulled you against their body. 

You felt yourself being lifted and pressed against their underside as if they wanted to feel you squirm and writhed against them. 

Your eyes closed as you lost yourself to the blinding pleasure. Your walls were stretched and you felt them knock against the deepest part of you, your womb near buckling under the onslaught of thrusts.

The whispering voice transformed into a whining growl that grated your ears. Somehow you knew the harsh sound was your friend’s moaning as they sprawled themselves over the nest. Crushing you against the soft floor as their body started to rut and flood your exposed body with that sweet cooling liquid.  You could feel your climax coming forth. Fighting the cool touch of your friend was a racing wildfire beneath your skin, ready to burst when their tip found something sensitive within you. A bundle of nerves that had you thrashing against your cocoon of petting limbs. 

Your friend cooed softly and your body was suddenly made empty as the tentacle slid out of you.  You cried out. Your frustration was muffled by the thick tongue like limb that you were currently sucking on. 

Amusement flooded your thoughts. And a feeling of patience trickled into your hazy mind.  You pushed against it, harshly sucking on the tentacle in your mouth as if you could coax your friend to reconsider. 

But instead of filling you again, your friend moved so all you could see was their underside. The wrappings of muscled limbs left you. You gasped and licked your lips as the tongue left you as well. 

Above you, your friend’s underside was like a shelled belly. Beautiful with intricate brown lines and plates of green; you would have admired them more if your body wasn’t currently screaming at the lack of touch and stimulation.  Your friend twitched above you and from a slit between the two back legs, something pushed between the thick shell like plating.  As red as candy and thicker than any of the limbs that had previously been buried inside you, your friend’s cock left its protective sheath and started to lower towards your spread thighs. 

The head of the length was flared and rounded nubs circled the wide tip. You licked your lips again. Your body clenching in anticipation and worry as the girth tilted, as if flexible like the tentacles before, and brushed over your sensitive clit. 

You groaned and spread yourself wider. Even going as far as sliding your hands down to your hole and moving your folds so their cock didn’t tug on anything. 

Appreciation melted into your mind and you relaxed against the nest as your friend’s hips dipped lower and the flared head disappeared between your thighs.  You felt the cool soft tip press against your entrance and you tried hard not to tense as they started to push into you. 

You gasped as your walls were stretched to their limit. Comforting murmurs filled your mind as you squeezed your eyes shut against the discomfort. 

But that’s all there was. No pain, just a slight discomfort as your body adjusted to this new girth.  You clung to the body that was inches above you. Holding onto your friend as they tenderly thrusted into you. 

Their clawed hands tore into the nest as they forced themselves to go slow. The images of their cock ravaging you, filling you with every inch of them to claim you; fluttered through your mind before they were snatched away by their self-control. 

Finally, you felt the flared head reach your womb and you were sure you felt the rounded nubs move and press against your walls. Like they were making a barrier against your cervix. 

They then started to move. Your back immediately arched as pleasure burst through your center. You cried out, gasping as your body was rocked again and again by your friend’s eager rutting. They could barely move inside you. The locked position of the flared head felt like a knot deep inside you, keeping you both firmly together. 

But still your friend desperately chased the pleasure they had to previously pause to properly enter you. 

And just as you started to adjust to the heavy sensation in your stomach, your friend shivered above you and the base of their cock bulged as something slid down the long length. 

You gasped, watching the egg roll down the thick length and your walls squeezed tightly around the new intrusion. Your friend thrusted harder than before. Pushing the rounded shaft deeper, forcing your walls to spread around it.

Your head rolled back as it popped inside and you groaned disgustingly loud as it settled deep within you. A heavy, warm bubble of liquid that rounded your stomach and jostled with every thrust from your friend. 

They growled above you as another egg left them and you grabbed the trunk like leg to brace yourself as the bulging intrusion rested against the first.  You reached down and started to rub your untouched clit. Sliding your fingers between your folds, wetting them on the cool liquid that your friend poured from their cock. You felt the hard lump where a third egg was currently flush against your body, begging entrance as your friend purred above you. You circled your clit, rolling your hips in time with your friend’s thrust until pleasure exploded forth. Your climax was what they needed to get the third egg into you. Your spasming walls and jerking hips gave them enough leverage to slide their third egg into your waiting pussy.

The purring increased until it was all you heard. Their cock twitched and you felt some sort of thicker liquid pool from between your legs. 

In your blind chase for pleasure, you didn’t realize the stimulation you were giving your friend. And your fall into bliss dragged them down with you, spilling their pleasure into your swollen hole. 

They didn’t move from their position above you. Still locked together, your friend murmured sweet whispers into your mind as you both caught your breath. 

White hot bliss sparked from your body with every lazy roll of their hips.  You couldn’t recall how much time you laid there beneath them. Writhing and moaning, lost in an overstimulated fog of pleasure and bliss.  Sometime during this hazy moment, your friend finally pulled out of you. You barely felt the shift between your legs, still snugly swollen with eggs.

You fell asleep not long after that. Finally coaxed into rest by your friend’s nuzzling touches. Their limbs massaged along your arms and stomach, as if soothing you into finally sleeping. 

[emilybeemartin]

Just to tie in my two themes this month----

Additional notes, because poll options apparently limit their characters:

Frodo finds great peace in watching the tides rise and fall throughout each day. He attends all the ranger programs on birds and seashells and fills pages with sketches and poetry.

Sam meticulously selects postcards in the gift shop for each of his friends and spends a whole morning writing and addressing them. He also buys Junior Ranger hats for his kids and a variety of Appalachian jams for Rosie.

Park rangers launch a Missing Person search for Aragorn when they realize his car's been parked at Avalanche Creek for three days. The search runs for almost a week before he comes strolling out the opposite side of the park, supporting one of the SAR techs who twisted an ankle during the search.

Legolas is first drawn to Olympic for the towering, mossy temperate rainforests, but the ground goes out from under him when he steps onto Second Beach for the first time. He spends an entire day watching the light and tides shift on the sea stacks, and he leaves feeling both full and hollow, like a bell that's just been rung.

Mammoth is only Gimli's first stop on a cavern tour, followed by Jewel and Wind Caves and Carlsbad Caverns. Wind Cave is his favorite for the unusual formations. He makes an obnoxious tween boy cry in Carlsbad for breaking off a speleothem.

Boromir is on a tour of military parks. He asks so many questions to the intern working the info station at Fort Sumter the kid has to go find the park historian. His favorite site is Vicksburg because that place was buckwild, though he silently judges one of the reenactors for his clumsy handling of a black powder rifle.

Merry also makes stops in Jurassic and Dinosaur National Monuments. He watches every park video, takes selfies in front of all the fossil exhibits, and earns his Junior Ranger badge at each one. He buys a keychain for Pippin.

Pippin actually gets four citations, mostly for trying to stick his hands in mud pots. He doesn't mean anything by it---he's just so delighted and curious about the bizarre landscape. He winds up with several thermal burns and dumps a king's ransom in the donation box on his last day.

Gandalf gets dinged by rangers for not paying the $5 fee for Trunk Bay, but he acts senile until they eventually decide to drop it. He gets postcards from everyone and responds to none of them.

Faramir and Eowyn are traveling together and do many of the same hikes and rides, but they do have some different preferences off-trail. Eowyn drags Faramir to a rodeo and the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson Hole, and he goads her into Ranger Shelton Johnson's living history programs on the Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite.

Eomer is bike-packing on his sport cruiser motorcycle. He goes to Roosevelt south unit for the wild horse herds but ends up spending half a day watching a prairie dog town. He takes 400 photos of them, mostly blurry, and texts them to Eowyn.

[dadsbongos]

Idk if u do anon requests given ur rules but I am a scared lil guy when it comes to sending ppl asks. I know you don't need to feel obligated to write it, but I wanted to share my silly little musings with someone at least, if you don't mind ^^

My brain doesn't want to shut up about the idea of a monster reader akin to Anansi's goatman joining the Touden party with malintent, only to be intimidated out of their plans by the fact the party constantly eats monsters. Despite them wanting to run, they're stuck there because the party will realize they've been infiltrated and probably eat them like all the other monsters if they find out.

i absolutely love anon requests! they are so lovely to receive i just kind of write depending on my current interest at the moment

3.4 k words / warnings - gore right off the bat, reader goes through psychological horror at the hands of laios touden, laios forcing the party into extreme situations

summary - that time laios domesticated a monster and everyone was mad at him. ~~~

You’re starving. You’re parched. You’re dizzy.

