A concept bust of Bun-Bun Silva's Human-Beast Form!

In the AU bun ate the Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit, Model: Wolpertinger! [Bun's accumulation of animal traits seem to reminiscent of a rex rabbit, pronghorn, and a mourning dove.]

꒰꒰ CONCEPT.ㅤ some messy general headcanons with no less than circe himself. so, stay a while, grab a bite, no need to delay us with fight or flight. we'll need you plump and full for the bumpy ride... darling, i said grab a bite, or before long he might. is that what you want? less appetite than appetizer on your mind, is there? ꒰꒰ ALLERGY WARNING.ㅤ includes ... neutrally suggestive themes, lil’ fluff in the head canon portion p chill, yandere-like reader, sub + needy reader who’s also a degradee, teasing/slight degradation, mentions of blood consumption, insinuated human consumption (he is a vampire, what do you want from me), ominous tones, insinuated reader death (not described), addressing him as sir and mentioning him as master (not in any slave play kind of way), and gender neutral reader.

੭᱙. vampire!oc who sautés blood in a pan or drizzles it prettily overtop his meals. circe yué'li incorporates it into his meals creatively, maybe as a dressing, or perhaps as added flavor to some strawberry filling, rather than sucking it down straight from the source. can you imagine? doesn't that feel too.. cannibalistic? he’s a vampire, but please, goodness, he’s not primitive. the man has some dignity, he's not as old as dracula himself, jeez! have some manners.. (*cough, cough* uh.. circe has been tamed by society and an upright consciousness, but there is still something very wrong with him deep down. at the end of the day, he's a raw, sacrifical, eat-or-be-eaten animal. if he were to lose control somehow, circe would attempt to kill countless strangers, associates and loved ones without any recognition of who or what they are! teehee :3)

੭᱙. vampire!oc who is a firm believer that it does matter where the blood comes from. circe's not a fan of chicken blood or any bird-related blood really, so he just feeds the appendages and organs of these animals to his dogs when he's hunting (they're on raw diets, which are really good for dogs btw). this nigga prefers the blood of mythical creatures, however they're hard to come by as prey, since they often end up as his friend or associate or fucking mother-in-law rather than his prey *circe sighs in slight disappointment*. if not mythical, however, then he enjoys the taste of the blood of sea creatures, fellow vampires honestly, and all animals in the cat family (lions, tigers, leopards, his lover— oh, whoops!)

੭᱙. vampire!oc who is territorial as fuck over his home and hunts trespassers by any and all means.

੭᱙. vampire!oc who, despite being a vampire, goes to sleep unbearably early??? he’s passing out between 9 and 10pm generally. anything past that? there’s either a very valid reason as to why, or anyone witnessing him awake at 1am should be careful. no, i will not specify why caution is my word of advice for this scenario.

੭᱙. vampire!oc who wasn't a dog person but now has a doberman and a bloodhound who he'd go to kuzimu and back for. he loves snuggling with his first dog, the doberman, known as yìzé! circe gets nostalgic, yes, but also yìzé is just such a tsundere. he'll behave so stoic, stern and determined in front of others, but when it’s just him and circe he’s like a hopeless, adoring puppy again. <3 most often, he snuggles with babydoll, the oh-so-fitting bloodhound, who is not afraid to give kisses and cuddles!

੭᱙. vampire!oc who has two non-vampire boyfriends. wow, wow, wow! i know right? how lucky is he to be dating two of neso’s oc’s at the same damn time? he's the tallest of the trio, and also the clumsiest— partially due to his height. (i hear that’s a canon difficulty with tall people universally, chat is this real?) anyways, those oc’s will be revealed in time :PP now, stay tuned and snack on a little head canon drabble thing completely unrelated to the previous head canons. :D xD without further edging, introducing yours truly, circe yué’li!

𑁤 Loitering in Circe Yue'li's lea is the last location any death-abiding being should be. Alas, you're not here to abide or decline death, you're here for him, isn't that right?

He's pinning you. Blades of grass caress and itch your left cheek as your face is pressed along the pervasive greenery, with the crook of your neck being imposed upon as the cedar-skinned man-eater narrows his starved search for the prettiest piece of you to bite down on. He's confident that he'll go for that protruding vein streaming down the side of your neck; it's practically calling his name with every throb and thump, but as he slips out his tongue to take a taste, his prey deems it appropriate to grin. To smile, even? Well isn't that a sanguine way to live. Too eagle-eyed and cat-minded to proceed, your unfocused eye contact is physically demanded unto his own. He turns your head straight, then grants you the privelage of speaking to you, after humming in a dry, rough manner of acknowledgement. "Is there something fun about this to you? I take it you must like trespassing and cannibalism, stuff like this and that. Right?"

With the lack of fear in your visual reaction, as well as your hitched breaths and swallowed whines, he's sure the vengeful one of his boyfriends didn't earn you a death wish by sending him yet another snac- er.. victim. You came along all by your lonesome, of your own blankly lustful avidity, so it seems.

Becoming less phlegmatic with the scenario than unattractively tentative, Circe weighs his limited options. He may, one, give you what treatment you're due and enjoy a prompt lunch, or he may, two, pretend to be as morally upright as a socially-acceptable mortal man and release you back into the wild where you evidently do not belong.

"If you had to choose between a bite in your neck or a bite on your thigh, which would you prefer?" A scrupulous glare complements his straight-faced mug as he focuses on you from above, his gruff yet gentle voice proving his hunger to be placed on the back-burner for today's preference of food-play. But careful. He's becoming a vessel to restlessness as he's not fond of how long his favorite, flared black jeans have been in contact with the ground, as this scenario has exceeded at least a full minute by now.

Responding carelessly with a flirtatious tone and honey-drenched tongue, you sweetly sigh and mutter, "Anywhere.. please, sir? Just one little bite? A.. lick... lower?" Oh, bloody baby. You darling, doe-eyed ditz. How could you know he only asked so he could attest to himself that you were as romantically-disturbed as he envisioned and therefore fully worth ridding of? It's logic he's working with, love, and at this rate it's long overdue.

Really, do you enjoy the feeling of hopelessness in the pit of your stomach? That fluttering, warmness touching along your crotch? Does being such a pathetic presentation for Master Yuè’li turn you on? For fucks sake, you're less than a blood orange to him.

"Hm.. No, no thanks. That's a nice act, but if you could've showed me you were even a little bit sorry, then maaaybe I would've let you go." Presuming you as dead, despite your brief charm and hopeless, dumb-cutie prattle, Circe's grin widens as he leans back into that vein. The one that's been maintaining eye contact with him even more than that teary eyed, desperate, sick puppy-eyed look you've been limiting his lidded eyes to. His plump lips tickle that fleeting pulse beneath your febrile skin, earning your quivering body a chuckle against it from his agape mouth. God, but how blessed you are in your final moments, huh?

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd give in like that, I'm not some common grab, am I? Hm.. heh.. I wonder.." He gives your lash-fluttering peer one last look, his black-nailed hand lightly trapping a grip around your neck as his fangs give you a glimmered wink with his toothy smile. You swallow, and he sighs, asking one more query. "Did my lovers tell you how I like that nickname, sweetheart? How'd you say it..? 'Sir'?"

⑅ leman productions. all rights fucking reserved, do not plagiarize.

Voltron Humans Are Weird 1/?

"C'mon Keith! Just follow the instructions! When I say Vol, you say Tron! VOL-"

"Voltron?" Lance facepalmed for what felt like the millionth time, a headache already forming once again. He'd been trying for a week to get his teammate to understand the chant, but he just couldn't get it! It was frustrating beyond belief.

"PALADINS! THE GALRA ARE APPROACHING! TO YOUR LIONS!" Allura's voice rang out from the speakers in the hallways, and both Paladins wasted no time rushing to their hangars. Shiro was already out and racing towards their enemies, and Lance and Keith followed soon after. Hunk was the last one out, once more complaining about the stupid zipline not supporting his weight.

There were three cruisers advancing on the group, and fighter jets rushed towards the humans in droves. The team began blasting immediately, explosions lighting up the nearby space more than the stars and the Castle's light. They fought hard, but it was obvious they couldn't do much individually.

"We need Voltron!" Shiro called out, and the group went into formation. As they did, an idea struck Lance.

"WHAT TEAM?" he screamed as they merged.

"WILDCATS!" four voices screamed back. The Paladins felt the rush of confidence that came from the simple call and response, and it was enough to let them finish off the Galran ships in only a few minutes.

The humans boarded the Castle laughing, meeting in the lounge with grins firmly in place.

"Lance, that was perfect," Hunk told his friend, pulling the other into a side-hug. "I can't believe none of us have done that sooner."

"Well, I thought it was better than the Voltron chant," the Blue Paladin responded, eyeing Keith.

"That one actually makes sense," the boy said defensively, arms crossed.

"That's why I think it's better. The Voltron one makes sense to most of us, this one makes sense to all of us."

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted. The Paladins turned towards Allura, only now noticing she had entered the room. Both her and Coran seemed rather confused. "But, who are the Wildcats? They are a team? Of what?" Pidge smirked at the princess, glasses glinting in the artificial lighting.

"Schools on Earth sometimes have names that they call their students in a general sense, and their sports teams are named after that. There's a school with kids called Wildcats, so their basketball team is called the Wildcats. However, actual wildcats are just what the name says. Cats that are wild, as in known to be vicious and not meant to be around humans much if at all."

"And what are cats?"

"Small feline predators with sharp claws and teeth, impeccable balance, night vision, and a strong hunting instinct. Their tongues have small hooks on them to help rip the meat from their prey's bones, and they can jump really high or far when they pounce. Humans domesticated some, creating smaller variants called housecats. We also took lions and tigers, two incredibly dangerous and very big cats, and bred them together to make an animal that can't even reproduce. Some big cats are kept as pets or in captivity in zoos and stuff, and they could kill us in seconds. But they're fluffy and occasionally very sweet, so we keep attempting to befriend or domesticate them more than we already have."

Allura and Coran were silent. And horrified. Very very very horrified.

"You keep these creatures in your homes?" Allura finally asked, eyes wide and seeming to be unable to comprehend what had been said. To be fair, Pidge had made it sound rather terrifying, or at least caused unease to her fellow humans. Lance was the only one unaffected. He blamed Tumblr.

"Yeah, of course we do," Lance commented, joining the fun. "Same with dogs. Those are canine predators that rely more on strength than agility when hunting. They're used for hunting, pest control, disability management, companionship, and pretty much anything else we could think of. They travel in packs more often than felines, and the wilder canines are wolves and coyotes. Unlike housecats, dogs can get really big. I mean, English Mastiffs are absolutely huge, and that's just one breed. Dogs are more likely to be kept as pets because they're generally considered friendlier, though nowadays it's a 50-50 chance. And that's just dogs and cats that's being counted. If you put in all of the other types of animals, snakes - reptiles that don't have legs and some are venomous, and some just literally squeeze the life out of you - and lizards - basically snakes with legs that don't use constriction but instead sometimes use their tongues or claws and just latch on - and frogs - the poison dart frog is tiny but deadly - and all sorts of birds, from eagles that dive at high speeds and snatch prey off the ground to parrots that can mimic sounds so well people have mistaken them for sirens or babies crying. Humans like taking the animals that could kill us and making them pets so that we can enjoy how cute they look. Or just feel kickbutt when our boa constrictor hisses at bullies but no one can get rid of it because it's a certified service animal."

"Princey was terrifying."

"Hunk, you only thought that because he tried to hug you before I explained that he does things like that."

"HE WAS TRYING TO MURDER ME!"

"HE WAS SAD WHEN YOU STARTED SCREAMING AND HE JUSTED WANTED TO SHOW THAT HE ACCEPTED YOU AS MY FRIEND! HE WAS GIVING YOU HIS BLESSING! HE SULKED FOR THREE DAYS AFTER YOU REJECTED HIM, HUNK! IT WASN'T MURDER!"

"ATTEMPTED MURDER!"

The argument escalated, with questions tossed in by the other humans about why Lance needed a service animal and why a boa constrictor and why Princey and more. Most questions were ignored in favor of the shouting match between the two bros. Shiro put a stop to it when Pidge and Keith looked at him for guidance. After all, the Yellow and Blue Paladins never fought. Ever. And now they were fighting about something obscure and personal.

The Alteans left the moment the teens raised their voices, heading directly for the control room.

"Coran, pull up a new log, and please make sure none of the Paladins can access it. A secure file for just you and I, at least at the moment."

"Of course, princess! And what should I label it?"

"A Guide To Humans." The log was created and pulled up, and both aliens stood at the computer. Together, they inputted their newly learned facts, agreeing that they would never understand their Terran companions, but they may as well try. Especially if they somehow found living with other predators to be normal and beneficial, and yet could make it sound absolutely horrifying.

Humans live with many different predators from their home world that are domesticated for different uses. These uses are listed below as they are discovered. Fauna that are considered 'normal' or 'okay' to be kept within a home, as 'pets', will also be listed and described. Beware, as the human's normalcy for having these creatures may cause their analysis of other 'alien' creatures' danger level to be incorrect or considerably lower than the official assessment.

If in a battle and struggling, verbalizing the question, "What team?" (preferably in a raised and/or enthusiastic voice) will result in any Terrans to respond with the word "wildcats" (at an extremely increased volume) and an aura of confidence within the humans. This most likely can be used every battle with continual effects, and will leave the humans with increased success and higher dopamine levels. It will also unify any Terrans, so there is a possible use in causing multiple groups of the beings to join together, despite any previous disputes or separations.

On all accounts, proceed with caution until new data can be collected to verify the information and theories presented here.

Slashers - As Dogs pt 1

INCLUDES MICHAEL, JASON, FREDDY, BUBBA, HANNIBAL

This is for my fellow dog lovers. I have always had dogs and I am a huge dog enthusiast, love researching breeds and history, so hopefully I do everyone right by the dog breeds I matched them with... Enjoy :)  

MICHAEL MYERS - Turkish Kangal

(disclaimer this breed has a lot of bad breeding practices, and training rituals that some people do with them that I do not support!) 

This dog is an absolute massive livestock guardian dog. Also known as an Anatolian Shepherd. 

They were bred to protect livestock from bears, wolves, and jackals without fear. Even some of them have been bred in Africa to fend off lions. Some Turkish people call them "the wolf killers" 

It is regarded to have the strongest bite force of any other canine.

Their nature is calm, strong, independent, controlled, silent and alert to the surroundings constantly.  

These dogs need hardly any training to be a guard dog, they will watch the older ones and pick up on the subtleties. Watching and observing at all times.

When there is a threat they stand tall and give one loud warning bark to the humans and flock to move to safety. Their first instinct is to put themselves in front of the danger protecting anything it guards with their life. 

Also they could care less if they have affection from someone. It is a type of dog that you just leave it to do it’s work and it is happy. 

Defiantly not a city dog unless it has a lot of freedom, and defiantly not for the faint of heart

JASON VOORHEES - Irish wolfhound

Irish Wolfhounds are my personal favorite dog breed. They are incredible massive dogs that were bred for hunting wolves. They would chase the wolves down and hold them in place waiting for the master, but it was known that some would kill the wolf even before the master could do it. 

These dogs are an ancient breed appearing as early as AD 600, they were a dog of royalty and knights. Writing in 1790, they were described as the largest and most beautiful of the dog kind

The wolfhounds had almost become extinct, because they over hunted and ran the wolves out of Ireland. Only a few remained and were held with particular families trying to not let them completely die out. In the early 1800′s they were brought back from the brink of extinction, mixing in original breeds that created it, bringing their numbers back up (like Jason brought back to life)

They could still hunt wolves and other prey but they have such a soft and gentle side to them. 

Nicknamed “the gentle giants” Their nature is truly kind and gentle, silent, calm, protective and ever watchful. The Irish wolfhound motto is “gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked”  

Their appearance is shaggy and not exactly the “cutest”, they stand as the tallest dog breed (yup bigger than a great dane) with a broad chest and a strong body. They appear as if it is “fast enough to catch a wolf, and strong enough to kill it”   

Also these dogs love outside and just look majestic af in the forest   

FREDDY  KRUEGER - Chihuahua terrier mix

We all know Freddy is an ass that likes to mess people for fun, so I think he would be a chihuahua but mixed with some sort of terrier. I honestly like chihuahuas but I am not a big fan of terriers so I gave him this lol

Terriers and chihuahuas both love to bark and Freddy always mouths' off so its fitting

Friendly until they are not, hyper, has a big personality, needs a lot of attention, they have a lot of weird quirks

They also love to obsess over their people and they are very particular about the people they pick

A lot of people always say the boys of these breeds are particularly horny and hump everything lol

Terriers were bred to hunt small animals and go into dens. To me this relates to Freddy because he hunts people, particularly younger people, being smaller. And the den thing makes me think of Freddy’s favorite horror dream space, the boiler room

Since Freddy is not that large but he acts like he is 7ft and indestructible, that is what these dogs are known for if not trained correctly    

BUBBA SAWYER - Pitbull

Misunderstood and bred to fight, getting a horrible wrap, but its all about how you raise them.

The pitbull is actually a broad term used for some type of bulldog mix. Essentially they are mutts and I feel that the whole cannibal family is bred from mutts, not really belonging to anything but themselves

Also the size and shape fits very well for Bubba

Naturally caring, sensitive, protective, usually friendly, and love a family environment

Gentle babies you could just hold forever

HANNIBAL LECTOR - Border Collie

These dogs have been labeled to be the smartest dogs on the planet. Used for hearding livestock they have to out think whatever they are hearding, and they do that well

If you don’t have a job for these dogs they will destroy your house, get into things, escape yards and they will try to outsmart you

They are dogs that do not need to be big or scary to intimidate, they physiologically intimidate

Their nature is extremely smart, loyal, caution, mysterious, energetic and protective 

I feel like if they could dress themselves they would be very distinguished, just like Hannibal  

My dude, my gal, or maybe nonbinary pal (just to be sure, don't know your pronouns) you gave me the light, you have opened my eyes. All this ships I didn't know I needed and now can't get enough of. Your writing is a DELIGHT. For a prompt, how do SQH's disciples see him? What about the demons under MBJ? That one shot of LQG getting jealous of MBJ in which the underling backs away slowly means this isn't the first time that has happened right?

Thank you so much! It really makes me happy to hear that people enjoy reading my stuff. It’s half of what makes writing it so enjoyable for me. Another part I enjoy is how I seem to be dragging all you poor fools down with me into my shipping abyss of rare pairs. God bless.

I went with the demon perspective! Might do a disciple perspective next time? Idk. @quiensecomioelpie

—

As an agent of the Northern kingdom, Mao Liang is required to attend strategy meetings whenever they are present within the palace. Regardless of whether they had just returned from a long, grueling mission in the field only the day before, or not.

Luckily, there’s never that much attention brought to them, and Mao Liang is never expected to share their opinion or thoughts during the meeting, only directly to his majesty and the advisor afterwards. A relief, because if Mao Liang had to speak to the dozens of generals and high ranking soldiers and fellow agents that stand around the colossal, war room table alongside them… Well, that’s a crowd, isn’t it? If Mao Liang was forced to publicly speak, they might actually die.

Someone who doesn’t seem to ever have a problem with addressing a crowd of demons, though — be they gruff soldiers or generals or a glowering, looming king — is someone that is worth admiring.

Lord Shang pulls his furs around his shoulders more tightly, attention directed almost entirely on the maps sprawled out over the table they’ve all gathered around today. His head tilts toward the side just slightly, like a predator whose eyes have zeroed in on his prey, and Mao Liang has to fight the urge to shiver at the sight.

The odd twitches that they see in their fellow demons tells them that they, too, experience the same unease, so at least they’re not alone in this.

It was an odd thing, at first, to fear a human — much less a cultivator. In the beginning, as Lord Shang was just ascending into his climb for power in the Northern Kingdom, it had been something Mao Liang had been almost offended by. Just as any demon in their right mind would be, faced with such a slight, twitchy little thing, whose eyes rove to and fro as if they are a frightened animal. It screams of weakness, to any demon eyes.

Any demon that doesn’t already know better, at least.

Within the decade, however, it became clear that this feeling did, indeed, have its place in Mao Liang’s heart. That they were not experiencing a falsity. That Lord Shang, despite his diminutive appearance, is deserving of this respect, and not just because his majesty is so fond of him.

Not only is the cultivator powerful — Mao Liang still shudders in remembrance, whenever there is a storm in the sky strong enough to birth lightning — but he is conniving. He is intelligent to a terrifying degree. He is scarily efficient, productive, and reliable.

When Lord Shang says something will be done, it is done.

When Lord Shang says changes need to be made, they are made, no matter how many voices make their dissent known (nor how many idiots have, over the years, attempted something much more underhanded — they all fail, each and every one of them, and eventually the attempts were fewer and fewer, before just completely grinding to a halt).

If Lord Shang decides you are not fit for a position….

Well. In the beginning, he’d have just taken care of it himself. Through varying means, all of them increasingly terrifying, according to the rumors Mao Liang has heard over the years. Now, though…

Now, if Lord Shang decides someone has to go, the king himself is ever so obliging to make sure that it happens, often post haste.

So much power in the palm of a single person, even if he is an immortal master — it’s awe-inspiring.

So, Lord Shang indeed deserves the respect he commands from the heart of every Northern demon, and even those beyond their borders. However long it had taken them all to realize (and then accept), the state of the kingdom in recent years has been thriving more than it ever has in the past. Things haven’t been this good since perhaps the early golden age of the current Mobei Jun’s great and mighty ancestors. And they all know exactly who to credit that for.

“Here.”

Mao Liang startles, gaze snapping down to the map and zeroing in on where Lord Shang’s dainty (and deceptively powerful, mustn’t forget that) finger is tapping on an outlined enemy outpost.

“Eliminate them, first.” Lord Shang says.

“Ah — my lord?” One of the generals hedges awkwardly, tone coming out rather flat in his attempt not to offend — as it happens with most demons, their accents when speaking the common language does not leave a lot of room for niceties and polite speech. It’s caused a lot of scares with Lord Shang, where the demons under his attention are never certain if they’re about to get banished from the kingdom or executed by the king (which would be a mercy, certainly).

Mao Liang winces, covering it up by clenching their jaw tightly and eyeing the general who spoke from the corner of his eye, as Lord Shang turns his attention directly upon him.

The general is standing ramrod straight, shoulders stiff and brow pinched, when the advisor’s aquamarine gaze cuts to him. The demal shouldn’t have spoken up at all.

“What is it?” Lord Shang asks, pleasantly. Mao Liang feels a shiver wrack their spine.

Lord Shang is always pleasant, right up until he isn’t. It’s when he isn’t, that one has to watch out for oneself. But it’s ever so difficult to know when that caution is required, because Lord Shang is unpredictable, in a sense.

It takes a lot to truly and irreparably offend the honorable advisor. The last one who had…

They’re still scraping the poor guy’s innards off the wall of that conference hall, Mao Liang is pretty sure.

“That outpost…” the General begins, haltingly. He eyes the peak lord hesitantly, searching the neutral mask for any sign of displeasure, before continuing. “It’s not very important in the grand scheme of things, my lord. The enemy does not particularly value it. To expend our forces on its destruction would, I believe, be a waste of our resources at this time.”

There. Succinct and to the point. Mao Liang cranes their head around to peer at the advisor, who stands at the head of the table.

In the shadow of his majesty’s great bulk and dark glower (which is currently directed at the silently sweating General, poor demal), Lord Shang looks so much smaller than he actually is. Almost breakable. Non-threatening.

Mao Liang has never heard a more hilarious joke in their life. Non-threatening, their ass.

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” And oh, there is cheer injected into the advisor’s voice, now. Mao Liang watches in fascination as the general visibly cringes. “Ah, but that’s where you’d be wrong, General Peng! You see, this particular outpost actually is rather important, especially to our enemy. They’d just like for us to think that it isn’t. The larger outpost, here?”

Lord Shang sweeps his hand across the map to the larger outline that’s much closer to the Northern borders.

“That seems more of a threat to us, just like you pointed out earlier. And I agree, it does seem that way — however, this larger outpost is only a decoy. A red herring, if you will. It’s larger and more heavily manned specifically to distract us from this smaller outpost over here.”

General Peng flinches minutely, having his own contribution to the meeting so effortlessly and nonchalantly thrown back into his face as only an incorrect assumption rather than a logical deduction. He doesn’t speak, though, even to ask the advisor where he’d gotten such information from.

No one ever asks Lord Shang how he knows something. Everyone knows that if Lord Shang knows something, then he just knows it, and you are to trust it, because he is never, ever wrong.

It is frightening enough, having the advisor of the king know your name, personally, without you ever having introduced yourself to him. Small, meaningless facts about you, the names of your family, where your clan ancestral ritual grounds are (something that no demon tells anyone outside their own clan, upon pain of death. And having that just thrown out there in casual conversation? Terrifying.). What you had been doing, while undercover, just the week before….

Mao Liang’s first meeting with the Peak Lord Shang had been memorable, to say the least. They had come out of it with a very, very healthy fear and respect for the man, of course. Ask any demon in the Eternal Winter Palace — hell, any demon in the damn kingdom itself — and they would tell you the same.

“It’s this outpost we have to worry about.” Lord Shang is saying, tapping once again on the smaller outline. “It’s the center of their operations. Everything that actually matters is hidden underneath it. It is absolutely crucial that those of you in the field ensure that it will no longer be a problem. You should take, I’d say, around three platoons.”

Mao Liang glances down at the outline. The outpost is tiny, nestled into the belly of a valley. Just looking at it, they would guess there are only perhaps a thousand demons in total guarding the place. Sending in six thousand soldiers to take it out is a bit of overkill.

But, then again, if the real operations are all happening underground, concealed….

General Peng’s lips thin into a pale line. Then, the demal nods in acceptance. “If Lord Shang says so.”

“I do,” Lord Shang says, quietly, not even lifting his gaze back up from the map, staring down at where his own finger is pressed to the outpost.

General Peng’s entire face goes pale.

Before anything else can happen, like Lord Shang going completely silent and unhelpful (It’s happened in the past, Lord Shang deciding that they no longer required his advice, if they were so certain of their own (always subpar) intelligence on the matter. His majesty’s ire, in response, had been absolutely brutal on everyone even peripherally involved. Mao Liang had been lucky enough to not have been in attendance at that particular meeting, but they’d heard stories.)— before anything like that could happen, the king himself decided that enough is enough.

Mobei Jun shoves off the table and sends them all a sharp glare.

“Well,” his majesty says, powerful voice expanding into the air and filling the cavernous war room like it was something material. “You have your orders. What else do you want? Get out.”

As they all scramble to their feet and head for the door, Mao Liang is at the forefront. They hate tactical meetings. They’d rather be on the field. Or in their quarters, sleeping. Or in their quarters, reading. Anywhere that other people are not. This meeting has already drained their meager energy levels to almost nothing. It’s nap time. It’s nap time.

“Mao Liang,” Mobei Jun’s voice calls, and they fall to an abrupt stop just before the doors. “Stay behind.”

Demons, generals and soldiers and even fellow agents, stream past them, and they quietly despair. Fuck! They’d been so close!

They turn, and step back to the table. They execute a bow, working to keep any expression off their face entirely — especially when Lord Shang smiles at them. Oh, ancestors.

“There’s a mission that requires the best counter-intelligence agent that we have,” Lord Shang begins, as flattering as ever, and Mao Liang knows immediately that they’re in for a lot of work. Dammit. “Here, follow me. There’s no reason to do this in such a drafty, echoing hall. I’ll debrief you on the way to the kitchens.”

Ah! Mao Liang hasn’t eaten since yesterday! And from the glimmer in Lord Shang’s eye as the man smiles, he knows it too.

Another thing about Lord Shang, that Mao Liang particularly admires, is how the man cares, despite everything else. If you ever work directly underneath Lord Shang, you can always be absolutely certain that he will look out for you.

In the Northern Kingdom, there is no place safer.

Sanctuary | Hybrid!BTS

Genre: Hybrid!AU; Family!AU; Friend!AU; Fluff; Angst

Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x Hybrid!Reader; Liger!Reader, Alpaca!Seokjin, Opossum!Yoongi, Deer!Hoseok, Koala!Namjoon, Chipmunk!Jimin, Otter!Taehyung, Bunny!Jungkook

Summary: It only had to happen once for you to gain seven new members of your family. Only once, that’s all it needed. You saved them from some predator hybrids and, since then, they were attached to your hip. You didn’t mind, you liked the company.

Warning: Mentions of Harassment, Depression, Anxiety, Bullying; Possible Mentions of Fights; Read with Caution. <3

Word Count: 1,023

Author’s Note: Thanks for the request!! Sorry it’s so late!! I hope you like it!! ^_^

      One time, that’s all it took, just one. You lived in a large hybrid sanctuary for battered and abused, it was very large with lots of townhouses as places to stay. They built some apartment buildings as well, when it started to fill up. Luckily, you had been here long enough to own a townhome. The sanctuary was like it’s own little town.

      The day it happened was one you’d never forget. A new group of hybrids had come in the week before. You’d kept to yourself for the most part, making small friendships, but you were alone most of the time. You sat on a bench, tail twitching and sun rays warming your skin. You were reading a book, one that interested you, but you were incredibly distracted. You’d read a paragraph, then would reread it because you didn’t actually, “read it.”