A woman is screaming in the corner, her eyes bulging from her head and hands clamped over her gaping mouth. Knees wobbling before she collapses to the ground, palms scraping against the floor in a final ditch effort to save herself. She screams louder when your head slowly rolls -- slanted eyes still on her frantic form.

Long fingers scoop from the bowl of a half-foot’s gut, you cup shreds of meat and stringing firm, warm innards to your mouth while maintaining focus on the woman.

No matter how much you eat, you’re starving. No matter what you drink, you’re parched.

The only solace you find in hearty meals is that the pressurized ache behind your skull fades, and with it goes the dazed sensation. You can walk firm and tall. You can stretch out and speak.

You can speak, “Come… here…”

She freezes. Wide eyes scrambling over you. Chest twitching with hyperventilation, “We gave you the half-foot! What else do you want?!”

Swallowing chunks of gummy flesh trapped in your teeth, you speak again, “Come… Now… Come…”

“No, please,” she whimpers, snot and tears dripping, “Please, please, please!”

She rocks onto her back, tumbling around to her feet and sprawling for a weapon. She finds one the big man used, she holds it up and her arms shake under the weight. She doesn’t pose a real threat that way -- she hadn’t lifted a finger to help the group fight.

Rising onto two feet, you tower over her and reach out, cupping her face with both hands. Thumbing the fat on her cheeks and pulling her ears, you croak,

“Mine…”

. . .

A red dragon used to plague this floor, you don’t hear him anymore. You feel confident to venture from your cave for more meal.

Recently, the hunger has gotten so bad you’ve begun drooling over yourself. Despite not caring for your appearance, the feeling is bothersome. The sensation of saliva-matted fur around your muzzle reminds you of the vacancy in your stomach.

Bravely creeping from the lulling warmth of your cavern, you come into the open grass and watch dire wolves nose at Barometz stalks. Unripe, ruby fruits shine under leaking light from higher places. Gold bounces off the fur of ripened fruits. You’re sure they’ll be harvested soon. Your only derision with unripe Barometz fruits is the smaller lamb. Even then, you cannot complain when the wolves more than make up for a lack of meat.

Just as you set to slide down the mossy wall, a red blur hastens toward the middle of the field. Large, pointed black ears twitch which gives you pause. The pale skin you can make out and thick cloth stresses to you that it's a human, but those ears and the hunched posture tell otherwise. Either way, it will have meat.

A man approaches, rushing behind the red blur, his tin shell clinks as he runs. He’s yelling. He can speak.

Long, gold hair and blue furs run after him -- two more men after the blonde woman. A group. A group made of thick bodies, sans the weird-looking red one and the child. No matter, they can fill your shriveled intestine while you divy the thick ones.

Or perhaps just the stout one could fill you. His broad frame is swollen with muscle and he looks well-kept: strong and lively.

Just the thought of cinching his fat thigh makes you swallow another well of spittle. As the wolves close in, the red and blue ones cut from the group, and you merely watch. Dead meat is still meat. If one party kills the other then all you have to do is interfere before they start eating their game.

The tin man gets low, on all fours, before yelping and barking like a rabid beast. He snarls and flails -- startling away the few wolves straggling behind.

After robing, you slide down the crag only to hiss as jagged rocks snag new skin. Spending so much time in your natural form makes the transition to a new face that much more difficult to acclimate to.

You’d lick up the thin blood trails if the three remaining bodies weren’t now gazing at you in shock.

The furthest away, the brown-headed child, scowls at your very presence. While the tin man seems to be fighting back an eager approach.

“Who are you?” the child bites from the back of the pack, eyes narrow and harsh.

An axe’s glint draws your attention to the stocky one. He’s raised his weapon against you.

Flashing yourself a downward glance, you confirm you’re in a human form. Are humans more distrusting the lower they venture?

You open your mouth, then think better of it, pointing to your throat and shaking your head.

“Mute, huh?” again, the child speaks before casting the tin man a look. His instant deferral makes you wonder if the tall one is the leader. Then the child looks to the short one, “Senshi…”

If that’s a secret code among them, you cannot make it out.

What do you look like?

Who did you last steal?

You mask another cursory study of yourself as a frustrated huff and sniffle -- the woman. The healer woman. These all seem to be men, and men are usually softer when you take the form of a woman.

You sniffle louder, frowning and covering your face.

“Ah,” the child stumbles back, “Senshi!”

“What?” the short one gruffs. So that must be its name, not a code.

“Do something!”

“Did you lose your party?” the tin man approaches instead of ‘Senshi’. His face is gentle, nothing but patience written in the low lid of his eyes.

Pathetically, you nod.

“Laios!” the child hisses. Is that another name?

“I’m Laios,” the tin man instantly confirms, then gesturing toward the child, “That’s Chilchuck. And this is Senshi,” his brows draw, “How’d you get down here by yourself?”

How did you meet this woman?

Wiping away cold blotches in your waterline, you point upwards before dramatically slamming the hand downward.

“You fell?” Chilchuck sounds suspicious.

Oh, well. Womanly charms (tears) can’t work on kids, you suppose.

“It’s possible,” Laios defends.

“If there was a faster way to get us down here, don’t you think I would’ve taken us through there?”

The pair glare at each other with Senshi a silent third party, though his axe remains raised. Abruptly, a sickening growl cracks through the air. Borderline blood curdling in the low, raw gurgle seeping from your stomach.

Manufacturing embarrassment, you cup the pouch of your tummy and shake your head apologetically.

“Are you hungry?” Laios asks redundantly, then offers a hand. His smile is just as soft as it had been moments ago, but something about its serenity ignites your brain.

A tingle races down your spine. Breath sputtering a moment and guts coiling unpleasantly. You can feel sweat bead your forehead regardless of the chilly breeze.

You haven’t felt like this since you first opened your goopy eyes to the dungeon’s lower levels. Like he’s about to spear you through the chest. Like he’s twice your size.

Blinking free from your stupor, you nod clumsily and take his hand. It's warm. Yours is clammy.

“Is this a good idea…?” Chilchuck looks up at Senshi, wringing his hands.

Before you can properly hear Senshi’s response, Laios is already pulling you towards the cavern that red blur darted out of. He climbs in first and pulls you in -- Senshi politely avoids looking up while following after. You sit between Laios and Chilchuck in the cavern, watching Laios’ hands skim over the large, unripe Barowitz. Without considering the action, you find yourself licking your lips as he leans his face against the fruit. His cheek puffing out.

Suddenly, his gaze is honed on you again, “As soon as Marcille and Izutsumi are back, we can start eating.”

You nod excitedly. Once the other two are back, you can release and consume. A group of five is sure to satiate you at long last. You’ve never seen such a large collection of bodies. You won’t ever have to eat again after this meal.

Your excitement is tempered when you catch a glimpse of Chilchuck in your peripherals.

Child. A child is down here?

Don’t humans usually put the lives of their young before their own?

You point at Chilchuck, hoping the child will relax once you demonstrate some maternal instinct. Mothers want their kids to eat, right? It sounds right. Your maker always watched you eat before diving in Himself.

“Chilchuck?” Laios murmurs, “What about him?”

Instinctually, your mouth opens again, only to clack shut again. You tap your lips then point to him again. Then you drag a finger through the smatter of dirt and dust along the cold floor. A risky move to write, but you’ve practiced well enough to pass.

EAT FIRST

Laios raises a brow at you, “Why would he eat first?”

CHILD

Laios smiles wider than even before.

Chilchuck scoffs, an overt anger filling his tone, “I’m not a child! How ignorant are you?!”

Oh, no. No, no, no.

Is he just a very short human like Senshi? But how is he so slight? How are his ears so big?

What is he?

Before any response can form from any person in the tunnel, the blue and red ones creep out from the darkness. Laios stands and approaches the pair. Blonde woman, the variety that has pointy ears -- you’ve seen lots of them down here -- continuously glances at you. She murmurs to Laios while the red one is leaning against her.