      You were more focused on the predator hybrids bullying a group of seven prey hybrids. You’d look over your book every now and then, watching the seven. Three of them were trying very hard to stand up for themselves, glaring and occasionally growling. This impressed you, but when you saw a bunch of people circling them, you had to stand up. Where on earth were all the workers?

      You stood up, walking over in time to see one of the lion’s punch the opossum. You growled, pushing through the crowd to get to the middle. Just before the lion could kick the opossum on the ground, you went up, lifting your fist and slamming it to his face. He flew backwards, running into a few other predators and knocking them down. It was silent.

      “This is a sanctuary,” I growled, glaring at him. “There is no predator or prey. We are all equals.”

      “Damn, Y/n,” The lion growled, standing up and glaring. “We’re just having a little fun!”

      “I don’t care,” You replied. “I catch you messing with these guys again, I’ll kick your ass myself. That goes for all predators.” You turned to the seven, who were staring in bewilderment. 

      The other two who were standing up to the bullies were holding the opossum up, making you frown. You nodded towards the bench, telling them to follow you. You went to the bench, picking your book up and walking the paths to your home.

      Your’s was an end unit, and in the front was a gorgeous garden and trees. You walked up, unlocking the door and allowing the seven boys to come inside. They were all silent, and you watched the opossum sit. Your ears twitched, the animal in you raising its ugly head, but you ignored it, going into your bathroom to return with a first aid kit.

      You sat in front of him, taking out some alcohol and putting it on a cotton swab. He had a small cut on his brow. You placed it on the hybrid, causing him to hiss. You rolled your eyes, continuing anyway and patching him up.

      “You’re some brave prey,” You said, putting everything away and standing. “I’ve never seen an opossum stand up to a lion.”

      “Yeah, well,” The opossum mumbled, only to wince when the alpaca punched his shoulder.

      “What he means to say is thank you,” He said. “I’m Seokjin, or just Jin. That’s Hoseok, Namjoon, Taehyung, Jimin, Jungkook, and you met Yoongi.”

      “Pleasure,” You responded, coming back from the bathroom and leaning on the wall. “I’m Y/n.”

      “That was so cool!” Jungkook exclaimed, making you smile and flash your sharp teeth. “They way you just decked that guy!”

      “Can you teach me something?!” Taehyung exclaimed, making you raise an eyebrow and chuckling.

      “Guys, slow down,” Hoseok said, giggling at them.

      “So, you’re all new here?” You asked.

      “We live in the apartment complex down the way,” Namjoon said, quietly. He looked shy, not even making eye contact.

      “We’re all next to each other, but we all room together,” Seokjin said. “Me and Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi, then the three young ones.”

      “Oh, that’s nice of you,” You replied. “Most of the time, hybrids like having their own place, so it’s hard to have open homes.”

      “We’ve all known eachother since we were children,” Jimin said, smiling big. “We came from the same place!”

      “It’s always great to have a family,” You said, winking at him and making him swoon.

      “What kind of hybrid are you…?” Yoongi asked, looking you up and down. “I’ve never seen anything like you.”

      “Yoongi,” Seokjin scolded, but you shook your head.

      “It’s alright,” You replied. “I’m a mixture between a lion and a tiger, a liger is what you call me.”

      “That’s so wicked!” Jungkook exclaimed. “You’re the coolest predator I’ve ever seen!”

      “Well, thanks,” You replied. 

      “No, thank you,” Seokjin said, turning shy. “for saving us back there.”

      “Anytime,” You replied with a smile.

      “We gotta go, guys,” Hoseok said, making them all groan and nod. With that, they all passed you, thanking you and exiting. When Jimin passed, he hugged you, surprising you for a moment. You smiled, nodding in goodbye and watching them leave.

      “Bye, Y/n,” Seokjin said with a large smile.

      “Bye, guys,” You replied. “Nice to meet you all.” You smiled at them, shutting your door and sighing softly.

      That was the beginning of your friendship. Anytime they’d see you, they’d come and talk to you. Namjoon would come read with you, Jungkook would exercise with you, Taehyung would swim with you, he was great, being an otter and all. Jimin would play games with you, Seokjin would go on walks with you, and Yoongi… well, he’d always be around you, period. He especially liked coming to your townhome and just relaxing with you. He liked to sleep in the daytime, so you’d find him sleeping on your couch from time to time.

      You all bonded over the smallest things, and the sanctuary seemed less lonely having them all in your life. Needless to say, the predators never laid another hand on any of them. At the end of the day, you’re small little town was what it was meant to be: a sanctuary.

Sky Cowboys predator exploration: Bush Cats

The bush cat is a land-based, ambush predator. It lives in areas with low cover such as scrub brush, dense undergrowth, or rocky crags/cliff sides. They are large cats, weighing in at a range of 280-400 lbs, and standing 40 inches or more at the shoulder. Bush cats are solitary, have large territories, and tend to be courageous rather than cautions. They are opportunistic and can to be a particular danger to anyone traveling alone in areas with lots of cover. Traveling in the wide open is more advisable when alone and over land, since the bush cat will not chase its prey over an open distance. 

However, they don’t naturally take to hunting people. Their natural prey are animals like the nimbak, and other small to medium winged animals. They hunt by ambush and specialize in snatching prey from the air as it is taking off in a panic after the bush cat flushes it out. Bush cats have slightly longer hind legs that add power to their leaps, and short, stiff tails used as a rudder during their jumps. Their claws are more severely curved to hook into the skin of their prey and drag it down to the ground. The largest bush cats can take down pegasi, though this is not common, since pegasi are at the top of their prey weight class, and tend to fight back more than nimbak.

Large ears help locate prey in their natural hunting grounds that have sporadic lines of sight. They raise litters of 1-3 kittens. Kittens stay with the mother for up to 2 years. Bush cat coats tend to be dusty tan with minimal white markings, though coat patterns vary based on specific environments. A bush cat on a southern island may have a vastly different coat than one on a more northerly island. They have local names, but are universally known as “bush cat”.

--

These aren’t quite as strange as the nimbak, but this is only a first draft :) 

- Lauren

This is a long post, but I want to post something positive (hope for the future) instead of all the negative crap I’ve posted because.......negative crap surrounded us for 4+ years.

While the US Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges that the iconic monarch butterfly, a major pollinator, should be designated as a threatened species, it has declined to do so, saying it has to focus limited resources on higher-priority species. Noah Greenwald, director of the endangered species program at the Center for Biological Diversity, however, is hopeful the monarch can gain necessary protection under Biden. Wikimedia Commons/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

The photogenic, badger-like American wolverine, known for its round ears and thick fur, is known to patrol up to 500 square miles of snowy territory in a relentless quest for its next meal, scaling mountains in minutes. Wolverines’ historic ranges include northern Eurasia and North America; however, government-sponsored eradication programs and habitat loss in the early 1900s nearly eliminated the animal from the Lower 48. Beginning in the 1960s, they started making their way back to Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Now, an estimated 250 to 300 wolverines roam south of Canada—a stable population, though likely less than half the carrying capacity, or the number the environment can support. The species—which plays an important role in the ecosystem as predators that keep prey animal populations in check, furthering biodiversity—faces a range of threats, from loss of habitat to roads and other development, resource extraction, recreation, and, especially, climate change. Wolverines rely on deep snowpack lasting into May—a condition that, of course, will diminish as the planet warms. As far as climate-change-induced extinction goes, Greenwald describes the wolverine is a “real canary in the coal mine.” He adds, “We’re in court working to overturn the Trump admin’s refusal to grant them protections. If not, it’ll come down to the courts." Nigel Hoult/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

In October, the Trump administration finalized a controversial rule that removes ESA protections for all gray wolves in the lower 48 states, excepting Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. The move, long in the making, turns over management of this imperiled species to states and tribal governments. “We’re going to court, and we’re hopeful that both gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves will be able to expand further into their range in the southwest,” Greenwald reports. “We’re in the process with USFW of developing a new management and recovery plan for reintroduced species, and we’re hopeful it’ll be much easier to work with Biden’s [as yet unannounced] new head of agency. The current director used to work for Monsanto.” doublejwebers/flickr/via Center for Biological Diversity.

Yes, the ESA protects plants too! Advocates are proposing that the whitebark pine gain threatened status this year, due to its struggle under introduced disease and climate change. Noah Greenwald/Center for Biological Diversity.

The lesser prairie chicken, which calls the southern plains states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas home, has lost much habitat in recent years to agriculture and oil and gas development. (Its habitat overlays the Permian Basin, which has seen more oil and gas development in the past decade than anywhere else in the world.) They also don’t do well with the addition of utility poles in their stomping grounds, as they double as perches for predators. “We petitioned to add lesser prairie chickens to the endangered list in the late 1990s, and while they got put on the candidate list, during that delay is when the fracking boom started, so threats to its survival only increased,” Greenwald shares. “Eventually, it got listed as threatened, with a somewhat unfortunate conservation agreement that would let the oil and gas industry off the hook, but we’re challenging that decision in April, and we’re optimistic that the Biden administration will list them as endangered, or at least threatened.” USFWS/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

Several years back, male jaguars started moving up from Mexico, and have since been spotted roaming throughout the Southwest and the Grand Canyon. Trump’s border wall, however, threw a wrench into one of the biggest cat recoveries the New World had seen. The fact that Biden has said he’ll halt construction on the wall, however, gives Greenwald hope. “It would at least give jaguars a fighting chance.” Flickr Commons/Eric Kilby/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

The dunes sagebrush lizard, which calls southeast New Mexico and West Texas home, is threatened by oil and gas development on the Permian Basin as well as sand mining for fracking. Greenwald says this fetching reptile is due for another decision on listing next year. USFWS/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

The Trump administration downlisted this pretty, black-and-red American burying beetle—found in South Dakota, Oklahoma, the Sandhills of Nebraska, and, oddly enough, Rhode Island’s Block Island—from endangered to threatened, based on a petition from petroleum lobbyists. Greenwald calls the decision “completely nonsensical,” as threatened status allows some states to all but exempt a species from protection, say, by legalizing gas and oil development in its habitat. Which is what happened recently in Oklahoma. “It was a total handout to oil and gas at the expense of the beetle, which is actually one of the few insects that raise its young,” says Greenwald. Fascinatingly, it does as much by finding bird carcasses, exuding a mucousy fluid from its anus to cover said carcasses and laying eggs and raising young atop them. “It provides a vulture-like service, feasting off carcasses’ nutrients,” says Greenwald, who is in talks with various advocates about action to override industry’s “special exemption” regarding these beetles. Doug Backlund/South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

There was some movement on the part of the Trump administration to delist the Florida Key deer, but luckily, it didn’t go anywhere. “Their numbers are up, but because they live in the Florida Keys, they’re likely to be underwater in the next 50 years if we don’t do something about GHGs,” says Greenwald. “It’s our smallest deer, so we’re hopeful that we’ll see enough climate action under Biden to give it a chance to survive.” USFWS/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

Coral species including staghorn (pictured) and elkhorn also occur in the Keys and have unfortunately been delisted since the aughts. “With ocean acidification from GHGs, coral in our reefs are disappearing quickly,” cautions Greenwald. “If we don’t get them back on the list, we’ll have lost a gorgeous world.” NOAA/Via Center for Biological Diversity.

CAUTION: MERFOLK

Merfolk (Amadic, Homo Sirenia) are a vital part of the American Ecosystem. While they are charming to observe, it is important that observers of two common species of Mermaid know the facts before interacting with them. 

(NADAC species write-up Wordcount: 811

(Pictured: Simplified population distribution of common merfolk species in Michigan.)

CAUTION: MERFOLK

GENERAL INFORMATION:

-Always swim with a partner.

-Do not feed wild animals.

-When fishing in areas where merfolks are known to be present, use of dragnets or any net fishing is prohibited by law.

-While contact with merfolks is not prohibited, all acts of violence caused by merfolks should be made known to the area’s Department of Natural Resources.

-Never swim at night in a body of water where merfolks are known to be present; the hours of 8PM-3AM are the surface level hunting hours of merfolks.

-SOME property damage caused by merfolks is insured by NADAC. OVERVIEW: merfolk (Homo Sirenia)

While Mermaid sightings have been documented as early as the ancient Greeks, merfolk were first spotted, noted, and classified by famed Amadic researcher Darius Biles in 1867. While the species Biles documented back then was the Common Atlantic Mermaid (Blue Mermaid, Cetacean Mermaid, Jumping Mermaid) Several species and variants have been found throughout North America.

North American merfolk speak several different dialects of American english, possibly derived from interactions with English sailors. While it was originally thought that the dialects of merfolks was specific to region, it is actually specific to species and variant. The dialects depend on the things in their environment, previous interactions with humans, and in some cases, the actual build of a merfolk’s vocal chords.

The two variants of merfolks discussed in this Write-up are the Hyperion (Homo Sirenia Acipenser) and the Michigreen (Homo Sirenia Amia). Both are common in the upper Midwestern United States, and both variants can be dangerous towards humans. While no incidents of these species preying on humans have been reported, reports of injury with intent and endangerment have been reported. The intent of this Write-up is to inform the general public of the existence of these creatures, and what to do should they be encountered.

—-

OVERVIEW: HYPERION MERFOLK (Homo Sirenia Acipenser)

HABITAT: Known to live in river deltas, estuaries.

APPEARANCE: Bodies up to 8 feet long. Long, black hair. Gray-green skin on torso and arms. Yellow-green eyes. Tails resemble sturgeon tail. Males posses yellow line down underbelly. Females have no such marking.

DIET: Hyperion merfolk are known carnivores, and prey on smaller fish.

IF APPROACHED BY A HYPERION MERFOLK:

-If you are on a boat, whether the interaction is violent or nonviolent, stay in your boat. Entering the water without permission may be seen as a provocation.

-If the interaction is violent, you should do your best to leave the area quickly and safely. Hyperion merfolk can jump to a height twice as long as their bodies, and may try to enter the boat.

-If the interaction is nonviolent, you may hold a conversation. Do not feed merfolk, as they prefer to hunt for themselves. Do not try to touch without permission.

-If the merfolk looks injured, leave it be. Hyperion merfolk prefer to heal each other rather than be healed.

-If you are not on a boat, do NOT panic. Hyperion merfolk rarely attack on sight, and may just think you are in need of help.

-If the interaction is violent, do not fight back. Most Hyperion merfolk will not attack a swimming human, and it may be a juvenile ‘playing’ with you, and will not do any harm.

-If the interaction is nonviolent, you may hold a conversation. Do not feed merfolk, as they prefer to hunt for themselves. Do not try to touch them without permission.

—-

OVERVIEW: MICHIGREEN MERFOLK (Homo Sirenia Amia)

HABITAT: Known to live in rivers.