It stands on its hinds like a human, it groans like a human, it looks like a human sans the tail hanging between its legs and ears pointing upward. It's skinny, whatever it is. It was fast, looks like it has a useful face to steal.

You watch the group jabber amongst themselves, with the woman heatedly berating her fellow man for taking you in. Despite her harsh words, Laios’ face never falls: whether he’s truly so forgiving or just thrives off negative attention you’re unsure.

“I just have a good feeling,” his eyes pierce through you, and that tickle up your spine returns.

“Oh, good,” she grumbles.

“In any case, we’re all hungry,” at the prompt, Senshi moves towards the Barometz and steadies a hand against it, “I wanted to harvest a Barometz, but all the ripe ones were taken by dire wolves.”

Senshi punctures the fruit’s skin with a blade, cutting along the circumference, “Let’s see if we can cook it.”

Once halved, the side not supported by Senshi’s hand slips open with the premature lamb limply collapsing to the floor. Gelatinous bones jiggling against rock.

The thing with fur leans forward, “There’s a little sheep in the vegetable!”

“Aah! I can’t!” blue one grimaces, covering her face while Chilchuck gags, “For completely different ethical reasons, I refuse!”

You quirk a brow at her interjection -- food is food, no? They can dole out the fruit and get plump before you finally soothe your own aching gut. You’re almost tempted to rip back tight, uncomfortable skin and end the woman’s misery when Senshi’s voice calls to you.

“First cut up the Barometz ribs into whatever size proportion you want. Season them, sear them, add wine over top, cover the pan, and then braise them,” you watch as he casually defiles a creature he cannot understand, sizzling it and burning away faux fats.

You’ve never seen humans that bite back.

No matter how harmless a Barometz is, you’re in shock to see him searing up what is technically a monster.

“Next, boil the remainder of the fruit, peel off the skin, and cut it into chunks. Add some garlic and simmer it all together. With the sauce finished, you take that, pour it over the meat and… it’s ready!”

Barometz Balut.

“This helping’s yours, cat girl. Go on, take it.”

“What’s all the weird-looking stuff?”

While Senshi and ‘cat girl’ are locked in a debate, the man hands the woman in blue a serving as well. Her lips are stretched downward, her brows knotted towards the center of her forehead.

“Come on, Marcille, you’ve eaten Harpy eggs before. This should be easy!”

Harpy… eggs. Their young? What benefit does a Harpy egg provide? There is no meat. To eat that is to consume a beast simply because they can.

“That was out of desperation! I didn’t like them!”

She consumes despite it being unfulfilling? That, truly, is eating solely to prove it possible.

Your hands shake at your sides at the thought.

“That’s not true,” Laios denies.

“Okay, fine, they were… ugh. They were fine!”

“It’s okay, we all liked them. I think my favorite has been the red dragon, though,” Laios is positively beaming at you now.

The red dragon. He’s why the field’s warden has gone missing. Your shock is not lost on any of the group.

When your horror is evident, Chilchuck and the woman -Marcille- shoot forward while waving their hands around. As if to physically bat away any unsavory accusations.

“It was seasoned and cut up!” Chilchuck shouts, “We didn’t even eat all of it!”

Marcille nods rapidly, clutching the wood slat of food to her chest, “Yeah, we only had a little bit compared to how big it was!”

They scavenge the young and waste a beast as magnificent as the red dragon?

“We ate it because it ate my sister,” he’s still smiling.

A raucous chorus of his name is shrieked in protest.

Your breathing spikes, now certainly slick with sweat and chest thudding -- forget finally ending your hunger with them, how could they squander the red dragon? How could they still starve after eating such a large monster? Your palms find the floor, eyes flicking to the opening of the cavern.

When your gaze returns, Laios is staring at you. Wide amber eyes melting through your facade -- he knows, he must. How long has he known? Why not kill you as soon as he figured it out? Why lure you in?

The red one -Izutsumi- tilts its head at you, nose twitching. It smells the influx of sweat and dread.

You shoot up, opening your mouth for a husky growl, “Away… get… away…”

“I knew it!” Laios stands, “Oh, wow, I thought goatmen were extinct!”

He’s going to slice you open and they’ll eat you for fun. They won’t finish you. They’ll leave you for your maker to find.

“Goatman?!” Chilchuck wails, “You invited a goatman into the party?! Laios, I could strangle you!”

He’d kill his own ally?!

“So cool, though, and so far pretty harmless. I’ve heard they can be domesticated by feeding them brains every now and again.”

“Brain…” you shiver, flailing back into the wall, “No… Brain… No…”

Laios turns to Senshi with a preppy little smile, “It’s not an exact match, but the Barometz has something akin to a brain.”

These things are demons. No wonder your maker wants to devour them all.

Why eat a brain? You’d have to destroy the skull for that, and you need to keep the skull intact to steal a human’s face.

Senshi shrugs and hacks open the lamb’s skull with a loud crack, making you flinch back and yelp.

“First, chop the brain into four parts, season with olive oil and sprouts. Roll the brains in egg and wrap with bread. Normally you’d use crumbs or flour, but we’ll have to make due. Then fry in the pan with more oil over medium heat until…”

Laios snatches the brains from Senshi to shove onto your lap,

“It’s ready!”

FRIED LAMB BRAINS.

Senshi watches you carefully from beneath the shadow of his helmet. Meanwhile Marcille and Izutsumi are poised to attack with Chilchuck lingering in the very back. Those three are only additional to the presence of Laios, who looms above you with sword in hand. Eyes fiery with exhilaration, though he’s visibly ready to cut you down should you try escaping.

Your stomach echoes through the cavern. Drool pools and oozes through the gaps in your teeth, it smells good. So, with truly no other choice, you bring the fried brains to your mouth.

Oddly sweet, the juices are warm and electric on your tongue. You let out a soft hum and shovel more of the brains back. Again, you hum. You tip the wood slat and scoop all the meat down your gullet, licking the excess juices up and even sweeping crumbs into your mouth.

By the time your meal was picked clean, you felt something entirely new.

“Full…” you look up in amazement, wide eyed at Laios, “Full…”

A small hand cracks against Laios’ silver back, Chilchuck shouting in sharp, throaty tones that are completely unfamiliar to you. Laios frowns and murmurs about being sworn out in a foreign tongue.

Then Izutsumi yanks away, whipping her head back and forth, “Reeks in here!”

Chilchuck points at you, though is still glaring up at Laios, “And it smells!”

“Goatmen smell like goats,” Laios frowns.

Marcille hesitantly hangs a loose, thin blanket in front of you -- it takes you a moment to realize human skin is peeling off you in chunks. The faint scent of copper growing into a heavy, rotten stench of open carcass as you shed the woman’s skin. You’ve never prematurely ejected before. Normally, once you wear a person’s face you’re stuck there until it withers. Or you peel it off.

The smell gets so bad that Chilchuck and Izutsumi huff and storm to a neighboring hole in the cliff’s rockface. Marcille has to press her nose into the crook of her elbow, the sheet shaking as you stretch free from the woman’s body.

Unbeknownst to you, there is a silent battle between Marcille and Senshi. Until Laios, of course, breaks it.

“Why are you two glaring at each other?”

You rise to a stand, watching Marcille cast you a set of distrusting eyes before seething, “What should we do about it?”

“It ain’t doing anything wrong.”

“It’s a monster!” she turns suddenly towards Laios, “Didn’t you say all monsters are dangerous?!”

“They are,” Laios reaches towards his sword, squeezing the hilt and eyes sunken to the floor, “but it’s not like we were in real danger. Goatmen are pretty harmless in human forms.”

Marcille makes a startled groan behind clenched teeth, hands jerking out towards you.

“Fed goatmen are completely docile,” Laios reasons, “They only kill to eat. They’re more like an animal than a traditional monster.”

“So how do we know it won’t kill us when it gets hungry again?!”

Laios’ eyes seem to burst alight with stars, “Because we’ve fed it already! Before they were endangered some people would go down into dungeons just to domesticate and breed them for the surface. Once you prove yourself formidable and trustworthy, they’re pretty unwilling to try fighting you.”

“It can talk,” Senshi adds, “We can’t kill it just because.”

Marcille’s face goes red, a frustrated sigh leaving her lips, “It barely talks.���

You were taught words by your maker. He speaks with more clarity and ease than you do.

“It still talks,” Senshi doesn’t budge, “It ain't attacking either.”

For a moment, you contemplate killing these people.

Immediately, you’re repulsed by the mere thought. To see their soft faces and warm bodies torn open and to be smeared with their insides is so undesirable you heave. Brain rushing up your throat before you can swallow it down.

“Marcille live,” you caw, the woman looks up at you and you repeat yourself at her blank stare thinking she misunderstood you, “Want Marcille… alive…”

“Aw,” her coo is uneven, lips twitching in a way that, if you were better at reading people, would make you think she doesn’t trust you, “That’s actually kind of… nice?”

“I read they were loyal but I didn’t think the bonding process was so fast,” Laios marvels. Reaching out to lay a hand against your snout, he beams -- this has been a close second beast he’s dreamt of meeting. Number one still being a minotaur.

He’d been content to keep this interaction a daydream, since goatmen were thought extinct -- but look at you! Never had he thought something mythed to descend from demons could be so docile, and so…

“So cool…” Laios is boiling over with pure ecstasy as you tip your head down to fit more comfortably into his palm.

Senshi gathers the group’s remaining bags and announces he’ll re-settle camp with Chilchuck and Izutsumi. Although there’s a bonus pep in his step as he ponders jotting this whole day in his journal.

[nomelwelloy]

Neuvilette & Wriothesley | fluff ideadump

a/n: wishing all a late happy valentine’s day!!

Neuvilette in his dragon form, getting much needed rest in his abode when Wriothesley’s sudden appearance at his door him catches him off guard. To say Neuvilette is a bit embarrassed is an understatement- no one has seen him like this since the early centuries, let alone the Melusines.

He scoots closer to the wall of the cavern and away from his comfortable spot under the sun, attempting to put some distance between them.

Wriothesley splays his hands in the air, explaining he’s there at Sigewinne’s and Clorinde’s request to deliver a care package, and a welfare check, given his rare leave of absence after a particular stressful period of work.

“I’ll just leave it here and go,” he says, picking up on Neuvilette’s discomfort. The usually confident Index averts his gaze, head turned away and his tail coiled around himself.

Wriothesley tries to leave, but he can’t really; the sound of Neuvilette’s laboured breathing and the sight of his discoloured scales make him hesitate. He doesn’t know what dragon scales should look like, but surely it can’t be the dull grey sheen dusting over Neuvilette’s body.

Wriothesley ends up staying, much to the dragon’s dismay. He hasn’t moved from his spot near the wall, but his eyes betray his desire to move back to the sunny spot in the middle of the cavern.

“It’s just me, Neuvilette.” Wriothesley reassures with a hearty laugh. “Nothing to be embarrassed about.” He tosses his coat to a corner and folds his sleeves, getting to work at tidying the place, sweeping the stairs that lead out of the cavern and whistling absentmindedly as he does. It takes a while, but Neuvilette eventually grows comfortable enough and moves back to his original position, laying his head over his body like a dog blissfully soaking up the sun.

Wriothesley begins brewing medicinal teas and offers Neuvilette the nutritional snacks the head nurse has packed, as well as supplements Clorinde contributed. Neuvilette obediently takes them, bowing his head in gratitude. When Wriothesley runs a hand over his snout, the judge huffs, a puff of warm air rushing around him.

Wriothesley brushes his fur, smoothing through the tangles and later sets up a burner with essential oils to aid him in decompressing. He also, for reasons unknown even to himself, decides to toss a blanket over him. It’s comedically small compared to his giant body, but Wriothesley dusts his hands with a proud beam. Neuvilette has dozed off, his breathing more steadied and relaxed.

The exhaustion is catching up to him too, and Wriothesley lays next to him, eventually falling asleep.

When he wakes, Neuvilette has returned to his human form, naked and curled under the blanket, huddled near him for warmth. Wriothesley pulls the blanket over Neuvilette’s bare shoulder and secures an arm around his waist to hold him closer. His body is warm from the sun, but the air is cool. He can’t have the Index falling sick, not after he’s spent a whole day nursing him back to health, can he?

He lazes a bit more on the mossy ground before helping Neuvilette to his chambers, laying him onto the soft mattress. Wriothesley contemplates staying a little longer, smoothing the creases of Neuvilette’s frown.

It won’t be long before he’s back at the Palais, back to his demanding schedule, to his little residence in the city. Wriothesley wonders if the apartment is too cramped for a dragon, if its kitchen is equipped with whatever health supplements he’s fed him today. He ought to make a trip there one day.

Wriothesley decides he’s in no hurry to leave.

[xcerizex]

"specifically, a tiny bamboo rat"

Fluff, just fluff, qixi!Clarence x little painter, 3.9k words

"This is. A horrible idea, boss."

In the dimly lit cavern, a pair of young thieves follow down a narrow stream to venture deeper into the depths of darkness in search of treasure. After voicing his discontentment, the youngest of them, clearly no older than 20, tugs at the sleeves of his "boss". Though really, it was just a title granted after much persuasion of the other party.

The "boss" scoffs and holds out his lamp higher.

"Oh please, how bad can it be? If we find nothing, we can just head back home."

The younger one shoots a frightened glare at him, "That is if we make back home in one piece, Bolin! Legend has it, the river dragon who lives in the lake above us is known to devour any foolish traveller who steps upon his territory-!"

Shaking his head, Bolin counters him, "You can't seriously believe that do you? What are the chances we come across a Yaoguai here of all places? And a powerful one at that? The last spirit I ever saw was nothing more than an annoying crow who used to steal my mother's jewellery!"

"But-"

Frustrated, Bolin brings his hand down on him to karate chop the young fella on the head. "If you were so scared, Hao, then why did you follow me in the first place!?"

Hao falls silent and wordlessly raises his hands to the spot where he had been hit in an attempt to quell the pain by rubbing the sore spot with his hands. After a few silent moments, he mutters;

"...a lady."

Did he hear that right? He came down all the way down here for a lady?

Absolutely flabbergasted, Bolin has to ask him again to make sure his ears are still working right, "Let me get this straight. You followed me here, to this dark, dingy, and mossy cave where not a single living soul has ever set foot here for probably a decade, for a lady?"

Hao nods his head and as if realising how strange he sounds he adds, "And for treasure too."

A few seconds of utter silence pass and Bolin turns his back towards him, no longer caring about his subordinate's strange reason for coming here or if he was still following at all. But after only taking a step or a two, he stops right in his tracks after the both of them hear a low rumble from the depths of the cavern.

"T-there it is, boss! I told that the dragon Yaoguai is-!"

Hao doesn't so much as finish his sentence when a pair of piercing blue eyes stare at them from the end of the cave. Petrified, they can only stare in fear as those eyes grow bigger, and the figure of a large river dragon gradually makes it's appearance before them. Unlike the many other Yaoguai known to the local folk, whom all mostly consisted of foxes and crows, the dragon spirit before them is full of majesty, with shimmering aquamarine scales and brilliant horns of sapphire hue. The dragon fixes its rueful stare at them and asks;

"What are the both of you doing here?"

The deep tremor of it's voice roots the both of them in place, and Bolin starts praying fervently on the inside while swearing to the heavens that he would not steal ever again so long as they help him make it out alive from this predicament. And when he means himself, he means only himself, completely forgetting about his partner who followed him here.

When neither of them responds, the dragon narrows it's eyes at them and slithers closer even further. With the added proximity, the men gasp and one of them falls down on his rear. But the stinging pain on his butt makes Bolin come to his senses and he takes the opportunity to grab Hao by the shoulders and pushes him forward to use him as a shield.

"Oh, great dragon of the heavens! I, a humble peasant of the mortal world, have come to offer you-"

The dragon eyes fixate themselves directly on to Bolin and his words start to die down. All he can do now is stammer out incoherent words, as Hao remains frozen in place.

The dragon starts to speak, "And what sort of offering is this? To sacrifice the blood of a friend for your own selfish needs?"

It's tone of voice leaves no room for doubt that the dragon Yaoguai is angry, but before the both of them could respond in kind, it continues.