APPEARANCE: Bodies up to 4 feet long. Short hair, color varies with water. Dark green skin on torso and arms. Black-green eyes. Scales on tail are similar in striation to Bowfin (Amia Calva)

DIET: Michigreen Merfolk are ambush predators, usually preying on small crustaceans and smaller fish.

IF APPROACHED BY A MICHIGREEN MERFOLK:

-If you are on a boat, try and figure out what the michigreen might need from you. Michigreen merfolk are not known to approach boats without reason, as they are often smaller than the boats themselves, and do not see advantage from them. Do NOT feed them.

-If you are not on a boat, proceed with caution. Some Michigreen have been known to attack humans if the target is small, or if there is a school of Michigreen.

-If the interaction is violent, do your best to vacate the water immediately; a single Michigreen can overpower a human child. There may also be more Michigreen waiting to attack, if they believe you might be a threat.

-If the interaction is nonviolent, proceed with caution. Do not go somewhere with the Mihigreen if you do not have a partner going with you. Do not follow a michigreen somewhere you cannot exit, as they may assume you can breathe water.

Tasmanian devils, known for their ferocious temperaments, have been plagued by a contagious facial cancer in recent decades.

Tasmanian devils return to mainland Australia for first time in 3,000 years

Scientists hope the scrappy predators' reintroduction can balance ecosystems ravaged by invasive species.

JASON BITTEL

OCTOBER 5, 2020

It’s been 3,000 years since the Tasmanian devil’s raspy shriek rang through the forests of mainland Australia. But now, thanks to a dogged reintroduction effort, 26 of these endangered tiny terrors have returned.

No bigger than a lapdog, these marsupials are famous for their ferocity and powerful jaws, which can reduce large carcasses to smithereens in minutes. But in the 1990s, the species was hit with a contagious and deadly mouth cancer, causing its only remaining wild population, on the Australian island state of Tasmania, to drop to just 25,000 animals.

It’s unknown why the species disappeared from Australia millennia ago, but it’s likely due to human actions—when early hunters killed off most of the continent’s megafauna, the devils had nothing left to eat.

As scavengers, devils play a crucial role in maintaining a balanced, healthy ecosystem—which is why scientists have been trying so hard to bring them back.

“We've worked for over a decade to get to this point,” says Tim Faulkner, president of AussieArk, a species recovery organization. The group collaborates closely with the nonprofits Global Wildlife Conservation and WildArk to orchestrate the release of captive-raised animals into a thousand-acre fenced area called Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary, just north of Barrington Tops National Park in eastern Australia.

Despite their fearsome reputation, “they’re no threat to humans or agriculture,” he adds.

Tasmanian devils, Sarcophilus harrisii

Even still, reintroducing animals is uncertain business, so the scientists did a soft launch of 15 devils in March of this year. The team used radio-collars to check in on the released devils, as well as put out kangaroo carcasses for food as the animals adjusted to their new home. After all of the devils showed signs of thriving, the scientists felt optimistic enough to release another 11 individuals on September 10—and now they beasts are mostly on their own.

“They're free. They're out there,” says Faulkner. “We’ve got some basic means of keeping an eye on them. But essentially, now it's over to the devils to do what they do.”

Fighting off invaders

To prepare for the devils’ arrival, Faulkner’s team fenced off a large chunk of protected eucalyptus forest, took out invasive plants, cleared leaf litter that can lead to forest fires, and used humane lethal control to remove red foxes and feral cats—introduced predators that have devastated the continent’s small mammal populations. (Read how quolls, a cat-size marsupial, were reintroduced to mainland Australia.)

Tasmanian devils enter their new home in the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia.

Feral cats don’t prey on the devils—in fact, it’s the felines that might need to be concerned.

“The presence of devils on the landscape seems to put the cats off a bit,” says David Hamilton, a devil expert and research assistant at the University of Tasmania who was not involved in the reintroduction project. Devils don’t usually eat cats, but instead force them to hunt during dusk and dawn to avoid run-ins with the nocturnal devils.

It may seem minor, but this small shift in behavior can actually protect night-dwelling native species, such as bandicoots, several species of which are considered endangered in Australia. Interestingly, bandicoot populations increase where devils are more prominent than cats, says Hamilton. (Learn more about invasive species and their impact on the environment.)

This is exactly what Faulkner and others hope Tasmanian devils will do Australia—stabilize the continent’s ecosystems against invaders.

But it’s “a big unknown” what will happen when the devils go up against red foxes, which are larger than cats and more equal in size to devils, Hamilton cautions.

There’s also the question of whether reintroducing devils will have unforeseen consequences for other sensitive species. For instance, in 2012, an introduced population of devils in Maria Island, off the coast of Tasmania, led to the disappearance of several short-tailed shearwater colonies.

Feral cats and common brushtail possums, both non-native to the island, were already preying upon the seabirds, and though the devils started suppressing those predators, they also began eating the seabird eggs and hatchlings too.

“Theoretically, they shouldn’t have a negative impact [in Australia],” says Hamilton. “But you have to think about the entire ecosystem when you’re doing things like this, and that’s a big ask.”

This is why it’s particularly important that the reintroduction is starting off inside an expansive but fenced-off environment, he adds.

‘Ecological blink of an eye’

Assuming all goes well, the triad of conservation organizations plans to release 40 additional devils into the same protected forest over the next two years. And they’ll have company.

As the ferocious Tasmanian devil battles a fatal cancer outbreak, Australian biologists are breeding a viable, cancer-free population in captivity.

Since removing the cats and foxes, Faulkner’s team has also begun releasing other imperiled native species into the same habitat, including Parma wallabies, long-nosed bandicoots, long-nosed potoroos, and rufous bettongs. (Learn about the silent decline of the platypus, Australia’s beloved oddity.)

AussieArk plans to release even more of those species over the next six months, in addition to eastern quolls, brush-tailed rock wallabies, and southern brown bandicoots.

These tiny mammals are crucial to keeping their environment clean and healthy by dispersing seeds and reducing wildfire intensity by digging up leaf litter and speeding up its decomposition.

“It really comes down to these smaller, terrestrial ecosystem engineers that turn over leaf litter,” Faulkner says. “A bandicoot turns over an elephant’s [weight] of soil each year. One bandicoot.”

If the experiments prove successful, there are 370,000 acres of protected land nearby into which the reintroductions could expand, he adds.

“I really believe that over time, we'll see the devil become a normal part of mainland Australia,” says Faulkner. “It was here 3,000 years ago. You know, that's an ecological blink of an eye.”

Vampire!Dean fic excerpt

Right, so, I know I said I was going to post a bit of Cathemeral, but I was going through my files and yet another unfinished Vampire!Dean fic caught my eye. I wrote it a number of years ago after a “painful transformation” commentfic prompt at Hoodietime. 

So, here is a quick excerpt from my Hellsing-inspired fic!!! Just finished fleshing it out. It’s about 1.5k words. Takes place after Dean has busted himself and Sam out of a stronghold of Crowley’s with a little help from an impromptu vampiric transformation, but as you can see, something went Very Wrong. I guess you could call this Chapter 3?

Enjoy!!!! Concrit welcome!!!

Sam is concentrating intently on a scan of a 14th century manuscript when he hears a noise right at his ear, like wings, drawn out and distorted as if through water, quiet and delicate.

There are four pure black moths on his forearm, gathered three in a circle at one point and one scuttling towards them, looking to squeeze in.

He flaps his hand at them. They collapse into shadow and swirl round his fingers like fog before dissipating, drawn unseen into the surrounding darkness.

There are three pinpricks in his skin.

--- * \ \ * \ \ * ---

Sam’s immediate thought is of Dean, unconscious in the bedroom. He rushes away from the computer, but pauses when he reaches the bedroom door, open just a crack. For just a moment, the suppositions that Dean needs protecting and that Dean himself could be the danger fight each other before Sam's guilt and protectiveness wins out. 

Cautious, he presses the pads of his fingers to the aged wood and eases the door open as silently as he can, edging inside, demon killing knife at his hip...

And then he stands in the doorway, staring, half in half out, one hand clutching the door frame. Trying to make sense of what he sees.

The shadows on Dean's body have broken their bounds.

They've spread out strangely, bigger than they should be, and are reaching out into three dimensional space. And like shadows, all he can see at a given point is the outline of the entire semitranslucent mass. 

At first, it looks like hydrangeas flowing in the breeze.

Sam edges cautiously further into the room. He can't match whatever this is to anything he knows about vampires, real or fictional, and can't help but use the caution pounded into him through years of hunting, Dean or not.

Closer now, he can make them out: Hundreds of moths made of pure shadow are clustered on Dean's body. Small wings flutter sluggishly as they wander drunkenly in each space portioned out to them, oblivious to Sam's entry. He waves his arms in the air, trying to get their attention, but none take notice. The revelation doesn't make any more sense to Sam than before. It doesn't seem like they're doing anything to Dean. They almost seem to be a part of him, with the way they seem to be reaching out from the shadows on his body. Part of whatever transformation he's going through. Sam can't think of anything like this, nothing he's read or encountered. Even Daeva are dramatically different shadow creatures-- more invisible than really made of shadow. The effect could almost be pretty, if it were not so obviously unnatural, or infesting his brother.

...Should he wake him? Would that make it stop? Should he make it stop? The answer seems obvious.

Sam creeps to the head of the bed. Slowly, he reaches towards the intersection between Dean's neck and shoulder. At the edges of that mass, he can see their beady little eyes as holes punched through the shadows.

It parts at the intrusion of his hand for a moment, the little things bumping lightly into each other as they move away, seemingly not sure what to make of him. But when the wave crests, they clamor for him as one. They reach out in a strange symmetry, four tendrils made up of a column of bugs to wrap around his forearm. Tens of dainty, long proboscides reach for his skin, and this time, he feels the pain. He panics, yanks his arm away, and there's a delicate pull like little threads snapping as he does. The moths are pulled free, and collapse from the force back into shadowy tendrils that recede into Dean's neck. That shadow looks normal again.

There are four rows of perfectly spaced lines of pinpricks wrapping up and around his forearm. Just barely big enough for blood to bead before clotting.

He waits, knife at the ready.

Nothing happens.

They've forgotten about him already. He waits as long as he can stand it, knife hand eventually falling dejected at his side. He concludes that their intelligence is rudimentary, if they are even sentient.

Well, he decides, at least I have something to go on now. He trots back to the side room to retrieve his laptop, focus newly replenished.

By the time he's back, setting himself up at the little desk at the window to watch out of the corner of his eye, little wings are budding like petals from the shadow at Dean's neck again.

Sam tries to cover up the knowledge that he is sitting vigil with the idea that at least he can tease Dean about being the Butterfly Boy when he wakes up.

--- * \ \ * \ \ * ---

"...The genus Calyptra is a group of moths in subfamily Calpinae of the family Erebidae. They are a member of the Calpini tribe, whose precise circumscription is uncertain but which includes a number of other fruit-piercing or eye-frequenting genera currently classified in Calpinae.

The common name of many of these species, vampire moth, refers to the habit that they have of drinking blood from vertebrates. Some of them (C. thalictri) are even capable of drinking human blood through skin..."

"...The Carpathian Mountains arch through the Czech Republic and then turn east, continuing on through Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine before finally ending near the Danube River in Serbia. It is here in this mountain range that there lives a species of vampire known as a mahr. Living off the consumption of human souls, the mahr swoops down upon its victim in the form of a moth, taking a bite or two before flying off. The more often a mahr attacks a single victim, the easier it becomes for the vampire to do so in the future. Eventually the prey is killed and the soul consumed. Fortunately, there are two ways in which a mahr can be slain. The first is to...."

Sam stretches and runs his hands through his hair, turning away from the desk, and freezes.

Dean's awake.

Mostly.

The shadow moths are gone. Oversized, red irises with blown out pupils wander the room. He doesn't seem entirely aware of what he's looking at, or even what he's looking for. 

He's baring his fangs, and God, they're gigantic. 

As he works unconsciously to keep himself from drooling, his tongue laps out of his mouth like an angry dog's.

The expression on his face, however, is one only of sleepiness, confusion. Sam can tell that there's a slight undercurrent of distress trying to work its way through the fog.

Sam wonders if this is what it feels like to keep tigers.

"Dean?"

No answer. A little more confusion. A little less drooling.

Sam approaches the bed. He cards his hand through Dean's hair and lets it rest there. The warm weight seems to snap Dean out of it slightly; his pupils visibly retract, and he slowly stops his search through the room to stare sleepily at nothing, face slackening. His eyes seem to lose most of that preternatural scarlet glow; the structure of his irises is now visible through it again, which are now an odd brownish-maroon color. 

"Go back to sleep, Dean," he murmurs, soft and low, and tries unsuccessfully to hide the sadness  in his tone.

Dean's eyelids grow heavy and the alert tension drains out of him. His head burrows into the pillow and a soft, utterly self-unconscious exhale of breath escapes his lips. He falls back asleep almost immediately.

Sam has wished since before Dean's deal that he would accept the comfort he obviously needed, but not like this.

Falling asleep so easily... It made him look like a big kid. Sam welcomes the choking love for his brother, so absent this past year.

He stays by the bedside for a long time.

--- * \ \ * \ \ * ---

Castiel shows up at dusk a few hours later, a sizeable jar of demon blood held to his side, furtively, like contraband. As usual, there is no expression on his face, but his body language seems uncomfortable. It's something he must have scavenged from Bobby's pantry which, strangely, makes it look for all the world like a harmless half gallon of blackberry preserve.

The fact that it isn't for Sam doesn't make him feel any better.

Castiel ignores its presence entirely and gets straight to the point. The moths returned shortly after Dean fell back asleep, but if Castiel is surprised by them he doesn't verbalize it.

"How is he?"

"He woke up for a few minutes a couple hours ago, but he didn't seem..." Sam's face screws up. He tries again. "It was like he could tell there was a... A source of blood in the room, but he wouldn't focus on anything. Didn't respond when I tried to talk to him."

Castiel is staring at Dean all the while, head tilted in that way of his when thinking hard. Usually, it seems as though he's scrutinizing the space between atoms, but there's a line of frustration in his brow that makes it seem like he can't see anything. Sam wonders if he paid any attention to what he'd just said.

In that moment, Dean's head lifts from the pillow, drawing both their gazes.

Sam would've thought that having his pupils less dilated would make Dean's gaze feel less... animal, but it didn't. The glow had returned, making his owlish irises shine with a smooth, ruby iridescence.

The moths surge up from behind his neck, piling over each other, restless. Sam can actually hear the agitated titter of their wings this time.

He doesn't think he can watch this.