"Leave this place. Traversing the dark cavern is bound to leave one of you-!"

The Yaoguai's words are suddenly cut off mid-sentence as if interrupted by something. That's when the men notice it. A tiny little figure hangs by the horns of the dragon and starts tugging at the dragon's ear.

"Don't be too hard on them, Clarence."

...It's a tiny bamboo rat.

They watch in horror as the little creature speaks, assuming that the smaller Yaoguai may get eaten up in a single snap by the dragon after having interrupted its sentence. But strangely enough, the dragon goes silent and slightly tilts his head to the side to prevent the bamboo rat from falling off, after having gone too close to the edge of his head in an attempt to pinch his ears.

"The mortals won't understand you if you speak like that. To show them that you're worried, you need to make it sound kinder!"

"How do I do that?"

This large, mighty, and magnificent dragon whose large body practically fills up the entire cavern....is paying attention to the tiny bamboo rat like an obedient husband.

The bamboo rat beams at the dragon, "Let me try!" And taps on the horns of the dragon as if it signal it. Following her request, the dragon tilts his head downwards so that she can slide down on his head to get a better view of them. The bamboo rat then clears her throat.

"The cave is dangerous, and the waves are likely to rise and fill the cavern if you don't get out of here soon before nightfall."

"...."

The dragon sighs internally, thinking that her words had sounded much more ominous than the friendly warning she was trying to go for. Still, the men take heed of her words and scramble out of the cave as fast as they can. Though probably because of the majestic dragon, not the warning.

Once they make sure that both men are out of sight, the bamboo rat slides off the dragon's head and transforms into her human form, clumsily landing on her feet as Clarence follows suit. Once his transformation is finished, he holds out his arm and holds his wife by the waist to steady her before she loses her footing, worried that the slippery, wet floor of the cave may make her fall down.

"Are you alright?"

Clarence is ever the gentle man he is when he is with her, even after having scared off two fully grown men out of their wits. Thinking about it, she giggles and pats her husband by the arm, "How protective of you, but I'm alright."

He holds her upright and promptly lets her go once he's sure that she can stay on her feet, "I hadn't expected that there would be humans venturing here of all places, I hope you weren't you startled."

She shakes her head, "Nope, not at all. If anything, they were the ones who were startled. But I do recall them saying that they were looking for treasure here, so maybe that's why."

"There is no treasure here, at least from what I can remember after I left this place. Do you still want to continue going deeper?"

"You're asking a lot of questions today," the bamboo rat spirit says in an amused voice and huddles closer to him to hold his hand. "Of course."

The both of them continue hand-in-hand towards the direction of their initial destination, leading them straight into the river, the same place where they first met. By looking for a small entrance on the surface, one can make their way down the cavern and find themselves in an opening submerged in water, leading to the depths of the lake where Clarence used to reside before he moved into the mountains with the girl by his side.

As they continue their descent, the water level does indeed grow higher, but such a thing is not a problem with Clarence's powers, as he parts the waters to create a clear path of dry sand and stone, because while he doesn't mind getting wet, he does not want to dampen the hems of her dress. Taking note of his courtesy, his wife tightens her hold on his hand in silent affection.

After several minutes of walking, they finally find themselves by a large gaping hole which leads them into the river. Even though the both of them would have been completely submerged from water by now, Clarence creates a bubble of air in which the both of them can look into the river in peace.

She's still holding onto his hand, as she moves her fingers to tug at his thumb, "Was this the place you said you'd watch me from during all those Qixi festivals?"

He nods and responds to her gesture by curling his thumb around hers even tighter, "Yes."

He think back to the time where he would gaze at her from the water, watching her wait on the bank ashore all alone, holding that lotus lantern.

In his eyes, she had shone far brighter than the lantern she had been holding.

"At that time, I had always thought....that you were waiting for someone else," he murmurs. "There were times where I had considered coming up to you, to ask you how have you been, and if you were enjoying the festivities. And maybe, perhaps, ask who exactly it was you were waiting for."

She leans her head on his shoulder as he continues talking.

"I always thought that whoever this person was, he must have been the luckiest man on earth."

Smiling, she asks him, "Do you still think that?"

"Yes."

There is no hesitation in his answer, and he finally breaks out of his memories to look at her face, as if trying to compare the past to his present.

"You look far less lonelier than I remembered you to be, as well."

Of course not, because he's finally here with her. She will never spend another night of Qixi alone again.

She laughs at him gently, "Still, I really do wonder how is it that I could not see you from the water at all? I'm rather ashamed of that I have to say."

"It couldn't be helped," the water breaks out into small ripples as Clarence touches the surface of their bubble with the fingertips of his free hand. "My scales were a darker blue at the time."

"That's true, I wonder why they changed colour."

He smiles inwardly, "Yes, indeed. I wonder why as well."

Clarence knows why, he changed them on purpose after all, but he won't be telling her until much later. He holds up their joined hands together and raises her fingertips to his lips.

His kiss is as light as a feather, gently pressing against the pads of her fingers.

"Shall we head on up and enjoy the festivities? Qixi has begun once again."

Like every other festival, the festivities won't feel complete without the occasional argumentive outburst disrupting the festive mood. A crowd of people have formed a circle around two squabbling men fighting over alcohol and upon closer inspection, she realizes that both parties are neither human.

"Do you know them?" Clarence questions.

The cheers of the crowd only grow in fervor and she has to raise her voice a little to make sure he can hear her. "Uh, sort of? If you count the fact that one is a thief and the other an annoying bastard."

Maybe she just wanted them to hear her.

He shakes his head at her vulgar language but simply draws her closer to him, as if to protect her from the now violent tussle that the fox and crow Yaoguai have gotten themselves into. His hold on her doesn't loosen until the both of them make sure that the entire fight is no longer within earshot.

"I'm assuming that crow Yaoguai is the same one that almost stole your lotus lantern?"

Getting frustrated by just thinking about it, she kicks the ground with her foot, "Yes."

He is slightly amused by how perturbed she still feels towards an incident long gone by and gestures to a stall in an attempt to comfort her, "They should be selling those lotus cakes you like so much over there. And if you're still hungry, we could simply walk around for more food."

"Yes, please!"

He can sense a new spring in her steps, as well as his heart growing in size.

She does her best not to drag him in her excitement and takes her time walking over to the stall. As she bargains with the lotus cake seller, the both of them hear a distinctive shout, it's true volume hidden beneath the sounds of the crowd;

"Get your deep-fried bamboo rats today! Extra crispy, and extra seasoned! Don't miss out on Qixi's best offerings!"

Her hand hangs in mid-air, still reaching for the bag of lotus cakes, having frozen up after hearing the horrific advertisement. Clarence is quick to the rescue thankfully, and swiftly grabs the paper bag and places it into her arms before steering her out of the way so as not to hold up the line. Coming to her senses, she angrily takes out a lotus cake and stuffs it into her mouth.

"How dare he! He speaks as if he didn't illegally capture them for food!"

While Clarence can barely hear her words over her stuffed mouth, he can still understand what she's trying to say.

"It must be a different vendor and not the one from the last time, otherwise he wouldn't be so bold as to do it again." Because even if Clarence did nothing, someone else would be bound to report him to the authorities.

The bamboo rat spirit has quickly finished most of her pastry, angrily nibbling on the remaining piece she holds between her fingers. Seeing her munch on it like a...bamboo rat, he can't help but laugh fondly as he takes out his handkerchief and starts dabbing away the crumbs on the corner of her mouth.

"Would you like to report him yourself?"

She shakes her head, "I think it's fine if we just make sure no other Yaoguai get cooked up." She nuzzles her head closer to his collarbone, "I still want to enjoy the night with you, first and foremost."

He wants that too, but instead of saying it aloud, he takes away the bag of lotus cakes to free her of her burden and uses his free hand to hold hers, the same way he did before.

"Alright then, where would you like to go next?"

"...."

She remains quiet and simply continues to stare at their joined hands. Her silence starts to worry him.

"Are you alright?"

Her head then jolts up and he sees a fire shining in her eyes, "Yes, but rather than that, is there anything that you would like to do?"

He gives her a slow blink, "What I...would like to do?"