@esteicy-blog @sammysdewysensitiveeyes WEREWOLF SHINOBI RETURNS! The most well-known shapeshifter legend is probably the werewolf, but the reason for this is also probably because of the globalization of the West, the practice of colonialism and imperialism by the people who brought this legend. In other lands. But these other lands themselves had their own stories of shapechanging animals, and it wasn’t always wolves. “There’s only two of them in the entire territory,” Erik said, “And of the pair, only one fights.” “Any being will fight with its back against the wall,” countered Emma, “And I would caution you gentlemen to remember the saying about the female of the species.” “Even if one is a coward, I agree with Emma’s point that it’s still a 500 pound coward with teeth much larger than any of our own, and claws to match,” Shaw said, “But I also agree with Erik that there’s just two of them. And each can only point those teeth and claws in a single direction at once. It’s no different than the horns and hooves of a buck---you just make sure you’re not attacking from that direction.” “Now who’s a coward?” Emma jibed, “But a practical one. There is an advantage in numbers, yes---meaning others can swarm and distract them, while one of us makes the kill from behind.” “The point I was trying to make,” Erik brough the conversation back to himself in irritation, “was not that their deficiency in numbers and gumption should be exploited, but that we should not be attacking them in the first place, let alone killing them for nothing more than having something we want. I’ll defend my people to the death. I will attack any hunter pre-emptively, even if he’s lying helpless in his bed. But these two---they are kin to our kind, and never threatened us.” “They have hunting grounds we need to survive,” Emma said, crossing her arms, “And winter is coming. I take your point, Erik, and I assure you, I don’t do this lightly---but I will sooner see two of their kind starve, then let our children do so.” Erik sighed. He could not argue this, for he felt the same. Between his people and any other, he would always pick the survival of his own. But he could not feel the righteous fury, the vicious satisfaction of the triumph, in the same way he would against hunters or vampires or some deserving foe, instead of two undeserving ones who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He especially hated that he’d be fighting alongside Shaw in this, as he knew that, unlike himself and Emma, Shaw had no such compunctions---he just wanted the territory, whether they needed it or not. Of course, Erik pondered grimly to himself, Does one’s intentions matter, when one’s actions will be the same? *** The attack was one. The wolves had come into the jungle strategically at first, stalking and sneaking, but now they had been discovered by their prey, and the time to attack head-on was here. They threw each other at the great striped beast from every side, and it tossed them too and throw with the bucks of its massive body, the strikes of its impossibly huge paws. Werewolves are a great deal larger than natural wolves...but the same held true for weretigers, and this one, a young male in his prime, was no exception. He was a magnificent beast, a worthy foe, and anyone who struck the killing bite to such a monster, won such a victory for the pack, would surely be celebrated as a hero. So Shinobi knew it had to be him. The fact he was a coward and barely resembled a wolf so much as a rather fluffy, doggish-looking black coyote or oversized fox, wasn’t going to get in his way. He would be respected and loved at last---by the pack, and by his father! Now was his chance---now! Seeing an opening while the tiger was distracted by the rest of the pack, Shinobi ran as fast as his four furry feet---very dainty little paws, really--would carry him over the terrain, and LEAPED, sailing in the air towards the back of the tiger... ...and WOULD have landed there, if the jaws of a second tiger that had leaped in from the side had not caught him. If Shinobi had not been so shocked, and had the brain cells, he might have noticed that just as the first one had not ripped apart any of his pack with its claws, this one did not sink its sabre-teeth into his flesh. Indeed, the grip on his tiny body was both gentle and secure, neither hurting him nor risking him flopping around uncomfortably. But Shinobi was not concerned with this; he was too busy howling all the way as the beast trotted away with him, letting out piteous pleas for aid to his pack and ridiculously boastful threats to the beast that had caught him. *** “It took one of the cubs?!” Emma was horrified. “We’re not sure which one,” Shaw said, “Apparently someone saw one of the little ones---a teen, probably, judging by the size---jump into the fray and get captured. But it all happened so fast, and they were fighting themselves, so they’re not sure who it was.” “It doesn’t matter!” Erik brought his fist down upon the stone they used as a table when in human form, “Our young are no one’s prey---I was hesitant to attack before, but now---” “Now,” said Emma,” placing a hand on him to remind him to calm himself, “Now, we do not fight. We bargain. We fought the first tiger to exhaustion, and now he is our prisoner. If the cub still lives, we exchange his live for theirs.” “I say we exchange his life for the territory the other still holds, and leave the cub to its fate,” Shaw said. “Sebastian!” Emma said, aghast yet not surprised, while Erik snarled at the very idea as if he was in his wolf form. “What?” Sebastian said, used to this reaction even from his ruthless cohorts, “The little idiot chose to put itself in danger, and we need this territory much more than we need its life. Because if we don’t get it, then ALL our cubs will die this winter. That’s why we’re doing this. Better lose one than risk many.” “We will not lose a SINGLE child!” Erik raged. “It is a....practical point, Sebastian, but I think I shall try to negotiate for both,” Emma sighed, putting her fingers to her forehead as though she had a headache, as she often did when her two fellow leaders butted heads. Sometimes, it was because they were both idiots...sometimes, it was because she saw both points. Although that didn’t change they WERE still both idiots. *** Emma had said she would negotiate, and she meant it---she alone. She didn’t trust either of her cohorts not to lose their tempers and ruin things, and the second tiger was an unknown factor. It was said that the beast did not fight, but Emma knew this didn’t necessarily make it less dangerous, as she’d said from the start. Perhaps it was lame. Perhaps it had cubs of its own---it was said to be female, after all, likely the mate of the male. Both would make it far more dangerous even than the first, and he had been a brute of a beast. Emma still thought it was very, very suspicious he’d been taken alive with no casualties to their side... “I’m not trying to sneak up on you, darling, if that were not very obviously,” she said to the mouth of the cave, “And I think it’s clear by my shape I’ve not come to fight.” She was in human form, and wearing clothing at that, white high-heeled boots with pointy toes, white cape draped over her shoulders. Hardly the sorts of things one donned for a trek through the jungle, yet they were as spotless as the fur of her wolf form always was. “I understand you have something of ours, just as we have something of yours. I’m here to see if you won’t consider a little bargain. I know you’re likely in no mood to parlay with us, but surely we can work something out...for the sake of your mate.” “Emma? Oh, hey, Emma!” The last voice she expected addressed her from within the massive dark cave that her human eyes could not penetrate, and out bounded--- “Shinobi?!”

It wasn’t a cub that had been grabbed at all---it was just Shaw’s ridiculous runt! “Did you miss me?” he asked eagerly, “Is everyone TERRIBLY worried? Is father in hysterics?” “He, er...I don’t think he’s realized you’re gone, Shinobi,” she said, “We thought it was a CHILD who was snatched. Listen, what--” “But you’re here to negotiate for me, you just said!” he whined, “I’m the prince of the pack, that has to mean SOMETHING!” Emma sighed, “I suppose TECHNICALLY this doesn’t change anything, we can still exchange---wait. Shinobi, Shinobi, let’s both run right now, before she---” “Run?” Shinobi asked, “Ohhhh! Oh no no no you don’t get it. I’m not leaving.” “What.” Emma said flatly. Oh no, had he decided he was going to SEDUCE their enemy? He’d tried that sort of thing before. “Haven’s great! Listen, just TALK to her and she’ll let you hunt on her turf I’m sure! And um, give her her brother back, she’s really worried.” “Her brother.” “I hope he didn’t hurt any of yours,” said a soft, gentle, but rather deep-yet-very-feminine voice from the cave. And Emma saw stepping out from the blackness, one of the tallest women she’d ever witnessed. And Emma was hardly what anyone would call short herself. “I did ask him not to...but it seemed to me like your forces were fighting to kill.” “So you took Shinobi so you could have a means to bargain for his life,” Emma surmised, ice blue eyes narrowing. “Actually,” said the weretiger, looking slightly embarrassed, “I thought he was a puppy. Someone’s baby that had followed its parents on to the battlefield. I wanted to get him out of danger. If he hadn’t been there I would have stepped in myself to put a stop to things, but...” “But I have successfully negotiated treaty terms with her, and now the day is saved without any bloodshed!” Shinobi bragged. And, technically, he was right. So Emma Frost had to go home, with a smug Shinobi and female weretiger walking at her side, and explain  to Erik, Shaw, and the entire pack that not only had no lives been lost thanks to Shinobi’s interference, the jungle was now free hunting ground for the pack through the winter, and that he had basically (Shinobi was sure to interject this several times) saved them all.

Consider This (1/?)

Fandom: Dragon Age

Pairing: Varric/Marian Hawke

Rating: T

Summary: As far as Varric is concerned, Cassandra's been reading too many romance novels. There's no way he could be in love with Hawke and not know it. That sort of thing doesn't happen in real life. Besides, Hawke's just his friend, right?

Right?

...Uh oh.

[ @servantofclio suggested the premise of Cassandra figuring out Varric is in love before he does and I had to write it]

AO3 link | I do commissions!

Cassandra slammed him against the wooden railing so hard it almost knocked the breath out of his lungs. Her nails dug into his shoulders through the thick leather of his jacket. If Cassandra had been a mage, Varric was pretty sure she’d have burned a hole through his skull with that look.  

“You knew! You knew where she was all along, and you lied!”

He shoved her off of him and glared right back. Normally this was the part where he would try and defuse the situation, or get away, but not this time. Not about this.  

“You’re damn right I did!”

When she balled up her fist and swung, Varric reconsidered his stance on running. At the very least, he should be out of arm’s reach. Only once a table was firmly in between the two of them did he say “I wasn’t going to hand Hawke over to you on a silver platter just because you asked!”

“I did not ask, I arrested you!”

“Exactly!  You kidnapped me! You interrogated me! Did you seriously think after everything you put me through I’d willingly let you get within five hundred feet of her?”

“Enough!”

Varric wasn’t sure when Adaar had arrived at the top of the stairs, but she was there now, looming as only an angry qunari could. Varric was relatively sure she wouldn’t throw him out the window, but even pointed at Cassandra, that look made him nervous.

“You can’t be taking his side!” Cassandra protested.

“Enough.” Adaar’s voice was sharp as steel and brooked no argument. Varric kept a wary eye on Cassandra all the same.

“He is a liar and a snake and he cannot be trusted!” the seeker snapped.

“I was protecting my friend!” Varric snapped.

And then something...weird happened. Not all, but some of Cassandra’s anger drained away. Her expression softened. The look in her eyes was still angry, still betrayed, but also sad.

“I know why you did it, Varric,” she said and the tone of her voice was just as strange and upsetting as the look. “That does not make it right.”

Which was weirder, the sudden change in her demeanor, or the fact that she was being downright reasonable (for her, anyway)?

“What is, is,” Adaar said. “Yelling changes nothing. Neither does hitting him,” she added sternly. Cassandra huffed and looked away. Adaar waited another moment, but when no further reaction came, she looked at Varric. “I want to trust you. No more secrets.”

Varric started to protest, but, shit, she was right.

“I know. I was-- I know. But I’m on your side!”

Cassandra was giving him that look again. It was more upsetting than the violence.

“Varric has his own priorities, Inquisitor. They are not the Inquisitions, and I doubt they ever will be.”

Varric finally recognized the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes, and was horrified to realize it was sympathy.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it. The conversation kept replaying over and over in his head as he desperately tried to pinpoint what had changed Cassandra’s mood so abruptly. She’d been ready to if not kill, then at least seriously maim him, then the next second she was...sympathetic. To him. About lying to her.

Had she gone crazy? Gotten so angry she just snapped completely? It was hard to say for sure, since she’d spent the last two days avoiding him. He was just fine with that, thanks, not quite trusting her not to decide to finish the job she’d started, but there was one line in particular that he kept getting stuck on.

I know why you did it.

Not, I understand. I know. Like it wasn’t new information. Like she’d known something like this was going to happen. The accusation about his priorities was also galling, mostly because he had the unsettling suspicion that she was right. He could put all of his time and energy and resources into the Inquisition, work himself to the bone to build it up, and he would. He’d be proud of that. But Varric knew, in his heart, that if it ever came down to choosing between the Inquisition and Hawke, he wouldn’t hesitate. He couldn’t, even if he wanted to.

I know why you did it.

More than anything the curiosity was killing him. The sneaking and the avoiding his eyes and the sympathy (he was still freaking out about that). After two days of wondering and worrying and overthinking, he had to recognize that there was no way he was going to figure this out on his own. Also, it was consuming a little too much of his attention -- Hawke was starting to complain that he was letting her win their card games.

There was nothing for it: he was going to have to ask.

He knew he couldn’t just waltz up to Cassandra in the middle of the day and expect her to spill. Or, slightly more concerning, she would and it would be something he didn’t want other people to overhear. His best shot at getting answers was to get her alone -- normally something he avoided in the name of personal safety, but needs must.

"Seeker," he said politely, maintaining a safe distance as Cassandra swung her sword. She jumped, startled, and the flat of the sword bounced off the dummy's wooden neck. When Cassandra whirled around to glare at him, Varric took another step back. But when she saw it was him, her eyes went wide..  

"Oh," she said. "Hello. How...how are you doing?" She said it like she'd read it in a book labelled 'how to be polite'. A book she had skimmed and abandoned halfway through.

"Are you--" He was about to say 'being nice to me', but changed his mind at the last second. Answers first, mockery later. Or much later, depending on how angry she still was. “I wanted to talk, about the other day.”

Cassandra went stiff. She pressed her lips together and turned back to the training dummy.

“I have said all that I intend to on the matter. You know my feelings. I know yours. It is done.”

“I know why you did it.”

Shit, he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. But it might have been the right idea, because Cassandra actually looked at him. She was startled, and it showed. An off-balance Cassandra was a Cassandra who could be tricked into saying more than she meant to.

“What did you say?” she asked. Was she paler than usual?

“You said that to me, while we were arguing. About why I didn’t tell you where Hawke was. ‘I know why you did it’. What did you mean?”

Instantly Cassandra turned away from him, now staring out at the courtyard.

“I meant I understood your motivations. Hawke is your...friend, and you were trying to protect her from a threat.”

Maker, the woman was a terrible liar. And he had definitely noticed the little pause before ‘friend’.

“But you didn’t say ‘I understand’, you said ‘I know’. That’s different.”

Cassandra glared at him. Not a great improvement, but at least she was making eye contact again. Was that a good thing? Varric wasn’t sure.

“What difference does it make if I say one word or another?”

“Implication is everything, seeker. And you’re avoiding the question.”

“I--!” Cassandra suddenly sighed and put her sword back into the sheath. She twisted her fingers together, something experience had taught Varric meant a mixture of nerves and social anxiety. “It is not my place to say.”

“Since when has that ever stopped you?”

“This is different. It is...personal.”

“You’re not going to confess your undying love or anything, are you?”

At ‘love’, Cassandra flinched, and Varric experienced a moment of pure terror so strong he thought he’d pass out.

“Oh sweet Maker, please tell me you aren’t actually--”

"No!" she snapped. Don't be ridiculous! It wasn't about me!" Then Cassandra subsided. Hunched her shoulders. More finger twisting. Okay, she wasn't in love with him, that was good, crisis averted. But somehow the anxiety wasn't dissipating. In fact, it was getting worse, crawling up his spine, making his muscles tense like he was ready for a fight. Or to run. Probably run.

“It’s not my place to say,” Cassandra said again, in the tone of someone who really, really wants to.

“How will you know if you don’t say? Come on, Seeker, tell me what’s on your mind. I promise I won’t be offended.” Varric put on his best cajoling tone, the kind he normally used on animals and Carta assassins.

Cassandra turned abruptly and moved to the stump next to the training dummies. She sat down. Stared at her feet. Twist, twist, twist. Varric approached with caution, and waited. At last Cassandra took a deep breath and straightened.

"Varric, has it ever occurred to you that you might be in love with Hawke?"

Varric's jaw dropped. He stared at her. His mind was blank, a silent void that could barely comprehend what he'd just heard, let alone find the words to answer. He was vaguely aware of his mouth trying to form words. Nothing could come out. He grasped around futilely in his own head for a response, any response. At last he found an old classic, certainly appropriate for the situation.

"What?"

People on the other side of the courtyard turned to stare. Not ideal, but at least the outburst had dislodged the rest of his words.

"Do I think--" Too loud. He cut himself off and his voice down to a furious whisper. "No, I'm not in--! Maker, you can't just say things like that!"

Cassandra puffed up indignantly, looking so much like an angry bird of prey it would have been funny, if things could be funny at that moment.

"I wasn't going to say it, you asked me to tell you!"

The initial shock began to wear off, and now that Varric felt less like he’d walked into a wall, he had to admit it was kind of funny. In love with Hawke. The very idea of it was so ridiculous, so absurd, he had to laugh. It was a slightly strangled laugh, but it was a laugh.

“Why would you ever think I’m...that?”

“Everything you have done, has been for Hawke. You knew if you told me were Hawke was, I would let you go, but you still refused to tell. You accepted the danger, so she would not have to.”

“Seeker, that’s what you do for a friend. You would know, if you had any.”

Cassandra ignored the jab.

“You tell stories about her, and only about her. Even when you tell stories about other people, she always ends up involved somewhere.”

“All my good stories involve Hawke because I spent the last ten years doing nothing but follow her around!”

“Oh, I see. You have completely disproven my assumption with your evidence.”

“Don’t try sarcasm, Seeker, you’re not built for it.”

“You spend all your time in Skyhold sitting around moping--"

"Moping--!"

"--and all your time outside of it complaining. The only time you don't do either of those, you're talking about Hawke."

Varric sighed. “That’s not love, Seeker, it’s nostalgia.”

Cassandra folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. She didn’t do a very good job at it, and Varric had to fight back the urge to laugh again.

“And nostalgia is also why all of your stories revolve around how wonderful you think Hawke is?”

“What!”

“Every story you tell is the same. Hawke does something heroic, and then she says something clever and charming and you talk about how she’s the greatest person you’ve ever met.”

“That’s because she--” is the greatest person I’ve ever met, he did not finish because no. No, no, no. No. That was not-- It wasn’t like he was making stuff up about Hawke! He wasn’t lying when he told those stories, or at least no more than his usual edits and embellishments. Varric didn’t need to exaggerate how funny and charming and clever Hawke was. She just was those things!

Besides, he would know if he was...that. People didn’t not know they were in love. This wasn’t a romance novel, it was real life! He wasn’t an idiot.

Right?

Varric realized he was frozen mid-gesture, and staring blankly at Cassandra’s belt buckle.

“I...have to go be. Somewhere else. And do. Something. Not here.” Without waiting for an answer, or daring to look up at Cassandra’s face, he fled.

Varric shut the door to his room very carefully behind him, and hurried over to his desk. Paper had been hard to come by where Hawke was, so she tended to write her letters to him on the backs of the ones he sent her. He rifled through the pages, eyes skimming over his own writing, occasionally skipping words or whole sentences in his haste to find a lack of proof.

I wish you could have been there; you would have dropped kicked him right off the cliff, like you did with that slaver captain.  

We could have really used that spell of yours, the one where you toss people into the air? Our fights would be over a lot faster with you around, but then nobody else would have anything to do.

I’m sure you’ve got a quip for that, let me know what we should have said and I’ll remember for next time.

The Inquisitor gets the job done but he just doesn’t have your finesse, or your sense of

It wasn’t a bad time but I would have liked it if you were there

Everyone keeps talking about how flashy Dorian is, but until he figures out how to weaponize a light display he doesn’t even come close to

Don’t worry, she’s nowhere near as smart as

can’t tell the others but I know I can trust

not as good as

just wasn’t the same without

better when you

The letters began to crumple as Varric’s grip grew tighter. Each one was worse than the last. Maker, in this one he told her he missed her three times on one page! Here he’d spent an entire paragraph describing how the fight would have gone if she was there and most of it was about how she’d show everyone up... And- oh no, he’d stopped halfway through describing the people at the Winter Palace to tell her that they weren’t as pretty as her, why? It wasn’t even relevant!

Varric dropped the letters and stood up so abruptly he banged his knee on the corner of the desk. He winced but didn’t stop, tugging open the chest at the foot of his bed. Down at the bottom, mixed in with a few of his other books, was a copy of The Tale of the Champion. He pulled it out and flipped through it hurriedly, tearing a page in his haste.

I'd planned for nothing more than a business deal, but the moment I saw her I knew she was going to be so much more than a helping hand on an expedition. It was her eyes. They’re the color of lyrium, that impossible blue, and when she looks at you, you can sense the strength hidden in her, power concealed but just below the surface, a promise and a warning all in one.

Varric was in love with Hawke.

“Shit.” 

Date: March 23rd Entry: Over all behavior and observation

The other day many hunters returned to Astera with findings of an Old World monster. Many have been quick to deduce what monster this is. The one and only DevilJho. This raises many problems for the fleets but also for the ecosystem and environment. Many hunters including myself have been asked to go out and research the DevilJho sightings. This puts my research on other monsters on hold for now. I have only been up against a DevilJho a handful of times anyway. (I could count how many on one hand of a Wyvarian.) So I figure it might be best to write out this report, as in all honesty the DevilJho isn’t my forte of monster knowledge. Prehaps making the comparison of the New World DevilJho to the Old World isn’t a good idea. Thus this report is strictly on the DevilJho found in the New World, the Savage DevilJho will not be talked about, should it be discovered in the new world then a foot note entry will be made. 

With the alert out about The World Eater in the forest it was shut down unless you were in the Researchers Commission. Though I am part of the fifth fleet I am still in a grey area. nonetheless I was granted access to the forest, despite already being asked to research the Brute Wyvern. 

Yesterday was my encounter with DevilJho in the New World. It picked up a Great Jagras into its maw and at first I thought it was swinging it around to kill and eat it as usual. It was then I noticed it was using the Great Jagras as a tool to try and attack me with. Watching the Jagras struggle was hard to watch, I wanted its suffering to end. My battle with the DevilJho had forced my hand when it attacked. Into the fight I was able to get the monster to fall over and release the Great Jagras. Watching the lesser monster run away to safety was the highlight of my day.

Today was another encounter but this time I watched from afar. Out in the Wild Spire I was doing some tracking of DevilJho. Trying to understand its arrival and how it got here to this island. A Bazelgeuse landed in the area and DevilJho took quick notice of it. I expected the two to be pretty matched, I was partially right. DevilJho was quick to grab the flying wyvern in its mouth and slam it onto the ground. Followed by a few tosses over itself before Bazelgeuse got up, DevilJho quickly tossed itself into the other monster only to go under its neck area. Causing all the bomb scales on Bazelgeuse ’s neck to explode, this knocked DevilJho back and gave Bazelgeuse time to escape.'

Brute Wyvern DevilJho

Physiology Size:  1803.0 cm - 4097.8 cm Title: World Eater Element: Dragon Habitat: Ancient Forest, Wildspire waste, Rotten Vale, Coral highlands, Elder’s recess, (Any type of habitat.)

DevilJho is a large bipedal Brute Wyvern in a uniform field grey or forest green color while also being littered with scars with a muscular upper body. They are covered in rows of scutes that reach a peak height on its back and tail. It carries powerful jaws with rows of teeth sitting inside the roof of its mouth and on the outside. A thin snout but large lower jaw with rows of teeth growing out of its chin. With such large and powerful jaws it also boasts a large tail to balance it out, allowing the DevilJho’s jaws to grow into massive gaping maws. With its large tail to keep balance, this requires small and rather useless forelimbs... An evolutionary trade-off due to the size of such a monster. Severing the tail will cause DevilJho to stagger due to the loss of its own balance. It is supported on powerful yet oddly thin looking legs. The claws on DevilJho are a deep red color.  When a DevilJho becomes enraged its muscles swell and open up its old wounds. In this state, sections of the skin take on a bright red coloration.

Behavior They have no territory and are nomadic, all ways searching for their next meal. Have a high body heat that brings about a high metabolism. Forcing them to constantly need to eat, meaning anything that moves including its own severed tail, other DevilJho and even all ready captured monsters. They live short lives due to how many battles they get into because of all ways being on the hunter. If given the chance these Brute Wyverns will eat other monsters to extinction. Putting entire ecosystems in danger, some say their potential damage could be matched to that of an Elder Dragon. DevilJho’s hunger seemed to be its diving force. No wonder it is given the title ‘World Eater’.

A highly aggressive predictor all ways on its search of prey, few are more aggressive then DevilJho. The monster is easily provoked and will attack instantly with little to no regard of their target. The DevilJho will attack even when it is weak and limping with all most no signs of stopping.

When put into a rage, its muscles swell and break open old wounds. Due to the swelling and opening of said wounds this puts the monster in a lot of pain, the pain only feeds into its blind rage. Continuing in its enraged state the monster has a range of weapons it can use against its foes and prey alike. 

Though it has a massive size and sharp claws, DevilJho mostly uses its jaws to inflict damage. Capable of producing a strange clouded emission which can be spewed out of the mouth at hunters and other monsters alike. Said ‘breath’ attack with afflict one’s person with what is called Dragon Blight. When dealing this attack it will move its head from on direction to the other, making a full 180 sweep across the area.

Other attacks include stomping the ground to stagger its opponents, swinging its massive tail, running at high speeds to bomb bard or simply jumping onto them. At times the Brute Wyvern will dig up rocks (This changes depending on the region) with his jaws and hurl them at the target. DevilJho is powerful enough take on Bazelgeuse and even a Rathalos, along with lesser large monsters such as Great Jaggras and Great Girros. Going as far as to use these lesser large monsters for yet another way of attacking.

Hunting Reasoning for hunting DevilJho is pretty just. Its to protect ecosystems of invites its self into. Though Apex predators may rest at the top of the food chain, they still have a role to play. Animals are adapted to predators with in their area. Often equipped with evolutionary tools to help escape them, invasive monsters ruin this. In short, they are up against another creature they have never seen before. On top of these animals being hunted to extinction, this leaves the predators in the area to starve or invade other territories. Taking down all the predators in the area leaves smaller animals to over populate. Aside for is deadly aggression, a DevilJho has the strength to single handedly destroy ecosystems if given the chance. DevilJho is often a high priority in observation because of its potential devastation. Its hunger has even been known to drive it into civilizations and villages.

When searching for DevilJho the quickest way to find it is the chipped teeth that become littered on the ground when it rubs it chin against the dirt, creating grooves into the ground. Removing old warn down or broken teeth to let knew ones grow and take their place. Some will say that doing this is a way of making territory, but that implies the beast has one. No matter its reason, the teeth are a sure sign one of these brute wyverns are in the area. Dead animals and left over meals that had been fallen to DevilJho are another that will help your Scoutflies tune themselves to the scent of the monster. Marking its tracks for last. The World Eater as three toes per foot and a spine like claw on the back. This claw could be reminiscent of a no longer used raptor talon due to evolution. DevilJho tacks are much larger then that of an Anjanath.

Hunters looking to take on DevilJho for the first time should take extreme caution in dealing with such a creature. Unlike most monsters the tail is not a weakness despite that i can be severed. Leaving the monster to quickly lose balance. Its head, underbelly to chest area are the weak points of this monster. The top of its back is another point of interest but not as the others listed. Leaving both its teeth clustered head and underside breakable. Thus forcing hunters into position to attack the head or dance around its legs.

An enraged DevilJho can inflict Dragon Blight, when dealing its breath attack it safest place to be is under its legs or far away. As the stream of breath is a longer mid-range attack. The monster is weak to Thunder and Dragon elements. Be mindful of its massive tail and abilities to leap or throw rocks if you are away.

Though the saliva of DevilJho is harmless on closed skin, being binned and bitten can cause infection if taken care of quickly. Most likely from the amount it eats and bacteria in its mouth being rather potent thanks to the ominousness breath attack it has. Well armored hunters should not have to worry about this side from being rattled and taking more then a few dents or bruises. Over all, DevilJho requires more careful positioning due to weak point locations and types of attacks.

 Conclusion  The DevilJho in the New World is a spitting image of the ones found in the Old World. How they got here? I can’t say, I am not here to research them. With fleets arriving here over forty years ago its hard to say that such a monster could be missed. Then again its only the forth and fifth fleets that brought the most bulk of hunters. I am not the one to deem if they are the same as the ones back home. I can only turn in this report to let the Guild decide.

Disclaimer: All art used is concept art for the game Monster Hunter by Capcom (I only drew the foot print and put the graphics/pages together) * The info in this post is based off of Lore and observations I have made in Monster Hunter World, but also inspired by some real animals and personal headcanons. A report taken from the view of a Hunter. If you see something not based in canon this is why, its just a fun writing exercise.  * Anyone and everyone is welcome reblog so long as they don’t add onto the post.  Field Entry

Space Station 13 Races

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How To Play Space Station 13

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Space Station 13 is an open source community-driven multiplayer simulation game. Set several centuries in the future, you will be playing a role on board a space station, ranging from bartender to engineer, janitor to scientist, or even captain. The crew of Soyuz 11 were killed after undocking from space station Salyut 1 after a three-week stay. A cabin vent valve construction defect caused it to open at service module separation. The recovery team found the crew dead. These three are (as of 2020) the only human fatalities in space (above 100 kilometers (330,000 ft)). More antagonist rounds from TG, mostly revs. Bruce Lee himself hit me with a copyright claim for the ending, oh well! (The copyright claim went away) Music u.

Aside from humans, there are many other forms of sentient life in the vast emptiness of space.

Treat them with caution, as not all may be as they seem.

Hostile

Abductors - Abductors are technologically advanced alien society set on cataloging all species in the system. Unfortunately for their subjects their methods are quite invasive.