"Yes, well its just that..." she glances at the bag of lotus cakes in his arms, "...you're always accommodating me so well, I just want to do something you would like for a change."

She murmurs, "I want to spoil you too..."

He is utterly speechless.

Clarence feels copious amounts of heat rush to his face and the dizzying rush of affection makes him squeeze her hand even tighter. Despite his composure being thrown into disarray, he manages to keep his voice steady as he speaks to her.

"I never once thought of my actions as spoiling you, I did them simply because I love you."

She feels her heart swelling at his words.

"Before I met you, I had neither much want or need of the things the mortal world could offer. The things that I used to give no more than a glance, I cherish now, because you are what makes them shining, happy memories."

He closes his eyes and recalls the day they first met. Remembers how he saved her from the bamboo rat vendor, and recalls the slight disappointment he felt when he realised he couldn't afford the lotus lantern. But that was just that, slight disappointment, and nothing more.

And he remembers the bursting fireworks, filling his skies with colour, as he gazed at her from the water.

He opens his eyes to smile back at her.

"But if you would do me the honours, would you like to purchase some fireworks with me?"

Through his keen ears, he hears her heartbeat beat in a tune of love. She laughs.

"Of course!"

Among the streets and lights of the Qixi festival, the sound of the erhu can be heard mingling among the songs of celebration. Hearing the beautiful song, the bamboo rat spirit relaxes her gait as she makes her way back to Clarence, who is waiting by the banks of the river to play with the fireworks they had bought earlier.

Looking down in her arms, she cradles two delicate lotus lanterns, both glowing brightly in the moonlight. She had excused herself earlier, claiming she wished to buy some more food before they set the fireworks off, while in reality, she had secretly snuck off to buy a lotus lantern for Clarence to write his wishes on. It was expensive, of course. But she thinks any price is worth seeing him smile, and had saved up in advance.

She looks up and meets the eyes of her beloved, who must have been keenly watching the trees, waiting for her arrival. The both of them smile when they see each other and she hides the lotus lantern in her arms as obscure as she can, hoping to give him a surprise.

"What are you holding?"

The bulk itself is still noticably however, and Clarence is perceptive enough to recognize that what she holds is not another bag of food.

"Why not take a guess?" Her voice is playful as she gives him a coy smile, this makes the corners of his mouth quirk up, and he tries his best to guess the answer.

"Fried bamboo rat."

"No!"

She knows he's just joking, but she still draws a small frown of indignation on her face. A part of her is glad that he's learned how to joke now, but this is supposed to be a touching moment!

"Guess again."

He chuckles, "Could you come over here first?"

She does as he asks, and sits beside while still concealing the hidden item. He gives her a gentle smile.

"Is it a lotus lantern?"

A smile returns to her face, as she removes her arm to reveal the lotus lantern she had just bought, slowly glowing amidst the night.

"Aw, I had hoped I could surprise you still."

He places a hand over the lotus lantern, "You have already surprised me plenty." It is not a lie told to placate her, because from the moment he saw her carrying the hidden treasure trove of memories in her arms, he felt compelled to laugh at the surprise the heavens have granted him.

She takes his other hand to help him hold up the lantern, "Well, why not make a wish?"

Several minutes later, she sees him write his wish around the edges of the lantern, before submerging half of his hand in the water to set the lotus lantern off on its way, carrying his wish to the river's end.

As the both of them watch it float away, he feels her pressing her cheek into his collarbones, resting on him and savouring the last moments of today's Qixi. But come daybreak, the both of them will return to the mountains, ready to start another day with each other in hand.

"Do you want to know what wish I made?"

Her eyes shift upwards in surprise, "But isn't the point of not sharing a wish is so that the gods would make it come true?"

He shakes his head gently, careful to not lend the ends of his long hair disturb her. "While I won't deny the heavens exist, I believe that some wishes can only be achieved within our own means, rather than simply leaving it up to the gods. And as such, I believe that this particular superstition does not apply."

"And your wish is?"

He goes silent. Despite offering to tell her his wish, it seems that he has become unusually nervous as he delays the inevitable, something that is rather out-of-character for someone like him. His wife is patient with him however, and simply closes her eyes to take in the scent of him while he gathers the courage to give her his answer.

Had her eyes remained open, she would have seen the furious blush of red dusting across his ears.

It's not when she notices that his heartbeat has sped up beneath her own ears, that she opens her eyes to stare at him, and finds him looking at her with an expression filled with both affection and...embarrassment?

She doesn't push him away, as he brings up his hand to cup her face.

"I wrote a wish that...I could kiss you once more."

What a simple wish, but a sweet one at that.

Sweeter than anything else in the world.

"You could have wished for more," she murmured, her face already drawing closer to his, and hears him hum nervously in his chest. He's cute, she thinks, the dragon who once almost became a demigod, now seems to be having quite a bit of trouble in expressing himself to a mere bamboo rat.

"This is more. I..."

He stutters over his words, finding difficulty in having to express the intense longing brewing from within himself, "Physical intimacy between us is not uncommon but I..." He trails off as he feels her intertwining their hands together through her own initiative, and can't help but feel a sense of defeat as she takes over.

"...I believe that kisses, between us, are uncommon."

My dearest and most precious, your words can make me reach the stars.

She simply needs to lean forward slightly, to have her lips meet his.

A single firework is not enough to decorate the sky in brilliance, there must be a true myriad of colours and shapes, to arouse awe and happiness.

The new firework that blooms in their sky is an auspicious scarlet, a sign of prosperity and love.

So later on, as their lips part for the final time and uneven breaths become balanced once more, they shall cross the sparklers of starlight in union, signifying the arrival of the new fireworks blooming above their heads, and the many more that shall burst in their future together.

On the night of tonight's Qixi, the bamboo rat and the dragon shall rest on the shores of the riverbank peacefully in slumber, with the bamboo rat sleeping atop the dragon's head in contentment, where no one else shall find them.

The dragon does not mind this arrangement one bit.

"I never thought that you would be in my future."

[kingdoms-and-empires]

The smell of bile permeated the halls of an abandoned catacomb.

Soft croaking noises echo through the air, like the sound of laughter dragged to a drawl.

The silver-haired lord does not turn his head to check if his soldiers are still following him — the clattering of their boots on the damp floor is proof enough.

“Find your courage, men of Argent,” he mustered, little more than a whisper in the dark. “Fear only brings a second death.”

His conviction alone was ill-equipped to rally the rapidly fraying nerves of his hunting party, but, in truth, his words were more for his own sake than theirs.

Sharp, clicking sounds fill the darkness, like bones rattling against cracked and mossy stones. Eardrums buzzed, shaking in place, resonating violently to an imperceivable growl. The fire of the torches flare and reel back, as if to retreat from the terrors ahead.

Each breath is visible now — evidence of unholy magics. Evidence of his prey.

The shadows shift, heralding the arrival of something wicked.

Frost creeps across the walls towards the party.

A deathly quiet settles upon them. The void shifts as a sourceless wind extinguishes the torches completely. The only light that remained was the glow of a Blessed sword, as its white flames illuminate this nightmare in the dark. Spectre of an ancient creation.

“V’era!”

As his men fled in terror, King Uriel stood his ground, prepared for battle — ready to send this demon back to its Sunless home.

Though the men behind him had ran, the V'era before the Warrior-King gave no chase.

It knew. By either instinct, or some magical link, the creature knew of the Blessing.

'That or the fact the sword was glowing,' he thought to himself.

The king smiles at his attempt at lightheartedness. He still had control over his thoughts, and thus control over his body.

He could do this.

The cavern mists stuck to his cheeks, the humidity in the air making him sticky and uncomfortable. His eyes narrow before taking one step forward, keeping his stance balanced and ready to counter what may-

He unconsciously presses on his right toes to spring to the left side, turning his body so that the right leg could quickly plant itself once more.

Pricked needles press down his spine as a gush of wind blows where he had just been. That'd been too close.

Using the momentum of the evasion, he tightly grips the sword's handle as he swings the blade upward.

A slimy and heavy liquid splashes on his face as he feels the slightest bit of contact from the V'era's arm as it slices through. He hears the telltale sizzle of the beast's flesh wound as the Blessing cauterized the missing limb.

Nothing else could harm the V'era as effectively. To them, Her Blessings were holy fire. The bards and minstrels may call it what they will.

"Promised rest..."

The V'era backpedals a few steps, its black head now turning side to side as if feigning confusion.

"Eternal slumber..."

The descendant and inheritor to one of the most powerful bloodlines in existence walks forth, deeper into the dark with Her Blessing. The V'era was now visibly retreating from the glowing sword. Yes... he knew that normal men could never know nor feel how it was to have a V'era up against a wall. He knew what the Blessing in his hands was to these monsters...

"Death." He says calmly as he brings the sword down upon the V'era as it lunges forward.

Once again he feels the slightest of contact as his swing buries deep into its torso, but he pulls away as black claws slice the air near his face. A surprise headbutt tries to smash into his nose but the king ducks.

Panic spreads throughout his body as he feels the slippery ground beneath him threatening to topple him. It must be the V'era's black ichor tainting the ground.

Sensing his current disadvantage, King Uriel kicks away from his left foot to push his body inbetween the V'era's legs, using the kinetic force to let him glide underneath it as he unclasps the dagger on his thigh to stab the V'era's right knee joint.

Recovering his stance and once again facing his adversary, the king witnesses the stumbling V'era turning to face him. Footsteps can be heard running through the tunnels opposite of him.

The men who ran.

'Should I...?' he thinks to himself as he steps forward to the V'era. He waits a few seconds, allowing the creature to reorient itself. It was taking longer than he expected, long enough for him to worry that the V'era would strike once more.

But soon, the familiar orange haze of a torch is enough for him know his men had arrived.

The king swings widely in dramatic flourishes that screamed 'LOOK AT HOW COOL I AM!', and the men who witnessed their king's fury stared in awe. Some had contemplated joining, hurrying to the aid of their king, but the senior among them had placed a hand at the youngster's chest to stop him.

"

"

, he said.

The V'era, now knowing that their was an audience, gave its all. Using its one good arm left, it lumbered over with a downward swing to finally end this impetuous king once and for all. But nay, twas for naught as the great king grabbed the V'era's arm, stopping it dead.

He tiptoes around the V'era, and to the shock and surprise of everyone there, he rides the fucking thing.

He continues riding the V'era, guiding it to the entrance of the tunnel, riding it until it collapses from exhaustion. The king stands over the pitiful V'era, and utters

"You're alright girl," before thrusting his blade into the monster's breast.

Alrighty im done lmaooooo! First off, great job!!! I really loved this part the most for some reason, "The fire of the torches flare and reel back, as if to retreat from the terrors ahead."

You used some great word combos to paint a scene, and I think it shows how much talent you have. Consider writing for realsies!

[amethystfairy1]

Can you describe what the upper under-city (well that’s sure a sentence) looks like? Whenever I imagine it, specifically Jimmy flying Scott around, I keep thinking they’re in the sky when the whole point is that they aren’t because of the hybrid/mutant racism and whatnot. Is it always dark down there? Is everything slightly tinted red because of the redstone technology everywhere? Is it always crowded or are there some open areas? I’m assuming there’s not much plant life because no sun, but then how would food places run? I’m sorry if this is a lot and if it’s already been answered before😅

Sure!

Ok, so I'll give ya some of the big points which are the lines I usually use when describing the near-surface (that's the name of the 'upper under-city) in the fics!

There are yellow-tinted lights and redstone circuits running through the walls and electric lanterns/redstone lamps everywhere! However, it's nowhere near enough to imitate sunlight, it's probably closer to the amount of light generated by a full moon, but like...with streetlamps. Like if you were downtown in a fairly large city at night! Minus any headlights, because y'know...no cars! Everything is kinda yellowish/reddish, and during the night cycle when the lights dim to preserve power it gets more red because the redstone circuits stay running constantly.

It is quite crowded, yes! The air around the foundational towers, which have foundations in the Depths and are built into the bedrock, so they span the entire massive cavern, basically skyscrapers underground, is usually decently busy. The under-city has one 'main street' that corkscrews along the cavern wall all the way from bedrock down to the Depths and into the Deep Dark. Off it branch tons of tunnels and connections into smaller caverns and other caves, the under-city isn't just the one main cavern, it's hundreds of other caverns, tunnels, chiseled out rooms, there's a lot going on down there. It's just all centered around the massive central cavern which is directly beneath the downtown of the over-city.

Continuing on crowds, it also depends on the time! Just like you can expect a traffic jam after work/school lets out, it's the same in the under-city! You can predict when it will be more crowded vs. when the crowds will thin out!

There is a lot of mushroom/mossy plant life! Think minecraft lush caves! These sorts of things are growing over places that aren't beaten down with constant foot traffic, and there are glowberries and dripleaf looking things around! So while it's not necessarily full of flowers and trees, there is still some growth around!

As for how food/supplies work, don't worry, I have plans to dig into that in a new fic coming soon! I'm super excited to share it and continue worldbuilding the over-city/under-city!

Hopefully this gave you a clearer picture of things! Thanks for coming by! 💖

[applestruda]

woag.... imagine.. sky cotl etho....

anyways... do you guys have more designs besides the ones shown? they are very cute and I would squish them. /pos

i have! bdubs and etho live together in the underground cavern! bdubs is a little mossy cloak guy who hoards candles and etho takes the candles that bdubs has and spends them all on cosmetics he almost never wears. he would still look like a moth if bdubs didnt make him switch out of the default stuff.

[mumblesplash]

Do you think Ancient City tumblr bloggers would treat skulk like mossy forests? Like "fuck this Internet shit I'm packing my rucksack with steak and bread and I'm leaving to the caverns to let the skulk reclaim me"

WELL if we're talking about my Own Personal Ancient City Lore tm the answer is actually yes :3 (if you replace 'tumblr bloggers' with 'children raised in the city center's orphanage' and 'internet' with 'redstone') lots of them joke about it, very few of them follow through

[buradeeznuts]

somewhere in the great labyrinth of mirrors, amongst cabbage caverns' mossy ceilings and glittering underground lakes, there's a fluffy tarantula wizard. experiencing unrestrained summer fun.

[patsvicr]

someone asked for My Sun, My Moon, My Star by tbhyourelame. if anyone else is interested: pdf version here

mature

6.7k words

tags: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion; Time Travel; Fluff; Soft GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF); Birthday Fluff; Birthday Sex; Memory Loss

Dream is an immortal being who got trapped in a well for a hundred years. George is from an alternate reality and is just confused by this one. Ever since George pulled Dream from the mossy cavern, they've been building a slow love that refuses to fade, despite the unfairness of fate and time. Or, George throws his immortal partner a birthday party.

once again, if you have a deleted fic request, dm me or @rcnhide or send us an ask!

[lunarblazes]

Grian’s been keeping a log since the Rift did that—that weird thing with his wings when he first looked at it a little too long. He’d figured it was probably the best option, if he was going to spend all this time around it. Might as well make it scientific and all that.

He’s not really closer to understanding what exactly it’s doing to him, but whatever. He’s pretty sure it’s some kind of radioactivity, but that’s honestly the tamest explanation for something like this on Hermitcraft. Hermits have a way of attaching themselves to their bases, and their bases attach right back—hence why Grian is now wrestling with a very cool-looking but annoyingly vision-impairing sculk infection—and that’s just how it is; last season, Grian’s wings had decided to turn dark with the night sky of Midnight Alley, a bit of thematic aesthetic that had only become more relevant once the more cosmic implications of the seasons had made themselves known.

The void wings had faded soon after their landing, leaving flightless, mossy-green feathers in their wake, and Grian’d been content to just leave them like that until they decided to pick up a new change. It wasn’t really his fault that the Rift was what stuck itself to his wings’ feathers this time; he didn’t make the Rift, and surely it wasn’t his fault for staying down there long enough to sprout a second pair after the whole beacon fiasco.

The third pair might have been his fault though. Just a bit. Though, really, if you thought about it, that had been in the name of scientific experimentation. He now had another pair of sleek wings grafted to his lower back and a third pair plastered to the sides of his hips. Which was fine, honestly. He thought they looked cool and they probably wouldn’t be permanent once he shifted gears to the next season, so all it really demanded from him was a modification to his wardrobe and he was good as new. The tail, too, could probably be attributed to the Rift; it seemed like it had appeared overnight to help him with flight balance, and Grian certainly wasn’t going to complain about anything that helped him fly better. His ears were starting to itch at the tips, which was annoying, and probably meant he might get a fourth pair soon, but hey. In the name of science.