Ashwalkers - Ashwalkers creatures in lavaland. The land is bountiful of prey and sustenance, but foriegn powers move to exploit their land. Ashwalkers are building up a tribe and will expel these aliens from their home.Ashwalkers are essentially a group of tribal Lizards who must craft low tech weapons and armor to fight off the more technologically advance, but fewer in number, Humanoid invaders.

Holoparasites - A holoparasite, also known as a guardian spirit, is a special being that is bound to the single person that summoned it. It is summoned through either a deck of tarot cards, a parasitic nanomachine injector, or a scarab egg cluster.

Xenomorphs - Aliens, also known as Xenomorphs to differentiate them from the general term, are extraterrestrial lifeforms that use other living beings as a host during their life cycle. With black carapaces and wicked sharp claws, powerful night vision and the ability to see people through walls, xenomorphs are extremely dangerous. They are intelligent and capable of speaking to one another via a hivemind. In comparison to Earth species, xenomorphs are closest to parasitic wasps that live in colonies with queens and require another lifeform to gestate

Constructs - Shades and Constructs are slaved to their master's will. They must follow the orders of their master at any cost. They are capable of grasping intent, unlike synthetic beings. Shades as well as any constructs are EVA capable and can maneuver in space without outside aid. Should they die, they leave behind ectoplasma which can be used to make ghost-burgers. Constructs created by cultists automatically become cultists themselves, allowing them to identify their team mates, and even count for the escape objective. Clever crewmen who steal soulstones and shells can create their own constructs to fight the cult.

Statues - Made by the Wizard's spell Flesh to Stone. With the Staff of Animation their bloodlust is awakened and they start to hunt people, but can move only when they're not seen by anyone. They cannot be killed (or at least take A LOT of damage to die). Don't even blink about it.

Shadowlings (No longer in-game. Replaced by 'Nightmares'.) - Shadowlings are light-sensitive alien creatures from space. They are mainly defensive, but can 'enthrall' humans, which is basically a euphemism for enslavement of their minds. They start off disguised as a normal crewman (they can still enthrall like this!) but they have to take time to 'hatch' to unlock their full potential.

Revenants - Revenants are ghosts that have been infused with strange magical (read: alien) energies and brought partially back into the mortal plane. They are invisible to the naked eye but can still be influenced by mortal means (i.e. lockers). In addition, simple machinery or animals will recognize a revenant's presence and be alerted by their existence. Revenants are typically immortal while invisible, but some of their spooky abilities will reveal them to the crew for brief amounts of time.

Neutral

Lizardpeople - Second class citizens, lizards are generally regulated to lower level work. Within a department a lizard staff member may enjoy anything from almost equal standing to obvious racism and disrespect, depending on their coworkers. They enjoy few advantages beyond their striking appearance.

Plasmamen - Another, infrequently seen, race of lower-class Space Station 13 employees, plasmamen can only survive by breathing plasma. All employees wear special spacesuits and helmets to protect themselves from the station's robust atmospheric environment.

Cyborgs - The latest, and greatest invention of Robotics experts at Nanotrasen, they are normally loyal to the AI. Who the AI is loyal to, however...

Monkeys - Sapajus robustus or the robust tufted capuchin. Nanotrasen usually ships a large number of these annoying cute creatures to the station, so they can be used in horrific medical experiments, virus testing, and otherpurposes. Research in matter compaction and rearrangement have resulted in the Monkey Cube, a molded, powdery cube that when exposed to water, results in a monkey. Sometimes known to use tools laying about.

Shades - The spirit of an unlucky crewmember, bound to serve the onewhoused the Soul Shard. Shades are fragile, but being recaptured into their soulstone heals them. All a shade can do is slowly drain life, remove clothes (and handcuffs) and spin chairs.

Golems - Though they function equivalently to their adamantine brothers the source of these traditional golems is implied to be magical in nature. Golems generally do not have masters when they appear, though they suffer all the same problems adamantine do otherwise.

Adamantine Golems - Lumbering people of shining stone, adamantine golems are born into the servitude of their creators. While some will immediately gift these golems with freedom others will keep them close as assistants, bodyguards, or attack dogs. Golems do not have a will of their own unless granted one by their creator, and are not directly responsible for their actions if commanded.

Slimepeople - Former humans who were converted to slime by mutation toxin. Many scientists working in xenobiology will undergo this mutation willingly to work closer with their slimes, but others may mass produce the toxin and try to push it on others. Their bodies are composed of a toxic slime, which shouldn't be consumed by other races.

Podpeople - Human blood, resurrected through a plant. Podpeople are rare to see, often only making an appearance if the cloner has been destroyed or the power is out for an extended period of time. They enjoy a significant benefit in healing but suffer huge drawbacks. Without a source of light, they quickly wither and die.

Flypeople - Walking abominations of mismatched DNA caused by teleporter malfunctions. Careful use and upgrading of the teleporter can assure those that dabble with it don't end up in this sorry state. Unlike other mutant races, there's absolutely nothing redeemable about existing like this, unless you just enjoy being a freak.

Skeletons - The skeleton within, unleashed! Somehow still alive, a skeleton is just a sack of stark white bones. Clattering spooks, due to their supernatural qualities they're almost always associated with wizards. Skeletons enjoy a wide selection of useful immunities, just don't expect the crew to ever enjoy looking at you ever again.

Shadowpeople - Cursed beings of darkness, shadows that cannot exist for long in the light. They skulk in darkened maintenance corridors or in workplaces with intentionally destroyed lighting. They are not intrinsically evil, but still invoke an understandable level of mistrust in pretty much everyone.

They share many of the passive effects of shadowlings, but none of their innate spells or abilities. They are far less a threat.

Zombies - Rotted remains of former humans, brought almost all the way back to life. Unlike the zombies you find in movies, these zombies don't crave your brains despite what they might be compelled to say sometimes. It's perfectly possible to coexist with these zombies, though understanding their slurring speech might drive some to wish it wasn't.

Jellypeople - Bizarre three eyed beings with innervated skeletons immersed in a jelly frame. Their appearance is ghastly and utterly alien, though for some strange reason they almost seem nostalgic. They are functionally equivalent to slimepeople in almost all regards.

Retrieved from 'https://tgstation13.org/wiki//index.php?title=Creatures&oldid=22455'

EXTRATERRESTRIAL STAFF SlimeAccess: Special, see text. Difficulty: Very hard Supervisors: None Duties: Absorb organisms for food, reproduce, and protect baby slimes.. Guides:Guide to xenobiology

1General Information

2How to Play

General Information

Slimes are alien creatures whose origins are unknown. Nanotrasen has captured two grey slimes and have sent them to the station in order to research new possible avenues of plasma production. In reality, they're processed into food, have their cores used for chemical reagents, and released by traitors to screw over the station.

The baby grey slimes start out in holding cells inside of Xenobiology. Scientists breed them to study their biological properties and find new slime variations, and use their extracts for research purposes.

Biology

Slimes are transparent and come in a wide variety of colors. Their method of feeding is draining the life force of other organisms such as humans, cows, and most large animals. Slimes are known to latch on to their prey and feed until the target is dead.

Slimes are able to survive for a long time without food (to the joy of Nanotrasen bean counters and to the dismay of a station under siege by slimes) and are often aggressive to non-slime like creatures. The slime life cycle resembles those of early single-celled life on Earth. After accumulating enough nutrients, a baby slime will develop into a mature state. Adult slimes are much stronger than their young counterparts, and given enough nutrients are able to divide into up to four baby slimes. Adults have been known to shock unsuspecting victims with electricity when they come into contact. Adult slimes are also known to have the appropiate mass required to break through barriers such as windows.

Slimes are generally weak against cold temperatures, but are immune to heat and die to fire. Baby slimes can be killed within seconds if exposed to space, though a fire will leave them unscathed.

Warning! If an adult slime is killed it will split into two incredibly pissed off baby slimes of it's own color, who will usually try to attack you. If you are looking to obtain slime extract, you will need to kill the baby slimes as they are not yet capable of dividing. If you kill a well-fed adult slime, it is possible that it will produce up to four offspring upon death.

Slimes are the only known extraterrestrial organism capable of communicating with humans. You do not need a universal translator to talk to one- they can use telepathy to communicate! If you're feeling lucky, you can try to negotiate with one to prevent it from strangling you to death. A slime would rather have two monkeys or a cow than a human capable of raising the alarm and fighting back.

For reasons yet to be discovered, slimes are able to regenerate damage within seconds. Because of this, you should not expect finishing off a wounded slime will be an easy task- it may be your last bad idea.

Space Station 13 Races San Diego

An extract from a baby slime will have different properties depending on the original slime's color. Extracts may only be used once unless circumstances change. Slimes are also immune to most physical weaponry and as slimes are able to regenerate health, attacking one with a toolbox is a waste of effort. Since cold climates are their weakness a fire extinguisher is the best defense against one.

How To Play Space Station 13

How to Play

Congratulations! Either through admin sorcery, actual sorcery, or a syringe filled with slime enzyme, you are now one with the slimes. It is now your duty to feast on the juicy life essence of others!

Space Station 13 Races Near

Your 'status' tab will keep track of your health and energy. Your health restores itself over time if you are injured, whereas energy requires you to feed to go up. You can feast off of humans, aliens, monkeys, and other large lifeforms by latching onto one by clicking on the 'Slime' tab and selecting 'Feed'. As a baby slime you can travel through vents to escape angrycrewmembers. In order to become an adult, you will have to feed until your energy maxes out. After that, you'll get a message saying you can evolve into an adult. After doing so, you can either remain an adult or divide yourself into 4 baby slimes, though the new slimes will be regular mobs.

As an adult, you can use vents for quick and stealthy travel. You can smash your way through glass and grilles due to your massive weight. If you die as an adult, have no fear! You will divide into two baby slimes upon death. Using your clone as a decoy, run off to the nearest vent and make a getaway so that you may plot your revenge. Make sure to avoid humans carrying fire extinguishers or hull breaches. The last thing you want to do is travel through a vent into a room exposed to space, as that would be the least heroic death ever.

Remember: When you somehow become a slime, if you're not already a Xenomorph, Wizard, Cultist, or some sort of Syndicateendorsedpersonnel-- don't start murdering people unless you want to be banned OOC to be really whiny.

General Advice

As a scientist, try to keep slime numbers low and use the blast doors to prevent slimes from escaping.

If a slime manages to escape prepare fire extinguishers and other freezing equipment (read: break windows and make sure to drink a lot of coffee) to fight them.

Slimes not controlled by players are very simple creatures and easy to kill. Human controlled ones are extremely dangerous.

Slimes are very easy to piss off when hungry, which is why they are kept in a separate area of the station surrounded by space and double airlocks. If you want to release one, your best bet is taking a well-fed baby (who are usually more docile) into a secluded part of the station such as the dorms, escape shuttle hallway (depending on the situation), or elsewhere.

Space Station 13 Races 2019

Jobs on /tg/station

Command:Captain, Head of Personnel

Security:Head of Security, Security Officer, Warden, Detective

Engineering:Chief Engineer, Station Engineer, Atmospheric Technician

Science:Research Director, Scientist, Roboticist

Medical:Chief Medical Officer, Medical Doctor, Chemist, Geneticist, Virologist

Civilian:Quartermaster, Cargo Technician, Shaft Miner, Janitor, Bartender, Chef, Botanist, Assistant, Clown, Mime, Chaplain, Librarian, Lawyer

Non-human:AI, Cyborg, Personal AI, Construct, Ghost

Antagonist:Traitor, Changeling, Nuclear Agent, Wizard, Xenomorph, Space Ninja

Special:Death Squad Officer, Ian

Retrieved from 'http://www.ss13.eu/wiki/index.php?title=Slime&oldid=135'

Space Station 13 Races Map

Dark Angels: Creation Part 39. Ripples. Sean, Zav, Adrian, Bryn

Sean: *After saying my temporary goodbye to Layla I’d misted out and reformed in the dining room of the Brazil house. Out of a caution that was rapidly becoming ingrained I hovered in the half-world rather than rematerializing directly into room. Any place warded should be safe, but I was on edge. We all were. Still, all was well here. No sign of Bryn, but Adrian and Zav had finished setting the table up for our meeting and were engaged in a good-natured bickering that masked anxiety on Zav’s part and impatience to get on with the battle on Adrian’s. I understood both feelings. I wanted this done, but I had a nagging sense of worry over Layla’s plan to go to Sanctuary. Reaching out with my senses, I catch the edge of Bryn’s mood. My gift is better up close and personal, but if it’s someone I’ve got a connection with I can generally get what they’re feeling. In Bryn’s case ‘edge’ was the best word. Her emotions were as sharp as the blade of a well-honed knife, focused and intense. I get a sense of satisfaction from her, but there’s an underlying coldness of purpose and not a little grim, and very feline, pleasure. Like she’s about to play with her prey. I’m going to have to find out what that’s all about but for the moment I content myself with stepping into the mortal world and casually asking,*

What’s a guy gotta do to get a drink around here?

Adrian: “You know, you have to think with the big head during this fight angel-puss.��

Ribbing Zav has always been a piece of cake. The nearly 7-foot tall angel has always been the most easy going of us and he likes to laugh, even at himself.” The little head will get you killed…what?” Materializing my sword in my hand as I whip around just in time to see Sean leaning against the doorjamb with his armed crossed. With a huff I send my sword back to my room.

“Watch it brother. You could get hurt sneaking up on a guy that way.”

Zav: *Snorting at Adrian as I step up beside him and elbow him in the ribs…* Be glad he’s here. He just saved you a beating. *Yes, I’ve got a sense of humor but not about Truely. I wouldn’t really have punched him, but I’m not above putting a snake in his bed. Can’t kill him but the guy has never liked reptiles and nobody likes feeling something slither up their leg in the night.*

Adrian: Tilting my head at Zav… “You think you can take me, angel-puss?”

Zav: *Giving him a dark smile…* In a heartbeat, soldier boy.

Sean: *pushing off the doorframe and holding my hands out…*

Down, boys. Save the machismo for the fight. I take it Sin’s not here yet? I wonder what’s keeping him.

Adrian: “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Shrugging. “Accountability for his actions is way above my paygrade. He’s spent over 35 millennia doing his own thing, his own way. I just follow along for the ride.

Zav: *I get where Adrian is coming from. Even as an angel my power pales against Sin’s. Magicks may come to me more easily because, after all, an angel /is/ the embodiment of ethereal magick, but power is a different animal. The Horseman gave Sin raw, immortal power equal only to his own. Power the Creator had bestowed on Him because balance required that even the Creator had to have an equal force to weigh against. The Creator had relied on the innate respect between equals to keep the balance between them. And then, sighing internally, Lucifer had whispered in the Horseman’s ear and here we were.