He really didn’t mean to spend the whole night down there. For all his faults, Grian wasn’t a half-bad scientist. He understood the necessity of control groups and only changing one variable at a time in order to get unbiased, measured results. One could argue that a kindergartner probably grasped those concepts as well, but he was rather proud of them, and did well to keep them present in his own experiments. So Grian would only spend controlled intervals of time down with the Rift, mostly making sure Grumbot Prime was still operating, that his machine was all set, and tightening the bolts on the heavy girders that supported the overhead rock in the cavern. He was careful never to touch or draw too close to the Rift, for fear its cloying energy would accelerate or ruin his experiments with background radiation.

Grian knew he’d fallen asleep on top of the girders, because that was the last thing he remembered working on. He didn’t really know how he hadn’t taken any fall damage by the time he woke up, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and there were far more pressing matters at hand. Namely, that he was about mouth-deep in the Rift, and that its energy was currently trying to tear him apart like a laundry machine set to high.

The Rift’s energy was all movement and light. He could feel it permeate the half of his body stuck inside it as soon as he was conscious enough to think about where he was. Grian tried his best to suck in a breath of air and wiggle his way out of the fissure like he was swimming up through the ocean, and eventually this strategy worked. He broke free of the tide with a soft schlucking noise, which would have been mildly worrying if not for everything else going on at the moment.

Grian panted slightly, staring at his limbs, making sure he still had all his fingers and everything. Five fingers on each hand, though each of his fingernails looked sharper than they had before. He made a mental note to write that down in his log, even if the experiment’s integrity was shattered now. All seemed well at first glance, which was fortunate; he wouldn’t put it past the Rift to try and eat one of his arms. Or steal his hair, or something weird like that.

His arm felt funny, a kind of pins and needles situation at work along the muscles. Grian shook it out, massaging his hand to return its feeling, but to his surprise, it just… started glowing. Same purple as the Rift and everything. He shook it again, experimentally, and it kept glowing.

Grian frowned. “Hm. That’s unexpected.”

The log would hear all about this later. He’d definitely have to run some more tests (tests required thinking really hard about doing magic things with his laser hand—things like killing Scar, sorting his shulkers—impossible stuff like that).

He stared at the Rift, his hands on his hips. “Couldn’t you have waited just a few more days for me to see some more background stuff happen? God, this is probably gonna accelerate the process by loads!”

The Rift, rather impolitely, did not respond. Grian stuck his tongue out at it. Rude.

[blizzardmagic]

Bliz Writes Fanfiction??

This is my new thingy! It’s called Hollow Tree and is based on a dream I had. If you know me in real life and intend to play DnD with me, please do not read (I’m gonna turn it into a campaign)

The actual story is below!

"Welcome, everyone!" Tango shouted to the gathering crowd of hermits, "I need three people to come up here for the first group!" Soon after he finished this sentence, Tango realized his mistake. A wave of bodies surged towards the stage in front of his newest creation, somehow headed by Scar, who was being pushed forward in his wheelchair at a not even remotely Scar-safe pace by Grian. They were both whooping with laughter, occasionally interrupted by an alarmed squeal from Scar. 

As soon as the pair reached the stage, Tango called for everyone to freeze. Gem took one last step forward, placing her foot onto the platform. While Tango was inclined to disqualify her for moving after his shout, he decided to allow it. He needed a group of three anyway. 

"Alright, It looks like we have Grian, Scar, and Gem!" he announced. Grain and Scar exchanged a quick high five, and Gem skipped the rest of the way up the ramp as the rest of the hermits grumbled lightheartedly at their failure. "I recommend that the rest of you just head home, these runs are going to take much longer than Decked Out runs, and actually require me, Etho, and Joel to be online the whole time. There are areas where you can watch the groups' runs, but please don't watch any of our videos or streams during the runs so you don't get an unfair advantage. Now for you three..." Tango trailed off ominously, then laughed and jumped off the back of the stage down a hole. 

Scar immediately wheeled himself over the edge. Gem and Grian looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. They hit the bottom with a splash, and waded out of the pool which broke their fall. Scar was already waiting when they got out and shook themselves off. The group stood in a huge cavern, made to look as if it was outdoors, with a dense ceiling of layered blue glass. In front of them stood a huge custom tree, probably 15 meters in diameter, stretching high above them. Spore blossoms hung from the great tree, their shining green spores drifting down to the mossy ground, dotted with small bushes and wildflowers. The great tree was composed primarily of oak and spruce wood and stretched so high that Tango had overlapped the cloudy ceiling with the canopy. A dirt path stretched to the foot of the tree, where a pair spruce double doors stood, inlaid in the bark. 

The three friends looked around in amazement, taking in their surroundings. A note of pride rang in Scar's voice as he complimented the big tree; amazement echoed in Grian's as he walked slowly up the path, admiring Tango's landscaping and the smaller custom trees. Gem ran out into the woods, pulling out her sword and dancing around in excitement. Grian was the first to find the sign by the path which indicated that they needed to leave all of their stuff there. Three double chests were hidden underneath simple benches for each of them. Grian called the others over, and they deposited their stuff in the boxes. Gem gingerly set her sword down. After wandering for a little while, Scar approached the doors to the tree. 

"Wait, don't go in without us!" Grian yelled as Scar began to push the doors open. He and Gem ran to catch up, and the group stepped through together. 

They emerged onto a landing on a dimly lit terracotta ramp, going up into the tree with a slight curve to it. The only light came from soul torches, spaced just barely close enough to each other that mobs won't spawn. Under each torch, a niche was dug into the wall. Each one housed a small statue (clearly Cleo offered some help with this part). The statues each held a miniature wind instrument. 

Something made a creaking noise in front of the group, and a small light ignited at a statue's base. It hopped down from its niche and stepped slowly up the ramp,  music sounding from it as it climbed. A shadow was climbing after it, moving jerkily. When the first figure reached the top, the second figure turned and melted into the wall. As soon as it disappeared, pistons began to move in the floor behind us. A wall of what must have been concrete powder was slowly falling, and behind it stood a terrifying monster, somewhat resembling the shadow. It looked like it was entirely made of terracotta, and it blended into the walls around it. Behind it was what looked like impenetrable darkness. It looked almost human, but a grotesque grin was painted across its face and its legs were disproportionately large and something about it seemed mechanical. 

"Oh no," breathed Scar, and he began to wheel himself up the ramp as fast as he could. The others followed, Grian giving Scar a boost to get him going faster. They scrambled up the ramp, but the creature behind them was gaining.

[grimulf-of-the-wilderness]

Closed Starter Care Of: @whiterosemilktea

WANDERLUST, the strong desire to travel -

Propelled this hilichurl to move. Always seeking, always searching, for answers to questions most dared not to ask.

Grimulf explored the deepest, darkest caves no mortals dared to challenge. Content to spelunk within mysterious caverns' that harbored veins of abyssal energies cutting through stone and pooling deep into the core of the realm. Only to traverse the blackest seas of liminal space and witness remnants of ancient ruins, the very esoteric stories long since forgotten by Teyvat.

Only to circle back around, a cyclical rhythm that brought him back to certain spans of landscape. One forest in particular he favored for its tranquility and lack of humanity encroaching upon the wild.

The air itself here was ideal, clear and crisp, decidedly cool. Permeated with scents and sounds that entice those who seek peace. Mossy covered paths that meandered lazily. Lichens that adoringly clung to majestic pine trees, stones and ruins. A myriad of wildflowers, medicinal herbs, wild berries and various fauna he dare not claim to know.

However, this wanderer was taken aback to come up on a small home that seemed half taken over by nature itself. He paused here, curiosity getting the better of him. It motivated each step as he came closer to the cusp of trespassing. If no one called this home, he could stay for a few cycles of day and night, to rest.

❝ Hello ... anyone here? ❞ Grimulf called out, pushing a wooden gate that barely hung on its hinges thanks to the ivy covering it.