But the creation of Sin as Death’s First had been inevitable. As a human, Sin had drawn mortal power to him like bees to flowers. He’d been at once compassionate and ruthless, poet and warrior. He’d gone from enslaved child to warlord by drawing the powerful to him and building on it, and at the age of 17 he’d instigated a slave rebellion and turned it into a powerful army that gave his enemies only two options – ally with him or die. That Death had been drawn to him and enlisted him had come as no surprise. Neither did the fact that Sin was now going to teach him the same lessons he’d taught to many mortal men of power – that you only get to wield power so long as you aren’t corrupted by it and you only get to keep what you can hold. Being part of turning him into that being was something I’d never anticipated when I’d been placed on Earth.

When the Grigori had been created, the Creator had selectively assigned us earthly homes that would enable us to teach humanity, help it to grow and mature. It had been no coincidence that I’d been directed to Sumer while Sin was still only a child. The Fates were already in play. And though the Creator had given us all the “speech” about assisting humanity to grow, we’d all known that the reality was El Shaddai had screwed up his creation and the Creator had been forced to make a whole new class of angel to fix it and plant us on Earth. But I hadn’t been “assigned” to Sin, or told to watch out for an 8-year-old slave boy. Angels still had free will. We still had to make our choices and live by them. And, like everyone else, I’d been drawn to something in him that I couldn’t resist.

Though Sin had initially thought I was simply an artisan and teacher, which I had been, I’d realized early on that he needed a guide for whatever it was within him that was such a magnet to people with even the least bit of authority. Even as a boy, he’d been canny, but the kind of talent he possessed could have gone either way as an adult. I’d watched him learn to use that combination of intelligence and charisma and played my part to make sure he used it for a purpose greater than himself. His education had to be done covertly, as had developing his fighting skills, but I succeeded in both and I’d instilled in him the principles of duty that had helped to mold the character that had made the man and had later defined his kingship. But the ability to wield and control the power he gained, to turn all he was to creating a great kingdom and a human paradise, had come from his own mortal heart, just as it now came from his immortal one.

My “paygrade” had long ago been surpassed by Sin but our friendship had endured. When he’d come to reap me after El Shaddai regained control of the heavenly realms and decided the Grigori had to die, Sin had been surprised to find out what I really was. But it hadn’t mattered. He’d looked at the blood on the ground, at my wife, my son, my unborn daughter and only said “Come with me, old friend. I will not take you to the long sleep of angels. You shall be one of mine and we will walk as comrades-in-arms once again. And perhaps, if the Fates are kind, you will find them once more.” For that alone, I’d die for him. Permanently this time. That the Fates would choose this time to put Kalare back into my life was ironic. I have the feeling the Fates are big on irony. But it could also be with a purpose. When going into a fight like this it helps to have something to live for besides yourself, and now I’ve got that. I wish Sin did as well. Winning wasn’t all this was about. We needed him to help rebuild the corps and restore the balance and I’m not sure he sees that. But maybe the Fates are making a run at him too…*

I’ve felt a few ripples in the Aetheric plane. It happens when somebody is using big magick on it and he’s one of only a handful that can. He’s probably doing a little recon on the potential outcomes of our next moves. You know he has a special relationship with the Fates. *shrugging* They like him and he’s never been shy about using that to get inside intel. And they aren’t above using him to get what they want either. So Sin being late could be a good thing. If it was anything bad Declan would have called.

Adrian: Nodding, “See Sean? Nothing to worry about. Just Sin being Sin. Meanwhile, you still want a drink? I’ll get us a some beers.”

Turning towards the kitchen, I make a hasty, yet graceful, exit. It’s not that I don’t want to be around Sean, but he’s leaking anxiety and it feels wrong. Normally he’s the one literally absorbing all of ours. Nothing that he’s personally feeling ever leaks out. His normal M.O. is to exude these calming vibes that keep the rest of us on an even keel. And not just to the three of us. His gift is powerful. Even though Sin forbade him to use it to actively heal, keeping that part of it bottled up just means the energy has to go somewhere else and it flows down through the entire corp, although we’d found that the Horseman’s fourth column had been immunized against it. It pays him to keep his thugs on edge and angry. But thousands of us get that warming, soothing, calming vibe, Sean puts out. Unfortunately, that’s nowhere to be found right now and /that’s/ worrisome because if he’s projecting anxiety to me, that’s also leaking down to the corps. Right now we need our people, both fighters and noncombatants, to be confident and we /don’t/ need the rogues to get a whiff of any weakness.

Sean: Provided Declan is still able to call.

*Ok, that came out a little sour and a lot pessimistic. Not what we need and it’s not really Sin I’m worried about anyway. He said he’d be here and here is where he’ll be when he’s finished whatever he’s doing. If he really needed help we’re all just a thought away and we’re too close to the end now for him not to reach out if he ran into something he needed back-up on. As Adrian disappeared into the kitchen, I cleared my throat and tried again.*

But you’re probably right. I’ve just got things on my mind.

Zav: Clearly. *raising an eyebrow at him – yeah, Sin learned that from me.* You want to fill us in?

Sean: *Shaking my head* It’s nothing. I’ll get it worked out. I just need to refocus.

Adrian: Returning from the kitchen with three longnecks just in time to catch Sean’s weak denial, I snort

“Try again. It’s definitely something and if we’re feeling it from you, you can bet the troops are too. Anything that keeps us, as an army, from being confident is something that’s mission critical to resolve at this juncture. So,” tossing him a beer then handing one to Zav, “Spill it.”

Sean: *Frowning as I catch the bottle and twist off the top, I lift it to my lips, then take a seat at the table and set it in front of me.*

How much do you guys know about Sanctuary? Any of us ever been there that you know of?

Adrian: Layla. Of course. Taking a seat across from Sean, I answer.

“Not much. I’ve never been there. You, Zav?

Zav: *Sitting at down beside Adrian, I shake my head.*

Nope. So far as I know none of us has been. Maybe Sin. If he wants in somewhere, he generally finds a way, but the closest any of us have been to it is the door to The Fade. That’s the way the Scribe Virgin wanted it. We’re allowed to help any soul that wants to move on but for some reason isn’t able to find the door to The Fade on their own but it’s not like the other planes. We never try to go past the door. To go to Sanctuary is even more of an intimate intrusion. It would be like trying to enter Freya’s or Danu’s bedchamber – not impossible, but by special invitation only. It’s where the deity lives. Or lived. I hear she’s not in charge anymore. You said Layla’s going there to wait out the battle. What’s got you worried?

Sean: *sighs* What’s got me worried is that it’s been breached before and not even by immortals. By vampires. Simple vampires. And Layla was kidnapped and held captive for years after that breach. The Horseman’s boys know my female is a vampire and if they know that, they may know she’s a Chosen. What’s to keep them from invading Sanctuary if we fail? Hell, what’s to keep them from invading just to distract me at a critical moment. Because, let me tell you, that would be damned effective! And yes, I’ve heard that about the SV, too, and so far as I can find out the new guy hasn’t taken residence yet so Layla will be unprotected.

Adrian: Thoughtfully taking a long drink, then setting the bottle down….

“They can’t know she’s a Chosen. Can they? She’s been pretty much earthbound since you’ve known her hasn’t she? And even if she hasn’t, would a witches’ scrying mirror be able to track her there? I mean Sanctuary may not be warded against us but it /is/ a deity’s quarters. The Scribe Virgin must have instituted /some/ precautions after that invasion.

Sean: I don’t know…*exploding and slamming my fist on the table* That’s the problem… I just DON’T KNOW!

Bryn: *I rematerialize in the doorway to the dining room just in time to hear Sean explode and shout.*

Don’t know what?

*Striding to the table and laying the simple oaken box in front of Zav, I murmur into his ear,* All Truely has to do is look in the mirror and say “Show me Zav” and she can see you. It’s also connected to a mirror in Tir Nan Og, to Danu, but the spell’s more complicated since I didn’t have any of Danu’s blood to work with when I initially made the mirror. The spell’s inscribed inside the lid, in case you ever need it. Danu said she’d be watching and she’d get Truely herself if the battle goes against us. So don’t worry about your lady, ok? She’s as safe as any of us can make her.

*Straightening up, I turn and put my hands on my hips and look at Sean.* So what is it you need to find out? Witches have ways, you know.

Zav: *Gratefully I take the box from Bryn and crack the lid just enough to see the faint blue light glowing from the in scripted runes and I immediately recognize my own grace. That’s how she did it so easily. She must have had a little of my grace left to infuse in the mirror. Gently letting the lid drop back in place, I smile up at her.*

Thank you, little sister. I owe you. And Sean’s worried about how safe Sanctuary really is in these circumstances. None of us have been there and we don’t know its defenses.

Sean: *Nodding at Zav’s explanation*

It’s been breached before. Being a deity’s home should make it demon proof but reapers? We can go anywhere. *getting agitated all over again* The /rogues/ can go anywhere!

Bryn: So ward it. *shrugs* Shouldn’t be that hard. There’s only one entry point.

Adrian: Eyeing the reaper-witch warily… “And you know this how?”

Bryn: *Huffing a sigh* What, you guys think women don’t talk? *Then I have to take pity on their slack-jawed amazement.*

Females talk. And when bad things happen to them, they /talk/a/lot/. I heard about Sanctuary’s breach. I contacted Analisse and asked her what I could do, short of reaping a few bad boy vampires. You know the Horseman has us on a leash and interfering with mortal chaos is a no-no but I thought I might be able to do /something/. And I wasn’t the only one. Some of the other goddesses reached out, too, but the Scribe Virgin is, was, and always will be, about balance. She said the loss of the Primale and many of Sanctuary’s treasures, was the price she had to pay for becoming lax in her attentions to the race. She wouldn’t allow me to do anything, even to tell Sin, who /didn’t/ have the Horseman’s leash around his neck. Don’t look at me like that Sean, *seeing his outrage growing as he comprehended I’d known,* She also didn’t tell us that anyone had been taken. I doubt even her stubborn adherence to “balance” would have kept Freya from going and getting your female or Danu from healing her. I can only assume that Analisse had her reasons.

Sean: SON OF A BITCH! *Slamming my fists on the table as I leapt to my feet* She had options? She could have GOTTEN LAYLA OUT? *I had never in my long life wanted to hit a female, let alone murder a deity, but right now, if I could get my hands on the Scribe Virgin, all bets were off. *

SHE KNEW there was a way to rescue Layla and she didn’t take advantage of it?

Bryn: *Tilting my head and cautiously reaching my hand out to lay it on his shoulder* I don’t think she thought of it that way. You know how rigid she is, how strictly she adheres to her own rules. In her mind there wasn’t a way because it interfered with balance and free-will. She wouldn’t have considered breaking them for her own needs when she won’t break them for anyone else’s.

Sean: Layla didn’t have “free will”! *shrugging off Bryn’s hand,* She didn’t choose to go with them, to be sold into slavery, to be tortured for a hundred years! Gods dammit, why should the bastards who took her have the right to make choices when she didn’t? Where’s the fairness in that? Where’s the balance!

Bryn: *Stepping back from him, I give him the space he needs. Sometimes a female’s touch isn’t as consoling as firm logic.*

Layla is a Chosen. Her entire existence was to be in service of the race. Her entire life was to be a sacrifice to it. Maybe Annalise considered this part of that service, because what happened to her has sealed the fate of those who took her and those who later bought and tortured her. Not only will they go to Dhunhd, as the kidnappers already have, but they’ll go very unpleasantly. Because, Sean, when you find them, you won’t let them die easy. And that will have ripples. It will be a warning that the Scribe Virgin could not have given herself and retained her role as the race’s deity, elevated above the mortal fray, at least not in her view. A warning that Death comes hard for those who break the balance between the worlds, whether by act or by benefiting from that act. A warning that no single act is isolated, that it is part of a chain that will eventually come back to you. Because Layla was taken and sold, Layla was on Earth, not in Sanctuary. Because Layla was on Earth, she met you. Because she met you, the bastards who bought and tortured her will die horribly. Because you won’t be discreet – no, you won’t, don’t even go there, Sean, *as he starts to protest*. I know you too well. You’re generally a very level person, but I know you won’t consider simply taking their lives to be justice. SIN won’t consider it enough. And neither will any of us, *looking around the table at Zav and Adrian’s stony faces* and because we’re going to be the ones with your back in this, we’re going to make sure all the gory details get to the right places. Layla’s sacrifice will become a warning to any mortal or immortal who thinks he or she can screw with deities or their homes. I sincerely doubt the new deity will have an issue with it. He’s got bigger problems on his hands right now, anyway. Like learning how to BE one for starters.

And there was one other repercussion of Layla’s kidnapping. Because of it, the Scribe Virgin confined entry to Sanctuary through one portal. One that you can ward.

Adrian: Quietly, I go to Sean’s other side and place a hand on his shoulder. This one he doesn’t shrug off, which is good. It tells me he’s coming to terms with it.

“Brother, what happened to Layla was an atrocity. The horror of it is,” shaking my head, “almost impossible to comprehend. But we’ve all lived a long time. We know what mortals are capable of. Hell, we know what immortals are capable of. Evil lives. We know it. Layla lived it. If you get the chance, you can take it up with the Fates for putting those choices in front of those males. But we can’t go backwards and change things. Only forward. So we make what she went through mean something. First, we take on the evil in our world. Then we take on the evil in hers. And we use what she gave us. We ward Sanctuary.

Zav: *It feels odd to be the one helping Sean to find his way through something. He’s the one that always helps us. But to be able to do that for him, especially right now, just binds us tighter together. Rising from my chair, I go to his other side and place my hand on his other shoulder. Leveling my deep brown eyes on his clear blue ones,*

I’ll teach you the warding and I’ll give you enough of my grace to be able to ward the entrance. You’ll do it in the half-world where it’ll float on the air, the way I warded the mountain. If we lose, no place will be permanently safe, but between Sanctuary being a deity plane, my grace, and the ethereal magicks inherent in the warding spell, it will hold a long time. Maybe long enough for another uprising to happen. It’s the best we’ve got.

Sean: *They’re right. All of them. I can’t change the past and without that past, the present… my present, Layla and I… wouldn’t exist. The Fates do things their way and maybe they let it happen to put Layla in my path. Or maybe finding each other was to help balance what she went through. I’ll never know. Maybe Sin can ask, but I doubt they’d tell him. They only seem to tell him what they think he should know. With a sigh, I nod.*

Thank you. *looking at Bryn* All three of you. Normally, I’m more in control.

Bryn: *Smiling a little* It’s understandable. I wasn’t happy when I found out Annalise had kept it from us either, but we have limits to what we can do. And now while Zav is teaching you how to ward, I’m going to borrow Adrian. We’re going witch hunting.

#TBC

#Renegade #RRPG #DarkAngelsCreation #Ripples #AU #BDB #Reapers #Angels #Vampires #Wolfen #Ghosts